Aliveby Echo 27ChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 1Clouds littered the skies above Equestria in long, sweeping currents that stretched for miles. The wind had been strong the past few days, giving rise to a drizzly pattern of weather that had spawned deep out at sea. The mountains and hills of the land did their best to quell the worst of the storms, but not even the mightiest peaks could fully deflect the world in the skies. High above the sweeping hills and plains of the verdant land, a single solitary speck of life could be seen, hurtling itself across the expanse as fast as its wings would carry her. The wind would buffet, push and shove against her, but the determined mare would continue to steam right through, intent on returning to whence she had come. Derpy readjusted her goggles. They’d been trying to slip down her muzzle ever since the rain had begun, she having abandoned dampness long ago and becoming thoroughly soaked. Her uniform, already a little worn from its many years in service of its owner, was now completely ragged, its appearance pitiful as it became saturated in the downpour. More worrisome to the mailmare was her mailbag, which had been threatening to loose itself from her grasp ever since takeoff several hours ago. She had departed from Ponyville with an overfilled sack that had stressed the waistbuckle. Now she was too far out in the wilds to be able to pause for repairs and maintenance. Besides, she was on a timeline. Derpy scowled as the rain spattered her face, seeping into her coat and freezing her to the bone. It was a late summer day, the time of the year when the sun would be delivering its harshest rays to scorch the earth. Yet here she flew, chilled by the sea-born weather. It was exhausting to go through. She had left Ponyville early that morning, once again the first of her coworkers to be on shift. Her boss, Stamp, had given her the task of making the flight out to the eastern city of Baltimare, one of the largest port cities of the kingdom, to deliver a large amount of overdue packages and letters to the post office there. Since she’d been the first to arrive, Derpy had naturally volunteered to take the job. “Are… uh, are you sure, Derpy?” Stamp had asked, eyeing the blonde pegasus warily. “It’s a long way, and I heard we might get some weather later in the day.” Derpy wasn’t one to be stopped. “Uh-uh. I can handle it.” Stamp pulled a face but nodded, reaching down and beginning to sort the necessary packages. “It’s a heavy load, too,” he said, tossing a substantial pile of letters onto the desk. “Weather report for today says the best thermals are gonna be found higher up than normal, so try getting some altitude and you won’t have to exert so much.” “Alright.” Derpy saddled herself with her mailsack, brushing the mail into its pockets with her wings, gently sorting them in until everything was properly stored and tied down. Stamp hadn’t been exaggerating, the bag was heavy. Nevertheless, she was determined. “Alright, be back before sunset, OK? The worst of the weather today comes in around then, so try to get here before it does,” Stamp advised her. “OK.” “And- hey, Derpy, one more thing…” Stamp said. “Have you, uh… how’ve you been doing lately? You been alright?” Derpy simply stared at her boss, unsure of how to answer that. Finally, she decided upon a small smile and by saying, “I’m fine,” before heading out the doors and flying off. Now, hours later, Derpy could still feel where the mail had dug into her body, sagging against her sides and weighing her down. It had been an exhausting trip- perhaps too much for her to have taken on. She had done her best to get a bite to eat in Baltimare, but the time schedule she had been given dictated a speedy return. Even if she wanted to deny it, the truth was quite clear: she had been slowed by the extra weight. Returning home by sunset now seemed like a far more difficult task than it had been that morning. Smack! Derpy felt something hard strike across the bridge of her nose and she gave a small gasp of pain. That had stung! She came to a halt and rubbed her nose, at least thankful that it hadn’t struck her goggles- Smack! Smack! Another, and another came rattling towards her, and Derpy realized she was being struck by hail. The weather had turned against her earlier than she had expected, now proving a legitimate danger against her well-being. To go further ahead would only increase the velocity by which she was being struck, the ice freely tearing against her skin. Her only solution was to now fly over it, high above into areas where the oxygen levels would be low. Derpy felt a twinge of nerves as she ascended, flying straight up into the thick clouds. She wasn’t a Cloudsdale descendant like Rainbow Dash or some of her other friends. She was Ponyville born and bred, acclimatized to the weather below the ceiling. She was going to be putting her body through unfamiliar atmosphere. Her breathing became more hurried, rapid and shallow as she broke through the ceiling, coming to a halt about a hundred feet above the storm’s surface. Here the air was clean, perfect and unhindered by the growing chaos below. She could see across the sheet of iron grey that chugged determinedly along towards the East Coast, a thick wooly sheet of water and wind that showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. Derpy, unaccustomed to being so high above the earth, could only gape in awe at the purity of her surroundings. Nothing but clouds and uninhibited sky as far as the eye could see. But so dark! The sun was nowhere to be seen in this ocean of grey and dark blue, growing ever darker. The stars were already beginning to shine on the edge of the eastern horizon, no longer shielded by the sun’s rays. Derpy felt a sudden thrill of fear as she remembered her boss’ words: back before sunset. Storms were coming. She was already late. Which meant… The sound of thunder drummed through the early night sky just as the mailmare began to turn about, now faced with a storm cell massive enough to blot out the entire sky, its anvil peak jutting thousands of feet into the skies above her. The iron grey clouds beneath her hooves were nothing compared to this darkened behemoth, it churning out beasts the color of smoke and toxic fumes, flashes of lightning so numerous it was more akin to a fireworks show than anything natural. Derpy was completely, utterly alone against this nightmarish being, a lone pegasus facing off against the worst of nature’s concoctions. Derpy scanned the horizon as far as she could see, letting the lightning illuminate any possible path she could take. If there was a chance she could avoid the worst of it, a path through the darkened miasma, then she would take it without question. The storm that lay before her was nothing to be trifled with. If she could only find a path, a way through, some break in the line… it soon became all too apparent there was none. Too high to fly over- and to reverse course would be only to delay the inevitable. Her wings had endured a long journey already today, made all the more difficult by a heavy delivery. If she was to outmuscle this storm, she could only see one choice ahead of her: she would have to fly straight through it. Derpy adjusted her goggles and tightened the straps as best as she could manage, her hooves fumbling across the soaked leather made slick by rain. If she were to lose her goggles out in this mess, she would be at serious risk. Unwillingly, fearfully, she began to fly straight towards the storm, doing her very best to ignore the streaks of lightning and belches of thunder, the fires and bellows of this titanic goliath. Closer and closer she came, the wind beginning to pick up and prick at her flesh. Her heart pounded. Her mind raced for some alternative she could take- there was none. Just a few short yards away. Soon, she would be in. Three, two, one- It was as if she had suddenly crossed over into a battlefield, the buffeting winds slicing against her hide and pushing her this way and that. Derpy brought her wings in close and thrust forward, trying her best to push through and stay on course. That was the biggest danger of this storm, of flying straight through a massive wall of clouds- lose your way and you would have to start all over again, right in the very midst of the fury. Boom! Lightning scorched the air only yards ahead of her, Derpy’s coat buzzing with the electricity that vibrated through the air. Her every surrounding was charged, a ticking timebomb that could explode at any moment and catch her right in its grasp. She felt her mail uniform begin to tear, the postpony’s hat flying off her head and disappearing into the darkness. She didn’t want to lose it, but she had no choice in this chaos- no turning back. Another gust of wind struck Derpy straight across her chest, slugging her with the force of a pumped kick. It was all she could do to not reel from the blast, struggling to hold herself together and push right on through. Adjusting her wings as best she could, the mailmare charged on ahead and sought for an opening. Updrafts were all around her, contorting and twisting vortexes that sought to pull her astray and drag her into the boneyard of the clouds from which she would not return- She felt it stir in the air, her sodden coat unable to resist as the charge began its ascendance. It was going to strike any moment, and if she didn’t get out of the way now-! Derpy folded her wings against her body and went into freefall, her weight naturally sending her streaking down to the ground- Crack! A massive bolt of lightning shot across the storm, its bright yellow fingers tearing apart into hundreds of tiny crooked lines that shattered the sky and blinded all who bore witness- an audience of only one small, very frightened mailmare. Derpy’s heart was pounding as her terror began to border panic- this storm was unnaturally savage, far too cruel to have been made or aided by the weatherponies of Equestria. This beast was something far too powerful to have been made with the blessings of ponies. She had only been flying through it for a few minutes and already she was exhausted! If she didn’t get out of here soon, she might not ever get out- Derpy felt a tugging sensation around her waist and she lurched backwards, as if pulled by some unseen force. Her knapsack! The loose straps were coming undone, allowing the empty sacks to filter open and act as a chute, catching the air and dragging her backwards. The blonde pegasus stopped where she flew and wrestled with the straps as much as she could, desperately trying to work herself free before the violent currents of air dragged her off into some unknown void of the atmosphere. One buckle free. The knapsack, her favorite tool of the trade and her companion for the past three years, flew loosely in the wind, hindered by only a single strap. The force of the storm pulled on her wings and threatened to tear away every single feather, if only the pegasus would take a little while longer to free herself. Just a little more, a little more- It was far too late for her to do anything by the time she had noticed. Her coat stung before the blast even erupted, trying to warn her of the danger. But nothing could save her from the explosion of light and energy as the next bolt struck only a few feet away from Derpy’s nose, shattering the sky and sending the pegasus careening in shock to be tossed about by wherever the wind would take her- Derpy could only fall, her body stunned into motionlessness by the concussive force of the blast. She could see nothing but shadows, her already poor vision stunted by the brightness of the bolt and leaving her massively disoriented. If her wings had not been pressed up against her side by sheer fright, she would have been thrown into the violent traps of the storm and never seen again. Thankfully, she recovered before she could become fully ensnared, and she raced out of the pockets of wild vortices and into something a little more bearable. Derpy looked about at her surroundings, seeing nothing but the same clouds in every direction. She had become lost in the midst of a supreme storm, her knapsack violently torn from her side and her goggles beginning to crack under the strain of the storm. She needed to get out before she could no longer keep herself airborne. Faced with no other choice, Derpy cupped her wings in and took a nosedive descent into the miasma of the storm, piercing the skies for lower visibility where she could regain her composure. The power of the storm intensified as she fell, throwing her aside as if she was a child’s plaything, and it was all Derpy could do to just hold on. She began to seriously debate simply making a complete descent and finding someplace on the surface to make shelter, if she could make it that far. This storm was unlike anything she had ever seen before and her wings were exhausted from the torrential punishment- Something