Sugar Heart took a moment to readjust her panniers across her back before resuming her hurried pace home. She would have been home quicker, she thought angrily to herself, if it hadn’t been for that group of ponies loitering around the marketplace.
“Elements of Harmony my flank,” she snorted as she stamped her hooves harder than strictly necessary on the cobbled streets. On either side of the mare, Ponyville residents were taking the last of their wares inside, giving their shop fronts and front yards a cursory sweep before heading indoors. A few shot the pale blue earth pony odd looks, and she realised she had been voicing her opinions to the whole street for a while.
“Just because they saved Equestria a couple of times doesn’t mean they can just get in everypony’s way!” she said irately to no one in particular as she continued on her way.
She stalked past the last of the ponies and rounded the corner. This next street was completely empty save for a few lonely petals from the florists at the end, dancing forlornly in the breeze. When she was sure nopony was going to follow her and reprimand her, she let out a long breath. She wasn’t being fair, she told herself. Twilight Sparkle and her friends had every right to be in the marketplace, same as any other pony. She blushed as she thought back to that afternoon.
“I may have made a bit of a fool of myself,” she thought, remembering how she’d shoved past the other mares, loudly complaining about loitering and getting in everypony’s way.
“I’ll go apologise tomorrow.” She decided, resuming her journey home. She had only gone a short way down the empty street when something made her look up. She must have been so angry that she hadn’t realised night had fallen. She took a long, deep breath and vowed to try not to let her anger get the best of her before setting off again.
Her hooves sounded strange and muffled on the cobblestones, and the breeze gently played with her pale pink mane, looping strands across her face. Sugar Heart shivered and quickened her pace. At the end of the street she turned left and was just about to head down the long winding path that led to her cottage on the edge of the Everfree Forest when she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. Spinning around, she felt her heartbeat quicken but there was nopony else to be seen.
It’s just stress, she told herself more firmly then she felt. She couldn’t suppress a shiver as she surveyed the dark path that would take her home, for the first time doubting the practicality of living so close to the dangerous forest that hugged the southern border of the town. As she trotted briskly past the last of the houses, she felt as if she were entering a different, otherworldly place. The breeze that had been winding through Ponyville all day died down to almost a whisper, and the usually vibrant colours of Equestria seemed muted. Sugar Heart’s nerves jangled as thought she heard hooves on the earthy path ahead, but she quashed the fear down before it could spread.
The sound of her own hooves barely disturbed the quiet when she suddenly became aware of a different sound, quite close by. She paused, her ears straining to pinpoint the odd noise. It seemed to be getting closer, she thought before she could suppress it. She still couldn’t make out what the sound was, a task becoming even more difficult as her breath came in short gasps. It was very close now. It almost sounded like...
Breathing.
The fear she been suppressing ballooned outward, consuming her. With a terrified scream, Sugar Heart shot forward, her hooves scrabbling to get a purchase on the dirt path. Over the thunder of her heart and blood rushing in her ears, she could hear heavy hoof steps, galloping after her. She sensed, rather than saw the shadowy figure chasing her and for a moment her only thought was to get as far away from it as possible.
Quick as lightning she was struck from the side, sent careening off the path by something heavy... and strong. Her mind was reeling from the adrenaline pumping through her veins, but her body reacted instinctively, scrambling upright in a flurry of limbs before galloping off again. All around her she could hear whispery laughter, echoing impossibly off the trees as she charged between them. Branches scraped her flank and she screamed again, coherent thought driven from her mind. Dodging past the trees, she failed to see the figure until it was too late. It lunged forward, knocking the terrified pony to the ground. The last thing she saw was a pair of hooves, just before they came crashing down on her.
“That’s the third pony missing this week, Twilight,” Spike said worriedly as he looked at his friend over the top of the Ponyville Gazette. “It’s getting worse.”
Twilight met his stare, trying to convey to him that she wasn’t worried. Too bad she’d never been very good lying, especially to the baby dragon. He could always tell when she was hiding something from him, and now was no exception.
