Under the Bed

Under the Bed
Part 7: Among the Mud

Rarity’s vision was a slow, syrupy swirl of inky blackness and ebony tendrils. The cool, hard surface beneath her said stone, but she wasn’t sure. It was smooth, but not polished—cool, but not stone cold. Her cheek could feel intricate carvings that had been scratched into its surface. She lifted her head with a soft moan, something sickly dribbling out of her muzzle. She felt thick and tired, like somepony that had just emerged from a piping hot bubble bath. She wanted nothing more than to lay her head down and go back to the darkness of unconsciousness. Something stopped her, though. A strange sort of slapping sound.

Turning, the once-white mare found her fur to be dusty grey and filthy. She groaned uncomfortably, laying on her back and staring skyward. Instead of stars, however, she was greeted with a strange sort of hanging tree. It wobbled, phallic, back and forth. The long, hair-like tendrils swayed in a soundless rhythm. She thought it was a giant weeping willow at first, but it was too white for that. The trunk was a throbbing mass, and the hairs were ghostly-pale. When she tried to take the whole thing in a stabbing ringing filled her ears. Her vision slid out of focus and she rubbed her eyes blearily. She turned onto her belly with a groan, ears flicking as her attention turned back to the rhythmic slap-slap-slap that was very nearby to her.

She turned to get off the flat stone slab, and found herself being stared at. She jerked to a halt, looking all around her. Dozens upon dozens of small, foal-like creatures were crowded around. They were staring, all of them staring. Some were smiling with rows and rows of jagged looking teeth. Her mind reeled at their oily skin and strange, shifting bodies. If someone shaved a pony, dipped them in black oil, then made them foal-sized… that would still be less creepy than what she was looking at.

Were they going to eat her? Tear her limb from limb? She looked around at all their waiting teeth, beady red eyes and lashing tails. Aside from the rude slap-slap-slapping sound in the background, there was no sound. “M’ah!” One of them blurted suddenly. This set them all off, chattering and belting back and forth. “M’ah! M’ah! M’ah!” they jumped and hopped and did little dances around her stone slab. They bucked into each other and wrestled wildly, barking and snapping at each other.

Rarity didn’t comprehend. She stared at them blearily. Did they think she was their mother? How? Why? The mare felt overwhelmed, bleary and still a bit hot under the collar. Groaning when her back legs shifted, she wondered if she’d hit her estrus a bit late this year. Summer had been pretty cruel to the unwed pony, and she’d suffered a few lonely nights—focus! Focus! She shook her head quickly, flicking her ears. She made to slowly climb off of the stone slab, but the little beasts crowded around to look up at her. She suddenly felt like she was on an island in a black ocean. Panting a bit, flushed in the cheeks, Rarity turned to find the source of the slapping noise she’d been hearing all this time. She wasn’t prepared for what she saw.

On a slab of stone very much like her own Rarity saw Big Macintosh mounted on Cheerilee, going fast and furious. The slapping noises were his male bits, swinging back and forth with each thrusting motion. She gaped at them, open-mouthed. Cheerilee whimpered softly while he had his filthy way with her, trying to dig her hooves into the slab and not be crushed against it. Big Macintosh held her hips with his front forelegs and her weight with his own, hunched like an alpha male. The stink of sweat and sex didn’t take long to reach Rarity, and she put a hoof over her muzzle. What was going on?! She peered around. The little shadow-foals were watching them do it as though fascinated. Big Mac’s loud, dominant grunts began to get even louder as he neared his time of release. Physically stunned, Rarity stared at them. She couldn’t take her eyes off the carnal act.

Droplets of sweat hung from Big Mac’s bangs, and he snorted a bit as he found just the right angle for himself. Cheerilee gave a little cry when his thrusting turned quicker and more desperate. The living tree over them swayed back and forth, its hairs quivering. The crowd of shadow-foals leaned back and forth like a freakish cult, swelling with the moment orgasm as the stallion reached his own. With a final and very male shout, the crimson stallion emptied himself into the waiting mare. She yipped as she received it all, moaning as he held her down for it. His massive hooves dug into her shoulder blades, pressing her to the stone. She’d not spill a drop on his watch. Burying himself balls deep two, three, four times, he made sure he’d given her everything he had. The purple mare collapsed, sweaty and panting loudly. She moaned, squirming a bit.