rushed past her face and Derpy came screeching to a halt, missing the unidentified object by only a few inches- A massive branch flew past her starboard wing, close enough to cut through a few of her feathers and rocking the winded pegasus. Then a massive boulder, followed by dozens upon dozens of trees and rocks and objects of all kinds, leaving the terrified mailmare in a state of panic. This was no ordinary storm. It was a supercell, and below her –though she could not see it in the darkness- was a powerful, violent tornado. Derpy gave no thought to strategy or direction- her only instinct was to flee the very real, very lethal threat that was just below her. Debris of all kinds now soared through the air and threatened to strike at any moment, forcing the pegasus to bob and wave across the sky terrain with every ounce of energy she could muster, forced upon her by pure adrenaline and the hopes of somehow surviving this unbelievable nightmare. Everything around her was now a lethal threat, from the air to the debris and all that she couldn’t even see- the world was against her once again, fueled by the unnatural savagery of this violent, powerful storm that beat against her and threatened to tear her apart. No way to escape below, no hope in the skies above, and now Derpy was lost in this blinding maelstrom, flying about madly with no instinct but to survive a little while longer, hoping beyond hope that somehow it would dissipate and end before she collapsed from exhaustion. Her goggles were nearly destroyed, soaked in rain and fogged beyond the hopes of visual comprehension. She was flying blind, and it was only a matter of time before disaster struck and took her with it- She never knew what hit her. Tearing across her cheek and slicing her goggle strap cleanly in one single stroke, dealing such a punishing blow to the head that it was all Derpy could do to stay conscious for even a few seconds. Her wings fully spread, the storm took hold of her at last and began to pluck her apart, throwing her about in the field of debris and offering no hope of escape. As her mind began to leave her, the smallest niggle of fear remained as Derpy understood, some small portion of her sanity, this was likely to be where she would find her end. They would never find her body. No one would ever even know… She lost consciousness as she descended into the vortex. Author's Note Just an idea that spawned from looking at the art that is the cover for this story. Hopefully it won't be as absurdly long as my last project, and I hope it's something you can enjoy. Comments and corrections below! Chapter 2Something distant called to her… a sound. A voice from a lifetime ago, another era when her world had been whole… Derpy’s gaze flickered white and grey before descending back into blackness, the pain that came with consciousness rescinding the moment she returned to the dark. She knew not where she was, how she had come to be there- in fact, her mind knew nothing at all, not even if she was alive or dead. With the exhaustion that weighed her mind down like hardened steel, there was little incentive to rouse herself and face the conditions of the world and that or her body. To sleep, to rest here was enough for her tired soul… The voice grew closer in her ears, reverberating and causing a cascade of memories that had been long dormant, buried deep, deep down in the subconscious of the blonde pegasus. This voice irritated her as much as it brought her pain, a horrible mixture of emotions. Derpy begged for it to leave her, to let her be- to fade away… Words found their form alongside the sound of hooves- small ones, stumbling and crashing about with relentless energy and unhindered vibrancy that came with young life. A child’s voice spoke to her, calling out a name she had abandoned long ago, seeking her out… Get up, it said. Get up, get up… Derpy could feel the strain of exhaustion weigh down upon her more heavily, enrapturing her entire body and encasing it in glass, begging for her to relinquish any attempts of revival. It was too much, too much… too painful to reenter the waking world… Get up, get up, get up! Said the voice, insistent and purposeful as it pressed against her side. Time to get up! “I don’t want to get up,” Derpy mumbled in protest. If it weren’t for the tiredness that wracked her limbs she would feel totally weightless. No earth beneath her hooves, no wind pressing against her wings, just an emptiness- save for a tightness around her right rear leg… Get up, get up! You must get up! The voice pressed firmly, shaking her insistently. You have to get up! Derpy’s eyes fluttered, the black flooded with shades of grey and brown. Her world was blurred and unfocused, consisting of shapes and distorted patterns of a world that had gone topsy-turvy, leaving her disoriented and massively confused. This was not heaven, this was not earth, she was not anywhere at all… The pain in her body came to live in an instant like a writhing animal, taking her breath away with is intensity. Her body ached, wracked with bruises and sores from the horrendous ordeal that had been the storm above. She felt a myriad of scratches crisscrossing her body in bloody patterns, her coat drenched in mud and debris the likes of which she could not name. Derpy’s world came into focus right alongside it, the shock of her return to reality helping clarify where she was- if she could figure it out at all. Before her eyes lay broken trees and a muddy, rock-filled landscape. She looked down to see… the sky… the sky! She looked “up” and saw a mess of brambles and tangled thorns “above” her, lying in wait like a beast, its mouth outstretched and awaiting its prize. The tightness on her leg returned and the mailmare looked to see she was hanging from a rather formidable tree, a tangle of vines having wrapped around her hoof and leaving her to rot like bait for a predator. Derpy’s heart begin to pound madly, a staccato rhythm that allowed panic to blossom within. She had to get out of this. She decided to fly up to the branch from which she hung to get herself free and then find her bearings- The moment she outstretched her wings an agony unlike anything she could ever have imagined struck her like a bolt of lightning, searing her body with the pain of a hot brand and taking her breath away. Taking a few moments to recover from the pain and she came to recognize its source- her wings… No, not both, but her right wing… it was broken. The pegasus brought herself up through sheer effort to examine her wings, mourning over their sorry condition. The storm had left her nearly bare, perhaps brought about by her fall into the tornado. With few feathers to speak of she looked like some sort of absurd chicken, leaving her in little doubt that her flying capabilities were limited- even without a broken wing, a pegasus needed feathers for lift and drag. Exhausted by the effort, Derpy let her body fall again, the blood rushing back to her head and leaving her in a daze. How long had she been here, hanging from this place? The red weal around her leg spoke to at least a few hours, if not longer. The sky ‘below’ her was a deep iron gray, with only the bare minimum of light seeping in through the thick cloud cover. Surely the storm was still not above her? As her vision returned, the mailmare shook herself, trying to reign in her madly beating heart. If she stayed here too long, she would attract attention- or simply die from the amount of blood rushing to her brain. Every pegasus was taught early from birth the dangers that could come with flight, including poor body composure. She would have to free herself somehow. Derpy tried tugging her leg out from the coils of the vine, perhaps wondering if sheer force would release her from its grasp. After a few seconds, however, reason caught up with her: if her body had been caught by this vine, then surely no exertion from a weakened mare would be enough to loosen it now. There would have to be another way- “Ah!” She gave a cry of pain as her wings retracted back to her side, she having unconsciously let them air out, an instinct bred in pegasi when floating. Her mind was acting on basic survival skills, betraying her wounded frame. It would be will against subconscious will to get herself free. Slowly, more careful than before, Derpy brought her upper body forward and examined the vine that ensnared her. It was thick, perhaps a couple of inches wide. Strong enough to hold weight, but not thick enough to endure an overt amount of punishment. Perhaps… it would be an old, old instinct, but it was possible she could bite her way through. She leaned forward and hesitantly sank her teeth into the bark, doing her best to ignore the foul taste of the wood on her tongue. Pushing down even harder, she managed to scrape off the outer bark, leaving soaked wood exposed beneath the outer shell. She relented for a moment and let her form relax, slowly allowing her upper body to descend so as to avoid blood rush. After taking a minute or two to rest, she gave another attempt, her teeth scraping into the wood and pulling it apart strip by strip, splinter by splinter. She could feel herself beginning to strain against the vines, her weight allowing her to sink closer and closer to the earth. It would only be a little longer now- There was a faint Pop! and the vine could bear her no more, snapping apart and letting her fall. She was free- Derpy looked down and suddenly remembered the myriad of thorns and brambles that lay beneath her- Pain be damned, she unfolded her wings in an attempt to avoid the landing but was not enough to grant her air. The blonde mailmare fell straight into the patch, crashing straight through until she found earth, brambles tearing and clawing at her flesh until she heard a horrible Snap! And a thick branch, covered in massive thorns, slammed directly across her face and buried itself deep in her eye. A horrible, quaking shriek ripped across the broken landscape. A relentless, unbearable sound that spoke of excruciating agony. The sound echoed across earth and rock and sky as Derpy’s anguish reached nightmarish levels, her left eye now brutally scared and seeping blood as the thorns settled deep into the exposed pupil. She writhed and twisted and pulled against her brambly prison, pushing her way through with such violence that every clawed hook the vegetation could offer only tore at her all the more deeply, the panic she felt causing the branch still imbedded in her flesh to sink even deeper… Derpy pulled until she could pull no more, stuck halfway through her expedition to leave this tangled web of thorns and mud. She felt as if she was going to tear out of her skin, her breathing entering her and leaving so quickly that she was already exhausted. She had allowed herself to be consumed by this mess of brambles, consuming her like a cat with a mouse. All the while, the unimaginable pain that screamed from her eye was impossible to ignore, the crimson flow that had seeped from it no longer visible beneath the cloud of black that had enveloped it within a matter of seconds. There was nothing she could do- her left eye was gone, blinded from the damage it had endured. Derpy pushed down with her front hooves, pressing against the branches before her in the hopes she could begin to free herself. Gritting her teeth against the pain as more brambles tore against her forelegs, she managed to loosen herself somewhat and slowly but surely, the mare extracted herself from her wooden prison. When she finally breached the outer layer and into the open world, it was all she could do to not collapse and fall into tears. She still had one more task to complete… Derpy hobbled over to a nearby puddle and assessed the condition of her face. The pegasus gave a wince at the sight of her bloodied self, hardly able to look at her eye- still bearing the weight of the branch that had imbedded itself in her flesh. Getting as close as she could to do the water and peering into the distorted reflection, she could see the thorns that had assaulted her were curved- not dissimilar to fishhooks. If she were able to manage it, she might be able to free the branch and throw it aside… An uncomfortable position for any pegasus, Derpy fell back onto her rump and slowly, carefully, grasped onto the broken branch with her forehooves, gripping it as tightly as she could manage without causing more damage. Already the pain was extreme, the smallest shifting of the thorns tearing at her exposed eye even further. She could feel tears begin to flow from her eyes, the salt within searing her many open wounds like fire. She would have to do it now or else her will would fade- Pushing with her right hoof, she forced the branch upwards while pushing the branch away from her eye with her left, a disgusting squelching sound entered the world alongside a fleshy, skin-crawling Riiiiiiiiip! and in just one, single movement- it was free. Derpy gave a broken howl of