So yeah, it's MLP:FIM fanfic where I'm going to rant about grimness and darkness... Well, it's gonna be much heavier than the atmosphere from the cartoon. Fluttershy will serve here as a main character, the others from main group are likely to be secondary characters(Possibly with an exception of Twilight). OC's will be featured though they're made specifically under that fanfic, aren't really developed and will evolve as the story will progress. NO SLASH, NO ROMANCE.

Also... Humans will appear. I'm not sure how is it to the Equestria as a land: Were they existing at all or maybe not? Anyways, since I'm far from watching Season 2, I'm taking a different approach to the situation, so no Discord, folks.

Finally, my English isn't especially the best out here, so please, forgive me any mistakes and point out if you have problems when context isn't enough.

Other than that, have fun and enjoy.


Chapter 1 – A pony and a human

Ponies from Ponyville usually didn't go to the Everfree Forest. This strange place gained its reputation as being absolutely unpredictable and settled with various predators, dangerous for the pony folk. Poisonous plants, agressive animals... Ordinary, civilized ponies weren't hanging out near this place.

Fluttershy, however, wasn't described by their standards.

It was a common knowledge that this pink-maned pegasus is an expert when dealing with animals. Using her calm, quiet and sweet voice as well as treating them with almost motherly hospitality, she loved her little friends and they loved her as well. When encountering with more dangerous creatures, like cockatrices for example, she was able to stare them off which at first seemed to be totally insane... But when anypony looked at these eyes, full of kindness and comprehension and yet determined and even stubborn at times, everypony knew that she knows what she's doing.

On the other hand, she seemed to have problems while interracting with other citizens of Ponyville. Being shy and rather socially awkward, she got a lot of laughs at her when she was younger. She remembered all those laughs very well and it was bothering her since now.

There was a reason why Fluttershy was living alone, at the edge of The Everfree Forest. Though she did have friends, she still was smiling the most when with her animal friends. On the other hand, the mysterious place next to her cottage also wasn't her favourite. She wasn't visiting The Forest often...

However, this time she had to.

One of her new friends, a rabbit similar to Angel, escaped. She wasn't sure, why would he do such a thing. Was she too harsh for him? Or maybe she wasn't doing something right? Maybe she offended him somehow?

Pegasus was watching the traces of rabbit's feet. They had ran off the main route, much to Fluttershy's nervousness. „Oh my goodness...", she thought with anxiety, slowly going after the fugitive. He'd ran very erratically, making circles and backtracking. „Oh, this little guy's now all alone in the veary heart of the Everfree Forest. He must be so scared... I need to find him!", she thought, now motivated even more than before.

There was no path, rabbit was running through scrub so thick it was hard for Fluttershy to advance even a little bit forward. Not to mention it was hard to see anything through that tall grass... But eventually, she emerged on small glade. The place had some strange, eerie feeling as if danger was lurking from behind the trees. Pink-maned pegasus didn't care for it now though. Her goal was to find the little rabbit and take care of him...

That's when she found him. Her eyes went wide when she had seen him. He was trapped in some device she'd never encountered before. It looked like jaws of some dragon or hydra, but they were made from rusting metal. It was now closed, clenching its horriyfing teeth on rabbit's left foot.

In fact, his foot was already cut off and he was lying just next to this strange construction, slowly bleeding from his wound and crying with a weak, helpless voice. Fluttershy gasped in sheer horror and rushed towards him, panicking.

She had never seen such a cruel thing. What was it? It didn't looked as made by the hoof of a pony. The sole fact that rabbit's foot wasn't just hurt but separated from the rest of the body was so... fiendish. So... weird. She wasn't sure what to do. It wasn't a scratch or even a broken leg or a big wound. It was... a bestiality.

She was frustrated. She didn't took any medicine with her, assuming nothing will happen. Then again, what could she do against such a wound...?

„No, I cannot give up now!", she thought, determined. She extended her wings and slowly took the bleeding rabbit in her front hooves and put him on her wings. Would she be able to got him to her cottage, find some bandages and save him...? Perhaps Twilight's magic could do something about this severed limb...

That's when she noticed this strange figure emerging from The Forest. It was... unusual, something she had never seen before... Wait, no. She did see it, but it was in one of the books Twilight borrowed to her. „Myths and Legends of Equestria", it was saying. The creature now standing in front of her was tall, about the size of the Diamond Dog. It was standing on two legs and was fully clothed, only with its face seen. Fluttershy assumed the creature was male: It had facial hair, although it was rather not well-preserved. The creature was smiling, in one of his hands holding a... net. The smile wasn't a pleasant one, more like a grimace of truly deranged being. His green eyes glowed when he chuckled quietly.

„My, my, what do we have here?" He said to himself, watching both terrified pony and dying rabbit. „Such beautiful pony..." He chuckled once more, taking a step forward. „You're pretty valuable, pony, believe it or not. Personally I hate things such as you and I'd blast your head clean off if not the fact I'm short on cash... Well, business beckons." Fluttershy didn't know what to do. Her instinct told her to run, but her hooves were like stuck into quicksands from fear. It wasn't because of this net nor because this strange, hostile creature was trying to catch her along with her little, injured friend.

