MLP Laboratories- Freak Show

by NeuPferdfurt


beastmaster

(MLP Laboratories the Outbreak Level 16/17)

"Fluttershy... There you are."

Twilight Sparkle had found the pegasus in the ruins of her former home. What Fluttershy once used to think of as her cottage had actually been the entry to a set of smaller laboratories which had practiced animal testing. Now she was standing amidst the broken glass and the lifeless robot arms, staring into the darkness.

"Why have you come here all by yourself? We were worried about you."

"...There is still one left."

"One of the animals?"

Most of the smaller creatures had perished since the cataclysm, but Fluttershy had managed to save some of them, and they were currently sharing the improvised shelters with the ponies. The question about the future of the "non-pony" creatures had been one of the many subjects of discord during the last hours -no pun intended. A great number of ponies seemed to think that leaving them to die was the only option, since the ponies could not afford to waste any efforts on anything else but their own survival. As much as Twilight hated to admit it, this was by far the most rational option.
But what would become of Fluttershy? Under normal circumstances, she would never have abandoned her animal friends. Now her entire world was lying in ruins, including her own psyche. Could she even survive another blow? Pinkie Pie and Spike had told Twilight about horrible things that had happened to their pegasus friend- not the least being the gruesome death of her rabbit Angel.

Yes, Angel was dead. That's what happened. Angel was dead. Something else had died as well, in the grip of metal claws, in a small place full of probes and noises. But Angel was the only thing she could focus on right now.

This Fluttershy was a patchwork of traumas and mutations, and it was all but certain whether this patchwork was viable.

-

It was very dark in here. Twilight's light-spell illuminated little more than a tiny strip on Fluttershy's flank, since the pegasus was standing outside the light cone. Somehow, Twilight didn't feel like coming any closer.

"Fluttershy?"

"...Shhh. It's coming."

Now Twilight heard it as well. Further away in the direction in which Fluttershy was looking, there were horrid, sloshing noises. And they were coming closer.
Then there was the sound of breaking glass.

"W-what is this?"

"...It's almost here. Please step back, Twilight. And be very quiet, it doesn't have eyes, but it can hear you."

Her hooves obeyed, ignoring the half-baked protests of her brain.

The creature started to roar, and the ground under Twilight's hooves was vibrating. A chunk of slime landed in front of her, and tiny drops of the same substance were sprinkled all over her body.

"...Hush now. I'm here."

To her boundless horror, Twilight saw how a great mass of slime- it happened too fast for her to tell whether it was a claw, a tentacle or something completely different - rose from the shadows and grabbed Fluttershy's head, pulling her into the darkness.

"Fluttershy!"

The creature replied to her cry with a bone-shaking howl, rushing towards her position.

The creature's head appeared in the light cone. At least Twilight thought it might have been its head, but there wasn't really a proper term to describe it.
In the very same moment, two yellow hooves rose from the creature's semi-fluid flesh, reached forward, sunk back in- and then there was a cracking sound, like a breaking branch.

-

The monster fell to the ground, its slimy flesh rapidly dissolving, leaving behind a surprisingly delicate, bird-like skeleton. Fluttershy stepped out of the puddle.

"Y-you killed it."

"...It was nothing but pain. It had been waiting for me for a long time."

Fluttershy walked towards the exit.

"...There is nothing left now. Will you walk back to the shelter with me?"

Twilight shook off her terror and awe.

"Sure. Fluttershy... are you alright?"

"...No."

And that was the truth. It would have to do for now.

-

Twilight noticed that Fluttershy was wearing a necklace, a gruesome talisman. It was a plastic string with two white bunny ears, swinging back and forth as she walked.
The unicorn pony shuddered.