suffering and tossed the branch aside, collapsing onto the ground so she could finally sob in peace. She didn’t dare examine the branch that had dug into her- she didn’t want to know what it had taken from her body along with it. It was horrifying enough to feel the air rushing where she should feel nothing at all, but to see it would only make it infinitely worse. For a time she could only lay there, unable to stop the tears as they flowed from her eyes and down into her exposed cuts and scars, only adding to her misery. She didn’t know how much time had passed, but Derpy finally could cry no more, unable to shed a single tear. She was more tired than ever, caused by the onset of physical misery and the weight of her tears. It was a miserable effort, righting herself. She tried her best to ignore the sound of her body rising from the mud, unwilling to look- “My uniform!” she cried, despairing at the state of her destroyed clothing. The blue uniform was now a uniform brown, covered completely in mud and debris. Only the inner layer, a white workshirt, looked like it retained any of its cleanliness. Wrestling it off, Derpy began tearing at it with her teeth and wrapping a thick sheet around her destroyed eye, covering it and keeping it safe from the outside world. Derpy was not the smartest of ponies, but she knew well enough the dangers infection could hold. She would have to get out of here and find help- real medical assistance from someone who knew far more than she. But where was she? Derpy used her one good eye to survey her surroundings, finding them strangely unnerving in the uninhibited uniformity. Everywhere she looked all she could see was grey and brown, colors dull and faded that spoke of lifelessness. The skies above her still retained their thickness… no, wait a second… Derpy realized it was not just the cloud cover she was seeing, but a strangely thick mist that pervaded the land, hovering a good fifteen to twenty feet above the surface of the earth. “Hello? Is anyone there?” she cried out, her voice ragged and as torn as her left eye. “Please, is anyone out there? Help!” Her voice sounded thin, suffocated by the fog and dampened landscape. There was no life here, not even the smallest of creatures. Everywhere she looked, all that she could see were broken trees, rocks strewn across the wastes, and muddy ground. It was as if the storm had brought war upon this land. Wherever she had been flying, this was unrecognizable. She had no idea where in the wide world of Equestria she now stood. If was almost as if she had been transported into another world, another time… another dimension where the light and life of the kingdom she called home was nonexistent. Derpy gave a shiver and she shrank into herself, unnerved by the trauma her body had been dealt and the devastation that had ravaged the world around her. She was lost, alone, and hurt without any sense of a way out. For all she knew there was no way out of this prison of grey and brown. She may have well died and this was her soul, awoken in some hellish afterlife the likes of which was spoken of only in the darkest of Luna’s nights. “I want to go home,” Derpy whimpered, giving a great big sniff. “I want to be back in Ponyville, I want to be home. Someone get me out of here.” Perhaps it was childish weakness, but some foolish part of her wished that she would hear the voice of one her friends, see a sign of life beyond her own existence. Maybe, if she was indeed dead, she could at least see her- Derpy gave herself a vigorous shake and forced her fear-scarred mind to accept reality: she was out in the wilderness of Equestria alone. There was no one coming to help her. What had she thought before she fell into the tornado? They would never even find her body. She would never be seen again by a single soul she had ever known. No, they would never see Ponyville’s klutzy mailmare again unless she forced herself to find a way out of this place. If she was to see her village again, it would be by her own four hooves. Derpy scanned her surroundings, slowly beginning to walk forward and out into the wilderness. It sent chills up her spine when the only sound she could hear were her own squelching footsteps in the mud, the emptiness of this dread place settling on her like a blanket. What had that storm been? A monster born from the outer realms of the sea? A freak incident that would never strike again? Or something… else? Derpy could not deny she had felt a horrible weight of anxiety moments before she had entered it, intimidated by its sheer mass and power. But there had been something… something otherish about the supercell. Something malignant and wicked about the beast. It had been no ordinary storm, of that she was certain. Some part of her mind, born from the stories passed down to her as a child, wondered if the legend of “living storms” had any basis in it after all. With what she had endured, it was not beyond belief any longer. She paused and scanned the outline once more, the sheet of grey blurring blue with faint outlines far, far away. She could see something, but what it was she had no certainty. It was wide, of that she could surmise. But what… Derpy moved forward, willing the air to open up and reveal what lay before her in this wasteland. Hoping, praying it would be something that would allow her to escape this prison… The fog cleared somewhat before her eyes to reveal a gigantic mountain, its peak spearing through the skies and pouring out into the skies above the clouds. Derpy’s heart began to pound, no longer from fear but from excitement. This titan of rock and earth could be her guide! Anything above the clouds would surely be able to point her towards Canterlot! After all, her flight path from Baltimare always took her right by the capital city. If she were to climb this mountain and ascend its peak, she would likely be able to locate Canterlot, and from Canterlot, ascertain which way would lead her… “Home,” she whispered. Taking off at a manageable gait, Derpy hobbled along through the mud, feeling a pulsing sensation of excitement in her damaged eye. Perhaps it could sense its way home from atop that mountain… A way out of this grey place… The pegasus stumbled along, heading towards the mountain that would point her home. The dead lands were empty, the endless ceiling of grey unrelenting in its stifling cover of the world. None could penetrate it, none could escape it. All beneath the sheet of thick iron were bound to the world of rock and mud below, unable to rise above and seek freedom in the skies. From deep within a briar patch, the smallest skitterings could be heard. The branches twitched and rustled with signs of life as the smallest of beasts, a tiny field mouse, snuck forth from inside the brambly cell it called home. The tiny creature sniffed the air, drinking in the defeated scent of wet air and sludge, its lightweight frame saving it from sinking into the quagmire. It had endured quite a great ordeal for being such a small animal. First a nightmare storm and then a crashing beast falling straight into the heart of its home! How much worse life could be, the small mouse could hardly wonder. The small beast snuck across the land in search of food, most of its stores washed away in the rain. If there was a place where it could find fresh stocks, it would be capable of nourishing itself and beginning anew. The tiny thing had no desire to abandon its home, but to keep it, the mouse would need supplies. Now if only it could find some felled nuts or fruit in this mire- Thwack. The world became terror as a harsh, heavy something fell onto the terrified mouse and trapped it in its grasp. Slowly pulling backwards, the sinewy hand of its predator dragged the madly shrieking animal towards its doom. Caught in the multi-fingered hand of an unknown enemy, the small mouse could only cry out and writhe against the hand that held it. Free! The hand rescinded and relinquished the mouse from its grasp, and the stricken animal quickly began to race away before it became trapped yet again- The mouse was struck dead before it could give even the smallest squeak of fright. Multitude of tentacle-like tongues struck out at the tin creature, ripping its flesh from its bones and peeling it away like bark, the dead animal feeding the mighty beast that had slew it. In a matter of moments, all that remained were bones still soaked in the poor mouse’s blood. The monster gave a snort of disapproval, unable to truly relish its meal. Such a tiny thing could hardly begin to whet its appetite- how despicable were the times if this was all it had to feed on! Surely it could find better. Lowering the long trunk that was its neck, the monster’s head reached ground and began to sniff, drinking in the smells that had crossed the ground. The monster gave a satisfied growl, its bulbous stomach lurching in anticipation. There was another scent. Fresh, too. The monster raced across the ground on all fours like a malformed lizard, scurrying across until it found the source of this delicious new smell- flesh! Flesh still dripping blood! The creature’s many tongues lapped hungrily at the taste, its predatory instincts coming alight once more at the small morsels it had discovered upon this thorn-ridden branch. The monster gave a deep, guttural growl of anticipation, its three eyes peering out into the mist as if it could already see its wounded prey in the miasma. Out there was true prey, a feast that would satisfy its longings. A true meal awaited it… The creature bent its head low and began skittering across the wastes, following the scent that would lead it to its prize. Author's Note Jeez. Never done anything like that before, that was savage. Holy crap... Comments and corrections below. Chapter 3The wasteland’s endless expanse of dirt and rock had been transformed into mud by the severity of the downpour, the storm’s endless fury cascading upon the land, churning the once-pristine land into a thick, porous quagmire. Derpy pulled hard against the mud that had entrenched itself around her leg and ripped herself free with a disgusting Sluuuuurch! As her right rear hoof finally tore itself free from the bog. She stumbled forward and, pegasi instinct kicking in once more, flared her wings in an attempt to rebalance herself- only to receive a shock of pain that raced through her weakened body like a bolt of lightning. Giving nothing more than a small squeak of pain, Derpy slowly retracted her wings back to her side and did her best to ignore the continued throbbing. It would take a great deal of time to even get used to her broken form, she realized as she walked along through the mire. A pegasus’ wings were used on instinct, often having developed their utility before the foal can even begin to walk on their own hooves. To suddenly have their usage be ripped away from her was… unsettling, at best. Worse was the sensations that now struck the empty socket that had once housed her eye. Even with the bare coverings that she had tied around her head the wind still blew through the soaked fabric, the uncomfortable coolness entering a hole where no air should ever reach. Survival was all-encompassing now. The cuts and scratches on her body were still bare and exposed, and the eyeless void she now possessed were not just threats to her movement and her endurance, but would be threats to her life in due time. If left untreated, infection would surely set in and begin to spread. The mailmare was no survivalist, but even she knew that much. Through the haze and fog the outline of the nearby mountain ahead was becoming ever clearer the further along she came, the craggy spire piercing through the iron veil of the skies above and giving Derpy the smallest ray of hope. Maybe, just maybe, she would be able to see a way out of this endless cloud and mist. The misery of this place was draining, sapping her of her will and energy to keep moving forward. It was as if the picturesque world of Equestria she had once known had been irrevocably destroyed, torn away only to be replaced by this stifling bog. SQUEEEEEELCH! Her next footsteps took an eternity as her right rear hoof became entrenched once more, the mud clinging to her and pulling her back. Gritting her teeth with effort the young mare pulled herself free from the earth’s grasp and stumbled forward- stumbling so greatly that she became tangled in her own hooves and fell face-first into the swampy ground. Derpy felt a sucking sensation on her face as she righted herself and felt the slimy dampness of the mud clinging to her cheeks. She shook herself as hard as she could muster in her tired frame, trying to rid herself of the disgusting substance, but to no avail. Most of her lower body was caked in grime and filth. The mailmare could hardly take it any longer, her movements coming to a halt and she plopped her hindquarters down into the mud- instantly regretting her decision as now her flanks were covered as well! She could feel tears beginning to form in her one good eye, and a big fat drop rolled freely down her cheek. This was absolutely, utterly wretched! She was hurt, exhausted, filthy and miserable beyond anything she’d ever known –she couldn’t even sit down!