//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Gathering Storm // Story: Flicker // by XenoPony //------------------------------// Chapter 2: Gathering Storm Skyjack's Log: New Horizon, April 5th Entry Two: Landed in port something or other a few days ago, I really don't even know how to pronounce the names of all these Zebra settlements, never mind know how to spell them. Anyway, the welcoming party was as vibrant as ever, that being there wasn't one. No, we just made port and found a place to sleep for the night, as cheerful as that place was too. I swear though if there's one thing these stripes can do right it's cook. Not that all that makes up for the fact they're all completely bonkers. I can't count how many times I got one telling me that I have some cryptic destiny or that I should watch out for bad omens, or even stupider things like ponies with beards. It's almost like they have nothing else to do all the way out here but talk a load of rubbish. Well, I can say that I'm not parting with one single bit this time, no fortune telling, or freaky potions for me. Besides, the locals aren't the only ones I've got my eyes on. It all seems a little bit uneasy among the crew too, that's nothing new I know, but still Raven's usually told us something about what we're after by now. I don't know, it's like she, and all the stripes for that matter, know something we don't. Worse still only started feeling like that after Raven spoke to the zebra that's gonna lead us up into the jungle to find this place. Apparently, he says it's cursed, but what the heck isn't cursed around here? You can throw some stick up in the air and it's gonna end up landing on some damn cursed rock, twig or something. One thing's for sure, I ain't being cursed because of some random bucking rock. Regardless, Raven seems to be taking things a damn sight more serious than usual, and anything that bodes ill for her does for us all, I always say. Stripe said something about a temple of the stars and making the worse out of ponies. I didn't get the full details, didn't want to. All I heard was something about it being older than the world itself and home to the darkest of nightmares. Pretty much like every other hole around here if you ask me. Then there was something about the ink. Beats me what the stuff is, but the stripe says that anypony it touches will be cursed with a swift and painful death. Not only that but they will be cursed to spawn a daemon from the depths of their very soul. Sounds like a load of horse apples to me. Do they really expect us to believe that the same stuff we use to write is gonna come and kill us all? Not to mention create some kind of evil monster? By Celestia, these stripes crack me up sometimes. There ain't no monsters out there other than the damn things that crawl about in the jungle, and we've been here and done that all before. No, all that's really out there for us is our new jackpot. ******** "There you guys are, we've been waiting here all afternoon," called Rainbow Dash as Twilight and the others trotted up to the large doors of the ruined castle. "Ain't that exaggeratin' it just a little bit, sugarcube? We've only been here fer an hour," Applejack responded, offering her rainbow maned friend a wry look. "Enough time to beat you in three hoof wrestles though," Rainbow responded smugly, prompting the farm pony to roll her eyes. "Oo. Oo. Oo, are you two going to do another one,? How about best out of ten this time?" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as the pink earth pony jumped up and down behind Applejack and Rainbow Dash. "I don't know, depends on whether AJ here's ready for another loss," Rainbow smirked, flicking her orange friend on the shoulder with a wing. Applejack just grumbled something under her breath as she turned away from the pegasus with a huff and trotted towards Twilight and the others. "She's right 'bout one thing, y'all are late," she said, yet there was little frustration in her tone as she smiled. "Sorry, Applejack, we kinda got a little sidetracked by something on the road," Twilight confessed, ever so subtly glancing back at the direction from which she'd come. There was absolutely no sign of the ship or anything out of the ordinary, or as ordinary as the Everfree forest could be. All she saw was the old rope bridge and the wall of trees beyond as they rustled eerily in the wind. The sky above had become home to a host of dark storm clouds as the rumbling of thunder grew ever closer. Applejack raised an eyebrow at Twilight's somewhat nervous confession and peered out into the trees. "What kinda somethin’? We didn't see nothin' when we came through," she asked suspiciously. "Neither did we, we only found it because Spike caught on a vine," Twilight responded, turning back to her friend as the dragon on her back sank with slight embarrassment. Applejack looked ready to voice a retort to that, and even Rainbow Dash's attention seemed to be captivated by Twilight's words. But before either of them could speak they were interrupted by Pinkie Pie. "Ooooooooooooooo!" The pink pony gasped eagerly, materializing beside Fluttershy, wide eyes peering deeply into the black object upon the pegasus' back. "What you got there, Fluttershy? It's