Chapter Four - Shadows Over Appleloosa
“Come on, Dashie!” sang the bouncing pink pony. Her curly hair bobbed as she pranced towards the library, “Rarity said Twilight’s feeling down, and as her friends we have to cheer her up! Which is why I brought you. Well, actually, I was gonna bring Fluttershy first, but I got distracted by some flowers on the way to her cottage, but they were way pretty flowers, and had so many colors and they reminded me of you! So then I went-“
Rainbow Dash shut out the pink earth pony’s noise, with some difficulty. She forced herself forward, wondering what was so important that she had to help with. She was wasting valuable time that could be spent practicing her flying, or reading Daring Do.
“-and that’s when Rarity said that she’d go get Applejack, since I would probably fudge something up. OH! I love fudge! We should’ve brought Twilight some of my super-duper-pudgy-fudgy-brownies! That’ll cheer her up lickety-split! And speaking of splits! Rainbow, have you ever tried-“
Rainbow strained every cell in her body to resist the urge of hitting her head against the ground. Blood rushed in her ears, but she could still distinguish Pinkie’s rambling on the other side. She cracked one clenched eye open and looked ahead. The library wasn’t far now, and they would be there in just a few moments.
“-good if you don’t have too many. Like this one time, Gummy had a dozen chocolate-licorice-pecan-banana-split-spectaculars, and his tummy was so upset, I had to stay up all night and take care of him. I guess Fluttershy could have helped since she’s so good with animals and stuff, but I managed just fine.” Pinkie stopped talking for a moment, and Rainbow Dash sighed in relief, relishing the few seconds of silence.
“Dash, do you think I should’ve brought Gummy? He needs to get out more, but I can never find the right time, and when I do I forget. I think he’d be- Oh, we’re here!”
“Thank Celestia.” Dash mumbled under her breath as she followed the bouncing pink pony through the library doors. Inside the library looked just like it always did; perfectly organized and clean. Books were lined up along the massive shelves by genre, size, and alphabetical order. Dash quickly turned her gaze to the Daring Do section and eyed the books with interest.
“Twilight! We’re here~!” Pinkie shouted in a singsong voice. She had donned a spiraled party hat from seemingly nowhere, but Rainbow Dash knew better; she always had a party hat hidden somewhere. Always.
An indistinguishable response came from upstairs. Pinkie hopped up the stairs two at a time, followed closely behind by Rainbow Dash, who lazily floated along on her wings. Pinkie stopped abruptly at the top of the stairs and got low to the ground. Using her face, she swung the door open at blinding speed and bounded into the room, throwing her hooves in the air.
“Surprise!” she shouted, throwing bits of confetti into the air. The tiny squares of paper fluttered to the ground around Twilight, who seemed too transfixed by something to have noticed Pinkie’s surprise.
“Hey.” Rainbow Dash said tiredly, looking around at the mess in Twilight’s room, “What happened here? Looks like a tornado went loose in your room, Twilight.”
“Huh?” the purple unicorn responded, snapping her head up from a pile of books. She quickly tidied her mane and turned to her two friends, “Oh, yeah, about that… Pinkie, did Rarity explain what happened?”
Pinkie nodded her head up and down, “Nope!” she said cheerily.
“Okay…” Twilight said, standing up and stretching her tired legs, “When Rarity gets back with Applejack and Fluttershy I’ll explain everything. While we wait you can just… I don’t know, read a book.”
Rainbow beamed before dashing away down the stairs, heading straight for the Daring Do books. Pinkie cocked her head sideways at Dash’s behavior. Twilight just shook her head,
“Pinkie, did you want to find a book to read?” she asked, reorganizing the pile of books in front of her.
“Yep!” she chirped, “Do you have any books on cakes? Oh! Or cupcakes? They’re more fun. It’s like eating a cake, but it’s in a cup!”
“Sure.” Twilight sighed.
The two left the room, shutting the wooden door behind them. From within Twilight’s closet came the tiny scratching sounds of talons on wood, followed by the low growls of the otherworldly demon.
