Dr Whooves MONSTER

Chapter 10

It took another hour for the guards to clip the hostages, partygoers, out of the vines with a pair of large guarded clippers. The strangest vines and roots were far stronger than initially anticipated. Out of everyone there, however, I was left hanging—if not in the vines, then in my own regrets.

As they came to clip the vines from my leg, one of the crowd shouted out, “Wait, don’t cut him down; he started this mess.”

The crowd of terrified ponies and creatures gasped and turned to Aragon's declaration. “Yes, didn’t you hear the monster? It is because of him this happened. We’re all cursed, cursed to live in fear because of his black magic!”

“But he is an earth pony,” Applejack, to my surprise, was the one who came to my defense. “I may not like him much either, but earth ponies can’t do magic; that’s a unicorn thing.”

“On the contrary,” I replied in a hushed, silver voice. Every strength I had named was gone, and it showed in my vocal cords. “The old ways say all those with love have magic in them. And the monster, cruel as he may be, was right.” I winced as tears ran down my face—because I was still hanging upside down.

“No, no, I don’t believe you!” shouted Applejack, who snatched the clippers out of the guard’s hooves and cut me down herself. As I fell, to my surprise, it was her brother who caught me—the red colt I remembered from years past.

“Why do you defend what’s true?” I winced harder. “After all I did to you. If I hadn’t been messing with science and evil magic, then perhaps I would have been able to save your—”

“Momma died with faith in you, you coward!”

Applejack’s words nearly pulled my eyes from their sockets. Just as her brother began speaking, sounding just as his father once did long ago, he said, “Momma, with her dying breath, begged us to pass on that message to you. But you never came near us to tell you that.” He shook his head.

“But… but aren’t I, uh—”

“Yeah, a coward, because after that, you never tried again, did you? You may claim to be a doctor, but all you did was bandage an arm. A real doctor, the doctor I knew long ago as a child, was a colt willing to put everything on the line to heal the sick and wounded!” Applejack stomped her hoof. “That’s why you’re a coward.” Her eyes teared up quickly. “If that monster truly is your making, then are you going to stand a coward under it, or face it like a man!” She shouted at the top of her lungs as she lunged toward me.

“What am I to do?” I shouted back, leaping from her brother's arms. “It was I who caused this, and for what? Because I missed my friend when he died. It was my selfishness that brought this before us!

“And it will be your selflessness that will save us all. Think of it, doctor; he is your creation. You must know some way to stop him. Or are we truly all doomed?”

My mouth flew open to retort, but then I felt the eyes on me. Feeling their weight, my breath became heavier as they looked to me for a solution. I could only lower my head in shame, for I had none, and I fell to my knees with a thud that echoed through the halls of the church.

“Coward!” Applejack yelled.

“Coward he is, but I for one will not stand for it. Why don’t we give him as a sacrifice along with a mountain of chocolate? Maybe then the monster will go away,” Aragon called out.

“Or maybe we can set a trap for him and destroy the monster for good,” shouted another from the crowd.

Murmuring among themselves, the crowd began to form a plan and discuss what to do when suddenly a cry rang out among them all, one that made my blood run cold.

“Fluttershy! Where’s Fluttershy?” cried out Rarity.

“That’s right; last I saw her, she was dancing with that thing. Did he take her?” Applejack questioned.

My jaw dropped as my head rose. “No, no, no, it can’t be…” I whispered.

“Has anyone seen her?” Rarity asked, but no answer came.

“The mare I love is in the hands of the monster I created,” I winced, lowering my head into my lap. Losing my mind, a laughter I never knew I had erupted from me—one of insanity that left the crowd nearly as terrified as the monster’s own cackle. Once I inhaled and calmed myself, I felt a strange sense of guilt, rage, and fury fill my body, giving it strength I had not felt since the day I first got the idea to redirect Stygian in the first place.

With it, I carefully got to my feet and rose from the ground. Lifting my head high in the air, I rightfully declared, “Coward I may be, but unlike your mother, I will not let my mistakes take away Fluttershy; that I promise. We must go after the beast, and I know where he hides. In the dark castle of the forest, long forgotten by many. The way to it, though, is fraught with more danger than I can express. I will go alone.”

“Yeah right! There’s no way I’m leaving this up to you alone; my brother and I are going. We’re going to get our friend back!” Applejack declared as her brother stood by her.

