Carrot Top was working in her field humming a working tune as she finished things up for the night. The evening sky was a fiery orange she idly wondered about that meteor that hit near the Everfree Forest. Probably some wacky adventure the Elements were up to she dismissed with a giggle. Swaying her tail back and forth as she weeded her carrot patch. When she felt like something was watching her, her ears flicked trying to hear anything when the sound of footsteps came creeping up behind. She whipped around to a brown a bunny.

She sighed in relief then realized the problem the vermin presented. "Oh NO, you don't you little nusi-" Her threat died in her throat when a gurgling screech came. Barely a warning before a pony-sized quadruped with a large blue shell for a head with too many pink eyes pounced on the bunny. The rabbit barely got a scared squeak before being ripped to bloody chunks as the creature squealed sickly in a twisted form of happiness. She turned to scream and run only to see a taller creature on two legs standing over her. Sickly thin grey as a corpse with pink tendons exposed it. The thing salivated more pink fluid as it looked down at her.

She could feel IT's hunger, and she took a shaky step back.
"Pony?" IT asked taking a step forward to make up for her step back.

"Yes, I'm a pony heh, heh welcome to ponyville." She greeted hoping to Celestia that this was just a cultural misunderstanding. The sound of ripping and tearing behind her brought tears to her eyes. That was going to be me she thought. Feeling her fear rise to hysterical she screamed closing her eyes to the horror as the last-ditch effort. "Please don't eat me! I don't want to die!"

A terrifying hiss she turned and ran opening her eyes to see a clear path back to town. The pounding in her ears only outdone by the vile pounding of the quadruped chasing her, gaining on her. She heard a growl like a curse thrown as sand bowled her over. She rolled on her back, feeling as if her entire fur was crawling looking at her soft yellow fur seeing hundreds of blue-shelled beetles. They squirmed and skittered over every inch of her body; She screamed again trying to shove them off to no effect. When the Quadruped slammed into her picking her up in its impossibly wide jaws just under the blue chitinous growth she choked on the smell of blood and rotting flesh; This is it it's over Oh Gods! She thought, squeezing her eyes shut hoping to block out some part of her gruesome death.

She felt It bite down. Then only a slight pressure like it had no teeth, and it was gumming her to death. She hazards a look to see too many teeth but the Beetles! They had formed sheets of armor stopping the teeth and the pain. She stared wide-eyed and confused but grateful at the insects. The thing readjusted its bite, and one of the beetles popped Carrot Top had to shield her eyes from the spray. That's when the bugs swarmed attacking the creature biting into its grey flesh until it released her. Something brown and skinny that smelled like the desert picked her up and leaped away.

She clung to her savior hoping against all the odds he was just that. "Are you ok?" An Egyptian accent deep and commanding, yet gentle like an oasis. She opened her eyes to see her rescuer had an Anubis dog for a head and wrapped like a mummy. She was too scared to speak, but she nodded wide-eyed. "The Scarabs will protect you trust them and run now."

He set her down, and she bolted to the right for her house. Inaros pulled his Lesion from his back and spun it cutting the Nidus tendril that reached for the pony. He gave it an extra spin trading hands as he did to end it with a flourish as he strode towards the infected frame. "The Ancestor of this Frame once gave his life to protect against your scourge." He planted it at his side "I will gladly do so again!" He shouted standing proudly before the Nidus who hunched over like an animal sizing the other frame up.

The Nidus unfurled mutating entirely before speaking. " WE ARE SAME FLESH?" It screeched the question.

Inaros shook his head. "But not of same mind brother. For you have lost it to this infested madness." He declared sadly; the infested Kubrow moved to flank Inaros "Mekal!" Inaros barked the command, and Mekal the black and gold Kavat leaped from it's cloaked spot to rip into the infected mutt with golden claws. Nidus using the distraction tried to throw out it's infested path but was met by blinding sand.

Inaros grabbed his Lesion and lunged at the squirming frame. Burying the infected weapon's hungry jaws into Nidus's chest hoping to rip the Frame's heart from its chest and end this quickly. Nidus screamed in agony, backhanding Inaros away. IT tore the Lesion staff from IT's chest and roared with both Lesion and Caustacyst in hand. Inaros rolled to his feet and crossed his arms letting his scarabs become armor for him.