“What are we going to do?” he asked, a note of panic slipping unbidden into his voice. Twilight hurriedly strode over and gently took the newspaper from his hands.
“I am going to check on our friends,” she said mustering up a reassuring tone from somewhere, giving his green spikes a quick stroke before heading for the door. “You stay here and look after Owlowicious. I think I saw him looking worried earlier.”
Spike recognised her attempt at buoying him up and forced a smile, but his eyes betrayed him, just as they had his unicorn friend. “Be careful,” he said forlornly as Twilight shut the door behind her.
A couple of hours later, Twilight made her way up the quiet woodland path to Fluttershy’s cottage. There were no sounds coming from the glades of trees on either side of the path, and the air felt solemnly still.
Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Rarity had all been worried but safe, as had their families. None of them had heard from Fluttershy since yesterday, however, and they were all anxiously awaiting news. Twilight shivered and quickened her pace, eager to make sure the shy Pegasus was alright and return home. As she neared the gnarled tree that housed Fluttershy and her many animal friends she felt the fur along her spine rise. The cheery red door, usually so welcoming, stood ajar, the interior dark and foreboding. Twilight’s thoughts were racing as she cautiously stepped over the threshold into the impossibly pitch black house.
“Fluttershy?” she called out, her voice sounding muffled and weak. Her senses were screaming at her to run, but her friend’s face floated to the forefront of her mind, and she forced herself to venture deeper into the cottage. Conjuring a faint light from her horn, Twilight carefully stepped over fallen chairs and smashed furniture, the oppressive silence bearing down on her. There was no sign of the cottage’s owner, or any of the myriad of animals that had called it home at one time or another. The purple unicorn paused in front of an armchair that had had its stuffing savagely ripped out, trying to force the unwelcome thoughts that had come tumbling down from her mind.
“Fluttershy?” she called out again, glancing around when something caught her eye. Something dark was streaked across the worn floorboards on the other side of the room, in front of an open door. Twilight fought back a wave of fear that threatened to overwhelm her as she took a step closer. In the dim, pink light from her horn, the dark stain glistened sickeningly. Twilight took another step forward, and another, willing her hooves to be silent. As she got closer she could make out hoof prints, ground deep into the wooden floorboards as if by something heavy.
She gagged as a metallic scent assailed her nostrils, bile rising in the back of her throat. She swallowed, trying to quell a sickening feeling that was growing in the pit of her stomach as she carefully stepped over the stain and through the open door. Her horn continued to cast its soft pink light, but it had begun to flicker as its owner fought to control the now overwhelming urge to flee. Twilight took a deep breath, though it did little to alleviate the dread she could feel within her. At her hooves, a rickety looking staircase descended into darkness, leading to what Twilight could only imagine was a cellar of some kind, in the bowels of the tree’s roots.
“Fluttershy? Are you okay?” Twilight whispered, before mentally shaking herself, repeating the call louder. From the darkness below drifted a faint voice, so quiet that the purple unicorn almost didn’t catch it.
“Twilight? You have to get out of here!” Came Fluttershy’s voice. It was followed by the most awful sound Twilight had ever heard, a low, menacing growl that she felt in her bones. The ballooning panic she’d been trying to quash consumed her as she heard Fluttershy squeak in pain and terror. With that sound, all rational thought left the unicorn’s head and she charged down the stairs and toward the sound of her friend’s voice. Her blood screamed in her ears, and she didn’t hear the whooshing sound of something fast heading towards her until it was too late, and she had collided with it. Her head came into contact with something solid, and she blacked out.
Twilight slowly regained consciousness, aware of nothing save an awful throbbing throughout her body. She kept her eyes closed, sluggishly trying to figure out which part of her body hurt the most. Several bruises seemed to be forming on her left side, but as she came to her senses the pain gradually retracted, focussing itself at the point where her horn extended from her forehead.
