Chapter XVI: Pain and Suffering

"W-well… Here we are! My home sweet home." She showed me the interior of the house as she spoke. It ain't that bad actually, the bad thing is there are animals in every corner of the house, covering every ground! It felt like I was live from the crime scene.

"Uhhh… 'Shy? Why are there so many animals around here?" I asked her,

"Oh, it's because I take care of animals. That's what my Cutie Mark is about; taking care of animals is my specialty!"

"Huh… Nice."

I worked my way to the couch since the house is full of animals, and sat right down.

"Uhm… Excuse me, everyone. Please go outside for a minute, I have a guest." She pleaded with the animals. All of a sudden, the animals went outside in one single nanosecond.

"Holy Mother of…"

"I can also talk to animals and in some way, the animals understand me." She explained. She trotted to kitchen as I followed her.

"Hey 'Shy. These Cutie Marks, how special are they to you?"

"Oh, they are really really special. It shows what kind of special talent you have. Like for example, Rarity has three blue gems as her Cutie Mark, shows her passion for designing clothes. Pinkie has three balloons, it represents her love for laughter and happiness."

"Well, if you put it that way, you kinda sound like Twilight for some reason." I joked, and she giggled back. Without a warning, I felt weak somehow; like an energy leech sucking all of my energy. I turned to look at Fluttershy, and then a vision appeared.

A vision crept up on me; these visions were somehow felt real. Like I was teleported to another dimension and I can even sense everyone's presence, it was weird.

My vision involved Fluttershy…

Her lifeless corpse…lying on the floor, it was horrible! Eggs were hatching inside of her ruptured belly as appendages slips out of all of all the possible holes that it could enter. Seeing this horrible disturbing scene made me frozen solid in utter horror, it was so disturbing…

"'S-S-Shy?" I stuttered as I walked near her lifeless corpse. Creatures crawling everywhere, their appearances match of those so-called Changelings.

I kneeled down as tears fall down my eyes… I grit my teeth, anger rising. I decided to stay for a while, so I stood up, live from the crime scene, and studied my surroundings, inspecting everywhere for solid evidences of her death like I was playing it Bogart. And then I saw a little blue box lying on the ground, I picked it up and inspected it. Unexpectedly, I was brought to a flashback where Twilight gave that exact box to Fluttershy and then the following events were horrible and yet disgusting. Hearing hoofsteps outside, I phased through the door only to see a red stallion, whose Cutie Mark is a big green apple sliced in half. Could this be Big Macintosh, Applejack's brother?

Seeing his nervousness on his face, another flashback appeared about Big Mac. He was said to be the father of Fluttershy's soon-to-be born baby.

"Wait… What? Are you fucking shitting me right now?" I whispered.

He was nervous because he thought 'Shy would be worried sick of him. I stayed a little while later to find out but when Big Mac opened the door, the small creatures attacked him viciously. Here I was, halfway down the world, looking at a red stallion being eaten by those changelings.

It made me feel guilty… Yet I don't know why.

I glanced out of the window as I stride towards it. Up on the hill, I noticed somepony standing, watching the house like a hawk.

"…Twilight?"

I went to her and looked at her. She was smiling, but it wasn't any other normal smile… It was SINISTER. Out of nowhere, I saw her eyes glowing green. It was suspicious enough to know that she isn't Twilight. Another one of those flashbacks appeared in my head; Routing her synapses, it was Queen Chrysalis all along!

"NOOOOOO!" I snapped back into the real world. I opened my eyes to see that I am holding a knife, blood dripping on my mouth and Fluttershy trembling in fear. Realizing what is happening, I placed the knife down the counter and went to the sink,

"PTUI! Ugh… what happened?" I asked her.

"Y-Y-Y…. I… *faints*"

"Uh-huh… "

Fluttershy woke up after a few hours. I was sitting right beside of her bed,

"Fluttershy, are you okay?"

"Y-yeah… I'm fine now. What happened?"

"You fainted."

"How?"

"I was… I dunno, having a vision, maybe. And then when I snapped back to the real world, you were shaking and scared, and then you fainted."