The stallion paused for a bit, savoring his sexual conquest. The lazy, easy-going gaze that Big Mac’s eyes usually held was gone. These were a breeding stallion’s eyes. The stud turned to look at Rarity, and the crowd of foal monsters parted immediately. Slowly dismounting, he slipped off the slab and onto his hooves again. Quiet green symbols pulsed all over Cheerilee’s little alter. She lay there, quiet and satiated as her stallion wandered to have a look at the other mare.

Rarity’s nose caught the scent of male desire. It overwhelmed her entirely. The nasty smell of salt and sex massaged her temples and mind like a siren’s call. She looked into his eyes, her lids quivering. They were black and featureless. Whatever had taken hold of or had changed Big Mac had done its job. He stared at her like a piece of luscious meat. Without meaning to, the mare licked her lips a little. What… what mare in Ponyville didn’t dream of being furiously rutted by somepony like Big Mac, after all? The muscle, the stoicism, the paragon of what a stallion should be in all things masculine—she had to have him! Another sharp pain heralded a ringing in Rarity’s inner ear, and the tree overseeing the scene waved baaaaack and forth…. baaaaack and forth. Losing her mind entirely Rarity flipped over onto her belly, halfway off of the slab of stone. Her tail lashed to one side, exposing herself. “T-take me!” she cried. “Just take me!” she begged him. She flopped her head down into her arms, moaning. She felt his hot breath on her rump as he only briefly inspected his prize. She glanced over her shoulder to see the slimy muscle of his erection hanging between his legs. Black seed dripped on the ground, leaving blue curls of smoke to rise from it. Rarity didn’t care if she was sloppy seconds—she glanced skyward and got another stab to her sanity from the tree. She whimpered, hiding her head in her arms. He reared up, his hot muscled frame melting firmly over her body like he owned her. He shoved her back up onto the alter so she was all the way onto it again. Her flushed pink little slit beckoned, practically giving off waves of onset heat.

The shadowy foals watched, smiling with their rows and rows of teeth. They didn’t dare speak, this was the important bit. M’ah and M’ahh and D’ah were doing their jobs. They swayed slowly back and forth, nervous excitement blossoming in their ranks. A few of them turned Cheerilee over so she could be spread-eagle before the throbbing tree above them. The massive abomination looked at her without eyes, taking in her tired and sweaty form. The symbols all over the stone slab began to ignite into a sickly green colored glow. All was going as needed. Rarity moaned like a humiliated whore as he savagely took what was his.

D’ah was seeing to M’ah and M’ahh. Now all they needed was M’ahhh and everything would be done.

=-=-=-=

Rainbow Dash leaned over Twilight when the purple mare moaned, holding her temple. “Hey, I think she’s waking up again!” she said sharply to her friends. Everypony looked over. They’d spent a nearly sleepless night in the library, and had been preparing to go into Everfree.

“What happened…?” Twilight said, sitting up and holding her temple with a splitting headache.

“What is the atomic weight of iron?!” Rainbow Dash seized Twilight by the mane and held her to the floorboards, raising a hoof to stomp on her. “Don’t make me knock you out a third time! What is the atomic weight of iron?!” She waved her punching hoof back and forth.

“I-It’s 55.845+/-0.002u!” Twilight spoke fancy mathematics with a shriek of fear, curling up so Rainbow didn’t hit her in the face. “I swear it! I swear it is!”

“Pinkie?!” Rainbow demanded, looking over.

Pinkie Pie flipped quickly through a science book they’d pulled off the shelf. She squinted over the lines and lines of numbers, then nodded. The tension in the room relaxed, and everypony sighed in relief.

Rainbow gently let her go, using a rather rumpled wing to dust her off. “Sorry Twi,” she said, turning her ears back guiltily. “We had to be sure you were back.”

“Back?” Twilight said, puzzled. She groaned on achy joints as she was helped to her hooves. Rainbow made a show of pushing her mane back into place. “H-hey its fine, I’m fine.”

“You haven’t been fine for almost a day now,” Fluttershy said softly from her sitting pillow.

“Yeah,” Rainbow said, cocking her head. “You looked through a dark portal and went bonkers on us. I had to keep knocking you out so you didn’t hurt anypony or decide to teleport yourself into the sun.” The cyan Pegasus was clearly very sorry about this, for she was looking everywhere but Twilight. “So uhm… sorry about your face,” she said.

Twilight’s hoof came up. She felt the tender skin on her cheekbone and right eye. She winced a bit. “Couldn’t you have put me in the hospital? Or given me sleeping pills or something?” Twilight wandered to the nearest window to look at her reflection. Her mane had been clumsily brushed by somepony else, but otherwise she looked like garbage.

