Chapter 2- Sinful Spirit

Scootaloo thrashed on the ground in a pile of damp, dead leaves. Her eyes lavender eyes shot open, expecting to see nothing but a stifling lake of blood engulfing her. However, she was only in a small tree-encircled clearing. Pale dawn light filtered through the limbs of the autumn-bare trees. As the young pegasus struggled to sit up, a sharp pain pierced her head. She reached up a hoof to touch the point of pain. There was a small bump and dried blood flaked off of her forehead.

Scootaloo leaned back with a sigh and clacked her head against something solid. She recoiled forward, grasping the back of her head with both hooves. She opened one eye and saw the tombstone behind her. All pain immediately vanished only for pure dread to replace it.

"I-I th-thought it was only a d-dream," she said, hoping that the sound of her voice would comfort her. However, it only made her feel even more painfully aware of her loneliness.

Then she realized there was nothing to be afraid of. There was no name on the stone, only a spot of dried blood where her head had connected with it during the night.

"Wait. What? If it rained, why would my blood still be…" Scoots faltered, unable to fight as a wave of nausea and disorientation swept over her. The night had taken its toll on the poor pegasus. Not only had concentrated fear formed a deep pit in her stomach, she was also so disoriented that she couldn't tell if what had happened was real or simply a dream. Her head spun and she retched. A foul, acidic liquid trickled out of her mouth, burning her throat on the way out. She coughed and sputtered. Small tears welled in her eyes from the pain of the acid reflux. She struggled to her full height, wavering because of the weakness caused by a night of fear and unrest.

Scootaloo lost all train of conscious thought. All she knew was that she needed to get out of here. The orange filly chose a direction opposite the tombstone and began to stumble through the dense forest. The dead brambles and leafless bushes snagged at her tail and wings. She stumbled often and twice fell. For some reason, Scoots couldn't bring herself to care. The pain in her head and stomach amounted to such an agonizing internal pain that physical pain was little cause to warrant her attention. Thus, she stumbled onwards, blindly, through the forest.

---

"Do you think she's okay?" Sweetie Belle asked.

She and Apple Bloom had returned that morning with Zecora. Fluttershy had slept through the entire night and had awoken to two extremely worried fillies arriving at the doorstep with the mysterious zebra that lived in the nearby forest.

"Scoots will be okay… I hope," Fluttershy replied not so comfortingly. The yellow pegasus was not known for her self-confidence but it rather unsettled the already disturbed girls.

When the fillies had reached Zecora's house, they had realized that their winged friend was nowhere in sight. They gave an effort to try to locate the young pegasus, but it was too dark and stormy to search for long. Even after enlisting Zecora's help, they had no luck and were forced to retire to the zebra's hut for the remainder of the night.

"We should go back out there and look for her!" said Apple Bloom. "Come on! Let's go!" she began to charge off.

"No! Wait!" Sweetie Belle called.

Apple Bloom turned and walked back to her purple-maned friend. "What do you mean no? Scootaloo is our friend and we should search that forest as long as it takes. I don't care that the Everfree Forest spans hundreds of miles! I'll explore every inch of it to find her."

"But we don't have to," said Sweetie Belle.

"Of course we do!" the yellow earth pony threw back.

The white unicorn filly rolled her green eyes. "No we don't. Look there." Sweetie Belle pointed to the tree line with a hoof. Stumbling precariously out of the forest was Scootaloo.

The two other Cutie Mark Crusaders rushed over to their friend's side. The orange pegasus wore a blank expression. Her pelt was covered in scratches, some thorns still clinging to her. Her head was bruised, and a bit of dried blood dripped from a small, scabbed-over wound.

"Are you okay?" Sweetie Belle asked urgently. Scootaloo shook her head.

"No, I don't feel so… good. I need to get some… sleep." Scoots' eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed to the ground.

"She's out cold!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "Hurry! Go get Fluttershy!"

For a second, Sweetie Belle stood there stupidly, a bit bewildered at everything going on. Apple Bloom looked into the white unicorn's eyes and shouted louder, "Now!" Sweetie Belle took off toward the cottage as fast as her legs could carry her.

---

Scootaloo opened her eyes slowly. She knew there was a candle nearby, judging by the soft aura that illuminated the room around her. A window was nearby, yet no light streamed through. It was nighttime.

