Plague

CHAPTER I

It was a sunny day in Ponyville.

The pegasi weather patrols had planned this before a scheduled rainstorm. Nothing was out of the ordinary, except for one package that was delivered to the library.

When it arrived, a small purple dragon signed off for it and brought it to his friend(Also a bit of a mother figure). She was a lavender unicorn named Twilight Sparkle. Scholar, Scientist, personal student of the Sun princess Celestia, and bearer of the Element of Magic.

She turned the box around, examining it from every angle, trying to find a stamp or address. It had none, other than hers, and it had a ‘return to sender’ sticker on it.

“Spike,” she said “did you try to send a package?”

He shook his head.

“Huh. That’s odd. Either somepony made a mistake, or they want to be anonymous.” she said.

Spike smiled and said “What if it’s a surprise gift?”

Twilight returned the smile, and began to open the box.

“Well, that would be nice. But still, I should open this carefully- just in case.”

“Good idea!”

After a moment of careful unpacking, they found a smaller box, wrapped like a gift. Sure enough, it was addressed specifically to Twilight.

“I guess you were right, Spike. But I don’t see any identification.”

“Secret admirer?” Spike said, nudging Twilight.

She smiled sheepishly, and replied

“Well, I’m not exactly open to a special somepony at the moment, but... It’ll be rude not to even open it.”

She proceeded to open the package, and found a simple lab set including some test tubes, stirrers, test tube holders, etc. There was also another small box with a note tied to it. It read:

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I know how much you like science and other related subjects, so I decided to give you a special gift- a perfume that you can make yourself!Follow the instructions exactly(I know you will), and you will have your very own custom perfume. Don’t worry, all the ingredients(except for the scent you choose) are included. I hope you enjoy this little gift.

From:

A friend of a friend.

She set down the note, and examined the contents of the smaller box. It contained some sealed containers that were wrapped carefully. They had various substances in them, and were numbered. Number three had a notice.

Do NOTspill this gas. It is a very important ingredient.

She looked at it closely, and realized that it was glowing slightly. Figuring that it must be some kind of enhancer of sorts, she proceeded to follow the instructions to make the perfume. It took about an hour, and by then it was mid-afternoon.

“What if it’s a prank?” Spike said.

“Well, I see no hint of a prank. This seems a bit too kind for a joke.” She replied.

She sprayed the finished perfume, and smelled it.

Daisies. Just how she wanted it.

“Anything wrong?” She said, turning around for Spike to examine her for the effects of a prank.

“Uhhh... Nope, you’re good.” He answered.

“Thats-” she yawned “-good. Well... I’m going to take a nap.”

He looked at her quizzically.

“But it’s the middle of the afternoon.”

Twilight continued walking upstairs.

“I just need to catch up on some sleep. I was studying late last night.”

Spike shrugged.

“Okay, whatever you say.”

Twilight laid down in her bed, and fell asleep almost instantly.

“Your magic may get weak... Use it whenever you can...”

“Hello?” Twilight said.

She remembered falling asleep, but woke up here. It was completely black.

“Your life depends on the choices you will soon make... The lives of your friends as well...

“Who’s there?”

Every sound echoed, and it was beginning to creep her out.

“Okay, this must be a dream.”

Just then, she felt a wave of anxiety and fear. The feelings were unusual, especially since nothing was apparently there to cause them. But as she analyzed this, she had a feeling that something was coming to her.

“Even though this is probably just a dream, I have a bad feeling about it...”

“Its getting closer... Get away...”

“What? What’s getting closer? And who are you?”

The feelings of anxiety and fear were growing, and she started to smell something metallic. Kind of like the iron in blood, but a bit more pronounced.

“Get away...”

“From what!?” She nearly screamed. “Where is it!?”

She was now in a panic.

The smell was almost overbearing. She used a light spell, but it only barely illuminated a few hoof lengths around her. Now that she could at least see a bit, she noticed that the edges of her vision had blurred.

Other than the odd voice, the only sound was her heartbeat and breathing.

She held her breath, attempting to listen for whatever was coming towards her.

She heard something.

It was faint, but steadily getting closer. It was an insect-like clicking, but more gutteral. As if it came from a mammal-like throat.

It stopped.

“RUN!”

She turned around, and saw it.

The creature’s body was pony-like, but with some massive differences. It was as tall as Celestia and had legs like an insect, closest to that of a spider. Patches of its skin was covered in a carapace-like structure. What wasn’t carapace was skin, with patches of fur. She looked up to its face.

Its bottom jaw was split in the middle, and moving. It has small spines along its skull, and its eyes-

Wait.

It had no eyes.

Yet, somehow, it seemed to stare right at her, empty sockets boring into her. And its teeth were long, sharp, and jagged. Like a predator.

“RUN! NOW!”

She screamed, and the creature let out a deafening roar. She turned and bolted. She looked behind her, and to her horror, it was in pursuit.

And catching up.

Her feelings of fear and anxiety seemed to nearly tear her mind apart, and the strange blood-like smell filled her nose and head. The blurring on the edges of her vision spread to an all-out tunnel vision.

“Use your magic! Don’t look behind you!”

“What!? What spell do I use!?”

Then she had an idea.

She would teleport.

She charged her magic, for it seemed to be weaker, and looked behind her to check the distance.

Bad idea.

The thing was so close that it was snapping at her tail. When it saw that she was looking, it jumped.

She teleported.