Coruscationby GhostsandGearsChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 1Lightning broke across the sky as the three dogs bolted down the hallways of the laboratory. They barked twice, then twice more. Close on their heels the soldiers loaded their weapons and cautiously made their way into the building. The place was in ruins. Rows and rows of shelves and empty metal containers were thrown around the floor. A couple cabinets were on their side, with what looked to be bite marks in them. The dogs were in a corner whimpering, a sound that was followed by a sizzling sound. Surprised the soldiers approached the next room carefully, rifles in hooves. Expecting to see some kind of monster, they were surprised to find the only other one in the room to be a confused looking, young mare who barely came up to their shoulders. She had what looked like long, yellow, red and black drapery loosely wrapped around her body, dragging on the ground behind her. On her head she wore some kind of crown with five red jewels in it. Strangest of all, the pink-haired mare was licking the outside of a metal container. “Excuse me, ma’am? What are you doing?” The captain asked, lowering his rifle. “Ma’am? You’re currently trespassing on restricted property. Please, come with me now so I don’t have to use force.” The mare stopped licking and lifted her head, but continued looking at the metal container. “Madam please. It’s dangerous here. We have reason to believe that some sort of dangerous creature was recently released here. Please, come with us now, so we can ensure your safety.” Eventually she slowly turned her gaze towards them. The woman looked like she hadn’t had anything to eat for quite some time, yet she also had an alluring, foreign beauty about her. Her skin had an olive tinge to it that seemed to glow when caught in the light of the flashlights. Her sad, lost look and doe eyes threatened to melt every soldier’s hardened heart. She looked the captain in the eye for a second, and gave him a frightened look. “A dangerous creature?” She gasped. “Oh my goodness, I do hope it’s not a rampaging bear. I’ve always been terrified of bears, you see. Please Mr. Soldier, won’t you rescue me?” “Not to worry ma’am. You’re in safe hooves.” The captain turned to the other soldiers. “Vox. Zard. Take two of the dogs and continue searching the laboratory for the creature. Rif, you’re with me. We’ll escort the civilian to custody.” “Yes sir.” Vox and Zard both said, saluting. “Yes sir.” Nodding Lieutenant Rif, placed shackles on the mare, and walked her out through the door. Halfway down the hallway the mare cleared her throat. “I’m sorry sir, what’s your name?” “Captain Louis.” “Well Louis. I was wondering if you happened to have anything to eat? Maybe an apple or something?” “You’ll get a meal when you reach the holding cell. After we give you a through questioning.” The mare looked up at him sadly, and started to cry. “Holding cell? But I didn’t do anything. And I can’t wait that long. I’m so, so hungry. And I know I told my sister that I wouldn’t eat any anything that I didn’t originally pay for. But I’m willing to do anything for some food. Anything…” She gave him a mischievous look. On the other side of her, Rif gave the mare a closer inspection. Strange, the lieutenant thought. Somehow, the young mare looked a little bit fuller. Her body looked healthier. The seasoned soldier didn’t know what to make of her. The way she acted. It wasn’t like a typical young mare. Instead she acted like an overgrown lost child. Almost like a temptress. Was she really hitting on the captain? He was like twice her age. What would she see in him? Either way, he couldn’t really say no to those beautiful doe eyes either. Shaking his head he reached for his satchel, and handed her a couple chicken legs he had been keeping for break. “Here.” The mare snatched it hungrily. Sitting down she tilted back her head, wrapped her mouth around it, and swallowed both legs, bones and all. Shocked, the lieutenant asked, “Madam? Are you okay!” “Yes sir. More, please?” She said reaching out her empty hooves. “Um, sorry. I don’t have any more.” “No more?” “I’m sorry.” The girl turned to the captain. “Sorry. I don’t have any either.” He shrugged. Suddenly the mare turned around and ran towards the remaining dog. “Wait!” Rif called. The girl tackled the dog from behind. “I’m so hungry!” She stood back up, and was now holding the whimpering dog by its neck. She pushed the dog’s head toward her mouth, her mouth opening wider than either