That's an Odd Radio Station...
"Smolder... Smolder, wake up...! S-Something's wrong!"
A voice cried out through the deadly silent dusk. Said dragon had been slumped down against a withered, shriveled up willow tree among several others of the same caliber. It was extremely foggy that evening, and so it just made it harder and harder to regain one's bearings.
"I... what happened," Smolder uttered, her eyes finally blinking open to adjust to the murky scene. "Where are we?"
From the glimpse she had on her friend's face, her expression was already frantic enough, but she only seemed to grow more panicky, not even letting her hooves rest for a mere second as she continued to shake the dragon back and forth. "I-I don't know! That's the problem!"
Smolder looked around. Ocellus was right. Not even she could figure out where they had been mysteriously placed. "Hold on a minute," she interrupted, reaching out her claws and gripping them on Ocellus' hooves. Successfully, the shaking stopped, and the changeling looked a bit less frenzied. "Let's calm down. We're not gonna be able to figure out where in the hell we are if we keep panicking."
With a sigh, Ocellus bowed her head down in agreement. "Right. Sorry."
Now, the dragon wasn't exactly fond of what situation they were in either, and she was much less knowing as to how she became unconscious. Still, she knew that it wouldn't do either of them any good for her to start panicking as well, so she decided she'd stay calm, instead. "Why don't we just fly up? There's no point in staying down here and freaking out."
Ocellus blinked. Strangely, she wondered why she didn't come up with such a conclusion, yet. "Oh. Hehe. Right."
Smolder chuckled at her friend's frenzy for a moment, and then extended her webbed wings to take off in flight. Ocellus was quick to follow her into the now darkening sky as she flipped open her carapace, and the part where the sky was darkening made chills run down her spine.
The more concerning bit was, that the more they flew up, the thicker the fog got. And it would be more understandable if it just didn't clear up in general, not get thicker.
The further they flew, the lesser and lesser the more withered trees in the distance could be even distinguishable from the actual ground. One could even confuse the ground with the sky at that point.
Smolder grunted, throwing her arms up in frustration as she shouted ragingly at the sky. "How is this even possible? I mean, even I know that fog doesn't work like this!" Once she was done with her fog-based rant, she crossed her arms, then turned around to her friend with her sky-directed glare still blazing. "Yeah. We're lost."
Ocellus' wings nearly ceased buzzing, along with her quickly deflating confidence. "Oh no," she whimpered, hiding away in her hooves. With that, Smolder's gaze began to alleviate.
"Hey, hey, it's alright. We'll make it home," she replied, laying a calm claw on the changeling's hooves once more as an attempt to relieve her. The two began to descend, and that's when Ocellus only grew more fearful. "Besides, us dragons are known for finding shelter almost anywhere. Even if we can't make it home, I'll make sure I find us somewhere safe."
Ocellus nodded, looking at least a little more reassured. "T-Thank you."
"Alright, alright. Let's get a move on."
It was only ten minutes into finding their way home and Ocellus already felt more uneasy than when they started out. The fog hadn’t been much clearer than it wasn’t before, and to the two of them, it wasn’t the least bit reassuring.
Of course, Smolder had been the one trying her best to navigate them both to safety, occasionally running into trees, or tripping over branches that she had been previously unbeknownst to. Thankfully, the way Smolder saw it, she was setting more of a ground floor for Ocellus to be able to navigate from behind her.
Still, it had been a rather strenuous trip, for the leading party, and for the following. Ocellus had never encountered such thick fog before. Not even in the Everfree Forest, and despite how strange said forest was all the time, she was sure that wherever they were wasn't there.
Where she had found herself conscious was somewhere murky by an old, sullen dirt road. There was a tall, beaten up utility pole that probably wasn't even available for utility anymore. Next to that was a small mound made up of more dry soil to compare with the already cracked earth underneath her hooves and haunches when she woke. Other than that, she had no idea what was beyond even the land before her. The rest was all mist.
Combined with dead willow trees spread out far across the land made it harder and harder for the two to walk. Smolder continued to trip over fallen branches. Stump after stump until she finally fell over a steep incline.
One bump, two rocks, three boulders, and four more dead branches. Blow after blow until she finally found herself in the bottom of an extremely withered ditch. "Ow," she groaned, trying her best to get back onto her claws.
