No eyes... always watches....by FrostyDawnChaptersQuestions and ShadowsNowhere is SafeMark of HorrorNever AloneQuestions and ShadowsApplejack awoke in her bedroom at Sweet Apple Acres. But something felt odd. The room felt strangely cold and empty. But everything looked normal... until she looked outside. The sky was shrouded with gray clouds, stretching on until it met the horizon. She kept moving as if nothing was wrong, heading downstairs. “Hello? Granny Smith? Applebloom?... Big MacIntosh?” She called out, looking around the barn. Nothing. Not a single peep. “Too weird. Where is everypony?” She said to herself. Perhaps she would find some answers in Ponyville. She wandered away from the Acres, which was usually filled with the sounds of harvesting and conversation. But the only sound around was the wind rustling through the trees, and her own hooves stepping on the cold dirt. Applejack looked up at the ominous clouds. Why hadn’t the pegasi cleared the skies? Something was definitely amiss. As she entered the town, a wave of uneasiness and tension struck her. Not a single pony wandered the streets. No sounds of playful fillies or chatting friends. Unlocked shutters rattled in the wind, and even a few doors swung open. It’s like everypony in Ponyville...disappeared. Almost everyone, as Applejack heard the sounds of hooves behind her, lurking around the buildings. Frightened, Applejack turned toward the noise and backed away. “Who’s there? Come out into the open!” She yelled, trying to sound brave. The sound of hoof-steps stopped and a familiar face sprang out from the buildings. A blue pegasus with a mane colored like the spectrum. “Applejack! Thank goodness I found you! Or, that I found anyone at all!” she said, landing at Applejack’s side. “Rainbow Dash! What’s going on? Are the others O.K.?” she asked, looking around the empty town. “I don’t know. I woke up in Cloudsdale, but it was empty! And these clouds! I tried clearing them, but they just won’t go away! Twilight and Pinkie are around. Let’s go find them.” Rainbow Dash said, trotting away as Applejack followed. Back at Twilight’s house, the two of them walked in on Twilight Sparkle examining book after book, and Pinkie Pie seemed... less ecstatic. The unsettling situation must have worried Pinkie enough for her to counter her optimism. “No, no, no! There’s nothing that describes what’s going on.” Twilight said, frustrated. Spike hurried down the stairs. “Twilight! Look!” He said, carrying an old, dry book. He opened it to the last few pages, which were ripped straight from the spine, the edges of the paper slightly burned. “I know this book had the last pages, but now there just gone!” Twilight paced the room, exasperated. “This doesn’t make any sense!” Twilight muttered. The door bucked open, followed by Rarity dragging Fluttershy by the tail. “No, stop! I don’t want to!” Fluttershy softly cried. “Don’t want to what, Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash asked. Rarity nudged the yellow pegasus. “Go on, describe what happened.” The unicorn said. Fluttershy soon faced the group, mustering whatever courage she had. “W-well, I woke up, and saw that all my animal friends were missing. I went outside to investigate, when I saw something in the forest. It was tall...a-and skinny. With these long, thin things on its back. I only looked for a second, but something about it was so scary, I just hid under my couch until Rarity found me.” Fluttershy said. The ponies exchanged a round of inquisitive and curious looks at what Fluttershy described. Twilight took the book Spike was holding. “Curious... this is a book of all cryptic creatures in Equestria, but-.” “ A what?” Pinkie Pie asked, ever so ignorant and curious. “A creature that has no solid proof that it exists. And what ever Fluttershy described, it’s not in here...” Spike turned to the last torn pages. “Well, not anymore.” “Are you saying that whatever Fluttershy saw was in the last part of the book? And somehow got ripped out?” “That does sound possible. I mean, have you actually read that whole book, Twilight?” Applejack asked. “Well, no. But that doesn’t explain why they’re missing.” Twilight replied. The clouds slowly grew darker outside. Pinkie Pie let out a frightened squeak. “What if that thing Fluttershy saw made everyone disappear?!” she cried. “Pinkie, that’s absurd. All we know for sure is that Fluttershy saw something that scared her. And frankly, she gets scared easily.” Rarity explained. Spike soon hopped on the table so he had some height above the ponies. “Well, something strange is happening. Everypony else is gone, and I’ve sent three letters to Princess Celestia, with no response.” A heated argument took place between everyone, arguing about what was fact and what was myth. “Enough!” Twilight yelled, silencing the chaos between them. “If we’re going to figure out what is going on, we need to investigate. So, does anyone have any ideas?” Silence once again fell over them, some of them scratching their chins in thought. Rarity came up with an idea. “Well, we could try-” she was cut off as the lights went out. The ponies screamed as the darkness surrounded them. A few seconds later, Twilight conjured up a lantern to dimly illuminate the room. “There. Is everypony alright?” Everyone nodded as they were unharmed, but Pinkie Pie stared at the floor in fear.... In the middle of the floor was a large carving. It was a circle with an X slashed through the center. There was also a single piece of paper, with a crudely drawn picture. The illustration was of a tall, thin being with a round, blank head and long, spindly arms. The being was surrounded by what appeared to be pine trees. “This is too freaky! I got to get out of here!” Pinkie Pie cried, hurriedly running out of the door. “Pinkie Pie! Wait!" Rainbow Dash said, bolting after her friend. Spike picked up the note as he and the others followed Rainbow Dash. The multi-colored pegasus caught up to Pinkie, who simply stood still in the middle of the town. “Pinkie, calm down. It was just a-” she said, realizing what Pinkie had stopped for. When the other mares caught up, a clear shape came into view. Standing at the corner of a house, was a tall, slim creature. It’s body was black, like a suit and it’s face was white and empty. The creature’s legs were long, just as long as it’s arms, and several black tendrils protruded from its back, slowly waving in the air. If the creature had eyes, it would be staring