//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 — Convulsion // Story: Modulation // by ProBrony //------------------------------// — Chapter 2 : Convulsion — Down below, those in the tree house instantly felt the sonic rainboom’s vibrations through every part of their bodies. Windows slammed open, and books were shaken from their shelves. This time the few ink bottles that fell, cracked open. “G-g-g-guys, I’m sh-sh-sh-shaaaaking!” Pinkie said as she vibrated along the floor. Applejack had taken a defensive stance, trying to protect Fluttershy from the falling books. Fluttershy lay at her hooves with her own over her head. Rarity’s legs were shaking violently, but she remained in her place by giving herself a little magical nudge here and there. Spike was knocked off his feet, and promptly was knocked out as a heavy tome landed on his head. Whatever book that was, Spike told himself he was going to send some of its pages to Celestia in spite, right after this true snooze he had been looking forward to. Twilight’s eyes were shut tight, trying to hold on to the spell. Rarity was beginning to doubt this would ever work, when suddenly the room grew dim. Twilight’s horn generated another overglow, and her eyes snapped open. They were completely white, and spilling light into the room. Rarity started mildly perspiring as she watched as all the energy condensed to the tip of Twilight’s horn, changing hues to a pure white. Twilight looked like she was running a marathon with how damp her coat was. She dropped to her knees as she struggled to keep the spell going. As the last bit of glow from her horn reached the tip, it separated and floated gently into the air. When Twilight was finally released, she collapsed all the way down, and groggily watched her work. All she could think about was how this spell has to work, and how nice that spa was going to be. Immediately the air stilled, the shaking stopped, and the room went dead quiet aside from the faint rumbling still echoing from the rainboom. Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Rarity all watched the ball of white light lazily flow through the air to Rarity. “Oooo, it’s like a dandelion seed!” cooed Pinkie Pie. The small ball of light fluttered through the air. Even as she spoke, the light shuddered, as if the air from her breath was disturbing its flight. Rarity stood tall as the light approached her. She gulped, however. I’m ready, she thought. Twilight wouldn’t hurt me. Besides, I can detect barely any magic from this thing. I hope she didn’t tire herself out for naught. The ball of light had gone in a large lazy arc, and closed in on Rarity, its flickering light casting long shadows around the darkened room. Rarity gazed into the light, inches from her face. It fluttered, flickered once, and then touched her horn. Rarity felt a small fizzle of energy shoot from her horn to her shoes, and... nothing else. She paused. A few moments went by, then ten seconds. She sighed. “Well, that was disappointing.” Of all the ponies watching, Fluttershy looked the most disappointed and hurt. She was a tiny bit frustrated Rarity took her moment of bravery away for nothing, but she knew it was for the best. She took a step towards Rarity. “Gosh, I guess it wasn’t so bad after—“ “AH!” Rarity shouted in alarm, almost scaring herself with her own voice. She stumbled, but caught herself. ...what is this...? "What's wrong, Rare?" Applejack asked quickly. It was short, almost to the point where she wasn't sure it was real, but she sure she had felt the worst possible pain. It had been everywhere, inside everything, and even though it had left as quickly as it came it made her skin itch. “I... I think it was nothing or at least it's gone now. Twilight, what exactly did- Uh... Ah! Aaahh!” She screeched, and fell in a twitching mass. It was coming and going, with more frequency. Fluttershy froze. Applejack returned her hat to her head, her eyes wide. Pinkie stopped eating popcorn, her hoof inches away from her face. She dropped her hoofful. Nopony spoke. A band of energy shot out, and connected Rarity to Twilight’s horn like a bolt of lightning. Then, Rarity screamed again. Applejack flinched from the sound, but Fluttershy sprang into action. She approached Rarity, quickly scanning her body to see what was wrong. Rarity’s body began to shake even more violently. Her screams grew louder. "Help me, Celestia, please someone make it stop!" Fluttershy frantically tried to see a cause. A black mass of goo began to seep from the base of her horn down to her hooves all over Rarity's skin. It slowly crept down her face, leaving her eyes exposed but falling into her mouth. As she still thrashed about, it crept over everything. She was trying to spit