Guard and the six

We sip tea in a comfortable silence, the downpour still raging outside. If this keeps going, I’m going to stay here the night. That is, if she would even let me. Generosity can only go so far. I look out the window. Rain is smashing itself relentlessly onto the window. Those angry dark clouds aren’t going to let up anytime soon.

“So, how long have you lived here?" I ask , trying to start up a conversation.

“Oh I lived here almost all of my life. I did go to the flight school in Cloudsdale for a little while, but other than that I’ve lived here." Fluttershy says quietly. "Where do you come from?” she asks, her voice just above a whisper.

“Oh I came from Canterlot. I’m actually here to guard Ponyville and wait to get my wings healed." I tell her, taking another sip of my tea.

“Oh...ok.” She says, silent as ever. I turn my head back at the window to see the almighty presents of Mother Nature. The sky has turned dark and by the looks of things, I think it may be nighttime by now. The slow rumble of thunderclouds can be heard in the distance and all I see still see is rain. I don’t know why I keep looking outside, nothing is going to change for a while.

“Hey Fluttershy, do you know about a place that I can stay at tonight or even some type of shelter?” I ask quickly. I really don’t want to be a burden any more than I should.

“Oh but it’s still raining outside, aren’t you afraid you will get a cold?" She says with a concerned tone.

“I think I’ll be fine but thank you for the concern.” I set down my tea and walk over to my items. I carefully balance them on my back, near my wings.

“Oh…Well if you’re looking for a place to stay you can run over to Cloudcroft Cottage." She says, picking up the cups. "It usually stays in the clouds, but when it rains like this it has to land.It should be nearby, just follow the path west and you should come across it." She flies over to her sink and puts the cups down. She then walks over to the door and holds it open for me.

“Well thank you for the tea and everything Miss Fluttershy but I must leave now." I say, not knowing how to thank her. She smiles a little and looks away, hiding behind her hair. "It was no problem." she says. "I hope you make it there okay."

I nod and smile back. "Goodbye, and thanks for the tea." I say, running into the rainstorm heading and along the path west into the forest.

The warmth I once had is taken away quickly as the rain soaks though my fur.  I immediately regret this decision.  The mud slow me down till my original sprint turns into a walk. My hooves make a gentle plopping sound as they free themselves from the wet earth. I continue to walk against the rain trying to get to the supposed shelter as fast as I can. The forest trees loom over me, their leaves not doing much to stop the rain. I continue walking to the hills of fields of Ponyville, just outside some kind of apple orchard. There I see it Cloudcroft Cottage.

I break into a slow trot, trying not to get tripped up on the mud. I walk to the cottage with a warm glow coming from within. It’s a cloud about two times as big as Fluttershy's cottage. I stand on the doorstep and open the door. I’m greeted by another Pegasus, a brown coated fellow whose smile is almost as big as his face.

“Hello there!” he greets me, the warmth flowing out of his voice. “Welcome to Cloudcroft Cottage! My name is Iron Cloud, but you can call me Iron for short.  A night’s stay is 5 bits, food and drink are 3. So what can I help you with?"

“Well I need a room until the storm dies down." I say. "Also some food for me, please” I add as an afterthought. I didn't realize how hungry I had become.

I dig out 8 bits out of my coin bag. I hand it to him and in return he gives me a key. “Okay, your room is at the end of the hall. Room 4. I'll bring down your food in a minute.” he says. I thank him and head down the hallway to my room. It has a small bed filled with hay, a small bed table, and a bookshelf in the corner of the room and a fireplace at the opposite end of the room . It’s quite a large room, about 5 meters across. I guess things do look bigger on the inside.

I set my things down by the bed table and fall into bed. The hay provides a strange softness, making my eyes slowly flutter shut. I hear a knock at the door and reluctantly get up to answer it. It's Iron again with the food balanced precariously across his back.

“Here ya go sir! One plate of hay fries and fresh pansies.” He says placing the plate on my table. "Enjoy!"

“Thank you” I say turning to my delicious food items. The pansies look delicious and I can’t wait to dive into those fries. I eat the pansies first, savoring their delicate flavor. Very well done. the fries are delicious. Perfectly crisp as, I like them. My plate now empty of its contents. I  put outside so that Iron can retrieve it. I lay back in my bed and let sleep overtake me.

"Wh-were am I?" I say out loud to myself. The infinite blackness all around me scares me as I keep walking forward. I hear nothing except my own hoof steps. I am clad in the standard Canterlot armor suit, the ruffle of my wings brushing against the steel and gold does little to calm me.

Out in the distance I can see something. Looks like a mare, blonde mane and white fur. I try to get closer but whenever I walk forward I never seem to get closer.

“Hello? Can you hear me?” I try to call out to her, but she doesn’t seem to hear. Suddenly, I am tripped up by something clinging onto my hoof. I look behind me and it’s a tendril. I get pulled by the tendril towards a dark form.

It is something out of a little foals nightmare. An alicorn, slightly bigger than Princess Celestia. Something is strange about it though. Is that...two pairs of wings? Twisted face, red eyes to match an equally red mane, and a mouthful of  sharp gleaming teeth. I freeze. I have never seen something more terrifying in my life.

I begin trying to break away but he just holds me with that damn tendril, laughing a laugh that can drive a full grow stallion to tears. He picks me up and forces me to stare into those blood red eyes of his. His almighty black form seems to be getting bigger by the second. His grip on my neck getting stronger! My neck snaps and everything fades to black.

"Agh!"

I snap awake, sitting upright on the rented bed.  A cold sweat covers me and my heartbeat is racing faster than that one Pegasus who won the "Best Young Flier Competition". Who was she again? Oh, Right. Rainbow Dash. That was her name.

I shake my head and chuckle at myself for getting distracted like that. With a shaky hoof, I reach up to my neck to see if it is still intact. I touch it and I feel a spark of pain. I gasp slightly and light a lantern to look in the mirror.

My eyes adjust and I look at my reflection examining my neck. In the firelight I can see that a dripping ring of blood, surrounding the perimeter of my neck.