right at the ponies. “That’s it.... that’s what I saw earlier...” Fluttershy whimpered as the creature’s tendrils grew longer.... Nowhere is SafeThe ponies were paralyzed in fear as the tall creature’s blank face beamed at them, staring with unseen eyes. Its tentacles extended to a frightening length. Pinkie Pie was startled, and backed away. “Run away!” She yelled, sprinting back to the group. The creature flung a tendril around the pink pony’s leg, pulling her closer. The other ponies stared in horror as Pinkie was soon enveloped in dark tentacles. Her cries for help were soon muffled as every inch of Pinkie’s body was covered, coated entirely by the dark creature. "Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash cried, horrified, but her eyes refusing to look away. After a few seconds, the tendrils started to unravel as quickly as they came. But Pinkie Pie was no longer there. In her place, there was a black, inky liquid that dripped down from the monster’s tendrils. Pinkie Pie was gone. Stricken by fear, the ponies screamed and took off, running as fast as they could. The being just stood there, watching the mares run off. They regrouped at Carousel Boutique. Rain started to pour down from the sky as thunder boomed overhead. “This is bad... very bad... i-it took Pinkie Pie! Just like that! Gone! What are we going to do?!” Rainbow Dash cried, practically losing her mind. The others weren’t doing as well, either. Rarity and Fluttershy were huddled together in pure terror as Spike clung to Twilight, his eyes shut. “Calm down, everypony. W-we can figure something out.” She said sheepishly, trying to keep everyone sane and calm. Applejack peered out the windows, hoping that they truly were alone. “I don’t see it. Where could it have gone?” She asked, trying to stay low and out of sight. Twilight noticed the page Spike was holding in his tail. She pulled it out, reading it. One one side was the crudely drawn picture of the creature, in what appeared to be a forest. One the other was a few lines of text, but the rest were smudged into illegible smears. “Hold on, girls. We might be onto something.” Twilight said. She examined the edge of the page, which was torn along the side. Twilight summoned the book from before, turning to the missing end of the book. The tears between the two pieces of paper were practically identical, like puzzle pieces. “The creature has no official name. It has been seen around the outskirts of forests and takes on the appearance of a man with no face...” Twilight said, reading the text that was not completely ruined. “What’s a man?” Rainbow Dash wondered. Twilight shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s all that I can read.” She said. “Do you think the other pages could tell us something?” Spike said, letting go of Twilight. “Like how to get rid of it? Or how to get Pinkie Pie back?” Fluttershy asked. “It’s worth a shot. I don’t see what else we can do...” Applejack said. “We’re going to have to find what ever we can about this thing and pray to Celestia that it works...” Twilight looked out the window. Amidst the pouring rain and occasional crashed of thunder, the creature was nowhere to be found. “Whatever that thing is, I think it’s gone... for now. We should look for any other pages, just like this, while we still have a chance.” Twilight said, holding her hoof out. “For Pinkie Pie.” The others glanced at each other nervously, before putting their hooves together. “For Pinkie Pie.” Each of them said. “Let’s get our friend back.” Rarity said, her voice filled with spite. With that, everyone split into groups to look for any sort of help. <><><><><><><><><><><><><> Fluttershy and Spike wandered the streets of Ponyville, carrying a single lantern to illuminate the dark, rainy atmosphere. “It’s too quiet... what if it’s right around the corner?” Fluttershy whimpered, following behind Spike. “Don’t worry. I’m here too. And if anything happens, we can just call for help.” Spike said reassuringly, but was extremely frightened himself. “Wait... listen...” he said. The two of them stopped and heard the wind and the rain, but another sound... the sound of paper flapping in the breeze. “It’s another page... it’s got to be nearby...” Fluttershy said cautiously. “Let’s look for it. We won’t be that far apart.” Spike said, stepping toward the darker sides of the house to light them up. Fluttershy followed the sounds of the paper, which she found stuck to a door. This time, the words CANT RUN were scribbled madly on the paper. As if that wasn’t enough to scare Fluttershy, she turned the page over. More words were printed and smeared on the other side, with only a few distinguishable words. “The creature is said to be able to extend its arms to any length at will, and relentlessly stalks anyone who sees it.” Amidst the smudges of ink on the page, there were more words from disconnected sentence fragments. “fear...” ,“ ...dying breath” ,and“ ... countless victims.” were a few words scattered in the paragraphs. “Aaaah!” A sudden shriek of terror startled Fluttershy. An icy chill ran through her spine as she looked around. “S-S-Spike?” she called out. No answer. Fluttershy set the note down, wandering back to where she last saw the little dragon. There was no activity, just the lantern sitting in the middle of the street. It wasn’t like Spike to just vanish. And that scream she heard earlier... what if something horrible happened to him? Did he run off in fear; or something much worse? Fluttershy walked toward the light, and her heart stopped as her hoof touched something other than the ground... she raised her hoof as she walked into the lantern’s light, and nearly fainted as it was covered in a black, shining goo. “AAAAAAggh!” Fluttershy screamed, as she horribly recalled what happened to Pinkie Pie after the monster’s grasp. Spike had fallen victim to the dark creature. Fluttershy looked up, and there, standing in the dim lighting, was the tall, skinny monster itself.... Mark of HorrorRarity and Rainbow Dash trotted through the rain, heading toward Pinkie Pie’s home. “Ugh... can’t we look for information on an evil, unknown creature when it’s sunny? This storm is ruining my mane!” Rarity said, keeping her soaked hair from flopping into her eyes. “Quit your whining! We have to find a way to get rid of that thing... if we can...” Rainbow said, muttering the last part of her sentence. A burst of lightning illuminated the area for a split second. With