all pretty and glowy and shiny!" Startled by the sudden appearance of her excited friend Fluttershy gasped and jumped back. Only to end up fighting to make sure she didn't drop her fragile cargo. "Oops sorry, didn't mean to scare you," Pinkie apologized, rubbing the back of her neck as Fluttershy finally steadied herself, though she needed a little help from Rarity's magic to do so. "Yes, I think we've all had our fair share of startling situations today," the alabaster unicorn said flatly as Fluttershy took a breath and collected herself. "It's alright, Pinkie, as for this little guy? I think it's an egg," she explained, looking over her shoulder at the object with a caring glance. Within moments Pinkie Pie was back to her usual energetic self and bounced rapidly around the yellow pegasus with excitement. "Wow, I've never seen an egg like this before..." She lifted a forehoof to her muzzle. "Actually, I've never seen anything quite like this before, it's all glowy. Almost like there's a party going on in there or something," Pinkie stated swiftly, earning a small laugh from Fluttershy. "I've never seen anything like it either, Pinkie. But whatever it is, it was abandoned in the middle of the forest," she explained sadly, and Pinkie paused. "Awww, that's terrible. Well, don't you worry little guy because Fluttershy and your good old auntie Pinkie Pie are here to take care of you," she said as she pressed her muzzle to the glistening surface of the sphere. The thing gave a vibrant flash, the light shifting towards Pinkie's face as the dark shape within fidgeted eagerly. "Wow, I think it likes me," Pinkie laughed, yet the only one to share the egg’s affection was Fluttershy. Rarity made to place a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder, almost as if to pull her away from the thing. But she hesitated as she saw just how much the two seem to care about it and glanced to the others with concern. "Ah take it that's got somethin' ta do with where y'all have been?" Applejack asked skeptically. "Yeah, how come I'm never around when you guys find something really awesome?" Rainbow Dash asked in disappointment, her eyes focused on the flickering light within the egg. "To be honest it wasn't really all that great, Rainbow," Twilight admitted, but that did little to dampen the pegasus' enthusiasm. "You're quite right, it was a positively vile place. I'm just worried about... Well..." Rarity began as she trotted up beside Twilight, her words trailing off as she looked back at Fluttershy and Pinkie. She wasn't the only one, both Twilight and Starlight bore the same look of concern. The latter especially, as the image from the ship played through her mind. But Twilight had seen it too, and she just seemed far more focused on other things right now. So Starlight assumed she should use her mentor's calm reaction to the situation as an example. Besides, what harm could a little egg do to the bears of the elements of harmony and one of the most powerful unicorns in the land? "Ya care ta tell us what it was then?" Applejack pressed, the air of concern seeming to spread to her as well. "A crashed skyship," Twilight finally sighed. "They're a rarity in Equestria not to mention mostly illegal, so I thought I'd take a look," she added. "A sky what?" Applejack asked, but her confusion was swiftly interrupted by Rainbow Dash. "You saw a skyship! Please tell me it wasn't one of those prissy Canterlot ones," she asked eagerly, earning a scowl from Rarity. Twilight shook her head, but the pegasus' excitement only grew as she began to hover in the air beside Applejack with an eager expression. "That's so awesome! I saw one in Cloudsdale when I was a filly. They said it could fly faster than any pegasus. Rainbow paused for a moment."Of course, that's before I came along and started flying," she added, rubbing a hoof to her chest confidently. Applejack rolled her eyes, another low grumble escaping her muzzle. Then she looked up to the darkening sky as another distant rumble of thunder echoed through the forest. "Well, y'all might want ta continue this conversation inside, storm's gettin' mighty close," she suggested, looking back down at her friends as the wind began to blow harder. "Yes I think that would be best, Applejack," Rarity agreed trotting up the steps and towards the castle's grand door. Applejack, Starlight, and Twilight were quick to follow as the thunder sounded once more and a flash of lightning lanced across the coming wall of black clouds. "Fluttershy, Pinkie, come on, you don't want to be out here when it really starts coming down!" Rainbow called to the others, as she hovered above the door. "Coming, Dashie," Pinkie called, forcing the pegasus' eyes to roll as the pair past under her and moved into the castle with Fluttershy's new found friend. Seconds later Rainbow flew through the doors, closing them behind her as the first drops of rain began to fall upon the ruined stone and the darkness of the storm drew in to consume the forest. ******** "We didn't find anything," Twilight stated simply as everypony trotted along the long, stone hallway. Both herself, Spike and Applejack led the way, with Starlight and Rarity close behind. Rainbow Dash hovered above just as she