“Zecora said that wouldn’t-ah helped very much,” Applejack said from her side of the table. “With a unicorn as strong as you, you would’a been up and about before anypony could stop you.”

“What happened?” Twilight wanted details. She smiled gratefully when Zecora laid on icepack on her face. Her face was tender, but it would be okay in time. Each mare took turns filling Twilight in on everything that had happened. Twilight’s memory stopped the moment that she’d left Spike at the safe house. It was as though somepony had thrown black paint over the canvas of her mind.

“…so to keep you safe I bucked you in the head as hard as I could,” Rainbow said guiltily, looking to one side. “You’re not very tough, physically, so it wasn’t too hard. We’ve been keeping you with us in the library for the past day or so, waiting for you to get better.”

“And lucky for us the recovery was quick, for the victory we need will need more than ground brick.” Zecora said gravely. Twilight glanced at the table where a series of mortars and pestles were stationed. The red dust in the air and around the room said they’d been grinding up bricks and putting the dust in jars.

“Brick dust? That’s old magic,” Twilight couldn’t help but stress the ‘old’ bit, for the thought impressed her. “Doesn’t that keep back those of ill-intent when you enchant it properly?”

“Ponies as well as other things, Twilight. Our enemy comes from a place far from our sight.” Zecora nodded, gesturing to the scroll they’d elected to hang on the wall. Twilight leaned to study the twisted visage of Shub-Niggurath. The purple mare didn’t know where to begin. With a series of horrific rhymes that should not be recounted, the Zafrican shamaness told Twilight all about what they were up against.

“So it shapes itself into whatever will draw a pony to it. In our case, foals.” Twilight murmured. “Cheerilee must’ve seen a foal in trouble, and walked right into the trap.” The mare furrowed her brow as her brilliant mind calculated back and forth. She studied the scroll in silence. Shub-Niggurath and her Thousand Young. Shub-Niggurath, Mother of Monsters. Shub-Niggurath, the Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young. They were all terrible titles. “What can we do, then?” Twilight asked softly.

“Twilight, you’re the Sun’s Favored Foal!” Rainbow Dash stamped a hoof. “Write a letter to the Princess! Tell her what’s happening! She’ll come, heck she’ll come with an army to help us!” the cyan mare said, frustrated she had to be the one to think of it.

“No,” Twilight said softly. Everypony in the room but Zecora gasped in horror.

“No?! Why not?!” Rainbow Dash gasped. “If not a pair of alicorns, who’s gonna help us?! You saw how big that thing coming through the portal was, you went crazy just looking at it!” The mare was all fluff and feathers.

Twilight met Zecora’s eyes with a troubled, almost forlorn expression. “That’s exactly why. If I went crazy just looking at it, imagine what it could do to Princess Celestia or Luna.”

“But they’re like… like gods!” Rainbow argued loudly. She didn’t care if she sounded belligerent, she was voicing everypony’s thoughts and she knew it. She wasn’t gonna be a doormat about this, just because Twilight said so.

“No offense Twilight,” Applejack offered, trying to be diplomatic. “But Ah’d be willing to bet Celestia is ten times tougher than you are. Prolly more!” She took off her hat to scrub at her mane before replacing it. “Who’s to say she won’t have better luck than us, fightin’ this thing directly.”

Twilight hung her head a little, “Trust me, that’s the first thing I thought of when I saw… that.” She gestured to the horrific drawing on the scroll. “But you’ve all seen Celestia fight before, save Zecora,” she looked a little ashamed to say it aloud. “Queen Chrysalis knocked Princess Celestia down like it was nothing, after absorbing the love energy from just one pony.” Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to angrily argue that her Princess wasn’t a wuss, but Twilight raised a hoof. “Given, my brother clocks in at 11,000 magijules, but this isn’t ponies we’re talking about here. Its monsters.” The purple mare watched her friends deflate a little. “She’s a Princess, and Luna is too. They’re diplomats, not warriors. For all we know Princess Celestia could go mad and drop the sun on Everfree forest,” she made a harsh gesture and Fluttershy flinched. “The Princesses are stronger than me, yes, but not by an infinite margin. They’re not gods, they’re just… alicorns.”

Rainbow Dash deflated like she’d been told her religion was a lie and somepony had rubbed her muzzle in it with facts. She frowned stubbornly, but said nothing. Tears touched the sides of her eyes, and she pressed her lips together really hard so the light whimper wouldn’t escape her throat. She’d been really counting on Twilight bringing some alicorn kickassery out of Canterlot to help them against this thing. But… but… “Why not an army, then? You could write and ask for back-up.” The cyan mare closed her wings, sitting on her flanks. “C’mon Twilight, we gotta do something!”