the sudden flash of light, Rarity could faintly see a page pinned to a building. “Rainbow, look! Another piece!” She said, trotting toward it. Rainbow Dash quickly cut her off. “Whoa, there. It could be a trap. It wants to lure us into the open.” she warned. The two cautiously looked around. They saw nothing out of the ordinary. "Look, it may be our only chance to find out what’s happening around here. And, if there’s any way to reverse whatever it has done to Pinkie.” Rarity whispered. “Fine. Let’s just make it quick.” Rainbow sighed. The two of them carefully walked toward the note. The words were just as crudely written as the other two. The first side read, “DONT LOOK... OR IT TAKES YOU”. “N-nothing scary about that.” Rainbow Dash said, trying to act brave when in truth, she was at her wits end. “What does the other side say?” Rarity flipped the page over, revealing more smears of ink. “It’s tendrils can easily ensnare anything. Legends tell of the creature wiping out entire villages...” The last sentence made Rarity shudder. They looked around, remembering the empty town that was once vibrant. Now, it was bleak, dark, and drained of any life or color. Rarity kept reading some of the remaining words. “Insanity...” “..eternal terror...” Rainbow Dash was practically shaking with fear. “Rainbow?” Rarity asked. “Gah! What!? I’m not scared!” She yelled, glancing around. Rarity put her hoof on her Rainbow Dash’s shoulder. “It’s alright to be scared. You’re not the only one afraid.” She said reassuringly. The pegasus took a deep breath, then pulled Rarity into a hug. Rarity, caught off guard, could hear her friend sobbing, which was unlike Rainbow Dash. Rarity helped her friend cope by returning the hug. “AAAAAAgh!” A blood-chilling scream tore through the air, and separated the two ponies. “What was that?” “It sounded like Fluttershy!” They said, looking in the direction of the horrid sound. Rainbow Dash sped off in its direction, mustering her willpower to save her friend. “Rainbow Dash! Wait!” Rarity said, struggling to follow behind. Fluttershy found herself face to face with the creature. Her instinct told her to run. Run, and never look back. As she sprinted away from the beast, hoping to gain some distance. However, that was not the case. The tendrils wrapped around Fluttershy’s leg, lifting her into the air. Fluttershy yelped in fear as she knew her fate was sealed. However, against all odds, her salvation arrived. A quick blur of color knocked the monster over, releasing Fluttershy. As she fell to the ground, she looked over to see what happened. Rainbow Dash had tackled the creature, causing it to drop Fluttershy. “Run! I’ll hold ‘em off!” She yelled as the creature focus its attention on Rainbow. “No! You’ll be-” “Just GO!” Rainbow shouted, as the creature overtook her. Fluttershy ran away, and ran hard, as tears streamed from her eyes. As she ran out of breath, she found Rarity. “Fluttershy! There you are! What happened to you?” The unicorn asked. Fluttershy looked down at her mane and body, and saw black marks that ran down her sides, where the tendrils gripped her. “Where’s Rainbow Dash? I saw her run down this way...” she asked. Fluttershy looked at Rarity with her big, watering eyes. “Sh-she’s gone! She gave herself for me!” She said, letting her eyes flow with her tears. Rarity held Fluttershy as she grieved over the loss of her fellow pegasus friend. Even Rarity began to shed a tear. “I’m sorry.” she whispered. A low, unnatural sound rumbled through the air. A sound so strange, so eerie, they were unable to determine wether it was a screech, a growl, or a whisper in some evil language. Without hesitation, the two sped through the streets, looking for Twilight and Applejack. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Sweet Apple Acres was even more desolate than Applejack remembered. Shadows flickered around every corner, creating illusions and suspense on the quiet barn. “Stay on your toes, and get ready for anything.” Twilight whispered. The unicorn waved her lantern toward the barn, dissolving the darkness around them. “Twilight...” Applejack said, pointing toward the barn door. Another piece of paper. Twilight and Applejack gently creeped toward the barnyard, careful of any sudden sounds or movement. The note simply bared a few hurriedly written words; LEAVE ME ALONE. “I don’t understand these notes one bit. Who’s writing them?” Twilight flipped the page over to see what other information they could scavenge. But the page was completely unreadable... “ Great. The rain must be making the ink run.” Twilight sighed, exasperated. The sounds of hooves rapidly hitting the road approached them. “Quick! Let’s hide in the barn!” Applejack said, panicking. She and Twilight ran into the barn, sealing the lock and hiding themselves under some hay. A few tense minutes passed. The hoof-steps quickened. As the sounds got close to the barn, the door started to shake. “Twilight! Let us in! Please!” “Applejack, hurry! You have to help us!” It was Rarity and Fluttershy, pounding on the door, begging to be let in. Applejack quickly leaped from her hiding spot and bucked the lock, causing Rarity and Fluttershy to fall into the barn. “Rarity! Fluttershy! Thank Celestia you’re alright! What happened?” Twilight said, looking at the black smears on Fluttershy’s coat. “I-it got to Rainbow Dash!” Rarity cried. “And Spike...” Fluttershy whimpered. “It’s probably coming toward us right now!” “Let’s get to the roof of the barn. We could use it as a look out.” Applejack said, shaking. After climbing up a few ladders and a staircase, the ponies stood on the barns roof, peering over all of Sweet Apple Acres. “I don’t see it anywhere. We’re safe for now.” Twilight stated. Rarity and Fluttershy were breathing hard and the rain seemed to let up a little. “Any luck finding out what this thing is?” The purple unicorn asked her shivering friends. Rarity and Fluttershy shook their heads before the strange noise they heard before sounded, louder and clearer. “Yaaagh!” Applejack screamed as the other ponies found her dangling from the edge. They rushed to her aid, as the creature had grabbed Applejack by the ankle, pulling her town toward the ground below. Twilight held on to Applejack’s hooves, trying to lift her back onto the roof. The monster was too strong, tugging the earth pony further from her friends. Rarity and Fluttershy held onto Twilight Sparkle to help her pull. As Applejack held onto