- and all she wanted was to go home! Unable to bear it any further, Derpy stood where she was and sobbed like a child, the tears flowing like a salty waterfall from her good eye, soaking her stinging cheeks and tearing through the mud that still remained on her visage. The young mailmare was utterly despondent. Give up, you should just give up, said a small voice inside her head, a thin sneering thing that clutched at her ears. You will never make it, you must know this. This is what it’s all led up to, all that heartbreak- it was just the beginning of YOUR funeral march. Derpy gave a series of hiccups, her breathing barely under control as she tried to wipe away the flow of tears, something to staunch it. She’d heard that voice before, she knew she couldn’t listen to it… How hard it must have been, to suffer through all year long, just for this, said the voice. All the guilt and wondering if you could’ve done something to stop it, and here you are- proof that it was your fault… “I can’t listen to you,” Derpy said weakly, her throat constricted and making her voice thick. “I can’t listen, I’m not supposed to listen…” You always wondered if you should have done something differently. If perhaps you’d made a ‘mistake’ or worse- you caused it to happen. What if this is your punishment? What if this is how eternity feels? “But- but then I’d be-” Derpy gasped. The voice returned again for a fleeting moment. “Perhaps you are already dead.” Derpy’s tears ceased, the flow ceased by a horrifying, brutalizing thought so awful that it could quite possibly be true. The storm and its aftermath, this awful miasma of fog and rot, the devastated environment… what if it had all been inside her own mind? She’d heard tales from older pegasi of death during flight- a quick heart attack or an unseen, unfelt lightning strike and then no more. What if the storm had been her mind ushering her body into the afterlife, this new world of gray and brown? It would certainly explain the unrecognizable environment, a different Equestria that she had never seen before. If the voice had been right, then that might mean… Perhaps it was a shift in the wind. A chill in the air, or simply her senses working into overdrive- Derpy never knew the answer. But something made her filthy hide stiffen, her ears to perk up. She turned about and stared out into the mist… Something else was out there. The mists obscured her vision as the endless stream of vapor spread its way across the plateau, a thin yet impenetrable haze that hid all from her sight except the faintest of outlines. Derpy squinted her one good eye, watching for whatever had brought about her anxieties- something had stirred her fears, yet she was not certain as to what. A change in the wind? A broken branch shifting? She held her breath… and listened. There it was! A faint sound barely audible to Derpy’s wind-struck ears. An overdrawn, mournful sound that set her teeth on edge. A mixture of an animal cry and the crackling sound of trees falling, the most ghastly sound she had ever head. And yet nothing could be seen except rock and mud, limbs and trees that had been tossed about by the storm’s power- A small movement alerted the mailmare to her visitor. A quick, subtle intake of… what was it, a beast? A tree? A rock, perhaps even her imagination, spawned by the pain she had endured? Its body was bulbous, a pear-shaped frame attached to a long, reaching neck. Across its back were a series of spines just like a porcupines, the ragged quills clacking against one another with every shift of the creature’s body. Its arms were small and frail as twigs yet its fingers were sharp as knives and flickered back and forth in a mad frenzy. The neck, so extraordinarily long, bore fruit to a wicked head that bore a pair -no, three eyes, a toxic green, all of it crowned by a pair of mighty wooden horns as powerful and as intimidating as a bull’s. Derpy took a step back, wary as this anomaly slowly approached. What in the wide world of Equestria was this thing? In all her travels across this land she had never come across anything like it. To a land that bore dragons and hellish beasts and eels the size of skyscrapers, even monstrous hydras, not once had she seen anything the likes of which now stood so close by, or something that had so filled her with dread. Something was very, very wrong, and- and those eyes! Those haunting trio of eyes that seemed to dart this way and that as its head waved back and forth like a pendulum on its rangy neck, always whistling away that disquieting sound. The creature ceased its slow, awkward movement and settled its gaze upon the young, injured, bloodied mailmare. It cocked its head and peered at her, the sound it made suddenly coming to an end. As Derpy stared at it, it stared right back, the snapping and popping of its erratic twitches and tics the only sound to be heard. The trio of eyes, that wicked green burning all the brighter, were suddenly turned into slits as it scrutinized her. Derpy gave a gasp- like a cat with a mouse. Prey. The creature opened its mouth and shrieked towards the heavens, that quiet whistle replaced by the roars and thunderous booms of a storm in a forest, and the creature threw itself on all fours and slithered towards its prey like a snake- Derpy gave a shriek and turned tail to run, astounded by the horrifying speed of this beast- something so frail and awkward could move so quickly! Her footsteps slowed by the thick quagmire betrayed her to the more powerful beast, sliding effortlessly over the muck with the aid of its barklike flesh- “No! No, please!” Derpy begged, opening her wings to take flight and flee- only to come crashing down into the mud! Panic was all that helped her keep right and on her hooves, the pain erupting across her entire body and her vision blackened- No! Not now, I can’t black out now! She panicked, stumbling over a fallen log that suddenly appeared before her. Maybe it would slow that thing- A thunderous crash and the monster only broke right on through, slithering across the plains and creeping ever closer to its prey- Derpy’s breathing was hard and fast, each gulp of air rapid as she tried to escape- but how to escape, and to where? Her gaze focused on the mountain ahead, the mists beginning to clear as she came closer- maybe a place on that mountain where she could run away and lose it! That bone-shattering roar echoed through the wastes and Derpy dared a look behind her- Those eyes! It was almost right upon her, its foul gaze bright as the moon in the night sky, focused solely on its foul prey that lay just out of reach, perhaps only for a little longer-! She could hear it breathing, harried and hungry, see the sap dripping from its open maw- a flicker of movement within that blackened hollow it called a mouth and Derpy could not bear another moment looking at such a foul, awful sight- “Whaah!” The ground before her began to peter out, finishing at a thin outcropping of rock! Derpy ceased movements and slid to the edge of the rock that overlooked a massive drop- straight towards the base of the mountain. It was a monumental drop, a dizzying, terrifying one that could easily leave her crippled- Snap! A trio of something foul and sticky found Derpy’s right rear hoof and a searing pain stole her breath away- something was pulling her back! She fell into the mud and looked back to see the creature sitting with a bright pleasure in its eyes as a series of vine-like tongues, jagged and marked with thorns, had erupted from its maw and were latched onto her leg, digging in to offer no chance of escape and dragging her towards its open mouth where death awaited- “NO! NO, NO, NO, NO!” Derpy shrieked, panic erupting like a volcano within her mind. She was going to die, she was going to die! She scrabbled across the ground for a way out, something to hold on to, anything that would spare her from this thing! The creature, perhaps sensing her terror, fell onto all fours once more and dug its clawed hands into the ground like the roots of a tree, cementing its position and opening its mouth ever wider to swallow its prey whole- “NO, PLEASE! SOMEBODY HELP ME!” screamed the mailmare, her voice cracking as her final moment came even closer, there was nothing, not a thing to save her from that awful blackness and those horrible eyes! The mouth opened even wider as Derpy felt the tongues tightened their grip, droplets of blood squeezing from beneath their grasp and falling onto the ground, and she watched in utter horror as her leg began to slip down into the creature’s maw! Derpy flung herself this way and that, floundering about like a fish with all her might in the vainest, smallest of hopes that maybe she could finally break free from this vile creature’s grasp! She kicked, she writhed, she screamed, praying to the highest of heavens for a way out- Perhaps the heavens smiled upon her or perhaps it was luck but in the midst of her panic, a strong, blustering kick found its mark, crashing into the monstrous beast’s head- a powerhouse strike that was enough to stun it. The thing gave a quaking scream of pain as one of its jagged horns shattered like a tree hit by lightning, the tongues relinquishing their grasp and slithering back into its maw. Derpy fell and flopped her way back as far away as possible, trying to get back on her feet and running- She stumbled, her injured leg barely able to stand her weight. Adrenaline kicked in and she managed to stagger to all fours, hobbling away as the creature still writhed and shook itself. It wouldn’t be long before it would be eager to enact revenge, and Derpy stumbled as quickly as she could manage, finding the edge of the drop yet again- there was no choice in the matter. With one quick breath, Derpy opened her wings and jumped. The crash was effective and immediate, the drag from her wings enough to soften the fall, despite the excruciating pain it brought. The drop was slick, and the young mare instantly began to fall, losing her balance and tumbling end over end over and over again until she finally crashed in a heap at the base of the mighty mountain that towered into the sky. She tried to get to her feet and begin her ascent, perhaps able to lose her pursuer- CRASH! the mud behind her exploded and Derpy could hear the swinging, writhing sounds of the creature behind her, obviously having chosen to chase her down the drop and having fallen just as she had. Derpy wasted no time and hobbled as quickly as she could ever hope, finding footing on the rocky mountain base, made slick by moss and the rain from the storm. It would be a perilous journey even on simpler days, but this was suicide- A shrieking roar and the sound of wood sliding across mud. Derpy took her chance and began her climb, leaping upwards like a goat and ignoring every sting of pain and agony her body brought upon her- ignoring the sounds of her pursuer following her up this craggy peak of rock and mud… Must go faster, must go faster, faster, FASTER! “FASTER!” Derpy screamed, not daring to look back this time, only moving upwards and forwards as quickly as she could- Her leg fell and with a shunk! She found a hole in the rocks. Stuck! “No, please- no, no!” She quaked, writhing and pulling with all her might. She couldn’t fail now, not now, not now! With a shrieking effort, Derpy pulled herself free from the mountain’s grasp- and the rocks that had trapped her suddenly came loose, sliding down the mountain and catching the beast unawares, striking it straight in the belly and sending it toppling down the mountain base until, with a sickening Crunch!- the beast lay trapped underneath a massive boulder, the beast’s limbs and neck writhing about in agony as it cried out a series of horrendous, watery gurgles of agony. Derpy took a moment to grasp what had just occurred. But this was her chance. Hobbling upwards as rapidly as she could bear, the gray mare ascended the deadly peak, leaving a most monstrous beast behind her. Author's Note Sorry for the overly long wait, but... yes, I am back writing again. After an absolutely exhausting November filled with extremely long days, little food, and a lot of time in the field, I'm finally able to relax for a few days. I'm sorry this took so long, I was really stuck on how I wanted to present this beast. I hope I did it justice. Well, comments and corrections below as per usual. Thanks for being patient with me... Fuck, I don't wanna do this anymore. I've been in this hellhole ages, I've only seen a tree once in the past six months. This place is synonymous with death. I want to go home. I want to go HOME home! I haven't seen my family since early this year and I won't be able to see them again until maybe mid next year if I'm lucky... I want to go home.
