Under the Bed

Under the Bed
Part 5: Beneath the Abomination

Fluttershy walked among the animals with her feed basket in her mouth. Spreading feed here, laying corn there, she counted her chickens and collected their eggs. She greeted the rooster and checked on the bird-feeders. It was usually a pretty thankless job, but she was paid by the local government to study and maintain the local wildlife. That didn’t just mean feeding, it meant watching populations, noting migrations, and so on and so forth. There was plenty to do that wasn’t just her prancing cutely along, feeding every squirrel she came across. If she did that, they wouldn’t hunt and would only come to her for food. So she always bought stale nuts from the market, so they’d have to work extra hard to get them open. She always got the larger kernel birdseed.

The yellow Pegasus was worried, though. She’d blabber-mouthed everything to Twilight when she’d asked why she looked so nervous a few days ago. Then Twilight had closed up the library and had gone somewhere for ‘a few days’, according to the sign on her door. Had that been her fault? Fluttershy wilted, setting her basket down in front of her coy fish pond. The brilliantly colored orange fish looked at her sideways with shy little smiles (they were coy fish, after all). She sprinkled fish food at them, watching the ripples to soothe herself.

She worried about Twilight, and Rarity, and the other ponies that had been taken. A slow miasma of stress and worry had descended over Ponyville. Its citizens traded rumors about the disappearances, herded their foals in large groups, and a few stouter stallions had taken up neighborhood watches to help out the local guard. The local guard didn’t like this, but it wasn’t as though they could control where ponies went at night. It was all so worrisome and—a face stared back at her in the water. Fluttershy eep’d, seizing up like a fainting goat and tilting sideways at a perfect forty-five degree angle. Her wing held her firmly in the impressive pose.

“I did not mean to startle you , perhaps my face still says to you, boo!” Zecora, who was standing across the coy pond from her, pulled her hood back. The zebra watched as the pegasus rather embarrassedly started to flex and uncramp herself. “I have several brews to help with that Fluttershy, perhaps when this is over you might to my hut drop by.”

“Oh, hullo Zecora.” Fluttershy said, pushing her mane out of her face. “You just caught me thinking, is all. I didn’t see you come out of Everfree.” She apologized, worry still written all over her features.

“I come bearing ill news, my butter-yellow friend. If we do nothing this terror will be without end.” Zecora gestured to the shadows of the forest, then the town.

“You know what’s happening to the disappeared ponies?” Fluttershy said, eyes wide.

Zecora was scanning the tree line, nodding slowly. Oddly enough, she lifted an empty mayo jar and squinted through it. Fluttershy tilted her head in confusion. The slight twitch in her neck muscles told the pegasus she’d seen something. Turning, the Zebra lowered the jar and spoke quickly. “Yes, but out in the open I dare not convey. We must gather and rally your friends, right away!”

“Rarity was one of the ponies that was taken,” Fluttershy hung her head glumly.

“Then she will be among those we save, or darkness shall encompass the town like a wave!” Zecora turned smartly and marched towards town. Fluttershy set down her feed basket (the animals dove at it in a free for all), following after her. The yellow pony cocked her head, for she’d never seen Zecora carrying her staff around in town. Didn’t she usually only use it for meditation, to balance upside down? How strange.

The two of them quickly made their way into town, Zecora looking over her shoulder several times. “Is something following us?” Fluttershy whispered. “I didn’t see anything.”

“Tis beyond the mortal eyes, to see such dark things. The curve of clear glass reveals evil that teems.” Zecora said darkly, frowning over her shoulder she spoke. Fluttershy wanted to see, but didn’t. Even a pony as easily frightened as she had a morbid curiosity as to what was going on. As the comfort of pony-made buildings blocked their view of Everfree, the Zebra seemed to relax a little.

=-=-=-=

Thunder growled threateningly in the distance, in the thick of Everfree. Little flickers of lightning promised rain, but it never came. Energy was on the breeze, but it refused to budge. The air was thick and oppressive like a bog, a hot mist hovering just above the ground. Strange and exotic creatures chirps and shrieked, staring at each other with their narrow yellow eyes. But all of them steered clear of a wide area, even the bugs.

Suddenly Rarity awoke with a rattling cough, turning to expel something black and gelatinous onto the ground beside her. Wretching repeatedly, she heaved herself back so her lungs would take in air. Flopping back with a moan, she stared hazily at nothing at all. Her eyes refused to focus. The world swam, her head ached, and there was a furious itch in her neck. Reaching up she scratched hard, and her hoof came away with red flakes of dead skin on it. She gave a weak little shriek, flopping down again and turning her head away. What had happened? She was tucking Sweetie Belle in, then…

‘Rarity, there’s somepony in my bed!’

The terrified filly’s pale face filled her mind’s eye. She’d gotten up and then… what? She’d been pounced upon. Where was she now then? The belly of the beast? Its lair? Turning over and trying to stand, she wobbled like a newborn and fell on her belly. She felt so drained. “S-somepony…” she whispered as chips of rotted wood and rock dug into her soft body. “Somepony help….” It was a tiny croak of sound, little more. Matted in mud and some sort black ooze, she whimpered again as tears started to go down her face. With some effort she shifted onto her side, and froze.

Movement. Movement above her and all around. She could only barely see, but it was definitely there. Trees were bent and broken away in a great ring, as though something massive and sharp had just thrust its way out of the earth like a jagged knife. Some sort of swaying, living mass was in the middle. She couldn’t make out what it was, but it was bulbous at the bottom like a radish, and it soared over a hundred feet skyward, swaying back and forth…. Back and forth… against the wind, in some sort of trance-like state. Was it a plant? Rarity had never seen such a monstrosity before. Whenever she looked at it, her vision seemed to slide out of focus and a headache pounded at her. She tried to stare at it out of the corner of her eye, but it did little good.

