The Infinite Cavernby Magenta SkyChaptersPrologueTwilight Sparkle IRainbow Dash IPrologueA teenage Hispanic boy, Ross Ricardo Ramirez-Martinez, went to his best friend's tree house to kick off their weekend camping trip. His best friend, Taki, was waiting with the rope in hand when Ross arrived. Taki, short for Takiji Shinkai, was a short Japanese seventeen-year-old girl, with short, dark red hair. "What's the password, Ross?" Ross confusedly looked up at Taki and said, "What password?" "The password I've told you every time I've seen you this week. You're not comin' up here without it," she said, lowering the rope for her to climb down. "Are you ready for our camping trip?" asked Taki as she climbed down. "Yes. I got the stuff you asked me to get," answered Ross. "Everything?" "Yes, I even still have your list. It's right here, in my pocket." Ross and Taki rode their bikes out of town towards Farmer Joe's. The farmer was a cross sort, and neither Ross nor Taki wished to incur his wrath. They made careful to get on the trailhead without crossing the view from the farmhouse. The trailhead was on the top of a hill next to the Red River. The view was breathtaking; from this vantage they could see the entirety of the Ghost Forest. The trail they took passed through a loose grove of broad-leaved trees. On the ground there were brown and orange mushrooms, small-leafed vines, blue flowers, red roses, and small, double-leaved ferns. On the trees grew a variety of vines, and mosses of green and brown and blue. A blue butterfly, with hints of purple and yellow on its wings, distracted Taki as it flew past. She recognized it as a Jeffrey Butterfly, and moved to capture it. It landed on a rose. Taki stalked closer. It flapped its wings. Taki was over its head. It stuck its proboscis into the flower. Taki moved her hands to capture it, but it flew away before she could catch it. "Nice catch there, Taki!" "Oh, shut up." "I could have caught that with my eyes closed." "Only if it was a football moving at over forty. You couldn't have caught it if you tried." Their argument soon devolved into "Yes I could" and "no you couldn't" as they followed the trail. The trail meandered a little as they went, though its overall motion was to the right. They eventually hit a fork in the road, one mile down the trail. Left lead to a meadow, and right deeper into the forest. They interrupted their argument to concur: "Let's go right!" They continued down the trail. The side of the trail to the left changed. It started level with the trail, but slowly rose up until there was a thirty foot cliff to their left. The right side did the opposite, transitioning into a forty foot cliff downward. The cliff was damp, and had mosses and lichen growing out of it. They reached a waterfall. This waterfall had rocks that jut out of it, splitting the water fall as it fell. Ross and Taki looked down the fall, and saw a beaver pond. "Is this the spot?" asked Taki. "Yes. Sonia said that no one has ever went down these falls before," Ross said excitedly. Ross and Taki set up the belay, and go down the cliff over the beaver pond. They walk out of the pond, which at its deepest was only a foot taller than Taki. They set up for lunch. Ross said, "I'm gonna go and get firewood. Can you get the firepit ready?" Taki nodded and started gathering rocks for the pit while Ross set out to gather firewood. When Ross walked into Ghost Forest the sunlight quickly left, leaving him blanketed in a deep twilight. The dark brown trees were tall and bulky, and close enough to each other that their roots overlapped each other. Their leaves, varying from long pine needles to broad oak leaves, started thirteen feet up. Ross was not enjoying the beauty of these trees, nor was he scared of the shapes in the shadows. He was focused on gathering wood. It was in this state that he was startled by a fast movement. He looked up, and saw a fuchsia blur running into the woods. His first response was to run after it, but he maintained his self control "Taki," Ross yelled as he walked back into camp. "What is it?" "I saw this weird fuchsia thing run past me. I think it was an animal, but I didn't see more detail than it's color." "Want to investigate it?" "Yes!" Ross looked excited, and started to pack his pack. Taki looked at him and laughed. "After lunch, of course. What did you bring?" She said as she started the fire. Ross looked disappointed as he rummaged through his pack. "I have oatmeal and jerky." "Let's eat the oatmeal since we have the fire." They guzzled down the oatmeal, both excited at the prospect of an adventure. When they finished they threw their backpacks on and stomped out the fire. "Let's go," said both of them at once. They left as they fell into a game of Jinx, both trying to catch the other in a jinx so they could punch the other in the arm. "Ow," said Ross as he rubbed the spot Taki punched him in, "this is going to bruise, you know." "I know. Where did you see that blur?" "I saw it about here." "Jehoshaphat!" exclaimed Taki at the sight of a giant green beetle on Ross's head. She threw off her backpack and with one swat her backpack smashed the beetle into a greenish goo. "What was that for!" "A bug was on your head. Now stop lollygagging and let's find this thing!" They headed deeper into the woods, the trees growing taller and wider the farther they went in. After about an hour they saw an enormous redwood tree. This tree was huge, nearly fifty feet in diameter and five hundred feet tall. A large hollow in the tree was visible from where Ross and Taki stood. "Should we go in?" asked Ross. "Yeah. It might be whatever-you-saw's home!" They walked into a large hole in the tree. When they looked up they could see no ceiling as far up as they could see, which was not far with their flashlights. Ahead they heard a small growl. They walked towards the growl and a fuchsia fox ran up to them. It had big ears, fluffy fur, and small feet. It walked towards them, and sniffed them. "It's so cute! We should name it," squeed Ross "Fuchsia!" "Aw, no fair. You sniped me. Good name, though." They ooed and awwed over it, before noticing that it was walking towards the center of the tree. A swing of their flashlights lighted an unanchored ladder at the center. "I think it wants us to follow," said Taki. They followed the fox up the ladder, still curious about what this fox was. "What do you think this fox is?" asked Taki "I think it's a nature spirit of some kind. You know, like the ones we learned about in humanities. Where do you think it's leading us?" asked Ross. "Her home, or somewhere near there." "How do you know that?" "I don't. I just feel that it's leading us somewhere that is important to her." Ross and Taki had lost sight of Fuchsia hours before they reached the top of the ladder. There was a trapdoor overhead. "How did Fuchsia get through this trapdoor?" asked Taki. "I dunno. It climbed the ladder, maybe it can open doors," answered Ross. They went through and closed the trapdoor. The trapdoor had led to a cavern. The roof of the cavern was covered in constellations of glowworms. Unadorned columns 500 feet tall connected the floor and ceiling. The floor was wrought stone bricks the size of semi trailers, with mosses and lichens and cracks on and in them. This floor was interrupted by a large oaken compass rose fifty feet in diameter, which is where Ross and Taki were setting up camp. "This place is awesome! How did we get down here?" asked Ross "I don't think we should question that. This is obviously supernatural." "How is it obviously supernatural?" Ross asked sarcastically. "We climbed up a tree into a cavern! Of course, we should sleep before exploring. I for one am exhausted," said Taki. They went to bed and had dreams of infinite worlds. They had woken up, though whether it was morning was impossible to tell without a sky. They got ready for the day, changing behind the massive stone columns. Their morning camp routine was interrupted when an Asian woman with fluffy, fuchsia hair appeared in their camp. "Who are you? Where did you come from?" asked Ross. "You named me