Blood and gore exploded forth from the recently slain bodies of the demon horde. The barbarian shouted praise to his Gods above as he hacked through the cowering demons with ease. In one hand he held a massive axe with a blade twice the size of his head, and in the other hand he wielded a jagged sword, caked in blood and glowing red with murderous magic. Beneath his boots he crushed the skulls of lesser demons as the bodies continued to pile underneath him, creating a mountain of death.
Deckard Cain was standing off to the side, safely hiding behind a stack of barrels. He watched intently as the man tore through enemies with enough destructive vigor to earn the envy of Baal himself. Occasionally the barbarian would take a wound, which only fueled his bloody rampage. From the safety of his hiding spot, Deckard continued chronicling the details of the battle, scribbling furiously to keep up with the events.
Deckard looked back at the Barbarian, who seemed to glow a lovely golden color. As he fought and slashed his way through the terrors of Hell, he turned to Deckard Cain.
“Ya’ll alright?” he asked in a high voice, contradicting his muscular behemoth figure.
He drove the axe through a large demon’s skull, bathing himself in bits of gore. As he did so, a brown hat materialized atop his head. The hat was absent of any trace of blood and seemed incredibly out of place in the chaotic scene.
“Hello? Ah asked if ya’ll were alright.” The barbarian repeated in the same voice.
The demons had ceased and remained motionless in mid-swing. The tall barbarian strode over to Deckard Cain and kneeled down to the level of his chest. His face contorted in a bout of golden smoke and emerged as a long, slender shape of an equine. Light brown hair cascaded from beneath his hat down the barbarian’s bloody shoulders.
“What.” Deckard Cain managed to spit out as the world collapsed around him. He forced his eyes shut, hoping to relieve himself of the strange nature of the situation.
“Mister Cain?” the voice sounded again from behind the darkness of his clenched eyelids. The air around him had grown hotter and stuffier, and the ground beneath him changed to a texture similar to dirt on wood. Peaking out from one eye, Deckard was surprised to find himself in a tiny shack surrounded by miniature furniture.
Sitting by his side was Braeburn, and Deckard let out a sigh of relief. He clutched at his chest to make sure if his heart was still beating. It was.
“Folks ‘round town are mighty scared of ya. So ah took ya’ll into mah house here.” Braeburn explained, waving his hoof around in the air to show off the décor of his tiny house. It was shorter than any house Deckard Cain had visited, and he feared that, should he stand, he would hit his head against the rafters. Instead, he remained seated, sparing himself the imminent headaches that would occur from continual cranial bombardment.
“Are ya hungry?” Braeburn asked with a compassionate smile upon his face. He was glad to have gotten Deckard out of the streets and into a place where nopony would see him. He remembered how scared he was when he first saw the man, and figured that that was just how the entire town felt. Without getting an actual answer from Cain, Braeburn pranced across the one-room shack and reached into a tall cupboard. He withdrew a wooden bowl that was filled to the brim with various foods and brought it over to Deckard Cain.
The man’s eyes lit up as he saw the food that was laid out in front of him. It had been nearly sixteen hours since he arrived in the plains, and he hadn’t had a bite to eat since then. Braeburn saw his excitement and proceeded to point out the various foods that were mixed together in the bowl.
“So here we got some apples. And, uh… apples! I think these carrots are going bad.” He said, tossing several limp carrots aside. “And there are some more apples. And, uh... hmm... apples...”
“What kind of apples are they?” Deckard Cain asked, picking up one of the red fruits and investigating it in his hand.
“Uh, apple kind? There’s more than one kind of apple?” Braeburn asked confused.
“Of course! I’d say there are well over thirty kinds of apples.”
“There are?!” Braeburn shrieked, “The way ah figured it was that there’s only one kind of apple. Ah mean, they all taste the same, don’t they? Sure, some might be yella and some might be green, but they all taste ‘bout the same. There ain’t no reason to be goin’ ‘round with that many kinds a’ apples!”
“I thought you claimed to be an apple farmer?” Deckard asked before taking a large bite out of the crunchy apple.
“Ah am. Maybe where ya’ll are from yer apples taste different…” Braeburn finished, joining Deckard Cain in eating apples.
