“There’s no one to help you, Fluttershy. Just calm down and be a good mare…”

“Ah, so you’re the pony my minions have been going on about, eh? Kinda cute, if I do say so myself…”

“I enjoy this. It’s been millennia since I’ve been able to do it. Stealing souls, feeding my children… I love it! The Shadows love it too…”

“Do you hate me, Fluttershy? Do you want me to die now? Do you think I deserve a fate worse than death because of what I’ve done?”

“You are brave, dear pony. But we must be alert for a phony…”

“Your grave, my pony. Everypony’s grave.”

“Give up any misguided hopes that any other pony remains. You are alone here in this world.”

Three hours. Not even three hours ago, everything was perfectly normal. Fluttershy and all of her friends were enjoying cupcakes at Sugarcube Corner. They had smoothies, talking about their daily business. Then Mr. Cake showed up, and chaos ensued. Fluttershy fled at the first instance of something wrong. She made an excuse about her poor bunny being hungry. She left early, and was still caught by the blunt force of this crazy shit.

Everything she’d seen in the last few hours threatened to consume her completely. Her sanity was fragile right now. She’s only here because of dumb luck. If that crystal hadn’t shown up when it did, she might be Shadow Dinner right now. But it did show up. And it did stun Feilbach long enough for her to escape. Were the fates playing games with her, or was it just dumb luck?

She didn’t even know where she was going. Where could she go? Everyone was infected by the Shadows. No one was left sane aside from her. Or at least, that’s what Feilbach said. She fled as fast as she could. She had no idea where to go or what to do, but she kept running. Before she knew it, she was leaving the castle’s front gate.

As she pressed onward, crossing the bridge, she was stopped suddenly by an unseen force. Before her very eyes, a shimmering yellow gemstone appeared in front of her. She had never seen a gem like that before, not even in Rarity’s shop… And then, with the appearance of the gem, memories of Rarity came flooding back. All the time they spent in the spa, talking dresses… Nostalgia at its finest…

The gem flashed a few quick times. It then floated a few inches ahead of Fluttershy. She took a few steps toward it. Every time she would get close, it would float a few feet away. She assumed it wanted her to follow it. So she did. She continued following the crystal’s lead for almost an hour, until it stopped above a giant hole in the ground. The gem let itself fall straight through the hole, freefalling. Fluttershy, trusting of this strange gem, followed it down the tunnel.

Once reaching the bottom, Fluttershy was overwhelmed by the beauty of the place she had landed. It was a gem-encrusted cavern, every inch of the walls covered in some beautiful gemstone. Sapphires, emeralds, rubies, crystals, diamonds, amethysts, and all other sorts of gems covered the cavern. The yellow stone shined brightly in the center of the chamber, and Fluttershy approached it. The gem flashed one more time, brighter than before, and was gone.

“Where’d it go? Why’d it take me here?” Fluttershy continued to survey the chamber she was in. After a few minutes, she decided it was time to leave this cave, and expanded her wings. Before she could even get airborne, a voice called out to her.

“Wait, please! You are Fluttershy, correct?” The voice was gentle, welcoming, and familiar.

Fluttershy turned around to see a little filly sitting on the ground, holding an opal gem. “My name is Fluttershy. Who are you? Why are you all the way down here?”

The filly stood up and trotted over to her. “If you ever see Feilbach again, give him this, please. He’ll know who it’s from.” As soon as the gem touched Fluttershy’s hand, the filly disappeared.

“Wait! Who are you?” Fluttershy felt a strange connection to that filly, an air of familiarity.

Touching moment, ain’t it? A voice echoed inside Fluttershy’s head.

“Who’s there?!” Fluttershy spun around, searching for the source of the voice.

A friend. Don’t be scared, Fluttershy! Y’know who‘tis! Think long an’ hard about it! The voice became suddenly familiar. She recognized the voice, but she couldn’t place the owner.

With a loud crashing sound, the floor of the chamber collapsed underneath Fluttershy, and as she fell the familiar voice continued to talk to her. She fell for what felt like hours, listening to the comforting voice and enjoying the relaxing sight of the gems as they flew by her. Just as suddenly as the floor had collapsed, another unseen force stopped her dead in her fall, gently lowering her to the ground.

She looked around this new chamber. It was almost identical to the previous one, except in the center of this chamber was a giant circular pedestal. Hovering above the pedestal was the glowing yellow gem from before. It fell into a slot on the pedestal, and the other seven gems within it popped out and hovered in the air.

You’ve been through a lot, Fluttershy. But now, it’s time to stop Feilbach. But you can’t do it alone. You need help. Use these gems to restore your friends’ hearts and minds. If you can do that, then Feilbach’s defeat is inevitable! A calm, gentle, also familiar voice called into Fluttershy’s mind.

“These gems can save my friends?” Fluttershy looked at them with doubt. How could a few gemstones restore the damage Feilbach has done?

Yes. All you must do is pull your friends from their shadows using the gemstones! These stones will allow you into their hearts. There, you can help them fight off the Shadows that control them! The voice called to her.

Fluttershy looked at the gems again. The yellow stone that had released the others was again floating above the pedestal. In an instant, and without warning, the yellow stone shot itself right at Fluttershy. It absorbed into her chest, and before she knew it, she was standing in another empty void. Just like the silver orb, she had been sent to an empty realm once more.

Only this time, after about a minute, everything sprang to life around her. She was suddenly standing in Ponyville, right outside her house, with all of her friends. Their laughter rang out into the open fresh air. After another minute passed, the world around her froze in place. Behind her, where her house was previously, was a giant shimmering yellow gemstone. It was identical to the one that sent her here, albeit a bit larger.

The gem was shining brightly. So bright, it might as well have overpowered the sun. Fluttershy walked up to it and placed her hoof on it. It shattered into dust, and everything around her melted away. It was a serene type of transition, relaxing and carefree. When Fluttershy opened her eyes, she was still standing in the cavern. All of the gemstones remained floating, aside from the yellow stone.

Fluttershy looked up at the sunlight that shined into the cave. With these gems, she could save her friends, and stop Feilbach. She had no time to lose!

“I’m on my way, everypony! Just hold on a bit longer!”

Next Chapter: Chapter 7: The Scar Left Long Ago (Act II) Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 19 Minutes