Chapter 1Clouds littered the skies above Equestria in long, sweeping currents that stretched for miles. The wind had been strong the past few days, giving rise to a drizzly pattern of weather that had spawned deep out at sea. The mountains and hills of the land did their best to quell the worst of the storms, but not even the mightiest peaks could fully deflect the world in the skies. High above the sweeping hills and plains of the verdant land, a single solitary speck of life could be seen, hurtling itself across the expanse as fast as its wings would carry her. The wind would buffet, push and shove against her, but the determined mare would continue to steam right through, intent on returning to whence she had come. Derpy readjusted her goggles. They’d been trying to slip down her muzzle ever since the rain had begun, she having abandoned dampness long ago and becoming thoroughly soaked. Her uniform, already a little worn from its many years in service of its owner, was now completely ragged, its appearance pitiful as it became saturated in the downpour. More worrisome to the mailmare was her mailbag, which had been threatening to loose itself from her grasp ever since takeoff several hours ago. She had departed from Ponyville with an overfilled sack that had stressed the waistbuckle. Now she was too far out in the wilds to be able to pause for repairs and maintenance. Besides, she was on a timeline. Derpy scowled as the rain spattered her face, seeping into her coat and freezing her to the bone. It was a late summer day, the time of the year when the sun would be delivering its harshest rays to scorch the earth. Yet here she flew, chilled by the sea-born weather. It was exhausting to go through. She had left Ponyville early that morning, once again the first of her coworkers to be on shift. Her boss, Stamp, had given her the task of making the flight out to the eastern city of Baltimare, one of the largest port cities of the kingdom, to deliver a large amount of overdue packages and letters to the post office there. Since she’d been the first to arrive, Derpy had naturally volunteered to take the job. “Are… uh, are you sure, Derpy?” Stamp had asked, eyeing the blonde pegasus warily. “It’s a long way, and I heard we might get some weather later in the day.” Derpy wasn’t one to be stopped. “Uh-uh. I can handle it.” Stamp pulled a face but nodded, reaching down and beginning to sort the necessary packages. “It’s a heavy load, too,” he said, tossing a substantial pile of letters onto the desk. “Weather report for today says the best thermals are gonna be found higher up than normal, so try getting some altitude and you won’t have to exert so much.” “Alright.” Derpy saddled herself with her mailsack, brushing the mail into its pockets with her wings, gently sorting them in until everything was properly stored and tied down. Stamp hadn’t been exaggerating, the bag was heavy. Nevertheless, she was determined. “Alright, be back before sunset, OK? The worst of the weather today comes in around then, so try to get here before it does,” Stamp advised her. “OK.” “And- hey, Derpy, one more thing…” Stamp said. “Have you, uh… how’ve you been doing lately? You been alright?” Derpy simply stared at her boss, unsure of how to answer that. Finally, she decided upon a small smile and by saying, “I’m fine,” before heading out the doors and flying off. Now, hours later, Derpy could still feel where the mail had dug into her body, sagging against her sides and weighing her down. It had been an exhausting trip- perhaps too much for her to have taken on. She had done her best to get a bite to eat in Baltimare, but the time schedule she had been given dictated a speedy return. Even if she wanted to deny it, the truth was quite clear: she had been slowed by the extra weight. Returning home by sunset now seemed like a far more difficult task than it had been that morning. Smack! Derpy felt something hard strike across the bridge of her nose and she gave a small gasp of pain. That had stung! She came to a halt and rubbed her nose, at least thankful that it hadn’t struck her goggles- Smack! Smack! Another, and another came rattling towards her, and Derpy realized she was being struck by hail. The weather had turned against her earlier than she had expected, now proving a legitimate danger against her well-being. To go further ahead would only increase the velocity by which she was being struck, the ice freely tearing against her skin. Her only solution was to now fly over it, high above into areas where the oxygen levels would be low. Derpy felt a twinge of nerves as she ascended, flying straight up into the thick clouds. She wasn’t a Cloudsdale descendant like Rainbow Dash or some of her other friends. She was Ponyville born and bred, acclimatized to the weather below the ceiling. She was going to be putting her body through unfamiliar atmosphere. Her breathing became more hurried, rapid and shallow as she broke through the ceiling, coming to a halt about a hundred feet above the storm’s surface. Here the air was clean, perfect and unhindered by the growing chaos below. She could see across the sheet of iron grey that chugged determinedly along towards the East Coast, a thick wooly sheet of water and wind that showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. Derpy, unaccustomed to being so high above the earth, could only gape in awe at the purity of her surroundings. Nothing but clouds and uninhibited sky as far as the eye could see. But so dark! The sun was nowhere to be seen in this ocean of grey and dark blue, growing ever darker. The stars were already beginning to shine on the edge of the eastern horizon, no longer shielded by the sun’s rays. Derpy felt a sudden thrill of fear as she remembered her boss’ words: back before sunset. Storms were coming. She was already late. Which meant… The sound of thunder drummed through the early night sky just as the mailmare began to turn about, now faced with a storm cell massive enough to blot out the entire sky, its anvil peak jutting thousands of feet into the skies above her. The iron grey clouds beneath her hooves were nothing compared to this darkened behemoth, it churning out beasts the color of smoke and toxic fumes, flashes of lightning so numerous it was more akin to a fireworks show than anything natural. Derpy was completely, utterly alone against this nightmarish being, a lone pegasus facing off against the worst of nature’s concoctions. Derpy scanned the horizon as far as she could see, letting the lightning illuminate any possible path she could take. If there was a chance she could avoid the worst of it, a path through the darkened miasma, then she would take it without question. The storm that lay before her was nothing to be trifled with. If she could only find a path, a way through, some break in the line… it soon became all too apparent there was none. Too high to fly over- and to reverse course would be only to delay the inevitable. Her wings had endured a long journey already today, made all the more difficult by a heavy delivery. If she was to outmuscle this storm, she could only see one choice ahead of her: she would have to fly straight through it. Derpy adjusted her goggles and tightened the straps as best as she could manage, her hooves fumbling across the soaked leather made slick by rain. If she were to lose her goggles out in this mess, she would be at serious risk. Unwillingly, fearfully, she began to fly straight towards the storm, doing her very best to ignore the streaks of lightning and belches of thunder, the fires and bellows of this titanic goliath. Closer and closer she came, the wind beginning to pick up and prick at her flesh. Her heart pounded. Her mind raced for some alternative she could take- there was none. Just a few short yards away. Soon, she would be in. Three, two, one- It was as if she had suddenly crossed over into a battlefield, the buffeting winds slicing against her hide and pushing her this way and that. Derpy brought her wings in close and thrust forward, trying her best to push through and stay on course. That was the biggest danger of this storm, of flying straight through a massive wall of clouds- lose your way and you would have to start all over again, right in the very midst of the fury. Boom! Lightning scorched the air only yards ahead of her, Derpy’s coat buzzing with the electricity that vibrated through the air. Her every surrounding was charged, a ticking timebomb that could explode at any moment and catch her right in its grasp. She felt her mail uniform begin to tear, the postpony’s hat flying off her head and disappearing into the darkness. She didn’t want to lose it, but she had no choice in this chaos- no turning back. Another gust of wind struck Derpy straight across her chest, slugging her with the force of a pumped kick. It was all she could do to not reel from the blast, struggling to hold herself together and push right on through. Adjusting her wings as best she could, the mailmare charged on ahead and sought for an opening. Updrafts were all around her, contorting and twisting vortexes that sought to pull her astray and drag her into the boneyard of the clouds from which she would not return- She felt it stir in the air, her sodden coat unable to resist as the charge began its ascendance. It was going to strike any moment, and if she didn’t get out of the way now-! Derpy folded her wings against her body and went into freefall, her weight naturally sending her streaking down to the ground- Crack! A massive bolt of lightning shot across the storm, its bright yellow fingers tearing apart into hundreds of tiny crooked lines that shattered the sky and blinded all who bore witness- an audience of only one small, very frightened mailmare. Derpy’s heart was pounding as her terror began to border panic- this storm was unnaturally savage, far too cruel to have been made or aided by the weatherponies of Equestria. This beast was something far too powerful to have been made with the blessings of ponies. She had only been flying through it for a few minutes and already she was exhausted! If she didn’t get out of here soon, she might not ever get out- Derpy felt a tugging sensation around her waist and she lurched backwards, as if pulled by some unseen force. Her knapsack! The loose straps were coming undone, allowing the empty sacks to filter open and act as a chute, catching the air and dragging her backwards. The blonde pegasus stopped where she flew and wrestled with the straps as much as she could, desperately trying to work herself free before the violent currents of air dragged her off into some unknown void of the atmosphere. One buckle free. The knapsack, her favorite tool of the trade and her companion for the past three years, flew loosely in the wind, hindered by only a single strap. The force of the storm pulled on her wings and threatened to tear away every single feather, if only the pegasus would take a little while longer to free herself. Just a little more, a little more- It was far too late for her to do anything by the time she had noticed. Her coat stung before the blast even erupted, trying to warn her of the danger. But nothing could save her from the explosion of light and energy as the next bolt struck only a few feet away from Derpy’s nose, shattering the sky and sending the pegasus careening in shock to be tossed about by wherever the wind would take her- Derpy could only fall, her body stunned into motionlessness by the concussive force of the blast. She could see nothing but shadows, her already poor vision stunted by the brightness of the bolt and leaving her massively disoriented. If her wings had not been pressed up against her side by sheer fright, she would have been thrown into the violent traps of the storm and never seen again. Thankfully, she recovered before she could become fully ensnared, and she raced out of the pockets of wild vortices and into something a little more bearable. Derpy looked about at her surroundings, seeing nothing but the same clouds in every direction. She had become lost in the midst of a supreme storm, her knapsack violently torn from her side and her goggles beginning to crack under the strain of the storm. She needed to get out before she could no longer keep herself airborne. Faced with no other choice, Derpy cupped her wings in and took a nosedive descent into the miasma of the storm, piercing the skies for lower visibility where she could regain her composure. The power of the storm intensified as she fell, throwing her aside as if she was a child’s plaything, and it was all Derpy could do to just hold on. She began to seriously debate simply making a complete descent and finding someplace on the surface to make shelter, if she could make it that far. This storm was unlike anything she had ever seen before and her wings were exhausted from the torrential punishment- Something rushed past her face and Derpy