Sweet Apple Acres 8:30 a.m Fifteen and a Half Hours Until the Summer Sun Celebration
Private Whitmore had no choice but to watch helplessly as streams of scarlet poured from the two craters in her chest Two submachine gun rounds. I survive an unscheduled ship battle with a superior enemy, a crash landing on a planet in the middle of nowhere and a knife in the eye; yet I’ll die from two fucking bullets in a friendly fire incident. She coughed loudly, staining the wooden floor of the farmhouse with flecks of crimson. Tied up off to her left was Captain Lairsey, who was still out of it, but he twitched every so often. It was more as if he were asleep and dreaming than unconscious. On the other side of the room lay Kendrick, her neck twisted to an almost impossible degree. If Seth hadn’t gone completely loco then I’d have shot Kendrick myself, crazy bitch. This mission has been fucked from the start, the phenomenal amount of guards stationed to guard luggage? Most of the marines shouldn’t even have been on board! Event after event, casualty after casualty, things have gone from bad to worse to completely FUBAR. The UNSC probably has us chalked up as casualties now anyway. Maybe resistance actually was futile.
She looked up again to see that the orange pony had tears running down its face. It appeared to be trying its best to keep pressure on the red one’s chest. Cassandra couldn’t help but feel sorry for the alien, even though she herself lay bleeding everywhere. That pony was the only thing standing between life and death for its injured companion. No matter how hard it seemed to push with its hooves, the scarlet pool under the red one’s body grew ever larger.
On the path into town galloped a little yellow filly, tears streaming along behind her. I jus’ gotta got Nurse Redheart or… or… something bad’ll happen. Everything would be okay the second I get Redheart, it just has to be. The familiar colourful wooden structures of Ponyville beckoned, their bright paint schemes still so happy, almost mocking the fact her brother lay dying at home. She sprinted into the town. She didn’t see a single soul on the way to the clinic, even the air seemed to stand still. She ran up to the clinic’s front entrance and began frantically beating the door with her forehooves.
“Nurse Redheart! Nurse Redheart!” she screamed as she beat on the door. The sound of hoofsteps came from the other side.
“Oh my! Apple Bloom, what’s wrong?” a voice asked concernedly from behind the wooden door
“We’ve got an emergency on the farm! It’s…it’s…it’s ma big brother.” She began to tear up again. The hoofsteps became quicker as the door was yanked open by a white earth pony with a pink mane.
“What happened to Big Macintosh?!” Nurse Redheart shouted worriedly.
“He’s… he’s gotten hurt! Bad! There’s…. there’s blood... everywhere!” The little filly was as pale as a sheet.
“Don’t worry Apple Bloom, I’ll fix him up. Just give me one second, I’ll grab my equipment then we’ll race back there together, okay?” Redheart said hurriedly, looking Apple Bloom in the eyes as she did. The yellow earth pony nodded, trying to hold back the tears. Nurse Redheart sprinted back into the clinic.
Apple Bloom sat down outside, thoughts of life without Big Mac floating around inside her head. She tried to shut them out, tried to concentrate on the fact that Redheart was coming. That everything would be fine, but there was an unwelcome, niggling presence in the back of her head. He’s not going to be fine, he will die and Applejack will blame you for being too slow. Apple Bloom broke into heavy blubbering sobs, soaking the fur on her hooves. As if in sympathy, a large bank of clouds from the Everfree Forest floated overhead, blotting out the warm sunshine. The air grew cold and a bell began to toll from the clock tower in the distance. The door behind Apple Bloom flew open as Redheart galloped out, now with her nurse hat on and saddlebags on her back. The saddlebags bore the same image as Redheart’s cutie mark, a red cross inside a white circle, with a small pink heart in each corner.
“Come on Apple Bloom, we have to hurry!” Redheart shouted before galloping off in the direction of the farm.
Apple Bloom was hot on her tail when they heard the unmistakeable sound of lightning hitting the ground. An Everfree Storm! That’s why the bell rang! Apple Bloom suddenly realised. With Rainbow Dash still in Canterlot, Cloud Kicker was temporarily installed as head of the emergency weather team, and this was an emergency. The bell began to toll again, the loud clang barely audible over the roar of the wind. “Apple Bloom! We have to turn back! It’s getting too dangerous to be outside right now!”