"Where… am I?" she asked groggily to herself. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she could make out more of the room. It was Fluttershy's room. Nopony was in the room with her. Scootaloo rubbed her eyes with her hooves and sat upright. A clock nearby read 11:30. Was it that late?

Scoots shrugged and slid out of the bed. Her wings hung limply at her side. She was too exerted to bother folding her wings properly. She went downstairs and entered the living room. There sleeping peacefully with her back to her was Fluttershy.

Agonizing pain flared in Scoots' head. Her heart flared with an unnatural hot feeling. She crumpled to the ground, the pain so severe she couldn't scream. Only a few whimpers escaped her; even that caused her chest to ache even more. Voices echoed in her head. …Kill… Eliminate…Revenge…Hatred…Destroy…

A red haze clouded Scootaloo's sight, tinting everything scarlet. Suddenly, her body seized up. She stood, yet she hadn't told her body to. Was this another dream? She grabbed a picture frame hanging on a wall and smashed it into the ground, fracturing the glass. Fluttershy stirred but didn't get up. The orange pegasus filly grabbed a long sliver of glass with a wicked looking point in her mouth. Then she turned to face the sleeping form on the couch. Oh, no. Run, Fluttershy. Run! Scoots wanted to shout those words but her body rebelled. It was like watching a movie where something terrible was going to happen and you were powerless to stop it.

She was over the sleeping pegasus now. Scootaloo tried to turn around, to drop the glass shard, anything. Then she placed the glass between the Fluttershy's shoulder blades. Scootaloo tried to close her eyes, but she was forced to watch as her own body performed deplorable deeds against her will.

"Ouch! What was… Ow! Scootaloo, what are you… AHH! No! STOP! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Scootaloo felt blood spatter her fur. I'm so sorry, she thought miserably. Even though she couldn't control her body, a single tear still managed to slip from the filly's eye.

---

"Where is she?" Rainbow asked, flying back and forth.

She, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity were in the park waiting for Fluttershy to show up. It was noon and the five ponies had been waiting for the yellow pegasus to arrive for the picnic. Now, thirty minutes had passed, and Rainbow was getting restless.

"I reckon we should start eatin' without 'er. I'm starvin' half to death!" Applejack suggested.

"No," said Rainbow, "She said she'd be here. She has to show up!"

"Listen, dear. We are all quite famished. I doubt she would mind if we took a few bites in her absence," Rarity replied.

Rainbow Dash sighed impatiently. She refused to eat without Fluttershy, even if her own stomach was growling hungrily. What kind of loyalty would that be? "That's it!" she announced, "I'm going to see what's taking so long." Rainbow turned tail and made to leave the picnic area when she heard Applejack's voice.

"I'm goin' with 'er," said the orange earth pony.

"If you want to," Rainbow said.

"Hey! I'll go, too," said Twilight Sparkle.

"Okay! Let's g—"

"I think I have half a mind to tag along," said Rarity.

Rainbow sighed. Why did everypony have to show up just to fetch one pony? Oh, well; what did it matter? She realized one pony hadn't offered to come. "What about you Pinkie Pie?"

The pink pony was sitting still. Suddenly, her entire body shuddered violently. That was not a good sign. Pinkie had an unusual ability that she called 'Pinkie Sense'. Sometimes, she would get little feelings that often gave little hints to the future. And a full body shake usually meant something much unexpected was going to happen.

"I'll… go," said Pinkie Pie reluctantly, "but I have a bad feeling about this."

"Alright," said Rainbow, "Let's go." The blue pegasus was a little worried. Pinkie's unique ability rarely showed itself, but when it did, the prediction was almost never wrong.

The band of friends set off from the park. The path to Fluttershy's cottage was relatively short and the five ponies arrived within thirteen minutes. Rainbow began to approach the house when Twilight stopped her.

"Wait," said the lavender unicorn. "Something seems… off."

Rainbow looked to her friend then back at the seemingly peaceful cottage. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Then it hit her. There was an odd scent in the air. It smelled foul; nothing Rainbow Dash had ever had the displeasure of smelling before. It was very faint, but it was definitely there. It smelled kind of like something rotting. Like death.

"I'm scared," Pinkie whimpered. As if to instill fear in everypony else, her body was wracked with another violent tremor. Not a soul dared go up to the door that had just become foreboding. None except Rainbow Dash.

