Chapters -Prologue
Applejack huffed as she brought her gaze up from the ground to look ahead. The forms of her friend's bright coats contrasted against the dark green foliage. Most notably, Twilight, who held a map floating in the air in front of her. Applejack could only shake her head as she noticed the confused look the purple mare was giving the map. It was still obvious she didn't know where they were. However, Applejack figured she couldn't blame Twilight. The map they had been given by the Princess was crude at best, and the fact that the details to their mission were very vague. The little they did know was that some kind of "surge of enegy" as the letter had dubbed it, occurred in the forest. She and the others were supposed to find the source of it and if possible, bring it back to Ponyville with them. She honestly began to wonder if maybe the Princess had made a mistake. Applejack was suddenly dragged from her thoughts by hearing her name.
"Applejack?" it was Rarity. "Applejack dear, are you alright?" Rarity looked to her with worried eyes
"Uh-huh, Ah'm fine Rarity. Just slightly annoyed 's all." Applejack didn't even bother to look over.
She suddenly slammed to a halt because she'd nearly rammed head first into Twilight's rear end. She looked over at the specific mare and stared at her, expecting an answer. "Twilight, what in the world are ya stoppin' for? We need 'ta keep mov..." The sentence died on Applejack's tounge as she walked to Twilight's side. There before her laid a large expanse of dead trees and grass. "Dear Celestia..."
Rainbow Dash floated down and hovered next to Twilight, staring out over the dying mass of forest. "Is this it?"
Twilight looked down at the map questioningly, staring in at it for a moment. "It has to be. This is where the map led us." She folded the floating paper and tossed it, seeing as there was no longer any use for it. "Well, let's get going."
Twilight proceeded first followed quickly by Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity, with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy trailing last. The air smelled of a strong pungent odor that burned their noses, and the grass under their hooves crumpled and withered. All the trees that had once grown here were now either dead or fallen.
It didn't go unnoticed that most of the forest's creatures had silenced. It seemed like nothing wanted to be in this area, avoiding it entirely. The few brave insects that still chirped or sung here were probably looking for a way out, and the quiet air reminded Applejack of a graveyard, except there was that lack of sadness. It was simply... Dead.
The further in they went the more the scent and devastation grew. Now the ground was a near black, and all animal sounds had stopped completely. The sky had morphed to a dull grey, abandoning it's once brilliant blue and white. The sun even seemed as though it became dimmer. What could possibly cause something like this? It definitely wasn't an explosion. There wouldn't have been any trees or grass left had that been what'd happened.
Applejack let her next hoof lower to connect with the ground, but it instead met only air. "WHA-!" Applejack began to fall forward as the ground rushed up to her face. Suddenly her fall had been stopped as she felt a pair of hooves wrap around her waist.
"Hold on Applejack, I got ya!" Rainbow said as she tugged on her orange friend, who jerked back and landed on her haunches.
"What in 'tarnation happened to the ground?" Applejack swiped her hat back off of her face and glanced ahead.
She was met with the sight of a very large crater. It was huge, and could have easily been as wide as her barn! Smoke seemed to form around it's edges and rose from the ground in different spots.
Twilight began to take a step into the crater, but was cut off by Fluttershy tapping her shoulder. "Um, Twilight.. not to be rude or anything, but.. c-can we just leave please?" The yellow pegasus peered into the bowl shaped formation.
"I'm sorry Fluttershy, but we've come too far to leave now. We have to figure out what happened here." With that Twilight
began to slowly walk down the edge of the crater. She didn't blame Fluttershy though. Whatever caused a crater this big must've been very powerful, and to be honest, she was a little nervous herself.
"Please do be careful dear. I don't want you to get hurt while we're this far away from any help." Twilight simply nodded in aknowledgement to Rarity.
Everypony followed suit, Fluttershy lastly. Each of them carefully climbed their way down the crater.
"Everypony be careful, this dirt breaks under your hooves." Twilight warned the others. The ground broke apart very easily. Which meant it was very easy to trip and possibly go tumbling down the side of the crater. A risk they really couldn't afford out here.
"What is this stuff?" Applejack had noticed what looked like little fragments of rock scattered in and around the crater. Each one seemed to give off a faint golden hue, and when touched, caused a strange tingling sensation on her skin. They ranged in size from as small as a pea, to as big as a baseball, and were all a charred black in color.
"I don't know, but I think it's a fair bet that they're somehow connected to that." Twilight pointed a hoof toward the very center of the crater, where there laid a large glowing rock that sat in the gravel.
It was very strange to say the least. It was about the size of a watermelon, and was glowing with a brilliant yellow aura. It also seemed to have a strange metallic-like texture. Twilight was nearly five feet away from it, and she could already feel the energy coming off the thing. It radiated a strong sensation that made her feel somewhat nauseous. It appeared to be made of two different parts. The good portion of it was covered in large splotches of a dark, yellowy-orange colored, glassy-like material similar to amber. Seperating these glass-like areas was a strange ebony black material that reflected light like a metal, and formed a thick, spiderweb like pattern around the splotches of glass. Last but not least it appeared to be settled on top of something that was, or used to be white in color.
"Oooh, what do you think it is!? Maybe it's a gem, or some weird kind of rock, or maybe it's-" Pinkie was cut off by Rainbow slapping a hoof into her mouth, and receiving a stern gaze as well.
"I don't know but it's sitting on top of something." Twilight stated. "I'm going to try to move it."
"Becareful now sugarcube." Applejack said with a slight hint of nervousness in her voice.
"I will. Don't worry." Twilight started using her magic to lift the rock up off the ground. She then moved it over and gently placed it back down. Next she lifted the white object off the ground and attempted to unwravle the ball of cloth. When she managed to get it open she dropped it again out of fear.
It was some sort of clothing, that much was obvious. But the whole bottom of it was ripped, torn and soaked in blood. The sight elicited a shreik from Fluttershy, and a loud gasp from Rarity. Pinkie lost her smile and her eyes grew wide. Applejack and Rainbow Dash cringed. Twilight almost wanted to throw up.
After the group had calmed down, everypony was completely silent. Twilight picked the peice of clothing back up to examine it closer. It was not whole and was missing it's right half. It appeared to be a lab coat and was soaked in blood near the bottom, but thinned out as it went up. Small bits of flesh hung from the edges of the coat. However, what was strangest was it's size. It was very long, and Twilight was sure not even Clestia would fit into it entirely. There were large tears in the fabric, and each of them had a decent sized blood stain surrounding it. Just from the amount of blood alone Twilight could tell that whoever it belonged to was almost certainly dead.
Twilight turned to look at the rest of the group. Fluttershy was in shock and Applejack was next to her, rubbing her back and cooing soothing words to her. Things like, "It's alright sugarcube," and "Ah'm sure they're fine". Pinkie was looking directly at the long coat. Her eyes seemed to gaze absently at it as if she were in thought.
"Let's hurry up, This place is giving me the creeps. N-Not that I'm scared or anything." Rainbow said as she tried to maintain a normal tone of voice, but faltering noticeably.
"Not just yet. I want to find out what happened here." Twilight trotted back over to the strange rock and picked it up with her Telekinesis. Eyeing it closely, she thought it might be possible to use a certain spell on the rock, but she wasn't sure if it would work.
Her horn lit up with a bright purple aura and she squeezed her eyes shut. Within a few seconds, the rock began to lift into the air and steadily started glowing brighter. As the rock began to grow brighter it also began vibrating. Gently at first but then it started becoming violent.
It reached a point where the others had to shield their eyes in order to see anything around them. Cracks began to form in the rock, each one released a very bright beam of light. The rock was now vibrating dangerously and the last thing anypony saw was a bright white flash.
The soft, steady fall of the rain, accompanied by the distant boom of thunder helped to hide the already quiet foot falls of the man below. He wore a pair of dark tan colored pants made of a tough, rugged material, lined with a number of pockets. They were tucked in to a pair of black boots smeared with mud and grime. He had on a dark olive jacket that was thick and heavy, to protect him from the harsh elements of the Dead Zones. The jacket hung over his waist and held by a belt that had a number of holsters and equipment hanging from it. His jacket was covered by a vest that had thick, armored plates on it. More holsters and equipment adorned it's front, a rifle slung from his back. A mask covered his mouth and nose. A filter on one side for protection from any kind of airborne anomalies. He had a black hood over his head, it's surface shone momentarily from the lightning's reflection.
His gloves helped him grip tightly on his shotgun which he held pointing to the ground. It was a sawn-off M590 with a pistol grip and a flashlight. Wear was obvious on the aged parts of the gun. Scratches covered it's surface in many places, and a large prominent one marked the right side of the receiver, stretching from just above the pistol grip to the bottom edge of the ejection port. The gun carried many replacement and modified parts. The pistol grip of the shotgun was made of a grayish synthetic material unlike the wooden pump under the barrel and the muzzle of the gun carried a crude flash hider that clung to the barrel by a metal ring and pair of screws.
Ever so carefully he walked through the dead forest, his eyes scanning his surroundings. Any pauses he made were limited to the rare moment he though he heard something other than the rain and thunder. His movements were smooth and coordinated, quietly and quickly guiding him through the trees. The lighting broke out the shadows for a brief second illuminating the environment with a glow that was quickly retaken by the darkness of the night, burning the image into his eyes. He didn't want to risk turning on his flashlights, lest he'd become a beacon for all the horrific creatures that hunted in the darkened forest.
He came to a halt once he'd reached the edge of the forest. But now a new obstacle awaited him. Infront of him lay a vast field of knee-high plants, each had a beautiful glowing cyan bulb on top surrounded by the petals of flowers. It seemed to give off an aura that begged anyone nearby to come and touch the beautiful flower, and most clueless people would. But that's another mistake out here that would cost you your life. Death Nettle, he knew this plant well. There's a good reason it earned its name, and it would become painfully obvious to anyone stupid enough to touch the plant with their bare skin. It's leaves were like needles, hence the "nettle" part of it's name. Each one dripped a sticky, foul smelling, purple toxin. It's effects were almost immediate, and death occurred in a matter of seconds. Once it got into your bloodstream, your lungs would seize up and your chest would constrict, as though your ribcage were being crushed. Your entire body would quickly go numb and you'd fall to the ground completely paralyzed. Without any oxygen or muscle control your brain basically dies and you along with it.
Slowly he waded through the endless sea of lights, careful to keep his hands away from the plants. But the night brought on another light show. Thousands of fireflies filled the air above the plants. They were one of the few creatures to remain largely unaffected by the radiation. They were also completely immune to the plant's poison. The fact that they still thrive out here is a miracle. At least for them.
Minutes seemed to pass before he finally stopped. A sound pierced through the silence of the barren forest, but this time it wasn't just his imagination playing tricks on him. Far-off into the forest sounded a sharp, whistling cry. A scowl grew on his face as his muscles tensed up. The call was distant, but that didn't make it any less chilling. No matter how much he would hear noises like this, he would never get used to them. Pressing his attention away he proceeded forward, wading through the tall plants.
He was stuck in his thoughts as he kept on going. He noticed something was definitely wrong. These areas were never this quiet. Especially after the sun has set. Granted, the thunder and rain covered up most noise, but he should still hear the occasional whirring of some insect or other natural noises. During the day these places were like graveyards. No activity at all. But not at night. It was always abuzz with activity at night. It didn't present a problem, but it left him feeling irked.
As he neared the edge of the field a large warehouse finally came into view. Old ruined buildings like this always had some nice valuables hidden inside. To scavengers like him, it was a gold mine that had yet to be claimed. Slowly a smile crept upon his face, though hidden by his mask.
He now continued forward at a slightly faster pace, eager to reach the building. As he exited the field he paused. Near the right side of the building, between the wall and a large generator stood a strange figure. In the pitch black he could make out only a small amount of detail. It was tall and appeared to be humanoid. It wore some sort of cloak that covered everything down to it's shins. The sight puzzled him. 'What stupid bastard would be out here with any kind of protective gear on?'
He blinked tightly then reopened his eyes to be sure what he was seeing wasn't some kind of illusion. Much to his discomfort, when he looked back to the figure it was gone. Whatever it was hadn't even made a sound, and that only further disturbed him.
'I need to get more sleep.'
He approached the door and stopped before he gripped the handle. Rust and damage tarnished it's surface. The small windows that once would have let light stream into the building, now remained boarded over and broken. He turned his head around and scanned the forest behind him briefly before turning around and walking through the entrance. As the door shut behind him he was engulfed in the darkness of the long forgotten building. He threw off his hood and turned on his shoulder mounted light, then reaching to his shotgun and switching on it's side flashlight and pointing it around the room. This was the entrance area. A small room like a reception office in a hotel. Infront of him at the end of he room was a large pair of metal double doors, and to the left of them was a desk with an old computer.
Slowly he approached the door with his shotgun ready, sliding his finger onto the trigger he grabbed the handle and turned it around eliciting a soft click. It took him a moment of pushing before the door actually began to open, and when it did it created a loud screeching noise that echoed through the main body of the warehouse.
The place seemed bigger from the inside. Rows upon rows of tall shelves packed with many old pieces of junk were everywhere inside. Boxes, tools, electronics, and various other things packed up the most of them. But he was looking for other items worth more of value. Items and resources like jewelry and copper he could sell for cash. Other materials he kept for himself. Things like gun parts, ammunition, shell casings and anything that went BOOM when ignited or mixed with something else.
He started walking down the isle in front of him, all the while his eyes scanned the many objects littering the floors and shelves. As he was going along something flashed out of the corner of his eye. He turned to look upon the ground near one of the shelves. He spotted a small object in the darkness and, slowly, he bent over to pick it up. It was an old golden locket with a heart shaped carving on it's front. He smiled to himself. This is the kind of item he was looking for. This would fetch a nice price with any trader. He flipped open the front of the locket and it revealed a small picture of a man, his arm draped around the shoulder of a woman next to him, both appeared to be in their mid to late 40's. He stared at it only for a moment, before he closed it and put it in a large pack hanging from his belt. He turned back to the isle and kept on going down.
He'd spent a few hours going through most of the shelves. The vast majority of what he found were useless pieces of junk. But he did run into a few valuables. He thought he was finished when he remembered the little rooms hanging above him. He was ready to go around and search for a staircase, but conveniently found one nearby. Slowly he approached the base of the metal stairs and scrutinized them with uncertainty. The paint had long since peeled away, and all that covered it's surface now was rust.
He looked further up it's length, seeing it no better for wear above. Most of the steel supports that held the stairs up now laid on the ground, their worn and aged state having not been able to support their weight. He sighed and holstered his shotgun, carefully stepping onto the first stair. The stair seemed stable enough to hold him and he brought his foot down onto the next. With some assurance to their stability, he slowly ascended up...