it out, and some got on Fluttershy’s front legs. She looked down. It looked like dried blood. As Fluttershy stood over her, Twilight was slowly rising. “Oh Celestia!” Twilight immediately ran to Rarity. Rarity’s convulsions were more even violent now, and she was flopping about, knocking piles of books over. The floor beneath her was full of pockmarks from where her hooves had slammed into it. Flecks of the black mass had flaked off and were getting everywhere, and staining everything. Her screams were accompanied by liquid and dust came that came out every time she made a sound. …is this a gift…? “Fluttershy, can't you tell what’s wrong?” Twilight asked frantically. Fluttershy, whose voice was normally never much higher than a whisper, had to yell with everything she was willing to give to be heard. “I-I don’t know! She was fine at first, and there's nothing I can see wrong, and nothing happened but then- No." She turned to Twilight. Her voice became hard as stone. "You caused this. Twilight, you tell me what’s-“ CRACK. Fluttershy’s and Twilights pupils shrunk as they look each other, then they looked down at Rarity. She was completely covered in black. A thin line ran along her hind leg. SSHRACK... The exoskeleton sheared apart and erupted, blowing the skeleton and blood onto Twilight and Fluttershy. Fluttershy blinked, and saw that Rarity’s rear hoof lay exposed. She gasped as she could see Rarity’s muscles still convulsing. Rarity’s scream become unlike anything Fluttershy had ever heard in all her life as a veterinarian. “IT HURTS! IT HURTS! T-T-T-TWILIGHT STOP IT, IT HURTS SO MUCH!” Fluttershy’s heart was pounding against her chest. She felt powerless to help. "Not again," she whispered to herself. Rarity’s words almost sounded feral. Applejack finally snapped out of it and sprang into action. She ran over to Twilight and shoved her down and stared into her eyes. They were misting over. “What in Celestia’s name are you doing? Stop it! Stop it right now!” She shouted over Rarity. “I-I-I don’t know what I’m doing! I have no control!” Twilight shut her eyes. Her horn was sputtering madly. “I’m trying to stop it, I am.” Tears were leaking. The screaming seemed to get impossibly louder. Applejack raised a hoof. “Stop it now Twilight or I’m stopping it!” “I can’t… I can’t Applejack!” Twilight was sobbing now. …so strong… “TWILIGHT PLEASE! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! SOMEPONY! FLUTTERSHY! SWEETIE BELLE!” Rarity was so loud Applejack couldn’t hear her. Applejack felt like she was running out of seconds by the heartbeat. She reared back and closed eyes, and struck Twilight on her horn as hard as she could. Twilight screamed, blinded by pain and tears. She didn't know what hurt more, Applejack's blow to her horn or that she was responsible for all of this. Applejack glanced over at Fluttershy and Rarity. Fluttershy was now holding Rarity down, but she could see her rear leg slowly disintegrating. As the exoskeleton cracked away, the exposed tissue was falling apart, breaking down to a mix of organic soup that looked like dark blood and splashing all over as if being expelled. Rarity’s rear leg was gone and her other hooves had already started to disappear. Applejack turned back to Twilight again, looked at Rarity, and then left Twilight. Twilight laid there, blood trickling down from the base of her horn. She knew she was able to stand, but she couldn’t force herself to. Applejack had struck her down. Applejack. She could no longer see, everything hurt too much. By the time Applejack walked across the room, everything was drenched. All of Twilight’s precious books were unreadable, and the timeless tomes from the Princess were lost. Some were even flying around in the wind. Fluttershy’s face was stricken with horror. Everything was so wrong. She had to deal with injured and frightened animals before, but this was beyond her. Her best friend was dying, bur all her training and caring for animals couldn't help her in the slightest. When her legs were done, the exoskeleton peeled back, revealing her torso. Rarity’s screams became choked, and finally some of the noise quieted down. Without legs to thrash, about she merely shook her head back and forth while the spell ate her insides. Rarity’s eyes bulged and twisted, swiveling around to look every which way. Her voice finally gave completely as her rib cage was pulled away, exposing her innards. Then they too quickly disintegrated into the liquid. Fluttershy was sick, and Applejack pulled her hat over her eyes. Twilight lay still. Pinkie hadn’t moved, despite the blood that had darkened her coat. There was nothing they could do but watch their friend be eaten alive. Soon, her neck was being consumed, then her