//------------------------------//
// Something Wrong 
// Story: Trapped 
// by Gylden Glor 
//------------------------------//

	My eyes flick open as I feel a thud.
Something's wrong.
My heart begins to beat faster and faster, and I push the cyan Pegasus off of my chest without any courtesy at all. I stand, and collect my clothes, because I need to see if anything drastic has occurred.
I step through the front door, now fully clothed, and observe my surroundings. Something's wrong, and yet everything seems to be perfect.
Thud.
There. Canterlot. Something is wrong in Canterlot.
I feel a nod of agreement coming from some inner being. My gut? Perhaps.
Or, maybe it's Grendel.
I frown, and rub my temples. Why do I immediately assume that this nod of agreement is coming from Grendel? I mean...Celestia did say that Grendel and I would be joined, no? So, perhaps he's within me, dormant except for when danger is brewing, or when I have to defend myself...
For that matter, would I ever be able to control him? Or do the things he could do? Would I ever feel his Hunger for pain?
These unanswered questions whirl through my head, making it spin as I struggle to find logical answers. I shake my head, which only serves to jumble the questions about, and after they've collided several hundred times, they make one ultimate question.
What actually happened to Grendel?
I had seen those claw marks, on the back of that deer. The claw marks that reminded me of the ones Grendel had made on Rainbow Dash. Rainbow said she saw Grendel when she was attacked.
Or had she seen me, and due to a concussion, only perceived my basic shape? Perhaps Grendel wasn't there at all. Perhaps there's another very real threat, and one much stronger than Grendel.
But that still doesn't explain the egg. I've watched the show, and I remember Spike's description of his own egg as "purple with green spots." However, there were also those black veins coursing through it. Would a Spike-Grendel aberration be borne from it? Is it a last-ditch attempt by Grendel's body to survive? Is it because Spike was sentient and sapient, and therefore made some kind of link with Grendel? Or did Grendel not want me to be angry at him, and so, he had decided to try his luck at reincarnating one of his victims?
Or is it possible that Grendel was simply a ripple in the water compared to the tsunami that caused it? Is there some higher power at play, pulling at its invisible strings and making us dance the dance of ignorant puppets?
If that's the case, then...
Should I be afraid?
Yes, I feel my new inner companion whisper to me. I feel a chill travel down my spine, and as I stare off at Canterlot, I believe that I can see a large, hulking shadow, hanging over the royal city as if it were its prey.
I blink, and it's gone.
Thud.
But the feeling that something is terribly wrong is not.
Just then, I catch sight of a chariot, coming right for the cloud that I stood upon.
"Peter," Twilight cries from within as the chariot lands before me, "get Rainbow Dash, and tell her to get her Element. I'll give you a ride to the library to get you sword-Element. And hurry!"
I falter for just a moment. "What's going on?" I ask, the door already open behind me as I ready myself to sprint into Rainbow Dash's bedroom.
"The egg," she tells me. "It's hatching."
I blink. My inner companion lets loose a nod, informing me that this is most definitely what is wrong.
As I look up to Canterlot, I can see that shadow, opening its maw as if to swallow me, and the entire world, whole.