her friends, she looked up at them with big, watering eyes. “I don’t want you to get hurt.” she said with a melancholy tone. “Applejack?...! No! I can’t let you!” Twilight said, discovering Applejack’s intentions. The orange pony paused. “ I’m sorry.... partner.” “Applejack, NO!” Twilight yelled, but it was too late... Applejack let go of her friends.... Never AloneTwilight was pulled back by Rarity and Fluttershy before she fell of the edge herself. Applejack however, closed her eyes as the monster enveloped another victim. Twilight began sobbing as four of her friends were already gone, and they were fighting a losing battle. A few short moments passed as sorrow took over the remaining ponies. However, the creature had not left. With a flash of lightning, the being appeared on the roof, casting an invisible aura of fear and terror. The ponies screamed and backed up, before stopping at the edge of the roof. The monster’s tendrils lashed out once more. In a selfless act, Rarity pushed Twilight and Fluttershy off the roof, allowing Fluttershy’s wings to gently ease their decent. “Aaaaaaeeeeee!” Rarity screamed as she too was effortlessly taken into the monster’s grasp. The dark, black liquid that signaled the monster’s victory started to drip down the edge of the barn. Fluttershy’s eyes widened as Rarity was now gone. “Fluttershy, we have to go. Now!” Twilight said, pushing the pegasus forward. Fluttershy and Twilight started running, but Fluttershy looked back. Rarity’s black ink dripped from the roof, and she spotted where Applejack fell down to the monster. The creature was no longer standing on the roof, which somehow frightened Fluttershy more. But they just kept running... The two soon arrived back at Twilight’s home, where they were the only two ponies left in Ponyville. “I-I can’t believe they’re gone...” Twilight said, shaking. “...and I don’t think there’s anything left for us...” She said, half-heartedly. “What? We’re just going to give up, just like that? B-but what about our friends?” Fluttershy said. “Fluttershy... there’s just nothing we can do. We don’t know anything about this thing, and it’s hunted us all down no matter where we run, and two ponies aren’t going to help anything. We can’t call Celestia and we can’t use the Elements of Harmony, our only fail-safe. I’m not even sure the Elements would work anyway...It’s only a matter of time before it gets to us...” Twilight said, sitting down as she accepted defeat. “Twilight...” Fluttershy said. The yellow pony had never seen her friend so deep in despair, so pessimistic toward their inevitable future. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, friends stick together, even when things look bleak.” The unicorn turned back, her eyes seething with tears and angst. “Look bleak?! Open your eyes, Fluttershy! Our friends are gone, there’s nothing we can to stop it, and it’s hunting us as we speak! You call this looking bleak!?” Twilight yelled. Fluttershy back up as she grew more scared of her friend. Twilight simply looked away sobbing, then galloped out the door. “Twilight, wait!” Fluttershy called out. But Twilight had already vanished in the storm. Fluttershy had literally just said that friends stick together. What kind of a friend would she be if she didn’t live up to her word? Fluttershy ran after Twilight Sparkle, the wind and rain obscuring her vision. “Twilight! Where are you?!” she yelled out into the storm. As she rounded a corner, she expected the worst. Unfortunately, she was right. The monster had its tentacles wound into a tight bundle, making the faint shape of a pony. The beast released its grasp, creating more inky black liquid. Then, it looked up at Fluttershy. It wanted to finish what it started. But Fluttershy felt something other than fear welling up inside her. Something she tucked away for a long time, and now sprang forward in her mind. She became the Fluttershy nopony ever wanted to see. Angry Fluttershy. She lifted herself off the ground with her wings, her irises stinging a searing red. “You come into my town, take my friends, hunt us down like animals...” She hissed at the creature, letting her emotions flow forward. “... and expect me to give up without a word?!” The creature lashed tentacles around the pony, but bound her much more slowly, as if feeding off every ounce of her hatred. “Go ahead! Do whatever it is you do! I swear that you will never know a moment’s peace as long as-” Her sentence stopped there as she was entirely enveloped. Fluttershy’s conscious mind had left her physical body. Her vision was nothing more than a dark void of any form of light or warmth. Her language was gone, too. Her thoughts and memories had completely vanished. She couldn’t even remember her own name. Hate. Fear. Pain. All of these things slowly settled around her, something stirred in the darkness. A small spark illuminated the void, and started pulling her in. The light felt warm and inviting, as it soon filled the spirits form. Then, everything returned in an instant. Love. Peace. Bliss. Fluttershy relived her entire memories in less than a second, as a voice echoed in the light. A familiar voice Fluttershy wish she would hear again. And it was calling her name. “Fluttershy, wake up. Wake up.” The pony slowly felt her physical form growing back, and found her eyes shut. Fluttershy opened her eyes. Fluttershy found herself lying in her bed, back in Ponyville. The sky was no longer cloudy and her pet rabbit Angel sat by her side. But what she never felt more happy to see was Rainbow Dash at the foot of her bed. “Fluttershy, are you O.K.? You were out for quite a while.” she said. The yellow pony leapt from her bed, hugging Rainbow Dash while tears streamed from her eyes. “Rainbow Dash! I had the most horrible dream! There was this tall, dark monster with tentacles that killed everyone! A-and you... you sacrificed yourself for me!” Fluttershy bawled, but Rainbow Dash stayed quiet. Fluttershy looked up to see her friend with a concerned look. “What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked. Rainbow Dash separated herself from the hug. “Fluttershy... I had that dream too... and so did the others. It was the exact same dream.” Fluttershy gasped, standing up. “What? We all had the same dream? But why?” She asked, more confused than ever. “I don’t know. Twilight told Princess Celestia about it. From the way the princess reacted, she said...” Rainbow Dash swallowed hard as she looked toward the village. “...it might have been a warning.” End...