Groaning, she opened her eyes. At first everything was black and her mind screamed at her that she was blind before rational thought broke in, and she realised that it was just dark. She cast about, bewildered, before remembering she was a unicorn, with magic. For a moment she couldn’t bring to mind the spell for casting light, but like everything else, it was only a short while before it came back.
She muttered the words under her breath, and for a second, it seemed the spell hadn’t worked. Then a blinding pain ripped through her, sending her almost to the brink of unconsciousness again. Her forehead and horn burned white hot, sending spasms of pain dancing along her spine. The sensations must have lasted only a minute, but as they subsided Twilight couldn’t recall how long she’d spent lying in the dark, body wracked with agony.
As her mind recovered, she tried to deduce the cause. A thought lingered in the background of her mind, as if afraid to show itself. But it would not let her be. With a growing sense of horror, Twilight lifted a hoof to her forehead. Her horn was gone. Fighting back a wave of nausea, she felt around the edges. There was still a trace, a jagged edge where someone had used something blunt to saw off her horn. Leaning over, she retched onto the ground beside her, the bile stinging her mouth.
Someone had sawn off her horn. She lay back down, numb, hardly caring when her mane drooped into the pile of vomit by her head. She only felt a deep aching emptiness where her magic used to be. Never would be again.
Twilight wasn’t sure how long she lay there, struggling to make sense of what had happened. Sifting through the memories from before she found herself lying mutilated on the ground was like wading through treacle. The memories she wanted kept darting out of view, like shy animals...
“Fluttershy!” Twilight cried out, sitting up too quickly. Another wave of nausea hit her, but she ignored it, casting about in the darkness for her friend.
“Twilight? I’m here,” came the yellow Pegasus’ unobtrusive voice from somewhere in the gloom. Twilight sighed with relief, but the grim reality of the situation was never far away.
“Are you alright? Are you hurt?” she asked urgently. There was an agonising pause before Fluttershy’s reply drifted from the shadows.
“I’m fine, Twilight.”
There was something in the way she said it that made Twilight think the opposite was true. “Are you sure?” she pushed as gently as she could.
“I said I’m fine!” came the slightly hysterical response. Twilight realised the Fluttershy was trying desperately to keep it together, and quickly changed the subject.
“Where are we?” she asked, facing what she hoped was the direction Fluttershy’s voice was coming from. The Pegasus sounded oddly distant, and the room (if indeed it was a room) they seemed to be in sent echoes skittering about, making it hard to guess her whereabouts.
“This is the cellar of my house,”
That explains the odd acoustics, thought Twilight, before an even more important question presented itself.
“What was that thing earlier, the one I heard growling?”
This time there was no response. Twilight could hear the faint sound of harried breathing, and her heart went out to the yellow pony. She spoke her next words as kindly and as gently as she could.
“Fluttershy, if you know something, you need to tell me. I promise I won’t let it hurt you anymore.”
“I can’t!” Fluttershy’s voice dripped with panic, and the sound of hyperventilating echoed off the walls. “I can’t! I... She...”
Twilight hurriedly stood up. Too quickly, she realised as she swayed precariously, the queasiness returning. She stumbled as quickly as she could toward the sound of her friend’s pained cries. The sound of hooves, muffled on the earthen floor reached her ears, but before she could react something came crashing into her back legs with the force of several tons. The sound of her bones splintering, of flesh compacting, of blood squelching couldn’t drown out her own screams of agony. As the pain dragged her down into the dark embrace of oblivion, she could just make out a wordless, guttural roar of rage.
The first thing Twilight became aware of was that she ached. Feeling as though her head was stuffed with cotton wool, she blearily opened her eyes, trying to force her brain to work properly. She vaguely noted that light was coming from a lamp high over head, casting a circular pool of visibility around her. She was lying on her side and she could feel her legs splayed out on the ground. Now that she thought about it, her legs didn’t feel right.
