Granny Smith hobbled into the kitchen, holding a tray of apple fritters. She had just reached the fillies when a slithering voice whispered in her head, Open the door.

Granny Smith’s eyes dilated and she felt a cold presence in her mind. She set the apple fritters down and yawned. “Sure is hot in here, isn’t it girls?” she asked the fillies gathered. They all looked at each other. “Uh, no its not, Granny Smith,” Scootaloo said. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell nodded in assent. Granny Smith ignored them. “Sure is hot in here, isn’t it?” she repeated, “I better go let some fresh air in.” She hobbled on her cane over to the door.

“Uh, Granny? If yah want some fresh air and all, wouldn’t it be easier to open uh window?” Apple Bloom said as she nibbled on a fritter. “Hush now, child. Ah know what Am doin’” Granny Smith said as she shuffled over to the door. The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at each other, expressions of confusion on their faces. They leaned in close to each other, so as to prevent anyone else overhearing them.

“You think that Granny Smith’s gone crazy?” Scootaloo whispered. “Ah don’t know, but she sure is actin’ strange,” Apple Bloom responded. “Maybe she’s sick or something,” said Scootaloo. “Nah, Applejack’d know if she was sick,” Apple Bloom responded. “Maybe she’s just old,” Sweetie Belle interjected, her voice low. The other two fillies looked at her for a moment before bursting out in laughter. As the fillies clutched their sides and banged their hooves on the wooden table, Granny Smith threw open the door.

She stood there, taking in the frigid air from outside. “Ah, much better,” she said to no one in particular. Go to bed, the voice hissed in her mind again. Granny Smith shuddered for a moment. “Well, looks like it’s time for me to hit the sack,” Granny Smith said, pausing to kick a sack of apples as she left the kitchen. The Cute Mark Crusaders looked at each other, dumbfounded.

The house grew colder and colder by the second. The fillies gathered round the table shivered as Scootaloo said, “I-I-I’ll go c-c-close the d-d-door.” “G-G-Good idea,” said Sweetie Belle as she sneezed. Scootaloo walked over to the door, and stopped. She stood there, unmoving, her jaw quivering. She took a tentative step back, her jaw slowly falling. “What is it, Scootaloo?” Apple Bloom asked. Her friend did not answer.

It stepped into the small house, shrinking It’s limbs so that It could fit through the doorway. As It entered, It realized that Its very presence had lowered the temperature of the room by ten degrees. It surveyed the room, from the cowering orange filly below it to the other two fillies sitting at a table, their jaws dropped.

Apple Bloom’s mind was suddenly and inexplicably clouded with fear as she stared at the tall figure standing in the doorway. It was tall, very tall, with skin as white as snow. Its flank bore no Cutie Mark, though it seemed to be full grown. It looked as though it were wearing a formal suit, complete with a tie. What really unnerved Apple Bloom, though, was the face, or lack thereof. The blank face swiveled on a thin neck as this creature observed its surroundings. As it entered the house, Apple Bloom saw writhing tentacles protruding from its back.

The fear in Apple Bloom’s mind cleared as she screamed. Her scream, loud and high pitched, jarred her friends from the terrified trance they had been in. They screamed as well, and took off running. “Applejack! Big Mac!” Apple Bloom cried as the fillies sprinted to the front door. Apple Bloom ran face-first into something dry and cold, and with growing horror she looked at the blank face above her. She screamed and scrambled away from the things leg that she had just run into.

“Apple Bloom? What’s goin’ on down here?” Big Mac said as he ran down the stairs. He stopped short as he stared at the massive creature standing in the house, empty face fixated upon the cowering fillies. “Ah don’t know what you are, but that’s mah little sister, there. And Ah ain’t gonna let you scare her anymore!” Big Mac said in a typical big-brother style.

