Leucochloridium paradoxum
"Uuuungh..."
The loud groan made the farmpony's ears twitch. She thanked her last customer and turned to look at her friend, who was stumbling about with a look of strong discomfort on her face.
"Y'all right there, Twi?" Applejack said.
"Yeah, I'm just... Ugh..." Twilight sat down and rubbed her belly with her foreleg. "My stomach's not my best friend today..."
"Somethin' ya ate?"
"Not much since yesterday..."
Applejack stepped closer to get a better look. "Whoa... Ya look a lil' green around the gills. Maybe ya should go visit a doctor."
"Nah, it's not that bad..." The unicorn chuckled. "I guess even Fluttershy's cooking can be a challenge sometimes."
"Oh, that?" Applejack laughed as well and patted her friend's back. "Heh, gave me a few nasty dreams last night. Still, it was some good eatin', right? I'm sure it'll pass."
Twilight sighed, her hoof still massaging her stomach. "Yeah," she muttered. "I guess so."
"Ya know, maybe ya should have used yer magic after all," Applejack said. She went back to her stand to dismantle it and prepare the parts for the journey home. "Carryin' all those big loads and whatnot. Big meal after hard work upset yer stomach? Wouldn't surprise me..."
"Well, how else am I supposed to stay in shape?" Twilight said. She trotted up next to her friend and helped her remove the sign from the stand. Her eyes twitched as her horn lit up to remove the screws, the effort of using magic seeming to pain her today. "Besides, spring cleaning is way more fun without advanced magic. It means it's something we can all do together, same as Winter Wrap Up."
Applejack lit up. "Hey, that reminds me: don't ya got some kind of spell that could help you?"
Twilight shook her head, the glow on her horn fading away. "I can't fix every problem with magic, Applejack. If I don't let my body heal itself, it will never be ready to face trouble in case my magic fails somehow..."
"Ah see what ya mean."
Twilight's face contorted, and another tiny belch left her lips. "On top of that... I don't actually know any healing spells."
Applejack blinked. "Wait... Seriously? Ah thought you were like a whole library of spellbooks on four legs..." She scratched at her head and chuckled nervously. "No offense."
"None taken." Twilight groaned and let out another belch. She did not even try to hide it this time. The relief was all that mattered. "Ugh... Pardon me. And no, skill in unicorn magic is not universal. It's not as simple as 'learning a few spells'."
"Like how work on mah farm ain't just about kickin' trees real hard, right?"
"Exactly. Most of the things you see me do are thanks to me practicing them my whole life. If I wanted to heal ponies, I'd have to spend years in a medical school first."
Applejack smiled. "Well, if unicorn magic can't help, want to try the earth pony way instead? Ah'm sure Granny Smith has a few recipes that could help."
Twilight hesitated for a moment, but ended up returning the smile. "Sure, why not?"
Twilight awoke with a low groan. Her eyes sluggishly opened, only to close again quickly from the morning light that seeped in through the blinds. A crushing agony descended on her skull, making her groan again as she rolled back and forth on the sweat-soaked cushions.
She belched, and the bitter smell of the odd concoction she got from her friend rose up from her belly. Last time I ever drink "Granny Elixir" before bed... she thought.
Twilight frowned. Something was very wrong. Not that she felt sick; the nausea did not get any worse. Then again, it did not get better either, and she now had a slight headache, as well as a soreness in her throat, plus a weird tingle in her forehead. But other than all that, she felt fine. Probably just a bad night's sleep. Still, something kept nagging at her that things were about to get very bad, if they had not already.
With a sigh, she sat up, gave a long yawn, and climbed out of the bed. A quick shake of her head brushed away her concerns, though the ache and nausea remained. Her hooves slowly dragged her in front of the mirror nearby, where she summoned her brushes and combs for her daily grooming process.
Once she finished washing her face, brushing her coat, and making sure her mane and tail were both in order, she looked herself over, a satisfied smirk on her face. Already the mild aches and sickness seemed to be fading away as a result of her routine of tidying herself up. She gave a pleased sigh and was about to turn away when her eyes caught on something.
"What the hay?" she muttered.
Just at the base of her horn, she noticed a slight bulge under her skin. Twilight's eyes narrowed, and she leaned a bit closer to the mirror. At first, she thought she was just seeing things, but the bulge was still there after several blinks and wipes of her eyes. She reached up with her forehoof to touch it, only to gasp in surprise and freeze when the bulge seemed to move, followed by an odd tickling sensation at the same spot.