“Count me in,” Rarity declared.

“I will send as many guards as I can spare,” Twilight confirmed.

“Well, if that is so, then I will go as well to make sure I keep an eye on you!” Aragog growled.

“So be it,” I nodded before tightening my grip. “Let us make haste then; gather what weapons you can and follow me.”

…

Meanwhile, as the Lord of Chaos returned home, he stretched out his back, taking in the sight of his grand surroundings.

“Hmmm, nothing beats home,” he chuckled to himself before his lips drooped for a moment. “Yeah, nothing beats an empty giant room where you stand alone and sit in your throne, king of no one,” he bitterly muttered as he sat down in his throne. But the sound of a spider crawling down from the webs to greet him caught his attention.

“Ha, yeah, you’re right; who needs anyone when I have you guys?” he patted the spider on the head.

“All five thousand of you creepy, eight-legged bug-eyed, fanged beasts. And those ponies call me a hideous monster! I mean, look at you,” he chuckled as he handed the spider another bug it wanted to eat. It took it, rolling up its string of web, leaving him to his own devices.

“Yes, well, I better get ready for dinner—a quick shower to cheer my spirits.” Getting to his feet, he continued, “After all, did I not just gain my revenge on the Doctor for banning me? I should be happy; I should be thrilled; I should be…” He pouted and slumped as his arms went limp.

“There was a longing in his body he could not escape from. The memory of the mare he had in his arms, the warmth she carried, and the laughter they shared as they danced together. ‘I never felt that way before,’” he blinked before taking a deep breath. “A shower, yes, I need a shower to wash that mare's face off me and forget. That is what I need to do,” he demanded as he stepped into the other room, undoing his tie in the process.

…

Meanwhile, deep in the bowels of his candy bag, sat in a strange foreign space to her, Fluttershy drifted alongside the party food and table. Inside the bag, it was clearly a leather sack, but it was impossible for everything to fit in it—yet it did. And yet here she was. Above her at the very top sat a soft moonlight shining down, letting her see her surroundings nearly as clear as day.

“I must be dreaming,” she thought to herself as she struggled to stand up among the pile of chocolate. “This is all just a crazy, weird dream, and I’m probably at home right now, rising and turning in my sleep.” She argued with herself and used her strength to move the table, so it came down like a ramp.

“Yes, that’s it. My bunny rabbit is probably laughing at my absurdity right now.” She told herself as she hopped on top of the table and ran up it, jumping at the end, trying to catch the bag’s string that dangled down like a rope into its contents.

“Whoa,” she squealed as she swung from one side to the other, hanging on for dear life. Clenching her eyes shut, she held on tighter. “Climbing was never my strong suit in gym class, but I’m now glad I had the lessons,” she winced and took a peek up above her to the opening of the bag. “Yes, there we go. All I have to do is—” she encouraged herself to move upward.

Finally, after a moment or two, she had made it to the top and looked over the mountainous area, finding that she was, in fact, two inches tall in what seemed like a massively sized cavern compared to her empty dark throne room. She gasped at the sight of it. Despite its cobwebs and overgrown foliage, it was actually breathtakingly beautiful in the moonlight that shone through not only the holes in the room but also the ancient stained glass windows depicting both the sun and the moon. She had never seen anything like it. It was so vast and eerie yet quiet and calm.

With a few steps trying to get a better look, she wasn’t watching where she was going and began to slide down the side of the bag, landing on her bottom on the hard stone ground. “Ouch!” she groaned just as she heard the twinkling of a soft, watery sound just in the next room. Curiosity piqued, she decided to explore what on earth could be making that sound.

“Hmm, perhaps I’m dreaming about being in a wonderland, like my favorite book, Alice in Wonderland,” she giggled to herself. “Maybe I’ll find my rabbit if I follow that sound.”

Taking as gentle a step as she could, out in the opening, hoping that no wild beast would come to snatch her, she quickly crossed the base stone floor of the throne room and headed through the cracks of a massive wooden door.

The sound was like a grand waterfall or a rushing stream. Whatever it was, she hoped she could find some sort of help. But as she looked into the room, lit by a small fire that hung in the corner, she stopped wide-eyed at the sight of a giant creature who let out a loud shiver as the cold struck his fur.

