//------------------------------// // Death Parade (Rewritten) // Story: Soul Recovery // by Conglomerate //------------------------------// "Ooh! Here comes the parade!" Pinkie Pie shouted, pointing up the road, Looking up the street, a large parade float was cresting the slight incline. Its design was interesting to say the least, it appeared to be centered around griffins, with large fake feathers and several other birdlike features. There were several griffin skeletons riding along the side of it. "What is this parade about exactly?" Rarity asked, "Something about culture." Wheat Germ replied. “Or species, or something.” The music from the parade now permeated the air, and the crowd was getting dense. Everypony made sure to make space for the parade floats as they came through. "So we should be looking for a pony themed float, right?" Rainbow Dash said, raising her voice to be heard over the crowd, "Probably." Wheat Germ answered back, The next float crested the hill, and its design seemed to be centered around cows; multiple cow skeletons were riding on it. "Would you happen to know the order of the parade floats?" Rarity asked, "What?" "What is the order of the floats?" Rarity repeated, a bit louder, "Oh. I don't know the exacts, but I think the pony float is towards the end." Wheat Germ replied, "Do you know how many floats there are?" Rarity inquired, "There's probably one for every species here. And before you ask, I don't know how many species there are," Wheat Germ deadpanned, "Okay then," Rarity said, looking towards the next float, By now, the griffin float had passed the group, and the third float was now cresting the hill. This one looked to be themed around Diamond Dogs. "That one looks dazzling," Rarity commented, looking at the gem encrusted float. "This might take a while," Applejack muttered. A fair distance away from the city, a skeleton was wondering about. "Just where am I now? How did I get here?" They asked themself, The ground trembled, and the skeleton nearly lost balance. "Whoa! What's happening?" They wondered. The ground shook again, and the sand in the surrounding area began to sink lower and lower, forming a large divot. "Uh oh, I gotta get out of here." The skeleton realized, and attempted to climb the forming slope. The sinkhole continued to grow, getting deeper and wider with each passing second. The skeleton was quickly caught in losing battle, and they began to slide lower and lower into the hole. "Oh no! Help! I need some help!" They screamed. Everything stopped, and the skeleton looked about frantically before letting out a sigh of relief. "That was close." Suddenly, a skeletal claw burst out of the center of the sinkhole. It looked to be charred black, with several flakes of ash and embers falling away. A broken shackle affixed to it rattled loudly as it moved. The skeleton screamed, and once again tried to scramble back up the slope. The massive burnt skeleton then lifted itself the rest of the way out of the hole, standing to its full height while black smoke billowed from all around it. It was definitely draconic in nature, with large, crooked horns poking out the back of the skull and countless sharp teeth hidden just below the smoke. Large bone wings opened up behind it, the outermost tips looking to have been sharpened into crude blades.  It was terrifying. Redoubling their efforts, the pony skeleton was beginning to make progress up the slope. The dragon skeleton looked around, and a deep chuckle came from it. The multitude of chains on its body rattled as it moved. Then, at the top of the sinkhole, a cloaked figure appeared, then another, and another, until the entire sinkhole was surrounded by the figures. The dragon let out a growl, but soon spied the pony skeleton trying desperately to make it out of the sinkhole. It laughed once more, and lunged at the skeleton. The cloaked figures were fast to act, they quickly got into formation, and a large spell circle encompassed the dragon. They weren't fast enough however, as the dragon snatched the pony in its claws, then opened its mouth, and swallowed it. The smoke made it hard to see, but screaming could be heard as the pony skeleton landed somewhere in the ribcage of the dragon. It laughed again. The cloaked figures immediately backed down, the spell circle fading not long after. Still laughing, the dragon started to climb its way out of the sinkhole. The figures didn't just give up however, as a large amount of spellfire and projectiles were launched at the dragon in an attempt to either slow it down or make it release its hostage. It shrugged off most of the attacks, with anything impacting disappearing into the smoke. Reaching the top of the sinkhole, the dragon looked straight towards Mortemopolis, and immediately began running towards it. Most of the cloaked figures dashed after it, while some stayed behind. One of them charged their horn, and fired a bright red flare spell through the rising smoke. A moment later they also took chase. None of the parade floats that had passed were pony themed, and it was starting to get boring. "How much longer do we have to wait?" Rainbow Dash deadpanned, drawing shapes in the sand with her wings. "Oh hush, it may be taking a while, but it's still a parade, just enjoy it." Rarity chided, "Yeah! These floats are super duper cool! Look at that one!" Pinkie Pie said, pointing at the next float, which appeared to be themed around dragons, "Yeah, I guess that one looks pretty cool," Rainbow Dash said, looking up at it. The parade float was stopped however, as a sentinel flagged it down and climbed aboard. Similar situations were taking