Eventide

Chapter 2: The Transients

by Lan

Two cloaked figures strode across the cheery plaza in the middle of the town. Swarming around them was a horde of ponies going about their daily lives, unaware of the unnameable horror that strode mere feet away. None of them seemed to realize that they had never seen the pair before, too concerned over their own lives to take any notice of the environment surrounding them. That was, until a curiously happy pink pony bounced up in their direction. The pony did a double take when her eyes fell upon the gloomy pair.

She rushed up to them, her smile becoming impossibly larger with every step she drew closer to the two. “Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie and you must be new here in town!” She extended one sticky hoof to the pair of surprised ponies.

Slumber responded almost instantly, shaking Pinkie's hoof, “Hello, Pinkie Pie. I am Shut Eye. It's a pleasure to finally meet somepony in this town. This here is my husband. Say hello, dear.”

The stallion replied with his pseudonym, “Dusk.” He did not shake Pinkie's hoof.

Slumber sighed, “We recently acquired a home nearby and thought we'd greet the locals. Would you mind telling us about this fine town?”

“Absolutely!” the pink pony hooted. “This here is the marketplace. We've got a costume shop, bookshop, bowling alley, joke shop, jewelry shop, but you can see all that from here. Over there” she pointed a hoof “is Sugarcube Corner! That's where I live with Mr and Mrs Cake. Be sure to stop by and I'll stock you up with all kinds of oh-so-yummy treats! Over there is Carousel Boutique, where my friend Rarity works. If you want some new clothes, just stop on by. Down that road is Sweet Apple Acres, where my friend Applejack and her family works on their apple farm. Over by the Everfree Forest is my friend Fluttershy – she takes care of animals, so if you want a pet, you should go see her. And over there is the library where my friend Twilight lives. If you want to check out a book, see her.”

Pinkie went on and on about the other sights and where to go for what. Slumber took careful note of all these details, but her “husband” didn't seem to pay much attention. “And since you're new in town, I'll have to throw you a party!” Pinkie jumped up in the air slightly at her last statement gleefully.

Slumber immediately exclaimed, “Oh that's awfully nice, but-”

“We'll have streamers and balloons and cupcakes and music and-”

“We don't live in town, Pinkie, we're just visiting!” Slumber interrupted loudly.

The pink pony looked like she'd just been stabbed. Her eyes grew wide and solemn, “But... But... I was gonna throw you a party. Don't you like parties?”

Feeling slightly guilty over making Pinkie upset, Slumber responded, “Well, we've never really been to any-”

“WHAT!?” shouted Pinkie, jumping ten feet in the air, drawing a few curious looks from the nearby citizens. “Then we've got to throw you a super-duper-first-party-ever party! I'll have everything set up by tonight! Just come to Sugarcube Corner when everything is ready! Everypony will be there!”

Before Slumber could say another word, the pink ball of energy bounced away faster than she would have thought possible. “I guess we're going to meet everyone.”

The stallion next to her grunted, “We shouldn't.”

“I know, but we can't draw unnecessary attention to ourselves by not showing up at a party thrown in our honor.”