Glancing down, she bit back a sob. Both of her back legs had been savagely broken. Splinters of bone, stained a filthy brown from blood, punctured her legs just above the fetlock. Something had also viciously gouged large chunks of flesh from her thighs, the cuts jagged, the rage etched into her broken body. The blood and urine that had soaked into the dirt floor beneath her were soon joined by acidic yellow bile as Twilight’s already empty stomach sought to empty itself further.
Quiet shuffling broke out behind her, and she looked up, her breath coming in short sharp gasps. As her eyes adjusted after moving her head too quickly, a face swam into view. Bulging, terrified eyes stared lifelessly past rancid chunks of flesh ripped from a gaping hole in the pony’s pale blue neck. Her candy pink mane was tangled and matted with coagulating globules of blood and the look on her face was one of utter terror.
With a strangled yell, Twilight reared backwards, sending white hot pain shooting up her mutilated hind legs. All rational thought left as she froze, trapped between fear and disgust, pain and terror. Suddenly she caught sight of the dead pony’s flank.
“Sugar Heart?” she gasped, the day at the market flooding back. She’d seen the poor pony only yesterday, alive. Twilight shook her head, not quite believing how much a pony’s world could be turned upside down in such a short while.
From the shadows behind the dead pony spoke a low voice, scratched and raw as if worn from screaming, a menacing, feral tone underlying every word.
“She needed to be punished... Punished for hurting her...” The voice drifted off, muttering heatedly to itself. Twilight swallowed, the sound echoing louder than she thought possible.
“Punished for hurting who?” she asked, her normally agile mind mired in a petrified stupor.
“You hurt her too. You must be punished.” Twilight jumped as the voice sounded closer and from the opposite side of the room.
“I haven’t hurt anypony! I don’t know what you’re talking about!” she choked out, a note of hysteria creeping into her already strained voice.
“You made her cry... So shy...” The source of the voice was right in front of her now, just outside of the circle of light. Twilight’s belaboured brain clicked away, frantically trying to understand.
“Fluttershy?!” she said, suddenly remembering the terrified Pegasus. The memory of her friend’s frightened voice seemed to kickstart her mind. A dangerous warning hiss echoed around her, but she fought back against the fear it ignited within her. I have to be strong, for Fluttershy’s sake, she thought.
“Fluttershy is my friend!” she said out loud, her voice stronger then she felt. “I would never hurt her!”
“LIAR.”
To Twilight’s horror, the form of her antagonist stepped into the light. A small pony, it’s coat matted with dried blood, it’s mane and tail so saturated with the red liquid it was almost impossible to tell what colour they had originally been.
The pony stalked towards her, its movements slow and predatory, its body wracked with the occasional adrenaline twitch. Twilight tried to inch away, only to be rewarded with another jolt of pain running down her lower half. She felt alone and vulnerable without her magic, the ache of its absence a dark hole hovering just within the edge of her consciousness.
As the figure paused to admire it’s grotesque handiwork, the light from above caught a horrifyingly recognisable face.
Fluttershy.
Twilight’s mind was numb as the Pegasus advanced upon her. Fluttershy’s mouth was fixed in a sadistic grin as she slowly put her hoof on one of Twilight’s injured legs. Stars burst in the unicorn’s vision, painfully bright as she screamed in agony, the sound dull and muted to her ears. Her shattered bones fractured into even smaller shards, each one burrowing deep into her flesh, and still her scream continued.
Fluttershy’s grin widened as she increased the pressure, the sickening squelch of exposed muscle and sinew reverberating off the walls. Blood leaked copiously from the wounds, to be ground into a vile paste as it mixed with the dirt on the floor beneath them.
Suddenly Fluttershy cried out and backed away. Through the dim haze that coated her vision, Twilight saw the Pegasus recoil as if in pain, stumbling backwards. Grimly holding onto consciousness, Twilight dragged herself over to the pony she still thought of as her friend, letting out sharp hisses of pain as her useless legs moved over the uneven ground. Fluttershy’s turquoise eyes were glazed over, unseeing, and for one awful moment Twilight thought she had died.