place at all the other floats as well. "What's going on?" Fluttershy asked, "I have no idea," Wheat Germ said. A moment passed, then the floats began to move over to the side of the road, stopping the parade. "Oh no!" Pinkie Pie gasped, The clocktower's bell started ringing, but it was off, it was a constant ringing, not the regular chime every hour. Everypony looked up at the clock tower. "Alert! Return to your homes!" A voice echoed out around them, "It is a state of emergency! The parade has been cancelled!" The crowd murmured uneasily, some starting to disperse. "What could possibly cause a state of emergency around here?" Applejack asked, The ground shook. "How much do you wanna bet that's it?" Rainbow Dash replied, "Is now really the time to be asking that?" Wheat Germ asked. "Shouldn't we get going?" "We still have to find Twilight! If there's an emergency, we have to find her quickly!" Rarity exclaimed. "The parade's stopped, right? Let's just go down the line quickly." Applejack suggested. "Well hurry! I don't want to stick around and find out what the emergency is." Wheat Germ said. "Trust me, neither do we, now let's go!" Applejack said, then she started running up the road. "Alright!" Rainbow Dash shouted, quickly following suit. "Yippie!" Pinkie Pie squealed and bounced along. "Um..." Fluttershy mumbled, "Come on, darling. You should be used to this now. At least do this for Twilight." Rarity said, before trotting along as well. "Ok..." Fluttershy whispered, and she also started walking up the road. Now left alone, Wheat Germ paced back and forth. "Dammit," He eventually said, before following the rest of the group. The ground trembled violently, whatever was happening, it was happening close. "Consarn it! How long was this parade?" Applejack shouted, "It shouldn't be much longer. We are almost at the end of the street." Wheat Germ answered. "Look over there! It's the pony float." Rainbow Dash pointed out. Quickly running over to the float, the group was disappointed to find it completely abandoned like all the rest. "Now where do we go?" Applejack wondered, "The sentinels probably moved you friend." Wheat Germ said, "But where?" "Why don't we just go ask them?" Pinkie Pie spoke up, pointing across the road. A large squad of sentinels was grouped up at the opposite side of the road, they appeared to be preparing a defense. Barricades and shooting platforms were being set up all along the road. The ground shook again, and the sentinels redoubled their efforts to finish the defenses. "Hey! Sentinels! Where's our friend?" Rainbow Dash shouted, trotting up to the group. Several sentinels stopped what they were doing and looked at the approaching group, some taking defensive stances.  One stood above the rest. "What are you doing here? There was an order to evacuate." He stated in a gruff voice. "We're looking for our friend. She's the alicorn that's here." Rainbow Dash said. The sentinels stiffened. "That information is confidential, now please leave." The first one stated. "What?! Now you listen here! We didn't come all this way just to be told no! Now tell us where our friend is!" Rainbow Dash yelled, "Rainbow Dash please, let me handle this." Rarity said, turning to the sentinels, "We are looking for our alicorn friend, but we're also here on official business, so please tell us where she is." "And how do we know you aren't just looking to exploit her?" One of the sentinels demanded. "Well... because... we're her friends?" Rarity tried. "Oh for crying out loud, we were sent here by the princesses," Applejack deadpanned, and lifted up her hoof, which started glowing a soft blue. It was hard to tell, but some of the sentinels looked shocked to see the crescent moon emblazoned on Applejack's hoof. They were quick to recover from the reveal however. "Okay then, there is supposed to be a squad escorting her to the Hall of Judgement, they left as soon as the parade was stopped." The sentinel said, "Why would they be taking her there?" Rainbow Dash asked. "It's the safest place from the current threat, she will most likely be judged as well," the sentinel explained, "Well then, let's g-" Wheat Germ was cut off. The ground shook again, and small pieces of rubble fell from some of the buildings. Whatever was making the ground shake was getting closer. "What's... um... causing that?" Fluttershy asked, looking around nervously. "Something has escaped the lower levels, and is most likely trying to find and capture your friend." Another small earthquake passed through. "It would probably be best if you started moving." The sentinel finished, "That's a bit worrying." Rarity said. A small quake was felt, then again, and again. Something massive was moving around nearby. Smoke began to billow out from between the buildings at the end of the street. "What is that?!" Rarity asked. A deep roar could be heard, and what sounded like a building collapsing. "Get going!" The sentinel shouted, as the rest took up positions at large ballistae and fortifications. "Don't need to tell us twice!" Rainbow Dash said. The group started running back down the road. The smoke was now almost completely covering the area, some of the parade floats were no longer visible. "That is a lot of smoke." Rainbow Dash commented. "We have to find Twilight, and fast." Applejack stated, then looked at Wheat Germ, "Where exactly is this 'Hall of Judgement'?" "It's close to the center of town." He answered. "Wait a minute!" Pinkie Pie shouted, causing everypony to slow down and look at her, "Can we even get hurt here?" "Well yeah!" Wheat Germ said, "Bones still break, though they do mend themselves eventually. Besides, it's