An odd lurch passed through Twilight's insides, all the way up through her throat, and the feeling of dread from before now returned with a vengeance. Moments later, she watched, wide-eyed, as more and more of her scalp around her horn bulged slightly, the tickling sensation intensifying along with them.
Twilight gasped again when the tingling spread to her horn directly, and the paper-thin layer of skin that coated the appendage bulged as well. It started at the base, and what looked like a small tentacle appeared under her skin and snaked its way up from the swollen area.
"Oh my gosh..." she whimpered. The tendril slithered further along the edge of her horn, pushing up the skin along the way. Her blood ran cold as she felt the thing rub against the bare bone and tissue underneath. "What is that? What is that oh my gosh Celestia help me..."
The tumor-like blob in her skin followed after the invading tentacle. It wrapped around her horn and slowly inflated under every inch that the lead tendril gained. A sickening sensation added to the odd tingle as her skin stretched, along with the feeling of someone wrapping fleshy fingers around more and more of her horn, their grip tightening with every passing moment.
Twilight gasped for breath, her heart pounding in her chest. Instinctively, she tried to use her magic, but all her horn could manage was vomit a few sparks from the tip. She tried again and again, but once the intruder moved a bit further up, she was unable to get a reaction at all. She could only stare in horror now, convinced that it was just a bad dream.
"...what the hay is that oh celestia get it out get it out of me please somepony help..."
She almost bit her tongue when the tentacle, now halfway up her horn, made a more rapid move and advanced a whole inch in the blink of an eye. The bulge followed it, and just under the thin membrane of her unnaturally stretched skin, Twilight noticed a flash of bright green slide along the inside of her appendage.
The tentacle pushed again and managed to reach the tip of her horn, the bulge rushing to catch up. The stretching was akin to someone trying to stuff her horn to bursting, and her skin felt close to a breaking point.
Twilight was too scared to move. Too scared to speak, or even blink. Her eyes remained glued to the sickening invasion, where the greenish presence from before was lighting up all around her horn now. Starting at the very base of her horn, her scalp had swollen out, filled to the brim with the bright green intruder, effectively smothering the appendage.
"...dear merciful celestia no this is impossible this is..."
Her hooves shook uncontrollably as she backed away from the mirror. The slightest twitch sent shivers down her spine as the tension in her scalp grew rapidly. The thing inside her horn had inflated the skin to over twice its volume, and it showed no signs of stopping. The membrane of skin inflated well beyond the fine tip of the bone to form a dull, rounded growth. It looked as though some translucent, balloon-like mockery had replaced her horn, though she could still catch a faint contour of the organ underneath.
Moments later, the swirling colors coalesced into a row of blurry stripes, arranged in alternating shades of green, while what looked like blots of ink collected near top of the growth, forming a pair of eye-like dots at the very tip. The swelling peaked, at which point the intruder stopped abruptly.
Twilight breathed hard. The grotesque image seemed impossible, yet the intense sensation convinced her that it was real. Her skin felt ready to burst at the slightest motion. Although there was no pain, the horrible tension in her scalp had her believe that it could rupture at any moment, which left her paralyzed with fear.
"Help me oh my gosh help..." She was finding her voice now. The intruder had stopped moving, but that was little comfort for her after all it had achieved in less than a minute.
If I let it keep going this way...
A million instincts fought for control at the same time. She wanted to run. To rip the thing out of her. To carefully go downstairs and seek help. Her legs remained rooted in place.
The thing inside her horn twitched.
"Help..." She tried to shout, though only a desperate whine came out. The thing twitched again and again, creating a horrible slimy sensation under her skin. Twilight's heart was beating in her throat now, but she was determined to squeeze her voice through. "Help! HE—"
Her scream was cut off and turned into an low gurgle, her gaze just able to catch the striped pattern of the creature pulse under her skin before a powerful rush of nausea and vertigo overwhelmed her head. Her eyes crossed as she felt something thick and slimy pump straight down from her horn and into her skull, only to squirm around a bit and pull back. A sickening lurch passed all the way through her body in response, her insides crawling and twisting into knots.
Twilight gagged, her forehead and nose throbbing as though she had managed to vomit part of her brain out through them. She gasped for breath and struggled to keep her balance, her eyelids blinking away at stars and black spots as she tried to refocus her vision. With a great effort, she managed to lean on the vanity and lift her gaze at her reflection, just in time to see the thing move again.