*GROOAAAANNNN *
He froze in place as the metal gave out it's wail of stress. Looking down he saw he was already half-way up, he couldn't turn around now. Gingerly he took another step up. With a loud screech, the stairs began falling loose from the wall. He broke into a sprint up the stairs, racing to get ahead before he plummeted with them. He reached the top just as his feet began falling under him, barely managing to get up onto the cat walk. He turned around to see the stairs cascade down onto the floor of the warehouse, echoing loudly on impact.
'Guess I'm not getting down that way'
Choosing to ignore the obvious lack of a way down he proceeded over the catwalk to the first room to find it was similar to a little office. It had a number of file cabinets, a desk, and a computer. The desk itself had a small picture frame on it and a little name plate that read: Richard Dowe . He moved around to the back of the desk and bent down to get a good look at the picture frame. He took out the locket and looked at the man in it's picture. Sure enough, it was the same person in the photo on the desk. He had dark brown hair and was beginning to bald on top. He had light blue eyes and wore a white collared shirt with a blue tie. He was smiling and facing the camera.
Underneath the picture frame was a stack of papers that were stapled in the corner. Slowly he removed the picture and grabbed the papers. It appeared to be a letter, and a long one at that. His curiosity got the best of him and he sat down in the office chair behind him and began to read.
June 12, 2032
Dr. Lowise
Preperations for Project Resource are almost complete, but I felt the urge to ask you why you removed the U.E.Ds. I know they may be sort of a burden, but a necessary one. I mean without a reliable fail safe to stop the ALVE incase of an emergency, imagine what would happen. I think it's just too dangerous to go on. Perhaps you should rethink your decision? In any case, the supplies you requested should arrive sometime within this week and I look forward to returning to the lab soon.
Dr. Dowe
The next few pages are all covered up with ink so they couldn't be read. It wasn't until he reached the 8th page that he could actually read it.
October 1st, 2032
Dr.Lowise,
Why did this have to happen? I warned you and you didn't LISTEN! Now look what you've gotten us into. 26 people are dead. DEAD. I can't even sleep anymore after what I saw, and the memory haunts me every day. Dear God what have we done? What was that thing? Was that what you called the "Salvation of Humanity"? The glorious power you sought? Well take a good long look at what you've brought upon us. Your ignorance has costed far too many lives and all the while I still feel terrible knowing I played a part in this. I can't take the pain anymore. I'm going to end it today. I've already locked away your little souvenir. No one should ever mess with that kind of power. By the time you've read this I'll already be gone. Have fun with your "Salvation" you twisted son of a bitch.
That appeared to be the last letter. It left a number of questions to be answered, all of which he shrugged off being more focused on finding the object that was mentioned in the paper. He said he locked away the so called 'souvenir'. Maybe it was worth something? If only he could find it. He put the papers in his backpack hoping they might possibly help him find the object. He went to pick up the locket but paused before his hand reached it. There was a faint golden aura surrounding the it's outline. He slowly grabbed it and pulled it away from the table and the glowing steadily faded. As he moved it closer it began to return.
It took him awhile but he managed to narrow it down to the highest amount of glowing coming from around the bottom left drawer. He opened it up to find a fairly large box with a metal lock on the front. He set it out on the table and grabbed a paper clip and screw driver from a holster on his belt. He inserted the bent end of the paper clip and began placing each tumbler in one by one. Finally the last one clicked in place and he turned the screwdriver to the right which caused the top of the box to pop open just slightly.
Satisfied with his work he put up his tools and gently lifted the top of the box. Inside was a cloth draped over something round in shape. He pinched the top of it with his fingers and threw it off. When he saw the object a look of confusion came upon his face. It was some softball sized glowing rock that was orange gold, similar to honey. It had a strange black web like pattern surrounding the glowing parts.
He hesitantly reached for it, cupping it in his hands and delicately lifting it out of the box. He turned it around, and took his time admiring it with his eyes. He had no idea what he'd found but knew he had to get it back to Fort Downpour fast. A new goal set into his mind, he took off his backpack and unzipped it, proceeding to carefully lower the object in. Without paying attention, the object slipped from his fingers and fell to the floor. Fearing he had possibly damaged it he quickly looked down over the spherical rock.
To his horror and bewilderment, a series of cracks had formed over its surface. Each one had a bright light pouring out of it, steadily groaning in intensity. It began to vibrate violently, and out of impulse the man slowly began to backpeddal. Pieces of it rapidly started to break off and fly away. He wanted to try and stop it, but he was helpless to do so. So he only had one option. Run and take cover. With his realization he spoke the first two words he'd said that day.
"OH, SHIT!"
He turned around to run but was too late, the object exploded with a bright flash of light and that was the last he remembered.
Chapter 1: A Rude Awakening
Twilight suddenly felt her self being dragged into consciousness, flooding her eyes with an intense white glow. Her first instinct was to clench her eyes shut as tightly as she could and bring her fore-hooves up to rub them. She took her time letting them open, going slowly to prevent another rush of pain to her head.
A soft groan to her left startled her onto her hooves, Rainbow was beginning to wake up, and next to her was Fluttershy. It struck her that Rairty, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie appeared to be absent from the room.
"Awwww, man... Where are we?" Rainbow said groggily as she stood up. She held her hooves to the sides of her head, unsuccessfully trying to dull the throbbing pain that had taken over her mind.
"I... I don't know." Twilight responded. "I don't even know how we got here. Quickly, wake up Fluttershy so we can go find the others."
Rainbow looked to the ground just to her left to see the sleeping little pegasus. Slowly she approached her and tapped her a few times with her hoof. A soft groan indicated her entering the world of the living.
"H-Huh...?" Was all Fluttershy managed to utter as her eyes lazily opened. She gazed around the ruins that surrounded her.
"Cmon Fluttershy, we need you to get up. We have to go." Rainbow held out a hoof to help Fluttershy up, and she immediately took it.
Twilight was looking around the room, but it was rather dark. The only light was pouring in from a large crack in the back wall. Many green vines were reaching through the crack, eager to find more space to grow. Outside the constant chattering of birds could be heard, indicating it was definitely day time. She also noticed that the walls were covered in many strange symbols and writing. Rainbow approached Twilight and stopped just to her left.
"So, where do you think we are?" Rainbow said as she took false interest in the decrepit carvings.
"You already asked that, and I told you I don't know." Twilight was puzzled. This was no kind of writing she'd ever seen, and it wasn't something using a system of alphabetical characters. More like a series of symbols and such, similar to the ancient Equigyptians.
Rainbow sighed in annoyance, "Well we aren't gonna find out here. Cmon let's go!" With that she lifted herself into the air and hovered just a few feet off the ground. She then flew to the entrance off the room's doorway that led to a series of maze-like hallways. Each one just as worse for wear as the room they were in. Small crevices and breakings in the walls gave the sunlight a path to flood in through, which illuminated the halls at least barely. Twilight passed Rainbow with Fluttershy following behind. Rainbow quickly sped up, eager to escape with her firends and get back to Ponyville.
"Twilight, what happened?" Fluttershy drifted closer to her purple friend the further they advanced down the pathway.
"I'm not sure, but I know it had something to do with the rock we'd found." Twilight paused and flicked her ear.
"What is it?" Fluttershy whispered.
"Hush... Do any of you hear that? It sounds like hoofsteps. That way." Twilight glanced to her left towards a hall that lacked the light the kept the others softly lit.
Slowly an orange shape began to come into the light. "Girls?"
"Applejack!" The three mares shouted in unison. They ran up to surround her, and began bombarding her with questions.
"Girls, take it easy! Ah'm alright. Have you three seen Pinkie or Rarity?" She said with worry evident in her voice. All three girls stopped and the feeling there was mutual between the four of them.
"We thought they'd be with you." Stated Twilight
"Yeah." Rainbow agreed.
Applejack's heart suddenly grew heavy. If they weren't with Twilight like she thought they'd be, then they were still lost and that was bad. Because on her way her she kept hearing noises. Nothing like birdcalls, no. She believed something was following her. Because she'd hear noises like the soft tapping of claws against the stone behind her, and seeing shapes move out of the corner of her eyes. She'd look around to find the source of the noises, but was always met with nothing. One time however, she could have sworn she saw something disappear into another hallway but she wasn't entirely sure.
"Ah think we'd better find em', and quick. Ah'm not so sure were alone here." She said as she stole a glance to the darkness of the hallway behind her.
"Agreed. Let's keep moving." Twilight turned around and continued down the hallway. Her eyes always scanning the stone walls.
Even as she was following the group, Applejack could still feel the gaze of some creatures eyes locked on to her, and unknowingly to them, she was right. They were definitely not alone.
Many hours had passed as the four of them wandered around the gigantic labyrinth of stone. Eventually they came to a large circular room with ornate carvings on the floor and walls. Twilight's glowing horn lit up the dark room with a faint greenish hue. In the center of the room was a small stone pedestal with something on top of it. There were piles of dust all throughout the room and made it difficult to breath.
She gently made her way over to the pedestal and stood on her hind legs to reach it, her forelegs resting on top. Sitting on it was some sort of book. It appeared to be ancient, and it was a miracle it hadn't disintegrated by now. Slowly and carefully she picked it up with her magic. She brought it down and blew on the cover, clearing off most of the dust on it. She sat on her haunches and looked over the title. This one was written in Equestrian so she could actually understand it.
Dawn of Salvation
She wanted to start reading but was stopped when she heard Applejack call her over. "Twilight, Ah think y'all had better come look at this."
She let out a sigh, closed the book and set it down she then proceeded to trot over to Applejack and Rainbow dash. "Applejack what is it? I'm trying to read something over here!" She was frustrated and was greatly annoyed whenever she had to stop reading.
"Do ya have any idea what this thing is?" Applejack pointed her hoof to a strange skeleton on the ground. If Twilight's puzzled facial expression was anything to go by, then she had never seen anything like this before in her life.
It was strangley built, and had two long back legs. Each ended with a sort of flattened and elongated paw that was covered over by an iron boot. It's forelegs were much shorter and ended in flat grippers with multiple little appendages extended from it, one of it's (paws?) gripped tightly around the wooden shaft of a spearlike weapon. She noticed that it's chest had multiple fractured ribs and it was missing it's lower jaw. A strange necklace made of teeth hung around it's neck held together by a sinew like thread that was barely holding together, and a helmet of metal laid next to it on the ground.
"I-It looks l-like a monkey." Fluttershy said. She wasn't afraid of bones, not at all. It was gore that scared her.
"Hey look it's got a weapon." Rainbow pointed out.
"I wonder what did this to it?" Twilight asked nopony in particular. She had knowledge from some medical books that taught how to identify many signs on a pony's body after death, to help determine the cause. From the way it was leaning against the wall she could tell it died slowly. Most likely from internal bleeding caused by the broken ribs. So whatever had killed it, had done the damage and then left it to die. The way the dust around it was just slightly less piled up showed that it had tried to fight off it's attacker, but was unsuccessful. It had remnants of iron plating and rust covering the most of it bones, a sign that it may have been wearing some sort of armor. This along with the spear-like weapon it was holding would mean it's possibly a soldier or warrior of some sort.
Based on the condition of the bones, she guessed this skeleton to be over 700 years old. So whatever caused this has long since, been dead. But what was this thing, and how did it get here? Was it one of the creatures who built this place? . Many more similar questions went through her head. Yet there still remained the one, most important question there was. Where exactly was she?
With a place as interesting and as old as this, you'd think there would be at least some reference to it in any history book. But there were no signs of recent activity here, so it could be possible that she and the others were one of the first ponies to set hoof in this place.
"Alright everypony, I think it's best we just leave it. We still have to find Pinkie Pie and Rarity." Twilight turned around to go back to the book. She lifted it up with her magic and pondered something for a moment. "Does anypony have a saddlebag?"
"Oh, umm.. I do." Fluttershy walked over to Twilight. "What did you need it for?"
"Can you carry this book for me please? I think it might help us find out where we are." Twilight held the book in front of Fluttershy who looked over it's cover before turning around to open her saddlebag.
"Of course." She said as it popped open. Twilight slid it inside and closed it up.
"Thanks Fluttershy." Twilight said with a smile.
"Oh, it's no problem at all." Fluttershy smiled back.
"Uh, I don't mean to interrupt, but I think we should go find Pinkie and Rarity. The sooner we find them, the sooner we get outta here." Rainbow returned their attention to the task at hoof.
"Alright everpony, let's go, and stick together. It's too easy to get lost in these halls." She turned to the doorway and trotted through. Taking a left as she exited. She had made a mental map of the building and what general areas they'd covered, but it still didn't stop her from occasionally losing track. With a place as large as this, getting lost was almost an inevitability. It was worse than the Canterlot Castle, and she thought that was bad.
Moving through the halls also proved difficult in itself. For starters, it was very dark, save for the areas that had windows. Not pitch black, but just dark. There were also roots and vines growing on the walls and floor, and she sometimes found herself and the others tripping over them. And she wasn't sure... But she thought that every now and then she could hear scratching. As if something were dragging it's claws across the stone, and it was often accompanied by vague, dark shapes moving out of the corner of her eyes. They were never there when she looked at them, they were always mocking her. She didn't tell any of the others about it because she was sure it was just her imagination playing tricks on her. But she had her doubts.
As the four friends roamed the halls, they were each mystified by the unique and unusual carvings. It wasn't like anything back at Ponyville, heck Equestria even. Everything had beautiful designs upon it, and it must have looked glorious a long time ago. The walls were mainly made up of limestone, the floors were made out of some kind of gray rock, shaped into bricks.
They were each instantly drawn out of their thought by a loud scream. It echoed through the halls which only seemed to magnify the volume. But there was no way any of the four could mistake that scream. It had to have been Rarity.
"Hey, that was Rarity!" Applejack shouted, bringing the group out of their shock.
"Yeah, but where did it come from?!" Rainbow said as she glanced down each hallway more than once. Her eyes were straining to see anything, but everything faded into shadows after thirty or so feet infront of her.
"I think it came from over there!" Twilight exclaimed and pointed a hoof towards the hallway just to their left. "Cmon everypony follow me!" She galloped down the hallway at full speed, kicking up the dust upon the ground as she sped by. Her hooves carried her as fast as they could go, her mind set on finding her friend.
She did a sharp left turn, with the others following behind. she could see a doorway at the end of the hall, she picked up her speed in determination to reach Rarity before it was too late. Her mind was almost blank, focusing on one primary objective. Her system screamed at her to move faster, but she was already at her limit. She broke through the old wooden door and sent it flying open.
Her eyes darted around the room until they settled on the red mottled, pink mass laying in a heap on the floor. She bolted forward and kneeled down next to her friend looking over her body. "Pinkie Pie?!"