really hard to come back together if you're scattered." "Oh..." Pinkie Pie said, "Pinkie, we're not running for our lives, we're running to save Twilight." Rainbow Dash explained. "I know that. It just seems like we might have to fight that big scary thing. I mean it's what we usually do right?" Pinkie explained. "That's a bit morbid, though not entirely inaccurate..." Rarity paused to think. "Does this stuff happen to you guys a lot?" Wheat Germ asked, "Yeah pretty much," Rainbow Dash said casually, "It has become a rather common occurrence. Maybe a bit too common." Rarity muttered, By now the parade floats they had started at came into view, though this time the streets were completely empty. Except for a single skeleton, who was desperately trying to flag them down. "Hey, I think that's your mom." Rainbow Dash said to Applejack. "Should we go talk to her?" "Probably should," She responded. The group turned, quickly coming to a stop in front of Mrs. Butter. "There you guys are! A whole mess of ponies came by talking about evacuating, and when I came here yall were nowhere to be seen. Ah've been worried sick! Just what is going on?!" She demanded. "Oh we're terribly sorry, darling, but the parade was canceled! From what we know, some big bad monster has come up to terrorize the area. How dreadful!" Rarity explained. "Oh my! That does sound terrible. Ah take it you guys are leaving then?" Mrs. Butter asked. "For the most part, we still have to actually find Twilight," Rainbow Dash said, "Oh? You mean she wasn't where you thought she was?" Mrs. Butter asked. "Well she was, but the sentinels moved her before we got there, we're now heading to where they took her." Rainbow Dash explained. "We should probably keep moving." Rarity reminded, "We’re not exactly far from the conflict." "Then let's go. Where are yall heading?" Mrs. Butter replied. "The Hall of Judgement," Wheat Germ piped up. "It must really be serious then," Mrs. Butter commented. They started moving again, following both Mrs. Butter and Wheat Germ as they turned at seemingly random streets. It didn't take long before familiar sights came into view, having two natives of the city really helped with directions. Their previous visit to the building only had them view it from a distance, now up close, it looked completely different. The Hall of Judgement appeared to be separated into three different sections, each with a gold plated domed roof. It wasn't just solid gold either, as each roof had intricate carvings and designs inlaid in the gold. Below each roof was what appeared to be stone pillars, although a bit too dark to be marble, it was just as polished and as smooth as one would think marble would be. The walls behind the pillars were also made of the same stone, and were covered in strange vines that grew in even stranger patterns, they seemed to shift in the light, almost as if they were moving. "My goodness, this looks magnificent!" Rarity gushed. "Ah'll say." Applejack said. "Eh, it just looks weird to me," Rainbow Dash commented, "Should we go inside?" "There might be some issue with that... Look." Wheat Germ pointed. The entrance to the building was absolutely swarming with sentinels, their cloaks making it seem like a flock of birds was converging at the doors. "We could just go talk to them, it worked last time." Pinkie Pie piped up. "We just need to show them the hoof thingy right?" "Hoof thingy?" Mrs. Butter repeated, "Yeah! We got these cool emblems on our hoofs before coming here! Aren't they cool?" Pinkie Pie excitedly showed her hoof off. "By the Primordials..." Mrs. Butter trailed off, then looked at Applejack, "Just what have you been doing since we left yall?" She demanded. "Heh, a lot." Applejack rubbed the back of her spine. "Shall we speak to the guards?" Rarity butted in, changing the subject. "Seems like a good idea." Wheat Germ added. They continued forward, climbing up the stairs to the Hall of Judgement. They were immediately stopped by several sentinels, all of which stood in formation. "Halt! This area is restricted until further notice, please seek shelter in your own homes!" One of them commanded. "Fat chance!" Rainbow Dash shouted, but was quickly shushed by Rarity. "We're here on official business, we need to see our friend, the alicorn." Applejack clarified, showing the guards her glowing hoof. "Understood," The sentinel said after a moment of consideration, they then moved out of the way along with the rest of the guards. There was still quite a large distance between the stairs and the entrance, but it just gave time for some of the group to gawk at the impressive architecture. There were even more sentinels crowded around the entrance, nearly to the point where they had to walk single file to get past. Upon reaching the massive doors they were once again stopped, with one of them appearing to be a higher rank than the others, a silver sash was wrapped around his cloak. "Halt! Only the marked shall enter! Show me your hooves!" He commanded, Mrs. Butter perked up at this. "Alright." Applejack held up her hoof, then passed through. "Here you are darling," Rarity did the same. "Here," Rainbow Dash said flatly. "Here you go!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "Ummm… Here." Fluttershy held up her hoof then stumbled through. "Guess we're staying behind." Wheat Germ said. Mrs. Butter didn’t respond, instead she just stared at the sentinel guarding the door. Enough to the point where he was starting to look a bit uncomfortable. "Uhh... Ma'am?" He started, coughing into his hoof. "Bright Mac?" Mrs. Butter asked, looking him up and down. To Be Continued...