The mare fell away from the mirror and doubled over, eyes rolling back in her head as she gurgled more violently. Her body shook uncontrollably as the sensations returned even stronger. But the thing did not even wait for her to recover this time. Twilight heaved as the second pulse came, a small puddle of bile exiting her mouth, and it felt like her skull and intestines came out as well. A third pulse came just as she desperately tried to right herself and escape. Her legs gave out in mid-stride, and she fell against her bed. The fourth made her bladder release, or at least what little was left in it.
Bit by bit, the intruder built up a slow rhythm. Twilight was on the verge of blacking out, her body all but numb from the overdose of discomfort. There was still no genuine pain, just the same sickening pressure throughout her, not unlike the one in her horn. It blocked her ability to even think, let alone act. She could vaguely feel the creature slither back and forth, pushing its slimy mass in and out of her now empty-feeling skull. Her nerves, entrails, and veins all spread the vile feeling to the rest of her body. Her limbs twitched and jerked uncontrollably, and she had a constant urge to empty herself from every orifice.
After about a minute of this relentless torture, the motions of the intruder finally calmed down a little, and the violent reaction in Twilight's body lessened enough to allow her to breathe properly. Her hooves held on to the bedpost for dear life, and she gasped for breath, limbs and insides still twitching. Weakly, she pulled herself up enough and managed to turn her head to look at the mirror again. The thing inside her horn calmly pulsed back and forth, the green stripes and dark spots sliding along the inflated skin. She could feel the tiniest motions, the slimy flesh hugging her horn and throbbing in her skull, and the nausea and pressure it spread through the rest of her body.
Oh Celestia what is it doing to me why—
She gurgled and fell to the floor, mind going blank as the pulsing intensified again. It stopped a few seconds later, relieving the pressure on Twilight's mind and body.
What was that why did—
It came again. Twilight emptied the rest of her stomach's contents onto the floor. Like before, the thing relented quickly, but as soon as she tried to form a coherent thought, let alone start panicking inside her head, it "chastised" her again. At one point, out of pure instinct, she tried to make a run for the stairs. After another minute of gurgling and convulsing on the floor, it finally let her go once more.
Twilight breathed hard once her limbs managed to calm down. Tears streamed from her eyes as she sluggishly pulled herself back onto her haunches. Her mind was quiet and numb, held down as a reflex to the punishment she got every time. Instead, every thought was replaced by the constant squirming and slithering of the thing in her horn. The slimy noise became a constant drone in her skull. She shuddered and whimpered helplessly, but couldn't even think about why she did so.
For a couple of minutes, Twilight just sat there, the parasite pulsating in her forehead calmly. Her mouth hung open, making her drool all over her forelegs, and her eyes stared blankly ahead. She tried to "resurface" again, to comprehend what was happening, but the thing easily pushed her back down, eliciting a small groan each time. What little remained of her mind's functions now tried to experiment, or rather: blindly claw at the boundaries set up by the intruder to see what she could still do without resistance.
Her limbs jerked, and she attempted to move them around. The invader's movements remained the same. She tried standing up and marching a few paces in no particular direction. Still nothing. Content with having this much freedom, Twilight marched about akin to a feral creature, eyes glazed over and mouth agape, drooling. Her legs seemed to cooperate just fine, able to keep up a steady pace without stumbling, and they could even avoid obstacles and move up and down stairs. All they lacked was an actual goal to move toward.
Twilight tried to direct her vision next, but apart from just looking straight ahead, half-focused, she was allowed little more. Moving her mouth, let alone forming coherent sounds with it, was also right out. The very attempt of coming up with a message led to swift punishment.
She spent a couple more minutes testing her boundaries. The rest of her senses and most of her basic functions seemed to be unaffected, but that still left her at the invader's mercy. She would have sighed in frustration, but the emotion could not form. Her mind could still experience sensations, but it could not comprehend them on any higher level. It was empty and quiet, dominated by the noise and the feeling of the parasite's movements.
"Uuugh..." She twitched and gurgled when another burst of discomfort came. It was different this time. The thing pulsated a bit faster, but not in an effort directly against her. It was excited by something, and that led to yanking on her choke chain.
As her head lifted up, she noticed that she had managed to wander near her window, and the sunlight from outside washed over her. The parasite immediately reacted. The discomfort in Twilight's body grew as the intruder urged her to move toward the light. While she herself could not make this connection, not doing anything was no longer enough for the torment to stop.
She desperately tried to react, each attempt stopping when the parasite punished her for doing the wrong thing. Eventually, she found that moving closer to her window made it let up. She obeyed until her forehead ended up bumping against the window repeatedly. Another lurch passed through her from her horn, and she had to back away this time.