“Same problem,” Twilight shook her head. “Imagine a thousand battle-hardened ponies milling about, having lost their minds. They might decide to start ripping each other apart. Or burn Everfree to the ground. Or go on a campaign across Equestria, hurting innocent ponies.”

Zecora nodded her agreement, though her face was somber. No sheer show of might or numbers would do them any good against such a foe. Only the old ways would help them. “If there are suggestions in which to partake, then I have an idea for a letter to make.” She offered. Twilight looked at her, ready to disagree, but something in the zebra’s face silenced her. “If the Princess’ ear you truly have, then you wield a weapon mightier than sword or stave.”

“What do you want me to write, then?” Twilight tilted her head.

Zecora thought for a time, studying a map on the wall. The map encompassed all of Equestria with Ponyville in the middle to serve as the focal point. If she was to relay her plan, it would have to be done immediately and perfectly for it to work. The zebra quietly relayed her plan. It was so ridiculous to put into words. It sounded outrageous and impossible. Rainbow Dash didn’t like it one bit.

“That is the dumbest, most cop-out plan I’ve ever heard.” Rainbow stamped a hoof angrily. “This isn’t some Daring Doo novel where we all make it out okay! Rarity is in there already, and so are Big Mac and Cheerilee! We could get killed!” she wasn’t being mean or cowardly, only realistic. “We need an army, Twilight!” she snapped accusingly at their leader. “We need as many ponies as we can, even if we have to burn Everfree to the ground!” she was close to hysterics by that point. Shub-Niggurath had frightened her to her very core, and her fear was coming out as anger. “If this thing is really as old and powerful as the story said, this isn’t something we can run in and do like our other adventures! Rarity’s gone! We can’t use the Elements of Harmony!”

“Ah know yer rattled, sugarcube, but we can’t just run in there torches’a’blazin’. If it’s got hostages, we need’a be careful about it.” Applejack turned and gestured to Everfree as she spoke.

“You ponies can do whatever crazy thing that comes to mind!” Rainbow shouted, anger coloring her face. Stomping over the to window, she threw on her flight goggles to shield her from the pouring rain. “Me? I’m not setting hoof in there till I’ve got all the help I can get!” she spread her wings and, before anypony could protest, launched herself out into the storm.

There was a long silence before Fluttershy spoke, “So much for loyalty.” It was a cruel sentence that turned everypony’s head in shock. The butter yellow Pegasus wilted, looking to one side. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it…” she trailed off guiltily. Nopony was brave enough to tell her she was right, though.

=-=-=-=-=

Not ten seconds after Rainbow Dash had left the library, she made a wide arc over Ponyville. Could she go to the local guard? Should she fly to Canterlot and demand to see the Princess? Going mach five after a sonic rainboom it wouldn’t take much more than a few minutes to reach the capital city. After all, you could see it from Ponyville, perched on the mountain like a background mat-painting. It was hard to see through the pouring rain, but the lights were still on and shining bright. Yeah. Yeah that’s what she would do. A national hero like the Element of Loyalty would be able to jump to the front of the line! Grinning, the Pegasus mare swooped a few circles around the town. She found a good landing spot. If she was gonna do a sonic rainboom she’d need a nice take-off spot for the initial burst of speed.

Rainbow Dash landed on a semi-firm stretch of ground. The weather conditions weren’t great for such a feat, but she wasn’t about to let that stop her. She’d just have to fly above the clouds. It was cold that high up, sure, but she’d tough it out. If some sort of elder-god-mother-monster-thingy was taking ponies and… and… laying eggs or whatever it was supposed to be doing, so close to Ponyville, it needed royal attention! Zecora’s idea was dumb. Taking a deep breath, Equestria’s fastest flyer tried to tame her harsh breathing. She lifted one wing. The grass under her hooves began to blush grey and crinkle up like tissue paper. The other wing lifted. The brown mud and earth spoiled around her in a perfect circle, turning a cement-greyish-blue hue. The mare bent her legs just so, readying for launch. She squatted for a moment, then shot off the ground with all the ferocity of an-augh-tentacles-everywhere-yank-slam-snap------! A single pinion feather floated back and forth until the cruel rain caught it and hammered it into the ground. Its brilliant blue color was lost in the mud in mere moments.

Silence.

Rainbow Dash had been taken.