Luckily, the fact that Ocellus was only following behind her made it easier to flutter daintily down to her level. Deep down, she was concerned for her friend's safety, but she knew that Smolder had tough skin, and therefore, it'd be pretty hard to get under it.
When Smolder finally worked her way up into a standing position, she grunted, dusting herself off and cracking her neck. "Okay. That fall wasn't the best thing in the world, but it's better than all that damn fog."
Upon the dragon pointing it out, Ocellus found that it had been easier to see where they were located, now. She remembered how she was able to define the cracked and dry trench they were both currently standing in. "Yeah," she stated, finally. "We'll probably be able to get home faster now that we can actually, uh... see. Heh." She laughed nervously.
Either way, neither of them still could figure out where they were, and how they got there. One minute, they were on a perfectly safe field trip in the Crystal Caverns, and the next minute, they woke up here.
Immediately, the mood had dampened more than it initially was before. Ocellus thought she might've gotten less nervous now that it was easier to navigate, but now, she found herself in a state that completely contrasted from that feeling of security.
"We've gotta keep going." Smolder nodded, crossing her arms and looking to where the deep trench continued leading. In a better sense, it went upward into a more reachable incline, but it didn't exactly matter if the two could fly, anyway. Either way, neither of them would be able to fly into the fog again, and miraculously, the thick mist began to part through the ditch's earthy path, which ultimately led into more dead trees.
Eventually, Ocellus could see that victory was in sight for her and her friend. Soon enough, they'd make it home. Soon enough.
Truly, if they ever did make it home, it would be a miracle. Now, they were traveling in the twilight, and the sun was dipping deeper and deeper below the horizon. The more they walked, the faster time would seem to pass, and the more uncomfortable and worried Ocellus became. As long as she had Smolder's company, she was alright, seen as it would be a complete and utter nightmare to make it back alone.
Until they made it back regardless, Smolder still remained as the one in front. Clearly, all the stumps, branches, and rocks had been easier to see for the reptile, seeing as the fog was less prominent in this neck of the area. Still, she found herself trudging endlessly, dragging her feet through the dust and barely being able to lift her legs up. She was getting tired. And if she put it upon herself to fly, she knew that Ocellus wouldn't be able to fly as big a distance as she, anyways, so she remained grounded.
Meanwhile, Ocellus grew weary. Her hooves digging around in the earthy substance below as she pressed on after Smolder, she found herself growing just as tired. Sweat was beading upon her temples, starting to run down the sides of her head and drip onto her neck. It was surprisingly hot for growing nighttime.
Just as she found herself about to collapse and conceded to the invading nature, a familiar voice called out.
"Smolder! Ocellus!"
It was Gallus.
Smolder's heart began to race, and so did Ocellus' as they both increased their walking speeds. The voice only grew softer, and more... staticky. It was faint, yes, as if they were getting farther and farther from their familiar, feathered friend, so they changed directions.
"Smolder! Ocellus!"
It got louder, all of a sudden. Much to the duo's sudden triumph, they seemed to be getting closer and closer. Upon Gallus' last cry, Smolder shouted, "We're over here! Gallus, where are you?"
"Smolder! Ocellus!"
Suddenly, Ocellus didn't feel right. Stopping in her tracks behind Smolder, she put a hoof on the dragon's shoulder, urging her to stop running. Smolder snapped her head around, shooting a gaze of pure concern and question. What the changeling found strange in the sudden event that they found their friend was, in response to the dragon's inquiry, Gallus didn't even, well, respond. It was as if he didn't hear her, or something. Like he was just completely ignoring them.
"Smolder! Ocellus! Come!"
Okay, now that didn't even sound like Gallus at all. And Smolder even seemed to notice it when her shoulders sank down, losing their tense. Now, both of them were catching on. Gallus barely even responded when Smolder did, and that alone was strange enough.
"Smolder! Ocellus! Come!"
The voice was getting louder. And the closer 'Gallus' was getting, the more staticky his voice sounded. Ocellus even began to wonder if he was just desperately crying for help, but that couldn't have been the case. He sounded so... happy. So upbeat, and eager. Like he was speeding through the forest just to see them.
Ocellus could relate, if she had been in his situation right about now. At that point, she felt like she was, too. Just so happy to see her friend, no matter what, but somehow, in some way, it didn't sound like Gallus. Deep down, Ocellus had the eeriest feeling that whoever they were running toward wasn't Gallus.
And suddenly, he stopped.