The others halted and came to their friend's assistance as soon as they came through the door. Fluttershy landed next to Pinkie and gasped. What kind of monster would do something like this? Fluttershy quickly opened her right saddle bag and took out a large white towel. She unfolded it and wrapped it around Pinkie's biggest wound, which was a large gash across her chest that was easily a foot long and a quarter an inch deep. Pinkie was absolutely motionless, and Twilight was holding back tears. Fluttershy let them flow freely across her cheeks.
"Pinkie, c-can you hear us?" Twilight said as she leaned in closer to her friend. A soft mumble could be heard from Pinkie as she layed there. "W-What was that?"
"I.. s-said y-y-you have t-to help R-Rarity." Her mane was deflated and her face was scrunched up in pain.
"Where is she sugarcube?" Applejack asked. She too leaned in close to be able to hear Pinkie's response.
"I-In there." she said as she steadily lifted a hoof up to a large tunnel that curved around. She dropped her hoof again because it hurt too much to move.
"Don't worry Pinkie." Twilight whispered as she stood up. She turned to the rest of the group. "Fluttershy, stay here and watch Pinkie. Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Follow me!" As she finished she turned to the tunnel and broke into a gallop.
Chapter 2
Darkness...
He felt a wave of cool air hit him as his eyes snapped open and his reality suddenly came into existence. He gripped his head as his mind was overcome with dizziness, shaking him of thought.
He gently rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself off the ground, planting his feet onto the stone floor. Though his sense of balance was thrown off greatly he managed to lean against a rock wall until he could make sense of his situation.
He glanced away from the floor and for the first time, actually took note of his surroundings. He was leaning upon a wall that was made out of blocks of gray stone, stacked together to a hemisphere shaped ceiling which rested nearly twenty feet above him. The walls held metal bars that extended out to carry torches. Though none of them carried any, they only harbored cobwebs and dust now. The walls and floors bared signs of extreme age. Cracks, craters and layers of dust came as proof to this, and at the other end of the room sat a doorway carved into the wall that had no real door to speak of.
"Where the hell...?" The words barely managed to escape his dry throat. The small effort of speech was enough to induce a fit of coughing that burned his neck to no end, ushering him to retrieve his canteen from it's holster. He undid the cap and began to down the water greedily, as though he'd not seen a drop in days. Though the liquid managed to kill off the burning that had overtaken his throat, he couldn't help but cough a few more times.
He wiped away what water remained with his jacket's sleeve, and quickly screwed the cap back on and returned the canteen to it's holster, noting he'd nearly emptied the container. He spotted his shotgun laying on the ground and walked over to retrieve it, gracefully slinging it over his shoulder to rest next to his rifle. With that, he turned to face the exit that sat at the other end of the room and cautiously approached it, hoping for relief from his unusual enclosure.
Before he reached the doorway, it became apparent that everything beyond it was almost pitch black. He reached over to the light mounted on his shoulder and pressed the small button on it's side, suddenly brightening the doorway and revealing a long stone hallway that extended well beyond his light's reach. Glancing back once more to be sure he had no other options, he quietly made his way down the hall.
The lone tunnel proved itself to be more complex than he'd imagined. Multiple different pathways branched off from the one he was in, braking off and turning at random points. Much to his frustration, without any incentive as of where to go, he simply had to pick a direction at random, and ended up heading down the hall just to his left.
Though he constantly kept smacking at his hair in an attempt to beat back the cobwebs, he found himself staring at the carvings that scarred the stone wall much the way one might get lost in a book. They held no resemblance to anything he'd ever seen. Though some of the images were recognizable as plants and animals, none of them carried any meaning. There wasn't any pattern or pace to it. Not even any exact lines, it appears to have just been etched in completely random places and orders. It reminded him of the kind of pictures he'd see in a history textbook. Though much less organized.
Without any clue as to what they meant (if anything), they weren't any more than pretty little carvings. But they did carry with them a number of new questions. How old were they? Who made them? Why are they here? Which gave birth to a new question,
Where was here?
He figured it was something that would answer itself in time. He cared more about getting out than getting to know it, so he changed his priorities from enjoying the scenery to navigating the labyrinth that held it.
Although his lack of visible progress made it seem like almost an hour, it had barely been more than fifteen minutes. He'd passed numerous rooms but none of them provided the exit he was praying for. At most all he found was a stone table with an iron tool that looked like a sickle.
Finally though, his search had paid off when he came across a massive hall that could have easily spanned the length of a bus, the ceiling reaching nearly five times as high. The walls were spaced with massive pillars that spiraled to the top, and at the end of all of it was a throne that sat in front of a decent sized pile of stone rubble.
Though the construct provided quite the spectacle, he was more interested in the gaping hole in the rock roof that provided a clear exit. The sunlight shone through it, revealing the blue sky and clouds he was desperate for, like a beacon of joy, and around it's edges hung vines that stretched half-way to the ground. It would provide him with the perfect vantage point if he were to get on top, but the obvious problem of height prevented that.
Though it pained him to leave behind the only potential exit he'd found, he knew he'd have to go back and find something to help him reach it.
He spun back around to proceed to the door, but was halted when he saw a few faint spots of red on the ground. He kneeled down to get a closer look out of curiosity, but immediately unslung his shotgun when it became obvious that the spots were droplets of blood. It hadn't even begun evaporating yet.
'Still fresh...'
He drew his gaze up along the floor and spotted a number of other droplets lined across the ground. As if it were a trail, he stood up and warily followed it out into the hall.
It was immediately obvious that the environment had been disturbed. The lack of cobwebs and dust indicated such. His grip on the shotgun tightened as he proceeded along it's length. His concern laid at the end of the trail, to it's owner. Mutant, Restive, or a simple thug were what he feared to find. Even if it were just another wanderer, you could never know. It was obvious there was more than one being that made the trail. It broke up at certain points and left the dust untouched, and it even split the cobwebs apart.
As he drew further along the pathway he was startled by a sudden, feminine scream from somewhere further off into the labyrinth. He brought his shotgun up so he was gazing down the length of it's barrel and ahead of himself, the safety switched off. He proceeded around another corner and froze in place when he saw a faint shape far ahead of him, dart from one hall to the next. He held his breath as his listened intently for anything that might of told him where it was, but it remained quite.
A soft sound of pebbles falling to the floor behind him prompted him to spin around and put pressure on the trigger, but the hall appeared entirely empty excluding himself. For a brief moment, he thought he was in the clear, then he finally aimed his light upward toward the ceiling.
*HISS*
Hanging from the roof was a large, pale grey figure with a massive mouth and lower jaw coupled by long teeth, with two, small, inky black eyes and four muscular legs. The creature's mouth opening impossibly wide as it hissed sharply at him making it's teeth seem to shine in his light.
"Son of a bitch!" He pulled the trigger and fired a blast of buckshot at the creature that hung from the ceiling, but missed as it dropped to the floor and landed on it's legs. He pumped his shotgun, expending a smoking shell as he took aim at the creature again. It was a mutant he'd encountered before. Undeublo, they were pack hunting mutants that were well known for their massive mouths and cunning intelligence, and it was clear he'd walked into an ambush, the one he saw further down the hall was just a distraction.
He fired his shotgun again, scoring a hit right on the mutant's left leg, the force of the buckshot tearing it off and spraying blood across the floor behind it.
He pumped the shotgun again as he turned around to face another three mutants in mid-charge each one holding their mouth agape, eager to tear their teeth into a new meal. He fired the shotgun and hit the foremost mutant's head, splattering bits of the creature's bone and brain matter over the floor and wall around it. It's body stumbled and rolled into the wall, falling limp just as a rush of blood poured out of the gaping hole in it's head.
The other two briefly slowed as they witnessed one of their pack members collapse to the floor, but almost immediately sped up, simply trampling over the lifeless corpse. He pumped his shotgun again, ejecting another shell and loading the next in the chamber, but the second undeublo leapt at him before he could take aim, forcing him to sidestep out of the way.
The mutant crashed to the ground as the next came pouncing just behind it, too quick for him to react to. It bounded toward him like a spring, slamming into him and sending him hard to the stone ground. His shotgun flew out of his hand as he impacted the cold rock, causing stars to dance across his vision. The abomination that held him down lurched it's head forward to rip into him, but he quickly clasped his hands around it's neck, struggling to keep the much more muscular beast off of him. He managed to work his legs under it, taking the opportunity to press his feet against it's belly and force it off.
He rolled over to grasp his shotgun out of instinct, reaching up to it as the second undeublo swiped the weapon away with it's paw, knowing well what would happen if he got a hold of it. He jerked his hand back quickly as it snapped at him.
Getting onto his knees he delivered a solid uppercut to it's jaw, dazing it enough for him to stand all the way up. He kicked the second one back as he proceeded to smash the other's head with his boot, splattering blood across his pant leg. The action only gave the other an opening and it leapt at his back, throwing him to the floor again.
It bit down onto his shoulder, digging it's teeth into his jacket. He proceeded to punch the side of it's head with his left arm which only ended up encouraging it to tighten it's grip. He quickly grabbed at the holster of his knife on his vest, undoing the strap and pulling it out of it's sheath. With a quick downward thrust, he jammed the blade deep into the creature's spine, causing it to fall completely limp.
He rose from the ground with a grunt, gripping his shoulder tightly. He grabbed the knife and strongly jerked at it, ripping it from the neck of the mutant. He hastily put it into it's holster and reached for his shotgun, turning and running as fast as he could manage down the hall.
He quickly turned a corner to another doorway that dropped off rapidly into a circular chamber. He saw three more of the undeublo inside, slowly circling a pair of brightly colored creatures. One of them was a bright pink, and appeared to have been wrapped in a large white cloth that was visibly soaked in blood. It laid on the ground completely unmoving. The other was a bright yellow with pink hair hanging from it's head and neck, and stood defensively over the first, desperately trying to keep the mutants away.
"What the fu-" For a moment he believed he'd gone crackpot insane, but his confusion and shock was completely buried when he witnessed one of the undeublo snapped onto the being's arm. She (he assumed) screamed loudly and jerked her leg away as the mutant backed off.
The adrenaline flooded back into his system as he took up aim with his shotgun again, firing another spread of buckshot toward the undeublo. The impacts stirred up dust and tore away bits of rock, immediately getting the attention of the voracious creatures that turned to see him pump his shotgun.
The nearest one sprinted toward him, jumping up to the ledge and wrapping it's legs over to try and grip the stone. It immediately received a strong kick to the head, falling back down to the chamber's floor. He dropped down from the hall, landing on top of the mutant like a cushion.
The one to his right wasted no time charging at him and leaping, giving him a vicious hissing that could have given anyone a heart attack. He held his shotgun up sideways in front of him, as the beast's mouth attempted to bite down on he shotgun. He whipped it to the left, striking the mutant's head with the pistol grip of the gun, eliciting a loud crack that he found almost musical.
"How's that taste, you fucking freak?" He sharply insulted the creature as it shook it's head out of pain. He didn't wait for it to recuperate. looking down the gun's barrel and lining it up with mutant he fired.
The buckshot tore into the creature like it was made of butter. It's insides quickly shredded in the volley of projectiles that riddled it full of holes. Like machinery, he pumped his shotgun once more.
He felt his weight fall out from under him as his leg was pulled back. He toppled to the ground and rolled over to point the shotgun at the remaining undeublo which continued to tear at his boot, and pulled the trigger.
*Click*
He hadn't realized he'd already expended all five rounds in his shotgun, so he hastily dropped it and grabbed his pistol from it's holster. His P226C7 clicked as he flipped the safety off and fired blindly at the mutant.
*CRACK*
*CRACK*
*CRACK*
The predator writhed on the ground after the powerful .40 caliber bullets ripped into it. Giving it a less-than-swift death. The enclosed cavern continued to echo the ear-shattering shots well after they had been fired, punctuating the fight.
He stood up and holstered his pistol and grabbed his shotgun, quickly slinging it behind himself and went to approach the creatures that had been attacked.
They were both obviously unconscious as he drew near them and knelt down. The pink one was of his biggest concerns because of the massive amount of bleeding that was coming from her wound, but he knew there was little he could do without finding a secure location.
He quickly applied a blood coagulant spray to the yellow one's leg and wrapped a cloth he had around it and packed up to leave before anything else came by to check out the commotion.
He picked them both up with his arms and put each one over a shoulder, being careful to settle the pink one down out of fear of aggravating it's wound further. He turned to a hall way to the right of the hall he came from and took off without bothering to check his own wounds.
••••••••••
He sat in front of a small fire as he ran his hand through the soft coat of the yellow being he'd found, the flames bathing everything in an orange glow. He stared at her scrutinizingly as he pondered the nature of the creature.
'Definitely not any mutant'
It certainly wasn't an animal, it fucking screamed after all, and it wasn't ugly enough to be a mutant. The closest thing he could compare it to was a horse. A horse with wings at that. But it was still far to small and brightly colored to be a horse.
‘What exactly are you?’
He looked to the bandaging that he'd wrapped around it's leg... Now that he thought about it, it's scream sounded like a girl's. Maybe 'she' was more appropriate? He was contemplating to check, but almost instantly rejected the idea, noting that it would be disgusting as hell. Besides he felt he could safely assume it was a female.
His stomach grumbled, demanding his attention and making him take his gaze off of her to reach to his backpack and unzip it. He grabbed it with his left hand and dragged it over to himself as he reached in and pulled out a small box that had two latches on it's front which he quickly undid. He flipped open the top and smiled when he saw a fresh loaf of bread, reminding him how long it had been since he'd eaten something, and thinking of time urged him to look up to the small window at the top of his little circular room, letting the smoke from the fire rise off into the night's air.
It was something that wasn't really important at the moment, but it beckoned for an answer nonetheless. Another question he pushed aside, figuring he'd find out soon enough.
He sighed as he finally bit down on the bread, chewing it slowly as the small dinner filled both his mind and stomach with satisfaction. It was a small meal, but he was more than grateful to have it. Most of the time he'd go hungry until he managed to scavange something or kill a mutant (the latter of the two usually taking a lot of energy).
He stared back down at his meal when he briefly caught the fire reflecting off a surface in his pack. He set his dinner down for moment, reaching to the source of the glare and grabbing the edge of the object, pulling it out.
It was a small, rectangular wooden box, with the wood bearing a very appealing cherry tone. On it's top surface was a silver inlay of various flowers and branches around the name 'McCree' carved in gold. The branches twisted and winded around the letters like snakes in a pack, but never came into contact with it, leaving it to stand out in all it's glory. He stared at it in absolute stillness, letting his eyes wander across it's ornate surface.
He reached into his carrying pack once more, this time retrieving a brass key that he inserted into the front of the box, gently turning it. He was rewarded with a small 'click' .