Throwing his arm out Inaros cast his curse upon Nidus commanding his Scarabs to swarm and devour. Skittering, flying waves of blue beetles obeyed utterly covering the Infected frame. He howled as he was set upon, swatting and smashing at the insects. Infected maggots crawled from his crevices in his armor to combat the beetles. But Inaros was not idle sprinting towards Nidus ducking under a clumsy one-handed swing of the dual-headed scythe. He grabbed his Lesion firmly as he delivered a brutal knee to Nidus's infected guts. When the other Frame did not fall he leaned back and head-butted Nidus hard enough, it cracked his helm and sent the frame to the floor freeing Inaros's Lesion.

Nidus touched the bleeding crack in his forehead and snarled as it healed. He gathered all his stacks and threw out his Parasitic Link covering Inaros. The sand Frame merely looked down then nodded.

"I agree. It is time to stop playing with my food." He said calmly as the Nidus laughed like breaking bones. Inaros crossed his arms once again calling upon his beetles. He let them devour him as Nidus fell to the floor feeling every bite as his health drained from him through the link. The beetles ravenously ate there master with no remorse till he fell returning to his Sarcophagus. Leaving Nidus on his knee's as his vitality slowly returned. When a red beam of energy connected with his chest. Dragging the Frame closer to Inaros tomb. What little health he had regained was forced from him as Inaros replenished himself using the infected frame.

When Nidus was drug kneeling before the Sarcophagus Inaros reemerged grabbing him by the shoulders, the Mummy Frame rose again. The snarling dog head opened its jaws and unleashed an unearthly howl. Nidus struggled weakly as his body turned to sand and hungrily swallowed by Inaros. Till the Nidus went limp and Inaros devoured all that remained of him. Inaros sat back kneeling where nothing but trace particles of sand remained of his enemy. The beast could still revive yet it did not. Mekal growled in disappointment as his prey fizzled out.

"So the beast retreats to its lair." He pondered, hoping Red's team could handle things from here. The skittering of many legs and the soft trot of hooves alerted him to Carrot Top's return.

"Is it gone?" She asked scared but alive. Inaros nodded, and she surveyed the field. She saw something that brought tears to her eyes. Her once prized carrot patch, now tainted by the infection Nidus had brought. Inaros followed her gaze and stood slowly. Approaching the pony as Mekal padded beside him,

"I will clean this plague from your field." He told her, and she looked at him. She closed her eyes and nodded trying to hold her tears for what she had lost when a beetle crawled out of her mane and seemed to pat her forehead in a comforting manner.

"Thank you. You saved my life if there is anything I can do for you, please do not hesitate." She offered back. Inaros had nothing to say till Mekal darted into the carrot patch. Inaros lost sight of his Kavat in the infected growth only the slight rustle of plants alerted him to where the Kavat had gone. The happy growl of a predator who found prey told him whatever he was hunting he'd found. Inaros heard the Kavat return dragging something substantial.

"Step back please." He warned the pony, in case his Kavat dragged something still wiggling. Carrot Top took a frightened step back expecting more nightmares. The Kavat did, in fact, pull a nightmare out of her field but only to the earth pony herself. A giant grey infected carrot readily the size of the black and gold cat. With an eager lick of its chops, the Kavat dug into the carrot purring happily. Inaros put his hand on his head and laughed.

"It would appear Mekal is more than happy to help as well." He laughed, and Carrot Top looked at them both feeling all her adrenaline and fear fading from her body. The laughter bubbled out of her like it was that or cry, so she laughed with the frame. Laughed till she cried and Inaros bent down to rub her back softly.

***

Nidus appeared on his ship, slamming his fist into the infected walls of his liset. "WHY DO THEY REJECT US! WHY DO THEY REJECT OUR GIFTS!" the multiple voices screamed in IT's mind. "THE PONIES DONT UNDERSTAND YET! BUT THEY WILL! THEY WILL BATHE IN OUR GLORIOUS FLESH AND BE US!" IT nodded convinced of IT's logic as it rushed down the boarding ramp eager to try again. To run into seven warframe all formed in a battle line waiting for IT.

"Welcome to Ponyville, NOW LEAVE!" The red Frost Prime shouted pointing a Nikanna at IT. The orange Vauban pressed a button, and everything exploded in a giant fireball.

Author's Note

Sorry this part isn't longer but I felt Inaros and Nidus's fight warrented a chapter of its own.