Author's Note

Doing a bit of an experiment here so tell me what you'll think if i reccomend some links to some ambiance for the story. Since I can't post links here, open a new tab and search for the following songs on youtube if you want to listen to the soundtrack for added ambiance.

An Empty Street - Silent hill ost: Tears of...
The Encounter from the Monsters - Parasite Eve 2 OST: Heaven Sent Killer
The Escape - Parasite Eve 2 ost: Metamorphosis
Safety at the Sunset's home - Silent hill 2 ost; True

• Silent out

A Darkening Sky.

My parent’s murders and my brother’s kidnapping was on the local news, and there was no idea on who the culprit was. The police had came and questioned me, I explained where I was that night and Sunset confirmed my story. In the end they ruled me out as a possible suspect, and admittedly I had ask them to inform me on any developments on the investigation. They said they can’t make promises but they would try.

I asked if I could gather some clothes, and but they refused to let me into my own home. I frowned, but I understood...I’d probably end contaminating he crime scene or something.

“Mr Trainor what do you know of this Pon-E drug?” The investigator asked.

“Only that it turns you into a pony for a fair few hours, and it’s permanent if you overdose.” I answered, “I’ve never “rode” if that’s what your asking.”

“What do you mean by “rode” Mr Trainor?” He asked me confused.

“It’s the local slang for it.” I explained, “You can’t go into a bar these days without someone mentioning it.”

They questioned Sunset next and I confirmed Sunset’s statement when they asked me to. It became a point of interest when they mentioned Sunset was attending the university near the centre of town, didn’t she mention last night that the university in Newcastle was studying this drug?

Sunset and I left the police station, we both wondered where we would both start our own investigation.

“Any idea’s where we could start looking for clues?” Sunset asked, “I mean this is a big city, we could look all day and not turn up with anything.”

“Well we could check out the university and ask there, but I doubt we would get any more than what you’ve already said.” I replied, “And we could track down a dealer and beat the answer out of him.”

“What!” Sunset scolded, “You can’t just beat someone up for answers!”

“That’s not what I’m getting at.” I argued, “Find out where he’s getting it from, and follow the trail back.”

“I see...” Sunset gave me a look of concern, “...But still Sky.”

“But nothing Sunset!” I shouted, “My parents are dead, and my brothers been kidnapped! I am not going to sit around and wait for the police to come up with something! I an going to get my brother back one way or another, and if it means I have to smash a few skulls in then so be it!”

“Sky...” Sunset looked at me with a dejected look.

“I’m sorry for snapping at you Sunset...” I sighed, “I just want my brother back and some answers.”

As we walked through the streets, both of us felt a chill down our spines. I stopped and took a look around, everything seemed so run down. This wasn’t anything unusual considering we were in the older parts of town, but that wasn’t what was bothering me.

“Where is everyone?” I asked, “It’s nearly noon, and this place should be packed right now.” Sunset looked around and quickly saw what I was getting at, “Even if this the old part of town it still should be busy.”

“Should we look around?” Sunset wondered, “This doesn’t feel right...it’s far to quiet.”

Sunset and I continued down the abandoned street, each step we took echoing. I scanned our surroundings, there was something definitely off here. After a while we soon found out why the places was seemed so empty, there was scattered and torn clothes littering the street and the inside of the various stores in the area.

“What happened here?” I knelt down, and examined a pile of ruined clothes on the floor, “...It looks there was struggle here, but from what?” Sunset examined another nearby pile.

“These reek of Poison Joke...” She stated, and picked up a nearby beverage cup, “Do you think the drinks were spiked?” I looked up and noticed the various bits of litter and ruined food one the floor.

“Shit.” I cursed, “It’s lunch time, but where did everybody go? This place should be littered with ponies right now. How does an entire street go empty in the middle of the day?”

“...This is Canterlot high all over again.” Sunset stated, looking around the empty street once again, “but it’s much, much worse this time.”

“This happened before?” I asked curious.

“Yes, this has happened before.” Sunset answered, “but everypony is going missing this time, it was just a panic in the school before.”

“Don’t you mean everybody?” I corrected, “Anyway let’s look around maybe we’ll find some answers.”

“Should we split up?” I shook my head no, and explained it would be better if we stuck together in a situation like this.

It didn’t take long to decide on where to start looking, and with every building we checked it was all the same, clear signs of a struggle, discarded food and drink, and a pile of clothes one the floor and furniture.

“Bloodstains?” Sunset commented, “and bullet casings?” I looked to where Sunset was pointing. The walls were cover in blood spatter and what I guess would be brain matter amongst the dried blood. I took a closer look, and noticed a trail of blood that led into another room at the end of the hall.