The human was devouring the apples one after another with an intensity that Braeburn had never seen before. He had reduced a complete apple to just its core in a matter of seconds and began working on another. Braeburn smiled with strange intrigue at the human’s odd behavior. Deckard sure seemed like a loveable figure, even if he was mighty strange at times. If only the rest of the town had some proof that he wasn’t evil, then they might accept him as a guest.
A mild vibration rocked the building, knocking dust loose from the rafters. It settled on the floor and table around the duo, covering their food in a thin layer of dirt.
“Aw, that’s a darn shame…” Braeburn said, looking at the now dusty food.
“What was that?” Deckard asked, looking for the source of the vibration.
“I’unno. Trains don’t run this late. Mighta been thunder, but it’d be outta season.” Braeburn explained, taking the bowl of food to the rusty washbasin on the other side of the room.
“You aren’t concerned?” Deckard asked, obviously concerned.
“Nah, why should ah be? ‘S probably nothin’.” Braeburn stated heartily, seconds before the screams of the townsfolk made their way into Braeburn’s shack. Out of the faded windows they could witness several brightly colored figures retreating from the darkened streets into the sanctity of their homes.
“What in the hay is-“
Braeburn and Deckard were thrown to the ground as a second shockwave ripped across the land. It was followed by a bellowing sound, similar to that of a foghorn, which was so low in frequency that it vibrated everything in the house. Shakily getting to his feet, Deckard advanced towards the door.
Outside was chaos. Screaming ponies filled the streets, which already seemed like a chaotic thing to the Horadrim. The sky was alight with an eerie green mist that swirled around in large vortexes. Occasionally it would spout unholy lightning that would strike the ground outside of town. Deckard recognized the lightning and gulped as he stepped outside.
“Braeburn… What defenses does Appleloosa have?” he asked, eyeing the horizon with uneasy interest.
“Uh, pies mostly. It tends-“
“Pies?! Dammit Braeburn, pies aren’t going to solve anything! Do you have any swords? Spears? For the sake of Arakat, a club would suffice!” Deckard shouted at the pony, who slunk to the ground.
“Uh… the Sheriff ‘s’got somethin’ ya’ll might be able ta use…” Braeburn said sheepishly, pointing his hoof towards the wooden building down the street.
Deckard shuffled towards the Sheriff’s building as fast as he could. Several times ponies would cross his path, screaming at the top of their lungs. As they looked at Deckard, they screamed louder and ran in a different direction. Normally Deckard would beckon them back and ensure them that he was friendly. But not now. Time was of the essence
Demonic lightning continued to strike along the horizon. He could see the orange flame’s glow intensifying and increased his pace. Braeburn raced ahead of him, healed of his cowardice brought on by Deckard’s outburst, and arrived at the Sheriff’s building long before Deckard did. As the old man entered the creaky building, he could hear Braeburn straining in the back, trying to move something extremely heavy.
“This here… we got… from… Trottingham!” Braeburn managed to say through bouts of strenuous pulling. He arrived in the main room, which was barely big enough to see the object in full view. It sat on two wheels, which apparently were covered in rust to the point of immovability. The long black shape was well rounded and positioned in a slight upward angle. A bag was hung by its side and seemed to contain several large metal balls.
“This here,” Braeburn said, resting against the device, “is what the folks in Trottingham call a ‘cannon’. Ah ain’t got a clue how it works, but the Sheriff says it’s dangerous. Maybe ya’ll can figure it out?” He motioned his hoof towards the device, allowing Deckard Cain to look over the strange object.
He had never seen anything of its like before. How did it work? It looked as though it would fire something, but there was no drawstring to propel a bolt or an arrow. It was heavy, and far too impractical to be anything close to a catapult. Deckard stepped back, scratching his beard.
“What are those balls for?” He asked as thunder roared across the sky outside.
“Ya got me… Ah figured they was for show, ya know? Like a… Hay, Ah ain’t got a clue.” Braeburn stuttered, perplexed by the machine.
“Does it work with magic?” the man asked.
“Probably not. The Sheriff ain’t a unicorn, so ah don’t see why he’d keep magic stuff ‘round.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Well, ya know, unicorns have magic. Didn’t ah explain this to ya’ll already?”