He took the key out and set it aside, then opened the top of the box. He grabbed the edge of a photo and brought it closer to his face. He stared at it with the eyes of someone lost in deep thought. It depicted a small, young boy with short, brown hair and grey eyes, smiling and waving at the camera. Next to him was an older man with darker brown hair and blue eyes, leaning down to match the boy's height, his arm was draped around the other's shoulder, he too was smiling at the camera.
He sat still for a moment before he flipped over the photo, revealing a long series of scribbles in cursive that covered almost the entire back of the picture. All written in ink. He started at the top and began reading.
Son,
You know I'll always love you. No matter what happens, keep that knowledge in your heart, and that you know I'm always there for you. You're getting older and I figured you were ready for this responsibility, so before I go I wanted to give you this. It's been handed down through our family ever since your great, great, great, great grandfather bought it. Keep it with you, and treat it kindly. It's well over a hundred years old, But it's as good as ever. Take care of it, for me. I'll be back soon. I love you Callahan.
Dad
He gingerly set the photo down and reached into the box. He grabbed the handle of a revolver and held it into the air, gazing at it as the light from the fire glowed across it's surface. It was a silver-colored Colt Peacemaker with a unique orange-wood handle, carved with a long vine spiraling around the grip and stopping at the top right side, ending with a rose flower and a pair of thorns. At the center of the barrel on both sides was a golden inlay of spiked vines circling around that same name 'McCree'. More golden vines made up the name in cursive as it ran the length of the barrel, punctuated with the frame and cylinder both taking on similar, but less flashy carvings.
Callahan felt tears stinging at the corners of his eyes as his vision went watery, all while memories of him and his father came rushing into his mind.
Growing up, his father had done everything for him. His mother died shortly after he was born, which left dad as the only one to care for him. He'd always looked up to his father. He was like an idol to him. Perfect in every way. It was his dad who taught him everything he knew. How to read, to write, to do math, to cook, to drive. They'd always done everything together. Never once had they gotten into an argument or disagreement. He'd taken care of him until he was twelve years old. Then his dad left.
He didn't know why. Nor did he ever find out. His dad was a scientist, that much he knew. But where he worked or what he did was a mystery to him. He never even said goodbye in person. All he got was this box, the gun and the picture with the letter. He'd kept them ever since then. He'd hoped his dad would return. But it was obvious now that was never going to happen.
He sniffed, and wiped the tears from his face using his jacket's sleeve. Cmon, that's over now. No use crying about something in the past.
As he was ready to begin packing back up he felt a sudden, warm pressure on his right side. He looked down to see the little yellow creature he was staring at earlier, leaning against him and staring up at him with her large eyes.
He felt his throat seize as tears began to flood back into his vision again. He suddenly wanted to cry. To let his sorrow flood out of him.
He grabbed the creature and pulled her in tightly, letting his tears flow out. The feeling of another comforting him was something he hadn't felt in a very long time, and while he normally he would've thought he'd looked like a wuss, he could've cared less. He simply let his tears flow, though he didn't make any sounds.
The little creature eventually began saying something in her own language. He didn't pick up on it at first, but he eventually realized she was singing. With the kind of voice that not even an angel could match.
Though he knew he needed to stay awake, it was too hard to with such a melodious and beautiful voice singing, and he soon found himself drifting to sleep.
••••••••••
Fluttershy awoke to the smell of smoke and the quiet sounds of a soft crackling fire. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she found her vision overtaken by a large pink form that she assumed was Pinkie Pie. She was in some sort of sleeping bag and had convinced herself that what she saw earlier had to be some kind of a dream, and that she was safe and sound at home right now, having a sleepover with her friends.
She was startled by the sounds of shuffling behind her and was actually afraid to turn around. Believing it was for the best that she check, she quietly rolled around so she could peek behind her back. She saw the being that she believed was just some nightmare sitting only feet away from her. The one that blew the other creature to pieces. She had to surpress a startled scream. She didn't want it to know she was awake.
She quietly watched it as it was studying the back of what she assumed was a photograph. It's eyes following something along it. After about a minute, it set the photo aside and reached into an open wooden box layed out infront of it. It pulled out a device similar to the one it carried earlier, but smaller. It used it to kill the creatures, or at least that's what she assumed.
She only remembered seeing it point the object at one of the things that attacked her, there was an ear deafening bang and it was suddenly shredded. She unconsciously began to shake as she thought about various different scenarios all of which involved the monster infront of her, turning on her in some way.
She stared at it, with fearful, wide eyes, expecting It to turn around and attack her. It stared at the small metal thing for a few moments. If she looked closer, she thought she could see the reflection of something glistening off it's cheek.
Are those... tears? She didn't know what to think. The creature before her was crying. But why?
The tear ran down it's cheek, stopping once it had reached it's chin. It hung there for a moment, before it fell off and splashed to the stone, just as another one came running down to take it's place. The creature sniffed and lifted up it's foreleg, using it to wipe away the tears. Then lowered it and put the tool away.
She suddenly felt the urge to console the sad creature. It let out a quiet sigh as another tear ran down it's face. She watched as it sat, just crying to itself.
Fluttershy felt a mix of emotions inside of herself. She was terribly afraid of the thing that sat there, but she felt the bad for it, even if she didn't know why it was crying. Maybe it didn't want to hurt the other creatures?
Quietly she slid out of the sleeping bag and snuck up to the creature's side. She took a quick glance up to it's head to see that it hadn't noticed her. She leaned up against it and stared up at him with the best comforting look she could muster at the time. The creature looked down to her and she could see the redness in it's eyes. It had a smooth, flat face with small, grey eyes and a short, round, pointed nose. It had a short brown mane and ears that were small and rounded off at the top and bottom. It's jaw was wider and less pointed than a pony's, and it had a small amount of short hair growing all around it's mouth and up the side of it's jaw.
The creature stood still for a moment, then wrapped it's forelegs around her and pulled her in. She let out a squeak from the sudden action, and, at first she thought it was acting hostile. But it just held her... crying softly into her shoulder.
"There, there. It's gonna be alright." she cooed quietly. She wrapped her hooves around it's back and, with her good hoof began to rub it's back. That's when she noticed something.
Her hoof that'd been bitten was cleaned and bandaged. She was unconscious and she knew there was nopony else there to help. She immediately realized that the creature didn't want to hurt her at all, it was trying to save her.
"Shhhh... " Fluttershy whispered as she continued to rub it's back. She could feel it's muscles steadily begin to loosen up and knew it was going to fall asleep, and she had a surefire way to finish the job.
"Hush now, quiet now,
It's time to lay your sleepy head.
Hush now, quiet now,
It's time to go to bed.
Drifting off to sleep,
To leave the day behind you..."
She continued to sing for about five minutes. The creature slowly began to calm. It's breathing no longer unsteady as before. The flow of it's tears eventually ceased and it's hold on her loosened. She quieted her singing when she was sure she heard a soft snore come from the creature holding her. She stopped completely when she was sure it was asleep.
She managed to worm her way out of it's forelegs, and left it undisturbed as it slept leaning against the wall. She walked down beside it and layed down next to the creature's outstretched back legs. She laid her head upon one, using it as a sort of pillow. She let her eyes close as a smile came upon her face. She knew she'd made a friend.
Chapter 3: Unknown Dangers
Water gently trickled down onto Rarity's unmoving form. Her wet, matted mane laid heavily against her neck and face. She steadily opened her eyes to a distorted and blurry environment and shivered from the cool water she lay in. She carefully attempted to leave the water by moving her right foreleg under her belly and pushing herself up. She hooked her left leg over the edge of the stone and pulled letting her slide over the rock.
She pressed onto the smooth yet bumpy floor and looked up to the light above her. The sun seemed to pierce through the dark and illuminate the cavern. She sighed and tried to stand. Shakily, she rose onto her hooves and held her balance waiting for the numbness in her legs to leave.
She sat on her haunches and stared to the sun above her letting the warm rays dry her coat and mane. She felt... empty. Slowly, sensation had begun to return to her, and her clouded mind began to clear. With a deep breath she stood and looked around.
She immediately noticed the absence of her soft, warm bed and clean white walls, and instead she found herself stuck in a small, natural cave room. Water continued to flow out of tiny crevices in the wall trickling down into a small stream. It led to an opening no bigger than a few feet across.
Rarity looked back up to the sunlight and tried... tried to remember what'd happened. Why she was here. What here was. She couldn't find an answer for it. What little memory that remained was fragmented and vague.
'I... I was going somewhere... and something... something happened to me... I saw a bright light and somepony was screaming.'
Distorted images filled her memory but helped little. She remembered Twilight coming to her house and telling her they had to go. That something had happened in the forest and they needed to leave. Yet she found herself at a loss when she tried to remember what happened in the forest.
Knowing she wouldn't receive any answers by sitting around she looked to the hole in the cave's ceiling and sighed realizing there was no way for her to reach it. She was left with the small hole as her only option and looked to it.
She approached the edge of the hole and poked her head inside squinting her eyes and attempting to see further in. Unfortunately, visibility became zero after about 30 feet past the entrance. She gulped and took a deep breath.
"Okay, Rarity. You can do this... Just think of Sweetie Belle. Oh I do hope she's alright... Wherever she is."
There was a flash and a small, bright light seemed to emanate from the tip of her horn. She squatted down as low as her legs would allow and wormed her way through the opening squeezing through and popping out into the tunnel. The small hole became slightly larger past it's entrance allowing her a little more mobility than she'd expected be possible.
Looking back over her shoulder one last time she sighed and continued to crawl forward down the small opening. She continued working her way through the cramp tunnel ignoring how dirty she might be getting or how badly her mane must've looked. She just prayed to Celestia that the small hole led her somewhere.
She crawled for roughly half an hour. The tunnel would twist and split paths at some points but always maintained it's general downward direction. As Rarity neared another corner, she thought she could feel the surrounding air beginning to become cooler. She pressed on with a newfound sense of hope at the possibility that she might escape the claustrophobic tunnel. She squeezed herself around the edge and looked ahead. There was an opening. She could get out!
She quickened her pace and pulled herself out of the opening, rolling out and smacking against the other side of the cave wall. She stood up and stretched, loosening her tired and cramped muscles. She sighed and shivered. The air in the newer cave was much cooler and the fact that she was still wet didn't help at all. She brightened the light on her horn and looked around.
The cave appeared to branch off into three different paths each ran an indeterminate length before becoming too dark to see into. She looked up at the various stalactites hanging from the ceiling and stared in awe. Had it not been for the reality of her situation she would've spent more time gazing at the beautiful rock structures around the cave. She took her mind off the cave and looked back to the separate pathways, trying to choose which one to take.
She bit her lip and looked around. Each one looked almost exactly the same, the only real difference being where they led.
Rarity looked back to the running stream. She stared at it quietly and followed it's length with her eyes. Just about ten feet off of the wall it connected to another stream which came running from the left most passage. Suddenly she had an idea.
Rarity remembered hearing Twilight ramble one time about how caves were formed from running water, and that the water slowly wore away the rock after a long period of time. If that was true then the water had to come from the surface. And the second stream had to lead to ground level!
"Of course! Why hadn't I thought of it before?" Rarity beamed with joy and proceeded to follow the second stream to it's source. Her confidence drove her toward her goal with hope on reaching an exit.
As she went along, Rarity gazed at the rocky formations and designs. Huge stalactites hung from the ceiling and shimmered in the light. The crystalized minerals on their surface gave each one a vague but unique swirl of different colors and caused them to sparkle in the light. And each had the same base tannish color of the limestone, but with other colors swirled in. Dark blue, purple, pink and dark green were among a few of the many different colors she saw. Rarity could've spent hours looking at the many different sights, but she knew she had no time to stop and take a break.
Rarity continued to walk for nearly an hour before she finally wandered into a huge, circular chamber. The area of the room was massive. It was nearly as wide as a gymnasium. The stream split and flowed around both ends of the room, leaving what could be described as a 'platform' that sat in the center between each stream. At the other end, the cavern looped up and the stream fell off of a small rock face partially hidden by a large limestone coloumn the connected between the ground and the ceiling at the center of the chamber.
Goodness. I never knew something like a cave could ever be so... beautiful.
"Rarity!"
"Rarity!"
"Rarity!"
The faint echo immediately drew her attention. "Hello, is somepony there!?"
Rarity waited and listened. After a number of seconds had passed with no response she grew anxious. She cautiously approached the raised tunnel and walked around the side of the platform to avoid the column and tried to look in, finding she was too short to get a glimpse over it. She lowered down on her legs and, like a spring she jumped up and attempted to grasp the edge. She managed to maintain her grip for a few seconds, wriggling against the stone wall but her hooves slipped and she tumbled backward into the stone column, striking her head on it's side.
Rarity yelped and laid still for a moment, as she attempted to let her new headache dissipate some. She tried to raise her left foreleg to rub her head, but was puzzled when she noticed she couldn't move it. She tugged harder and was met with no results. Instead it remained stuck.
Frustration over took her and she pushed forward with as much strength as she could. She managed to pull herself into a sitting position where she could roll onto her hooves and partially stand up. She looked down and saw that she was covered in an unusual, sticky, slime-like substance that stuck onto her fur.
"What is this ?" Rarity kept pulling at the material, struggling to even keep her balance. The strength of the substance was surprising. She slowly attempted to bring a hoof forward to take a step, but instead, fell back onto her side, further entangling herself in the slime.
No matter how hard she fought, the material seemed determined to keep her glued in place.
The mutant remained still in it's corner. Watching intently as it's prey struggled against it's trap. It sat still, for now. Yet it kept watching her fight. It waited for her to tire so she couldn't fight any more. It would make it all the easier to finish her off.
It sat and watched for a few more seconds before something else brought in it's attention. The cool, dusted air of the cave brought a new sense. Ever so faintly it could sense the smell of something else in the air. Something new. It was a smell it recognized before. One that was unmistakable.
It was the smell of competition.
Of course, it could never have a simple meal. * It** always showed up, always tried to steal it's food. It had to put up with it all the time. It had to. There was no choice. It was bigger, meaner, stronger. And it knew this all too well. The scars that adorned it's body told the tale.*
It sat and it waited. It no longer cared for it's meal. It was upset that it would have to go another day hungry. Like it always had.
Or was it always this way? It could not remember.
It just waited for * It** to take the prey and leave, so that it could build a new trap. And if it was lucky it would no longer be hungry and it could eat.*
When * it** finally came into view it watched quietly. It had no armour like it. Had no claws. But It was much stronger. It was much bigger. And there was nothing it could do about it .*
The prey had seen * it** to. She struggled violently against it's trap, but only made her situation worse. She screamed and screamed and screamed. All the while it just watched. Knowing that it would take it's meal again...*
...
...
...
...