stallion had ever seen a mare’s mouth open before. She grabbed the struggling body, and somehow managed to push the entire dog down her throat. She let out a pleased sigh as she laid on her back. The soldiers stared at her, stunned. The woman eyed the lieutenant, and placed her hand on his shoulder. “I’m still hungry, for a stallion…” The lieutenant knew better than to lie with some madmare when he was on the job, but she was too beautiful to pass up. He glanced at his superior, who was on the floor throwing up and talking to himself. Other than that, the hallway was deserted. The guard frantically took his leather armor off and threw it next to the captain. The mare likewise dropped her robes: she had a defined, round butt he wouldn’t have imagined her having just a few minutes ago. Her lips were bright red, and fuller than any the stallion had seen before. The mare shoved him to the ground, with surprising force. It was safe to say he was enjoying himself. She lied flat on her stomach, making dreamy eyes at him. Then something strange happened. The mare crawled up to his hindhooves and put one into her open mouth. Normally, he would’ve thought more of it but for some reason his mind seemed unable to create complete thoughts. His entire mind was suddenly at peace. Closing his eyes, the lieutenant allowed himself to enjoy the strange feeling. Soon, she had his entire hoof in her mouth. Then his shins. Suddenly he felt his left leg go numb as she swallowed the hindhoof. Opening his eyes, he began to panic. How was this possible? The soldier tried to fight, but the mare didn’t seem deterred in the least. “What did you do! Where’s my leg?” As if on cue, she grabbed his other hoof and snapped it sharply back. He screamed. Opening up again, her mouth stretched grotesquely around the other leg, her beautiful eyes staring into his. She looked into his eyes with a mix of lust and mischief. Reaching out, the mare held his struggling arms down. With a ferocious intensity, she forced the bottom half of his body down her throat. The lieutenant screamed as she ripped his lower body apart with her sharp teeth. With a small wave the mare gulped the last of his body down, then burped heartily. She stood a bit stronger than before. She marched playfully over to the stallion sitting in the corner. By now, he had noticed what had been happening and was struggling with his rifle. He dropped it when he saw her standing over him with a grin on her face. “Oh.” She whined, with a sad look on her face. “I forgot to ask the young soldier for his name. Oh well. Mine’s Redrum. What’s yours?” Chapter 2There was no sound, no movement, no other living creatures, just burning debris everywhere. Whatever it was that dealt out this destruction, it certainly was effective. Effective and scary. Pulling out a camera, I started recording everything I was seeing. Sprays of yellow sunlight struggled to penetrate the dark sky. A light, grayish mist hung low in the air, creating a feeling of mystery. Buildings stood quiet and lifeless facing each other. Most of them were charred beyond recognition. Near their entrances, silent bodies sat undisturbed as if waiting to be swept away by the slightest wind. “Those poor ponies,” I said aloud. “Hm?” Twilight questioned, looking up from the hole she had been studying. “Something wrong?” “It’s nothing.” I quickly replied, trying to keep my voice level. A collection of skeletons caught my eye as I continued walking. Laying near a burnt out store, they were almost completely rotted away. Two of them lay arm in arm, the adult’s arm’s clutching the foal’s. Their faces expressing great pain and unbelievable anguish. Turning off the camera, I turned away and swallowed the lump that had developed in my throat. Instantly Twilight was at my side, hooves gently wrapping around me. “That’s enough for now dear student. Let’s go take a break.” “No, I’m good. I can keep going.” I said, struggling to get a hold of my nerves. “Don’t stop on my account.” She looked at me for a moment. “Are you sure? We can stop and come back another time.” “No!” I shouted. “I mean, no. I’m fine. Just a little shaken.” She sighed. “Okay, if you say so. Why don’t we move on to the school? There appears to be a greater number around it compared to the rest of the town.” I nodded slowly. “Yes Twilight.” Not surprisingly, the school was just as messed up as the rest of the town. Various types of debris and ponies littered the floor everywhere we turned; most were still fresh, much to Twilight’s curiosity. “Interesting. These