Screams and cries vibrated throughout the air like a religious choir. At the sight of the monster spreading its wings, many of the creatures that had arrived at the entrance were now in a hurry to get out of the fairground and back into the town. Several of these citizens even trampled over top of those who had tripped or were not fast enough to get out of the way, but even those that were stepped on were able to get up and leave.
You, Luster, and a few others had an opportunity to leave through the arch, but the sight of the behemoth flying in the distance was too much to behold. For you, it felt like you were suddenly trapped in a bad dream that you hoped you would soon wake up from. Surely Ponyville, one of the most mundane places in Equestria, was safe from any kind of danger that would be encountered in the border regions.
"[Y/N]!" Luster yelled, frantically taking a hold of your right foreleg. "We need to go!"
The physical touch from the pink unicorn reminded you that you were not dreaming. This was all, indeed, very real.
You gain sense and possession over your legs again, and you find yourself eager to use them again. You looked at the arch, and it appeared to be only a few meters away. If you and Luster were quick enough, maybe you could---
A crunching boom echoed out, as the monster landed just feet away from the entrance. A growl escaped from its mouth, and that is all you need to indicate to you that this beast is unlikely a friendly animal.
Without hesitation, you and Luster turned around and sprinted away from the monster, heading in the opposite direction you traveled when you had your fit. You did not dare to look back, knowing that doing so would cause you to pause in fright at the image of a ravaging beast coming your way. All you could do was look forward.
You and Luster ran past booths and stalls and tents that hours ago were filled with creatures ready and optimistic for another Equestrian holiday. But now, those places were emptied, with most of the former owners and visitors now running in front of you, trying to get to safety somewhere.
Your spatial awareness was working overtime, doing its best to ensure that your legs did not trip over something left on the ground that would impede your progress. Every corner you were about to pass was thoroughly inspected beforehand, ensuring that the monster was not about to pop out of nowhere.
A huge boom forced your head to turn to the right, and up above you see a few tents, some chairs and tables, and other miscellaneous items flying into the air --- all accompanied by several screams and a mighty, bone-chilling roar that brought your heart up into your throat.
Only a few of these items fell in front of you and Luster, but that did nothing to ease your tension. As much as you prayed for the opposite, you had a feeling that the monster was close at hand to reaching the both of you. And from the yelling you heard before, it may have already encountered a few poor souls.
"We need to get back to the table!" Luster yelled over the chaos.
"What?" you asked. You too focused on survival to fully understand what the mare was talking about.
"The table! Near the Sugarcube Corner booth! Mrs. Pie and the others might still be there! We need to get to them first!"
Your eyes nearly ballooned out of their sockets. "ARE YOU CRAZY?!?" you shouted as loud as you could, staring at your classmate. "Do you really think they would stay still after seeing that creature up on that hill?!? They're likely gone by now --- and so should we!"
Though nearly as frightened as you, Luster was unfazed by your proposal. "There's no way I'm taking that chance! The entrance isn't even that close to the booth! They may not have even seen the monster!"
"Well, to be honest, the crowd of screaming creatures running past them might have given them the idea of---"
"NO!" she spat with stubborn, flared nostrils. "I'm not taking that chance, at all! Once we get there, I'll teleport all of us away to the school!"
"Can't you just teleport us to the table and then to the school?!?"
The pink unicorn shook her head. "I don't have a keen sense of teleportation, yet! I can only do it one time before getting magically drained! That would put us in a bad spot if that monster corners us! Besides, we should be there soon! Just stay with me."
An unpleasant weight sank down to the bottom of your stomach as you ran on. Seeing the determination on the mare's face was proof enough that she was serious about staying in the fairgrounds to find the rest of her classmates, even if it meant risking her life by becoming the monster's meal if she were to encounter it.
You knew that she was free to put her own neck out in a dangerous situation, but you on the other hand were more reserved about doing the same thing. In a way, resentment was bubbling in your mind toward Luster for even suggesting that you put yourself near death's door to save creatures who may not even be in danger.