His clothing... It was made from leather.

„Let the pony go." Another voice came up from the woods. Yet another creature similar to the latter appeared, but this one seemed... Different. „We're not slavers."

„Damn, Hier, what a bad timing." The other one growled, turning back to his companion. „Come on, consider it an extra for the last hunting."

„It's a sentient being, Ford. Besides, I doubt her missing will go unnoticed." The cleaner one stated. „Her friends may want to look for her... And it may trigger something that WE don't want to walk over again."

„Shucks, as always, breaking my fun. Well, pony, your lucky day. Just gimme the rabbit and you're free to go." Fluttershy woke up from her feeling of fear. She dared to look into the green eyes of the bearded creature and utter a statement.

„...No." The other one seemed intrigued while the first one apparently was both shocked and angered.

„What did you say?" He barked, taking another step.

„Ford, calm down. You're embarassing yourself."

„Calm down? How the hell would I want to calm down? That stupid mare just refused to give me this damn rabbit!"

„If she wants do take him, her decision. We shouldn't interfere. Also, it really is barely skin and bones..."

„Stop getting in my way, Hier, at least for now!" The bearded one suddenly grabbed the rabbit despite its weak, desperate cries.

„No, don't! You're hurting him!" Fluttershy cried, terrified. All this horror... Was it really a reality?

„Mindless animals don't have feelings, pony. They're just animals... And don't deserve anything special."

„You're... You're wrong! How dare you hurt him like that?" Fluttershy could feel that her Stare is kicking in the action. „Now, I don't know who are you and what are you, but you should feel ashamed of yourself! Our little friends are like little brothers and sisters to us, we simply cannot harm them. It's a downright bestiality! It is like you were attacking your own family!" Much to Fluttershy's surprise, the creature didn't seem to calm down and even get angered as he started growling like an angry bloodhound and squeezed the neck of the rabbit that was now trying to fight with iron grip of the creature.

Futile.

The bearded being dropped the rabbit, its neck snapped. Fluttershy's eyes went wide from the shock. Did he just... He just killed that little, adorable rabbit? For no reason?

„My family is dead... BECAUSE OF YOUR FUCKIN' RACE, YOU LITTLE...!" As he uttered these words made of pure rage and hate, he picked up something from hip's height, his eyes blazing with madness. Suddenly, the loud boom-like sound pierced the sky and the bearded creature simply slipped to the ground and stopped moving. Fluttershy didn't know what to do, being shocked and looking at the remaining creature, who was now holding some strange device that pegasus has never seen before. It was shaped in some kind of letter „L", made from metal. The creature was holding the broader part of the „L" while from the narrower part a tiny, barely visible cloud of smoke escaping from it through the end of the device. The creature sighed.

„I was hoping it won't come down to this." He said, looking at the dead rabbit. „Then again, I've never liked him anyway." He turned his stare in the direction of Fluttershy. „I'm sorry you had to go through all this, pony. Most of us have their reasons to hate your kind, so let's just say you didn't see me here nor you know anything about us." The creature turned his back and was about to leave. „Oh... I'm sorry for the rabbit. It's gotta be tough to lost someone we love in such a trivial way. Farewell and I hope that for your own good, we'll never see each other." The strange creature left, leaving Fluttershy with the dead rabbit.

She didn't know how and when did she returned, being in shock. Both the fact how it ended and that she knew what were those creatures.

Though seen only in myths and legends, they had the reputation of one of the most cruel and mindlessly destructive, rivaling with seemingly non-sentient beings like Hydras. The myth says that they were banished by the ruler of Equestria and never returned... Until now.

Humans. The creatures that were used to scare young fillies and colts when they were especially nasty. Said to have absolutely no reedeming qualities and being the closest to pure evil in Equestria, they were feared by many other beings.

But... That one human did save her from the other one... hasn't he? He could do something and not let her go...

Fluttershy was tired. All those events today... She also needed to head to the graveyard and dig yet another grave.

„Fluttershy, my dear!" A voice surprised pink-maned pony. She noticed white unicorn with purple, stylishly done mane and tail rushing towards her.

„Oh... Good evening, Rarity." Fluttershy responded with weak voice, summoning rather insincere smile.

„Where have you been, darling? Everypony was worried about you, we couldn't find you anywhere." Rarity said in concerned tone. That's when she noticed dead rabbit on one of Fluttershy's wings. Her eyes went wide when she noticed how much brutalized it was. „Oh my... My goodness. Wha-what happened to this... this poor thing?"

„I found him like that... I'm-I'm sorry, Rarity, but... I'm not in the talking mood right now." Fluttershy resumed her slow march towards her cottage, leaving astonished unicorn.

She really was tired. She wanted to forget.

Just as this human told her. Forget about his very existence.

Could she?


Okay, it has been far harder then I thought it'll be, but there you go, the first chapter. Be kind and review.