Two tentacles shot out and wrapped themselves around Big Mac’s hind legs. They lifted him up and pulled, splitting him down the middle. The tentacles held the bisected body of Big Mac for a moment, before letting the corpse drop. Apple Bloom stood there, jaw open, as the shock of seeing her brother ripped in half dawned on her. She stood there for a moment before she felt vomit rising up in her throat. She covered her mouth with a hoof and sprinted to a window, where she vomited.

It regarded the blood dripping down its tentacles with what could have been perceived as amusement. The tentacles flicked to and fro, spraying drops of blood onto the walls. It saw the little green pony cover her mouth and run to the window, where she vomited. It would have smiled, if It had a face. Instead, It crept forward, tentacles raised like snakes about to snap at a mouse.

“NO!” A voice cried from the back door. It looked up to see Fluttershy burst into the house, a jacket pulled tight over her body. She ran and stood between It and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, her eyes filled with fear and loathing at the same time. “You… you BULLY!” Fluttershy screamed, her mind reeling. In her head, the insult had seemed incredibly offensive, but now as she looked at the corpse of Big Mac, as she fought back the urge to vomit, she felt that “Bully” wasn’t nearly close enough to what this monster was.

“How dare you. HOW DARE YOU!” Fluttershy continued screaming. The Slenderpony regarded her with vague interest, content to eat her after It was finished. Fluttershy trembled as she looked up at the Slenderpony, though she was not sure whether it was from fear or anger, or perhaps a combination of the two. “Y-Y-You,” Fluttershy began, but her voice was abruptly stopped. She struggled to talk again, to continue insulting the Slenderpony, but she found that no words would come. She tried moving a leg to get into a better position to protect the girls, but her muscles wouldn’t move.

Fluttershy managed a weak yelp as she was slammed upwards into the ceiling, then downwards onto the floor. She gasped as the air was wrenched from her lungs when she hit the ground. Her spine and belly ached from the impacts. As she groaned softly, she was lifted into the air and slammed three times into the wall. She felt at least two ribs crack, and she screamed soundlessly. She fell to the floor, dazed and confused.

Twilight Sparkle walked into the house and took her place beside the Slenderpony. Her friend was thinner, almost to the point of emaciation. Her eyes were blank and dull, just like Rainbow Dash’s had been when she was attacking Fluttershy. The glow in Twilight’s horn from the spells she had just cast dimmed as she stared blankly ahead like a soldier awaiting orders.

“T-Twilight,” Fluttershy stammered as she painfully rose to her feet. If Twilight heard her, she did not acknowledge it. Fluttershy grimaced and gasped as ribs that had been knocked out of place jabbed into her insides. She gritted her teeth and clenched her eyes shut, determined not to appear any weaker.

“What did that thing do to you, Twilight?” Fluttershy said sorrowfully. Twilight continued her stare forward, not responding to her old friend. Fluttershy limped over and stood in front of the cowering fillies. Apple Bloom lay on the floor, her breathing ragged, her skin growing pale. Fluttershy wasn’t very knowledgeable when it came to medicine, but she knew the symptoms of shock from working with animals for most of her life. Apple Bloom needed medical attention soon, and the only way to save her was through the Slenderpony in the doorway. Fluttershy considered running for it, throwing Apple Bloom over her shoulder and having Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell run with her, but Fluttershy knew deep down that the Slenderpony would watch them. It would enjoy the hunt if they ran.

Fluttershy looked at Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo. “Girls, get behind me and keep Apple Bloom warm,” she said softly but with firm determination. The terrified girls crept behind Fluttershy and curled up next to Apple Bloom. Fluttershy could only hope that the combined body heat of two additional fillies would keep Apple Bloom warm until she could be moved.

A valiant effort, the Slenderpony hissed inside the minds of everyone in the room, But meaningless. Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell clutched their temples and shrieked. How long do you expect to act as a shield for them, Fluttershy? How easy do you think it would be for me to have Twilight here immobilize you and force you to watch me devour them whole? The Slenderpony taunted.