"A vision?"

"Maybe… Yet, I'm not so sure it was…"

"Awwww… come here you poor human."

I rested my head over 'Shy's lap. Still, I was alive if not exactly well. These visions I have been having, they're like a linear sequence of scares. It was so weird and so disturbing and yet I still can't explain where are these all coming from? I was in the middle of something,and the out of fucking nowhere these parade of hallucinations appear which involves pain and suffering. Christ, why is this happening?

"Don't worry, I'll be here for you. If you need anything, come to me or the Mane 6 if necessary."

"Heh, thanks 'Shy."

She kissed me in the lips passionately, I chuckled and she giggled back. That was the first sign that I was a bit closer to heaven.

"I love you, my little Wyan…"

"I love you too, 'Shy. I like the way you call me that."

"And I like the way you call me too."

Her words were like a drug to my ears, I can't stop listening to what she says.

"Do you need anything, 'Shy?"

"No, I'm fine."

"I love you, mare friend…"

"I love you more, BOY friend…"

We shared giggles and laughs, poked each other for fun and so many more that we had a bonding time together alone in the house. But something feels strange, like someone is watching me. An ANGEL OF DEATH…

My thoughts were washed when 'Shy spoke,

"What did you see in that vision of yours anyway?" She asked,

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Why not?"

I didn't respond… I don't want to talk about even though it's my loved one or the dearest of all my friends.

"Fluttershy, I love you. But I don't want talk about it since it involves you."

"Well… okay, I can respect that."

"Look, I'm sorry that I can't tell you about the vision. It's too gory and violent for you to handle."

"Then why didn't you say so?"

"Are you kidding with me?"

"No, I am not to be kidding you."

"Come here, you!"

Loving someone is a binary choice, either you try to love that person, or leave them be. I have to find out what and where are those visions coming from. They are getting more worse and worse…

I felt my ring in my pocket. Like it's trying to call me, and I ignored it. It wasn't important after all… Except if Dark will—Nahhh, that won't happen. I mean how could she? I left her and she would be probably be depressed by now. Good riddance, you fucking lunatic.

Meanwhile…

"Princess Dark, please calm down!" Wind tried to calm Dark down but it was impossible. She saw that Ryan had another love, and it was that cursed yellow pony Fluttershy.

She felt betrayed, heart-broken, depressed; and now she is obliterating everything her room. She knew that there was something rotten in the air. And now she found what's rotten…

"HOW DARE HER STEAL MY LOVER'S HEART?!" She shouted. Using her shape-shifting powers, she turned into a butterfly to watch over Ryan, but now she watched them bond together and it made her really jealous, envy has started to grow in her heart… along with vengeance. Never was it known to her that he was CHEATING her all along with that yellow mare! It was a cold day in hell for her.

It was this exact time that she ascended into a demented state of mind. It was losing game, and there are no happy endings. But it isn't over, she could still win him. "How?" she thought, suddenly a bright idea came to her.

She grew an evil smirk, "Wind… Thorn… Bring the 6 in, and prepare a party. There will be a surprise for my lover and his friends tonight…"

"Prepare… for unforeseen consequences…"

"Well, we better go Fluttershy. Let's go check the others."

"Oh, Okay!"

We prepared our things and left the house. Somehow, I lost Storm. I didn't see him inside the house a while ago. Neither when we were in 'Shy's room.

"'Shy, have you seen Storm? I can't seem to find him anywhere." I asked her,

"Hm? No, actually. I never saw him in my room a while ago."

"Hm… He must've gone out in the wild. Good for him though, he could use a little fresh air."

"Hey, Ryan…"

"Yeah?"

"Can you sing for me?"

"Sure…"

I thought of a song, so I sang Demons by Imagine Dragons

"That is *sniff* an inspirational song."

"I know…"

"Did you know that it's Hearts and Hooves day?"

"What?"

"Hearts and Hooves Day, it's the day where you give something special to your special somepony."

"Ohhhh… You mean Valentine's Day? That's what we call it in our world. Here, I'll give you this." I picked up a rose on the bushes while we were walking.