Fuchsia, though others might know me by other names. I came from Ghost Forest," Fuchsia said, her voice light and airy. "Why did you bring us here? You're the fox that led us here?" asked Taki. "You both are the first humans I've seen in a long time. You both desire adventure? I can lead to a great one." "How did you know that?" asked Ross. "You followed me. The last to do so desired to be a hero, and now I know that the two of you do as well." Ross and Taki looked at each other, and knew that they could not run away from the chance of a lifetime. "Where do we go?" "East, until you find a compass rose divided into six colors." They went east for miles, passing over two compass roses before arriving. This compass rose was divided into six colors: lavender, red, orange, purple, blue, and pink. Ross and Taki went down the ladder, finding themselves climbing down a ladder along a bookshelf. They got down and looked around. They saw a staircase that led to a second floor, and a door that led outside. They walked outside and saw tens of ponies, in a variety of pastel colors. The ponies went about their day, ignoring the two humans that had walked out of the library. As they they stood, watching the multitude mingle, a lavender pony with a horn walked past them, its nose stuck in a book covered in runes. "Hi!" said Ross. The unicorn looked up, said something unintelligible, and ran inside. Author's Note Hello everypony! I am Magenta Hooves. This is my first fanfiction, so I hope y'all like it. This one is based on a recent GURPS campaign I ran for my cousins, thought in their game the fictional world Ross and Taki went to was the Whoniverse. I made the cover art myself, in about 20 minutes. If any of y'all have better ideas for it, please give me them. Twilight Sparkle ITwilight Sparkle had had a long day: Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders had blown up the Apple's shed trying to become Cutie Mark Crusaders Demolition Experts, Rainbow had broken her wing trying a move used in pegasus hoofball, and Twilight had been assigned to study the last spells of Clover the Clever. It was on her way home that she saw a note in the margin of Clover's spellbook. This note appeared hoofwritten, scribbled in at the last moment. A noise from above startled her before she could read the note. She looked up to see two creatures standing above her, appearing almost like hairless minotaurs, but the head was too different. "What are you?" Twilight asked the creatures. When she received no answer, she ran inside, hoping to find a translation spell. "Spike!" She looked around for him before remembering that Spike was helping the crusaders rebuild the shed, so she would have to find the book herself. As she looked for the book, the creatures walked back into the library, chatting amongst themselves. She found the book in the 133-134 section of the books, and took it out. This spell was a complex one, but she was sure she could cast it. She started chanting under her breath, channeling magic through her horn towards the creatures. Her eyes started to glow as she wove a pattern connecting their language centers. This spell did this because otherwise it would create an intelligent, magical construct, and it needed the processing power and complexity of a sapient mind. Her vision struggled, turning black on the edges. She felt a large g-force, and she was glad for the gravity training that Rainbow had made her go through. She struggled to the end of the spell, her ability to speak nearly gone and her body almost collapsed, but she had successfully cast the spell. "What are you two?" She walked towards the bipeds, nearly falling on her face when she stopped in front of them. "We're humans. How're we able to understand you? You're a unicorn, right?" asked the shorter of the two bipeds. This being was close to twice Twilight's height, with a clump of dark red hair on top of its head. It was wearing clothes: short blue denim bottoms, a plain red t-shirt, and black shoes. "A translation spell. Yes, I'm a unicorn. You have unicorns where you come from?" She was answered by the taller of the humans. They had dark brown hair on the top of their head, and they wore denim bottoms with an orange t-shirt. "No, they're mythological." Twilight was about to make a reply when someone called through the door. "Bon-Bon was at Sugarcube Corner and she told me that you summoned two beings from another dimension. She said all of this calmly, which I guess makes sense because you've been experimenting with the summoning of demons for nearly half a year -- by the way, is Fred home already? I meant to give him a cake before you sent him back -- anyway, I came here to meet these beings you summoned, I'm gonna throw a party welcoming them to Ponyville. Are these them?" She spouted this entire paragraph before Twilight could even get a word in edgewise. "Pinkie, I did not summon them." Pinkie almost opened her mouth to talk, but Twilight continued talking: "Yes, these beings are probably what Bon-Bon was talking about. I was going to ask them how they got here when you walked in. And Fred has been sent back to Tartarus, sorry for not telling you sooner." Twilight turned to face the two humans and asked, "How did the two of you get here?" "We were on a camping trip when we made our way here. By the way, I'm Taki and --" "-- I'm Ross. We hiked into Ghost Forest, the largest forest near our town. It's not two long of a hike, only about one and a half miles to where we planned to camp. I went searching for firewood, and while looking I saw a fuchsia blur. I went back to our camp, hoping Taki wanted to go after it and find an adventure." "I did. What we found was an enormous hollow tree, and when we went in we found the blur. It was a cute little fox, though later we discovered that she was some sort of nature spirit or goddess. It led us up a ladder that was at the center of that tree, and we came out a trapdoor into a cavern. Fuchsia, that was the name we had given the fox, came in a human form and led us to your world with a promise of adventure." Twilight had many questions, but Pinkie started talking first. "You made it here on your own. Well, with the help of this Fuchsia -- do you have any idea why she brought you here? You probably don't, I guess, considering you didn't mention talking to her much. Anyway, someone needs to show you round town before your..." Twilight stuck her hoof in Pinkies mouth. "I think you might be from a different universe. I'm going to have to find a spell to check your magic -- I've not done magical diagnostics for years -- so you should go on this tour with Pinkie." Twilight had set up a study station at the Café. Books on magical diagnostics lined the table, but her interest was on the note in Clover the Clever's last spellbook. The spell next to the note was a simple one, though Twilight wondered why anyone would want to use their life force to power a spell. The note was far more interesting to her, and it read as follows, once translated from Old Equestrian: "These eldritch beings corrupt and eat and create worlds", was what the silver dragon told me. He came from another world to give this warning, prompting me to create this spellbook, which I now know is my last. Heed this warning: if you see signs of corruption in this world, they are coming. If you do not, this world will die. As Twilight read this warning she became increasingly scared. She muttered under her breath, "I haven't seen any signs of corruption, though why else would those humans have come here. I should check for signs, starting at my home." "Miss Sparkle, what are you going to order?" Asked the waiter. "Egg salad sandwich with the cola." She immediately got back to studying, finding in Clover's last spellbook spells of supreme power. They ranged from a simple fireball spell to methods for the summoning of powerful automatons. She wondered how these could be used to fight world destroying monsters, but she would figure that out later. Lunch had been brought during her studying, and she was not about to waste it. After lunch she looked up a basic magical