He went silent, and he wasn't speaking anymore. The static in his voice was completely gone, because there was no voice for the static to reside in, anymore. Smolder huffed. "Well, wherever he is, we've gotta go find him." She moved forward, nudging Ocellus' hoof off her shoulder in sync with her step. Still, the changeling pulled her back, and with both hooves this time.
"No," she said. "Something tells me we shouldn't go. Whoever that is, it's not Gallus."
In response, Smolder pivoted herself around as she planted another claw down. "What do you mean?"
Ocellus paused for a moment, taking a second to pull her appendages off her friend's body before she continued speaking. "I know you heard it, too. His voice... his voice was so... staticky. I mean, it was so choppy, you could barely hear what he was saying, right?"
Sighing, Smolder nodded. "Yeah, I guess," she said, conceding to the bug's beliefs. "But... but what if that was actually him? I mean, you never know, right?"
The changeling's gaze grew stern as she glared into the dragon's eyes, her brow furling as she stared. "Smolder. I know that wasn't Gallus. He wouldn't say 'come' after calling someone, would he?"
Smolder stopped to reevaluate her friend's inquiry. Weighing her responses, she figured that the bug was right. Gallus never spoke like that. He spoke fluently, although the word 'fluently' wasn't quite the proper word for it. He'd say something like 'come here,' or, 'get over here,' or even-
"How funny! Our two contestants think they can save their friend...! Isn't that just sweet? The magic of friendship always passes with flying colors, doesn't it?"
A choppily booming voice echoed throughout the woods of dead shrubbery. It was so loud in fact that Ocellus felt the ground shaking under her.
Smolder looked around frantically, the echoing voice clearly taking a trifling toll on her ears. Her face twisted into a grimace of fear, and her eyes were so shocked she looked like she was about petrified. She looked like she was already about to take off flying, like anything tethering her to the ground with her partner was immensely nullified.
Then, came the thundering thudding through the forest, now shrouded in darkness and illuminated with nothing other than the fully-fleshed moon itself. The booming voice only grew louder by the second, and the more the creature emitting it was revealed, the more staticky it became.
"Why don't they just lie down and accept their fate," it cried. Immediately, Ocellus grew extremely sick to her stomach. Feeling as if she was about to dry heave, she clung to her draconic friend as tight as she could, making sure that if her friend were to leave her, she'd know upon wing spread.
As the stomping only became louder and more aggressive, the terrifying sound and sight of the most gargantuan trees being torn from their home in the ground rang through to both creatures and revealing one humongous creature in comparable size. It was at least forty feet tall, and the most shocking, sickening, disgusting combination of machine and creature they had ever seen.
It was like a gigantic hunk of vines, twisted and twirled together to form a titanic body, which didn't even have a proper pate. It only consisted of two, shapely sirens, which both had large, razor sharp fangs hanging from their gigantic openings. It's two twin tongues both frothy and hiding a predatory roar underneath. On it's viney body were myriads of wires, twisting and turning around and connecting up to it's neck. It was all just so... twisted.
"Isn't it just sweet, how they cling to each other...? Like tiny pigs in a pen, afraid to be cured...!" The voice roared loudly, and the stallion on the odd radio sound display seemed pitying, almost, accompanied by the loud, canned laughter of the audience it seemed to have with it. It made both Ocellus and Smolder want to retch.
Still, the two ran for it, Smolder grabbing Ocellus' hoof and clinging to it as hard as she could as she tore off the ground in flight. Ocellus buzzed her wings hard in time with hers to try not to weigh the dragon down, but she seemed readily on her target, which wasn't getting home, anymore. It was getting away from that thing.
The sound of trees being ripped from the earth echoed closer and closer, indicating that the creature was only gaining on them. Suddenly, erupting from the gargantuan creature was the enormous wail of two sirens, echoing loud and proud throughout the skies as the dragon and changeling tried their hardest to flee.
The sirens were slowing down in an eerie pattern, like they were slowly dying off each scream they made. But they both knew that wasn't the case, and neither of them were taking any chances.
Just as Smolder felt as she was gaining some distance, she remembered the fog, and how she was only going in the opposite direction than what they had found in the first place. It was much denser and thicker than she remembered, and immediately, she wanted to curse the whole of Equestria on the spot for having so many unchecked territories.
Suddenly, a tree she didn't remember being there had blocked her path, throwing her off balance as she came colliding with it, face first. Her hands loosened upon impact, and Ocellus' hoof came free from her grasp as she both fell down.