always did as both Pinkie and Fluttershy brought up the rear of the group, going on and on about what may hatch from the mysterious orb. It seemed strange that neither of them felt as weary of the thing as everypony else. Yet that only made the others question themselves. Did Pinkie and Fluttershy's expectancy make them naive or did everypony else's refusal to do so just make them arrogant? Starlight, in particular, couldn't shake the feeling, memories of her past surfacing at the idea she may be some kind of bad pony. It was easy to attribute the thoughts to simple anxiety however, and she swiftly set out in search of a distraction. The walls of the old castle were made from towering gray stone, the vast surface occasionally marked by a cracked pillar or tattered tapestry. Once or twice a pile of fallen rubble covered the floor, ruining the already faded rug that lay there. Over every piece of pony crafted architecture, the forest made its presence known. Small plants pushed through every narrow crack in the tone and masses of tangled vines clung to many of the walls. More hung down through the gaping holes in the roof or through the shattered windows, and in some places even large roots tore their way through the floor. "Starlight came in there with me, the whole place was empty. Well, except for one thing." Twilight went on just ahead. "Oh, an’ what might that be?" Applejack questioned carefully, and Twilight finally sighed. "We found the captain, at least what was left of her. But it was old, whatever happened there happened some time ago," Twilight reluctantly explained. "You mean you found a dead body? Wow, Everfree's really showing its teeth again," Rainbow said admirably, yet it was the forest that seemed to gain the majority of her respect. "More like a pile of twigs than any bones. It was hard to make them out at all," Twilight added, then looked at Starlight. "She's right, there was some weird vine stuff all over it, but it did look old," the lilac unicorn stated quickly. "Well, Fluttershy certainly found somethin'," Applejack swiftly responded, glancing back at both the pegasus in question and a very giddy Pinkie Pie. "Well that must have been the only one onboard, there was nothing like it on the half of the ship we searched, just some useless records and these weird, big crystal vial things," Twilight explained, once again looking back at Starlight for support. All Starlight did was nod, the memory of the scorched parchment Twilight had found in the desk flashing through her mind. She felt that cold dread churning in her as she pondered why somepony would go to such great lengths to hide where they'd been. "So where did she find that thang exactly?" Applejack asked, but Twilight merely looked at Rarity. "I think she found it in the mud near the front half, one minute she was standing there, the next she had it in her hooves," Rarity explained, taken slightly off guard by the direction of the conversation. "Well ah know if there's anypony good with animals, it's Fluttershy," Applejack responded reasonably. "I am aware, dear, but don't you just look at it and well... I don't know, maybe it's just that place getting to me. But it feels rather odd don't you think?" Rarity asked, that concern still bright in her eyes as she awaited somepony's response. "I bet it wasn't that scary, you'll have to show me when we head back," Rainbow Dash ordered, earning herself another sour glance from Rarity. "Yeah, but nopony should go meddlin’ with what they don' understand. It's not safe, especially when that somethin' comes from the Everfree," Applejack warned, eying Rainbow sternly. "I think when it comes to animals from the forest, Fluttershy know what's she's doing, AJ. She's lived on its edge most her life," Rainbow retorted, and Applejack frowned. "That ain't what ah'm sayin' Rainbow. What ah'm sayin' is that now that thang's in Fluttershy's capable hooves there's no need fer anypony else ta go blundering around in the forest," Applejack argued, all the while Rainbow moved to retort with something witty before she was interrupted by Twilight. "Applejack's right, Fluttershy knows what she's doing. Besides, I don't think anypony wants to go back out there in the storm,” Twilight said, silencing them both. "So long as Fluttershy's new friend doesn't turn out to be some ugly baby dragon eating thing I'm fine," Spike interjected, slouching down against Twilight's mane. "Don't worry, if it's that bad I know I'll totally be able to take it on," Rainbow boasted with a flex of her forelegs. "Just like ya' took on that dragon?" Applejack asked wittily. "Hey, that was different. I mean, it's not like a full-grown dragon's gonna come out of an egg that big, AJ," Rainbow argued, causing the farm pony to snicker. "Hey, you're all not talking about Walter are you?" The sound of Pinkie's voice was so sudden that it once again made every pony jump. Even Rainbow Dash swerved in the air, then went to a great effort to cover up the fact with a wide swoop. "Who's Walter?" Twilight asked, collecting herself. "He's our new friend, silly. Or he will be, he just has to hatch first, which Fluttershy thinks is gonna happen soon. So I'll have to come up with a great big happy birthday party really quick. I'll need streamers, balloons, cake, and presents, can't have a first birthday without presents!" Pinkie explained rapidly, before gasping for air. "Wait, wait, wait, you named the egg?" Rainbow asked in skeptical surprise. "Of course, everypony's got to have a name, silly. Although, considering we don't know what he is yet..." "He?" Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah, I think it's gonna be a boy, call it a hunch," Pinkie said, waving a hoof dismissively. "Well whatever it's gonna be, it's gonna need somewhere to hatch," Fluttershy added, as she trotted up beside Pinkie. "How do you know it's gonna hatch anyway?" asked Starlight, as she received a very close look at the object. The light within shifted once more, seeming to almost follow her eyes as they passed over its shimmering surface. It felt like there was something in there staring at her. She couldn't quite make it out but whatever it was moved like a sickly black liquid through the glowing soup, squirming and writhing as if trying to break free. "Oh, well, whatever is inside seems very restless. I haven't heard it make any noise yet, which is what some animals do when they're about to hatch, but this species must be different," Fluttershy explained, glancing back at the egg over her shoulder. The moment she did so, Starlight shied away and re-directed her eyes to the ruined corridor ahead as several large doors came into view. Everypony else other than Pinkie looked at Fluttershy with mounting skepticism. Even Rainbow Dash's bold confidence in her foalhood friend didn't seem strong enough to hold back her growing doubts. "We'll take it to the library, I've been meaning to show Starlight some books anyway. So if you think it's gonna hatch at least we'll have something to read while we wait," Twilight offered, and Fluttershy smiled appreciatively as she expressed her thanks. "Oooo, maybe we can find some books on eggs or one that tells us what it is, or what's gonna come out, or..." Pinkie began, but she was silenced seconds later by Rainbow Dash placing a hoof over her mouth. "Okay Pinkie, I think we get it," she said with an ever so small hint of annoyance. Pinkie Pie smiled apologetically and sank down at Fluttershy's side. "Don't worry Walter, your auntie Rainbow’s not always this mean," she whispered to the egg. "I'm not that things aunt, Pinkie." Rainbow groaned as everypony moved through one of the crooked wooden doors, and into the massive library chamber. "By Celestia, I've never seen so many books before," Starlight gasped as her shocked eyes passed over the towering shelves of ancient knowledge, all free for the taking. The rows upon rows of old books towered upwards into the darkness that lingered amidst the great support beams of the arched roof. Rubble and deberry covered the floor, crushing tables and fallen shelves under its mighty weight. Nevertheless, it looked far cleaner than most ruined castles should. That illusion of clarity was somewhat hindered by the rain as it dribbled noisily down from several large holes in the ceiling, beyond which the swirling sky churned and flashed with bright lightning. The bright flickers of the storm revealed stark images of the far side of the library, untouched by the magical glow of anypony's horn. In the gloom, there were more books, not to mention the head of a great alicorn statue that only looked a little unsettling as its stoic face was illuminated for mere seconds by the lightning. The only other light was that emanating from within the depths of the peculiar sphere as Fluttershy made her way towards a small doorway in the library's right wall, Pinkie Pie and Rarity trotting behind her. The former still moved with a giddy bounce in her step, while the latter had a look more akin to a concerned mother trying to ensure their foal won't go out and hurt themselves. "Well at least this place hasn't changed too much," Twilight observed as her eyes scoured the towering shelves. "I'll say, with the amount o’ effort we put into clearin' this place up," Applejack added, her words saturated by a hint of pride. "So you want to take a look around?" Twilight asked, turning to Starlight eagerly. Despite all of the anxiety building in her mind, and the constant images of what she'd seen on the ship rushing through her mind, Starlight couldn't help but mentally squee at the sight of so much untouched information. She'd not been all over Equestria searching for powerful magic for nothing, and now she'd hit the jackpot. "Sure, although I'll have to find somewhere to start," she admitted, looking rather like an excited filly in a vast candy shop than one of Equestria's most advanced unicorns. Twilight only smiled at the giddiness of her student. To her the sight of somepony else so willing and excited to learn was priceless, and the idea she'd been the one to induce such enthusiasm made her all the more overjoyed. At Starlight's words, she began looking over the great wall of books thoughtfully. "I'd say take a look at the south-west wing, that's near where I found the diary of the two sisters so there has to be more interesting stuff there.” Twilight suggested. "Yeah, just be careful you don't find any books hidden behind secret doors or anything," Spike added