diagnostic spell as she left the café. She decided that before she would start checking for corruption she would find Pinkie, Taki, and Ross. She walked down the street, waving at the various shopkeepers as she walked to Sugarcube Corner. She started to hear screams behind her, so she turned around. A bear the size of a two story building was in the middle of town, terrorizing the market-goers. It was going to eat somepony, so Twilight lit her horn, focusing all her magic on lifting the bear. Her magic reported back to her, telling her that the bear was only half there. She tried to hold on to the half-gone bear, but it resisted the hold of her magic. Her magic responded in turn, snapping the bears neck as she tried to find a way to hold it. Twilight fell to the ground, crying. Applejack ran over from the knocked-over applecart and hugged Twilight. "I killed it. I meant only to take it back to the Everfree, but it wasn't there and my magic just snapped its neck." "Now there, sugarcube. It was meanin' ta eat us, but ya made sure it couldn't. You also didn't mean to kill it, did you?" "No," responded Twilight. "There ya go. Ya meant ta show it mercy, and that's what matters. You okay, sugarcube?" "Maybe. I will come to you if I don't feel well, okay?" Twilight struggled to stand, so Applejack helped her up. Twilight walked towards Sugarcube Corner before decided to head home to get some rest. She took the long way home, hoping to calm her thoughts that were running wild, and by the time she reached the library she had come to the conclusion that the bear might have been corrupted. She did not like this answer, but there was not any other explanation for it being partially there. When Twilight walked into her house dubstep almost blasted her out of the doorway. Pinkie had set up this party. A banner welcoming Taki and Ross to Ponyville hung over the bookshelves, DJ PON-3 was mixing the music, and a buffet had been set up. Most of Ponyville was here, dancing and talking with one another. As Twilight looked over the room she saw Fluttershy in a corner talking to Big Macintosh, Applejack dancing badly with Rarity, Ross and Taki conversing with Bon-Bon and Lyra, and Pinkie walking right towards her. "Hi, Twilight! Isn't this party great! It's a bit sad that Dash couldn't come seeing as she's in the hospital, but I just couldn't wait to hold this party welcoming Ross and Taki to Ponyville! Wait, is it Ross and Taki or Taki and Ross, I just can't decide which one sounds better, which is kind of weird. Wait, you look down in the dumps. Is it because Rainbows not here or -- wait, Applejack told me about how you saved her and Carrot Top and the Flower sisters from an enormous rabid bear by killing it, which I guess could ruin your mood considering you've never killed anything before. She said she comforted you, so do you want a cupcake?" Pinkie had pulled a cupcake out of her mane and held it out for Twilight. "Pinkie, I will take that cupcake, but I am not just sad because I killed that bear. I'm also anxious, because that bear has given me evidence that Clover the Clever's warning I read earlier today has came true." Twilight took the offered cupcake, eating it in one bite. "What warning are you talking about, Twilight? I mean, I know you've been assigned to study his last spells by Princess Celestia, but you didn't mention any warning." "I will tell you girls after this party. I want all of you to know, but I don't want to ruin your fun." Twilight went upstairs and started studying to try and find an explanation other than world-eating eldritch horrors for a bear that is only half there. Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Ross, and Taki were on their way to the hospital. Ponyville General Hospital was on the other side of town from Twilight's home, so it took them a bit to get there. "Sugarcube, what was this warning you're so scared about?" "I was reading Clover the Clever's last spellbook when I saw a note in the margins, in a rough but similar writing to the rest of the book. Translated from the Old Equestrian it says roughly: '"These eldritch beings corrupt and eat and create worlds", was what the silver dragon told me. He came from another world to give this warning, prompting me to create this spellbook, which I now know is my last. Heed this warning: if you see signs of corruption in this world, they are coming. If you do not, this world will die.' When I tried to lift the bear my magic said it was only half there. As Clover's warning is the only explanation based on my research we must find a way to defeat these eldritch world-eaters." "World-eaters. Are you sure, darling?" asked Rarity. "Why are you so sure that it's that instead of any other explanation?" asked Ross. "I'm sure because I spent the entirety of Pinkies party -- sorry, Pinkie -- researching, trying to find a different explanation for that bear." A scream came from up ahead. The group ran towards it, finding its origins at the hospital. The hospital looked normal, its Germane façade pristine as always. Rainbow Dash came running out of the hospital, stopping once she saw her friends "Stay back. Are you your normal selves?" "Rainbow, we're ourselves. And we're as normal as we'll ever be," answered Twilight as she went and hugged her marefriend. "Why wouldn't we be our normal selves?" asked Fluttershy. "I concur with Fluttershy here. Why do you think we'd be different?" asked Rarity. "Because the hospitals gone crazy! There are cracks in the walls, which I'm still seeing now, that glowed! There were also rainbow crystals growing off the walls, and the other patients were going crazy!" Rainbow was crazed. She had wiggled out of Twilight's grip and her eyes were wide open. "I think that Rainbow must be correct, Twilight. I can see ponies hobbling out of the hospital," said Ross. Ponies were spewing forth from the hospital, hobbling and groaning as they walked towards Twilight and her friends. "Everyone, run to Twilight's place!" yelled Taki. Author's Note This chapter was hard to write. I wanted to introduce the horror elements of the story while also focusing on a different character, Twilight Sparkle. Next chapter will focus on Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash IRainbow Dash had had a bad day. Not only had she broken her wing, she was stuck in Ponyville General Hospital. Her bed was on the second floor of the hospital. The walls were sea blue, with green-painted wood paneling covering the bottom half of the wall. Rainbow was ignoring her surroundings, her snout stuck in Daring Do and the Cultists of Sentinel Hill, the latest entry in the Daring Do series. She had already read the first seven chapters, and was engrossed in the story. Daring walked into the village. It was a quaint place, located at the border between the Red Hills and the rainforest. Buildings constructed out of oxide clay and straw lined the road, but Daring was only interested in finding food and a place to sleep. She tried to ask the locals questions, but their Llamanese was unlike the language she had learned before coming to the Llama empire. Their limited communication lead Daring to a wall-less building, under which stood the largest Minotaur she had ever met. He had fiery red eyes and brown hair, and was holding a glowing chain. "These Llamas said to talk to you" Daring asked in accented Llamanese. "What use do I have with you?" The minotaurs body started to glow as he thus replied in Llamanese. "I'm looking for a cult near this village." "The Cosi worshippers?" The minotaur swore in an unidentifiable language. "Why do you want to meet those Llamanappers?" Rainbow's reading was interrupted by a knock on her door. She scrambled to get ready, tying herself up and landing on her back. Flustered by her embarrassing situation, she reluctantly invited the pony at the door in. A unicorn colt walked in that Rainbow had never seen before. He carried himself awkwardly. His mane was bright blue, his coat pinkish-gold, and his eyes dark-grey. He appeared to have just gotten his Cutie Mark, a rod with a snake rapped around it. He was carrying a tray on his back. A cup of apple juice, some tofu curry on rice, and a brownie were the foods on the tray. "Miss Dash, h-here's your food." "Thanks... Uh, what's your name?" "Healing Salve." "Thanks, Healing Salve." Healing Salve left the room as Rainbow stuck her snout into her food. The curry was tastier than hospital food had any right to be, but it was more than made up for by the nauseating taste of the apple juice. After finishing her lunch and her retching, Rainbow returned to her book. After an hour of reading a loud thump drew Rainbow out of her book. She looked around, trying to determine the direction the sound came from. After a few seconds of no sound, she returned to her book. *Thump.