Deckard shook his head.
“Oh. Well, I’ll tell ya some other time.” Braeburn said, returning his gaze to the cannon.
“What if we…” Deckard began, trying to wrap his mind around it, “What if we… took it outside…”
“Yeah?”
“And… Hmm.” Deckard finished, not sure where to even begin.
“Shucks, Deckard, we’re wastin’ time! Le’s jus’ ferget it an’ find another way!”
“Good idea. There’s always a plan B, right?” Deckard said, heading back outside.
“Uh, mister Deckard? That was plan B. The pies were plan A, remember?” Braeburn said, lowering his head slightly.
“Right. Then we’ll find a plan C.”
“Righto! Let’s get to it!” Braeburn said excitedly, jumping down the steps of the sheriff’s building.
Ahead of them, advancing towards town, were shambling shapes, too dark to clearly make out. They were large and Deckard could sense the obvious demonic aura around them. Luckily, the figures moved slow and didn’t seem to be very aggressive at the moment, which gave Deckard plenty of time to think. He and Braeburn sat on the side of the road, quickly thinking of a plan of defense.
And the cannon, their sole weapon of mass destruction, sat motionless as the demons progressed towards Appleloosa.
Harsh dust particles bombarded Spike’s nose, jolting him out of unconsciousness. As he straightened himself to a sitting position, his surroundings become clearer. At first he thought he was in the library back in Ponyville, judging by the wooden walls and scattered books and scrolls. But a closer investigation revealed the numerous wooden masks and tonics that hung from the ceiling. The smell of boiling potions became familiar to Spike, and he concluded that he was in the hut of Everfree Forest’s local zebra; Zecora.
The dust in the air settled over him, still invading his nostrils. Shaking it off with a claw, Spike looked around. Zecora was nowhere to be seen, which was odd. It wasn’t like she had much of a social life anyway. Spike had never been in Zecora’s hut before, and despite what Applejack had told him, it wasn’t entirely frightening. It was creepy, no doubt, but nothing to be scared of. It fit Twilight’s description perfectly; exotic. Situated in the middle of the room was a large cauldron filled with a bubbling liquid, and upon seeing it, Spike hobbled his way over on weak legs.
Leaning over the side of the pot, Spike investigated the brew. It glowed an interesting shade of orange, not unlike Applejack’s coat, though it smelled ten times worse. He almost retched as the scent went to his head, and as he pulled himself away from the cauldron, he came face to face with the zebra.
She stood in the doorway wearing her brown cloak. The hood was up, obscuring her exotic mohawk and jewelry. Only the glow of her eyes escaped from the hood’s shadows. She walked into the hut, seeming to ignore Spike and his curiosity. From the folds of her garment she took out a bundle of red plants and set them gently on the table next to a mortar and pestle.
“Spike, I am glad to see that you are safe and awake. Had you been hurt, Twilight’s heart would surely ache.” The zebra said as she took the pestle in her mouth and began to crush the flowers.
“Uh, yeah. What happened?” Spike asked, scratching the scales atop his head.
“Do you not remember the beast of fire? To forget such a thing; your memory must still tire.” She replied in her usual cryptic rhyming, “You fought off the beast with that staff there, and the monster retreated back to its lair.”
Spike eyed the staff that rested against the wall on the other side of the room. It looked different in the light. It was tall, just as he remembered it, but it appeared far less powerful. In the light of the fire it looked just like a stick. On its end was a small pearl colored orb, which now rest light-less.
“I… remember a monster, but it’s hard to what it was. Was it like a… dragon?” Spike asked, looking at his feet.
“No no, dear Spike, it was not of this world. From another realm, this beast has been hurled. Equestria has not seen its kind before, and I hope in my heart that it will see no more.” She explained, comforting Spike as best she could. She had flung her robes off and discarded them on the floor where they rest in a messy heap.
“Thanks.” Spike said halfheartedly, “But I’ve been gone a long time, and I’m pretty sure Twilight’s missing me. Ponyville isn’t too far from here, right?”
Zecora shook her head sorrowfully, “No. But a word of warning, my little scaled friend; should the beast seek revenge, Ponyville cannot defend.”