appear to have been here only a few hours.” Twilight “A few hours?” I replied. “But didn’t this happen yesterday? How can that be?” Twilight nodded. “That’s right.” She takes off her backpack and begins rummaging through it. Pulling out some of her equipment, Twilight began to take samples from a few of the ponies. “Wait, that can’t be right.” “What?” I asked. “What can’t be right?” Twilight motioned to her screen. “According to this. Every single one of these ponies died from a broken heart.” “A broken heart?” “Yeah, sure there are other wounds. But the main cause seems to be an unnatural amount of feeling overcoming the heart.” “But that’s impossible no one dies from a broken heart.” “Say what you will. But nothing’s impossible.” “But a broken heart? Come on, isn’t that a little strange?” Twilight didn’t answer. “Even if it was true. How would every single one die from it? There are both mares and stallions here.” Again no answer. “Twilight?” She held up a hoof. “Shush. Listen.” “Listen?” Twilight gave me a look. “The singing. Can’t you hear it?” “Singing?” I asked confused. Shaking her head Twilight walked over to me and placed a hoof over my mouth. “Listen.” As I walk along these shadows My heart can’t help but feel shallow I watch as everything falls apart Getting further from the start I waited here for you But you never appeared To wipe away my tears And claim me as yours Okay, someone else was definitely here. But that couldn’t be right. How could anyone survive this? I glanced over at Twilight who was writing something down. Leaving her, I went to the door and retrieved the stun rifle as well as a flashlight. Carefully, I walked down the halls, following the singing to the back of the school. As I entered the library the singing stopped altogether. Not that I needed it anymore. There in the center of the room, bathed in the light of the flashlight a dark figure lied in a pool of blood. The foal turned around, her face was flushed and streaked with trails of blood and tears, her long purple mane plastered to her forehead. She looked to be a couple of years younger than me. “Uh, hello?” I called, lowering the stun rifle. No answer. Just gave me a blank stare with her blue eyes. “Do you need help?” I asked taking a few steps closer. The foal cried out in terror and tried to get up to run. When she couldn’t get to her feet she started crawling away instead. It appeared both her rear hooves were broke. Although she didn’t seem to notice. “No, wait. It’s alright,” I said, removing my helmet. “I’m not going to hurt you.” She stopped moving and glanced back at me. “Hi, I’m Midnight Dusk. I’m sorry if I scared you.” Her eyes met mine, trying to decide if she wanted to trust me. “What’s your name?” I asked. “Eidolon.” Eidolon? “What are you doing in here all alone?” I asked. “Where is everyone?” Her head snapped sharply to the left as she gave a low whimper. Her horn gave off a black light as she struggled to her feet. “Eidolon?” She clutched her horn with both forehooves. Dropping to the floor, she started to shake violently. She mumbled incoherently. Blood slowly seeped from her nose and mouth, causing her to choke. “Eidolon!” Suddenly, everything went blurry, and for a split second, an extreme shock of pain ran through my body. When I opened my eyes I found myself flat on my back. My body shook violently from the shock, my muscles paralyzed. I seem unable to form any proper words. I stopped trying to talk and focused on trying to catch my breath. What happened? What was that pain? Why can’t I move? Am I even alive still?! Eventually, I started to hear sounds starting to come into clearer focus. The outline of Twilight's head above me soon followed. "C-Can you hear me? Are you okay?" She called as my vision went out again. Chapter 3It had already been a few weeks since Twilight’s first date with her boyfriend. Their last date had gone extremely well, much as everypony had hoped it would. The stallion seemed like an amazing catch. Twilight loved spending time with him, loved every minute that they shared together. She would often come back tired and collapse on the couch, from where I would then carry her to bed. Then in the morning she would be all giggly and hyper like a teenager. But something about him didn’t fit right with me. She wouldn't tell anyone who the stallion was, much less let anyone see him. She was completely open about everything, except that. And it wasn’t like Twilight being preoccupied with him made any trouble. Sure, I was forced to take care of all the