* Another noise filled Rainbows room. Rainbow got up and opened the door. Looking down the hallway both ways, she saw nopony. None of the lights were on except one flickering light. As Rainbow walked down the hallway, cracks spread along the walls. She took sharp intakes of breath, trying to see it as something other than the work of a monster. The doors she passed swung open and closed, creaking as they did so. "There's no reason to be scared, Rainbow. There's just nobody in this creepy hospital in the middle of the day." Rainbow turned and ran back to her room. She shut the door and flopped onto her bed. She buried herself in her blankets, and waited. No noises came for a couple minutes, so Rainbow stuck her head out of the covers. She looked around, and saw nothing and nopony except for some cracks in the wall. She chose to ignore the cracks and got out her book. "'Daring Do and the minotaur, Vaca de Ira, walked into the cultist's lair. Glowing cracks lined the walls of the temple, and rainbow crystals of bismuth grew out of the floor'-- wait, glowing cracks in the wall?" Rainbow stopped reading when she noticed a shining light around the edge of her book. She looked up to find herself surrounded by luminescent cracks in the walls. The fissures she had seen before had started glowing. Rainbow quickly packed her book into her saddlebags, and ran out of her room. The glow was still surrounding her as she ran down the hall toward the stairs. As she ran she saw one of the doctors walk out of a room in front of her. Rainbow stopped right in front of him. "Doc, I'm seeing glowing cracks in the wall and a light in the hallway keeps flickering and there's no pony around except you. What's going on?" "Changelings. I'm surrounded by changelings," the doctor whispered under his breath. "What was that, Doctor... uh, what's your name?" "My name is Pediatric Care, Changeling!" The doctor attempted to kick Rainbow with his forelegs, but she stepped back. The doctor's eyes looked crazed, as if he could not see Rainbow Dash in front of him. "I'm no changeling, doc. What's gotten into you?" "Get back here changeling!" His grimace transformed into a smile wider than anypony's could be. His assault continued, and Rainbow backed up, trying to get away from the madpony. "I don't want to hurt you, doc. But I will if you don't stop trying to murder me!" Rainbow felt like she was going mad. The doctor was trying to kill her; Glowing cracks surrounded her; the hospital was empty and dark. The mad doctor attempted to push her towards the corner, but she noticed and decided to buck him in the face. *Crack!* Doctor Care's jaw broke, and consciousness left the him. After checking that Doctor Care was still alive, Rainbow decided that she needed to leave the hospital as soon as possible. If one pony had gone murderously mad inside the hospital, others probably had as well. She went down the hallway to the first room with front-facing windows, confident that she could manage a short flight on her broken wing. She walked inside, shutting the door behind her. The room was a double room divided into two by a curtain. Rainbow stealthily wended her way to the window, trying not to attract attention. The only light in the room came through the cracks in the wall. Prismatic crystals grew out of the floor and ceiling, reflecting the light in a variety of colors onto the rest of the room. As Rainbow made to open the window, she stepped on a crystal. *Crrrrack.* The noise echoed around the room, wilting to silence. A group of ponies, five fellow patients, came out from behind the curtain. Rainbow almost thought that she had found help, but they were hobbling along, groaning. She panicked, struggling to open the window without using her flight. Failing to open the window, Rainbow decided to try her luck at the front door. She ran past the ponies, barely avoiding a bite from the lead pony. The zomponies continued to groan as she ran down the hallway and down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs she found Healing Salve lying on the floor in a pool of blood. At the horrifying sight of a pony with a bashed in skull she blanched, almost throwing up on the floor. She held her barf in, and continued to run to the entrance of the hospital. A lesser pony might have given up, but she was Rainbow "Danger" Dash. She was not about to admit defeat. Once at the entrance hall she noticed a large group of ponies milling about the entrance. She continued her run hoping beyond hope to make it out of Ponyville General Hospital, or Ponyville General Insane Asylum as she thought it should be called. She ran towards the wall, using a chair next to it as a springboard. She jumped over the heads of the ponies, and ran out the door of the hospital. Rainbow was hyperventilating as she tried to calm herself down: "You're safe. Those zomponies won't hurt you." As she used a breathing exercise Twilight had taught her, she noticed that the cracks she saw earlier covered the ground about her. This panicked her more, so she screamed and ran. As she ran she saw her friends heading towards the hospital and stopped. Her friends were with two creatures that looked almost like minotaurs, but she was more frightened by the possibility of them being zomponies. "Stay back. Are you your normal selves?" Rainbow asked as she continued to hyperventilate. "Rainbow, we're ourselves. And we're as normal as we'll ever be," answered Twilight as she went and hugged her marefriend. Rainbow squeezed Twilight, trying to avoid crying. "Why wouldn't we be our normal selves?" asked Fluttershy. "I concur with Fluttershy here. Why do you think we'd be different?" asked Rarity. Rainbow wormed her way out of Twilight's grip and said, "Because the hospitals gone crazy! There are cracks in the walls, which I'm still seeing now, that glowed! There were also rainbow crystals growing off the walls, and the other patients were going crazy!" "I think that Rainbow must be correct, Twilight. I can see ponies hobbling out of the hospital," said said the taller of the two minotaur-ish things. Zomponies were spewing forth from the hospital, hobbling and groaning as they walked towards Twilight and her friends. "Everyone, run to Twilight's place!" yelled the smaller almost minotaur. Twilight formed a shield bubble around the hospital. "There is no need for anypony to panic!" Twilight said as she started hyperventilating. Rainbow put her wing over Twilight, calming her down. "Rainbow will explain herself, and we will walk calmly to the library." Rainbow put on her best bravado face "I was reading the latest Daring Do when I noticed that the hospital was empty. Being the brave pony I am, I decided to investigate the lack of light. As I walked down the empty and dark hallway, I noticed cracks in the walls around me. I decided that there was nothing out here, and went back to read. As I read the cracks in the wall began to glow, so I went out to find a doctor or a nurse. I ran into Doctor Care, but he thought I was a changeling. He attacked me and I fought back and defeated him. "I tried to escape through a window, but a group of zomponies made that impossible. I ran to the front door, but as I went I saw the nurse that brought my lunch lying dead on the floor. I almost puked at the gory sight, but I continued to run towards the front door. I did a sweet jump off a chair, and found myself out here. I saw that the glowing cracks were on the ground, so I ran to find y'all."