“...Maybe we’ll find something if we follow the trail.” I suggested, “Whatever is causing this, it’s taking the bodies dead or alive.”

We quietly followed the trail, up to where it stopped by the door. Sunset and I exchanged a look and I slowly opened the door. The first thing that hit was the foul smell.

“Oh fucking Jesus H. Christ on a bike!” I winced at the smell, “Smells like something died in there.”

“Oh Celestia I’m going to be sick!” Sunset exclaimed as she saw what was in the centre of the room.

There was a body, or rather half of one lying in a pile of blood, organs and some other liquid I didn’t recognise. It looked like the body had partially melted away and the rest looked like it was in stuck in mid transformation into a pony.

“Oh fucking hell...” I resisted the urge to throw up at the sight, “Is this what happens if you take a dodgy patch of those pills?”

“No this is something else entirely...” Sunset commented, “Poison Joke only does this if someone’s tampered with it.”

“Is someone trying to change the recipe of the pills?” I asked, “You seem to know a lot about this Poison Joke, would you care to explain?”

“I already told you Poison Joke isn’t natural to earth, everyone seems to think it’s a new species of plant.” She explained, “But it’s not, it’s not even from this world...at least not the original variety.”

“What?” I looked at her in disbelief.

“This variety was grown here.” Sunset continued, “I’ve studied both samples back at the university, we call this new variety Toxic Joke and I fear someone is trying to perfect it for these pills.”

“...There’s something you’re not telling me isn’t there?” Before Sunset could even answer the body on the floor began to twitch and it tried to stand up.

“RUN NOW!!!” Sunset shouted, we both watched as the body stood up right, twitching as root like tendrils shot out of the remains of it, a twisted mix of pony, human and plant gurgled and moaned. Sunset and I made bolted out the door.

That thing gave chase, the squelching of each step it took as it stumbled clumsily after us. It slurped and moaned as it struggled to keep up, it lashed out with it’s tendrils hoping to catch either of us.

“What the hell is that thing?” I shouted to Sunset, as we ran. We stopped in our tracks as another one of those monsters came out from the door in front of us, this one looked like the last but with the difference being it was made of multiple bodies, “Down the stairs! Christ we’ve walked right into a hive of these things!”

“...H-Hel...p...u-uuuuuussssss!!!” The monsters cried as we ran, “....ack...pl....eaaaassse!!!”

“Don’t stop!” Sunset shouted, “Don’t let those things catch you!” We ran down flight after flight of stairs with those creatures in pursuit of us, and more and more joining them.

We reached the ground floor and rushed towards the entrance, we both barged through the door and the sunlight shone through the entrance. The monsters writhed in pain when they were exposed to the sunlight, and burst into flames.

“What the hell is happening to them?” I exclaimed, “Is the light doing this?”

“These things can’t stand the light, Toxic Joke withers and dies when it’s exposed to sunlight light.” Sunset explained, “We had to keep that sample in a dark secluded area to study it.”

“Then we need to get out of here right now!” I shouted, “The hell is going on here?”

“Let’s head back to my place, and I’ll explain there.” Sunset suggested, I nodded in agreement. The journey back was quiet, but thankfully we weren’t attacked by any more of those things. It was unnerving to see the place so empty, it wasn’t just that street that was littered with empty clothes so I assumed they had either been dragged off to who knows where or became one of those things.

Sunset looked around, locked the door behind us and shut the blinds. She checked every corner of her flat before sitting down.

“What the hell is happening?” I demanded, “Just what the hell are those things? What do you know Sunset?”

“Look Sky this isn’t easy for me to explain.” She started, rubbing her temples trying to come up with a way to explain, “Oh by Celestia there’s really no other way to explain this is there.” She sighed and continued, “That plant isn’t from this world, but a one where magic rules over instead of Science.”

“Excuse me?” I exclaimed, “Next you’ll tell me it’s from a land of magical horses where all sorts mythical beings live. Really Sunset you expect me to believe that?”

Sunset shot me a dirty look and raised her hand forward, the next thing I knew I was slammed into the wall and held up in the air.

“Do you believe me now?” She asked angrily.

“Okay...” I replied, “Say if I believe you, what’s that plant doing here?”

“That is what I would like to know.” Sunset answered, and loosened whatever was holding me up against the wall, “That plant does not grow here, and that horrific variant we saw...” She trailed off, and sighed, “Look Poison Joke usually affects other ponies, yes ponies Sky! It’s usually some random, but it’s mostly a harmless change.” Sunset paused for a moment, “But on humans it’ll turn them into ponies temporarily, and permanently if they overdose on it. The only reason Poison Joke does this is because it grows on Equestrain soil.”

