Art by Atlantean
Entry #1
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“Day twenty of the first turn of the seasons, year 120 of The Sisters Reign.”
“My team and I have discovered a new type of bug. We are not quite sure what it does, but it looks rather puffy… Maybe they shall be named the Fluffs.” It was a mare’s voice.
“Further research is required….”
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Entry #7
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“Day *sigh* Forty-three of the first turn of the seasons, year 120 of The Sisters’ Reign.”
There was a heavy sigh from the voice. “Our beloved tracker dog has gone berserk, he won’t stop barking at us, or one of the parasite samples contained within the jar in our lab. This strange behavior is alarming, but alas, I have little time to deal with the distractions. We’ve put a muzzle on him and left him alone for a while.”
There was silence for a moment. “Hopefully he will calm down.” It was as if she was trying to convince herself of this fact, more than she believed it.
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Entry #34
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“Time… Time… I don’t know the time… I don’t even know the season anymore…”
There was a long pause.
Suddenly; heavy, frantic breathing cut through the silence before a panicked voice spoke. “The Fluffs. The Fluffs are such nasty little creatures. Don’t let their looks fool you. They look like moths almost, with a fluffy body and feather-like wings. They glow, too.”
Her voice shuddered. “Delicate would probably be a good word for it…”
“Yes, delicate. They look delicate.” There was yet another long pause.
“However, these creatures... these… things...” There was a small sob, and then she followed up. “They’re dangerous. They burrow inside of you and start doing things to you… your mind…” The voice was breathing heavily now, defeat in her voice. “I noticed it too late. Even now, I see things… things I don’t understand…” Another long pause was suddenly followed up by a scream.
“Where am I?!”
…
Click.
Three cloaked ponies walked onwards towards a dark cave at the base of Misty Peak Mountain. Fog hung in the air around them as they traversed the winding road to the valley. The cloaks concealed anything that gave away an appearance other than a long, pointy horn jutting off the head of the leading pony. A weak glow encased the horn in its colorful aura, levitating a book near her head as she walked. The second was right on her hooves, while the third pony lagged behind the other two.
Art by Atlantean
The unicorn stopped and turned to the mare that had fallen behind, causing the second to stop in her tracks and turn as well. “Dearest sister, please, hurry up. We don’t have all the time in the world. I’d like to be there before next year.”
The third sighed as she walked up and stared at her sister through their hoods. “I don’t think this be a good idea…” she said with a frown. “What if we’re caught…?”
The second merely rolled her eyes and shook her head, but the first grinned. “Stop worrying darling. Everything will work out. Besides, we have the authority for this, and it isn’t like Celestia can do anything to stop us…” she gazed at her in annoyance. “IF we can hurry up.”
The reluctant mare sucked in a breath and gave a half-hearted nod. The first smiled brightly and turned to walk again, still closely followed by the second. The third continued lagging along behind, though not as slowly as she had before. Doubt was still evident on her face as they reached the entrance to the cave.
The leader cast a glance around them to see if anypony was near and motioned to the second to do a quick sweep of the area. She nodded and extended her wings, previously hidden under flaps on the cloak as she took off into the air. She flew a full loop around their area before landing once more between her sisters. “Coast is clear.” She said.
The unicorn nodded. “Let’s hurry up before anything does show up.”
With that, the three sisters trotted into the cave.
Bats hung from its roof, and water dripped from jutting stalactites. Eerie sounds echoed throughout the cave; sounds that didn’t belong to the three sisters. Screeching resounded from overhead as one of the bats blew past them, causing them to press their bodies to the cold, stone floor. Not long after, a small swarm flew overhead with shrill cries.
“Are ya sure this be a good idea?” The third whimpered once more.
“Good idea... Good idea??” The cave itself seemed to respond.
“Deti, No, fine no,” the unicorn said. “This is the worst idea we ever had. But our sister is right. It’s the only way to figure out the truth.”
The third shivered.
“Sis! It isn’t as if we’ve not bent a few laws before. Besides, nothing horrible is going to happen. All the precautions have been taken.” The pegasus rolled her eyes glaring down at the third sister. “Are you just going chicken?”
The third glared. “Neigh sis, neigh I be not!”
“Good, then keep your eyes peeled.” The pegasus instructed, smirking a bit.
They continued in silence as the eldest followed a map through the little-known tunnels. She led them, looking for a chamber that held it. The creature that was locked away deep within the very soul of the mountain.
Finally, they reached the cavern they were looking for. A large, open area opened up in front of them. The cavern was huge, with large stalactites hanging down from the tall ceiling, and decaying ruins or piles of rubble dotted the natural floor of the chamber. The third sister cringed as she looked upon the ruined town. She nearly jumped as her hoof crunched against something hollow, she looked down into the eyeholes of a long dead unicorn and shuddered.
“Watch where you step.” The unicorn once more instructed.
“That would’a been nice ta say before I stepped on it!” The third sister exclaimed in fear and annoyance. “If anythin’ this be all the more reason for us to leave them alone! Do ya SEE what they can do?”
“Deti, don’t fear. We are perfectly aware of what these creatures are capable of. These ponies never knew what hit them. We will be safe; every other time they have attacked, nothing more than a few bad hair days have been the result.” The unicorn huffed.
“Besides, it’ll be awesome!” The pegasus exclaimed childishly, flapping her wings.
“Just like fighting timberwolves!” Deti grumbled.
“Yeah, only better.” The pegasus shivered with delight.
“Inspire, now ah be worried.” Deti’s face was completely drained of color.
The unicorn snorted in amusement. “Follow me, girls.”
The three continued in silence as they went further into the city. They eventually came across what they were looking for. It was a sealed off stone container with warnings etched onto the lid. Without bothering to look, the unicorn set the book down and lifted the lid, quickly throwing up a protection spell to shield her and her sisters from the parasite.
None of the three saw a thing, but after a few moments, the unicorn sighed, with the spell still up she turned to her sisters. “There, it’s done. Now to see how the test goes. Come on, let’s get back to the castle before we are missed.”
The unicorn had teleported the three of them away, a maniacal cackle resounded through the caverns. “Oh, won’t this be fun.” The voice said as he watched the bugs flit about quickly towards the exit. He snapped his fingers and there were suddenly hundreds, if not thousands more of them. They quickly spread throughout Equestria, infecting everything within the land. “Won’t this be a great thing to wake up to. Hummm?”