He’s right. He could just have Twilight cast a spell on me. But why hasn’t he done it yet? Fluttershy thought.

I have a much more tantalizing plan for you tonight, Fluttershy, the Slenderpony hissed. Fluttershy’s eyes dilated. It can read my mind! She thought.

Indeed I can, Fluttershy. Makes you wonder what else I can do, doesn’t it? The Slenderpony said, his voice changing to exactly mimic Discord as he spoke. Fluttershy’s glare wavered. She considered for a moment running as fast as she could. She could survive. The Cutie Mark Crusaders would die, but she would survive.

No. I will not run. Fluttershy thought, knowing full well that the Slenderpony could hear what she thought. Bring her to me, Twilight Sparkle, the Slenderpony said in Twilight’s head alone. Twilight’s eyes glowed vibrantly with her horn as she willed Fluttershy to move. Fluttershy squeaked as her legs moved against her will.

“What are you doing?” Fluttershy cried. YOU will be the one to bring my meals to me. You will bring me the fillies, and you will hold them down as I kill them, one by one, the Slenderpony said. Fluttershy came to a stop in front of the massive monster. Now, to break you, the Slenderpony said. It lowered its head and gazed into Fluttershy’s mind.

Time seemed to slow. Fluttershy clenched her eyes shut, retreating as far within her mind as she could. For a moment, there was silence in the house. In the next moment, the house exploded.

Fluttershy was tossed backwards twenty feet, her body slamming against tables and walls. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were nearly crushed under a pile of rubble that dropped from above. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle screamed and dragged Apple Bloom towards the kitchen. They fell flat on their faces when the concussion wave hit. Twilight Sparkle flew out of the house, her body smashing into the dirt, unmoving. The Slenderpony itself had not been spared, as it was shakily rising to its feet thirty feet away from where it had been standing, exactly opposite from Fluttershy.

Fluttershy’s vision blurred as she rolled off of the ruined table that she had landed on. She coughed into her foreleg, which came away bloody. She crawled into the ruined living room and looked at Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. “Are you alright?” Fluttershy croaked softly. The girls nodded rapidly. “I don’t know what to do about Apple Bloom, though,” Sweetie Belle said as she nuzzled her friend’s chest. “I’ll think of something,” Fluttershy said.

The left half of the house was ruined. Broken bits of wood fell from above. Metal pieces jutted like snapped bones from the walls. Granny Smith shuffled out of her room, the sleep placed upon her by the Slenderpony having worn off. “What in tarnation?” she exclaimed, her eyes barely open. When she rubbed her eyes with her hooves and opened her eyes fully, her jaw dropped. She looked weakly at Big Mac’s corpse, partially buried by rubble, and fainted.

“Scootaloo, did Apple Bloom ever mention where Applejack was?” Fluttershy asked. Scootaloo thought for a moment. “I think she mentioned that Applejack was in Appleloosa, but everything is sort of fuzzy. My ears won’t stop ringing.”

Fluttershy coughed and walked on shaky legs out to the front of the house. The Slenderpony was gone, though it had obviously suffered in the blast, as there were massive gouges in the dirt. Twilight Sparkle groaned from the tree where she had hit. Her horn was glowing.

Fluttershy limped down to her friend. She rolled Twilight over to see that her friend was not only conscious, but casting a spell. Twilight’s eyes were normal. “Don’t know how much longer it’ll be before that thing takes over again. I’m casting a spell to alert Luna that something’s happened. Tell her and Celestia everything,” Twilight gasped as she convulsed. “Twilight,” Fluttershy said, reaching a hoof out to her friend.

Twilight’s head snapped to face Fluttershy, her eyes returning to their hollow appearance. Twilight’s horn glowed as she tossed Fluttershy back and ran off into the night.

Fluttershy got to her feet and wiped the dust off of her face. She stood for a moment as the stress of the night combined with the agony of her wounds overcame her. With nothing else left to do, Fluttershy fell to her knees and wept.