Questions and ShadowsApplejack awoke in her bedroom at Sweet Apple Acres. But something felt odd. The room felt strangely cold and empty. But everything looked normal... until she looked outside. The sky was shrouded with gray clouds, stretching on until it met the horizon. She kept moving as if nothing was wrong, heading downstairs. “Hello? Granny Smith? Applebloom?... Big MacIntosh?” She called out, looking around the barn. Nothing. Not a single peep. “Too weird. Where is everypony?” She said to herself. Perhaps she would find some answers in Ponyville. She wandered away from the Acres, which was usually filled with the sounds of harvesting and conversation. But the only sound around was the wind rustling through the trees, and her own hooves stepping on the cold dirt. Applejack looked up at the ominous clouds. Why hadn’t the pegasi cleared the skies? Something was definitely amiss. As she entered the town, a wave of uneasiness and tension struck her. Not a single pony wandered the streets. No sounds of playful fillies or chatting friends. Unlocked shutters rattled in the wind, and even a few doors swung open. It’s like everypony in Ponyville...disappeared. Almost everyone, as Applejack heard the sounds of hooves behind her, lurking around the buildings. Frightened, Applejack turned toward the noise and backed away. “Who’s there? Come out into the open!” She yelled, trying to sound brave. The sound of hoof-steps stopped and a familiar face sprang out from the buildings. A blue pegasus with a mane colored like the spectrum. “Applejack! Thank goodness I found you! Or, that I found anyone at all!” she said, landing at Applejack’s side. “Rainbow Dash! What’s going on? Are the others O.K.?” she asked, looking around the empty town. “I don’t know. I woke up in Cloudsdale, but it was empty! And these clouds! I tried clearing them, but they just won’t go away! Twilight and Pinkie are around. Let’s go find them.” Rainbow Dash said, trotting away as Applejack followed. Back at Twilight’s house, the two of them walked in on Twilight Sparkle examining book after book, and Pinkie Pie seemed... less ecstatic. The unsettling situation must have worried Pinkie enough for her to counter her optimism. “No, no, no! There’s nothing that describes what’s going on.” Twilight said, frustrated. Spike hurried down the stairs. “Twilight! Look!” He said, carrying an old, dry book. He opened it to the last few pages, which were ripped straight from the spine, the edges of the paper slightly burned. “I know this book had the last pages, but now there just gone!” Twilight paced the room, exasperated. “This doesn’t make any sense!” Twilight muttered. The door bucked open, followed by Rarity dragging Fluttershy by the tail. “No, stop! I don’t want to!” Fluttershy softly cried. “Don’t want to what, Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash asked. Rarity nudged the yellow pegasus. “Go on, describe what happened.” The unicorn said. Fluttershy soon faced the group, mustering whatever courage she had. “W-well, I woke up, and saw that all my animal friends were missing. I went outside to investigate, when I saw something in the forest. It was tall...a-and skinny. With these long, thin things on its back. I only looked for a second, but something about it was so scary, I just hid under my couch until Rarity found me.” Fluttershy said. The ponies exchanged a round of inquisitive and curious looks at what Fluttershy described. Twilight took the book Spike was holding. “Curious... this is a book of all cryptic creatures in Equestria, but-.” “ A what?” Pinkie Pie asked, ever so ignorant and curious. “A creature that has no solid proof that it exists. And what ever Fluttershy described, it’s not in here...” Spike turned to the last torn pages. “Well, not anymore.” “Are you saying that whatever Fluttershy saw was in the last part of the book? And somehow got ripped out?” “That does sound possible. I mean, have you actually read that whole book, Twilight?” Applejack asked. “Well, no. But that doesn’t explain why they’re missing.” Twilight replied. The clouds slowly grew darker outside. Pinkie Pie let out a frightened squeak. “What if that thing Fluttershy saw made everyone disappear?!” she cried. “Pinkie, that’s absurd. All we know for sure is that Fluttershy saw something that scared her. And frankly, she gets scared easily.” Rarity explained. Spike soon hopped on the table so he had some height above the ponies. “Well, something strange is happening. Everypony else is gone, and I’ve sent three letters to Princess Celestia, with no response.” A heated argument took place between everyone, arguing about what was fact and what was myth. “Enough!” Twilight yelled, silencing the chaos between them. “If we’re going to figure out what is going on, we need to investigate. So, does anyone have any ideas?” Silence once again fell over them, some of them scratching their chins in thought. Rarity came up with an idea. “Well, we could try-” she was cut off as the lights went out. The ponies screamed as the darkness surrounded them. A few seconds later, Twilight conjured up a lantern to dimly illuminate the room. “There. Is everypony alright?” Everyone nodded as they were unharmed, but Pinkie Pie stared at the floor in fear.... In the middle of the floor was a large carving. It was a circle with an X slashed through the center. There was also a single piece of paper, with a crudely drawn picture. The illustration was of a tall, thin being with a round, blank head and long, spindly arms. The being was surrounded by what appeared to be pine trees. “This is too freaky! I got to get out of here!” Pinkie Pie cried, hurriedly running out of the door. “Pinkie Pie! Wait!" Rainbow Dash said, bolting after her friend. Spike picked up the note as he and the others followed Rainbow Dash. The multi-colored pegasus caught up to Pinkie, who simply stood still in the middle of the town. “Pinkie, calm down. It was just a-” she said, realizing what Pinkie had stopped for. When the other mares caught up, a clear shape came into view. Standing at the corner of a house, was a tall, slim creature. It’s body was black, like a suit and it’s face was white and empty. The creature’s legs were long, just as long as it’s arms, and several black tendrils protruded from its back, slowly waving in the air. If the creature had eyes, it would be staring right at the ponies. “That’s it.... that’s what I saw earlier...” Fluttershy whimpered as the creature’s tendrils grew longer....
