Lemon awoke at the bottom of the crater, blood dripping from her forehead. She tried to stand up, but felt a gripping pain coming from her hind leg prevented her. She settled back down in a comfortable position, keeping her hind legs uncovered, and waited for help to arrive. She sat there for what seemed like hours before drifting into a light sleep.
She awoke from her nap abruptly as pebbles descended down the hill with a tuft of dust floating after them. Still trying to grasp her current predicament, Lemon decided one of her friends was trying to mess with her. She tried looking over the rocks to see who had the nerve to try and scare her. That's when she saw it.
Whoever - rather, whatever was behind the rock had left a small trail of blood that followed its path into the crater. Lemon froze, looking She was about to call out to whatever was behind the small boulder when she felt something trickling down her forehead. She put her hoof to her head to realize that her forehead was bleeding. She then retraced the blood trail back up the crater's hill, and sure enough it began at the rock she had hit her head on.
"Oh well that explains it" she lied to herself, "a rock must have come loose and fell just now."
Lemon tried to crawl to the rock, but couldn't move with her broken leg. She decided to make some noise, to both tell her friends where she was and to break the ominous setting she found herself in. Finding a few good sized rocks and a broken pot, Lemon began to pound out a horrible racket that would surely alert anypony to where she was.
"I mustn't stop. I need to tell my friends where I am. If I don't, how will they find me?" Lemon stuttered as she tried to reassure herself.
Lemon could make out a faint voice at the back of her head, one she hadn't heard in a long time.
Who says they're going to look for you? The voice whispered. As it finished, Lemon felt a cold shiver run down her spine, but dismissed it.
"Of course they'll come back for me, Lemon argued. “They wouldn't just leave me!"
Wouldn't they? The voice said more assertively. Think carefully for a second. What would bring them back to find you?
Lemon, not at all confused as to who she was talking to, thought of a counter argument for the voice.
"Because... Because they're my friends and that's what friends do?" Lemon stumbled.
The voice lashed out, and Lemon felt as though somepony had hit her. Don't be foolish! Even if they are our friends, what's stopping them from leaving us? They probably forgot us already!
"Don't say that, how could they forget us?" Lemon tried to reassure the voice inside her. She had known it as her imaginary friend as a filly, but knew what it was now. She couldn't afford anypony to know she was schizophrenic, or they would send her away. Besides, Lemon liked having her friend, Lime, to talk to.
Lime's tone dropped from that of defensive, to one of sadness. But what if we aren't their friend? What if they were never our friend?
"Lime, they'-"
It's YOUR fault. You just HAD to keep following them-
Lemon was taken aback by this accusation. "Lime I thi-"
-they never wanted to be our friend-
Tears started to well up in her eyes "They're not like tha-"
They DON'T love us, they don't love YOU!
"SHUT UP, LEAVE ME ALONE!" Lemon shouted. The tears dripped down her face as she took in the sudden barrage Lime had delivered. Could it be true? Could her friends really have abandoned her? She shook off the thoughts and thought back to her days as a filly.
----
"A-are you sure this spell will work, Spects?" Lemon said nervously.
She looked at Spects, reading an ancient tomb about reading another person's mind. He looked so dreamy, she would do anything to spend time with the colt.
"Worry not m'lady," the colt said, reading lines with each word that came from his mouth. "The only one at risk is myself. After the teleportation incident I don't know what adverse side effects each spell could have on me." The colt had a dire look in his face as he stared at Lemon.
Lemmon looked longingly at Spects and blushed. She looked down and almost cried. Lime asked what's wrong, sis? but Lemon had pushed her out of her thoughts as she returned her attention to the, now smirking colt.
"You know I'm only joking about the side effects, right?" He asked.
She blushed again and looked down. "Y-yea... I know".
"Well," Spects began to draw his magic forth, "here I go. Mind reading test number one!"
Lemon could feel the colt peering through her window of thought, looking for information. She threw him a curve ball by asking herself what Spects thought of Remedy. Without missing a beat, Spects took the bait an answered aloud.
“She’s a nice pony, and totally pretty, but I think of her more like a sister than a girl" Spects confessed.
Lemon smiled, even though his eyes were closed. She thought all was going well with the experiment. Spects agreed and began to talk to Lemon about things she couldn't remember. That's when things started to take a turn for the worst.
Lime had started asking Lemon about who Spects was, when Spects called out to Lemon " you know who I am, why are you asking yourself?”
Suddenly, Spects began to scream. He had thought that the other voice in Lemon's head w a ghost. Lemon tried to tell him, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so.. Lime told Lemon that they would take her away if anypony found out about her, so she punished Spects for finding her.