This made it angry.
It'd had enough.
It was tired of losing to * it*. Tired of being weaker.
It would deal with * it** no longer.*
It would finish * it** once and for all.*
Rarity trembled in fear as she stared at the creature before her. It was like nothing she had ever seen. It looked like a huge mass of muscle with a mouth lined with sharp and long teeth. It stood on four legs; the two front legs being larger and bent backwards. Its small, black eyes contrasted to its huge, pink body. It could have easily been over seven feet tall.
All Rarity could do was sit and await her impending doom. She was done screaming. She just let the tears flow freely as she thought about her home. Her family. And her friends.
The monster drew nearer. Slowly approaching her. Every step it took caused a small amount of gravel to fall loose from the ceiling, bringing terror to her on a level she had never felt before. It was the worst kind of fear anypony could experience. Knowing that you were going to die, and she was absolutely helpless to do anything about it.
As the beast finally stopped infront of her she held her breath and time seemed to slow down. It raised one of its huge legs into the air, preparing to end her life in a single blow. Rarity prayed to Celestia in her mind, praying that her sister and friends were okay.
As she held her eyes shut in terror, a miracle happened. The silence of the cavern was broken once more by a high-pitched, shrill chittering noise. The beast's attention was drawn from her as another creature emerged from the darkness. It flew by her and slammed into the huge pink monster, tackling it to the ground in a flurry of dust.
Rarity stared in awe as she watched the creature skitter off the one it just tackled, raising half of it's body into the air. It looked like a huge centipede, with black, chitinous armor covering it's segmented body. It's entire being was divided into about ten different segments, including the head. Each segment had a pair of limbs, one on each side. The front two segments behind the head, had the longest legs, all ended in a huge blade-like tip that was long and thin, like a meat cleaver. It had a sleek, narrow head with a ridge atop the front, and two massive mandibles cornering it's small mouth.
It made a shrill chittering noise like somepony running their hooves down the length of a series of combs. It's armor vibrated as it created the noise, Cascading down the length of it's back. The much larger pink creature stood up and grumbled, obviously angered for having it's soon to be meal interrupted.
Both monsters stared at each other for what seemed to be an eternity until the pink one made the first move. It swung it's massive front leg at the centipede, missing by a long shot. The other creature saw the attack well ahead of time and lowered out of the way, skittering to the side and raising back up. The pink creatures leg slammed into the stone wall with a loud meaty crack. The centipede-like creature aimed it's head at it's adversary and a short stream of an opaque, liquid towards the wall.
The substance splashed over the mutant's leg and the wall around it, gluing it in place. It struggled to pull it's leg free, realizing it had been stuck to the wall by the material. The other creature took it's chance and leapt at it's enemy's back, digging it's razor feet into it's flesh.
The larger monster began to shake violently, attempting to throw the other creature off. It roared loudly and ripped it's leg from the wall, throwing it's attacker over it's shoulder. The mutant continued to struggle with the sticky substance still coating it's leg, clumsily trying to maintain it's balance without it's use.
The insect creature stood up again and watched it's adversary stumble around, contemplating it's next move. Realizing that it was best to attack while it was still confused, it leapt again.
"Twilight!? Fluttershy...!?" Pinkie's call echoed into the cave and slowly faded. "Where is everypony...?" She sat down on her haunches and stared into the darkened tunnel ahead of her.
Don't worry Pinkie, you can do this. Just be strong and think about your friends.
Pinkie let out a slow exhale and stood up marching forward into the cavern with renewed courage. She kept her eyes locked ahead of her and continued to call for her friends, hoping that she might receive an awnser.
"Rarity...!"
"Rarity...!"
"Rarity...!"
The sound reverberated through the cave before dissipating away into the blackness. Pinkie held a hoof next to her ear and listened closely for a response. The seconds seemed to draw to minutes as she anxiously awaited a reply. It continued to remain eerily quiet throughout the cave as Pinkie grew anxious. She was nearly ready to give up and go back to find another way out when a shrill cry she could only recognize as that of her friend Rarity shattered the cave's silence. Pinkie Pie fell onto her back in surprise.
"Rarity...?" She said to herself in shock "Rarity!" She stood up and bolted down the cave. "Hang on Rarity I'm coming!"
Pinkie galloped down the cave and skidded to a stop at the edge of a large circular cavern as her hooves kicked up dust. She coughed as her vision was assaulted with a bright light. She lifted her foreleg to cover her eyes and looked ahead to see through the dust. Rarity was laying on her back against the rock floor her eyes were wider than saucers and her mouth was agape. Oblivious to her friend's signs of fear, Pinkie Pie let her excitment get a hold of her.
"Hey, Rarity, Over here!" Pinkie waved a hoof to her friend and smiled.
Rarity looked to her friend in confusion before she returned to shock again. "Pinkie, look out!"
Pinkie's smile faded and she looked left just in time to see a large black figure slam into her.
It righted it's self again before it's enemy could get the chance to attack, spinning over and onto it's legs. It looked back to the charging thing and dashed out of the way as it's foe slammed into the wall.
**It * was too powerful to fight on it's own. It needed to find a way to beat it. It's enemy may have been strong, but was rather clumsily and stupid.*
It looked around the cavern for something to use to it's advantage, but had it's search cut short by the charging thing. As before, it timely darted out of it's path and a good distance away.
As * it** slammed into the wall it noticed the stone. The pointy rocks of the ceiling began to crack and shake. If they fell, they could do alot of damage...*
Perhaps even enough to incapacitate it's competition.
With a new plan of attack formed, it looked to the ground below the pointy rocks and covered them in it's sticky substance, enough to hold it's powerful enemy for just a few moments. That was all it needed. It looked back up to see * it** charging again, rage still driving it forward.*
It backed up slightly and held it's ground, unsure if the substance would be enough to stop * it. Just as the mutant passed over, **it stumbled and fell, now wrapped in the glue-like material. Realizing it had succeeded, it crawled up the side of the cave and onto the ceiling, positioning itself over it .*
With a swing of it's tail, the rock's cracks had begun to grow. It repetedely smacked the stone with it's tail, widening the fracture further until it finally gave weigh. With a loud crack the rock fell down unto it's enemy.
*CRASH*
Rarity flinched as the stone made contact with the monster, letting loose a wave of dust that permeated the air. She looked up to see the creature smashed into the ground, now reduced to a mushy pink mass. Rarity stared in awe as the armored insect crawled from the ceiling and stopped ontop of it's rival and raised itself into the air. It chittered as it vibrated it's armor, clearly displaying itself as the strongest of the two.
Rarity realized that the thing was no longer distracted from her, and could kill her any minute. She froze as all thought ceased. She waited for it to take action, if she was lucky, it might have forgotten about her.
She stared as it skittered off it's now dead enemy. It stopped by the body's side and lurched forward, digging it's mandibles into the flesh and tearing out a strip of the meat, swallowing it messily before going in to take another bite.
Rarity gagged as she tried to keep herself from vomiting. Her eyes began to water as she could feel the burning liquid coming up her throat. She turned back to Pinkie who laid upon ground in a heap, bleeding badly.
"Pinkie Pie...?" She whispered under her breath. "Pinkie please... c-can you hear me?"
Her friend laid still on the floor only a few feet away from her. Blood soaked parts of her coat and her breathing was ragged and uneven. Rarity's mind was at a complete stand still. She didn't know what to think or do, the only thing prominent in her mind was fear. Gradually thought came back to her, and the reality of her situation hit her harder than she was prepared for.
Stuck Alone Lost Hopeless.
She began hyperventilating as she shook in terror. She looked back over to see the giant bug staring straight at her, standing just inches away. Her vision began to go black as the world started to spin and her eyes rolled into the back of her head.
The armored insect clipped it's mandibles again as it cut another strip of flesh from it's meal, swallowing it messily and rearing to take another bite. Before it leaned forward to bite, a sound registered in it's ears. It turned around to see it's former pray breathing heavily on the ground. It had no use for her, now that it had a much larger meal to eat. Perhaps it would keep her for later.
Gluing it's lunch to the ceiling to keep it from being found, it skittered up to the small white creature in it's trap. She turned to look at it and fainted immediaty. Delicately using it's front legs, it lifted her off the ground just barely so as it could cut the glue like material away from her. It gently tucked her under it's neck and held her against it's self with it's legs. It turned to the tunnel to it's den and skittered into it and away from the chamber.
As it emerged into it's nest it set her against the wall and glued her into place so she couldn't escape, should she awaken. It turned to leave and return to it's feast before another interruption came into play. It recognized the faint echoes of other creatures in the chamber not too far away. Deciding to investigate the noises, it crawled onto the ceiling and skittered forward so it could remain hidden.
Looking ahead it saw a bright, faintly purplish light emanating from the chamber. Surrounding the light were multiple other beings, similar to the one it had captured only minutes ago. Each of them seemed to be frantic about something, and it was obvious they were distressed. It remained completely still on the ceiling and observed as they argued amongst each other. The one causing the light seemed to shout at the others and turned to look at the entrance to it's den. The lighted one started to run for it as two others followed quickly behind. It retreated further back into it's den to wait for an opportunity to ambush the creatures and capture them for later meals.
Twilight galloped into the tunnel with Applejack and Rainbow Dash following closely behind. A look of fury etched on each of their faces as they were determined to give their friend's assailant what for. Twilight skidded to a halt as the light from her horn spilled into the nesting chamber. Each mare immediately gagged.
The air stunk of blood and urine, and bones piled upon one corner of the room. The walls were coated with a thick, glossy sheet of material that seemed to ooze down the wall in drips. A Number of rotting corpses hung upon the walls and ceiling, entangled in the mucus likes flies upon a spiderweb. Amongst the brown and red of death stood out a white unicorn who hung limp from the wall.
"Rarity!" Twilight galloped to her friend and stopped before her, lighting her horn and attempting to pull her free of the slime, but only managing to wrap her up even further. Rainbow dash quickly joined in, grabbing her friend's leg and tugging with as much strength as she could.
Rainbow's grip let loose as she sighed at her loss. "What the hay is this stuff?" She held her hooves in front of her face and glared at the offending substance.
Twilight had given up trying to pull her free, it seemed hopeless. "It's no use. We'll have to find another way to get her down."
"Could we cut 'er outta it?" Applejack suggested
"I don't know, but we need to think fast. Whatever was here might come back." Twilight spoke anxiously.
As though the words she'd spoken had summoned something forth, a shrill chittering not unlike a cicada's, echoed forth though the nest. Each mare turned back to look at the tunnel they'd come through. They held their breath in anticipation as they awaited something to approach from the darkness. They waited but it never came.
Without taking her gaze from the tunnel, Twilight spoke "I think something's coming girls, we need to move and quick!" She immediately turned back around but flew backward in shock, landing on her haunches from the sudden surprise. A large black shape assaulted her vision as she felt hot liquid fall upon her face. She slowly brought her gaze up to meet something that could have only come straight from a nightmare.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash both turned around to the same sight and froze in terror. A huge black centipede-like creature stood infront of them with it's upper body raised into the air. It could have easily been three times higher than any of them. Saliva dribbled down from it's mandibles and onto Twilight's face who was too shocked to do so much as scream. It's mandibles suddenly opened wide as it lurched back to tear apart the purple unicorn.
"Back off you stupid bug!" A loud crack resonated as a cyan hoof connected with the underside of it's head, dazing it momentarily. Twilight felt herself being pulled back and shook, prompting Applejack to let go. Twilight stood uneasily and looked back to Rainbow Dash, who circled around the beast in the air drawing it's attention away.
"Hang on Rainbow!" Twilight lifted up a large, sharp bone from the ground and hurled it at the creature. The bone simply bounced off it's armored shell, barely even scratching the thick carapace.
The insect immediately shifted it's attention to her, ignoring the now frantic insults from the winged horse. Twilight's eyes went wide as she rolled to the right, barely escaping the scissor-like jaws. She stood up and magically lifted a number of other sharpened bones. Just as the insect had risen in to the air again, she launched them all at the gigantic bug in a furious barrage of improvised harpoons.
The thing jerked backward from shock and momentarily wobbled in it's daze. As before, most of the bones simply ricocheted off it's hardened exo-skeleton, only succeeding in causing a brief amount of trauma to it. Twilight looked closer and noticed a couple of bones sticking out of the small spaces between it's segmented body. The creature quickly tore the bones out with it's clawed legs, hissing in pain as yellowish blood began to flow from it's wounds.
The gears in Twilight's head clicked as she realized the thing had a weakness. She only needed to find a way to easily exploit it. With another loud Thunk , Rainbow's hooves connected with the back side of it's head. Tearing it's focus from the lavender unicorn from before.
Twilight's mind sped up as she thought of a plan to get rid of the thing. She scanned the room rapidly, looking for anything she could possibly use as a weapon against the creature. Most of the bones she'd thrown had been shattered and simple stones wouldn't be enough to damage the spaces between it's armor. Her eyes finally settled on the remains of a large animal in the corner of the cavern, it's huge ribs jutting into the air.
"Applejack, I have a plan." She said. "Do you see that pile of bones in the corner?" She pointed at hoof to the mound of rotting remains
"Yeah?"
"Stand in front of that pile and throw a rock at that thing." She commanded.
With a quick glance to the creature, Applejack immediately objected. "Twilight are y'all insane?!"
"Just trust me on this, I have a plan." With that statement Applejack hesitantly galloped to the pile of bones. "Rainbow!" She shouted to the pegasus, dodging the angry insect.
"Kinda busy here Twi!"
"When I give the signal, kick that thing as hard as you can in the back. Got it?"
"Sure thing Twilight!" She shouted back in approval.
"Alright Applejack, go for it!" Twilight looked to her orange friend who nodded in response.
"Hey you over-grown bug, over here!" Applejack yelled as she bucked a large stone out of the air, sending it colliding with the armored insect. It's focus shifted once more to the orange mare at the other end of the room. It swiftly skittered in front of her and raised it's self up again, opening it jaws wide preparing to strike down.
"Now Rainbow Dash!" Twilight yelled.
Rainbow sped up and spun around, letting her rear hooves collide with beast's back. It lurched forward and fell as Applejack jumped out of it's path. All three mares watched in awe as the insect toppled onto the huge bones, impaling it's self in the ribcage of one of it's former meals.
It hissed loudly as it thrashed violently, throwing it's body left and right. The insect squirmed every which way, shaking as yellowish blood began to gush from it's wound. It's struggle eventually slowed as it finally laid motionless on the stone. Cautiously, Applejack began to approach it and hesitantly, jabbed it with her hoof. Much to her relief, it remained still.
"Is... Is it dead?" Rainbow asked as she hovered over the creature's now still form.
"Ah think so." Applejack spoke as she stood next to it.