PrologueA teenage Hispanic boy, Ross Ricardo Ramirez-Martinez, went to his best friend's tree house to kick off their weekend camping trip. His best friend, Taki, was waiting with the rope in hand when Ross arrived. Taki, short for Takiji Shinkai, was a short Japanese seventeen-year-old girl, with short, dark red hair. "What's the password, Ross?" Ross confusedly looked up at Taki and said, "What password?" "The password I've told you every time I've seen you this week. You're not comin' up here without it," she said, lowering the rope for her to climb down. "Are you ready for our camping trip?" asked Taki as she climbed down. "Yes. I got the stuff you asked me to get," answered Ross. "Everything?" "Yes, I even still have your list. It's right here, in my pocket." Ross and Taki rode their bikes out of town towards Farmer Joe's. The farmer was a cross sort, and neither Ross nor Taki wished to incur his wrath. They made careful to get on the trailhead without crossing the view from the farmhouse. The trailhead was on the top of a hill next to the Red River. The view was breathtaking; from this vantage they could see the entirety of the Ghost Forest. The trail they took passed through a loose grove of broad-leaved trees. On the ground there were brown and orange mushrooms, small-leafed vines, blue flowers, red roses, and small, double-leaved ferns. On the trees grew a variety of vines, and mosses of green and brown and blue. A blue butterfly, with hints of purple and yellow on its wings, distracted Taki as it flew past. She recognized it as a Jeffrey Butterfly, and moved to capture it. It landed on a rose. Taki stalked closer. It flapped its wings. Taki was over its head. It stuck its proboscis into the flower. Taki moved her hands to capture it, but it flew away before she could catch it. "Nice catch there, Taki!" "Oh, shut up." "I could have caught that with my eyes closed." "Only if it was a football moving at over forty. You couldn't have caught it if you tried." Their argument soon devolved into "Yes I could" and "no you couldn't" as they followed the trail. The trail meandered a little as they went, though its overall motion was to the right. They eventually hit a fork in the road, one mile down the trail. Left lead to a meadow, and right deeper into the forest. They interrupted their argument to concur: "Let's go right!" They continued down the trail. The side of the trail to the left changed. It started level with the trail, but slowly rose up until there was a thirty foot cliff to their left. The right side did the opposite, transitioning into a forty foot cliff downward. The cliff was damp, and had mosses and lichen growing out of it. They reached a waterfall. This waterfall had rocks that jut out of it, splitting the water fall as it fell. Ross and Taki looked down the fall, and saw a beaver pond. "Is this the spot?" asked Taki. "Yes. Sonia said that no one has ever went down these falls before," Ross said excitedly. Ross and Taki set up the belay, and go down the cliff over the beaver pond. They walk out of the pond, which at its deepest was only a foot taller than Taki. They set up for lunch. Ross said, "I'm gonna go and get firewood. Can you get the firepit ready?" Taki nodded and started gathering rocks for the pit while Ross set out to gather firewood. When Ross walked into Ghost Forest the sunlight quickly left, leaving him blanketed in a deep twilight. The dark brown trees were tall and bulky, and close enough to each other that their roots overlapped each other. Their leaves, varying from long pine needles to broad oak leaves, started thirteen feet up. Ross was not enjoying the beauty of these trees, nor was he scared of the shapes in the shadows. He was focused on gathering wood. It was in this state that he was startled by a fast movement. He looked up, and saw a fuchsia blur running into the woods. His first response was to run after it, but he maintained his self control "Taki," Ross yelled as he walked back into camp. "What is it?" "I saw this weird fuchsia thing run past me. I think it was an animal, but I didn't see more detail than it's color." "Want to investigate it?" "Yes!" Ross looked excited, and started to pack his pack. Taki looked at him and laughed. "After lunch, of course. What did you bring?" She said as she started the fire. Ross looked disappointed as he rummaged through his pack. "I have oatmeal and jerky." "Let's eat the oatmeal since we have the fire." They guzzled down the oatmeal, both excited at the prospect of an adventure. When they finished they threw their backpacks on and stomped out the fire. "Let's go," said both of them at once. They left as they fell into a game of Jinx, both trying to catch the other in a jinx so they could punch the other in the arm. "Ow," said Ross as he rubbed the spot Taki punched him in, "this is going to bruise, you know." "I know. Where did you see that blur?" "I saw it about here." "Jehoshaphat!" exclaimed Taki at the sight of a giant green beetle on Ross's head. She threw off her backpack and with one swat her backpack smashed the beetle into a greenish goo. "What was that for!" "A bug was on your head. Now stop lollygagging and let's find this thing!" They headed deeper into the woods, the trees growing taller and wider the farther they went in. After about an hour they saw an enormous redwood tree. This tree was huge, nearly fifty feet in diameter and five hundred feet tall. A large hollow in the tree was visible from where Ross and Taki stood. "Should we go in?" asked Ross. "Yeah. It might be whatever-you-saw's home!" They walked into a large hole in the tree. When they looked up they could see no ceiling as far up as they could see, which was not far with their flashlights. Ahead they heard a small growl. They walked towards the growl and a fuchsia fox ran up to them. It had big ears, fluffy fur, and small feet. It walked towards them, and sniffed them. "It's so cute! We should name it," squeed Ross "Fuchsia!" "Aw, no fair. You sniped me. Good name, though." They ooed and awwed over it, before noticing that it was walking towards the center of the tree. A swing of their flashlights lighted an unanchored ladder at the center. "I think it wants us to follow," said Taki. They followed the fox up the ladder, still curious about what this fox was. "What do you think this fox is?" asked Taki "I think it's a nature spirit of some kind. You know, like the ones we learned about in humanities. Where do you think it's leading us?" asked Ross. "Her home, or somewhere near there." "How do you know that?" "I don't. I just feel that it's leading us somewhere that is important to her." Ross and Taki had lost sight of Fuchsia hours before they reached the top of the ladder. There was a trapdoor overhead. "How did Fuchsia get through this trapdoor?" asked Taki. "I dunno. It climbed the ladder, maybe it can open doors," answered Ross. They went through and closed the trapdoor. The trapdoor had led to a cavern. The roof of the cavern was covered in constellations of glowworms. Unadorned columns 500 feet tall connected the floor and ceiling. The floor was wrought stone bricks the size of semi trailers, with mosses and lichens and cracks on and in them. This floor was interrupted by a large oaken compass rose fifty feet in diameter, which is where Ross and Taki were setting up camp. "This place is awesome! How did we get down here?" asked Ross "I don't think we should question that. This is obviously supernatural." "How is it obviously supernatural?" Ross asked sarcastically. "We climbed up a tree into a cavern! Of course, we should sleep before exploring. I for one am exhausted," said Taki. They went to bed and had dreams of infinite worlds. They had woken up, though whether it was morning was impossible to tell without a sky. They got ready for the day, changing behind the massive stone columns. Their morning camp routine was interrupted when an Asian woman with fluffy, fuchsia hair appeared in their camp. "Who are you? Where did you come from?" asked Ross. "You named me Fuchsia, though others might know me by