Nothing Happens in Cloudsdale...
I look towards the sky, cursing my bad luck as rain pelts me right in the face and soaking my uniform and coat. I’m a deputy in training; I shouldn’t have to walk the midnight beat like this! Then I look behind me. The reason is right there: the young orange Pegasus, Scoota-something, pretty much stepping on my hooves she’s so close to me. She’s the newest cadet to join our police force, and Chief wanted me to show her the ropes.
Behind her are the others of our little team, Flitter and Cloudchaser. They run the station’s rumor mill, and never know when to shut up, but damn it to Tartarus if they weren’t good at their jobs. I could tell they were just as miserable as me, being out in the middle of this rainstorm, but when duty calls…
“So, Scootaloo, right?” I attempt to strike up a conversation, just to relieve the boredom; nothing ever happens in Cloudsdale.
She flinches, almost jumping straight into the air. “Yes ma’am. What do you need?”
I stifle a laugh. She must be right out of the academy. “No need for formalities; just call me Rainbow, or Dash. Everypony else does.”
Scootaloo starts to salute, then stops. “Yes ma- I mean, Rainbow.” We keep walking along the road for a few minutes before she speaks again, asking “Um, was there something you needed, m- Rainbow?”
“Yeah, I just wanted to know why you joined CPD, is all. I mean, it’s not that bad a station, but why did you become a cop in the first place?”
She’s silent for a few steps. “I guess I just want to help ponies, is all.”
“Always a good reason,” I respond. I like her already. “So what do you usually do when you’re off-duty?”
“I like surfing the Net and studying history. Did you know about two hundred years ago, it was rumored ponies could use magic?”
I scoff. “Magic? What, like that crap in those A.K. Yearling books?”
She shrugs. “I guess. There’s not really much info on that part of history. I’ve seen references to Earth ponies who could make crops grow from nothing, Pegasi that could soar through the air like a plane, and unicorns who could perform the most incredible feats with only their own will! It’s fascinating stuff, really.”
“Really,” I echo. Ponies back then must have been on so many kinds of drugs…
Then I see Flitter talking into her radio. She gives a short nod, then trots up to us. “Yo Dash. HQ was just on the phone; we’ve got a noise complaint at a FlimFlam warehouse down on 19th.”
Finally, something to do. I crack my neck, a few strands of my multicolored mane falling in front of my face. “Alright, let’s go check it out.”
===+~-~+===
“Shouldn’t there be lights on?” Cloudchaser questions as we walk down the street. I was thinking the same thing; none of the streetlamps are lit.
“Could be a power outage, or maybe a busted transformer. Doesn’t matter right now,” I say, rather bluntly. No matter the case, I always take my job seriously. I spot the warehouse about halfway down the street, easily noticeable even through the near-darkness by the bright yellow and green apple sign. I spot a door under the sign, so I trot over to it, the others close behind.
Raising my hoof, I knock loudly on the door. “Cloudsdale PD! We got a report of a noise complaint! Is everypo-”
At that moment, the door swings open from the force of my hoof as lightning arcs through the sky. Illuminated against the wall opposite the door is a thing, with a pair of white orbs flashing in the light. I gasp, scurrying to the side of the door.
“Shit! Flitter, call for backup! There’s a body in here!”
“Oh buck!” She reaches for her radio as I pull a flashlight from my uniform and the others line up on the other side, drawing their pistols. Cautiously, I push the door open, and the scent of dead flesh and fur hits me, making me gag.
I shine the light on the body, and immediately wish I hadn’t. Slumped against the wall is a wide-eyed stallion, his mouth open in an expression of pure terror. Looking down, I see a massive hole in his chest, but, strangely, no blood.
“By the Goddesses,” I hear Cloudchaser say behind me. She steps closer to him; the mare had always had a stronger stomach. “Woah. Whatever hit him must’ve cauterized the wound. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Cloudy, can you not?” Flitter pushes through the door, holding her nose. “Oh, I think I’m going to be sick. Dash, backup’s on the - hurk - way.”
“Do you guys hear that?” I turn around; Scootaloo’s near the doorway to the main part of the warehouse. “It sounds like somepony’s in there.”