Lemon ran over to Spects to see he was in shock. Their parents had asked Lemon what had happened. She replied that Spects had seen a ghost, and got scarred. The adults believed Lemon and Spects had too much sugar for nightmare night, and were told they couldn't hang out with each other for one month. For that month, Lemon asked Lime why she had hurt Spects. She replied each time because I don't want them to take me from you.
----
Lemon thought fondly of Spects, and couldn't stop thinking about him since. She had known him since childhood, and hadn't worked up the nerve to tell him how she felt about him. Remedy and Lemon had made a small promise to each other. "If one of us tells the guy she likes, then the other has to too!" Lemon remembered herself saying to Remedy, and moved her hoof to touch where her heart was, ignoring all the cuts and bruises she smiled and whispered "Spects...”
Suddenly, a small noise snapped her from her fantasy, and turned her attention to the pile of rocks. Something had fallen down the hill, and kicked up enough dust to cause Lemon's tears begin to well up in her eyes. As she blinked furiously, she saw the form of a small, fluffy, cotton like creature now staring back at her. Its eyes glowed green and its feet barely visible under its furry, oval body. I saw Lemon starring, and chirped happily.
"Aww! It's soooo cute" Lemon squealed, "where did you come from?"
The creature looked at Lemon and tilted its head to the side. When Lemon let out another squeal, the cotton creature began to grumble and wriggle. Its head began to shed and its white fur fell to the dust. The fur ball's body began to twist and expand, until it grew to ten times its size. Lemon looked at the creature, horrified at the spectacle she had just witnessed. She made an effort to evade the creature, but shrieked in pain as she found herself immobilized by her broken leg.
As if to respond, the monstrosity bellowed a heavy roar which echoed throughout the city, alerting the other creatures dwelling in the shadows. As the echo fell silent, green, glowing eyes encompassed the perimeter of the crater looking down into the pit. The creatures on the outside we're smaller than the monster before Lemon, and she assumed it was their leader. She limped away from the brute, before it casually picked her up in its hands and dangled her above the sharp jagged rock from where it had emerged moments before.
"Move... And... Die..." It grunted.
Lemon tried not to squirm, but failed to do so. The creature was putting pressure on her broken leg, and with each second that passed, Lemon felt the bone being crushed into a fine powder. She screamed "AT LEAST PUT ME DOWN! MY LEG HURTS!"
The brute was baffled. It put Lemon down and looked her over for a few seconds before it spoke again. "Pony... Speaks?"
"We'll of course I speak! How else would I have asked you to stop?" Lemon's words drove deep into the Brute's skull. Before it could speak again, a shrill shriek came from outside the crater. The monstrosities on the outer circle jumped up and down as a dark figure came down from the circle, rushing towards Lemon. This new being looked like the brute, but much older and wiser. It looked over Lemon and spoke.
"Was my associate correct? You spoke?" It stated.
Lemon was taken back. She wasn't sure what to say. It seemed friendly, and other than its rotten like features it seemed harmless. "Yes I did! Can you help me?" She cried.
The creature grinned, showing its yellowed, cracked teeth. It turned its attention to the circle and shouted something in its own language. He crowd of monsters jumped and grunted with excitement, and Lemon felt a cold shiver run down her spine. She knew that something was amiss.
"We've not seen a pony of your kind in years. Tell me, magic pony. Where did you come from exactly? Radioactive factory? Inhuman breeding? Torture?" The old brute continued, as if reciting from a long list. c
Lemon couldn't understand what this thing was talking about, but it obviously knew where talking ponies came from. She answered reluctantly, "I'm from Equestria." She muttered.
"The legends are true then. We are able to return the favor to that damned land, Equestria." The monster bellowed. "And it’s all thanks to you! Now, would you be so kind as to tell us where the portal is?"
"What do you mean, portal? I fell here with my friends. I need help to find them!" Lemon squealed. "I need HELP!”
The monster looked her over and muttered "so there are more? This changes things. I'll be on my way, my dear. You'll stay here with my friends. Just be warned, they don't play nice." He sneered.
With that, he snapped his fingers. At once, all of the creatures swarmed into the crater. They rushed towards Lemon, now limping toward cover. The creatures swarmed over her body, ripping bits of flesh with their teeth and claws. With each second that passed, Lemon felt less and less in danger and rather, filled with relief. She no longer had to worry about finding her friends.
They would find her body, laying in the crater, blood littering the floor.
Spects stared blankly at the stallion blocking the door. His green eyes looked over his opponent, head to hoof, looking for any weakness. His search for a weak point seemed fruitless, so he returned his attention to his surroundings. The house frame was damaged, and fighting inside would most likely lead to structural damage, which would not be good news for the unconscious Flash lying at the unicorn's feet. Spects shifted his thought to the plain just outside of the house. He remembered seeing a small mound of rubble that could aid in his escape if it came to that. His final check was to scan himself once more, to assure he was not in immediate danger.