other names. I came from Ghost Forest," Fuchsia said, her voice light and airy. "Why did you bring us here? You're the fox that led us here?" asked Taki. "You both are the first humans I've seen in a long time. You both desire adventure? I can lead to a great one." "How did you know that?" asked Ross. "You followed me. The last to do so desired to be a hero, and now I know that the two of you do as well." Ross and Taki looked at each other, and knew that they could not run away from the chance of a lifetime. "Where do we go?" "East, until you find a compass rose divided into six colors." They went east for miles, passing over two compass roses before arriving. This compass rose was divided into six colors: lavender, red, orange, purple, blue, and pink. Ross and Taki went down the ladder, finding themselves climbing down a ladder along a bookshelf. They got down and looked around. They saw a staircase that led to a second floor, and a door that led outside. They walked outside and saw tens of ponies, in a variety of pastel colors. The ponies went about their day, ignoring the two humans that had walked out of the library. As they they stood, watching the multitude mingle, a lavender pony with a horn walked past them, its nose stuck in a book covered in runes. "Hi!" said Ross. The unicorn looked up, said something unintelligible, and ran inside. Author's Note Hello everypony! I am Magenta Hooves. This is my first fanfiction, so I hope y'all like it. This one is based on a recent GURPS campaign I ran for my cousins, thought in their game the fictional world Ross and Taki went to was the Whoniverse. I made the cover art myself, in about 20 minutes. If any of y'all have better ideas for it, please give me them.
Twilight Sparkle ITwilight Sparkle had had a long day: Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders had blown up the Apple's shed trying to become Cutie Mark Crusaders Demolition Experts, Rainbow had broken her wing trying a move used in pegasus hoofball, and Twilight had been assigned to study the last spells of Clover the Clever. It was on her way home that she saw a note in the margin of Clover's spellbook. This note appeared hoofwritten, scribbled in at the last moment. A noise from above startled her before she could read the note. She looked up to see two creatures standing above her, appearing almost like hairless minotaurs, but the head was too different. "What are you?" Twilight asked the creatures. When she received no answer, she ran inside, hoping to find a translation spell. "Spike!" She looked around for him before remembering that Spike was helping the crusaders rebuild the shed, so she would have to find the book herself. As she looked for the book, the creatures walked back into the library, chatting amongst themselves. She found the book in the 133-134 section of the books, and took it out. This spell was a complex one, but she was sure she could cast it. She started chanting under her breath, channeling magic through her horn towards the creatures. Her eyes started to glow as she wove a pattern connecting their language centers. This spell did this because otherwise it would create an intelligent, magical construct, and it needed the processing power and complexity of a sapient mind. Her vision struggled, turning black on the edges. She felt a large g-force, and she was glad for the gravity training that Rainbow had made her go through. She struggled to the end of the spell, her ability to speak nearly gone and her body almost collapsed, but she had successfully cast the spell. "What are you two?" She walked towards the bipeds, nearly falling on her face when she stopped in front of them. "We're humans. How're we able to understand you? You're a unicorn, right?" asked the shorter of the two bipeds. This being was close to twice Twilight's height, with a clump of dark red hair on top of its head. It was wearing clothes: short blue denim bottoms, a plain red t-shirt, and black shoes. "A translation spell. Yes, I'm a unicorn. You have unicorns where you come from?" She was answered by the taller of the humans. They had dark brown hair on the top of their head, and they wore denim bottoms with an orange t-shirt. "No, they're mythological." Twilight was about to make a reply when someone called through the door. "Bon-Bon was at Sugarcube Corner and she told me that you summoned two beings from another dimension. She said all of this calmly, which I guess makes sense because you've been experimenting with the summoning of demons for nearly half a year -- by the way, is Fred home already? I meant to give him a cake before you sent him back -- anyway, I came here to meet these beings you summoned, I'm gonna throw a party welcoming them to Ponyville. Are these them?" She spouted this entire paragraph before Twilight could even get a word in edgewise. "Pinkie, I did not summon them." Pinkie almost opened her mouth to talk, but Twilight continued talking: "Yes, these beings are probably what Bon-Bon was talking about. I was going to ask them how they got here when you walked in. And Fred has been sent back to Tartarus, sorry for not telling you sooner." Twilight turned to face the two humans and asked, "How did the two of you get here?" "We were on a camping trip when we made our way here. By the way, I'm Taki and --" "-- I'm Ross. We hiked into Ghost Forest, the largest forest near our town. It's not two long of a hike, only about one and a half miles to where we planned to camp. I went searching for firewood, and while looking I saw a fuchsia blur. I went back to our camp, hoping Taki wanted to go after it and find an adventure." "I did. What we found was an enormous hollow tree, and when we went in we found the blur. It was a cute little fox, though later we discovered that she was some sort of nature spirit or goddess. It led us up a ladder that was at the center of that tree, and we came out a trapdoor into a cavern. Fuchsia, that was the name we had given the fox, came in a human form and led us to your world with a promise of adventure." Twilight had many questions, but Pinkie started talking first. "You made it here on your own. Well, with the help of this Fuchsia -- do you have any idea why she brought you here? You probably don't, I guess, considering you didn't mention talking to her much. Anyway, someone needs to show you round town before your..." Twilight stuck her hoof in Pinkies mouth. "I think you might be from a different universe. I'm going to have to find a spell to check your magic -- I've not done magical diagnostics for years -- so you should go on this tour with Pinkie." Twilight had set up a study station at the Café. Books on magical diagnostics lined the table, but her interest was on the note in Clover the Clever's last spellbook. The spell next to the note was a simple one, though Twilight wondered why anyone would want to use their life force to power a spell. The note was far more interesting to her, and it read as follows, once translated from Old Equestrian: "These eldritch beings corrupt and eat and create worlds", was what the silver dragon told me. He came from another world to give this warning, prompting me to create this spellbook, which I now know is my last. Heed this warning: if you see signs of corruption in this world, they are coming. If you do not, this world will die. As Twilight read this warning she became increasingly scared. She muttered under her breath, "I haven't seen any signs of corruption, though why else would those humans have come here. I should check for signs, starting at my home." "Miss Sparkle, what are you going to order?" Asked the waiter. "Egg salad sandwich with the cola." She immediately got back to studying, finding in Clover's last spellbook spells of supreme power. They ranged from a simple fireball spell to methods for the summoning of powerful automatons. She wondered how these could be used to fight world destroying monsters, but she would figure that out later. Lunch had been brought during her studying, and she was not about to waste it. After lunch she looked up a basic magical diagnostic spell as she left the café. She