“You mean it could be out to get me?” Spike asked, shaking, “But… But what about that staff? You said I used it before, why can’t I use it again?”
“You misunderstand my meaning. If you-“
Zecora stopped, eyeing the staff. Its light had returned, and began to glow as the two talked more and more about the recent events. Spike walked over to it, and just as Zecora began to protest, picked it up in his claws. This time, there was no feeling of bravery or power. The only thing he felt was the dread of holding such a powerful artifact in his claws, and the feeling that it would attract the monster again.
“Twilight would know what to do…” Spike muttered as Zecora closed in from behind.
“Spike, put down that dreaded staff. Please, on all of Ponyville’s behalf.” Zecora pleaded, hoping that by keeping the staff in her hut she might be able to disenchant its powerful magic, thereby stopping anything from being drawn in by its presence.
“But Zecora, Twilight’s the smartest unicorn I know! If anypony knows anything about what to do, it’d be her.” He said, making his way to the door with the staff clutched in his claws.
“If you are so insistent on returning to your home, then make haste. Bring the staff back soon, so the magic can be erased.” Zecora said, not entirely willing to let the staff slip through her hooves like that. But she had to give it to Spike; Twilight knew more about magic than she knew about herself. And since magic wasn’t her forte, Zecora let Spike go.
“Thanks for the help, Zecora. I’ll be back before you know it!” Spike shouted as he jogged towards Ponyville. The zebra shook her head as she went back into her hut, wondering if she had made a good decision or not.
“Is everyone here?” Twilight asked, eyeing her friends that had gathered in her bedroom. Twilight had planned to use the day for reading the seventh volume on the Fundamentals of Equestrian Pottery, but plans had changed; she had been attacked. Now all her friends were standing around her, crowding the normally empty bedroom.
“Sure are!” Applejack chimed happily, not having a clue of what horrors soon lay before her.
“Good. Well girls, something’s come up.” Twilight continued as Rarity joined her side. They eyed each other, not sure how to break the news to the ponies. Rarity had only seen the creature, and hadn’t had the chance to investigate it into greater detail as Twilight had, so she stood back and offered support to Twilight as she handled the work.
“Is it serious?” the canary yellow pegasus asked, swishing her hoof side to side nervously.
“I’m afraid so, darling…” Rarity said, offering what little words she could to the conversation.
“What is it?” Rainbow Dash asked as she hovered in the air above Applejack. Both of them wore a mask of suspense on their faces.
“You see girls, last night something attacked me.” Twilight said, just throwing the news out there. The breaking of the news was followed by a sharp gasp by everypony, including Rarity, who was caught off guard by the sudden outburst.
“Are you alright?” Applejack asked.
“I’m fine, AJ. But this is important; somepony could be in serious trouble if this thing got loose.”
“What was it? It wasn’t Gummy, was it? ‘Cause sometimes he gets outta the house, but I’ve never heard of him hurting anypony before. Even if he chews on you the worst thing he can do is get you all slobbery.” Pinkie said,
leaning forward on her front two hooves, leaving her back hooves hanging in the air.
“It wasn’t Gummy, Pinkie! He hardly does anything to begin with! He just sits there.” Dash proclaimed, rolling her eyes heavily. Pinkie took in a sharp intake of air.
“You take that back! You’ll hurt his feelings!” Pinkie said, jumping onto her back legs and pointing her hoof accusingly at Rainbow Dash.
“What? He isn’t even here! How could I hurt his feelings?” Dash replied before Twilight stepped in between the two.
“Settle down! This is important.” She said, pushing the two ponies away with her magic.
“Does the Princess know?” Fluttershy asked meekly, almost too quiet to hear.
“Not yet, I’m waiting for Spike to show up so he can send a letter to her. But right now we just need to keep cool heads and make sure nopony panics.” Twilight said as she headed to the closet with Rarity trailing behind, “I trapped the monster in here.”
“Are ya’ll sure it’s safe?” Applejack asked, stepping in front of Fluttershy.
“I’m positive. I’ve enchanted the closet door with a magical barrier. It would take something far stronger than this little guy to break it.”