“Whooo, I really need to fix the heating in this place,” he chuckled at his own joke as he began to wash away the grime and muck off his hat and face. His backside, long scaly tail fully exposed, as water ran down every curve in his body.

Fluttershy sat both intrigued and terrified at the look of the strange naked creature before her.

It had a lion-like right arm, an eagle left, a left lizard leg, a skinny deer-like leg, a scaly red tail, and an unusual body with a pony head and face, if not skull-like. Despite its skinny exterior, it actually showed its muscle structure to be quite toned, especially its back and lean arm. Its butt, thighs, and calves made it stand as a strong beast of a creature despite their oddity in shape and size.

A mix of horror, fascination, appeal, and disgust ran through her mind as the monster before her seemed to hum to itself in the cold water rushing down its back, lathering itself in a soapy bubble substance. But as she noticed it was about to turn her way and expose its front, all the mixed feelings stopped, leaving only dread and terror. With a blood-curdling scream, she shouted, catching the monster’s attention.

…

The chaos lord, enjoying the self-massaging of soap in his fur, came to an abrupt stop as he quickly covered his ears at the blood-curdling sound. His eyes dashed to the creature below, wondering what it was and how to stop it.

But to his surprise, he found a tiny pony who quickly began screaming and running away from him. But it wasn’t just any pony. It was the pony he danced with earlier that evening—here, not only in his lair but in his shower with him in the nude. In a sudden, shrieking realization, he shrieked as he tried to quickly cover up in a bright pink bathrobe. Turning off the water, he groaned at his own fury as his mind began to think, “What in the hell is she doing here? Wait, she’s here!” He set his claws to his head. “And she’s running away! Dammit; she’s only two feet tall! There are endless traps I set and monsters out there; she might get killed!” he shouted before leaping after her.

To his surprise, Fluttershy was extremely fast on her feet, and even more so when she spread her wings, taking off for dear life. Her wings and legs were tracking pure instinct, a fight for survival. She did not care for the strangeness of the world or find beauty in the creepy exterior of the castle any more. All she found was horror and wanted to be as far away from it as possible. “If only she could keep running, keep flying; surely somehow, some way she might make it through this horrific nightmare. Please be a dream, please be a dream, please be a dream,” she begged her sun pendant again and again. “Oh may Celestia save my soul,” she squeaked as she began to take off into the light, only to come to the edge of a building. No problem; she could fly—until she looked down and saw how high she was. Her eyes growing wide at the sight, she instantly felt the fear of heights freeze up her wings, and without their support, she began tumbling to the ground, screaming for dear life as she went.

The monster, on the other hand, saw just a glimpse as she began to fall. “Uh-oh!” he claimed as he tried and fell on a branch, sending himself over the edge. Due to his height and weight, he fell faster than Fluttershy, catching up to her quickly.

The sight of him after her only made her blood-curdling scream rise in pitch.

“Uh-ha, there you are!” he chuckled and snapped his fingers.

With a quick snap, she went from two inches back to her full height. Even so, it didn’t quiet her down as she was now plummeting faster to the ground.

Momentarily, the Lord of Chaos winced due to his ears, which felt like they were on the verge of bleeding. But even so, he opened his eyes with a look of determination. Suddenly, Fluttershy, who was more concerned with falling than the monster after her, instantly stopped when she felt two arms—one mighty and strong, the other strong but not muscular—grip her tightly. Once she was in his arms, the chaos lord spread his wings wide, catching the swift updraft of air, sending both him and the mare up into the air.

Amazed by the sudden save, she looked up to see her savior, only to find the monster with its many scars and odd body configurations carrying her to safety.

At that moment, she didn’t know what to do, feeling a rush of emotions. On the one hand, it was a monster—a real, in-the-flesh monster—made up of body parts and scars all over. She would be terrified of him, and yet he saved her. A little part of her thought, “He only saved you to hurt you,” but that voice telling her that was far in the back of her head. Another thought came to the front of her mind: Saving her was the kindest gesture she had ever experienced.

“What do I want in a man?” Her thoughts drifted back to the conversation she had with her friends.

“True strength lies in action; he doesn’t have to be muscular for me to see his value… but he does have to be kind.”

“Kind,” the word echoed in her head. “He is quite kind.”

With that, as the monstrous chaos lord retreated to his home, Fluttershy softly set her head against his chest, falling into a deep slumber, worn out by the rollercoaster of emotions from the night.