At the Light of the Moon - Chap 1 - Shadow in the Night
It was late one night and Fluttershy was in her cottage, sipping a cup of tea she had just brewed. She sat curled up on a sofa with a lavender, soft blanket covering her. A pillow was behind Fluttershy's head. Angel, Fluttershy's pet rabbit, sat next to her.
All of a sudden, the door burst open, causing Fluttershy and Angel to jump in fright. This caused Fluttershy's tea to pour on her blanket.
Fluttershy noticed it was none other than the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They seemed pretty worried.
"Girls, what are you doing at my cottage at such a late hour? You should be at home, sleeping."
"Shouldn't you be sleeping as well, then?" asked Sweetie Belle, Rarity's little sister.
Fluttershy simply chuckled. "Sweetie Belle, I'm an adult pony," she stated. "I get to sleep whenever I want, whenever I like."
"Anyways..." said Scootaloo. "Me and Sweetie Belle were having a sleepover at Applebloom's. We were gonna play Truth or Dare, when we heard chicken clucks and growling. We decided to go downstairs to find out so we went into the Apple Orchard and saw chicken tracks and large pawprints scrawled in the ground. They led from the chicken coop all the way to Everfree Forest. And we need your help on finding the chicken."
"Oh dear," said Fluttershy, setting her cup of tea on a coffee table. "That's terrible news. And those growls and pawprints must mean timberwolves were chasing down the chickens, or worse."
Fluttershy removed her blanket and got up from her sofa and headed to the doorway. "Can we come with you?" asked Applebloom, the little sister of Applejack.
"No," said Fluttershy sternly. "The Everfree Forest is no place for a young filly to be. Only grownup ponies go to the Everfree Forest. Sorry, girls, but this is a job for me to handle."
"Aww!" whined Scootaloo, her ears drooping down.
Fluttershy smiled. "But you can stay here and take care of Angel Bunny while I'm gone."
"Fine!" groaned Scootaloo.
"I'll be back soon," said Fluttershy. And with that she headed outside and closed the door.
Fluttershy walked into the Everfree Forest and, sure enough, chicken tracks and large pawprints were in the ground. Fluttershy carefully examined them and figured those were the pawprints of a grey wolf. That's odd, thought Fluttershy. Grey wolves are uncommon in Equestria. Usually only Timberwolves are the only kinds of wolves you can find.
Fluttershy gulped. Although she was a grown mare, that did not mean she wasn't scared of the Everfree Forest. Unexpected surprises are usually found there and most ponies who go there don't come back alive.
But Fluttershy knew what she had to do. She wasn't the kind of pony who broke her promises. The yellow mare gathered up all her courage and walked into the deep, scary forest.
Fluttershy followed the footprints until they stopped. Instead, a bloody trail of pawprints was there.
The yellow pegasus gasped. She had realized what had happened. A grey wolf must've killed the chicken, she thought. Fluttershy sighed. "I guess I'll have to tell the girls of this unfortunate event," she said to herself. She was about to leave when a shadow sped through.
Fluttershy stopped cold. Fluttershy scanned the forest but saw nothing. She guessed the jitters she got from visiting the Everfree Forest caused her to imagine things. When she was about to continue the full moon cast the same shadow, speeding through. Fluttershy stopped again.
She scanned the forest but still saw nothing. Fluttershy waited a while. Nothing happened. She couldn't hear anything either. Fluttershy was about to lift a hoof to take another step when a furry creature leapt on her. The creature was so heavy Fluttershy collapsed under its weight.
The yellow pegasus saw a furry, silver paw. She gasped. A grey wolf had leapt on her. She heard soft growling. Before she knew it, the wolf bit her on the neck. Fluttershy yelped in pain. She quickly kicked the wolf away and ran off in fright.
When Fluttershy reached her cottage she opened the door and slammed it. She saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders gussing Angel up by making him wear silly, poofy mini-dresses and he wore makeup and apparantly had a new hairstyle as well. The snow-white bunny did not seem impressed. "Girls, you have to leave right now," said Fluttershy.
"But why?" asked Scootaloo. "And where's the chicken?" "Girls, you have to get home before you get hurt!" cried Fluttershy.
Suddenly, Sweetie Belle saw the bite marks on Fluttershy's neck. "Hey Fluttershy, what's up with the wounds on your-"
"Girls, you have to leave RIGHT NOW," said Fluttershy, performing her stare. The CMC were frightened and immiediately left.
Fluttershy sighed. "Sorry that they dressed you up, Angel," said the yellow pony, removing the glitter and dresses and wiping off the makeup while undoing the "hairstyle".
Angel squeaked and hopped off the sofa. Fluttershy yawned and curled up on her sofa and pulled the blanket over her, and set the pillow under her head. She would've cleaned and treated the wound she got but she was much too tired.
The Element of Kindness fluttered her dark turquoise eyes before finally falling asleep. What the poor mare didn't know was the chain of events this would lead to.