“No! Mah big brother is hurt, he needs help!” Nurse Redheart couldn’t say no to those eyes and the two began to push on. The storm was getting fiercer by the second as the two ponies galloped along the pathway to Sweet Apple Acres. Bucketfuls of rainwater pelted down from the clouds above, drenching the two ponies’ coats.
“We’re gunna have ta cut through tha orchard!” Apple Bloom shouted up front.
“It’s too dangerous, the wind gets any stronger and some of these trees may uproot,” Redheart replied worriedly.
“It’s ta fastest way!” Apple Bloom shouted back.
“It might be safer to get there faster, come on then!” Redheart submitted as they veered off the path and into the orchard.
Between the gale force winds and the sheets of rain, Cloud Kicker had her job cut out for her. Only seven pegasi had turned up, the majority of Ponyville being earth ponies. “Okay you guys, are you ready for this?” she tried to say in her most inspiring voice but it fell flat. The pegasi began to look at their hooves and whisper their concerns. “Look you guys, we need to shunt this storm back into the Everfree Forest. To do that we need to locate the source cloud, now, as you probably know, the source cloud can’t be broken by our hooves, so you just need to keep kicking clouds until there’s only one left. But, these are lightning clouds, you have to grab one, lead it away from Ponyville somewhere where it can’t do damage, then pop it with a well-placed kick. Let’s do this,” Cloud Kicker instructed as quickly as she could before kicking off into the sky and shooting upwards. The other pegasi barrelled after her, intent on helping to deal with the storm.
Apple Bloom could see pegasi scrambling from Ponyville trying to contain and repel the storm threat. Cloud by cloud they seemed to be winning, the storm reducing in size but not in ferocity. A sudden bolt of lightning hit a tree just in front of her switching her attention back to the ground in front. She stumbled, almost tripping over a discarded branch, but managed to grab Redheart’s tail with her teeth and regain her footing.
“Ow!” Redheart shouted, but couldn’t risk a look back, she had to keep her eyes up front. Another crackle of lightning followed by a cry from above signalled one of the pegasi getting hit. Redheart’s eyes were drawn to the sky when a sudden pulse of blue light shot into the sky, hitting dead into the centre of the storm. The clouds suddenly exploded outwards with a loud crackle of energy, throwing the remaining pegasi spiralling out of control.
“Hold steady!” Cloud Kicker screamed as she frantically struggled to regain control. “No storm is going to…” she began when the beam of light pulsed again, another burst of energy knocking her straight back down again. The air rushed past her as she writhed in pain, the electric energy had shocked her system. Her eyes began to close, she couldn’t fight it any more as she plummeted towards the ground. Just when she thought she was done for, Derpy Hooves barrelled into her side, catching her awkwardly. “Derpy…” Cloud Kicker whispered with what little strength she still had, “you need to… take care of this storm.” Cloud Kicker coughed theatrically then added with a half-hearted smile, “I’ll be fine, put me down and get back up there.”
“Don’t worry, Derpy is on the case!” the grey mare exclaimed enthusiastically, placing Cloud Kicker gently upon the ground and saluting, before shooting back up into the sky. Cloud Kicker smiled again as she sank into unconsciousness.
Nurse Redheart burst through the final few trees to see the farmhouse on the hill. The wind was proper fierce now, tearing entire branches from the trees and hefting them like clubs. She ducked and dived, dodging discarded, items slung randomly by the destructive force. “Apple Bloom! You still with me!” she shouted as loud as she could behind her, the gale carrying most of her voice away with the wind.
“I’m here! We just gotta climb up on that hill!” the filly yelled from behind her, the ferocity of her shout grinding her throat. Redheart nodded determinedly and charged up the hill, still trying her best to avoid the airborne debris. Apple Bloom crawled after her, ducking under the majority of the wind. The pair of them struggled up the hilled path, mere metres from the farmhouse. With one last charge they broke through the front door and slammed it shut behind them, the roaring wind dying down to a mere shout behind the thick wooden walls. The two of them galloped into the lounge to see Big Mac still lay sprawled on the floor, Applejack stood over him, her hoof holding in his scarlet life-force. Applejack’s face was covered in a mix of tears and sweat, her entire abdomen was painted a deep crimson from the dried blood that stained her short fur coat. She looked like something out of a horror movie, her signature hat covered Big Mac’s face, hiding his eyes from view. Nurse Redheart didn’t have to look twice to tell that the stallion was dead.