It was then that a whisper crept into your ear:
You need to leave her...
For a moment, you were ashamed at the thought, and that shame was the only emotion you thought you would feel. Another look at Luster was enough to get you to doubt your feelings of abandonment. One sight of the scared yet relentless mare charging through this mess to save those close to her was enough to prick your heart for failing to measure up to her level of courage.
But reminiscing over the dilemma at the moment gave you time to develop a mixed sense of both dread and survival that collided with that shame. Your realism seemed to clash with Luster's naive optimism like two rival buckball teams in your brain, and the former team was winning.
You truly did not know if the monster would turn around and decide to leave the remainder of the fairgrounds be, or if the beast would continue its rampage until a greater force came to stop it. For all you know, the situation was a matter of 'when' instead of---
A colorful explosion of various items blinded your vision and impeded your progress. Some stuff even hit your face and torso, causing you to retreat back. Luster, who was in front of you the whole time, was suddenly sent flying into a nearby stall in a pink and orange flash.
"LUSTER!" you cried out.
Once your classmate had zoomed away, you saw in front of you the very thing that harmed her. It was a pink scaly tail, perhaps as long as a sea serpent, with a bush of yellow hair at the end in the shape of an ordinary paintbrush tip. Sadly, the tail was not the only object that you had to worry about.
Before you, as you stood shaking in fear with wide eyes, was the monster.
Unlike before, when you were too concentrated on running away to worry about what it looked like, you now had a clear picture of this beast.
The monster's whole pink body was slick and shiny and scaly like a reptile, with a streak of yellow fur and several orange fins on its back. Its bulky legs were scaly at the top, but the bottom portions were covered in yellow fur, and it had orange claws or talons that were nearly a meter long.
But worse of all was the monster's face, resembling that of either a lion or tiger with a thick yellow mane and two orange horns. Its black, beady, soulless eyes stared down at you as if you were nothing, while a set of sharp, dirty teeth were snarled in your direction.
As the monster growled at the sight of you, you stayed where you were, nearly paralyzed at the sight before you. Though you could barely use your own free will to move, you hoped that staying still was the trick to getting out of this alive. You remember a foggy memory from school about remaining motionless when faced with a dangerous predator. It was supposed to be a survival technique, in which the predator would eventually leave the prey be.
As the seconds went on, the monster slowly swirled around, its tail knocking down another stall or two. Its whole body was in front of you, and as it continued to growl at you, it lowered its upper half down to the ground, like a dog or cat ready to pounce.
That was more than enough for you to break out of your trance,
You run.
You turn around and run away.
You had no idea where you were going to go, as your brain was on full auto-pilot, but you knew it was better than staying still just to end up as food. And the familiar roar of the beast behind you, along with the shaking of the ground, only strengthened your resolve to keep moving forward.
You passed a few booths and stalls before making a right turn through an opening. As you ran past more booths and stalls, you could hear the monster crashing into those very objects, a sure indicator that it was right on your trail. Your tired legs kept pushing you through it, and your exhausted heart and lungs kept pumping as much blood and air as possible to keep your other body parts --- mostly your legs --- afloat.
But you knew that your body was not enough. You had to think of a way to get out of this monster's sights before you collapsed and became easy prey on a platter. Despite the seriousness of the situation, and the fear coursing through your very being, you could not help but wonder if maybe joining some extracurricular activities after school would have helped right now.
A loud boom behind you ripped the thought out of your head, and though you did not think that it was possible, you galloped even faster than you were previously. Your newfound speed nearly made your heart jump out of your chest, giving you a bit of a fright. Though not as much of a fright as the terror on your plot.
But time was of the essence, and so you ignored whatever pains or troubles your body was facing.
As you made another right turn, you looked around at your environment to see if there was anything you could find that would help you. You thought about hiding in one of the booths or stalls when you were out of eyesight, but the monster might be able to find you in such a small-spaced area.