Now out of the light, the pulsing thing directed her to find a way out. She realized this when it reduced the punishment the moment she left her room. Getting down the stairs took a bit longer, since she first tried all the other places on that floor, and since the parasite thought trying to operate a door was a rebellious act, it took another ten minutes before she finally managed to crawl outside through a window that had been left open.
Bathed in sunlight once more, Twilight Sparkle groaned as the pressure in her head urged her to follow its source, so she lifted her hooves and calmly set off in the direction of the afternoon sun. There was no demanded pace, and she did not intend to hurry without being forced to, which gave the other inhabitants of the town plenty of time to stare at her in shock as she marched past them, a dazed expression on her face, and a bright green, pulsating thing living on her horn.
"Mmm..." Pinkie Pie sniffed at the warm and heavy pot. Licking her lips, she set it down on one of the tables in front of Sugar Cube Corner, her friends gathering around her. "Smells really good, Fluttershy. A new recipe?"
The pegasus blushed. "Just something I threw together. You were all so nice to help me last week. It's the least I can do."
Applejack patted her on the back. "Don't mention it, sugarcube." She frowned. "Say, anypony know where Rarity's hidin'?"
"Coming~!" the mare in question called out. "Sorry I'm late, everypony. There were no clean dishes left, so I didn't have time to get everything else after cleaning a few." She trotted up next to them, horn glowing, and six sparkling clean bowls levitated out of her saddlebag, along with a bundle of spoons and a ladle, which she quickly arranged in front of everypony's seats. She followed up with some colorful napkins and a packet of mints, making her friends stifle a laugh. "What?" She huffed and held her snout high. "I'm not just going to let us eat like animals now, am I?"
"We better wait for Twilight though," Fluttershy said as she took her seat. "Hmm... You know, it's not like her to be late. Maybe she ran into some trouble?"
Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Nah, she's probably just doing checklists about checklists again." She pulled the steaming pot closer and reached for the ladle. "So what say we—"
A series of gasps and panicked cries from around them cut her off. They quickly turned to look, jaws dropping when they realized what the commotion was about.
Twilight Sparkle did, in fact, make it to their appointment. She was almost on time, too. However, the parasite currently living in her head made sure she was in no condition to partake in a mid-afternoon supper with her friends, late or not.
Everypony around stared in horror at the grotesque image, a few of them murmuring and stumbling out of the way as the unicorn marched down the street toward them, only to walk straight past, oblivious. Within moments, she was just a few paces away from the table where her friends sat.
"T-Twilight?" Pinkie Pie whimpered. Her legs shook as she got off her seat and stepped up to her friend. "Are... Are you okay?"
The mare did not seem to notice her at all. She kept on marching, an empty look in her eyes, face contorted and stained by tears, jaw hanging open and drooling. Occasionally, the thing in her horn would move a little faster, and she let out a small, guttural moan.
Rainbow Dash floated several feet off the ground, keeping pace with the catatonic pony, but not wanting to come any closer. "What... What the heck is that thing?" She pointed at the pulsating creature in disgust.
"Celestia have mercy on us..." Applejack whispered. She ran up beside Pinkie, Rarity in tow, and waved her hoof in front of the purple unicorn's face. "Twilight! Are ya all right? Can ya hear us?"
They formed a rough semi-circle in front of her, walking backwards while Twilight marched on, not reacting at all to their presence beyond a few more groans and the occasional blink. At one point, they tried to stop and block her path, upon which their friend stopped as well. Their panic grew as she gave a low, agonizing moan, her body shuddering in an odd way as she stepped closer and tried to find a way past them, the thick green mockery on her skull now inches away from their faces.
Fluttershy was the last to catch up. She was the only one among them who remained calm, though she was no less disturbed by the scene. "This..." she muttered. "No... No, that's impossible..."
"What?" Applejack turned to her. "What is it?"
"N-no..." Fluttershy trembled. "No, there's no way..."
"Fluttershy!" Applejack ran up to her and grabbed her shoulders. "Snap out of it! What are ya blatherin' about? Do ya know anythin' about this?"
"Yes. It's..." The pegasus bit her lip. "It's a parasite. But..."
"But what?" Rainbow Dash joined in. The others approached as well, while Twilight inexplicably remained still right where they left her.
"It infects snails."
"Parasite? Snails?" Pinkie said. "What are you talking about?"
"Snails. There's a creature that does this to them. It looks exactly like... that..." She pointed to the thing in Twilight's horn. "...except smaller." Her outstretched forehoof shook. "And that's what I don't get. How... how could it infect her?"