“Fine," he sighed. "I guess we'll go.”

~~~~~~~

They spent the rest of the day visiting some of the sights Pinkie told them about, but did not really talk to very many ponies. When they finally arrived at Sugarcube Corner, the sun was beginning to go down and they were flogged with a heavy techno beat. The entire building, as well as part of the street, seemed to bounce with the music, if it could be called that. The couple paused for a moment, exchanging puzzled looks with each other before proceeding into the gingerbread house.

The inside was a bright kaleidoscope of color, with the promised streamers and balloons decorating every inch of space inside the tiny building. There were bowls of variously-colored drinks placed all around the store, and platters of very colorful cupcakes and other sugary sweets that would rot the couple's teeth to the core. Behind the counter, a pony with a large, electric blue mane was sitting at a DJ station, her goggles pulled over her eyes and a large grin plastered on her face. The floor was covered in ponies, some standing upright, dancing to the wild music, some talking to each other on the ground. There was no space for moving, but the couple somehow made their way inside as a familiar pink blur rushed up to them as if the crowd did not exist.

“There you are! I was wondering when you would show up! Isn't this party great? It's got everything a party needs! Streamers, balloons, cupcakes...” The pony counted off on invisible fingers. “Let me introduce you to my friends. Wait! Everypony here is my friend. Wait! Let me introduce you to my close friends!” She reached into the mass and pulled out an orange pony with a yellow mane and a cowboy hat on her head. “This is Applejack! I told you about her.” Her cutie mark was a bunch of apples.

The slightly shaken-up pony paused for a second, rattled her head as if shaking off a layer of dust, “It's nice ta meetcha!”

Slumber responding, “The pleasure's all ours. I'm Shut Eye.” After some brief introductions, Pinkie proceeded to show them her other friends, all of whom responded similarly to Applejack without any real conversation. At last, they worked their way across the rampant dancing that threatened to take their heads off on several occasions.

The pony they arrived at last was a purple pony with a dark blue mane that had a pinkish red stripe down the middle and a strange cutie mark made of stars. “And this is Twilight!” The pony looked very busy and out of place at the party. She had picked a table in the corner, where a large number of papers and books were scattered. Pinkie leaned to the couple and whispered, but loudly enough that they could hear over the music, “She's trying to solve a mystery.”

“What kind of mystery?” inquired Slumber, already knowing the answer,

“Someponies were found murdered the other day.”

“Oh, how awful!” exclaimed Slumber innocently, though in the back of her mind she hid a burst of laughter over her deceit.

Pinkie tapped Twilight on the shoulder and pleaded, “Twi, meet the new ponies in town.”

Twilight stopped writing, putting the pencil down with a clak, and turned to the couple, her eyes tired. “Hello –” she started before looking at “Dusk.” Her eyes grew wide, losing their tired appearance, and her mouth dropped open at the sight of the haunting figure before her. Her eyes darted from his blood-red cutie mark to his fiery eyes for several seconds. Suspicion gripped her mind, followed rapidly by fear. She grabbed everything on her table and sprinted along the wall to the back door only a few feet away. “SorryPinkieI'vegottogoseeyalater,” she squealed.

Quick to defuse any suspicion in Pinkie's mind, Slumber declared “That mare must have forgotten to do something important back home. Maybe she didn't turn her stove off.”

Pinkie accepted this notion and turned back to the two, “Well that's everypony. Enjoy the party!” She bounded off to another room, either to make more food or to bother somepony else.

“Dusk” turned to Slumber, “I think we should leave and take care of this... situation.”

Slumber nodded in agreement and the two proceeded out the back door Twilight had sprinted through moments prior. “Pinkie said she lives at the library. Let's go there first.” The two proceeded down the streets, now once more ensnared by night's shadow, at a slow, steady pace. The pony could not get very far, even if she did not go to the library.

“We should try talking to her first. If the pony investigating is also found dead, it would raise a lot of suspicion over us, especially after the way she reacted.” Slumber theorized.

“We will try, but I doubt we will not have to kill her.” the stallion replied.

Presently, they arrived at the library, a building carved out of an enormous tree. All the lights were off on the inside, but that did not mean the terrified pony was not home. Slumber was the one who knocked on the door, a light tap that was audible, but not too loud. Too much force would scare the pony away. After half a minute with no response, she tapped again. “Please let us in. We just want to talk to you.” Still no response. Slumber tapped again, “Twilight! Please.”

Finally, a small, squeaky voice from inside the house questioned, “What do you want to talk about?”