The yellow pony’s chest continued to rise up and down, feeding her shallow breaths, and her eyes slowly regained their focus, converging on Twilight’s battered form. As she took in the shattered hind legs, the brutally mutilated body and the jagged stump that was all the remained of her friend’s horn, large salty tears welled up in her eyes, her face crumpling.
“Twilight...” she sobbed, her voice flooded with guilt and horror. “I’m... I’m so...”
Twilight shook her head slowly, too exhausted to speak. Reaching out, she pulled her weeping friend close. Fluttershy didn’t resist, laying her head on Twilight’s shoulder, overwhelmed. The purple unicorn sighed wearily, stroking her friend’s blood stained mane as she tried to understand.
There seemed to be two distinct personalities within the yellow Pegasus’ fragile body, both vying for dominance. No, thought Twilight, that wasn’t right. There were two different ‘Fluttershy’s, but one of them, the one crying on her shoulder, was the same gentle Fluttershy she had always known and loved. The other Fluttershy was the dominant one. It was also the more savage and protective of the two, emerging when it sensed Fluttershy was being threatened in some way.
Possession? No, Twilight shook herself mentally. I don’t believe in that sort of thing. But maybe there was something... A more scientific cause. A name floated about her mind, just out of reach.
“I’m so tired...” she whispered.
“Twilight?” came Fluttershy’s hushed voice. Her friend’s worried tone reminded Twilight that she needed to stay awake. She needed to be responsible. She needed to protect Fluttershy... from herself.
“Fluttershy? I need you to listen to me very carefully.” The unicorn spoke quietly but precisely, a hint of urgency creeping into her voice. Fluttershy sat up, trembling.
“I need you to stay very calm. The... other you seems to emerge when you become scared or panicky.” Fluttershy’s bottom lip quivered at the mention of her violent alter ego as she nodded.
“The next thing you need to do is find a piece of paper so I can write a message.” Now that she had a plan, something to focus on, Twilight’s resolve strengthened. She would save Fluttershy and herself. She couldn’t give up. Beside her, the yellow pony’s trembling increased.
“W-what are you going to write?” she stuttered, trying to pull herself together.
“A letter to Applejack and the others.” Twilight was already phrasing the message in her mind, and the sudden dilation of her friend’s pupils went unnoticed.
“You can’t!” Fluttershy squeaked suddenly, horrified. “What if I... I might... I mean I could...” The purple pony’s train of thought was broken as she saw her friend’s breathing become laboured, her eyes wild and unseeing.
“Fluttershy, it’s alright!” She tried to sound reassuring but fear was tugging on the corners of her mind. “I won’t let anyone get hurt, okay? You need to calm down, please!”
The yellow mare’s eyes abruptly rolled back into her skull, and she began to convulse on the floor, a grotesque tangle of limbs. Twilight desperately tried to sooth her, but panic was flaring up again, and it took all her courage to remain by the twisting, contorting form of her friend. As her pained moans faded into low growls, Fluttershy ceased moving, lying limply on the dirt floor. Then, as if pulled by invisible strings, her torso rose up, followed by her head which lolled forward on her heaving chest.
The Pegasus’ eyes shot open, sending a thrill of fear down Twilight’s spine. They were no longer the eyes of her friend. They were different, wilder... and angrier. As Fluttershy caught sight of the dread in the unicorn’s eyes the corners of her mouth slowly twisted upwards into a cruel grin. Stealing forward, the Pegasus delicately picked up a shard of broken glass between her teeth before advancing on the prone unicorn.
Twilight’s mind raced as her ‘friend’ stalked closer, her thoughts fluttering distractedly like a butterfly in a cage. Escape seemed so far away now, but she refused to give up on Fluttershy.
“I know you’re still in there, Fluttershy.” She gulped, the tremors in her voice betraying her.