things she’s supposed to do, from checking sealing spells to helping make sure the city was safe whenever the unicorns went out to practice dangerous spells and such. In fact, part of me wanted to leave it alone. Just let Twilight have her fun. She had found somepony who was totally into her. She didn't even get irked when I tried to make breakfast yesterday and set the house on fire. If her love life was something Twilight didn't want to talk about, then I should just respect that. Right? So why do I keep getting this bad feeling whenever she’s away? Sighing I turned my attention back to the situation at hand. I silently rode under the bright neon lights through Ponyville. For a Saturday night not many ponies were out on the streets but that was too be expected for this part of town. After a couple minutes of riding in circles I arrived at the address. 4602 Grass Knoll St. The escort from Ponyville PD hadn’t arrived yet so I decided to wait. Leaning against bike I went back over what they had told me over the phone. At 5:38 p.m. someone phoned in about a large black creature roaming around the neighborhood. Making low whimpering sounds the creature gave the appearance of being injured. So deciding to do the right thing a couple stallions called the animal welfare ponies. When the AWP guys showed up they all decided to venture out to go see if they could help it. But when they made contact with it the creature pounced on them, dragging the last of its victims through a house. From there it has stayed. Seeing as how Twilight was out AWOL again, I was the one stuck with finding out what happened and fixing it. Big expectations for someone who’s only been an apprentice for a couple months. Shaking my head, I gave up on waiting for the escort and went and knocked on the door. Obviously there was no response, and if there had been I’d probably had left. Instead I opened the door and turned on a flashlight. When my eyes adjusted, I almost screamed. Everything was covered in blood from the chandelier to the nails in the floorboards. In the living room I spotted at least six figures laying around. On the stairs, four more. And who knows how many were upstairs and in the other rooms. Blocking the kitchen, there was a large creature with many of its vital organs missing. But it wasn’t what had done this. The large bite taken out of its chest proved that. The bodies sprawled out in the living room all shared the same shocked expressions, like the face of what had done this was something horribly disfigured. From the smell, they were all still fresh possibly an hour and a half at the most. Bending down I closed the eyes of a little filly who was clutching a stuffed animal. I moved a hoff over my mouth to keep myself from throwing up as I stood back up. Then, something crashed to the floor behind me. Surprised I whirled around and saw a figure with blue eyes. It was a black mare. She was covered in blood with small cuts covering her. Along her back, black tentacle like appendages flapped around wildly. I backed away from her but slipped on one of the puddles of blood, falling onto my back. She stood over me, a glare on her face as her eyes locked with mine. I started to get back up, my eyes staying with hers. My breath shallow, I continued my retreat to the door. In a flash, she grabbed me and threw my body into a wall. Shaking my head, I shakily climbed back to my hooves and blocked out most of the pain. The mare stood still, waiting for me to make another move. A menacing grin spread across her face as I spit blood onto the floor. "Let me guess. You’re the one who did this?" I asked. She growled, charging me. Sidestepping, I grab one of her tentacles slam her to the ground. She wailed as I delivered a kick to her now exposed stomach. Then, dragging her knees I delivered a teeth-shattering punch to her mouth. The mare let out a strained growl and hammered one hoof into the my stomach. With a gasp, my breath is knocked from my lungs and I released her. Instantly she gets back on her hooves and rushed me. Still stunned from the sudden blow, I’m slammed against the wall for a second time. Stars erupt in my vision as blood dripped down my face. One of her tentacles grabbed my head and snapped it to the side. She pulled her hoof back for a punch. Thinking fast I summoned a switchblade and sliced through her tentacle, drawing blood. Immediately, I’m free and dropped down to the floor. An angry growl greeted my ears as her hoof slammed into the wall where my face had been seconds before. Not waiting for her to recover I broke for the door.