Slumber grinned at this. Her plan was working. “Pinkie told us you were trying to solve a murder. It's obvious that you suspect us. Please let us dissuade you of this notion.”

There was no sound for a few seconds. “Dusk” looked over to Slumber, his eyebrow raised. The voice from inside squeaked, “J-Just a second.” The couple could hear the key enter the under-used lock on the front door, which screamed slightly in protest to the strange, new feeling of the key in the tumbler. The door opened slightly and a purple eye peered out from the darkness into the gloom of the street.

“Thank you for deciding to talk to us.”

“N-No problem.” Twilight stuttered, unmoving except for a slight shaking in her legs.

After a few seconds, Slumber asked, “Are you going to let us in?”

The frightened pony stuttered, “Of c-c-course.” and opened the door all the way, standing back along the outer wall to let them pass it. “T-Take a seat.” she gulped.

The couple sat down and stared at Twilight, who remained frozen beside the open door, the cool air of the night breezing into the home. Slumber coughed loudly to snap Twilight out of her daze.

Twilight flinched and blinked a couple times before regaining her senses. She shut the door with a kick and her horn began to glow as she turned the lights back on. Once the pair was in the bright light, they did not seem so menacing. She regained some of her waning confidence and walked cautiously over to a seat opposite them.

Slumber broke the silence again, “I understand your suspicions of the new ponies in town. I would be too if something so horrible had just happened in my hometown,” she lied, “But rest assured – My husband and I wish no harm on anypony in this town.”

Twilight relaxed slightly, frowning at herself at her foolish assumptions. “I'm sorry. It was awful of me to suspect you two without having met you. Please, let me start over. My name is Twilight Sparkle. I'm Princess Celestia's disciple.” She extended a hoof, which Slumber shook right away, happily. She moved it over to “Dusk,” who simply snorted in response.

He shot back instead, “It was mighty presumptuous of you to assume we were involved in any way. If this is how the ponies in this town greet people, I'd say you're off to a fine start.” The anger and annoyance in his voice carried a weight that made Twilight's ears fold back and face hot.

As she grew more and more red, she averted her gaze and whispered, “I'm sorry. It will not happen again.”

“You're darn right it won't happen again.” he finished, a snarl still on his face.

Twilight continued to whisper, “It was just that –”

“Just that what?!” the stallion roared out of nowhere, now standing up and towering above the quivering pony before him, his rage returning in a heartbeat. “Just that we can't mind our own business in this town without being taken as criminals?” His snout pulled up to reveal a sharp set of teeth, sharper than any pony's should be. His pupils dilated and his coat began to get a waxy quality to it. “Just that some pony who's too focused on finding a murderer suspects the first couple she bumps in to? That the same little pony is poking around where she doesn't belong?!” His voice reached a new depth in his anger. The tiny purple pony dropped her head down in fear, but could not peel her gaze away from the hulking monstrosity the stallion was becoming. His snout was beginning to get longer and more unnatural. The lights all went out in a flickering burst, a loud pop electrified the atmosphere.

Slumber jumped to her hooves, horn glowing brightly. The stallion stopped as if he had been imprisoned in a shell just slightly larger than himself. His eyes undulated, dilating back to their original size. His coat unmatted and his snout began to shrink, teeth returning to their proper size. Soon, he was the same stallion that had entered the house. He looked tired, as if he hadn't slept in days. “Terribly sorry about that,” he murmured. “We should probably get going. You must be incredibly busy with the case.”

Twilight squeaked slightly and nodded, closing her eyes tight, wishing that when she opened them that the pair would be gone. When she finally did, she saw the door just shutting behind them. She let out another squeak and hid her head under her hooves.

Out in the street, the couple seemed to meld in the shadows as they quickly galloped back to their cave, their only refuge from this town, the only place they had left to go. The cool night air stung their eyes  as they went faster, Slumber urging her lover onward. He had difficulty as he was still recovering from mid-transformation, feeling as if his insides had been hit with a baseball bat. Slumber could revert his transformation only temporarily. Soon, he would finish the transformation and lose all control over his senses, as if he had been pushed out of the driver's seat that was his mind.

He could feel consciousness slipping away, barely able to hold onto the threads that bound his soul to his body. He knew he would not make it all the way back, but he had to try. The streets seemed to fade away from his vision. All that was left was Slumber, galloping ahead in all her perfection and beauty. Soon, even she faded.