Nowhere is SafeThe ponies were paralyzed in fear as the tall creature’s blank face beamed at them, staring with unseen eyes. Its tentacles extended to a frightening length. Pinkie Pie was startled, and backed away. “Run away!” She yelled, sprinting back to the group. The creature flung a tendril around the pink pony’s leg, pulling her closer. The other ponies stared in horror as Pinkie was soon enveloped in dark tentacles. Her cries for help were soon muffled as every inch of Pinkie’s body was covered, coated entirely by the dark creature. "Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash cried, horrified, but her eyes refusing to look away. After a few seconds, the tendrils started to unravel as quickly as they came. But Pinkie Pie was no longer there. In her place, there was a black, inky liquid that dripped down from the monster’s tendrils. Pinkie Pie was gone. Stricken by fear, the ponies screamed and took off, running as fast as they could. The being just stood there, watching the mares run off. They regrouped at Carousel Boutique. Rain started to pour down from the sky as thunder boomed overhead. “This is bad... very bad... i-it took Pinkie Pie! Just like that! Gone! What are we going to do?!” Rainbow Dash cried, practically losing her mind. The others weren’t doing as well, either. Rarity and Fluttershy were huddled together in pure terror as Spike clung to Twilight, his eyes shut. “Calm down, everypony. W-we can figure something out.” She said sheepishly, trying to keep everyone sane and calm. Applejack peered out the windows, hoping that they truly were alone. “I don’t see it. Where could it have gone?” She asked, trying to stay low and out of sight. Twilight noticed the page Spike was holding in his tail. She pulled it out, reading it. One one side was the crudely drawn picture of the creature, in what appeared to be a forest. One the other was a few lines of text, but the rest were smudged into illegible smears. “Hold on, girls. We might be onto something.” Twilight said. She examined the edge of the page, which was torn along the side. Twilight summoned the book from before, turning to the missing end of the book. The tears between the two pieces of paper were practically identical, like puzzle pieces. “The creature has no official name. It has been seen around the outskirts of forests and takes on the appearance of a man with no face...” Twilight said, reading the text that was not completely ruined. “What’s a man?” Rainbow Dash wondered. Twilight shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s all that I can read.” She said. “Do you think the other pages could tell us something?” Spike said, letting go of Twilight. “Like how to get rid of it? Or how to get Pinkie Pie back?” Fluttershy asked. “It’s worth a shot. I don’t see what else we can do...” Applejack said. “We’re going to have to find what ever we can about this thing and pray to Celestia that it works...” Twilight looked out the window. Amidst the pouring rain and occasional crashed of thunder, the creature was nowhere to be found. “Whatever that thing is, I think it’s gone... for now. We should look for any other pages, just like this, while we still have a chance.” Twilight said, holding her hoof out. “For Pinkie Pie.” The others glanced at each other nervously, before putting their hooves together. “For Pinkie Pie.” Each of them said. “Let’s get our friend back.” Rarity said, her voice filled with spite. With that, everyone split into groups to look for any sort of help. <><><><><><><><><><><><><> Fluttershy and Spike wandered the streets of Ponyville, carrying a single lantern to illuminate the dark, rainy atmosphere. “It’s too quiet... what if it’s right around the corner?” Fluttershy whimpered, following behind Spike. “Don’t worry. I’m here too. And if anything happens, we can just call for help.” Spike said reassuringly, but was extremely frightened himself. “Wait... listen...” he said. The two of them stopped and heard the wind and the rain, but another sound... the sound of paper flapping in the breeze. “It’s another page... it’s got to be nearby...” Fluttershy said cautiously. “Let’s look for it. We won’t be that far apart.” Spike said, stepping toward the darker sides of the house to light them up. Fluttershy followed the sounds of the paper, which she found stuck to a door. This time, the words CANT RUN were scribbled madly on the paper. As if that wasn’t enough to scare Fluttershy, she turned the page over. More words were printed and smeared on the other side, with only a few distinguishable words. “The creature is said to be able to extend its arms to any length at will, and relentlessly stalks anyone who sees it.” Amidst the smudges of ink on the page, there were more words from disconnected sentence fragments. “fear...” ,“ ...dying breath” ,and“ ... countless victims.” were a few words scattered in the paragraphs. “Aaaah!” A sudden shriek of terror startled Fluttershy. An icy chill ran through her spine as she looked around. “S-S-Spike?” she called out. No answer. Fluttershy set the note down, wandering back to where she last saw the little dragon. There was no activity, just the lantern sitting in the middle of the street. It wasn’t like Spike to just vanish. And that scream she heard earlier... what if something horrible happened to him? Did he run off in fear; or something much worse? Fluttershy walked toward the light, and her heart stopped as her hoof touched something other than the ground... she raised her hoof as she walked into the lantern’s light, and nearly fainted as it was covered in a black, shining goo. “AAAAAAggh!” Fluttershy screamed, as she horribly recalled what happened to Pinkie Pie after the monster’s grasp. Spike had fallen victim to the dark creature. Fluttershy looked up, and there, standing in the dim lighting, was the tall, skinny monster itself....