with a shiver, and Twilight's ears folded as she huffed. "Thanks, but what about you?" Starlight asked, and Twilight swiftly recovered from her mild frustration. "Oh, don't worry about me. I think I've got some research of sky ships to do, not to mention looking to see if I can find anything about our new friend," she responded, glancing back to the small sitting area into which the others had taken the orb. The glowing object sat in the center of the room, a makeshift nest of soft cushions forming a ring around it as it flickered and shifted with increasing ferocity. Fluttershy watched it with wary curiosity, her sensible action only supporting the fact that she did know what she was doing. Pinkie Pie on the other hoof, was crouched like a dog ready to pounce on the thing, eagerly calling out every time she saw any sign of movement from her new friend. "Well, while y'all are both doin' that, ah'm gonna go make sure no pony ends up hurting themselves," Applejack said, as she began trotting towards the sitting room. Rainbow Dash looked to the farm pony for a second then back at the others as they began to move over to the shelves. "Hey, I like books as much as the next pony, just not these kinds of books," she admitted, rubbing a hoof on the back of her neck before darting off after Applejack before anypony could question. "Hey AJ, wait up. If this thing turns out to be some kind of super dragon, I wanna see it too." "Well, guess it's just us. Ready to find some books, Spike?" Twilight asked. Her words ushered a determined salute from the baby dragon upon her back, and he muttered something along the lines of her number one assistant was always ready. Meanwhile, Starlight trotted over to the shelves Twilight had pointed out and after a long few minutes of looking, brought several interesting books over to the middle tables. It was no coincidence that she chose a table with a full view of the room to contain the majority of her friends. She was not about to wander off into the gloom or sit in the rain. Looking into the smaller chamber before her, she saw the others as they all watched over the glowing sphere between them with mixed expressions. "Well, I can't find anything on our new friend, but I did find this," Twilight stated, both her voice and the fact she dropped a book down on the table beside Starlight almost making the unicorn jump right out of her skin. "At least I think it's similar... It's a charter of one of the first skyship trades from before even Celestia and Luna came to power.” "That's wonderful, Twilight," Starlight responded, pressing a hoof to her chest as she slowed her frightened breath and collected herself. Twilight just nodded then buried her face in the book. Spike jumped from her back and took a seat on the table between the two ponies. "Funny, I thought it would have taken longer," he said, sounding a little bit dissatisfied. "Well, what can you expect from Equestria's number one assistant?" Starlight asked, hiding her anxiety with a small laugh. "Don't you know it," the baby dragon responded, leaning against Starlight's shoulder with one claw as he inspected the other. "Of course Spike," Twilight added with only a small portion of her attention. "Well, according to this the only trade route that went right over the Everfree forest was the central Equestrian airway. But this is over a thousand years old so I have no idea how much that could have changed since then." Twilight seemed to be mumbling the explanation more to herself than anypony else. "I'd be surprised if it hasn't," Starlight responded, closing her own book as she added. "Can you make out anywhere they may have come from?" Twilight cocked her head as she thought, rubbing a fore hoof under her chin. "Given the way the ship was facing I'd say somewhere in the southeast, yet I have no idea, really. One thing I do know is that skyjacks are usually willing to transport anything for the right price, no matter what it was or what their employer would do with it.” Starlight opened her muzzle to responded yet a great flash of lightning, and a booming rumble of thunder cut her off, not to mention put a stop to Spikes confident display as the dragon leaped up onto Starlight's back like some kind of terrified kitten. The sharp touch of his claws made the unicorn wince but no quicker did she feel the pain was she jumping to her own hooves and backpedaling from the table. From the holes in the ceiling, rain began to shimmer and dance as the wind picked up. It began hitting the table with a light series of pitter-patters, and the wet disturbance was enough to shake Twilight free of her research. Looking up, she closed her book in an effort to defend it from the water's assault. "On second thought, maybe it's better if we read in there with the others," she suggested, nodding to the chamber in which their friends were sat. "Yeah, that sounds good," Spike added, eyes fixed on the storm as he shivered. Trotting toward the room, however, it was hard to hide the fact that there was little difference between the storm outside and the cold darkness within the castle. That freezing feeling of dread only grew as they entered the room and caught a glimpse of the glow that emanated from the center. The blue light