I walk over next to her. I can’t hear anything. “Are you sure kid? I don’t hear anything.”
Scootaloo flashes her own flashlight into the warehouse. Next to a rack is another body, this one a mare. “I guess, when in doubt, follow the trail.” She sets off into the space.
“Cadet! Get back here right now! Goddesses damn it,” I mutter when she doesn’t stop. Pulling the sisters away from the first body, we go after her.
We slowly move through the racks and pallets, looking for the younger Pegasus. We’re searching towards the center when I hear it.
“Help me… Please…”
I look to the sides; the sister’s ears are swiveling around. They heard it too. Then I hear another voice. “Sir, please put that down. Sir, I can get you help, but you need to put that gun down.”
“Cadet!” Catching a glimpse of her flashlight, we round the last rack to a scene that nearly makes my heart stop.
In the center of the warehouse, between us and Scootaloo, stands a griffon. He’s wearing a uniform somewhat like ours, except for the blue and white stripes identifying him as a FlimFlam Industries employee. The heart-stopping part is him pointing the gun in his talons right at Scootaloo. The three of us quickly take cover behind some nearby boxes, with Cloudchaser on my left and Flitter on my right. “Sir! Put your weapon down now!”
His head jerks sideways a little, just enough so I can see his eyes; as big as dinner plates, with his pupils shrunk down to pinpricks. “Please… Help…” he croaks.
“Rainbow, I think he’s in shock,” Scootaloo tells me, not taking her eyes of of the barrel.
I nod. “Scootaloo, don’t make any sudden moves. Cloudy’s gonna disarm him, okay?”
Cloudchaser slowly steps towards the griffon. She’s almost there when I hear something… chittering to my left. I quickly shine my flashlight over in that direction, and my mind gives up. There, next to some boxes, is a creature I’ve never seen before. It’s almost as tall as an average pony. Large soulless black eyes stare back at me, unblinking, set into a large grey head. Attached to one of it’s forelimbs, which resemble a minotaur’s arms, except for the muscle, is a strange looking device. It just stares at me, then chitters some more and raises it’s limb, the one with the device. Then all Tartarus breaks loose.
Pff-ZAT!
The device makes a strange sound, spitting a ball of green something right at me. I duck as it passes by inches overhead, singing my mane, to impact with and take a sizable chunk out of the far wall. At the same time, I hear the griffon mutter “Obey”, then a gunshot. Running behind some other boxes, I look back over to see Cloudchaser lying, unmoving, on the floor, an expanding pool of red all around her. Then, I see the griffon take his pistol, place it against his own head, and pull the trigger, splattering bits of himself all over the place. I choke back some bile; this is no time to go weak.
Looking around, wary for the grey creature and more green somethings, I spot Flitter and Scootaloo, each behind their own boxes. I can see the rage burning in Flitter’s eyes as she scans the warehouse for anything moving. Suddenly, she jerks her head to her right, firing her pistol. I turn around in time to see the creature behind me fall backwards, a hole blown clean through it’s head.
“That’s for my sister, you bastard,” she snarls through the gun in her mouth, holstering it. Then, all the rage flees from her, and she takes a few shaky steps towards the still form of Cloudchaser. “What the hell was that, Dash?”
I don’t immediately answer, I’m too shocked. Nothing bad ever happens in Cloudsdale, I said, and now we have a quadruple equicide from an unknown, obviously intelligent creature on our hooves.
“Dash? Hello? Equestria to Dashie?”
Somehow, Flitter gets right in front of me, finally catching my attention. “H-huh?” I splutter. “What?”
She waves her hoof in front of my face. “Keep it together, Dash. Backup’s got to be close now. We just gotta-”
Pff-ZAT!
With a flash of green, Flitter’s eyes roll back, and she collapses. I glimpse another grey creature behind her, but I can’t move. It chitters, then levels it’s weapon at me.
“Rainbow!”
Pff-ZAT!
As it fires, I feel something hit me in the side, knocking me behind a tall shelf, the green passing by harmlessly. I struggle, only for a hoof to slap me across my muzzle, snapping me back into full awareness. Through the light of the flashlight I had dropped, I see Scootaloo on top of me, her hoof raised to slap me again. “Dash, snap out of it! We need action right the buck now!”