Mark of HorrorRarity and Rainbow Dash trotted through the rain, heading toward Pinkie Pie’s home. “Ugh... can’t we look for information on an evil, unknown creature when it’s sunny? This storm is ruining my mane!” Rarity said, keeping her soaked hair from flopping into her eyes. “Quit your whining! We have to find a way to get rid of that thing... if we can...” Rainbow said, muttering the last part of her sentence. A burst of lightning illuminated the area for a split second. With the sudden flash of light, Rarity could faintly see a page pinned to a building. “Rainbow, look! Another piece!” She said, trotting toward it. Rainbow Dash quickly cut her off. “Whoa, there. It could be a trap. It wants to lure us into the open.” she warned. The two cautiously looked around. They saw nothing out of the ordinary. "Look, it may be our only chance to find out what’s happening around here. And, if there’s any way to reverse whatever it has done to Pinkie.” Rarity whispered. “Fine. Let’s just make it quick.” Rainbow sighed. The two of them carefully walked toward the note. The words were just as crudely written as the other two. The first side read, “DONT LOOK... OR IT TAKES YOU”. “N-nothing scary about that.” Rainbow Dash said, trying to act brave when in truth, she was at her wits end. “What does the other side say?” Rarity flipped the page over, revealing more smears of ink. “It’s tendrils can easily ensnare anything. Legends tell of the creature wiping out entire villages...” The last sentence made Rarity shudder. They looked around, remembering the empty town that was once vibrant. Now, it was bleak, dark, and drained of any life or color. Rarity kept reading some of the remaining words. “Insanity...” “..eternal terror...” Rainbow Dash was practically shaking with fear. “Rainbow?” Rarity asked. “Gah! What!? I’m not scared!” She yelled, glancing around. Rarity put her hoof on her Rainbow Dash’s shoulder. “It’s alright to be scared. You’re not the only one afraid.” She said reassuringly. The pegasus took a deep breath, then pulled Rarity into a hug. Rarity, caught off guard, could hear her friend sobbing, which was unlike Rainbow Dash. Rarity helped her friend cope by returning the hug. “AAAAAAgh!” A blood-chilling scream tore through the air, and separated the two ponies. “What was that?” “It sounded like Fluttershy!” They said, looking in the direction of the horrid sound. Rainbow Dash sped off in its direction, mustering her willpower to save her friend. “Rainbow Dash! Wait!” Rarity said, struggling to follow behind. Fluttershy found herself face to face with the creature. Her instinct told her to run. Run, and never look back. As she sprinted away from the beast, hoping to gain some distance. However, that was not the case. The tendrils wrapped around Fluttershy’s leg, lifting her into the air. Fluttershy yelped in fear as she knew her fate was sealed. However, against all odds, her salvation arrived. A quick blur of color knocked the monster over, releasing Fluttershy. As she fell to the ground, she looked over to see what happened. Rainbow Dash had tackled the creature, causing it to drop Fluttershy. “Run! I’ll hold ‘em off!” She yelled as the creature focus its attention on Rainbow. “No! You’ll be-” “Just GO!” Rainbow shouted, as the creature overtook her. Fluttershy ran away, and ran hard, as tears streamed from her eyes. As she ran out of breath, she found Rarity. “Fluttershy! There you are! What happened to you?” The unicorn asked. Fluttershy looked down at her mane and body, and saw black marks that ran down her sides, where the tendrils gripped her. “Where’s Rainbow Dash? I saw her run down this way...” she asked. Fluttershy looked at Rarity with her big, watering eyes. “Sh-she’s gone! She gave herself for me!” She said, letting her eyes flow with her tears. Rarity held Fluttershy as she grieved over the loss of her fellow pegasus friend. Even Rarity began to shed a tear. “I’m sorry.” she whispered. A low, unnatural sound rumbled through the air. A sound so strange, so eerie, they were unable to determine wether it was a screech, a growl, or a whisper in some evil language. Without hesitation, the two sped through the streets, looking for Twilight and Applejack. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Sweet Apple Acres was even more desolate than Applejack remembered. Shadows flickered around every corner, creating illusions and suspense on the quiet barn. “Stay on your toes, and get ready for anything.” Twilight whispered. The unicorn waved her lantern toward the barn, dissolving the darkness around them. “Twilight...” Applejack said, pointing toward the barn door. Another piece of paper. Twilight and Applejack gently creeped toward the barnyard, careful of any sudden sounds or movement. The note simply bared a few hurriedly written words; LEAVE ME ALONE. “I don’t understand these notes one bit. Who’s writing them?” Twilight flipped the page over to see what other information they could scavenge. But the page was completely unreadable... “ Great. The rain must be making the ink run.” Twilight sighed, exasperated. The sounds of hooves rapidly hitting the road approached them. “Quick! Let’s hide in the barn!” Applejack said, panicking. She and Twilight ran into the barn, sealing the lock and hiding themselves under some hay. A few tense minutes passed. The hoof-steps quickened. As the sounds got close to the barn, the door started to shake. “Twilight! Let us in! Please!” “Applejack, hurry! You have to help us!” It was Rarity and Fluttershy, pounding on the door, begging to be let in. Applejack quickly leaped from her hiding spot and bucked the lock, causing Rarity and Fluttershy to fall into the barn. “Rarity! Fluttershy! Thank Celestia you’re alright! What happened?” Twilight said, looking at the black smears on Fluttershy’s coat. “I-it got to Rainbow Dash!” Rarity cried. “And Spike...” Fluttershy whimpered. “It’s probably coming toward us right now!” “Let’s get to the roof of the barn. We could use it as a look out.” Applejack said, shaking. After climbing up a few ladders and a staircase, the ponies stood on the barns roof, peering over all of Sweet Apple Acres. “I don’t see it anywhere. We’re safe for now.” Twilight stated. Rarity and Fluttershy were breathing hard and the rain seemed to let up a little. “Any luck finding out what this thing is?” The purple unicorn asked her shivering friends. Rarity and Fluttershy shook their heads before the strange noise they heard before sounded, louder and clearer. “Yaaagh!” Applejack screamed as the other ponies found her dangling from the edge. They rushed to her aid, as the creature had grabbed Applejack by the ankle, pulling her town toward the ground below. Twilight held on to Applejack’s hooves, trying to lift her back onto the roof. The monster was too strong, tugging the earth pony further from her friends. Rarity and Fluttershy held onto Twilight Sparkle to help her pull. As Applejack held onto her friends, she looked up at them with big, watering eyes. “I don’t want you to get hurt.” she said with a melancholy tone. “Applejack?...! No! I can’t let you!” Twilight said, discovering Applejack’s intentions. The orange pony paused. “ I’m sorry.... partner.” “Applejack, NO!” Twilight yelled, but it was too late... Applejack let go of her friends....