jaw. The screams had stopped, and a grave silence fell over the tree house. Fluttershy was still looking down at her friend, wishing with all her might to Luna and Celestia that this was simply a mistake, one of her many nightmares, and that she’d wake up soon like she always does. Applejack tried to pull Fluttershy away, but she shouted something incomprehensible and bucked her off. She wouldn't leave her friend. As only the top half of her skull remained, Fluttershy kneeled into the puddle of red, trying to get as close to her friend as she possible. Rarity’s eyes were wild as what was left of her was still processing the last of the pain. The sound had stopped, but the wind had picked up again around the edges of the room and was still rumbling and accelerating around the tree house. Finally, the spelled claimed one of her eyes. As the spell consumed it, it disintegrated into dust, liquid poured over the last bit of exposed muscle from her snout. Fluttershy could barely see now, and realized tears had been streaming down her face. She tried to wipe them away. Twilight tears were being ripped from her face by the wind, and her ears were still ringing. At her last moment, Rarity’s single eye rolled around and gazed up into hers from across the room. As the last part of Rarity gazed up at Twilight, her horn shattered. The last bit of Rarity vanished, leaving behind flakes that floated around the room like ash. The wind immediately died, with some of Rarity’s mist falling on the exposed pages of the books that were that were laid open by the storm. To Fluttershy, the end of spell brought with it a deafening silence. No pony moved. Then, another sob emitted from Twilight. Just like that Applejack was broken out of her trance. She stormed back over to Twilight, hefted her up, and pinned her on the wall. “What was that?” She yelled, her voice conjuring up all the emotion she had coursing through her heart at the moment. Her blood was pounding. “What, in Tartarus, was that, Twilight Sparkle? Where is Rarity?” “I-I don’t kn-“ “What did you do?” Applejack’s volume caused Twilight to wince, as if it caused her physical pain. “I don’t know, I don’t know! This is all wrong! I… I was only trying to make an exoskeleton.” Applejack’s face tightened. “Ah don’t care about what you were tryin' to do! Ah have to know!” “WHERE. IS. RARITY?” Both Applejack and Twilight froze. Slowly, they turned to Fluttershy. Fluttershy was shaking. She had never screamed this loud in her life. All the mares in their circle were special to her, and while Rainbow had the most history, Rarity was special. Rarity was her emotional rock. Their time together in the spas always filled her soul with ease when she had no other pony to talk to, which was far too often. Twilight may have brought them together and cracked her shell, but it was Rarity who broke it open. Applejack paused, broken out of her trance, then put down Twilight and turned around to face Fluttershy. Twilight coughed, and continued to silently cry where she lay. Applejack started towards Fluttershy and her tone instantly softened. She could sense there was something seriously wrong with her. Her tone was downright venomous, and despite not being the recipient of her rage, it hurt her too. “Whoa there sugarcube, now just calm down a bit. I lost my head, but we can work this out—” “WHAT DID YOU DO WITH RARITY?” Fluttershy shouted again. She pushed past Applejack and stared at Twilight, nose to nose, wettening Twilight's with the remnants of her friend that had settled on her face. Twilight looked up into her eyes and gasped as she was pulled into a dark void filled with Fluttershy. The library and everypony else started to fall away, leaving her in a world with only her and Fluttershy. Her heart started pounding faster than it had all day. She felt like she had lost control of her own being, and was at the mercy of her captor. Fluttershy was a mess. Her mane and belly were drenched in red, and the half of her face she left unhidden was splotched as well. It was twisted in a horrible manner, quivering from the turmoil writhing just under her skin. A line ran down under her eye, the only hint she had been weeping only a few minutes ago; the only hint to anypony that anger wasn't her only emotion . She was shaking, she was hurt, and she was rage incarnate. Applejack tried to calm her, but made no attempts to approach. “Ok, let’s just calm down. Look, Ah’m sorry Twi', I lost my head but we have to do something. Fluttershy, please-“ “WHERE IS SHE TWILIGHT? WHERE IS SHE, YOU WITCH?” Applejack was speechless. Twilight flinched like she had been hit again. Fluttershy paused, then shut her eyes and slowly sunk to a knee. Twilight let go of the breath she was holding, and