With that, Twilight slowly opened the closet door. It squeaked slightly under the strain of her magic. Everypony was standing on the edge of their hooves as light swarmed into the closet, illuminating everything inside. They all gasped in shock as the interior came into full view.
A single moth flew out of the otherwise bare closet.
“Wha-?! I… uh…” Twilight stammered, her face turned redder and redder. Behind her, Rainbow Dash was laughing.
“Th-That’s it? A-a moth?!” Rainbow said between fits of laughter, wiggling her legs in the air as she collapsed onto the floor, unable to contain herself.
“It’s okay, Twilight. Everypony gets spooked by the creepy crawlies sometimes. Ain’t nothin’ ta be ashamed of.” Applejack said encouragingly, wrapping a hoof around Twilight.
“It wasn’t a moth!” Rarity exclaimed, blushing as red as Twilight had, “It was a monster! As black as the night, with claws at least a foot long!”
“Rarity’s right, it wasn’t a moth! It seemed more like a dragon, but smaller, and more…”
“Where’s Spike?” Fluttershy asked, looking around worriedly.
“I’m not sure, Fluttershy. I haven’t seen him since before the attack.” Twilight answered with a shaky voice, almost too embarrassed to control herself.
“Well, Twilight… Maybe Spike… Ya know.” Applejack stammered, nodding her head from side to side, hoping to get her point across without having to actually say it.
“It couldn’t have been Spike! It simply couldn’t have!” Rarity exclaimed. She turned to Twilight and said in a hushed voice, “Could it have been Spike?”
“It wasn’t Spike either! Listen, we potentially have a very dangerous creature running loose in Ponyville. Are you willing to help me catch it?”
Everypony in the room stood at attention, except Fluttershy, who sunk into the ground. Of course, everypony knew that this was Fluttershy’s way of saying ‘yes’ in these type of situations.
“Good, then let’s go! Pinkie, I want you to start looking around Sugarcube Corner. And don’t get distracted by any treats, got it?” Twilight asked.
“Okie dokie loki!” Pinkie shouted before bounding downstairs.
As Twilight continued to give orders, the moth from the closet had landed on the closed window. It worked its way across the glass and soon found itself at the seam of the window sill. Squirming its way through the gap, it made its way outside, where it fluttered its wings and took flight. Zipping through the air, the moth found the perfect spot to land and began its descent, leaving a thin trail of black smoke behind it. As it landed in an alleyway behind a series of buildings, the trail of smoke expanded and soon enveloped the entire moth. Violently convulsing, the moth grew to an enormous size before contorting its limbs every which way. Its body shriveled and twisted until it emerged in a scaly, bipedal form. Long limbs sprouted from its shoulders, and ended in long sharp claws. The beast’s head took form and bared its long needle like teeth. It looked over its shoulder at the tree from which it had escaped,
“Pathetic mortals…” it growled in a gravelly, high pitched voice, before bounding off into the dark shadows of Ponyville in search for a host.
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Just a heads-up; the next update will be two chapters, probably. I just need to restart my writing schedule to adjust for my new job, so ya'll get a double update.
(Also, don't expect Zecora to ever come back. I don't like writing in rhymes.)
Nice chapter. Hope that Deckard will be arriving in Ponyville and reunited with his staff soon. I'd really love to see some "egghead" conversations between him and Twilight
741243 Trust me, if got some egg-headiness planned. A lot of egg-headiness.
Lets greentext like on Glorious 4chan
>get home from 14 hour shift
>wants to nothing more than to go to bed
>checks for anything that he could read next day
>finds this
>starts an attempt to greentext like a /b/tard instead of reading and then going to sleep
742197
742621 >See greentext
>Feel sorry for you
>Makes the text green.
743034
>Sees reply
>Says he failed on command of a being so advanced that it would shatter thy mind thinking about it
>Starts to think he is some awesome medium for a alien
>Did bath salts
>Goes out obeying the command to eat people to purify their stained souls
743082 Off topic, but I'm beginning to turn...
...Green with envy.
Will you be updating soon, good sir?
850346 pichars.org/store/4560_original_tumblr_lnh1fu3w4S1qdku4ro1_500.png