Rarity blinked. "Fluttershy," she said. "Listen to me. This... this parasite..." The word itself almost made her gag. "What does it do exactly? To the snails, I mean."
Fluttershy took a deep breath. "It crawls into their tentacles and... controls them. It lives in their stomachs and... sends its limbs up from there... to take over." She looked at Twilight again and gulped. "In her case, I... I think it adapted to go for her horn and... it must have gone through her brain along the way..."
Rainbow Dash felt her jaw drop. "Y-you... you mean... It's in her belly and... It went into her...?"
Fluttershy nodded. "Yes."
All the ponies turned back to their catatonic friend, a deathly silence coming over the scene, only to be cut off by another gurgle from Twilight as she slowly resumed her march.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash both screamed at the same moment. Pinkie Pie summoned a bucket out of nowhere and emptied her stomach into it. Rarity just stared blankly, not saying a word. She continued to do so for several seconds before collapsing like a rag doll, eyes rolling back as she lost consciousness.
Author's Note
Don't ask why this exists. Just focus on what's in it.
I may decide to keep writing this based on the feedback. Leaving it "incomplete" for now.
Also: the latest EQD contest is a load of horseshit. You can consider this my unofficial entry to it.
Twilight Sparkle was not having a good day.
"C'mon Rarity! Wake up!" Applejack kept shaking the unconscious unicorn on the ground. Rarity groaned, face twitching slightly, but she would not open her eyes.
Of course, Twilight herself was only vaguely aware of her own dire state, let alone the commotion around her. She gurgled quietly, head throbbing and mind empty from the parasite's motions. With nopony blocking her path, her legs marched her onward once more, a chorus of panicked cries and expressions of fear and disgust trailing her.
"Celestia help us..." Rainbow Dash muttered. She trailed the catatonic unicorn hesitantly, trying to keep the same distance between them. Her forelegs were restless, torn between wanting to help her friend and being repulsed by the parasite.
"What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do?" Pinkie Pie sprinted in circles around the farmpony and the fashionista on the ground, screaming non-stop. Her face was drenched in tears, and her teeth alternated between mauling her tongue and her lower lip. "Somepony do something!"
"H-hey!" Fluttershy said. Her voice remained calm, but it was also too soft to be heard among the chaos. "Everypony, please! Just stay calm! We need to—"
"Twilight?"
Everypony froze, their blood running cold from the familiar voice. Shuddering, they turned to look and watched the little dragon tiptoe a bit closer, a look of confusion and worry on his face.
"Hello?" he called out to the purple unicorn. She did not react. "T-twilight? Hey, can you hear me? Wh-what's going on?"
He ran up to her and stood in her path. Twilight groaned in response and halted again. Spike looked up, and his eyes widened when he noticed the thing on her horn. "Oh my gosh... Wh-what the heck is that?" His claws tugged on the mare's legs, and he trembled from her blank expression. "Twilight? What happened to you? Are you okay?"
Twilight's body jerked, and she gave a more desperate groan. Her mouth moved slowly, and a fresh wave of tears bled from her eyes.
"H-helllp... meeee..."
"Twilight?" Spike whispered. "C-can you—"
Everypony gasped when he cried out, the unicorn's forelegs nudging him aside as she tried to keep moving. Hands shaking, he stood in front of her and grabbed hold again, upon which Twilight's legs gave a more forceful shove, knocking him to the ground. When he tried a third time, she did not even slow down and practically walked over him.
The other mares stood and watched in horror as Spike lay there, staring after Twilight. The drake's body shook, and he let out a long, painful howl that sent a chill down the spine of everypony nearby. Curling up on the ground, he cried and sobbed uncontrollably, akin to an infant who had been torn away from his mother.
Applejack stumbled toward him, slowly coming back to her senses, only to freeze halfway and stare in awe when a white foreleg wrapped around the dragon's head. It gave a gentle rub and pulled him into a comfortable embrace. Spike buried his face into it, his tears and whimpering soaked up by the soft fur.
"I... I w-was..." Spike blurted out between sobs. "I d-don't get what's going on! She... she said she'd make me b-breakfast because I was good all week but nopony w-woke me up and her room was a mess and it was weird and I came down and she wasn't home and I—"
"Sssh!" Rarity cooed. Her foreleg stroked his head gently, while her own eyes welled up with tears.
"Wh-what happened? Why is Twilight... is sh-she... z-zombies or..." His voice turned into incoherent whimpering.
"It's okay, Spikey-wikey," Rarity said. She sniffled and leaned in to nuzzle the dragon's forehead. "Just calm down."