~~~~~~~

Lemon Fields was having an amazing night at Pinkie's party. Other plans would force her to leave earlier than she would have liked. When the clock struck midnight, she knew it was time to leave. She would miss the atmosphere, the music, her friends all having a good time. With a sigh, she reluctantly departed from the company of her peers, gradually waltzing her way to the front door.

Having adjusted to the climate of the party, filled to the brim with hot, sweaty ponies all moving  around and having a good time, the chill of the night air brought a shiver down her spine and a whinny from her mouth. The deserted streets were an alien sight to her. As she passed street after street, she felt as if somepony was watching her. Of course, this was a completely natural and foundationless fear.

When she usually went into town, the streets were packed with ponies. Now, it was just her. No, wait. There were two others galloping towards her. She stopped to stare at them, not knowing if they wanted something from her or if she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The latter turned out to be correct.

Suddenly, the black stallion behind the dark blue mare collapsed, writhing on the cobblestone street like a worm just pulling itself out of the ground during the rain. The mare in the lead stopped, spinning to face him. Lemon could hear her, “No no no no no no! Not here!”

Lemon gasped when she saw the stallion stop writhing, fearing he was dead. In a sense, he was. His heart had stopped. The blood no longer brought life through his veins. His lungs drew no breath. She trotted over to see if she could help, but screamed when the thing ceased to be a stallion. Unfortunately for her, all the ponies were at Pinkie's party far down the street and nopony but the mare and what was once a stallion heard her cries of terror.

The abomination lurched to its spiked legs and charged at the filly without making a single sound. A single spiked hoof reached under her and stabbed her chest before she could scream again, raising her off the ground with a delightful cackle. The thing stood up on its hideous hind legs and used its free hoof to puncture the filly's throat, and laughed even harder when her eyes bulged and she could no longer make a sound. Still not dead, the filly's eyes filled with tears which poured like molten lava down her cheeks, now drained of blood. Her blood. The same blood which now covered the monstrosity from head to hoof.

It slammed her body back down on the ground and removed both spiked forehooves. The spark of life was beginning to fade from the poor filly's body. The creature reared up and brought both pairs of spikes directly down on top of the filly's stomach, spreading them and ripping her open still alive. It slammed its loathsome skull into her organs and began to chew. At last, life left the young filly and finally brought endless slumber and peace to her tortured soul.

Slumber had already fled the scene, a plan hatching in her mind. She raced to the party and reached the front door when what was once her lover began to devour the filly. She slammed the door open and screamed to the crowd of happy party-goers, “Quick! Everypony! Get outside NOW! There's a horrible monster killing a young filly!”

The guests all stared at her, mouths hanging open in shock. The DJ ripped the music off with a stutter. Slumber continued in spite of their reaction, “Is there anypony here who knows medicine? My husband went to the hospital to get help, but I fear he won't be back in time.

“There's nopony at the hospital. We all came to the party. I can help.” Nurse Redheart volunteered.

“Then quick, everypony, before she DIES!” Slumber shouted. The crowd all moved to get out of the tiny house at the same time. Finally, the mob all began to move onto where Slumber was pointing. As they got close, some of the ponies in the front could make out the body, with the monster on top, ripping open her intestines hungrily. Some of them shouted at it and one threw a rock that hit it right in the head. It stopped feasting on its meal and turned its head. The crowd was gathering upon it. Its instincts told it to run when outnumbered and that is just what it did.

The thing jumped with unnatural force and landed noiselessly on the top of one of the nearby buildings. It knew it could not lead them back to its den and jumped onto the houses in the opposite direction. The crowd followed, shouting and throwing more rocks. One unicorn grabbed a very heavy rock telekinetically and chucked it at at the creature, but missed and wound up putting a hole in somepony's house.

Unbeknownst to the crowd, the same pony who had gathered them all was nowhere to be found. She had slipped off to the other side of the town. When she was sufficiently satisfied that the crowd was far enough away, her horn began to pulse. A ripple almost invisible to those who were not looking for it began to pulsate through the town. When the first wave reached the creature, it stopped, grinning widely. In a puff of smoke, the thing vanished. The  smoke was heavy and voluminous, wrapping around the entire mob in a putrid fog. Half began coughing and the other half fainted from the smell.

The air to the left of Slumber was almost ineffable. The light that passed through the spot warped towards a center point that began to grow in size until it took the outline of the monster. The air became stale, like a fire was burning at that point, fueled by the oxygen in the air. Suddenly, the monster faded into reality once more and turned to Slumber, recognition in its eye. It took a quadrupedal stance again, its spikes sinking into the soft grass underhoof. The pair turned and began to slowly walk back towards the cave they had created earlier.

From a distance, it only looked like one pony was walking across the field. The night was darker than the one they had arrived in and it was almost impossible to discern the other figure from a dark shadow. When they arrived, the monster took the first step into the cave, followed soon after by the mare after she made sure they were not being watched. The thing had collapsed on the bed assembled in one of the rooms, apparently dead. However, it had a sheepish grin on its sleeping face, having a full stomach and pleasant dreams.

She was not repulsed by the horror sleeping in her bed. She had grown so accustomed to it after all these years and curled up next to it, wrapped in its monstrous hug. Nopony even noticed she was missing from the party. They had all either gone home or were helping take care of the body lying peacefully and serenely in the middle of the street with its blood a bed for its endless dreams.