flickered and pulsed with far more ferocity than it had ever done previously, as if the attention and presence of others was somehow awakening whatever was inside from its stillness. The image of the ship's wrecked interior passed through Starlight's mind again and she gulped, taking a seat furthest away from the thing as Twilight settled down with her new book just beside her. The orb gave another heavy shudder and Fluttershy raised her head, studying the thing's action with a knowledge and understanding gathered over many years of seeing other creatures do the same thing. Pinkie Pie leaped up in anticipation, pausing in mid-air, then fell to the ground moments later as the orb did little more than twitch and shudder. She looked at Fluttershy, and the yellow pegasus gave a soft, little laugh. "You can’t rush these things, Pinkie. It will hatch when it's ready," Fluttershy told her. "I know, I know... It's just so exciting, are you not excited, because I'm so excited?" Pinkie exclaimed eagerly. "Yes, Pinkie, we're all very excited to meet your new friend. But if you keep bouncing around you're gonna smash the thing before it even gets a chance to do anything," Rainbow responded reasonably, despite the tiredness in her dry tone. "Rainbow's right, sugarcube. Ah think the last thing it needs is somepony jumpin’ around making loads o' noise," Applejack added, resulting in a reluctantly appreciative nod from Fluttershy. Clearly, the yellow pegasus didn't quite have it in her to quell her friend's excitement, not while holding back her own with a sensible mask of clarity. Nevertheless, Pinkie sat back, making a motion as if zipping her mouth shut as her eyes once again became fixed on the restless sphere. Applejack leaned back and sat down beside Rarity who was still doing her best to hide her concern, by distracting herself with the state of her raincoat. The same could not be said for Starlight as she watched the flickering light grow ever more violent within the shimming shell. She could feel Spike peer up over her head tentatively, then there was a small crack. Everypony stood up sharply, even Twilight was torn from her book by the sound as the orb shifted and gave another small sound. Starlight felt her heart began to race and her skin crawl as it moved again, and everypony other then Fluttershy and Pinkie looked at one another. Rarity even went as far as taking a wary step back. Fluttershy glanced up at her friends, and Pinkie Pie looked directly down at the orb as a small split broke open across the top. The pink pony mumbled something from behind her sealed lips as the crack grew like a spider's web across the black shell and the blue glow surged brightly, then it flickered out and died. Fluttershy's eyes widened in alarm and she crouched down to peer into the inside of the sphere as it went dark. Then there was another shudder and the thing's whole top cracked open with a firm shake. It all happened in an instant. The top of the thing exploded in a shower of small shell fragments and a vicious, black slime. Fluttershy scurried back along the floor in surprise, her legs kicking in the dust as she did so. Meanwhile, the surge of black liquid struck Pinkie right in the face. There was a steaming hiss, and an intensely pungent smell filled the room as the pink pony let out a painful scream. Her self-imposed silence broken, Pinkie's mouth tore open through the sticky black mass, before the ever-bubbling slime forced her face to contort. The goo flooded back across her coat with ravenous hunger, silencing her yet again. Several more splashes of the stuff struck her legs and in an instant, they began to twist the flesh into repugnant black growths and swollen blisters. Everypony rushed forwards in alarm, only to be forced back as Pinkie kicked and bucked with muffled cries of terrified agony. Applejack moved to grip her hind hooves but received a frantic kick to the face for her efforts. Rainbow Dash darted to grab from overhead but was caught dodging more of the black slime as it was flung about the room by Pinkie's frantic thrashing. Even the magic of telekinesis failed to do anything more than force every unicorn in the room to wince in pain as the black substance turned their magic into a foul dark aura. The pool of solidifying black goo around the shattered sphere didn't help as it crawled its way out across the floor. In her panicked flurry, Pinkie Pie frantically spun through it and yet more of the stuff latched onto her hooves. Then the mass upon her face began to twinge and convulse as it tightened. Bubbling blisters began to sprout from the twisting dark mass as it spread down her neck and over her ears, fusing them back into her skull. Forced back to the very edge of the room nopony could do anything as Pinkie gave one last muffled scream, her throat gargling as if it were filled with liquid. Then there was an ear-splitting crunch and Pinkie shuddered violently, her body sagging for a short moment. Everypony felt a deep dread as their afflicted friend stood there swaying like a ghostly statue for a long moment. Finally, as they dared place their hooves forward Pinkie Pie reared up and blindly bolted from the room as fast as her grotesquely twisting limbs would carry her.