Spike kept clinging firmly to Rarity, though his bawling managed to die down as she did her best to comfort him. Everypony felt an odd mix of pain and relief, and even Rainbow's eyes tingled from the scene.
A cry of surprise in the distance snapped her out of her reverie, and the pegasus turned to look. In the distance, she noticed their friend as she kept stumbling away helplessly, the bystanders staring at her in horror.
"She's getting away!" Rainbow cried to the others.
"What?" Applejack wheeled around. "Oh, for the love of— Well then don't let her!" she shouted back in desperation.
"Okay!" Rainbow Dash prepared to zoom off, only to hesitate at the last moment. "Uh... How?"
"Ah don't know, just do something!"
"Alright, alright!"
Without wasting any more time, the pegasus aimed herself straight at her possessed friend and dove in, forelegs outstretched. Once she got close, they quickly wrapped around the unicorn's barrel and plucked her off the ground, allowing Rainbow to drag her back to the rest of the group. Once there, she dropped to the ground and held on tightly while urging the others to help.
Applejack and Pinkie Pie rushed over immediately and pounced on Twilight's thrashing limbs. Fluttershy was more hesitant, while Rarity was still busy keeping Spike calm. The rough attempt to restrain the dragon's lifelong friend did not do wonders for his nerves.
"Wait!" Fluttershy meekly called out. Her forelegs relaxed a bit around Twilight's own. "Careful! I... I think we're hurting her."
Twilight groaned desperately and shook all over. The parasite throbbed furiously, urging her to keep moving. Her limbs flexed, but they could not move. With every second she spent held down, the intruder upped the punishment.
Her friends winced at the gurgling she let out, but they would not let go. At this point, the torture was strong enough that Twilight could manage a few panicked thoughts, since the pressure stayed in her head either way. Her surroundings were a blur. The only coherent thing in her mind was a desire to escape. Get out. Do anything to make her torture stop. And since she could not move, she focused on her only alternative: magic.
A surge of energy passed through her horn. In response, the parasite's grip on it loosened, though it kept up the throbbing in her head. With the lock on her magic released, Twilight gritted her teeth and set off the first spell that came to her struggling mind.
There was a bright flash, and her friends tumbled to the ground. Pinkie got back up first. She let out a cry of surprise and pointed further down the street, where they noticed Twilight standing three blocks away from them. The parasite in her horn slowed almost to a halt, as though the events left it just as stunned as her friends were.
Without thinking, the others got up as well, and they ran after her. As soon as they got close, however, Twilight let out a groan, her puppeteer moving again, and she disappeared in another flash, blinking in over a dozen blocks away now.
"What the hay?" Applejack muttered in disbelief.
Rainbow flapped her wings and zoomed off in pursuit. She managed to get within a few dozen yards of the hapless unicorn, only to gasp when she teleported away a third time. Her head turned back and forth, but Twilight was nowhere in sight.
"Darn it, where'd she go?" she shouted.
A few panicked cries in the distance revealed her to be all the way at the edge of town now. They only lasted a few seconds, after which another bright flash went off.
"My gosh..." Rarity said. "The thing is making her teleport away!"
"Rainbow!" Applejack shouted. "Stop! You're only gonna make it worse!"
The pegasus halted in mid air and turned back with a frown. "Well, what the hay am I supposed to do then?"
"Just keep an eye on her! Don't let her out of sight, but don't get too close! If we lose her..." Applejack gulped. "Ah don't even wanna think about it..."
Rainbow nodded and took off, flying low between the buildings to keep out of sight. The farmpony watched her go and turned back to the rest of her friends, who had varying degrees of confusion and worry on their faces.
"Alright..." Applejack took a deep breath. "Everypony follow me!"
A bright flash and a loud noise shook up the meadow, dispersing a flock of birds nearby. At the center of the phenomenon, a purple unicorn let out a low groan and swayed, ready to collapse on her hooves.
"Uuunnnngh..." Twilight's eyes blinked individually, and her mouth hung open as she gasped for breath. For a while, she just stood there, eyes and ears waiting for the next thing to set her off. When it never came, the pulsing in her skull finally calmed down, and she shuddered in relief.
But her respite was short lived. The parasite only gave her a minute-long breather before it upped the pressure again, forcing her to keep going. The unicorn obeyed, the urge to move coming almost naturally now. The very idea of that tickled her mind, slowly boiling up fear and revulsion inside it, but her thoughts were instantly pushed back down by another throb in her brain.