Chapter 1Lightning broke across the sky as the three dogs bolted down the hallways of the laboratory. They barked twice, then twice more. Close on their heels the soldiers loaded their weapons and cautiously made their way into the building. The place was in ruins. Rows and rows of shelves and empty metal containers were thrown around the floor. A couple cabinets were on their side, with what looked to be bite marks in them. The dogs were in a corner whimpering, a sound that was followed by a sizzling sound. Surprised the soldiers approached the next room carefully, rifles in hooves. Expecting to see some kind of monster, they were surprised to find the only other one in the room to be a confused looking, young mare who barely came up to their shoulders. She had what looked like long, yellow, red and black drapery loosely wrapped around her body, dragging on the ground behind her. On her head she wore some kind of crown with five red jewels in it. Strangest of all, the pink-haired mare was licking the outside of a metal container. “Excuse me, ma’am? What are you doing?” The captain asked, lowering his rifle. “Ma’am? You’re currently trespassing on restricted property. Please, come with me now so I don’t have to use force.” The mare stopped licking and lifted her head, but continued looking at the metal container. “Madam please. It’s dangerous here. We have reason to believe that some sort of dangerous creature was recently released here. Please, come with us now, so we can ensure your safety.” Eventually she slowly turned her gaze towards them. The woman looked like she hadn’t had anything to eat for quite some time, yet she also had an alluring, foreign beauty about her. Her skin had an olive tinge to it that seemed to glow when caught in the light of the flashlights. Her sad, lost look and doe eyes threatened to melt every soldier’s hardened heart. She looked the captain in the eye for a second, and gave him a frightened look. “A dangerous creature?” She gasped. “Oh my goodness, I do hope it’s not a rampaging bear. I’ve always been terrified of bears, you see. Please Mr. Soldier, won’t you rescue me?” “Not to worry ma’am. You’re in safe hooves.” The captain turned to the other soldiers. “Vox. Zard. Take two of the dogs and continue searching the laboratory for the creature. Rif, you’re with me. We’ll escort the civilian to custody.” “Yes sir.” Vox and Zard both said, saluting. “Yes sir.” Nodding Lieutenant Rif, placed shackles on the mare, and walked her out through the door. Halfway down the hallway the mare cleared her throat. “I’m sorry sir, what’s your name?” “Captain Louis.” “Well Louis. I was wondering if you happened to have anything to eat? Maybe an apple or something?” “You’ll get a meal when you reach the holding cell. After we give you a through questioning.” The mare looked up at him sadly, and started to cry. “Holding cell? But I didn’t do anything. And I can’t wait that long. I’m so, so hungry. And I know I told my sister that I wouldn’t eat any anything that I didn’t originally pay for. But I’m willing to do anything for some food. Anything…” She gave him a mischievous look. On the other side of her, Rif gave the mare a closer inspection. Strange, the lieutenant thought. Somehow, the young mare looked a little bit fuller. Her body looked healthier. The seasoned soldier didn’t know what to make of her. The way she acted. It wasn’t like a typical young mare. Instead she acted like an overgrown lost child. Almost like a temptress. Was she really hitting on the captain? He was like twice her age. What would she see in him? Either way, he couldn’t really say no to those beautiful doe eyes either. Shaking his head he reached for his satchel, and handed her a couple chicken legs he had been keeping for break. “Here.” The mare snatched it hungrily. Sitting down she tilted back her head, wrapped her mouth around it, and swallowed both legs, bones and all. Shocked, the lieutenant asked, “Madam? Are you okay!” “Yes sir. More, please?” She said reaching out her empty hooves. “Um, sorry. I don’t have any more.” “No more?” “I’m sorry.” The girl turned to the captain. “Sorry. I don’t have any either.” He shrugged. Suddenly the mare turned around and ran towards the remaining dog. “Wait!” Rif called. The girl tackled the dog from behind. “I’m so hungry!” She stood back up, and was now holding the whimpering dog by its neck. She pushed the dog’s head toward her mouth, her mouth opening wider than either stallion had ever seen a mare’s mouth open