"Happy Valentine's Day, 'Shy."

"Happy Heart's and Hooves Day too, Ryan." We then kissed each other on the lips.

Ray's POV

"Hey, you were good at mixing last night!" Dash praised me of my skills. I was able to copy Vinyl's moves and analyze it, making me look amazing when mixing.

"Well… Actually, I'm not good at mixing, I just copied Vinyl's moves."

Shocked, Dash spoke "What?! You mean you aren't actually that good at mixing?"

"Well… No. You see, I am a superhuman, unlike Ryan. Ryan, on the other hand, is just a normal human being but his DNA is altered when a portal mysteriously sucked him, eventually ending up in here."

"Translate the scientific words to a poor confused Rainbow Dash."

"It means he's normal at first, but he got powers when he got teleported here."

"Ohhh…"

Suddenly, a strange feeling hit me in the gut that something is terribly wrong… I couldn't place a finger on it. So I kinda ignored it. It wasn't necessary after all.

Me and Rainbow Dash continued to walk around, talking about how stuff from my world works. Y'know, Rainbow Dash ain't so bad after all for a straight tomboy like her. I expected a more tougher attitude from her but the way she acts is so soft and girl-like.

"Yeah, that's how a ballpen works."

"Cool…"

"Hey, I've gotta go find Ryan. See ya'!"

I quickly left her and went to find Ryan's whereabouts. But what ticks me is the strange feeling about something becoming really bad… I have to go get Ryan and tell him about this.

"'Shy, wanna hang out with the others?"

"No thanks, I have to go get food for my pets."

"Suit yourself. Bye!"

I walked to a direction where I could find the others. When suddenly a pink blur came straight at my face, revealing Pinkie Pie bouncing around and being happy,

"She said yes!" She yelled,

"Wait… What?"

"Fluttershy said that I could only do foreplay with you! Isn'tthisexitingwecouldhavesomuchfunwhatshouldwedofirst—"

"PINKIE!" Suddenly she stopped, frozen cold.

"Okay, we'll do it later."

"YAAAYYY! FINALLYSOMEFUNWITHRYANTHISISSOEXCITING!"

She continued to bounce away from me, her voice being distant and fading away from me.

Actually, it's been a normal day for me. Nothing was happening that much but, I needed someone to help me get back to my home. And I know someone who can help me. Twilight Spa—

*FLASH!*

A blinding flash of light suddenly blinded me of my vision. But upon regaining my sights, I saw somepony that I never thought I could see.

"Hello there, handsome…" The black alicorn spoke seductively. No such luck, no luck at all…

"Y-You… You're the one from the mirror!" I stuttered in fear.

"It's me, darling, Dark! Look how I became the princess of the Nightmares! Do I look sexier to you?"

"D-Dark? NO! Impossible! I left you back at Night Forge! Why are you here! Why did you become an alicorn? What are going to—"

She quickly closed my lips. A seductive smile, I received; but there was something wrong with her… Her eyes were pure evil, I could feel vengeance deep into her soul… Something was not right.

"Come with me, my beloved… "

"NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!" I backed up.

"RYAN!" And just in the nick of time, Ray appeared. He saw the alicorn and spoke,

"You were the unicorn that Ryan was talking about? Dark Fusion?"

"Yes I am, darling"

"Get away from Ryan!"

"Too late, dear…"

I tried to reach for my ring. Without it, I'll be no match for Dark and the upcoming threats that I will cross but it was too late for me. Another one of those big blinding flash of magic blinded me. When I slowly opened my eyes, I was already teleported somewhere, which looks like a big castle, similar to Canterlot Castle but more different…

The Black sun went down with practiced bravado. Twilight crawled across the sky, laden with foreboding. Unexpectedly, it was cold than before, colder than the devil's heart.

"Ray? Ray! Where are you! Brrr… I'm freezing here…"

I explored the castle a little bit. It was oh so familiar to Canterlot but in terms of color and design, it's different.

Freezing to death here, I created a light construct to keep me warm but somehow, I can't.

So many questions, yet unanswered. I needed answers now.