Never AloneTwilight was pulled back by Rarity and Fluttershy before she fell of the edge herself. Applejack however, closed her eyes as the monster enveloped another victim. Twilight began sobbing as four of her friends were already gone, and they were fighting a losing battle. A few short moments passed as sorrow took over the remaining ponies. However, the creature had not left. With a flash of lightning, the being appeared on the roof, casting an invisible aura of fear and terror. The ponies screamed and backed up, before stopping at the edge of the roof. The monster’s tendrils lashed out once more. In a selfless act, Rarity pushed Twilight and Fluttershy off the roof, allowing Fluttershy’s wings to gently ease their decent. “Aaaaaaeeeeee!” Rarity screamed as she too was effortlessly taken into the monster’s grasp. The dark, black liquid that signaled the monster’s victory started to drip down the edge of the barn. Fluttershy’s eyes widened as Rarity was now gone. “Fluttershy, we have to go. Now!” Twilight said, pushing the pegasus forward. Fluttershy and Twilight started running, but Fluttershy looked back. Rarity’s black ink dripped from the roof, and she spotted where Applejack fell down to the monster. The creature was no longer standing on the roof, which somehow frightened Fluttershy more. But they just kept running... The two soon arrived back at Twilight’s home, where they were the only two ponies left in Ponyville. “I-I can’t believe they’re gone...” Twilight said, shaking. “...and I don’t think there’s anything left for us...” She said, half-heartedly. “What? We’re just going to give up, just like that? B-but what about our friends?” Fluttershy said. “Fluttershy... there’s just nothing we can do. We don’t know anything about this thing, and it’s hunted us all down no matter where we run, and two ponies aren’t going to help anything. We can’t call Celestia and we can’t use the Elements of Harmony, our only fail-safe. I’m not even sure the Elements would work anyway...It’s only a matter of time before it gets to us...” Twilight said, sitting down as she accepted defeat. “Twilight...” Fluttershy said. The yellow pony had never seen her friend so deep in despair, so pessimistic toward their inevitable future. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, friends stick together, even when things look bleak.” The unicorn turned back, her eyes seething with tears and angst. “Look bleak?! Open your eyes, Fluttershy! Our friends are gone, there’s nothing we can to stop it, and it’s hunting us as we speak! You call this looking bleak!?” Twilight yelled. Fluttershy back up as she grew more scared of her friend. Twilight simply looked away sobbing, then galloped out the door. “Twilight, wait!” Fluttershy called out. But Twilight had already vanished in the storm. Fluttershy had literally just said that friends stick together. What kind of a friend would she be if she didn’t live up to her word? Fluttershy ran after Twilight Sparkle, the wind and rain obscuring her vision. “Twilight! Where are you?!” she yelled out into the storm. As she rounded a corner, she expected the worst. Unfortunately, she was right. The monster had its tentacles wound into a tight bundle, making the faint shape of a pony. The beast released its grasp, creating more inky black liquid. Then, it looked up at Fluttershy. It wanted to finish what it started. But Fluttershy felt something other than fear welling up inside her. Something she tucked away for a long time, and now sprang forward in her mind. She became the Fluttershy nopony ever wanted to see. Angry Fluttershy. She lifted herself off the ground with her wings, her irises stinging a searing red. “You come into my town, take my friends, hunt us down like animals...” She hissed at the creature, letting her emotions flow forward. “... and expect me to give up without a word?!” The creature lashed tentacles around the pony, but bound her much more slowly, as if feeding off every ounce of her hatred. “Go ahead! Do whatever it is you do! I swear that you will never know a moment’s peace as long as-” Her sentence stopped there as she was entirely enveloped. Fluttershy’s conscious mind had left her physical body. Her vision was nothing more than a dark void of any form of light or warmth. Her language was gone, too. Her thoughts and memories had completely vanished. She couldn’t even remember her own name. Hate. Fear. Pain. All of these things slowly settled around her, something stirred in the darkness. A small spark illuminated the void, and started pulling her in. The light felt warm and inviting, as it soon filled the spirits form. Then, everything returned in an instant. Love. Peace. Bliss. Fluttershy relived her entire memories in less than a second, as a voice echoed in the light. A familiar voice Fluttershy wish she would hear again. And it was calling her name. “Fluttershy, wake up. Wake up.” The pony slowly felt her physical form growing back, and found her eyes shut. Fluttershy opened her eyes. Fluttershy found herself lying in her bed, back in Ponyville. The sky was no longer cloudy and her pet rabbit Angel sat by her side. But what she never felt more happy to see was Rainbow Dash at the foot of her bed. “Fluttershy, are you O.K.? You were out for quite a while.” she said. The yellow pony leapt from her bed, hugging Rainbow Dash while tears streamed from her eyes. “Rainbow Dash! I had the most horrible dream! There was this tall, dark monster with tentacles that killed everyone! A-and you... you sacrificed yourself for me!” Fluttershy bawled, but Rainbow Dash stayed quiet. Fluttershy looked up to see her friend with a concerned look. “What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked. Rainbow Dash separated herself from the hug. “Fluttershy... I had that dream too... and so did the others. It was the exact same dream.” Fluttershy gasped, standing up. “What? We all had the same dream? But why?” She asked, more confused than ever. “I don’t know. Twilight told Princess Celestia about it. From the way the princess reacted, she said...” Rainbow Dash swallowed hard as she looked toward the village. “...it might have been a warning.” End...