Twilight moaned, her mind emptying once more. She stumbled onward through the wide green plains, nopony around to disturb her. After an hour of marching, she had to pause again when her stomach growled. This time, the creature did not punish her, merely continued its calm rhythm, while the unicorn struggled to cope with her body's complaints. The grumbling in her stomach was accompanied by a dry sensation in her open mouth. She moved her tongue around and tried to gulp, but it only made her throat hurt.
"Uuuugh..."
Her head slowly turned back and forth, and her ears perked up from the faint noise of water trickling nearby. She shuddered in anticipation and trotted straight toward the source. After only a dozen paces, a clear stream with a rocky bed came into view. Without hesitating, Twilight rushed toward it and dove in to quench her thirst.
Once she had enough, the mare lifted her snout from the water, stretched her limbs a little, and gave a deep sigh of relief. She sniffed at the air and smiled from the pleasant scent of fresh grass nearby. The pulsing in her head all but faded into the background, along with her own thoughts. After all, there was no need to think about anything as she approached the nearest healthy patch of greens, opened her mouth, and bit down on the fat blades of grass.
With no punishment coming in response, the purple pony grazed happily for a few minutes. Once her belly was full, the parasite lightly pulled her "reins" again, and she moved on.
Applejack leaned over the edge of the cart, squinting as she tried to make out the features of the horizon on her side. The wind tugged at her mane and forced her to hold onto her hat with one hoof.
"How are we even going to catch her?" Pinkie said. She leaned over the other side of the cart and danced on the tips of her hooves, unable to keep still. "She just keeps going 'Blink!' and 'Flash!' and the next moment she's a whole town away!" She gave a sad frown, and her mane looked a lot less poofy than usual.
"Calm down, Pinkie," Applejack said. "Whatever we do, we gotta make sure we find Twilight first." She paused and gave a deep sigh. "Let's just hope Rainbow can keep her cool until we get there."
They soared through the air in silence for a while, everypony scanning the horizon to the best of their ability. After another few minutes without any results, Applejack spoke up once more.
"Ya sure she came this way, Fluttershy? Ah don't see—" Her eyes widened, and she thrust out her foreleg. "There!"
Her friends turned to where she pointed, and they spotted a blue figure with multicolored highlights in the distance. "Well, that's our direction, Fluttershy," Rarity said. She gave the pegasus a reassuring tap on the shoulder. "Go on. You're doing really well so far."
Fluttershy said nothing, merely gulped and carefully leaned to the side, steering the cart in the air in the direction of the other pegasus. Her wings flapped a bit faster, and her friends braced themselves as the cart gained a bit of speed. A few minutes later, they managed to catch up to Rainbow Dash, who hovered in the same spot the whole time, her eyes focused on a point in the distance.
"About time you guys got here," she muttered. Her gaze kept to the same direction, even as they floated up beside her. "Brought a cart? Good thinking, whoever it was."
Pinkie giggled. "Ooooh, it was my idea! What do I win?"
"Shhh!" Rainbow wheeled around, frowning at the pink mare. "Keep it down! If she hears us—"
There was a bright flash on the horizon, right where the cyan mare was looking moments before.
"...she might do that." Rainbow groaned. "Alright, enough fooling around. Everypony keep your mouths shut, and your eyes peeled." She quickly strapped herself into the harness next to Fluttershy, and the two of them got the cart moving again. "We gotta find her. Again."
"There's no need to be a brute, Rainbow Dash," Rarity said. "I'm quite certain she couldn't hear us all the way from over there."
"Yeah, I know, I know..." Rainbow sighed. "Sorry, today hasn't been a very good day so far. And yeah, she seems to do that at random. They're short jumps, so I've been able to keep up so far. Let's just hope she keeps going in the same direction."
With their combined wingpower, the cart was able to fly much faster and more smoothly. Still, for almost ten minutes, they found no trace of Twilight anywhere around them. As they sped further away from home, the lands began to change rapidly, lush green fields and forests giving way to hills, then entire mountains that lined the horizon.
"See anything yet?" Rainbow glanced back over her shoulder.
"Nope..." Applejack hung her head.
Fluttershy whimpered, her wings faltering slightly as she stared at the vast, foreign mountains up ahead. Rainbow Dash shot her a look, but said nothing, while her own wings flapped a bit stronger. The others yelped and braced themselves as the cart lurched beneath their hooves.
"Ugh... Could you please be careful, Rainbow Dash?" Rarity said. "This isn't one of your stunt shows!"
"Just keep your eyes on the ground, okay?" the pegasus shot back.