Just as you thought about continuing with your galloping, you saw it. A tent. A huge, white tent that must have been able to hold a hundred creatures, and it was right in front of you.
With a new destination in sight, an idea popped into your mind, and you knew what you had to do.
You kept sprinting until you went through the flaps of the tent. Inside the littered area, you spotted a podium with a microphone, numerous metallic chairs in rows, and a few tables with cloth on them that held food and beverages. Your eyes concentrated on the tables, which were on the side of the tent instead of in the middle like the podium and chairs.
Another roar erupted from behind you, and by pure instinct, you hide underneath the table closest to the flaps, pushing past the cloths.
Please work.
Away from your sight, you heard the boisterous ripping of fabric and the clattering of several metallic objects, likely the chairs. Along with those noises was the loud thumping of the monster as it rampaged throughout the tent. The ground below you shook like an earthquake was occurring, and a part of you was afraid that such vibrations would make the cloth slip off the table.
The monster's stomping never died down, but soon you realized that the sound was getting lower and lower. Curiosity became a neighbor of the fear within your brain, and soon you found yourself putting a hoof right underneath the cloth. You stopped yourself, though, not knowing whether or not it was safe. For all you knew, it could come back.
After nearly half a minute, the stomping became as audible as a mouse's pitter-patter.
Bravely, or stupidly, you lifted your hoof and brought up a piece of the cloth. Poking your head out from beneath, you saw the damage that was done. Nearly half of the tent's roof had collapsed to the ground on itself, causing the tent to be split into two sections. To your right, you see that the tent's flaps were gone --- replaced by an opening into a part of the fairgrounds.
Without hesitation, you sprung out from the table and gallop through the opening. Going in the opposite direction, you follow the path that you took to escape from the monster. You needed to get to the entrance of the fairgrounds and find a place in the town to hide in. You could not risk heading towards the school if it meant encountering the beast again. You only hoped that Ponyville was on high alert by now due to the panicked citizens from the festival running into the streets.
"[Y/N]!"
After exiting a corner, you stop in your tracks at the call of your name, knowing that the monster was an unlikely candidate for the voice directed at you. A turn to your right brought you much relief as you saw who it was.
"Luster!" you exclaimed, barely able to keep your smile hidden. "Are you okay?"
The unicorn trotted over to you, seemingly out of breath. The mare looked roughed up after she was hit by the monster, with her long orange-yellow mane all frazzled up and her pink coat a matted mess. But other than those details, Luster seemed to be doing just fine.
"I'm alright," she stated. "A bit shook, but alright."
Hearing her confirm your suspicions, you prance in place. "Okay, well that's great. We need to get a move on. I don't think that thing is gonna---"
"We can't just leave, yet," Luster interrupted. "We need to go back to the booth and see if the others are still there."
The words nearly took the breath out of your lungs as you stared at the mare with a dropped jaw. "You can't be serious! We already talked about this! They have to be gone after hearing that thing!"
Luster shook her head. "I'm not taking that chance. They wouldn't have left us behind! I just know it! They might be waiting for us!"
"And if they aren't there?" you angrily retorted. By now you could feel the hot air leave your nostrils.
The unicorn seemed tired of your resistance. "Well, then when we get there and you're proven right, we'll just teleport to the school and hope that they made it there."
"Luster, I saw where that creature was going. It's heading in the direction where the table was! Your friends aren't going to just stand there next to that thing! Just teleport the two of us out of here!"
"If you're right about where the monster is going, then that's just another reason for me to get going."
With a tenacious attitude, Luster turned around and began to gallop in the direction where the monster was rampaging through. You had no clue as to what she wanted your cue to be, as she never turned back to call your name. But seeing her go in the opposite direction put dread in your heart.
"Luster, please," you began to say. "Let's just go and---"
"Darn it, [Y/N]!" she shouted, turning back to you with a glare. "I came back for you because I cared, even with what happened to me." She pointed her hoof away from her body. "Now I'm going back for them. I care too much about them just to hope they stopped worrying about me so they could save their own skin! They're my friends, and if I'm not willing to do what's best for them and put my own selfish concerns to the side, then I don't deserve them in my life!"