Hooves approached Rarity and she quickly played dead. If she was here and not in a cage, chances were--- well, chances were something she might only have a one of. Closing her eyes and letting her mouth hang open in a rather unlady-like way, she stayed as still as possible. A set of tiny little hooves approached her, much too quick for an adult pony. A foal, perhaps? No, whatever had been in Sweetie Belle’s bed was foal shaped, but NOT a foal. She tried not to tremble when it stopped next to her.

A series of cricket-like chirruping sounds went back and forth. Clickity-clickity sounds that reminded Rarity of what an insect might say if it were loud enough. Chitter-murr, clickity-clickity. There was more than one of them. Rarity squeezed her eyes shut as though she were having a nightmare. Two tiny hooves propped themselves on her side. It was so light, not at all heavy like she expected. Something with sharp teeth nibbled on the scruff of her neck, like it was tasting her mane. There was light, curious pulling on her tail. Then something warm and slimy touched her cheek, running slowwwwly and necrotically up the side of her face and temple. She tried, oh she tried not to whimper—but a tiny sound escaped her. The tongue, tentacle, whatever it was quickly withdrew and there was quiet. She knew she was being stared at.

Something pony-shaped shoved its head up under one of her front forelegs. It felt loose and slimy, like something that had died in water and lost most of its mane. The smell invaded her nose. It was like a rain-soaked log that had been left in a punishing sun. That sort of murky, wet wood smell that tells you the wood has sponged up everything it can, and is hot to the touch. Whatever it was dropped her foreleg. Rarity stayed limp and quiet, clenching her teeth. A stiff breeze blew and she shivered. The slimy thing returned to caress her forehead, then up the nape of her neck, then back up to her temple.

“Bring D’ah!” A young-sounding voice suddenly spoke. Rarity almost flinched. “Bring D’ah! Bring D’ah!” it chanted, stamping a hoof. “M’ah is cold, she shivers like death! Bring D’ah! Bring D’ah!” Something huge and warm fell, seemingly from the sky, flumping on the earth next to Rarity. She didn’t dare open an eye to look. The little foal-like monsters gathered, who knew how many, to shove the warm thing up to Rarity.

As a mare Rarity knew a stallion’s barrel when she felt one. It was huge, muscled, and warm. Pressed against her face, she flicked an eye open for the barest of moments. Red. Her vision had filled with bring red and her nose with the chipper scent of natural sugar. Big Macintosh?! She squeezed her eyes shut when the little monsters returned, pushing them until their bodies were pressed together. Rows and rows of little teeth clenched At Rarity’s limbs, arranging her accordingly. If she resisted even a little, they only dug in harder. Oh Gods, what if they knew she was awake!? They’d tear her to pieces!

Big Macintosh’s muscled forelegs were pulled, tugged, and then wrapped around Rarity’s shoulders. It was an intimate embrace, even if both ponies were limp. She could feel the little teeth marks all over him. He must’ve been snatched up like her, oh Gods. The white mare was too scared to move much more than to lean into Big Mac’s chest. Her tail curled between her legs and she gave a forlorn sort of moan.

“She likes, she likes!” There was a pattering sort of dancey-hooves sound. The little group of monsters pattered around, scaling trees to have a better look and hang out all around them. Upside down off of vines, up on rocks and all around them. The white mare didn’t dare turn her head to look at them, or anything else for that matter.

“M’ah is with D’ah. Where is M’ahh?” it was a slightly longer version of the same name.

“Taking the black! Taking the black!” Another little voice chittered, dancing on its four little hooves. “M’ahh takes the black for us! Up there, up there!”

Rarity’s morbid curiosity made her slit an eye open and peer up at the swaying… thing, that she’d seem when she first woke up. Something was fuzzy in the edges of her mind, like she couldn’t quite look at it directly. What she’d thought had been willow-like branches were actually some sort of hair-like appendages, swaying in an easy rhythm. The white mare quivered, a wretched scream of terror rising in her throat. The whine of a tv-just-turned-on filled her inner ear, and her pupils shrank at the sight of the thing.

While its slimy, orifice-covered shape slowly came into focus, she could see a pony being held in its grasp. Whoever it was, she was being held spread-eagle, and a mass from the center of the abomination was attached to her muzzle. Dribbling, slimy, syrup-like slurry dripped from all around her face and ears as it forced gods-knew-what down her throat. The slight pudge in her belly said it was over-feeding her. Then, just as suddenly, it slowly set her down like she was made of glass… right on top of Rarity.

Rarity seized up as she came face to face with an unconscious Cheerilee. Her throat constricted as the pony’s body was laid out over hers and Big Mac’s. Her face and cheeks were covered with something black and syrupy, like she’d shoved her face into a puddle of wet asphalt. The weight of her head sagged, and her cheek rubbed up against Rarity’s. The barest glimmer of the white mare’s sanity began to quiver and unravel. “Bluhhh-h-h-h…” said the air escaping from Cheerilee’s mouth. Black, syrupy darkness trickled from her mouth and onto Rarity’s breast. That was all it took to make her eyes roll into her head, and she was out.

“M’ah and M’ahh and D’ahh! M’ah and M’ahh and D’ah!” chanted the little foal-like monsters, dancing around the pile of bodies in a perfect circle. The great mass of darkness and living hair swayed back and forth with their song, vibrating the air like a soundless, groaning tuba. It tickled their inner ears with its not-voice and they giggled as their dancing got wilder and more feral. “M’ah and M’ahh and D’ah! M’ah and M’ahh and D’ah!”