The fashionista grumbled and leaned over the side of the cart, eyes scanning their surroundings below. Moments later, Pinkie Pie lightly tapped her side of the cart and pointed to their right, not saying a word this time. The others turned to look and noticed a purple figure trot slowly toward the mountain range in front of them.
"Okay, I see her," Rainbow said quietly. She steered them toward their friend and reduced their speed, keeping a generous distance. "Now we just need to stay out of sight. Me and Fluttershy will keep us in the air."
"And what about us?" Rarity said. "Are we to just sit here and wait, twiddling our hooves?"
"Maybe we should let the princesses know?" Applejack joined in. "If anypony will know a way ta fix this, it's them."
"Good idea," Rainbow said. "Well, let's write a letter and have Spike send it."
Fluttershy gasped. "Wait... what about Spike?"
"What about him?" Pinkie tilted her head to the side. "Um... Rarity was watching him, right?"
"I took the poor darling back to the boutique and told him to lie down," Rarity said. "The poor dear, he was so horrified."
"Oh no..." Fluttershy could barely whisper.
"What?" Applejack and Rainbow asked in unison.
"We didn't bring Spike," the yellow mare said. "He's back in Ponyville. So, um... How are we supposed to let anypony know which way they need to follow us?"
They stared at her for a few seconds in complete silence. Rainbow Dash felt her eye twitch, and her hind leg bucked against the cart, making the wood crackle. "Oh, goddesses dammit!" she cried out. Her foreleg slapped onto her mouth a split second later, but it was already too late. Before any of them could react, Twilight disappeared in another bright flash.
"Perfect..." Applejack grumbled and stomped with her foreleg. "Now what do we do?"
They all hung their heads, unable to say a word for a while.
"Well... let's start off by being a bit more organized about this," Rarity suggested. "Get to know whatever we can before we do something." She turned to the pegasi in front of the cart. "Fluttershy, darling... what on earth does this thing even want?"
"Wh-what?" Fluttershy said. "You mean... the parasite?"
Rarity nodded. "You said it infects snails. What does it do to them?"
The timid mare hesitated for a few seconds. "It makes them stay in the light... where birds can notice them and mistake them for caterpillars... and..."
"And what?" Rainbow asked.
"And they eat them."
"Hey! You! Horn-head! Stop right there!"
The griffon thrust out its spear and lowered into a fighting stance. It grimaced in confusion and slight disgust at the sight of the mare before him. He recognized her as a unicorn, but the odd green object pulsating on her forehead was unlike anything he had seen before.
"Didn't you hear me?" he shouted and took a hesitant step closer. His spear shook in his claws slightly. "I said stop! This is griffon territory! No trespassing!"
Twilight gurgled. She had no idea what to do. The parasite kept urging her, and she had exhausted every option. The pressure intensified, to which she responded by trying to think. While that led to more discomfort, her will to end it was stronger.
Her eyes landed on its beak, and the pressure gave a little.
Her horn lit up. The griffon gave a panicked yelp, followed by a series of choking sounds as her magic hoisted him into the air by his neck. Before he could react, Twilight rushed forward, horn aimed at his head. His eyes widened as the soft, squishy thing over her horn thrust into his mouth. The razor sharp edges of his beak cut into the thin membrane of skin almost instantly.
Both gave a garbled scream at the same moment. Twilight shook uncontrollably, pain and nausea hitting her mercilessly, while the griffon felt a bitter, slimy substance flow toward the back of his throat, forcing him to swallow to avoid choking.
Seconds later, the griffon fell to the ground, unconscious. The remains of the vile green fluid trickled from among his lips, and his belly gurgled oddly. Twilight stumbled around a bit and collapsed next to him a few moments later. Her horn was unburdened once more, but a few scraps of green flesh still clung to the base.
Author's Note
Welp, more story time. Apologies for the wait. Not that I didn't think this story was worth continuing, but I got caught up in a ton of other things.
I'm really sorry for torturing Spike like this. I assure you, when the idea came to me, it kicked me in the gonads just as hard as the rest of you.
I recently watched a short gameplay segment from Homefront, which showed the intro sequence of the campaign, i.e "a long and embarrassingly blatant theme park ride that showcases war crime after war crime committed by the invading army." While the whole thing was corny as hell and insulted my intelligence, to say the least, there was one particular scene that really got to me. It showed a couple standing a few yards away from their kid, telling him to close his eyes moments before a firing squad shot them both. It was cliche and exploitative, but goddamn... perfect scene. The kid doesn't even go "Mommy! Daddy!", he just stands there and starts crying really loud, utterly helpless...
Anyway, that's kind of the vibe that I went for...