before. She grabbed the struggling body, and somehow managed to push the entire dog down her throat. She let out a pleased sigh as she laid on her back. The soldiers stared at her, stunned. The woman eyed the lieutenant, and placed her hand on his shoulder. “I’m still hungry, for a stallion…” The lieutenant knew better than to lie with some madmare when he was on the job, but she was too beautiful to pass up. He glanced at his superior, who was on the floor throwing up and talking to himself. Other than that, the hallway was deserted. The guard frantically took his leather armor off and threw it next to the captain. The mare likewise dropped her robes: she had a defined, round butt he wouldn’t have imagined her having just a few minutes ago. Her lips were bright red, and fuller than any the stallion had seen before. The mare shoved him to the ground, with surprising force. It was safe to say he was enjoying himself. She lied flat on her stomach, making dreamy eyes at him. Then something strange happened. The mare crawled up to his hindhooves and put one into her open mouth. Normally, he would’ve thought more of it but for some reason his mind seemed unable to create complete thoughts. His entire mind was suddenly at peace. Closing his eyes, the lieutenant allowed himself to enjoy the strange feeling. Soon, she had his entire hoof in her mouth. Then his shins. Suddenly he felt his left leg go numb as she swallowed the hindhoof. Opening his eyes, he began to panic. How was this possible? The soldier tried to fight, but the mare didn’t seem deterred in the least. “What did you do! Where’s my leg?” As if on cue, she grabbed his other hoof and snapped it sharply back. He screamed. Opening up again, her mouth stretched grotesquely around the other leg, her beautiful eyes staring into his. She looked into his eyes with a mix of lust and mischief. Reaching out, the mare held his struggling arms down. With a ferocious intensity, she forced the bottom half of his body down her throat. The lieutenant screamed as she ripped his lower body apart with her sharp teeth. With a small wave the mare gulped the last of his body down, then burped heartily. She stood a bit stronger than before. She marched playfully over to the stallion sitting in the corner. By now, he had noticed what had been happening and was struggling with his rifle. He dropped it when he saw her standing over him with a grin on her face. “Oh.” She whined, with a sad look on her face. “I forgot to ask the young soldier for his name. Oh well. Mine’s Redrum. What’s yours?”
Chapter 2There was no sound, no movement, no other living creatures, just burning debris everywhere. Whatever it was that dealt out this destruction, it certainly was effective. Effective and scary. Pulling out a camera, I started recording everything I was seeing. Sprays of yellow sunlight struggled to penetrate the dark sky. A light, grayish mist hung low in the air, creating a feeling of mystery. Buildings stood quiet and lifeless facing each other. Most of them were charred beyond recognition. Near their entrances, silent bodies sat undisturbed as if waiting to be swept away by the slightest wind. “Those poor ponies,” I said aloud. “Hm?” Twilight questioned, looking up from the hole she had been studying. “Something wrong?” “It’s nothing.” I quickly replied, trying to keep my voice level. A collection of skeletons caught my eye as I continued walking. Laying near a burnt out store, they were almost completely rotted away. Two of them lay arm in arm, the adult’s arm’s clutching the foal’s. Their faces expressing great pain and unbelievable anguish. Turning off the camera, I turned away and swallowed the lump that had developed in my throat. Instantly Twilight was at my side, hooves gently wrapping around me. “That’s enough for now dear student. Let’s go take a break.” “No, I’m good. I can keep going.” I said, struggling to get a hold of my nerves. “Don’t stop on my account.” She looked at me for a moment. “Are you sure? We can stop and come back another time.” “No!” I shouted. “I mean, no. I’m fine. Just a little shaken.” She sighed. “Okay, if you say so. Why don’t we move on to the school? There appears to be a greater number around it compared to the rest of the town.” I nodded slowly. “Yes Twilight.” Not surprisingly, the school was just as messed up as the rest of the town. Various types of debris and ponies littered the floor everywhere we turned; most were still fresh, much to Twilight’s curiosity. “Interesting. These appear to have been here only a few