A Ghost of What Might Have Been

(Warning, this chapter contains light NSFW content semi-important to the plot, skip if you dare.)

Applejack froze. She had slipped between two large shipping containers instead of going around them, the gap just barely big enough for her large form, the shadows in between covered her coat. Mentally she was aware of her own breath catching, her tail twitching as the reapers above her, more or less at the same time saw what she saw, but luckily for her, they had the restraint to take her lead, and find themselves good ambush places.

Infront of her was this great, raised…dias, made of the same slick goo, like someone needed a throne in a apple-pickin’ hurry, On that dias, four roughly pony sized…things were tending to a mass of slime on the dias that was roughly twice the size of a regular pony, but still smaller than Applejack. Hoping beyond hope that the Reapers would follow her lead, Applejack did the smartest thing at the moment…struck while the iron was hot! Her side crashed into the closest of the strange bug…ponies. She felt the sickening crunch of carapace against her hide as her hips hit the bug squarely in the middle, causing it to collapse into a heap of broken bug-pony, Apparently she’d cracked something vital!

Picking herself up, she saw the reapers crash into the other two like bullets, Sheer speed and momentum was the only thing that seemed to help, as their claws just seemed to be scraping against the carapace. White light pain lanced across her side made her snort in pain, whipping her head around, she saw the last of the bugs. Stupid, applejack getting distracted like that!

She squared off against this one, it was quick against her bulky strength, lightning fast as it darted forward with teeth and sharp claws where it’s hooves should be. Pain lanced across her shoulder as she turned her body into a particularly vicious blow, feeling the Bug’s fangs hook into her shoulder, she grinned. “Gotcha now pardner.” She bragged a little at the bug’s confused expression before the light faded from it’s eyes as she smashed it against a wall, feeling the fangs tear into her shoulder more, but…that was the sacrifice. She kicked the dead bug away, feeling the fiery shafts of pain along her body before she shook her head, looking to the Reapers. They both appeared to be cut but alive

She turned her attention to the massive pile of goo on the makeshift dias, approaching it, aware that there might be more of those strange bugs in the cargo hold, but her curiousity was getting the better of her. Emerald green goo coated the floor about two feet in height and about….She thought about it for a moment; Perhaps six feet in circumference. Within the emerald goo was a cloudy, soupy mix that applejack had to squint to see through but as if sensing intention, the goo began to clear up to reveal something that made even Applejack, stalwart blacksmith and warrior back up rapidly.

Within the goo-soup was a figure that might have once been a passenger. The pony had been black haired at one point, a female by the countenance at the …exposed nethers. The first major shift from pony-dom was the fact that here and there in sections, the pony’s hide had been replaced with the black, shiny carapace of the bugs, her muzzle was elongated, completely covered in carapace, and where her flat molars would be, were rows of sharp, serrated fangs. Here and there horse hide was still apparent, as if they had been in the middle of transforming the female, her mane seemed to be half-hair, half..gossamer material that shimmered in what light was let into the goo, one eye was also covered in goo. Unlike the bug’s huge eyes, it appeared to be normal in size but was closed like the normal. It seemed to be taking raspy breathes, air being given to it by a tube that extended from the goo, it seemed.

Applejack eyed the abomination, her gut recoiling but…It had done nothing to her…Well in truth neither had the bugs, but given the bite and claw marks on her hide, which were already healing up, it wasn’t as if they’d been friendly in the first place, but this thing here was..helpless. For once in her stubborn life she was at an impasse at what to do.

The reapers shared glances, before Curse spoke up. “We’ll scout the other entrance while you…deal with this, Applejack.” He said before leading the other reaper away to do so.