With a sneer, Fluttershy darted forward, pressing the tip of the glass into her stomach, just below her ribcage. Twilight gasped as the sudden pain but managed to stop herself screaming. The blood stained yellow pony proceeded to slice a long thin line down her stomach. Taking the glass away, she grunted with satisfaction as vibrant red welled out of the cut. Twilight bit back tears and desperately tried again.
“Please, I know you don’t want to hurt me. I’m your friend, Fluttershy.”
This time she could not suppress the deep shudder that rippled through her body. A look of pure rage danced across Fluttershy’s face. With a blood curdling roar, she flung the shard of glass into the darkness before lunging at the unicorn, tearing at her exposed stomach with her teeth, ripping organs from their bloody nooks, mangling the flesh. Twilight’s scream shredded the air as she tried to pull away from Fluttershy’s brutally mangling jaws. She hadn’t known it was possible to be in so much pain and not die. Her mind shut down as her nerves shrieked, impossibly loud and penetrating. Without thinking, she screamed the first word that tripped from her tongue.
“FLUTTERSHY!”
The yellow pony froze. In sheer agony, Twilight reached out to her, her hoof tainted with a sickening mixture of blood and dirt. Shaking, Fluttershy took her friend’s hoof in her own. Suddenly she clutched her head in pain. Beneath the caked on blood and grim Twilight could make out tears streaming down her cheeks and she rocked back and forth in mental anguish.
Twilight’s body would no longer obey her demands to move, so she did the only thing she could.
She talked.
She told Fluttershy how they had first met, when the yellow pony was too shy to speak to her. She spoke of the time they faced the dragon together, how Fluttershy had been so brave. She spoke of how they wielded the Elements of Harmony together, and reminded her that as long as they were together, they could face anything, defeat anything. Fluttershy’s moans gradually subsided, leaving only the occasional shuddering sob. When Twilight couldn’t talk anymore, she lowered her hooves.
Her eyes met the exhausted purple ones of her friend. Twilight’s mind was getting foggier and foggier, but she still smiled.
“I... I think she’s gone,” Fluttershy said slowly. She closed her eyes, as if listening for some internal sound. A small smile slowly broke out across her filthy face, and Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. Then she let out a hiss of pain. Opening her eyes, she couldn’t avoid looking at the gaping, ragged hole in her stomach. Hearing her friend’s gasp, Fluttershy’s eyes shot open, and she hurried over, barely suppressing the urge to retch at the sight of Twilight’s mutilated body.
“Oh my gosh, Twilight! I’ll go get some help, hang on and don’t move!” she spoke hurriedly.
Twilight shut her eyes and let herself relax. The nightmare was over. Her body may have been broken, but she had survived. She became aware that there was someone standing next to her and she opened her eyes.
“Fluttershy?” she asked curiously. The yellow pony hadn’t moved. “Is everything alright?”
Twilight watched as her friend’s eye grew cold. Suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her chest. She looked down dizzily, catching sight of a large shard of glass sticking out between her ribs. She looked up at the Fluttershy, who laughed coldly.
“You thought you were so smart, didn’t you?” she asked, her voice filled with amusement.
Twilight tried to speak, but ended up choking as blood welled up in the back of her throat. She felt empty.
“There never was another Fluttershy, as you so quaintly called it. There was only me.” The yellow mare looked down at her dying friend. The unicorn’s eyes were glazing over as blood frothed out of the corner of her mouth.
“This is my favourite part of the game.” Fluttershy spoke gleefully. Through the haze that had begun to surround her, Twilight heard the worst possible sound, coming from Fluttershy’s cottage above them.
“Twilight? Fluttershy? Are you here?” came Spike’s worried voice. As Twilight watched, Fluttershy’s face contorted into an impossibly evil grin. Twilight tried to move, but her body was so heavy. As she closed her eyes, the last thing she saw was Fluttershy heading for the cellar stairs.