felt the room zoom back into place. She tried to drink the air to refill her now freezing lungs. Fluttershy was still simmering, but she couldn’t stop crying. “Where’s my friend? Where’s my Rarity?” Her voice was fading. She fell all the way down, back into the ever dispersing puddle that used to be Rarity. Her coat was getting ruined. "Why, why, why, why Rarity?" Applejack closed the distance and picked up her limp body. She hugged Fluttershy close, shushing her. Fluttershy had never cried so hard in her life. Her friend was gone, in the worst way imaginable. She opened her eyes and tried to wipe her tears away again. Still feeling moisture on her face, she looked at her hoof quizzically. Finally, she realized she was wearing Rarity. Her voice had shrunk till it was barely audible. “Where is she? Rarity! Oh, Rarity…” Fluttershy’s sobs brought Twilight back to reality. She quickly stood up and looked around. It looked like way more than one pony had been torn apart. The walls and the ceiling were covered in red splashes, but it didn’t compare to the floor or worse, Fluttershy’s face. Twilight's eyes widened. Oh Celestia, she used her stare on me. As Twilight took it in, something snapped. I can’t be here. I just… destroyed somepony. There was literally blood on her hooves. No, I murdered somepony. I murdered Rarity. I can’t fix this. I have to go. Twilight slowly backed to the door. She had to buy time to do... something, anything she could to make this go away. She had to escape. Pinkie still sat there, staring at the spot where Rarity’s head was. She still hadn't moved an inch, or made a sound. Applejack looked up, and saw Twilight making for the exit. “Now you hold on there missy, you ain't goin' anywhere till you bring her back.” Twilight didn’t stop, and only moved quicker. “B-b-but… I can’t. I don’t know how. I don’t know!” Applejack stood up, and started cautiously walking towards Twilight. “Now, don’t do anything silly. You have to fix this. You just have to. Ah know you can.” Twilight paused. She had reached the door. She looked from Applejack slowly advancing, to Fluttershy still quietly screaming. Her eyes landed on poor Pinkie Pie, still staring that the spot where Rarity had been just a few minutes ago, still frozen in place with a half grin on her face, as if waiting for a punchline. Twilight knew she had to leave; the crime she committed was unspeakable. No, I can’t stay. How could my friends ever forgive me? Worse, how could Celestia ever forgive me? Her mentor would at the very least imprison her for life; at the worst banish her till everypony she knew was long gone before ending her. The longer Twilight played out her options, the more she realized she had none. She no longer had a home, her friends, a family, a teacher, or anything she could call her life. In one mistake, she had destroyed all she had worked for since being sent to Ponyville, since the day she had gotten her cutie mark. She had obliterated her past life in one afternoon, along with one of the best of the few friends she had. Her mind was already thinking about how to leave. She’d run outside to lure her friends away, teleport upstairs to grab a few things, then start heading away from Ponyville and Canterlot till there was no more land in Equestria to put between her and this spot. A list, I need a list! I’ll need some maps, some money, some— Suddenly Rainbow Dash slammed the door opened behind her, and Twilight jumped. "Oh man, I hope it worked. I nearly threw a wing out making the boom that loud! So Rarity, how do you look—?" Rainbow had only a few moments to see everything covered in red, the white pieces of what she only guess was a horn, and Twilight’s pinprick eyes staring at her in panic, waiting for her move. "What the? What is all this? Rainbow took a shaky step into the room. “T-Twilight…? Where’s—“ “Grab her Rainbow!” shouted Applejack. "No!" Twilight shouted. A quick flash and she was outside the library and on the street running for her freedom. “Go get her Rainbow!” Applejack shouted. “Applejack, you gotta tell me. Where’s Rarity?” Rainbow pleaded. The strange substance was slowly spreading across the floor, and she couldn't ignore the stench. Applejack put her hooves on Rainbow Dash’s shoulders, and looked her square in the eyes. “Ah have to take care of Fluttershy and Pinkie. Make Twilight tell you when you get her, she knows. Go. Get. Her. Now.” Applejack's voice sent shivers down Rainbow’s back. She took a step back, seeing the mix of disgust and horror in Applejack’s eyes. It terrified her. She turned and took off, trying to catch a glimpse of the purple unicorn from a high altitude. She knew that look. She had only seen that look on one other pony once before. ...how… useful.