"Cmon girls we still have to help Rarity." With that, Twilight turned to look at her purple maned friend who still laid unconscious on the wall.
*Crack* *Crack* *Crack*
"What in the hay was that?" Rainbow looked up surprised by the loud echo.
"I don't know, but it sounded like it came from where Fluttershy and Pinkie are. Let's get Rarity and hurry."
Twilight levitated one of the broke bone shards and gently began to cut Rarity away from the material. Taking care to be sure she didn't cut Rarity herself. As the final strands of the material were cut away, Twilight carefully levitated Rarity away from the the wall and held her in the air.
"Let me carry 'er Twi. I'll handle it." Applejack spoke up as she turned around so she could carry Rarity.
"Of course." Without hesitating, Twilight gingerly placed Rarity on Applejack's back. Positioning her so her head would rest on Applejack's neck.
Rainbow groaned out of anxiety "Cmon I wanna see what Those sounds were."
"Rainbow, why don't you go on ahead to check it out. Me and Applejack will catch up." Twilight said as she waved The blue Pegasus off with a hoof.
"Sure thing, just be quick about it." Before another word could be uttered, Rainbow turned and sped off down the tunnel, churning up dust in her path.
"Are you sure you've got her?" Twilight asked as she looked to her friend.
"Yep, Ah'm fine," Applejack smiled as she shifted the weight on her back. "Let's get goin' before Rainbow blows a fuse."
"Nononono... She's not here!" Rainbow shouted as she stared at the dried pool of blood where Pinkie Pie had laid. She changed her focus to the tunnel that led away from the chamber she was in and galloped to it's edge. She quickly skidded to a halt and squinted to look ahead. She realized how foolish she had nearly been, running off on her own. Without Twilight, she was essentially blind. She could feel her anxiety begin to well up in her chest, it mocked her sharply in it's silent way. Telling her that she wouldn't be able to save her friend. That Fluttershy was as good as dead.
She lashed out at her doubt and replaced it with anger. An anger which was now threatening to boil over and cause her to explode. "Grrr ... Twilight, hurry up !"
In a matter of moments both of her friends, minus an unconcious Rarity, galloped into the room.
"Rainbow, hold yer darn horses!" Applejack shouted as she slowed to a trot.
"Rainbow Dash calm down! What is it?" Twilight asked annoyed.
"Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie aren't here! " Rainbow shouted in anger.
"Rainbow Dash, just relax! I'm sure they are around here somewhere." Twilight pleaded her light blue friend.
"Ah don't think so. Ain't no way Fluttershy coulda done this." Applejack stood over the corpse of a strange grey creature, missing most of it's chest and right foreleg. The area around it was splattered with blood and bits of flesh.
Twilight walked up to the edge of the lifeless form and stared at it, marveling and cringing at the amount of damage done to it's body. There were no lacerations or blunt damage visible, not even small cuts. It was just a massive amount of tearing and shredding. Like somepony had taken a gardening fork and drove it straight through it's chest repeatedly. Looking at the sight made her want to gag, but she managed to hold back the urge.
"What's this?" Twilight levitated up a small red cylinder with a metal base. It was made of a material that was completely foreign to her and it had an unusual aroma of smoke. The sides of the cylinder carried a foreign text that was printed over in black.
Federal No. 00 Buckshot
12 Gauge (12x70mm)
"Who the heck cares what it is, we have to find Fluttershy and Pinkie!" Rainbow angrily nudged Twilight and Applejack toward the exit.
Twilight and Applejack shared a glance and the latter of the two shrugged turning to the halls they had come from originally. "Fine, let's see if we can figure out where they went off to." Twilight brightened her horn and took lead of the small group cautiously advancing down the stone pathway.
The group came to a halt as they neared one of the numerous intersections that seemed to be randomly placed throughout the catacombs. The only decision was left or right. "We came from the right," Twilight stated motioning her head to hall. "So, it wouldn't make sense for Fluttershy to go back. But then again, she's not the type of pony to go off somewhere she doesn't recognize."
"How exactly do we know Fluttershy's even been here before?" Rainbow pointed out with sharpness.
"We can't... So, I guess we should just go left." Twilight turned and proceeded to walk down into the darkened tunnel.
"Girls, ah can't help but keep wonderin' 'what caused this'." Applejack spoke in a low whisper. "What was that darned rock we found out there?"
"Yeah, what spell did you use on that thing, Twilight?" Rainbow gave her an accusing glare and asked in an almost mocking tone.
"I didn't do anything!" Twilight responded in her defense. "It was a simple identity spell. I don't know what could have gone wrong."
"How could you not have known what went wrong? You're an expert in magic for buck's sake!" Her blue friend gestured by throwing her hooves into the air.
"Rainbow Dash, " Applejack butted in. "Stop blamin' Twi' for all a' this! She's your friend ." She spoke sternly. "And ya'll shouldn't be fightin' 'bout somethin' like this. We need ta' help each other, not try ta' wrap our hooves 'round our necks."
"Well if we hadn't of gone after that stupid rock in the first place, none of this would've happened!" Rainbow moved in closer to the cowpony, threatening her personal space and still maintaining her harsh tone of voice. "Pinkie Pie would be okay, Fluttershy wouldn't be missing, and Rarity wouldn't be unconscious!"
Applejack looked like she'd been slapped across the face, but quickly returned to her angered expression. "What has gotten inta' you? Y'all done said yerself that ya'-"
*THUD*
Applejack tumbled forward and Rarity rolled off her back as her hooves stumbled over something on the ground. She quickly managed to get into an up-right position and rubbed the sides of her head with her hooves. "Ouch... What in the hay...?"
"Ohhh..." Rarity's eyes began to flicker open and she brought her head up to survey her surroundings.
"Rarity! Are you okay?" Twilight extended a hoof and helped her purple maned friend into a sitting position. "You're not hurt are you?"
Rarity took a moment to look around, squinting her eyes to see anything. She rubbed them with her hooves and focused on the purple mare in front of her. "Twilight...? Is that you?" Rarity stared at her as though she were unsure of what she saw.
"Yes Rarity, it's me."
"Twilight it is you!" Rarity quickly got up and wrapped her forelegs around her violet friend, as thought it would be the last time she got the chance. "I-I thought I wouldn't see you again."
Twilight felt her cheeks turning red as Rarity squeezed her tightly. "Thanks I guess... Could you please let go?" She barely managed to force the words out of her already suffocated lungs.
"Oh I'm terribly sorry dear," Rarity loosened her grip and leaned back to get a better look at Twilight. "Im just so relieved to see you again. I'm sure if anypony knows where we are it's you." Rarity seemed overly enthusiastic in her statement, like it was an absolute certainty.
Twilight suddenly felt her conscience gnaw at her for having to break the truth to Rarity. The mare was so happy, she was sure telling her would only get her depressed, and having to be the one to break it to her made it all the worse.
"Well Rarity... That's sort of the problem." Twilight scratched the back of her neck with her hoof and let her eyes wander away from her ivory white friend, unable to bring herself to look her in the eyes.
Rarity cocked her head and stared quizzically at Twilight. "Whatever do you mean, darling?"
"What she means is that we are completely, and hopelessly lost!" Rainbow dropped to the ground next to Rarity and stated bluntly. "We've been stuck in these Celestia forsaken halls for who knows how long, and the closest we've come to finding an exit is death!" Rarity looked to Twilight as though asking for confirmation. Yet all Twilight could manage was to look down to the stone in guilt.
Rarity fell back down on her haunches as the life seemed to drain from her being. Twilight felt the intense urge to console her friend, but what could she say? How could she explain it would be alright if she had no absolute certainty of anything? Besides, she was the variable in their situation that had brought them here in the first place. She began to reach out with a hoof to pat Rarity's shoulder, but Applejack suddeny walked between the two in excitement.
"Y'all look, it's Fluttershy's saddle bag!" Applejack held it in the air with a hoof, displaying her find proudly to the rest of the group. "Eveythings still in it too."
"Well, at least we know we're going the right way." Twilight said as she lifted the saddlebag out of Applejack's grip. She examined it closely and plain as day, there was her cutie marke embroidered on the side of it.
"Y-you mean you haven't found Fluttershy yet?" Rarity finally broke her gaze from the smooth rocky floor and looked up to Twilight. Before she could respond herself, Applejack had already beaten her to the first word.
"Fraid not Rar'. We done lost the poor gal not too long ago. And pinkie with her." Applejack said. She insantly noticed the sullen, miserable expression worn by her snow-white friend. "Hey now," Applejack set a hoof on her shoulder. "Ain't no reason to fret. We'll have em both back safe n' sound in no time at all. Something tells me they're both just fine."
Rarity looked into the cowpony's deep green eyes and barely managed a smile. Slowly she stood back up and wiped the tears from beneath her eyes, she changed her gaze to each of her three friends present and let out a deep breath. "Okay... Let's go find Fluttershy."
Callahan woke with the sudden need to go and take a leak badly, and carefully made his way out of the hooves of the sleeping little horse. He stood up and stretched lightly, feeling the pleasant chorus of satisfying cracks and pops . He looked down to the fire that had now been reduced to but a small pile of glowing embers and briefly thought about going to get more firewood, but figured that there would been no need.
He proceeded out the doorway of the room and took a few steps down the hall. He reached down and gripped the zipper with his hand, gently opening it and proceeding to relieve himself. His mind began to drift to the recent events he'd experienced. The kind of toll it would take on him to be suddenly relocated wasn't nearly as devastating as possibly having his equipment torn from him. Shelter was something that he could acquire easily but that didn't make it any less frusturating to be lost.
Yeah... 'Strange' was definitely an understatement.
Gently shaking loose the last few drops of urine, he zipped up his pants and went to return to his resting place next to the yellow horse. He entered the room and did his best to step over the pink one without disturbing her, performing a balancing act to get around and laying himself back down against the wall. Once he was comfortable he stared up at the small window that served to let the smoke out and noted it was still night-time. He had no clue how much time had passed since he fell asleep nor how long it had been since he arrived.
Leaning over to his backpack, he opened a small pouch on one of the shoulder straps and removed his PDA from it's holster. He pressed down on the power button which prompted the screen to light up and display a triangular logo bearing the letters ETG . He gazed up to where the time would have normally been displayed on the screen, only to find it reading the words "No zone" .
"Piece of crap." he muttered under his breath. His fingers danced across the screen, guiding him the through the various settings and systems until he finally got the one he was looking for.
Coordinates: N/A
Time Frame: N/A
Satellite Connection: N/A
Radio Link: N/A
'What the hell is going on here?'
With a few more strokes of his fingers a new set of words flashed across the screen.
Attempting to acquire satellite connection, please standby...
...
...
...
...
...
Signal could not be found.
Please move to a more open area and try again.
"Fucking figures..." Callahan Powered the device down and returned it to it's holster before laying back against the wall like he'd done previously. He let out a sigh and stared at the little yellow being the slept just next to him. "I really hope you know where we're at... Cause' I haven't got a clue."
Chapter 5: Unsound Arrival
Ponyville, Equestria
Lyra walked leisurely beside her roomate and best friend Bonbon as they strode through the peaceful paths on the edge of the Ponyville park. They idly chatted as they enjoyed the tranquility of the warm summer afternoon like many more of Ponyville's inhabitants.
"- Of course when I got there, I remembered that I'd left the order in the kitchen," Bonbon said, getting her mint green friend to giggle whole hartedly.
"Ya know, *giggle* That kinda reminds me of the time I went to play in Canterlot, and left my lyre on the train." Lyra smiled and laughed more, recalling the incident. Bonbon laughed with her.
*Rustle*
Bonbon stopped in her tracks and turned around to face the line of brush that walled the edge of the path, looking over it with sharp eyes. Lyra began to say something else, but noticed her friend was no longer next to her. She looked back to see Bonbon standing in the middle of the path, staring at the bushes and trees as though she were brain dead.
"Hey, whaddya starin' at?" Lyra approached with a quizzical look on her face.
"Shh," Bonbon hissed in response. Lyra shot back at the seriousness in her tone.
"What is it," Lyra asked with a much quieter voice.
"Didn't you hear that," Bonbon began. "The leaves started rustling. I think somepony's following us."
At this Lyra simply smiled. "I just think you're paranoid," She happily stated, beleiving her friend to be worrying over nothing.
"I'm not joking Lyra," She yelled "I heard somethi-!"
*Rustle Rustle*
"There it goes again," She shouted in a whisper.
Lyra's smile disappeared quickly. "Y-Yeah, I heard it that time too."
"Hello," Bonbon yelled "Is somepony out there?"
...
She was met with a response in the form of complete silence. It escaped her notice that all the small mammals and brids had either left or were now completely quiet.
"If this is a joke, it's not funny. Please, stop!" Her shout was again, returned with silence
"Well, I guess there's only one way were gonna find out," Lyra began to walk up towards the edge of the thick foliage, and Bonbon felt a pang of bad vibes run through her spine.
"L-Lyra I don't think that's such a good idea," Lyra continued forward as though she hadn't heard a word of the warning from her companion "Let's just leave, okay?"
"What? You're not telling me you're scared, ARE you," Lyra smiled widely.
"Of c-course not! It's just that wha-" Bonbon didn't get to finish her sentence.
Suddenly, in a flurry of green, the bushes seemed to come to life as a tall, greenish shape burst through the wall of plants. Leaves flew off the bushes and sticks flung outward as the green figure snatched Lyra with an appendage, lifting her into the air by her neck.
Lyra let out an ear piercing scream as the beast held her aloft. It responded to her by bellowing an ear shattering roar, crushing down with it's grip on her. Lyra could only stare on in horror as blood began to flow down her neck.
The beast gripped the side of it's head with another hand, roaring as though in pain. In a rage, it threw Lyra to the ground like a ragdoll. BonBon flinched as she heard bones snapping.
BonBon glanced over to the creature as it stood shaking it's head. It was thin, but massively tall, with dark, mottled green skin that took on various shades in splotches. It had two large, but blunt tusks protruding from it's bottom jaw. It had a small, solid black eye at the left side of it's face. The other had a patch of skin and flesh molded over it. It stood almost eight feet tall with two long, thin legs, and a pair of forelegs that reached down to it's knees. It looked an awfully lot like the "Humans" Lyra was so obsessed about. She wasn't sure, but she could've sworn the creature was shaking just lightly.
The creature locked it's rage-filled gaze on BonBon, snarling like a rabid animal. She unconsciously began backing away as the creature threw it's arm into the air, preparing to swat her aside like an insect. She shrank down as it began to swing it's massive appendage down. Before it could connect, a large red blur struck the side of the beast, sending it toppling over.