decided that before she would start checking for corruption she would find Pinkie, Taki, and Ross. She walked down the street, waving at the various shopkeepers as she walked to Sugarcube Corner. She started to hear screams behind her, so she turned around. A bear the size of a two story building was in the middle of town, terrorizing the market-goers. It was going to eat somepony, so Twilight lit her horn, focusing all her magic on lifting the bear. Her magic reported back to her, telling her that the bear was only half there. She tried to hold on to the half-gone bear, but it resisted the hold of her magic. Her magic responded in turn, snapping the bears neck as she tried to find a way to hold it. Twilight fell to the ground, crying. Applejack ran over from the knocked-over applecart and hugged Twilight. "I killed it. I meant only to take it back to the Everfree, but it wasn't there and my magic just snapped its neck." "Now there, sugarcube. It was meanin' ta eat us, but ya made sure it couldn't. You also didn't mean to kill it, did you?" "No," responded Twilight. "There ya go. Ya meant ta show it mercy, and that's what matters. You okay, sugarcube?" "Maybe. I will come to you if I don't feel well, okay?" Twilight struggled to stand, so Applejack helped her up. Twilight walked towards Sugarcube Corner before decided to head home to get some rest. She took the long way home, hoping to calm her thoughts that were running wild, and by the time she reached the library she had come to the conclusion that the bear might have been corrupted. She did not like this answer, but there was not any other explanation for it being partially there. When Twilight walked into her house dubstep almost blasted her out of the doorway. Pinkie had set up this party. A banner welcoming Taki and Ross to Ponyville hung over the bookshelves, DJ PON-3 was mixing the music, and a buffet had been set up. Most of Ponyville was here, dancing and talking with one another. As Twilight looked over the room she saw Fluttershy in a corner talking to Big Macintosh, Applejack dancing badly with Rarity, Ross and Taki conversing with Bon-Bon and Lyra, and Pinkie walking right towards her. "Hi, Twilight! Isn't this party great! It's a bit sad that Dash couldn't come seeing as she's in the hospital, but I just couldn't wait to hold this party welcoming Ross and Taki to Ponyville! Wait, is it Ross and Taki or Taki and Ross, I just can't decide which one sounds better, which is kind of weird. Wait, you look down in the dumps. Is it because Rainbows not here or -- wait, Applejack told me about how you saved her and Carrot Top and the Flower sisters from an enormous rabid bear by killing it, which I guess could ruin your mood considering you've never killed anything before. She said she comforted you, so do you want a cupcake?" Pinkie had pulled a cupcake out of her mane and held it out for Twilight. "Pinkie, I will take that cupcake, but I am not just sad because I killed that bear. I'm also anxious, because that bear has given me evidence that Clover the Clever's warning I read earlier today has came true." Twilight took the offered cupcake, eating it in one bite. "What warning are you talking about, Twilight? I mean, I know you've been assigned to study his last spells by Princess Celestia, but you didn't mention any warning." "I will tell you girls after this party. I want all of you to know, but I don't want to ruin your fun." Twilight went upstairs and started studying to try and find an explanation other than world-eating eldritch horrors for a bear that is only half there. Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Ross, and Taki were on their way to the hospital. Ponyville General Hospital was on the other side of town from Twilight's home, so it took them a bit to get there. "Sugarcube, what was this warning you're so scared about?" "I was reading Clover the Clever's last spellbook when I saw a note in the margins, in a rough but similar writing to the rest of the book. Translated from the Old Equestrian it says roughly: '"These eldritch beings corrupt and eat and create worlds", was what the silver dragon told me. He came from another world to give this warning, prompting me to create this spellbook, which I now know is my last. Heed this warning: if you see signs of corruption in this world, they are coming. If you do not, this world will die.' When I tried to lift the bear my magic said it was only half there. As Clover's warning is the only explanation based on my research we must find a way to defeat these eldritch world-eaters." "World-eaters. Are you sure, darling?" asked Rarity. "Why are you so sure that it's that instead of any other explanation?" asked Ross. "I'm sure because I spent the entirety of Pinkies party -- sorry, Pinkie -- researching, trying to find a different explanation for that bear." A scream came from up ahead. The group ran towards it, finding its origins at the hospital. The hospital looked normal, its Germane façade pristine as always. Rainbow Dash came running out of the hospital, stopping once she saw her friends "Stay back. Are you your normal selves?" "Rainbow, we're ourselves. And we're as normal as we'll ever be," answered Twilight as she went and hugged her marefriend. "Why wouldn't we be our normal selves?" asked Fluttershy. "I concur with Fluttershy here. Why do you think we'd be different?" asked Rarity. "Because the hospitals gone crazy! There are cracks in the walls, which I'm still seeing now, that glowed! There were also rainbow crystals growing off the walls, and the other patients were going crazy!" Rainbow was crazed. She had wiggled out of Twilight's grip and her eyes were wide open. "I think that Rainbow must be correct, Twilight. I can see ponies hobbling out of the hospital," said Ross. Ponies were spewing forth from the hospital, hobbling and groaning as they walked towards Twilight and her friends. "Everyone, run to Twilight's place!" yelled Taki. Author's Note This chapter was hard to write. I wanted to introduce the horror elements of the story while also focusing on a different character, Twilight Sparkle. Next chapter will focus on Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash IRainbow Dash had had a bad day. Not only had she broken her wing, she was stuck in Ponyville General Hospital. Her bed was on the second floor of the hospital. The walls were sea blue, with green-painted wood paneling covering the bottom half of the wall. Rainbow was ignoring her surroundings, her snout stuck in Daring Do and the Cultists of Sentinel Hill, the latest entry in the Daring Do series. She had already read the first seven chapters, and was engrossed in the story. Daring walked into the village. It was a quaint place, located at the border between the Red Hills and the rainforest. Buildings constructed out of oxide clay and straw lined the road, but Daring was only interested in finding food and a place to sleep. She tried to ask the locals questions, but their Llamanese was unlike the language she had learned before coming to the Llama empire. Their limited communication lead Daring to a wall-less building, under which stood the largest Minotaur she had ever met. He had fiery red eyes and brown hair, and was holding a glowing chain. "These Llamas said to talk to you" Daring asked in accented Llamanese. "What use do I have with you?" The minotaurs body started to glow as he thus replied in Llamanese. "I'm looking for a cult near this village." "The Cosi worshippers?" The minotaur swore in an unidentifiable language. "Why do you want to meet those Llamanappers?" Rainbow's reading was interrupted by a knock on her door. She scrambled to get ready, tying herself up and landing on her back. Flustered by her embarrassing situation, she reluctantly invited the pony at the door in. A unicorn colt walked in that Rainbow had never seen before. He carried himself awkwardly. His mane was bright blue, his coat pinkish-gold, and his eyes dark-grey. He appeared to have just gotten his Cutie Mark, a rod with a snake rapped around it. He was carrying a tray on his back. A cup of apple juice, some tofu curry on rice, and a brownie were the foods on the tray. "Miss Dash, h-here's your food." "Thanks... Uh, what's your name?" "Healing Salve." "Thanks, Healing Salve." Healing Salve left the room as Rainbow stuck her snout into her food. The curry was tastier than hospital food had any right to be, but it was more than made up for by the nauseating taste of the apple juice. After finishing her lunch and her retching, Rainbow returned to her book. After an hour of reading a loud thump drew Rainbow out of her book. She looked around, trying to determine the direction the sound came from. After a few seconds of no sound, she returned to her book. *Thump.