hours.” Twilight “A few hours?” I replied. “But didn’t this happen yesterday? How can that be?” Twilight nodded. “That’s right.” She takes off her backpack and begins rummaging through it. Pulling out some of her equipment, Twilight began to take samples from a few of the ponies. “Wait, that can’t be right.” “What?” I asked. “What can’t be right?” Twilight motioned to her screen. “According to this. Every single one of these ponies died from a broken heart.” “A broken heart?” “Yeah, sure there are other wounds. But the main cause seems to be an unnatural amount of feeling overcoming the heart.” “But that’s impossible no one dies from a broken heart.” “Say what you will. But nothing’s impossible.” “But a broken heart? Come on, isn’t that a little strange?” Twilight didn’t answer. “Even if it was true. How would every single one die from it? There are both mares and stallions here.” Again no answer. “Twilight?” She held up a hoof. “Shush. Listen.” “Listen?” Twilight gave me a look. “The singing. Can’t you hear it?” “Singing?” I asked confused. Shaking her head Twilight walked over to me and placed a hoof over my mouth. “Listen.” As I walk along these shadows My heart can’t help but feel shallow I watch as everything falls apart Getting further from the start I waited here for you But you never appeared To wipe away my tears And claim me as yours Okay, someone else was definitely here. But that couldn’t be right. How could anyone survive this? I glanced over at Twilight who was writing something down. Leaving her, I went to the door and retrieved the stun rifle as well as a flashlight. Carefully, I walked down the halls, following the singing to the back of the school. As I entered the library the singing stopped altogether. Not that I needed it anymore. There in the center of the room, bathed in the light of the flashlight a dark figure lied in a pool of blood. The foal turned around, her face was flushed and streaked with trails of blood and tears, her long purple mane plastered to her forehead. She looked to be a couple of years younger than me. “Uh, hello?” I called, lowering the stun rifle. No answer. Just gave me a blank stare with her blue eyes. “Do you need help?” I asked taking a few steps closer. The foal cried out in terror and tried to get up to run. When she couldn’t get to her feet she started crawling away instead. It appeared both her rear hooves were broke. Although she didn’t seem to notice. “No, wait. It’s alright,” I said, removing my helmet. “I’m not going to hurt you.” She stopped moving and glanced back at me. “Hi, I’m Midnight Dusk. I’m sorry if I scared you.” Her eyes met mine, trying to decide if she wanted to trust me. “What’s your name?” I asked. “Eidolon.” Eidolon? “What are you doing in here all alone?” I asked. “Where is everyone?” Her head snapped sharply to the left as she gave a low whimper. Her horn gave off a black light as she struggled to her feet. “Eidolon?” She clutched her horn with both forehooves. Dropping to the floor, she started to shake violently. She mumbled incoherently. Blood slowly seeped from her nose and mouth, causing her to choke. “Eidolon!” Suddenly, everything went blurry, and for a split second, an extreme shock of pain ran through my body. When I opened my eyes I found myself flat on my back. My body shook violently from the shock, my muscles paralyzed. I seem unable to form any proper words. I stopped trying to talk and focused on trying to catch my breath. What happened? What was that pain? Why can’t I move? Am I even alive still?! Eventually, I started to hear sounds starting to come into clearer focus. The outline of Twilight's head above me soon followed. "C-Can you hear me? Are you okay?" She called as my vision went out again.
Chapter 3It had already been a few weeks since Twilight’s first date with her boyfriend. Their last date had gone extremely well, much as everypony had hoped it would. The stallion seemed like an amazing catch. Twilight loved spending time with him, loved every minute that they shared together. She would often come back tired and collapse on the couch, from where I would then carry her to bed. Then in the morning she would be all giggly and hyper like a teenager. But something about him didn’t fit right with me. She wouldn't tell anyone who the stallion was, much less let anyone see him. She was completely open about everything, except that. And it wasn’t like Twilight being preoccupied with him made any trouble. Sure, I was forced to take care of all the things she’s supposed to do, from checking