Bonbon glanced up and seeing her chance, bolted at the opportunity to help her friend. "L-Lyra," Bonbon screamed as she rushed to her roommate's aid. She kneeled down next to her and pressed her hooves onto Lyra's neck. "Lyra?! Lyra can you hear me?!"
Lyra's eyes were shut tightly and tears rolled down her face, mixing with the small puddle of blood that was forming beneath her. Bonbon looked up to see Big Macintosh dragging a hoof and glaring fiercely at the beast on the ground. Numerous other ponies rushed over at the sound of the sudden commotion, wondering what had broken the calm of such a peaceful morning.
Nurse Tenderheart was the first to approach. She kneeled down beside Lyra and took a look at the injury. "Oh my," She said quietly "Somepony, get me a first aid kit and a stretcher, now," She shouted at the group that had gathered. A number of the ponies broke off from the crowd and ran in search of the requested items.
"Does anypony have a towel or blanket," She looked back to the crowd anxiously.
As Nurse Tenderheart turned around, the monster rose back onto it's feet again. This times it's eyes were fixed on Macintosh. It swung it's arm upward just as Big Mac ran around the attack, stopping behind it to buck it again.
The creature fell again but immediately got back up, repeating the same process. Big Mac dodging the attack and bucking it again.
"'Ah need help! 'Ah can't keep doin' this." Big Mac shouted as sweat poured down his face, anticipating another attack from the creature.
In response, one unicorn came from the group and began using magic to try and hold it down, but it quickly became obvious she wasn't strong enough to keep it from getting up again.
Following her example, more and more unicorns joined in to help hold the creature down, forcing it flat against the dirt pathway as it struggled helplessly, finally managing to get it under control.
BonBon sat relieved that Macintosh stopped it from hurting any other ponies. Or herself. She could only imagine what would've happened had he not been nearby.
"A-Are you alright?" Big Mac looked over to see a young, tan earth pony mare with a dark blue and pink mane. He'd seen her around town before, but hadn't ever really gotten to know her.
Big Mac simply stared at her for a moment before responding. "Yep."
••••••••••
Canterlot, Equestria
Princess Celestia levitated up another bite of her salad. She bit down on the fork and pulled it away, savoring the sweet flavor of the fresh vegetables and greens. She lowered the fork and rose her tea cup. Taking a quick sip and setting it back down.
The warm light of the sun poured through the windows, illuminating the room brilliantly. Dust shimmered in the air, as it passed through the bright rays of the sun. Red curtains hung upon the walls and golden carpets adorned the floors.
Outside, the sounds of the castle gardens filled the air; the birds continued to chirp as they bathed in the glorious light of the sun, and the animals frolicked about the flowers and other foliage. Water gently trickled down the center fountain and cascaded smoothly upon the pool below it. The hundreds of goldfish and koi floated near the surface, warming themselves in the bright sunlight. Insects of all shapes and sizes buzzed about the gardens, moving from flower to flower and tree to tree, going about their daily routine.
And amidst it all the Princess sat smiling to herself, enjoying the glorious sunny afternoon carefree.
Perfect.
The rhythmic sound of hooves clopping against the stone floor steadily grew in volume until it reached a stop. The door to the dining hall swung open violently, revealing a tired, worn pegasus guard.
"Your majesty, *huff* " He drew a quick series of breaths and hurriedly trotted to the front of Celestia's dining table. "My apologies... For interrupting your meal. But something has happened toward the town of Ponyville," He looked ahead, attempting to keep a steady composure.
Celestia's ear twitched at the mention of the town's name. Her smile faded and she slowly lowered her fork.
"A number of citizens were attacked... and injured by various creatures of unknown species. There was no loss of life *huff* but at least three ponies had to be hospitalized." Celestia's mind went into overflow with questions and worry.
"Is there any clue as to where these creatures came from?"
"They are believed to have emerged from the Everfree Forest, although nopony's entirely sure."
Celestia's heart immediately filled with worry after hearing the name of the dreaded forest. She'd known it to be dangerous, but she felt sure her student could've handled herself inside of it. Especially with her friends.
What? Creatures from the Everfree harming my citizens? But... why? No creature of any kind has emerged from there in decades!
"And what of the element bearers?" She spoke evenly, attempting to maintain a calm demeanor.
"They could not be located, your majesty." The guard spoke flatly, but fearing what reaction the princess would have to the news.
"Go and have a carriage readied to take me to Ponyville, and tell Captain Shining to send a squad of his best with me."
"Yes, your majesty," The guard turned on his hooves, racing out of the chamber to fulfill his orders.
"Spotless," Celestia yelled loudly.
Hurriedly, a young, tan unicorn mare trotted into the room wearing a maids uniform and with a cutie mark depicting a feather duster.
"Yes, your majesty," She bowed and then stood rigid.
"Would you kindly clean up my lunch? I'm afraid I have to leave."
"Of course, your majesty," The mare approached the table and lifted the silverware, plate and cups into the air. Gently carrying them out into the hall.
Celestia proceeded out the door. Noticeably missing her usual smile. She turned down the hall to her right and followed the maze of paths that she had memorized well. The pristine white marble and stone that made up the halls caused it to be easy to get lost without an extensive knowledge of the lay out. Of course the building was designed as such to disorient possible intruders or tresspassers. She walked for a number of minutes, finally arriving at the large set of double doors that lead to the castle's front court yard.
"Princess, Your carriage is ready," A guard confronted her and pointed a hoof over to it. It sat on the stone directly in front a wall of flowers and bushes. The bright white color contrasted heavily to the dark green foliage.
"Thank you."
Celestia walked ahead to the White gold-trimmed carriage and climbed into it, and sat down onto the soft, red, cushioned seat. She looked down to the guards hitched in the front and stated, "Ponyville please."
The guards nodded and began a quick trot down the stone pavement, heading into a sprint and then lifting off the ground.
••••••••••
Celestia stepped out of the carriage as she looked ahead to the massive congregation of citizens and guards. Nearly the entire town had gathered around the central square, exchanging rumors and words of worry. They were all so caught up in a panic that she had to verbally announce herself.
"My little ponies, please may I have your attention," Celestia's voice boomed over the masses of chattering and shouting. Almost immediately, everypony's attention turned to her as any voices quickly faded.
Celestia remained still as she looked over the crowd that had formed, being sure she had their attention. "I understand you must all be frightened," She began. "But please, do not panic. I promise you the situation will be handled. I would like for Everypony to return to their daily routines if possible, there isn't any cause for such alarm," As she reached her final words, she looked back over the crowd expectantly. Like flies in a pack, the citizens each began breaking away and returning to their normal work and lives.
Satisfied, Celestia proceeded forward to where her guards were leading her. She kept a smile on her face, not of genuine happiness but to reassure all of her subjects that everything was alright.
‘Everything is most certainly * not** alright.’*
As she reached her destination she saw a curious sight: At least 15 guards had surrounded a huge cage that was shrouded by a black covering. The first to notice her was Captain Shining, who was quick to bow as she approached.
"You may rise. Pray tell, what is this, Captain?" She inquired with a look to the cage that sat surrounded by armed stallions.
"Your majesty," Shining rose back up, looking noticeably grim. "Some of the civillians were able to capture one of the creatures, but unfortunately not before it injured one of the citizens. It broke a number of her ribs, and leg bones, and came dangerously close to severing her jugular." Shining glanced over to the cage, almost fearful.
"Fortunately," he said, "Much of the other creatures retreated once my squad and I arrived."
"Is there any idea as to what this creature could be?"
"I've had my guards look through hundreds of volumes on wildlife and even legends, but we can't find a match for it anywhere." Shining stopped to look at the ground and sighed. "If my sister were here maybe she'd know, but we can't find her, or her friends anywhere..."
He doesn't know yet, does he?
Celestia suddenly felt terrible about neglecting to inform him. She hadn't thought it would be necessary. Their expedition should've only taken a dozen hours at the most.
She sighed and began to speak. "Captain, about your sister..." Shining immediately looked up to the princess, who could barely bring herself to meet his eyes. "I sent her and her friends on an expedition... Into the forest. It was to study a discharge of energy that had occurred. I'm sorry Shining. I didn't know these things were out there."
"W-what?" Shining looked to the ground in complete disbelief. "H-how long ago?"
"Almost sixteen hours..."
Shining armor felt fear course through his veins like adrenaline. He almost couldn't believe what he was hearing was real. "Y-you mean she's out there... With those... those things?"
"Shining please, there was no way anypony could've known this would happen. Your sister is a strong mare. I'm sure she and her friends are alright."
"I-I... I know but..."
"Now," Celestia attempted to take his mind away from such thoughts by changing the subject. "What is this creature exactly?"
Shining opened his mouth to try and describe it, but simply found himself lacking the words. "You'd better see for yourself."
Some of the guards took this as a cue to pull the shroud off the cage, revealing the monster that was within. Celestia approached the cage dauntlessly, stopping at it's edge to observe the beast standing there.
It was incredibly tall, and towered over even herself by nearly double. It's most notable feature was it's lack of a second eye on the right of it's head. The missing eye was covered by a fleshy growth that almost appeared to... Pulsate. And it's skin was a mottled dark green.
The creature didn't show any more indication toward her presence besides a deep groan and a quick glance that lasted no more than a second. It just stood against the side of it's cage quietly.
"This is the creature," Celestia inquired Shining without actually looking at him, "It does not appear as hostile as it was described."
"When we arrived, it was thrashing about everywhere. We needed seven unicorn guards just to get it into the cage, but it's calmed down considerably since," Shining Armor pointed out by holding a hoof toward it, "We don't know why."
"Perhaps it was distressed," It was the only logical assumption for Celestia. Why else would it go from being completely enraged to as calm as could be?
"Like I said, we can't know for sure. We don't even know what it is."
Celestia stood and pondered for a moment wondering how she could acquire more information. There weren't any books on it, and nopony actually knew anything about it... Mabey there was one way she could learn something from it.
Princess Celestia's horn began to glow as she leaned in to cast a spell on the beast. The creature noticeably recoiled and snarled as she gradually neared it.
"Princess, be careful! It reacts violently to magic."
"Calm yourself Captain. I only need to cast one spell," Celestia's horn finally made contact with the being's skin, flooding her vision with white as the world seemed to fall apart.
••••••••••
She felt herself falling as her blackened surroundings suddenly morphed and twisted into existence, painting the environment around her like a picture.
She saw a dark, thick swamp stretching around her in all directions. Gnarly, twisted trees with sick grey leaves that stretched down on loose branches, like terribly malformed willow trees.
The sky was hidden under a canopy of the same, and the ground was made of mud, completely devoid of any other plant life aside from patches of moss and piles of dead leaves. Ahead of her ran a small stream, flowing between mounds of mud. Inside of it swam fish, far unlike any she'd ever seen before. They varied in size and shape, some being only barely recognizable as fish.
One had a pair of strange fleshy growths on each side of it's head, and no mouth to speak of. It stayed still in the mud with a cratered and muddled backside showing up, remaining still until a smaller creature like a tadpole swam by. It sat for barely a moment before it was torn apart by two unnatural tubular growths extending out from the protrusions, quickly dragging the remains under it's immobile body.
Not far away, by the edge of the stream emerged a strange elongated creature with tannish, wrinkled skin and a large fuzz covered stalk emerging from it's head(?). It sat for a moment before it's head split open four ways, revealing a mouth lined with thousands of curved teeth and the stalk quickly retracted inside.
From between a pair of trees emerged the creature she had cast the spell on. It lumbered over to the stream and kneeled down, carefully staring into the water with it's eye. The fleshy growth on it's face seemed to begin pulsing, steadily increasing in speed until the creature rapidly drove it's arm into the water, quickly retracting and pulling out the fish she'd observed earlier.
Like a prize, it held the fish into the air, looking over it as it squirmed and wriggled to escape it's captor. In a moment it brought the fish back and bit down on it's head with a symphony 'cracks', 'pops' and a loud squish. It stared blankly ahead as it proceeded to chew on it's meal, only ever pausing to swallow and take another bite.
The creature froze and swiveled it's head to the right, noticing something shine under the water of the stream. It stood up and approached the object, kneeling down and reaching into the water to grab the strange artifact. It lifted a smooth, spherical stone that appeared to glow up and out of the water.
It merely observed it for a moment before tossing it aside like trash, turning away as it hit the side of a tree. Before it could resume devouring it's freshly caught meal, a sudden intense light made it turn around again to observe the stone it had thrown.
The glow being emitted from the rock had begun increasing in brightness, forcing the creature to shield it's eye from the merciless light. It quickly reached out to hit the rock away, desperately wanting to rid itself of the irritating object.
Just as it's hand hit the stone, the world was overtaken by a flash and the surroundings melted away once again.
••••••••••
Celestia recoiled from the cage as the spell ended. Forcing her to sit down and rest herself. More questions raced through her mind that she had originally, and none she had before had been answered. It definitely did not come from Equestria, and it more certainly wasn't any place she knew of.
"Princess," She opened her eyes to see Shining Armor standing next to her with a hoof on her shoulder. "Are you hurt? What's wrong?" He continued to hit her with a volley of questions as he looked her over.
"Yes, yes... I am fine," She stood up and held a hoof to her head, and took a glance up to the creature to see it doing the same.
"What happened? What did you do?"
"Nothing that was of much help..." She kept her eyes closed in hopes that it would suppress her headache. "Captain, I want you to make sure your stallions maintain a strong perimeter at the edge of the forest. I believe there is much more to this than I originally thought."
"Yes, Princess," Shining looked back at the guards that had gathered around expectantly. "Well, you all heard her. Get going!"
Without so much as a salute the guards scrambled to their posts to follow their orders, tumbling over each other to get to their positions.
Celestia turned away from the guards and other ponies, and looked out over the sky as she briefly wondered what had happened to her student. Though she knew there was no way to tell she could only hope that somehow she was being kept safe.
‘Where ever you are Twilight, I hope you are okay.’
Chapter 6.2:
The four mares continued their way down another dust ridden hall as they tried to avoid the cobwebs and filth that clung around the air. Twilight took lead of the four, surveying their surroundings as they proceeded.
"How did you girls wake up," Rarity offered a question to her friends in hopes to break the mutual silence that had come over them.
"Ah' woke up on my lonesome on some pile of stone and kept wanderin' 'round till I found Twi, Dash, an Fluttershy," The cowpony spoke with a short glance over to Rarity. Even though Applejack's voice was steady, her green eyes still showed hints of worry behind them. Maybe even fear.
"Oh, I see..." the elegant unicorn felt shaken by the subtle hints of fear she saw in her friend's eyes. Rarity knew Applejack well enough to know that she was a brave mare. Her fear wasn't of anything that might of roamed the halls, it was the fear that they might find Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy dead. She could easily sympathize with the cowpony's worry.