came screeching to a halt, missing the unidentified object by only a few inches- A massive branch flew past her starboard wing, close enough to cut through a few of her feathers and rocking the winded pegasus. Then a massive boulder, followed by dozens upon dozens of trees and rocks and objects of all kinds, leaving the terrified mailmare in a state of panic. This was no ordinary storm. It was a supercell, and below her –though she could not see it in the darkness- was a powerful, violent tornado. Derpy gave no thought to strategy or direction- her only instinct was to flee the very real, very lethal threat that was just below her. Debris of all kinds now soared through the air and threatened to strike at any moment, forcing the pegasus to bob and wave across the sky terrain with every ounce of energy she could muster, forced upon her by pure adrenaline and the hopes of somehow surviving this unbelievable nightmare. Everything around her was now a lethal threat, from the air to the debris and all that she couldn’t even see- the world was against her once again, fueled by the unnatural savagery of this violent, powerful storm that beat against her and threatened to tear her apart. No way to escape below, no hope in the skies above, and now Derpy was lost in this blinding maelstrom, flying about madly with no instinct but to survive a little while longer, hoping beyond hope that somehow it would dissipate and end before she collapsed from exhaustion. Her goggles were nearly destroyed, soaked in rain and fogged beyond the hopes of visual comprehension. She was flying blind, and it was only a matter of time before disaster struck and took her with it- She never knew what hit her. Tearing across her cheek and slicing her goggle strap cleanly in one single stroke, dealing such a punishing blow to the head that it was all Derpy could do to stay conscious for even a few seconds. Her wings fully spread, the storm took hold of her at last and began to pluck her apart, throwing her about in the field of debris and offering no hope of escape. As her mind began to leave her, the smallest niggle of fear remained as Derpy understood, some small portion of her sanity, this was likely to be where she would find her end. They would never find her body. No one would ever even know… She lost consciousness as she descended into the vortex. Author's Note Just an idea that spawned from looking at the art that is the cover for this story. Hopefully it won't be as absurdly long as my last project, and I hope it's something you can enjoy. Comments and corrections below!
Chapter 2Something distant called to her… a sound. A voice from a lifetime ago, another era when her world had been whole… Derpy’s gaze flickered white and grey before descending back into blackness, the pain that came with consciousness rescinding the moment she returned to the dark. She knew not where she was, how she had come to be there- in fact, her mind knew nothing at all, not even if she was alive or dead. With the exhaustion that weighed her mind down like hardened steel, there was little incentive to rouse herself and face the conditions of the world and that or her body. To sleep, to rest here was enough for her tired soul… The voice grew closer in her ears, reverberating and causing a cascade of memories that had been long dormant, buried deep, deep down in the subconscious of the blonde pegasus. This voice irritated her as much as it brought her pain, a horrible mixture of emotions. Derpy begged for it to leave her, to let her be- to fade away… Words found their form alongside the sound of hooves- small ones, stumbling and crashing about with relentless energy and unhindered vibrancy that came with young life. A child’s voice spoke to her, calling out a name she had abandoned long ago, seeking her out… Get up, it said. Get up, get up… Derpy could feel the strain of exhaustion weigh down upon her more heavily, enrapturing her entire body and encasing it in glass, begging for her to relinquish any attempts of revival. It was too much, too much… too painful to reenter the waking world… Get up, get up, get up! Said the voice, insistent and purposeful as it pressed against her side. Time to get up! “I don’t want to get up,” Derpy mumbled in protest. If it weren’t for the tiredness that wracked her limbs she would feel totally weightless. No earth beneath her hooves, no wind pressing against her wings, just an emptiness- save for a tightness around her right rear leg… Get up, get up! You must get up! The voice pressed firmly, shaking her insistently. You have to get up! Derpy’s eyes fluttered, the black flooded with shades of grey and brown. Her world was blurred and unfocused, consisting of shapes and distorted patterns of a world that had gone topsy-turvy, leaving her disoriented and massively confused. This was not heaven, this was not earth, she was not anywhere at all… The pain in her body came to live in an instant like a writhing animal, taking her breath away with is intensity. Her body ached, wracked with bruises and sores from the horrendous ordeal that had been the storm above. She felt a myriad of scratches crisscrossing her body in bloody patterns, her coat drenched in mud and debris the likes of which she could not name. Derpy’s world came into focus right alongside it, the shock of her return to reality helping clarify where she was- if she could figure it out at all. Before her eyes lay broken trees and a muddy, rock-filled landscape. She looked down to see… the sky… the sky! She looked “up” and saw a mess of brambles and tangled thorns “above” her, lying in wait like a beast, its mouth outstretched and awaiting its prize. The tightness on her leg returned and the mailmare looked to see she was hanging from a rather formidable tree, a tangle of vines having wrapped around her hoof and leaving her to rot like bait for a predator. Derpy’s heart begin to pound madly, a staccato rhythm that allowed panic to blossom within. She had to get out of this. She decided to fly up to the branch from which she hung to get herself free and then find her bearings- The moment she outstretched her wings an agony unlike anything she could ever have imagined struck her like a bolt of lightning, searing her body with the pain of a hot brand and taking her breath away. Taking a few moments to recover from the pain and she came to recognize its source- her wings… No, not both, but her right wing… it was broken. The pegasus brought herself up through sheer effort to examine her wings, mourning over their sorry condition. The storm had left her nearly bare, perhaps brought about by her fall into the tornado. With few feathers to speak of she looked like some sort of absurd chicken, leaving her in little doubt that her flying capabilities were limited- even without a broken wing, a pegasus needed feathers for lift and drag. Exhausted by the effort, Derpy let her body fall again, the blood rushing back to her head and leaving her in a daze. How long had she been here, hanging from this place? The red weal around her leg spoke to at least a few hours, if not longer. The sky ‘below’ her was a deep iron gray, with only the bare minimum of light seeping in through the thick cloud cover. Surely the storm was still not above her? As her vision returned, the mailmare shook herself, trying to reign in her madly beating heart. If she stayed here too long, she would attract attention- or simply die from the amount of blood rushing to her brain. Every pegasus was taught early from birth the dangers that could come with flight, including poor body composure. She would have to free herself somehow. Derpy tried tugging her leg out from the coils of the vine, perhaps wondering if sheer force would release her from its grasp. After a few seconds, however, reason caught up with her: if her body had been caught by this vine, then surely no exertion from a weakened mare would be enough to loosen it now. There would have to be another way- “Ah!” She gave a cry of pain as her wings retracted back to her side, she having unconsciously let them air out, an instinct bred in pegasi when floating. Her mind was acting on basic survival skills, betraying her wounded frame. It would be will against subconscious will to get herself free. Slowly, more careful than before, Derpy brought her upper body forward and examined the vine that ensnared her. It was thick, perhaps a couple of inches wide. Strong enough to hold weight, but not thick enough to endure an overt amount of punishment. Perhaps… it would be an old, old instinct, but it was possible she could bite her way through. She leaned forward and hesitantly sank her teeth into the bark, doing her best to ignore the foul taste of the wood on her tongue. Pushing down even harder, she managed to scrape off the outer bark, leaving soaked wood exposed beneath the outer shell. She relented for a moment and let her form relax, slowly allowing her upper body to descend so as to avoid blood rush. After taking a minute or two to rest, she gave another attempt, her teeth scraping into the wood and pulling it apart strip by strip, splinter by splinter. She could feel herself beginning to strain against the vines, her weight allowing her to sink closer and closer to the earth. It would only be a little longer now- There was a faint Pop! and the vine could bear her no more, snapping apart and letting her fall. She was free- Derpy looked down and suddenly remembered the myriad of thorns and brambles that lay beneath her- Pain be damned, she unfolded her wings in an attempt to avoid the landing but was not enough to grant her air. The blonde mailmare fell straight into the patch, crashing straight through until she found earth, brambles tearing and clawing at her flesh until she heard a horrible Snap! And a thick branch, covered in massive thorns, slammed directly across her face and buried itself deep in her eye. A horrible, quaking shriek ripped across the broken landscape. A relentless, unbearable sound that spoke of excruciating agony. The sound echoed across earth and rock and sky as Derpy’s anguish reached nightmarish levels, her left eye now brutally scared and seeping blood as the thorns settled deep into the exposed pupil. She writhed and twisted and pulled against her brambly prison, pushing her way through with such violence that every clawed hook the vegetation could offer only tore at her all the more deeply, the panic she felt causing the branch still imbedded in her flesh to sink even deeper… Derpy pulled until she could pull no more, stuck halfway through her expedition to leave this tangled web of thorns and mud. She felt as if she was going to tear out of her skin, her breathing entering her and leaving so quickly that she was already exhausted. She had allowed herself to be consumed by this mess of brambles, consuming her like a cat with a mouse. All the while, the unimaginable pain that screamed from her eye was impossible to ignore, the crimson flow that had seeped from it no longer visible beneath the cloud of black that had enveloped it within a matter of seconds. There was nothing she could do- her left eye was gone, blinded from the damage it had endured. Derpy pushed down with her front hooves, pressing against the branches before her in the hopes she could begin to free herself. Gritting her teeth against the pain as more brambles tore against her forelegs, she managed to loosen herself somewhat and slowly but surely, the mare extracted herself from her wooden prison. When she finally breached the outer layer and into the open world, it was all she could do to not collapse and fall into tears. She still had one more task to complete… Derpy hobbled over to a nearby puddle and assessed the condition of her face. The pegasus gave a wince at the sight of her bloodied self, hardly able to look at her eye- still bearing the weight of the branch that had imbedded itself in her flesh. Getting as close as she could to do the water and peering into the distorted reflection, she could see the thorns that had assaulted her were curved- not dissimilar to fishhooks. If she were able to manage it, she might be able to free the branch and throw it aside… An uncomfortable position for any pegasus, Derpy fell back onto her rump and slowly, carefully, grasped onto the broken branch with her forehooves, gripping it as tightly as she could manage without causing more damage. Already the pain was extreme, the smallest shifting of the thorns tearing at her exposed eye even further. She could feel tears begin to flow from her eyes, the salt within searing her many open wounds like fire. She would have to do it now or else her will would fade- Pushing with her right hoof, she forced the branch upwards while pushing the branch away from her eye with her left, a disgusting squelching sound entered the world alongside a fleshy, skin-crawling Riiiiiiiiip! and in just one, single movement- it was free. Derpy gave a broken howl of suffering and tossed the branch