The Rasp

The first thing I noticed were the feathers. Bright blue ones scattered all over the library. They were the same color of Rainbow Dash's coat. With the way they were scattered around, if I didn't know any better, I'd swear Rainbow Dash was molting. But pegasi don't molt, and from the way she was shouting, I can only assume Rainbow Dash is sick too. Several books had fallen off the shelves and were lying about the room. There were a few dots of a red fluid on the floor, and I shuddered at the sight of it. That was before I caught sight of the basement.

The door was open.

I crept as quietly as I could, taking my time to work my way down the basement staircase. The way the tree curved limited my view of the main room, but as I crept closer more and more of it started coming into view. And as more of the basement started to come into view, the more I wanted to vomit.

Blood. Blood was all over the walls, smeared and splattered with familiar hoofprints. With a bone chilling shudder, I recognized those hoof prints. The blood spelled out words and phrases along the wall, as if some pony had run out of parchment and become desperate to write down her thoughts. I'll try to write down what I can read, but it's really difficult to make out some words.

EARTH PONYS?! NO CURE! AGGRESSION?! WRONG BLOOD!! GET IT OUT GET IT OUT GET IT OUT GET IT OUT GET IT OUT (It goes on like this all around the room. A horrible, hypnotizing pattern that ends in a large messy splatter.)

SIMTUMZ
HED AKE
KOFF
ANGRR
BAD WATER
CHOAK
BAD BLUD
HELP ME

In the corner sat Twilight herself. Her eyes were rolled back in her head, and a long, continuous guttery rasp escaped past her lips. She was covered in bloody bandages and secured to the corner with a length of strong rope. Applejack's handy work. There was a makeshift straight jacket around her upper torso, keeping her from actively moving around the basement and leaving her more or less bound to that corner. That meant she was making the blood writing before Applejack had come over.

She was sitting on her haunches, still as a statue and her mouth hung open to emit that dry raspy hiss. That's all I got to see, (WAY too much) before I had to duck back into the stairwell and process what I saw. What was happening to the town?! What had happened to Twilight?! I wanted to rush over and pull her out of all that! They couldn't keep her tied up like that!!

I couldn't stop myself! I missed Twilight so, so, so much, and seeing her like that...I lost control. I ran up to her to wrap my claws around her. Even if she couldn't hug me back, I just...I HAD TO.

I didn't make it close enough to touch her with a claw tip in the slightest. No. I was maybe two steps from the staircase before a thick brown rope lassoed itself around me and tugged me back onto my butt. I already knew what was happening before the shadow loomed over me and a thick country drawl broke the silence.

"Howdy pardnah. Ya'll picked a bad time ta wake up."