sealing spells to helping make sure the city was safe whenever the unicorns went out to practice dangerous spells and such. In fact, part of me wanted to leave it alone. Just let Twilight have her fun. She had found somepony who was totally into her. She didn't even get irked when I tried to make breakfast yesterday and set the house on fire. If her love life was something Twilight didn't want to talk about, then I should just respect that. Right? So why do I keep getting this bad feeling whenever she’s away? Sighing I turned my attention back to the situation at hand. I silently rode under the bright neon lights through Ponyville. For a Saturday night not many ponies were out on the streets but that was too be expected for this part of town. After a couple minutes of riding in circles I arrived at the address. 4602 Grass Knoll St. The escort from Ponyville PD hadn’t arrived yet so I decided to wait. Leaning against bike I went back over what they had told me over the phone. At 5:38 p.m. someone phoned in about a large black creature roaming around the neighborhood. Making low whimpering sounds the creature gave the appearance of being injured. So deciding to do the right thing a couple stallions called the animal welfare ponies. When the AWP guys showed up they all decided to venture out to go see if they could help it. But when they made contact with it the creature pounced on them, dragging the last of its victims through a house. From there it has stayed. Seeing as how Twilight was out AWOL again, I was the one stuck with finding out what happened and fixing it. Big expectations for someone who’s only been an apprentice for a couple months. Shaking my head, I gave up on waiting for the escort and went and knocked on the door. Obviously there was no response, and if there had been I’d probably had left. Instead I opened the door and turned on a flashlight. When my eyes adjusted, I almost screamed. Everything was covered in blood from the chandelier to the nails in the floorboards. In the living room I spotted at least six figures laying around. On the stairs, four more. And who knows how many were upstairs and in the other rooms. Blocking the kitchen, there was a large creature with many of its vital organs missing. But it wasn’t what had done this. The large bite taken out of its chest proved that. The bodies sprawled out in the living room all shared the same shocked expressions, like the face of what had done this was something horribly disfigured. From the smell, they were all still fresh possibly an hour and a half at the most. Bending down I closed the eyes of a little filly who was clutching a stuffed animal. I moved a hoff over my mouth to keep myself from throwing up as I stood back up. Then, something crashed to the floor behind me. Surprised I whirled around and saw a figure with blue eyes. It was a black mare. She was covered in blood with small cuts covering her. Along her back, black tentacle like appendages flapped around wildly. I backed away from her but slipped on one of the puddles of blood, falling onto my back. She stood over me, a glare on her face as her eyes locked with mine. I started to get back up, my eyes staying with hers. My breath shallow, I continued my retreat to the door. In a flash, she grabbed me and threw my body into a wall. Shaking my head, I shakily climbed back to my hooves and blocked out most of the pain. The mare stood still, waiting for me to make another move. A menacing grin spread across her face as I spit blood onto the floor. "Let me guess. You’re the one who did this?" I asked. She growled, charging me. Sidestepping, I grab one of her tentacles slam her to the ground. She wailed as I delivered a kick to her now exposed stomach. Then, dragging her knees I delivered a teeth-shattering punch to her mouth. The mare let out a strained growl and hammered one hoof into the my stomach. With a gasp, my breath is knocked from my lungs and I released her. Instantly she gets back on her hooves and rushed me. Still stunned from the sudden blow, I’m slammed against the wall for a second time. Stars erupt in my vision as blood dripped down my face. One of her tentacles grabbed my head and snapped it to the side. She pulled her hoof back for a punch. Thinking fast I summoned a switchblade and sliced through her tentacle, drawing blood. Immediately, I’m free and dropped down to the floor. An angry growl greeted my ears as her hoof slammed into the wall where my face had been seconds before. Not waiting for her to recover I broke for the door.