His stomach had been disintegrated from his last teleportation spell. Spects did a quick hindsight spell to view any and all possibilities, should he remain without a stomach. It left him vulnerable to mid attacks, since they would directly hit his major organs rather than his own stomach. Spects cast a fill spell to place a dummy stomach in order to keep his organs from being hit.
This all took place within seconds of coming upon the scene, and Spects waited to see what Umbra had to say. Umbra simply looked Spects over with his dark red eyes, debating what he should do next. Spects impatiently stepped forward and shot a spell at Umbra. It was immediately deflected. Spects fired another spell, a bounce spell, to read exactly what Umbra had used in order to deflect his previous spell.
Again, his spell pinged away from the stallion and hit the floor. Spects saw a flicker of darkness in the grey house, and realized Umbra must have used a basic shield spell. He prepared a penetration spell, but as Spects was about to fire, Umbra fired a bolt of lightning at his feet. Spects jumped, dodging the bolt but losing concentration. The only logical course of action left had been an option the entire time.
Run.
Spects ran out of the house, his opponent in tow, and stopped in the field. Spects knew he had to leave Flash out of the area he would be flinging spells in. Umbra looked at Spects menacingly and spoke in his hissing voice.
"So, you've come for your friend you pathetic excuse of a unicorn?"
"I had to," Spects confronted Umbra, "because that's what friend's do!"
"I was hoping to lure the girl here, but I suppose you'll do." Umbra mocked as he looked at his hoof.
Spects threw himself at his foe, but missed as Umbra sidestepped his attacked, countering with several streams of fire. Spects deflected it with ease and followed up with a blast of lightning. Umbra evaded the electrical blast and created a portal which exited twenty meters from where they stood, the unguided lightning striking cold stone, kicking up dust. Spects tried to use his hind sight to see where Umbra had gone, but to no avail. Spects heart sank. There was only one possible way to get to his enemy: he thought of the area just outside the smoke, and teleported himself to the location.
As he recovered from this spinning head and the shock, he found it hard to breathe. One of his lungs had been taken as tribute of teleporting to this new location. Umbra came from behind Spects and knocked the wind from Spects as he fell to the ground.
"What a joke," Umbra sneered. He kicked Spects again "you should know never to sacrifice your own body to cast something as simple as a teleportation spell."
Spects swung his hoof, which connected with Umbra's mouth. Umbra took a step back to recover, as Spects climbed to his feet. Spects shot an arc of fire at Umbra, which went right through the stallion. Umbra appeared behind Spects, eyes glowing red, and touched his horn with Spects. Pain shot through Spects’ body as Umbra's lightning shocked him to the very core. Spects could think of nothing else but to teleport once more.
When he emerged, his left ear was wiped from his head.
Spects staggered back, looking Umbra over- searching his eyes for signs of attack. Umbra lashed out, and Spects parried. While Umbra had begun to move quicker, and Spects found his movements lagging. Every once in a while, Umbra's hoofs would connect, sending Spects in a flurry of motion. Umbra knew Spects would not last long, for Spects had a look of sheer exhaustion on his face, the missing lung clearly taking its toll. There was only one solution, and it was risky enough while in combat. Spects looked for other options...
None came to mind. To survive, he had to teleport inside the house. Spects thought of the room he had found Flash in, and focused. As he did, Umbra prepared a fire spell, sure to wipe all flesh from Spect’s corpse like stature. If Spects didn't move now, he would have fought for nothing.
He Teleported. His eyes flashed vibrant colors as they had not done in years. He saw his parents, smiling at him telling him how proud they were of him. Then he saw Lemon, on their first Hearts and Hoofs day together as friends. She was blushing, her mane tied back in a ponytail, smiling. As his vision faded to grey he saw a spec of blue in front of him. Flash came into view. Spects tried to call out, but noticed his blood had run cold. He didn't need a spell to tell him what had happened. As he drifted into a lifeless state, He thought of Lemon, and what he had wanted to say to her.
She already knew.
Umbra entered the house, expecting to find the unicorn standing and ready to fight. He peered to a room next to the main hall, and found the colorless pony slumped over a pile of rubble. He entered, and examined the body of Spects. He found that he had lost his heart when he teleported his final time.
Umbra stomped his hoof into the ground, knowing that he no longer could carry out his task. A small thought popped into his head. There were four more ponies somewhere in this wasteland, and one was right behind him. Umbra turned to look at the unconscious body of the Pegasus.
To his astonishment, nothing but a single deep blue feather remained.