[...]
You didn't even think about us, did you?!? You only cared about making yourself look good!
[...]
A phantom knife pierced through your heart, and you immediately go down to the ground --- gripping your chest with gritted teeth. Pain and confusion seethed through your mouth via animalistic growls as you thrashed against the grass floor. It was all so sudden, yet you remember this as the same pain you felt earlier on, but amplified ten times over.
Scared and taken aback, Luster ran over to your body. "[Y/N]!"
Standing over you, the pink unicorn grabbed you by the pits of your forelegs and tried to lift you up, but when your torso came off the ground, a terrible jolt of pain rushed through your body. It was as if someone sank you into a frozen pool full of needles or icicles. Involuntarily, you threw yourself away from Luster's embrace and fell back down to the ground, screaming bloody murder.
"[Y/N]!" Luster yelled, standing over you again. "What going on with you?!? Talk to me!"
You could barely understand Luster's pleading, but it was not because of the screeching or the wailing that resonated throughout the fairgrounds and hills. The true sounds that closed you off from the outside world were the ones inside your head, untranslateable to any other creature but you. They were voices that you were too familiar with.
[...]
What the hell happened to communication? You know that shouldn't have done that, and now look where we are!
It's over. Do you get it? We're done with you. All of us.
We trusted you, dude. How could you do this to us? Did you even think about us?
I never want to see your face again, you hear?.... NO! Don't even try to defend this crap you pulled. Just hearing your voice is too much for me!
We already talked about this, [Y/N], but you did it anyway. If you cared, you would have listened to us.
[...]
"[Y/N]! [Y/N]! W-what happening?"
Oblivious, your body was being shaken by the unicorn on top of you, who used her hooves in an effort to get you out of your hysteria. Luster was terrified at what was going on, as it was very much evident through her shaky voice and pinpricked eyes. The usually calm and collective mare had no idea of how to fix you.
"[Y/N], please, t-talk to me! Say s-something! Anythin---"
A purple light flashed before Luster and shocked her. The static was volatile enough to send her flying just a few feet away from you with an audible thud. As Luster, stunned and befuddled, got up to her hooves, her mouth dropped down at the sight before her.
Crackling purple electricity swirled all around you like sea serpents, but you were too immersed with the torment in your head to evaluate on whether or not your body was being zapped. Nonetheless, you managed to stop your screaming once the electricity erupted, but in the place of those screams came white-hot tears that burned into your face as they rushed from your shut eyes.
Though she wanted to come to your rescue, Luster stayed where she was --- unable to do anything else but watch helplessly. That collection of electricity was unlike anything she saw before. She was certain that it was some form of magic, but without any experience, knowledge, or references to rely on, there was nothing she could do that would be of any use. She could only watch you writhe and moan in agony.
"I'm sorry..."
Though faint, your words reached Luster's ears, and the concern on her face only grew as she wondered if you was talking to her.
"I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry..."
Your begging turned into low, croaking sobs. From Luster's point of view, it was as if you were a little foal unable to wake up from a nightmare, even though you were pleading to be let out.
"I won't do it again. I swear..."
You were lifted up into the air by an unseen force, with the spirals of electricity forming into a sphere that encased you as you went higher and higher. The electricity grew in strength, as evident by the increase in purple lighting that spread around your coat, and by a pulsating sound being generated.
But instead of being frightened out of your wits and questioning your reality, all you could manage to do was huddle yourself into a ball of tears and anguish.
[...]
I never should have invited you in.
[...]
"I'm sorry..."
[...]
You broke our hearts...
[...]
"I never meant to do that..."
[...]
Keep your damn distance from us.
[...]
"I can make this right..."
[...]
You can't fix this, [Y/N].
[...]
"Just don't leave me... Please..."
Like a tsunami appearing after a major earthquake, a white light pure and unblemished like snow floods your vision, and soon the voices in your head disappeared.