She swings her hoof at me, and I catch it. “Consider me snapped. How many others are there?” Thankfully, she hops off of me, allowing me to stand up.
Scootaloo talks as she checks her pistol. “I saw at least two, one behind Flitter and one behind you. No idea where they are now.”
Pff-ZAT!
A shot flashes against the shelf we’re behind, causing a few of the top boxes to tumble off next to us. Dropping to my belly, I peek around the edge of the shelf.
Sure enough, I spot two creatures, both behind some boxes near the bodies of Cloudchaser and the griffon, partially illuminated by a fallen flashlight. I scoot back over to Scootaloo. “Okay, I see them. Can you keep them distracted? I’m going to get around them.”
With a nod, she looks through the boxes on the shelf and fires, her shot going wide. I quickly scamper around the far end of the shelf as several green shots answer hers. Keeping to the shadows as the two sides exchange shots, I easily end up crawling behind a box a few feet behind them. Taking pistol in mouth, I look out over the box, aiming at the first creature.
Pop!
My tongue pulls the trigger and the first creature goes down, a hole blown through it’s head. The other creature turns around, but I’m already shooting again, taking it down.
Pff-ZAT!
I dive over the box as a shot sizzles by. Glancing around the box, I can see the silhouette of another creature against a stack of pallets. I line up the shot and fire, but miss as it too ducks. Suddenly, it is illuminated by another flashlight, and with a resounding crack, its brains are blown all over the pallets.
Looking around warily, I see Scootaloo peeking out from behind the shelf, gun in mouth. Neither of us move for a solid minute, on edge for more creatures popping out of the woodwork. Eventually, we relax, confident that, if there are others, they are staying clear.
Then the room goes blindingly purple.
Blinking back the light, I blurrily see a… it looks like somepony tore a purple-edged hole in the air in the middle of the warehouse. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Scootaloo approach the hole. I hear her say under her breath “What the bu-”
She freezes, her voice dying to a croak. She starts clutching at her throat like she can’t breathe. I try to help her, but duck back behind the box when a long, thin, grey fingered limb appears out of the hole. Following the limb is the rest of another creature, this one impossibly tall, covered by a strange helmet and something resembling red robes. With another limb, it makes a strange motion in the air. Out of the hole comes several more small creatures, who quickly spread out to the bodies of their fallen buddies, the dead ponies, and the griffon. One passes right by me, but I curl up into the shadows, so it doesn’t see me.
As the small creatures gather up the bodies, the tall thing raises its arm, and Scootaloo is lifted into the air along with it! I can only watch, dumbstruck, as it brings Scootaloo close to itself, as if inspecting her; she responds by spitting into its helmet. With an ear-splitting shriek, it brings its two hands together and twists them. Scootaloo’s head jerks sideways, then goes limp. She falls to the floor with a sickening thud.
“No!” I shout. I roll out from behind the box, drawing my pistol as I go. Everything slows down as I take aim and fire at the lanky bastard. The bullet zooms from the gun as the creature turns around, catching the round on the front of the helmet and glancing off of it, cracks spiderwebbing off from the point of impact.
With another shriek, it raises its arm again, and I feel a pressure around my neck, cutting off most of my air supply. I get dragged over to the creature by the same unseen force that got Scootaloo, struggling as much as I can. Gasping for air, it lifts me up, and I come face-to-helmet with the monster. However, my shot tore a part of the helmet off, and I can see a single orange eye glaring at me; I glare right back. It starts closing it’s fingers, and I feel the pressure increasing. I see black on the edge of my vision as the force threatens to crush my windpipe, but I remain defiant.
Then, the creature looks away from me. With a hiss, it drops me onto the floor, stepping back through the hole. The hole closes, plunging the warehouse into darkness that, not a second later, is lit up by a multitude of flashing red and blue lights.
Struggling for air, I crawl over to the still form of Scootaloo. Gently turning her onto her back, her head lands on its side, her unblinking eyes staring right back at me.
“No,” I croak, feeling hot tears starting to stream down my cheeks.
Then I hear a door crash open. “CPD!” I hear another pony shout. Looking up, I can only see blurry forms through the tears. My body chooses that moment to give out, and I slip into inky blackness.