"I'll go ahead and take a look," she said, bravely stepping closer to the door. Nopony stopped her, yet none accompanied her. The scent of decay grew stronger as she came closer to the door. Taking a breath, she knocked on the door. No answer.

"Hello! You in there?" Dash called. Still no reply.

Rainbow took a deep gulp. She tested the doorknob. It was unlocked. The door creaked open slowly. Instantly, the scent of fear and death overpowered Rainbow Dash. She gagged on the thick, sickly aroma. The room was pitch black. The darkness seemed to suck all light from Rainbow's soul. All emotions of courage and hope fled, leaving fear and despair in its place. She fumbled around for a light switch to illuminate the dark room. Rainbow slipped and landed in something wet that reeked with the rank scent.

After pulling herself to her hooves and shaking out the foul liquid, Rainbow found what she was looking for: the lamp. She turned it on and instantly regretted the action. What she saw pierced her heart. This room was what Hell must be like. Blood drenched everything. It was spattered walls and soaked the furniture. Pools of it covered the floor. Bones and chunks of decaying flesh were strewn throughout the room. A skull was on the table was on the table next to a bowl filled with what looked like brain matter and a heart. But the centerpiece of the room hung upon the wall. It was Fluttershy. Well, it had been. It was her skin, removed from the body with cruel precision. The wings spread out and her fore hooves reached for the ceiling as if she were Celestia, raising the sun. Bloodstains marred the yellow fur. Trails of it streaked her cheeks and legs and back. The trails crisscrossed in many places. Wait. It wasn't happenstance. The blood trails formed, no, spelled something. Revenge of the fallen soul.

Rainbow Dash felt tears rise up in her eyes. She tilted her head to the ceiling and let out a grievous caterwaul. This place was more than she could tolerate. The carnage surrounded her. The blood was even clinging to her fur. But through all the disgusting litter around her, one emotion pushed away nausea and fear. It was grief. Her friend was gone forever. Fluttershy was dead.

---

Twilight Sparkle watched as Applejack dragged Rainbow's bloody, unconscious body from the cottage. At first the lavender unicorn had thought the blood belonged to Rainbow Dash. However, the orange cowpony assured her that the blood did not belong to the polychromatic pegasus. Yet her brief feeling of relief was ripped away as soon as Applejack described the butchery inside the cottage.

After at least a half hour of tear-drenched grief, Twilight sobered herself up. She left her mourning friends and walked slowly home. The buildings she passed were less colorful and the ponies she passed blurred into the background. She thought somepony had tried to talk to her, but she didn't take any notice.

"Why did Fluttershy have to go? There was not a single bad bone in her fragile body. What would drive anypony to do something so horrible?" As she talked to herself piteously, she found herself before the library where she lived. Memories of the yellow pegasus flashed through mind at a thousand miles per hour. There were happy memories and sad ones. Their first meeting, their encounters with the various villains of Equestria, memories of being strong through the toughest of times all flashed through her head. But now that's all she had left of Fluttershy: memories. She would never again hear her gentle voice. She would never see her frolicking and nurturing her woodland animals. She would never see her bold, courageous side that showed itself once in a blue moon. She would never see Fluttershy again.

Tears began to flow down her face. Through the tears, though, a spark lit deep in her heart. It was an emotion rarely unleashed. Rage. The fires inside began to melt the shell of sadness that threatened to encase her. This murderer deserved judgment. With a few tears still on her cheeks, she burst through her front door.

"SPIKE!" she yelled, calling for her dragon assistant. The purple dragon was there within seconds. He seemed puzzled by her furious tone, but he would soon understand.

"Take a letter," Twilight commanded brusquely. "Dear Princess Celestia, Today is a sad day for Ponyville. Fluttershy, one of my closest friends, has been found dead. It is unclear who this murderer is, but he must be found and judged! I request you send assistance in finding and capturing this rogue slaughterer. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle."

Spike looked up after finishing the message "What happened to—"

"Just send it," Twilight interrupted. Spike obediently breathed magic fire onto the scroll, sending it directly to the princess. Twilight Sparkle stormed up to her room and collapsed on the bed. Suddenly, the fire extinguished in her heart. The sadness came flooding back like a tsunami. She wept all through the night.