"Ryan…"

I heard a voice, a voice awfully too familiar…

"Ryan…"

There it is again, it was like a record stuck on replay inside my head.

"Max? Max, is that you?!" I shouted. Trying to find him, I walked around everywhere.

Suddenly, a bright figure walked towards me, its light, blinding as snow. I got a pretty good feeling who it is.

"Max?"

"Hello, Ryan."

"Max! Man, am I glad to see you! I have so many questions to ask you!"

A long pause was heard, it was silent…

"You need to find the White Lantern Power battery."

"The what? Why?"

"The ring's energy is starting to deplete, and you are losing your powers. You need to find the battery before its energy will run out."

"Does that explain the healing factor being gone?"

"Yeah, about that, Healing Factor was pretty OP if you tell me. So, I removed it."

"Heh, bad timing dude."

"I know… Anyway, the power battery is found inside the castle, inside Dark Fusion's throne room. It's displayed beside her throne; but beware, the throne room is heavily guarded and you need stealth to get that battery."

"Okay…"

"Ryan! RYAN, are you there?!"

Ray called out to me at the last second, and when I looked back, Max was gone.

"Yo, dude! I was trying to find you, man! It's kinda freezing here… I think I would die of pneumonia because of the cold!"

"Not now, Ray. Right now, I've got something to tell you…"

"AH! Let us go!"

"Now, why would I do that my dear Twilight Sparkle?"

Somewhere… inside the castle, 6 familiar ponies are tied up in chains… Turns out, Dark also kidnapped them. "Convincing Ryan to love her instead of Fluttershy" feeling was strong, and now it was added to her bucket list of evil mumbo-jumbo things to do.

"You will never get away with this…" She struggled, trying to break free of the chains but it was no use.

"Oh, Twilight, struggle all you want but you can't try to help Ryan in that state of yours. Especially, I got something special for this yellow mare right here."

Fluttershy was silent, not a word she uttered… She was still in her place.

"Remember this, you little imbecile… Ryan is mine, not yours and you will never take him away from me. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

Her horn glowed, and a beam of magic came out of it and engulfed Fluttershy, slowly it covered her entire body. From hooves to head, changing what used to be the wielder of the Element of Kindness. After the magic was gone, Fluttershy's appearance changed… Her hair now black, her fur dark yellow, her cutie mark with a red six-sided star on the background and her eyes were colored blood red.

This is the beginning of something evil…

"Why is it cold here anyway?" Ray asked, rubbing his self to avoid him from the cold.

"I don't know why…"

"So, your ring needs to recharge by that battery that's in Dark's throne room?"

"Yeah, I don't even know how the hell they'd get that but somehow they acquired it."

"We need to get that battery."

"Right, let's g—"

While we were walking, we heard a cry out in the bushes. "Hello?! Is someone there?", Its voice was a deep yet not high male voice. Upon hearing that cry, we followed its source.

Finally, we saw another human standing near the entrance of the castle. He was 7'9" of height, black hair, tanned, his left eye is colored grey and his right eye colored red, a scar running down to his right eye to his left jaw and… Black demonic wings?

He was wearing a solid black knight's armor, a black t-shirt, black cargo pants and black combat boots. Aaaand his right arm and left leg are made of metal.

"Holy shit, are you another human?" Ray asked in astonishment,

"Yeah, name's Michael."

"I'm Ryan, and this is Ray."

"Nice to meet you two!"

Ray, eyeing the human, talked to Michael. "Can I ask you one teeny weeny little question? Why do you have wings and you have different eye color?"

"I'm a demon and celestial hybrid."

"Jesus Christ! How?"

"Government."

"I feel you, man."

"How did you get here?"

"Maybe the same way you did."

"Portal?"

"Bingo."

Impatiently trying to wait, I interrupted their conversation. "Uhhh, excuse me. We need to go."

"Wait! I want to go with you."

I looked at Ray, and pondered on this for a moment, "Ok, sure. We could use some extra help from you. Let's go."

Author's Notes:

Almost there, keep reading and stab that like button and leave a comment like always.