aside, collapsing onto the ground so she could finally sob in peace. She didn’t dare examine the branch that had dug into her- she didn’t want to know what it had taken from her body along with it. It was horrifying enough to feel the air rushing where she should feel nothing at all, but to see it would only make it infinitely worse. For a time she could only lay there, unable to stop the tears as they flowed from her eyes and down into her exposed cuts and scars, only adding to her misery. She didn’t know how much time had passed, but Derpy finally could cry no more, unable to shed a single tear. She was more tired than ever, caused by the onset of physical misery and the weight of her tears. It was a miserable effort, righting herself. She tried her best to ignore the sound of her body rising from the mud, unwilling to look- “My uniform!” she cried, despairing at the state of her destroyed clothing. The blue uniform was now a uniform brown, covered completely in mud and debris. Only the inner layer, a white workshirt, looked like it retained any of its cleanliness. Wrestling it off, Derpy began tearing at it with her teeth and wrapping a thick sheet around her destroyed eye, covering it and keeping it safe from the outside world. Derpy was not the smartest of ponies, but she knew well enough the dangers infection could hold. She would have to get out of here and find help- real medical assistance from someone who knew far more than she. But where was she? Derpy used her one good eye to survey her surroundings, finding them strangely unnerving in the uninhibited uniformity. Everywhere she looked all she could see was grey and brown, colors dull and faded that spoke of lifelessness. The skies above her still retained their thickness… no, wait a second… Derpy realized it was not just the cloud cover she was seeing, but a strangely thick mist that pervaded the land, hovering a good fifteen to twenty feet above the surface of the earth. “Hello? Is anyone there?” she cried out, her voice ragged and as torn as her left eye. “Please, is anyone out there? Help!” Her voice sounded thin, suffocated by the fog and dampened landscape. There was no life here, not even the smallest of creatures. Everywhere she looked, all that she could see were broken trees, rocks strewn across the wastes, and muddy ground. It was as if the storm had brought war upon this land. Wherever she had been flying, this was unrecognizable. She had no idea where in the wide world of Equestria she now stood. If was almost as if she had been transported into another world, another time… another dimension where the light and life of the kingdom she called home was nonexistent. Derpy gave a shiver and she shrank into herself, unnerved by the trauma her body had been dealt and the devastation that had ravaged the world around her. She was lost, alone, and hurt without any sense of a way out. For all she knew there was no way out of this prison of grey and brown. She may have well died and this was her soul, awoken in some hellish afterlife the likes of which was spoken of only in the darkest of Luna’s nights. “I want to go home,” Derpy whimpered, giving a great big sniff. “I want to be back in Ponyville, I want to be home. Someone get me out of here.” Perhaps it was childish weakness, but some foolish part of her wished that she would hear the voice of one her friends, see a sign of life beyond her own existence. Maybe, if she was indeed dead, she could at least see her- Derpy gave herself a vigorous shake and forced her fear-scarred mind to accept reality: she was out in the wilderness of Equestria alone. There was no one coming to help her. What had she thought before she fell into the tornado? They would never even find her body. She would never be seen again by a single soul she had ever known. No, they would never see Ponyville’s klutzy mailmare again unless she forced herself to find a way out of this place. If she was to see her village again, it would be by her own four hooves. Derpy scanned her surroundings, slowly beginning to walk forward and out into the wilderness. It sent chills up her spine when the only sound she could hear were her own squelching footsteps in the mud, the emptiness of this dread place settling on her like a blanket. What had that storm been? A monster born from the outer realms of the sea? A freak incident that would never strike again? Or something… else? Derpy could not deny she had felt a horrible weight of anxiety moments before she had entered it, intimidated by its sheer mass and power. But there had been something… something otherish about the supercell. Something malignant and wicked about the beast. It had been no ordinary storm, of that she was certain. Some part of her mind, born from the stories passed down to her as a child, wondered if the legend of “living storms” had any basis in it after all. With what she had endured, it was not beyond belief any longer. She paused and scanned the outline once more, the sheet of grey blurring blue with faint outlines far, far away. She could see something, but what it was she had no certainty. It was wide, of that she could surmise. But what… Derpy moved forward, willing the air to open up and reveal what lay before her in this wasteland. Hoping, praying it would be something that would allow her to escape this prison… The fog cleared somewhat before her eyes to reveal a gigantic mountain, its peak spearing through the skies and pouring out into the skies above the clouds. Derpy’s heart began to pound, no longer from fear but from excitement. This titan of rock and earth could be her guide! Anything above the clouds would surely be able to point her towards Canterlot! After all, her flight path from Baltimare always took her right by the capital city. If she were to climb this mountain and ascend its peak, she would likely be able to locate Canterlot, and from Canterlot, ascertain which way would lead her… “Home,” she whispered. Taking off at a manageable gait, Derpy hobbled along through the mud, feeling a pulsing sensation of excitement in her damaged eye. Perhaps it could sense its way home from atop that mountain… A way out of this grey place… The pegasus stumbled along, heading towards the mountain that would point her home. The dead lands were empty, the endless ceiling of grey unrelenting in its stifling cover of the world. None could penetrate it, none could escape it. All beneath the sheet of thick iron were bound to the world of rock and mud below, unable to rise above and seek freedom in the skies. From deep within a briar patch, the smallest skitterings could be heard. The branches twitched and rustled with signs of life as the smallest of beasts, a tiny field mouse, snuck forth from inside the brambly cell it called home. The tiny creature sniffed the air, drinking in the defeated scent of wet air and sludge, its lightweight frame saving it from sinking into the quagmire. It had endured quite a great ordeal for being such a small animal. First a nightmare storm and then a crashing beast falling straight into the heart of its home! How much worse life could be, the small mouse could hardly wonder. The small beast snuck across the land in search of food, most of its stores washed away in the rain. If there was a place where it could find fresh stocks, it would be capable of nourishing itself and beginning anew. The tiny thing had no desire to abandon its home, but to keep it, the mouse would need supplies. Now if only it could find some felled nuts or fruit in this mire- Thwack. The world became terror as a harsh, heavy something fell onto the terrified mouse and trapped it in its grasp. Slowly pulling backwards, the sinewy hand of its predator dragged the madly shrieking animal towards its doom. Caught in the multi-fingered hand of an unknown enemy, the small mouse could only cry out and writhe against the hand that held it. Free! The hand rescinded and relinquished the mouse from its grasp, and the stricken animal quickly began to race away before it became trapped yet again- The mouse was struck dead before it could give even the smallest squeak of fright. Multitude of tentacle-like tongues struck out at the tin creature, ripping its flesh from its bones and peeling it away like bark, the dead animal feeding the mighty beast that had slew it. In a matter of moments, all that remained were bones still soaked in the poor mouse’s blood. The monster gave a snort of disapproval, unable to truly relish its meal. Such a tiny thing could hardly begin to whet its appetite- how despicable were the times if this was all it had to feed on! Surely it could find better. Lowering the long trunk that was its neck, the monster’s head reached ground and began to sniff, drinking in the smells that had crossed the ground. The monster gave a satisfied growl, its bulbous stomach lurching in anticipation. There was another scent. Fresh, too. The monster raced across the ground on all fours like a malformed lizard, scurrying across until it found the source of this delicious new smell- flesh! Flesh still dripping blood! The creature’s many tongues lapped hungrily at the taste, its predatory instincts coming alight once more at the small morsels it had discovered upon this thorn-ridden branch. The monster gave a deep, guttural growl of anticipation, its three eyes peering out into the mist as if it could already see its wounded prey in the miasma. Out there was true prey, a feast that would satisfy its longings. A true meal awaited it… The creature bent its head low and began skittering across the wastes, following the scent that would lead it to its prize. Author's Note Jeez. Never done anything like that before, that was savage. Holy crap... Comments and corrections below.
Chapter 3The wasteland’s endless expanse of dirt and rock had been transformed into mud by the severity of the downpour, the storm’s endless fury cascading upon the land, churning the once-pristine land into a thick, porous quagmire. Derpy pulled hard against the mud that had entrenched itself around her leg and ripped herself free with a disgusting Sluuuuurch! As her right rear hoof finally tore itself free from the bog. She stumbled forward and, pegasi instinct kicking in once more, flared her wings in an attempt to rebalance herself- only to receive a shock of pain that raced through her weakened body like a bolt of lightning. Giving nothing more than a small squeak of pain, Derpy slowly retracted her wings back to her side and did her best to ignore the continued throbbing. It would take a great deal of time to even get used to her broken form, she realized as she walked along through the mire. A pegasus’ wings were used on instinct, often having developed their utility before the foal can even begin to walk on their own hooves. To suddenly have their usage be ripped away from her was… unsettling, at best. Worse was the sensations that now struck the empty socket that had once housed her eye. Even with the bare coverings that she had tied around her head the wind still blew through the soaked fabric, the uncomfortable coolness entering a hole where no air should ever reach. Survival was all-encompassing now. The cuts and scratches on her body were still bare and exposed, and the eyeless void she now possessed were not just threats to her movement and her endurance, but would be threats to her life in due time. If left untreated, infection would surely set in and begin to spread. The mailmare was no survivalist, but even she knew that much. Through the haze and fog the outline of the nearby mountain ahead was becoming ever clearer the further along she came, the craggy spire piercing through the iron veil of the skies above and giving Derpy the smallest ray of hope. Maybe, just maybe, she would be able to see a way out of this endless cloud and mist. The misery of this place was draining, sapping her of her will and energy to keep moving forward. It was as if the picturesque world of Equestria she had once known had been irrevocably destroyed, torn away only to be replaced by this stifling bog. SQUEEEEEELCH! Her next footsteps took an eternity as her right rear hoof became entrenched once more, the mud clinging to her and pulling her back. Gritting her teeth with effort the young mare pulled herself free from the earth’s grasp and stumbled forward- stumbling so greatly that she became tangled in her own hooves and fell face-first into the swampy ground. Derpy felt a sucking sensation on her face as she righted herself and felt the slimy dampness of the mud clinging to her cheeks. She shook herself as hard as she could muster in her tired frame, trying to rid herself of the disgusting substance, but to no avail. Most of her lower body was caked in grime and filth. The mailmare could hardly take it any longer, her movements coming to a halt and she plopped her hindquarters down into the mud- instantly regretting her decision as now her flanks were covered as well! She could feel tears beginning to form in her one good eye, and a big fat drop rolled freely down her cheek. This was absolutely, utterly wretched! She was hurt, exhausted, filthy and miserable beyond anything she’d ever known –she couldn’t even sit down!