"*Brrr* When did it get so cold?" Rainbow Dash floated down to land as a sudden, cold breeze wafted down the halls, making goosebumps grow on each mares' legs. Twilight huffed as the icy air went into her skin, sending out a cloud of steam from her breath.
"Rainbow's got a point, why is it so cold all of the sudden?" Twilight rubbed her legs to try and generate heat but her attempt was only vain. "Okay," she spoke with a shudder, "Let's try and and keep moving. Maybe it'll pass."
The four closed together to find relief in each other's body heat as they pushed past the wave of invisible ice. They proceeded to round another corner, revealing one more monotonous hall with a window on it's right. Unlike the others they'd seen before, the window cast not the bright, white glow of the sun that'd be expected but an unusually dim-orange silhouette that gave barely enough light to see the edges of the hall.
The cool gusts of air seemed to pick up as they neared the portal to the outside. Once they finally neared enough to glance through it, shock overcame each of the mares.
"How in the name of Celestia is it NIGHT TIME ," Twilight stared in disbelief toward an unusual orange-red moon that hung imposingly-large in the sky. The stars that surrounded the alien object and the red glow upon the forest canopy below it gave proof that she wasn't hallucinating.
"That doesn't make any sense, it was morning only a couple hours ago," Rainbow exclaimed, throwing her hooves out at the giant satellite. It's size in the blackened sky was comparable to a volley ball held at arm's length and it took up most of the view through the window. It's surface had a distinct lack of craters, and instead was scarred with vast valleys and canyons and a few small dark patches of mare.
"'Ah don't think 'Ah remember the moon bein' so... large," Applejack spoke.
"Or so red..." Rarity added on to the statement.
Twilight fell onto her haunches staring wide-eyed out the window. "This doesn't make any sense... How... H-How could this have happened?"
"T-Twilight... Dear?" Rarity spoke questioningly. She gazed over to the purple unicorn with a nervous look on her face.
"Yes?"
"W-well... This may sound rather absurd, and please forgive me but... Is it possible we aren't in Equestria any more?" Rarity had to choke back her stuttering as she asked with hesitance. She wanted nothing more than for Twilight to tell her she was wrong. The unicorn as stated however, seemed as though she'd been smacked across the face. It fit the puzzle pieces perfectly.
"That would explain a lot..." Twilight murmured. Each of the mares sat silently staring at the giant looming rock in the sky. It's appearance was both awing, and terrifying.
"So how are we supposed to get home now?" Rainbow Dash planted her head in her hooves and spoke through her muffled position
Twilight wasn't at all prepared for this. How do you find your way home when there aren't any marks or points of reference you can go off of? Even more how do you find your home when you're potentially not even in the same universe altogether. "I... I don't know," Twilight's short sentence had left everypony dumbstruck.
Applejack spoke up over the silence, "C'mon now girls we need ta' be strong. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy are still out there somewhere and they're countin' on us to find 'em. We can think about how we're gonna get home later."
Twilight sat up at the same time Rainbow Dash looked up from her hooves. "Applejack's right. Fluttershy and Pinkie need our help. Besides, if we got here somehow, then that means there has to be a way back," Twillight gave a mostly honest smile as she ended her sentence.
"Yeah, I'm not leaving Pinkie Pie OR Fluttershy out there to die with those things," Rainbow nodded and got onto her hooves. Rarity gave a slight nod of acknowledgement as well.
Applejack smiled, "Well then, let's get goin'."
••••••••••
The four mares walked with their sides as close together as possible. Both to be as far from the surrounding darkness as they could, and to keep back the cold air that had sunken into the catacombs. Twilight led the group, her horn glowing with it's faint purple-white hue. Applejack stood just to her right only a few inches apart, and just behind them Rarity and Rainbow Dash followed.
Their progress was made slow by the darkness due to the lack of the sun now piercing the cracks and windows in the wall. As well the bitterly freezing air that followed it's decent past the horizon. Each of the mares could now see their breath, and their hooves had gone numb from the frozen surface of the stone. It felt to be getting colder by the second.
Twilight glanced to a large hole in the wall. The moon hadn't appeared to have moved from it's position in the sky almost an hour ago. She took her eyes away from the passing window and looked ahead, seeing that they were coming upon an intersection. Her pace briefly slowed as she glanced to each passage, quickly concluding that it was best to keep moving with the hall ahead of her. "L-let's head this way."
*WweeEEEeeE-*
*Clack- clack- clack*
As they passed between the adjacent halls, a sharp cry and a loud rustling noise abruptly broke the silence. Like a steel dagger suddenly ripping apart soft fabric. The sounds were over as quickly as they had begun, leaving the halls as quiet as before. Each mare turned static, refusing to breath for fear of giving themselves away to some unholy creature. Despite their mutual silence they still exchanged glances of worry and questioning.
Hesitantly, Twilight focused her light into a beam, and aimed it down the hall to find that it ended with a large gaping doorway. A pair of iron doors laid flat on the ground in front of it.
"Should we check it out?" Applejack whispered to Twilight. Her breath danced out into Twilight's light.
Twilight didn't take a second to answer, "If there's any chance that Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie might be there, then yes."
Twilight headed the group of four, nervously approaching the doorway at the end of the hall. She stopped as she noticed a pool of blood just outside of the opening. Smear marks trailed off of it and into the room ahead, disappearing into the darkness that veiled everything beyond her light.
"Oh Celestia, this is bad," Twilight had no clue what could've caused so much bleeding, but she had a very bad feeling that whatever was at it's end wasn't likely to be alive.
Rarity gasped at the sight, "I-Is it Fluttershy's or Pinkie's?"
"I don't think so, but we're going to find out." Twilight timorously began to follow the dragging marks on the ground, the scent of the fresh blood weighing heavily over it. She stopped after a few feet when a scratching noise became audible. It sounded like somepony dragging their hooves across the stone. Twilight's heart began to speed up as she unconsciously began breathing through her mouth. She glanced quickly behind her, noticing that each of her friends gave the same, wide-eyed stare back to her. Twilight swallowed in an attempt to keep her throat from closing up as she started moving again.
The trail brought her to a wall, and continued along it's side and further ahead. The space against the wall was littered with clay pots, shattered and some intact that she nervously tip-hooved around. The scratching was steadily becoming louder as she moved forward, growing in intensity until she reached a corner which took a sharp right turn. The blood smears went around the corner, where the scratching noise became almost deafeningly loud in the still air. Twilight swallowed one more time as she prepared to look around the edge; summoning her strength, she leaned around the corner.
Her light suddenly revealed a large grayish figure with thick and muscular legs and a massive jaw, tearing into a carcass which sat against the wall. It was a strange pig-like body. Everything around the carrion was splashed with blood and bits of meat, including the creature itself.
Twilight rapidly jerked her head back behind the wall, praying silently that the beast hadn't seen her. She felt her heart go into overdrive as she attempted to listen for signs that it may not have sensed her.
*Scratch*... *Scratch* *Schlik*
She peered around the corner briefly again to confirm that the creature hadn't noticed her; and it didn't. She didn't know by what miracle it was that the creature seemed incapable of seeing her light, or that it was too busy ripping apart the dead pig to care, but she was glad that it hadn't seen them.
"Out, now!" Twilight was quick to usher the others back towards the doorway, eager to leave the room behind now that they knew their friends at least weren't dead.
They got only a few feet away when Applejack's hoof hit a pot, knocking it over onto it's side. The sound of the empty container cracking against the stone was sudden and loud, reverberating through the room. Each of the mares cringed, with Twilight suddenly freezing as she listened carefully again.
....
....
....
....
Silence overtook everything, the air becoming terribly calm. The seconds ticked away as Twilight waited for the sounds of the creature's feasting to resume, but it never happened. Her heart beat as though it were ready to tear itself from her chest, yet her limbs were completely stringent, unwilling to move at all for her both out of fear and numbness.
*HOWL*
*HOWL*
*HOWL*
In the time of under a second, Twilight's legs broke into overdrive as the sound of what seemed to be hundreds of demonic howls recoiled around the walls surrounding her. She made a dead sprint out the doorway, checking back only for a quarter of a second to see her friends were right beside her, and at least five of the creatures trailing just behind them.
The sounds of their jaws smacking eagerly and guttural growls fueled her to push to her limits, barely managing to keep up with Rainbow Dash and Applejack, with Rarity just beside her. They made a sharp left turn and down another corridor, each praying for a way to lose the abominations that eagerly chased behind.
They all sprinted down the hall, making a right at the next intersection. Her legs were already feeling like they were beginning to give out, burning from her exertion. At the end of the hall was a set of iron double doors that hung just open. She and the others began to pick up speed, barely making it through the door ahead of the twisted creatures.
"SHUT IT, NOW," Rainbow Dash shouted as she skid to a stop. As Twilight and Rarity leapt through, she grasped the doors with her magic slamming them shut and sliding a nearby boulder in front of it. The creatures howled madly on the other side, tearing and slamming at the door with hunger to get to them but realized it was a lost cause and shortly gave up.
Twilight stood shaking, her breaths heaving uncontrollably. Her legs burned and her heart ran a mile a second in her chest as she collapsed to the floor. Despite the temperature being easily below freezing, she found herself sweating.
"Is... *huff*... everypony alright?" Applejack spoke between gasps of air. Each mare gave a short groan, indicating that they were unharmed.
"I really wish... *huff*... we had some water... *huff*... right about now." Rarity sat as she panted like a dog.
"Where do we go now?" Rainbow Dash pointed out that they'd run into another room. Most of which were always dead ends.
Twilight held up her hoof as she tried to catch her breath. It took a few moments before she was able to actually talk. "Well... We're not going back out there... that's certain." She stood up and looked around. Her light didn't penetrate very far into the surrounding darkness, but she could make out a pair of pillars to both sides of the door they'd come through. "Everypony stay close to me. Let's hope there's a way out through here.
She had only managed to take a few steps away from the door when she stepped on a stone block with her right fore-hoof, causing it to sink into the ground with a loud click. "Oh Celestia I don't think that's good..." Suddenly the room lit up with an intense glow that forced each of the mares to cover their eyes with their hooves. Twilight held her eyes shut for what felt like minutes, but eventually she glanced out from the safety of her own shadows.
She saw no horror awaiting them within their self-made trap of a room; no creatures, no bodies or pools of blood. The room had instead been lit up by a series of torches that sat upon pillars along the walls. The room was elongated and stretched almost half a hoofball field. The curved ceiling held square, carved murals with unusual diagrams of shapes and lines that were impossible to understand. The torches flickered with a solid yellow light upon their mounts on the pillars. Between each pillar was another ornate mural carved into the stone wall that held writing rather than images. Finally dead center within the room was a small stone table that resembled an altar. From a distance it was apparent something was written on it's surface and in the middle was a rectangular indentation.
"Well... At least something in this heap 'a rubble works." Applejack commented as she took a few steps ahead of Twilight.
"Ooh, this feels sooooo good..." Rainbow Dash basked in the warmth of one of the nearby torch's flames. Her tongue hung out of her mouth as she exposed her back and face to the heat. Rarity, while disgusted with the way Rainbow acted, couldn't help but bathe herself in the same heat as her friend.
Twilight ended her light spell, heaving relief at not having to worry (at least too much) about getting assault by any kind of unseen abomination. She began to approach the altar at the room's center, her natural curiosity overcame her instinct to go share in the same warmth as her other two friends. As she neared she could make out a distinct rectangular impression on the altar's surface, surrounded by sprawled writing and symbols. Her eyes went along with the meaningless text as she went up. At the very top of the altar, her eyes were drawn to three small words written in easily recognizable Equestrian.
Dawn of Salvation
The gears within Twilight's mind immediately began turning. She remembered the book they'd found earlier and put into Fluttershy's saddlebag. "Hey, Applejack," She turned to see the cowpony staring at the lettering on the walls.
The orange Earthpony glanced over to her, "Yeah?"
"Is there a book in Fluttershy's saddlebags?"
Applejack seemed puzzled by the question, but nonetheless complied. "Hang on, lemme check," She took the bags off her back and dug into the pouches for a moment. It didn't take any time for her to produce a leather-bound book which she held up for Twilight. "Is this it?"
Twilight nodded, "Yeah, that's the one. Bring it here please." The purple unicorn turned back to the rectangular carving in the altar. She sized it up, noting that the stonework was unusually smooth. She turned around to see Applejack stand only a foot away, presenting the book to her. "Thanks."
"Ain't no problem."
Twilight levitated the book and quickly turned around to look at the altar. She held the book in her telekinetic grasp just above the depression. "Let's hope this works," she pushed the old tome into the carving, it seemed to fit almost impossibly well. She released her grasp on it as she back up, awaiting some sort of effect to happen.
...
...
"Well, that didn't do us much good, did it," disappointment was mutual between the two mares that sat in front of the stone table. Twilight sighed as she stood when she felt a sudden shock race through her body. Her limbs seized and her vision quickly sank, causing the world to be retaken by darkness; everything went cold again.
••••••••••
Twilight's eyes suddenly sprung open as she attempted to take in a breath, only to have her mouth and throat flooded with water. She thrashed about in an attempt to escape the thick veil of cool liquid that surrounded her, trying in a desperate attempt to get to the surface. Suddenly her hooves made contact with some kind of ground and she lifted herself up, breaking the surface of the pool she was drowning in.
*Cough*
*Cough*
*Cough*
Her nostrils and eyes burned as the water finished pouring out of her mouth and nose, leaving her gasping to fill her lungs. She went rigid as she felt the cool air come into contact with her wet and matted coat and mane. The water on her skin seemed to freeze within an instant, turning to ice which locked up her limbs stringently. She barely managed to move her head upward, staring around herself into a shadowed expanse of nothing.
"W....Wha-..." The only vocalization she could manage was weak and stammered, attempting to express her confusion. She looked down to the water below her, somehow lit up by an unseen light; she stared into her reflection.
What she saw was not at all the Image of herself she had expected to see, but of some malformed opposite towards herself. It shared her pony-like shape and structure, but little else. It's eyes had shrunken into the skull and shaded such a pitch black that they were barely distinguishable. Her mane, coat, and tail had disappeared almost entirely, leaving a loose, bruise and callus ridden sheet of white skin to cover her, showing her oddly elongated ribs and shoulders well. The line of her mouth had been replaced by a twisted arrangement of sharp and jagged teeth which hung open as though ready to be sunken into the flesh of some unknown being.
Twilight froze in place staring straight into the eyes of the demonic representation in the water. As she reared to run and scream the reflection suddenly broke through the water like glass, grabbing at her legs with it's gnarled teeth. She screamed in fear and agony as the creature dug it's teeth into her leg. She could feel her flesh tear as it disappeared beneath the water again, dragging her with it. As the last of her head finally submerged she faded back into darkness.