* Another noise filled Rainbows room. Rainbow got up and opened the door. Looking down the hallway both ways, she saw nopony. None of the lights were on except one flickering light. As Rainbow walked down the hallway, cracks spread along the walls. She took sharp intakes of breath, trying to see it as something other than the work of a monster. The doors she passed swung open and closed, creaking as they did so. "There's no reason to be scared, Rainbow. There's just nobody in this creepy hospital in the middle of the day." Rainbow turned and ran back to her room. She shut the door and flopped onto her bed. She buried herself in her blankets, and waited. No noises came for a couple minutes, so Rainbow stuck her head out of the covers. She looked around, and saw nothing and nopony except for some cracks in the wall. She chose to ignore the cracks and got out her book. "'Daring Do and the minotaur, Vaca de Ira, walked into the cultist's lair. Glowing cracks lined the walls of the temple, and rainbow crystals of bismuth grew out of the floor'-- wait, glowing cracks in the wall?" Rainbow stopped reading when she noticed a shining light around the edge of her book. She looked up to find herself surrounded by luminescent cracks in the walls. The fissures she had seen before had started glowing. Rainbow quickly packed her book into her saddlebags, and ran out of her room. The glow was still surrounding her as she ran down the hall toward the stairs. As she ran she saw one of the doctors walk out of a room in front of her. Rainbow stopped right in front of him. "Doc, I'm seeing glowing cracks in the wall and a light in the hallway keeps flickering and there's no pony around except you. What's going on?" "Changelings. I'm surrounded by changelings," the doctor whispered under his breath. "What was that, Doctor... uh, what's your name?" "My name is Pediatric Care, Changeling!" The doctor attempted to kick Rainbow with his forelegs, but she stepped back. The doctor's eyes looked crazed, as if he could not see Rainbow Dash in front of him. "I'm no changeling, doc. What's gotten into you?" "Get back here changeling!" His grimace transformed into a smile wider than anypony's could be. His assault continued, and Rainbow backed up, trying to get away from the madpony. "I don't want to hurt you, doc. But I will if you don't stop trying to murder me!" Rainbow felt like she was going mad. The doctor was trying to kill her; Glowing cracks surrounded her; the hospital was empty and dark. The mad doctor attempted to push her towards the corner, but she noticed and decided to buck him in the face. *Crack!* Doctor Care's jaw broke, and consciousness left the him. After checking that Doctor Care was still alive, Rainbow decided that she needed to leave the hospital as soon as possible. If one pony had gone murderously mad inside the hospital, others probably had as well. She went down the hallway to the first room with front-facing windows, confident that she could manage a short flight on her broken wing. She walked inside, shutting the door behind her. The room was a double room divided into two by a curtain. Rainbow stealthily wended her way to the window, trying not to attract attention. The only light in the room came through the cracks in the wall. Prismatic crystals grew out of the floor and ceiling, reflecting the light in a variety of colors onto the rest of the room. As Rainbow made to open the window, she stepped on a crystal. *Crrrrack.* The noise echoed around the room, wilting to silence. A group of ponies, five fellow patients, came out from behind the curtain. Rainbow almost thought that she had found help, but they were hobbling along, groaning. She panicked, struggling to open the window without using her flight. Failing to open the window, Rainbow decided to try her luck at the front door. She ran past the ponies, barely avoiding a bite from the lead pony. The zomponies continued to groan as she ran down the hallway and down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs she found Healing Salve lying on the floor in a pool of blood. At the horrifying sight of a pony with a bashed in skull she blanched, almost throwing up on the floor. She held her barf in, and continued to run to the entrance of the hospital. A lesser pony might have given up, but she was Rainbow "Danger" Dash. She was not about to admit defeat. Once at the entrance hall she noticed a large group of ponies milling about the entrance. She continued her run hoping beyond hope to make it out of Ponyville General Hospital, or Ponyville General Insane Asylum as she thought it should be called. She ran towards the wall, using a chair next to it as a springboard. She jumped over the heads of the ponies, and ran out the door of the hospital. Rainbow was hyperventilating as she tried to calm herself down: "You're safe. Those zomponies won't hurt you." As she used a breathing exercise Twilight had taught her, she noticed that the cracks she saw earlier covered the ground about her. This panicked her more, so she screamed and ran. As she ran she saw her friends heading towards the hospital and stopped. Her friends were with two creatures that looked almost like minotaurs, but she was more frightened by the possibility of them being zomponies. "Stay back. Are you your normal selves?" Rainbow asked as she continued to hyperventilate. "Rainbow, we're ourselves. And we're as normal as we'll ever be," answered Twilight as she went and hugged her marefriend. Rainbow squeezed Twilight, trying to avoid crying. "Why wouldn't we be our normal selves?" asked Fluttershy. "I concur with Fluttershy here. Why do you think we'd be different?" asked Rarity. Rainbow wormed her way out of Twilight's grip and said, "Because the hospitals gone crazy! There are cracks in the walls, which I'm still seeing now, that glowed! There were also rainbow crystals growing off the walls, and the other patients were going crazy!" "I think that Rainbow must be correct, Twilight. I can see ponies hobbling out of the hospital," said said the taller of the two minotaur-ish things. Zomponies were spewing forth from the hospital, hobbling and groaning as they walked towards Twilight and her friends. "Everyone, run to Twilight's place!" yelled the smaller almost minotaur. Twilight formed a shield bubble around the hospital. "There is no need for anypony to panic!" Twilight said as she started hyperventilating. Rainbow put her wing over Twilight, calming her down. "Rainbow will explain herself, and we will walk calmly to the library." Rainbow put on her best bravado face "I was reading the latest Daring Do when I noticed that the hospital was empty. Being the brave pony I am, I decided to investigate the lack of light. As I walked down the empty and dark hallway, I noticed cracks in the walls around me. I decided that there was nothing out here, and went back to read. As I read the cracks in the wall began to glow, so I went out to find a doctor or a nurse. I ran into Doctor Care, but he thought I was a changeling. He attacked me and I fought back and defeated him. "I tried to escape through a window, but a group of zomponies made that impossible. I ran to the front door, but as I went I saw the nurse that brought my lunch lying dead on the floor. I almost puked at the gory sight, but I continued to run towards the front door. I did a sweet jump off a chair, and found myself out here. I saw that the glowing cracks were on the ground, so I ran to find y'all."