- and all she wanted was to go home! Unable to bear it any further, Derpy stood where she was and sobbed like a child, the tears flowing like a salty waterfall from her good eye, soaking her stinging cheeks and tearing through the mud that still remained on her visage. The young mailmare was utterly despondent. Give up, you should just give up, said a small voice inside her head, a thin sneering thing that clutched at her ears. You will never make it, you must know this. This is what it’s all led up to, all that heartbreak- it was just the beginning of YOUR funeral march. Derpy gave a series of hiccups, her breathing barely under control as she tried to wipe away the flow of tears, something to staunch it. She’d heard that voice before, she knew she couldn’t listen to it… How hard it must have been, to suffer through all year long, just for this, said the voice. All the guilt and wondering if you could’ve done something to stop it, and here you are- proof that it was your fault… “I can’t listen to you,” Derpy said weakly, her throat constricted and making her voice thick. “I can’t listen, I’m not supposed to listen…” You always wondered if you should have done something differently. If perhaps you’d made a ‘mistake’ or worse- you caused it to happen. What if this is your punishment? What if this is how eternity feels? “But- but then I’d be-” Derpy gasped. The voice returned again for a fleeting moment. “Perhaps you are already dead.” Derpy’s tears ceased, the flow ceased by a horrifying, brutalizing thought so awful that it could quite possibly be true. The storm and its aftermath, this awful miasma of fog and rot, the devastated environment… what if it had all been inside her own mind? She’d heard tales from older pegasi of death during flight- a quick heart attack or an unseen, unfelt lightning strike and then no more. What if the storm had been her mind ushering her body into the afterlife, this new world of gray and brown? It would certainly explain the unrecognizable environment, a different Equestria that she had never seen before. If the voice had been right, then that might mean… Perhaps it was a shift in the wind. A chill in the air, or simply her senses working into overdrive- Derpy never knew the answer. But something made her filthy hide stiffen, her ears to perk up. She turned about and stared out into the mist… Something else was out there. The mists obscured her vision as the endless stream of vapor spread its way across the plateau, a thin yet impenetrable haze that hid all from her sight except the faintest of outlines. Derpy squinted her one good eye, watching for whatever had brought about her anxieties- something had stirred her fears, yet she was not certain as to what. A change in the wind? A broken branch shifting? She held her breath… and listened. There it was! A faint sound barely audible to Derpy’s wind-struck ears. An overdrawn, mournful sound that set her teeth on edge. A mixture of an animal cry and the crackling sound of trees falling, the most ghastly sound she had ever head. And yet nothing could be seen except rock and mud, limbs and trees that had been tossed about by the storm’s power- A small movement alerted the mailmare to her visitor. A quick, subtle intake of… what was it, a beast? A tree? A rock, perhaps even her imagination, spawned by the pain she had endured? Its body was bulbous, a pear-shaped frame attached to a long, reaching neck. Across its back were a series of spines just like a porcupines, the ragged quills clacking against one another with every shift of the creature’s body. Its arms were small and frail as twigs yet its fingers were sharp as knives and flickered back and forth in a mad frenzy. The neck, so extraordinarily long, bore fruit to a wicked head that bore a pair -no, three eyes, a toxic green, all of it crowned by a pair of mighty wooden horns as powerful and as intimidating as a bull’s. Derpy took a step back, wary as this anomaly slowly approached. What in the wide world of Equestria was this thing? In all her travels across this land she had never come across anything like it. To a land that bore dragons and hellish beasts and eels the size of skyscrapers, even monstrous hydras, not once had she seen anything the likes of which now stood so close by, or something that had so filled her with dread. Something was very, very wrong, and- and those eyes! Those haunting trio of eyes that seemed to dart this way and that as its head waved back and forth like a pendulum on its rangy neck, always whistling away that disquieting sound. The creature ceased its slow, awkward movement and settled its gaze upon the young, injured, bloodied mailmare. It cocked its head and peered at her, the sound it made suddenly coming to an end. As Derpy stared at it, it stared right back, the snapping and popping of its erratic twitches and tics the only sound to be heard. The trio of eyes, that wicked green burning all the brighter, were suddenly turned into slits as it scrutinized her. Derpy gave a gasp- like a cat with a mouse. Prey. The creature opened its mouth and shrieked towards the heavens, that quiet whistle replaced by the roars and thunderous booms of a storm in a forest, and the creature threw itself on all fours and slithered towards its prey like a snake- Derpy gave a shriek and turned tail to run, astounded by the horrifying speed of this beast- something so frail and awkward could move so quickly! Her footsteps slowed by the thick quagmire betrayed her to the more powerful beast, sliding effortlessly over the muck with the aid of its barklike flesh- “No! No, please!” Derpy begged, opening her wings to take flight and flee- only to come crashing down into the mud! Panic was all that helped her keep right and on her hooves, the pain erupting across her entire body and her vision blackened- No! Not now, I can’t black out now! She panicked, stumbling over a fallen log that suddenly appeared before her. Maybe it would slow that thing- A thunderous crash and the monster only broke right on through, slithering across the plains and creeping ever closer to its prey- Derpy’s breathing was hard and fast, each gulp of air rapid as she tried to escape- but how to escape, and to where? Her gaze focused on the mountain ahead, the mists beginning to clear as she came closer- maybe a place on that mountain where she could run away and lose it! That bone-shattering roar echoed through the wastes and Derpy dared a look behind her- Those eyes! It was almost right upon her, its foul gaze bright as the moon in the night sky, focused solely on its foul prey that lay just out of reach, perhaps only for a little longer-! She could hear it breathing, harried and hungry, see the sap dripping from its open maw- a flicker of movement within that blackened hollow it called a mouth and Derpy could not bear another moment looking at such a foul, awful sight- “Whaah!” The ground before her began to peter out, finishing at a thin outcropping of rock! Derpy ceased movements and slid to the edge of the rock that overlooked a massive drop- straight towards the base of the mountain. It was a monumental drop, a dizzying, terrifying one that could easily leave her crippled- Snap! A trio of something foul and sticky found Derpy’s right rear hoof and a searing pain stole her breath away- something was pulling her back! She fell into the mud and looked back to see the creature sitting with a bright pleasure in its eyes as a series of vine-like tongues, jagged and marked with thorns, had erupted from its maw and were latched onto her leg, digging in to offer no chance of escape and dragging her towards its open mouth where death awaited- “NO! NO, NO, NO, NO!” Derpy shrieked, panic erupting like a volcano within her mind. She was going to die, she was going to die! She scrabbled across the ground for a way out, something to hold on to, anything that would spare her from this thing! The creature, perhaps sensing her terror, fell onto all fours once more and dug its clawed hands into the ground like the roots of a tree, cementing its position and opening its mouth ever wider to swallow its prey whole- “NO, PLEASE! SOMEBODY HELP ME!” screamed the mailmare, her voice cracking as her final moment came even closer, there was nothing, not a thing to save her from that awful blackness and those horrible eyes! The mouth opened even wider as Derpy felt the tongues tightened their grip, droplets of blood squeezing from beneath their grasp and falling onto the ground, and she watched in utter horror as her leg began to slip down into the creature’s maw! Derpy flung herself this way and that, floundering about like a fish with all her might in the vainest, smallest of hopes that maybe she could finally break free from this vile creature’s grasp! She kicked, she writhed, she screamed, praying to the highest of heavens for a way out- Perhaps the heavens smiled upon her or perhaps it was luck but in the midst of her panic, a strong, blustering kick found its mark, crashing into the monstrous beast’s head- a powerhouse strike that was enough to stun it. The thing gave a quaking scream of pain as one of its jagged horns shattered like a tree hit by lightning, the tongues relinquishing their grasp and slithering back into its maw. Derpy fell and flopped her way back as far away as possible, trying to get back on her feet and running- She stumbled, her injured leg barely able to stand her weight. Adrenaline kicked in and she managed to stagger to all fours, hobbling away as the creature still writhed and shook itself. It wouldn’t be long before it would be eager to enact revenge, and Derpy stumbled as quickly as she could manage, finding the edge of the drop yet again- there was no choice in the matter. With one quick breath, Derpy opened her wings and jumped. The crash was effective and immediate, the drag from her wings enough to soften the fall, despite the excruciating pain it brought. The drop was slick, and the young mare instantly began to fall, losing her balance and tumbling end over end over and over again until she finally crashed in a heap at the base of the mighty mountain that towered into the sky. She tried to get to her feet and begin her ascent, perhaps able to lose her pursuer- CRASH! the mud behind her exploded and Derpy could hear the swinging, writhing sounds of the creature behind her, obviously having chosen to chase her down the drop and having fallen just as she had. Derpy wasted no time and hobbled as quickly as she could ever hope, finding footing on the rocky mountain base, made slick by moss and the rain from the storm. It would be a perilous journey even on simpler days, but this was suicide- A shrieking roar and the sound of wood sliding across mud. Derpy took her chance and began her climb, leaping upwards like a goat and ignoring every sting of pain and agony her body brought upon her- ignoring the sounds of her pursuer following her up this craggy peak of rock and mud… Must go faster, must go faster, faster, FASTER! “FASTER!” Derpy screamed, not daring to look back this time, only moving upwards and forwards as quickly as she could- Her leg fell and with a shunk! She found a hole in the rocks. Stuck! “No, please- no, no!” She quaked, writhing and pulling with all her might. She couldn’t fail now, not now, not now! With a shrieking effort, Derpy pulled herself free from the mountain’s grasp- and the rocks that had trapped her suddenly came loose, sliding down the mountain and catching the beast unawares, striking it straight in the belly and sending it toppling down the mountain base until, with a sickening Crunch!- the beast lay trapped underneath a massive boulder, the beast’s limbs and neck writhing about in agony as it cried out a series of horrendous, watery gurgles of agony. Derpy took a moment to grasp what had just occurred. But this was her chance. Hobbling upwards as rapidly as she could bear, the gray mare ascended the deadly peak, leaving a most monstrous beast behind her. Author's Note Sorry for the overly long wait, but... yes, I am back writing again. After an absolutely exhausting November filled with extremely long days, little food, and a lot of time in the field, I'm finally able to relax for a few days. I'm sorry this took so long, I was really stuck on how I wanted to present this beast. I hope I did it justice. Well, comments and corrections below as per usual. Thanks for being patient with me... Fuck, I don't wanna do this anymore. I've been in this hellhole ages, I've only seen a tree once in the past six months. This place is synonymous with death. I want to go home. I want to go HOME home! I haven't seen my family since early this year and I won't be able to see them again until maybe mid next year if I'm lucky... I want to go home.