Now, the tree had been pretty high, and had it not been for Ocellus realizing her power to fly, she would've went tumbling with her friend, too.
And then, she remembered Smolder's current situation added on top of their's.
The sirens grew louder, and so did the thudding and rumbling as Ocellus tried once more to shake her friend awake from the fall. She had fallen again, branch after branch until she made a rough impact with the cold, hard ground. Had she not been so focused on going forward and instead on what was in front of her, she wouldn't have bumped into that tree.
Once again, Ocellus found herself shaking her friend awake. As the ripping grew louder, she began to cry and whimper. "Smolder, come on, I'm not leaving without you!"
"I knew they'd come around," echoed the voice again, followed by more canned laughter.
The dragon was unresponsive, and much to Ocellus' appall, her head started to leak blood. She had taken so many hits for her today, that maybe the impact with that tree had been enough for her. Maybe... maybe she had finally given up. Like the siren said. "Smolder, please," she continued to plead, her tears falling onto the dry ground and saturating the soil for once in what seemed to be at least a decade.
From the voice to the same menacing siren, it was always getting closer. Closer, and closer, and closer, until it had finally reached them. Ocellus whimpered, crying louder than the siren ever did. She knew that this was the end for her. There was no other way to go.
The way it looked down on them both, saw them as prey, like... like small, insignificant pigs inside their pen. Shedding her last few tears, she decided she wouldn't give into it's reach instead. If there was one thing she knew, it was that she had tremendously more to offer than to be this creature's late night snack.
Reaching down and grabbing her friend's heavy, unconscious body, she fled further, flying as fast as her gossamer wings could carry her. "Smolder... come on..." She tried her best to ignore the crimson drops of liquid that flew in their path, shrinking down into small particles in front of the creature now thumping toward them again.
She realized she was far slower than Smolder herself in comparison, so she, of course, wasn't going to be fit to carry her for such a long distance. Still, she knew that she could always try until her friend was conscious again and able to carry her own weight, at least.
The sirens grew fainter, and fainter, and fainter, and so did the stomping and thrashing. Ocellus sighed, letting herself give out as she made her way back down. She knew that she couldn't carry her friend forever, no matter how much she tried. As she landed onto the ground, she huffed, but tried her best to keep herself quiet lest the siren creature find them in the fog below.
"Ocellus," the dragon grunted from the ground. "Where... where are we?"
Ocellus quickly shoved a hoof onto her lips in order to keep quiet, but nonetheless, she was relieved. "Shhh," she said.
The faint stomping around in the forest made Ocellus' heart beat climb to higher speeds. The creature showed signs of stomping around them, away from them, or maybe, even over them. But they were never caught.
The changeling couldn't help herself. Everything had been so overwhelming, and hard to take in. So much to the point where she just had to let it out again. There was no point in holding her breath. Breathing in, she let it out, crying loudly into Smolder's heaving chest as she bowed her head down.
In the moment, she was relieved her friend was still alive and fighting with her, and she was the most grateful she didn't have to go through this alone.
The slow, eerie sirens started blaring again. Low, and staticky, partnered up with the loud thud of two, giant feet crashing down upon the ground. Ocellus gasped, a growing lump in her throat preventing her from clear breathing.
Smolder looked surprisingly calm in contrast to Ocellus' state. Like she had been this entire time. She was finally accepting it. Their fate. No matter how much they ran, Smolder and Ocellus, even in combined size were still smaller and more insignificant than this being. No other thing could change that.
So she stood up, holding her arms out in a T posing position and walked forward, wanting, ready to embrace it. She was at peace with her fate. Letting herself be useful to such a gargantuan creature. She was... happy. A ghost of a smile on her lips before the creature bent down and reached it's arm out.
"No," Ocellus cried, lunging forward and trying her best to pull her dragon out from the being's grasp. But it was too late.
Into it's wanting mouth went an accepting dragon, and the sickening crunch of bones, combined with wet flesh, soggy and drenched in it's own blood as it painted itself onto the creature's teeth.
There, Ocellus watched in fear as the creature bent down again.
"C'mere, Celly," it uttered, the gruff, raspy voice of the female dragon it had just consumed filling the bug's ears as it reached forward.
And through her last moments, Ocellus couldn't help but wonder...
If Gallus shared the same fate.