“So what about this Toxic Joke then?” I asked.

“There’s something in the soil here,” Sunset explained, “It’s like the soil’s been contaminated by something.” I realised what Sunset was getting at.

“Pollution.” I stated, “I’m guessing that there’s next to no pollution in this Equestria?”

“Yes!” She exclaimed, “It’s a basic fact that Poison Joke gets it properties from the soil and environment it grows in.”

“Oh god!” I exclaimed, “If normal pollution does this I dread to think what radiation would do to it.”

“That’s just it someone is growing this stuff on purpose Sky.” Sunset continued, “If this stuff gets loose who knows what havoc it could cause.”

“Surely there’s some way of stopping all this?” I asked, “I mean this is something straight out of a horror.”

“Toxic Joke is vulnerable to light and anything that’ll burn it, just like any plant.” Sunset explained, “Poison Joke acts the same way.”

“Will that magic, or what ever you did to me be of any use?” I asked.

“Not by much.” Sunset stated, “My magic is much, much weaker here in this world. I can’t really do much outside basic telekinesis. Back in Equestria there’s plenty of ambient magic in the air, but here...”

“There’s next to nothing to draw on.” I finished.

“More or less, it’s not that I can’t do magic, but the lack of magic in the air makes it significantly harder to perform it.” Sunset continued, “Each unicorn has their own personal supply of magic reserves, but without the magic in the air it’s like trying to draw water from a stone. I don’t doubt even an alicorn would have a hard time using magic here.”

“So I guess you’re from this Equestria then?” I asked intrigued.

“I am yes...This isn’t even my original form.” Sunset chuckled awkwardly, “I was turned into a human when I first came here through that mirror.”

“Well that would explain all the weird stuff people have been seeing lately.” I stated, “People disappearing, which I’m assuming they’ve become whatever those things are, and there’s someone trying to turn people into ponies on purpose on the loose as well.”

“Not only that I’m pretty sure whoever is causing all this is from Equestria as well, and I’m pretty certain this isn’t Discords doing either.”

“Discord?” I asked, “And that is?”

“Oh he’s a god of chaos.” Sunset replied simply, as if it was common knowledge.

“Oh well that’s just great, let me guess if it isn't him it must be one of the other four.” I stated sarcastically.

“You have four chaos gods here?” Sunset asked, missing my sarcastic tone.

“Oh why yes of course,” I replied, “Let’s see there’s Khorne, Slaanesh, Nurgle and Tzeentch.” I counted each on one hand, “Next you’ll be telling me you haven’t heard about the God Emperor of Mankind.”

“Oh grow up Sky!” Sunset exclaimed angrily, finally catching on to my sarcasm. I shook my head in disbelief.

“Anyway what are we going to do about all this?” I asked.

“W-We’ll keep looking around to see if we can find who is responsible for all this.” Sunset answered, “I’m pretty sure whoever is behind all this is responsible for your parents murder and brother’s kidnapping as well.”

I looked outside the window, it would be getting dark soon. If Sunset was right then those things would be coming out as well, and who knows what they’ll do to the people here.

“All hell will break out soon...” I stated, “I wonder if the police know anything about this?”

“I think they know already, and entire street just doesn’t disappear like that without somebody noticing.” Sunset concluded, “Do you think they’ll send in the SWAT teams?”

“Without a doubt.” I replied, “I don’t know how effective firearms will be against those things.” I turned on the TV, and it was already on the news. The street we were in was vastly different from when we last saw it.

The buildings were covered in organ like vines and tendrils, much like those abomination were. They were littered with various blood red flowers which I assumed was the Toxic Joke Sunset mentioned.

“Oh god, are those bodies I attached to the walls?” I wondered. The tendrils were growing from lifeless bodies that had been cut open, dissected and rooted onto the walls and ceiling.

The footage shown next was graphic as one of the SWAT members sent in was violently torn apart by one of those creatures. The rest of the team opened fire and took the creature down, only for it to get back up a few moments later. We both watched on in horror as the rest of the team was torn apart into nothing more that a haze of crimson red mist.

“I don’t doubt this will spread if left unchecked.” Sunset added, “And I’m certain this place will be safe for much longer.”

“Any idea where we should go?” I asked.

“The University.” Sunset stated with certainly, “It’ll only buy us sometime, but the research there might give us some answers that might help us stop all this.”

“How are we going to stop this?” I exclaimed, “Whatever all this is. It’s bigger than both of us! Is this...Is this someone’s sick idea of an experiment?”

“I just don’t know Sky I really don’t.” Sunset said solemnly.