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Temple of Monocularism 8:40 a.m. Fifteen and a bit Hours Until The Summer Sun Celebration
Corporal Yao watched in horror as a pulse of blue energy shot forth from the core, passing through Laura Berneche. Laura didn’t even have time to scream before the wave hit her, splitting her into her atomic components and scattering her into nothingness. The pulse finished as quickly as it began, leaving no trace that it had ever existed.
“The Installation is now active,” Six-Two-Four Autogenous Order announced happily. “It is most unfortunate that she was vaporised. She should really have been wearing at least a level eighteen technician skin.
“You cold bastard!” Bunting spat out, his forehead visibly bulging.
The monitor continued either not hearing or ignoring the furious sergeant. “The slumbering planet awakens!” The Monitor turned sharply to his still shocked Adjutant. “Prepare the followers for their ascent!” it ordered, visibly shaking with excitement. It then began to hum a little ditty as it rose upwards into the air.
“Don’t you dare fly away from me, you talking tin twat!” Bunting shouted, lunging towards the Monitor. A pulsating beam of orange slammed into his chest mid-leap, throwing him back onto the ground. He landed on his back with a hard smack, his head lulling to the side.
“Under enforcement article 675/B you have been officially warned to cease transgressions against the Monitor and its constructs. Any further actions will warrant a lethal reaction,” one of the sentinels boomed out in a clearly computerised voice.
Hayton watched the scene unfurl in front of him. He then turned to the still awaiting Monitor. “Yes… yes sir!” Hayton stuttered out, his entire body quivering.
“Good, I will scout out the Flood encroachment with my sentinels, make sure nothing interferes while I’m gone,” Autogenous Order replied. The four robots flew up through the hole in the planet that the blue pulse had made. As soon as they had cleared the hole another blue pulse shot out, this time shaking the installation.
“What the hell just happened?!” Yao shouted as he examined Bunting’s injury.
“I don’t know! This wasn’t meant to happen! The One-Eyed One is supposed to deliver upon us the knowledge of the ancients! Not vaporise prisoners!” Hayton shouted at the top of his voice, his face the colour of beetroot. “They’re supposed to be our deliverance! This was supposed to be our deliverance…” Hayton trotted out of the room, sealing the door behind him.
“Look, Yao was it?” Mind’s Eye turned to Corporal Ming Yao who nodded in reply. “I think it’s now abundantly clear that my superiors have lost it. We need to shut this installation back down,” he whispered to Yao.
“Don’t you believe in salvation?” Yao snorted derisively.
“No I don’t. I never really believed in this place, I’m here because I need to be, not because I want to be,” Minds replied nervously.
“I don’t know if I can trust you.”
“How can I trust you?” Minds quip was met with a glare from Yao. “Look, I’m going to need some assistance here and everyone else in this scum-hole is too blinded by their stupid faith to see what’s really going on! Your friends just got frazzled; it’s just me and you now!” Mind’s Eye was shouting now, clearly annoyed by Yao’s lack of response.
“Bunting isn’t dead,” Yao said plainly.
“No he isn’t, I can feel his brain buzzing. But judging from his level of activity…” Mind’s Eye’s horn glowed a bright white then faded again. “… I’d say he’s got another three, make that four hours of unconsciousness. You and I could end this and get him out of here easily by then.”
Yao’s brow furrowed and he put his hand to his chin. After a few minutes of deep concentration, he came back with a vaguely committal nod. “Fine. I’ll bite. You got a plan?”
“Of course. Stick with me and we can fix all of this in no time,” Mind’s Eye said with a beaming smile on his face. Mind’s Eye unlocked the door with his horn and stepped outside to find a legion of guardsponies standing outside. Yao ducked back inside, sticking to the wall as the door shut again. The ponies all wore the armour of the Canterlot Guard, Mind’s Eye even recognised a few of them.
“Mind’s Eye?” A voice called through the throng of guardsponies who split into two columns as she passed. A young pink pegasus stood in a suit of jade armour, with a quiver of arrows on her back.
“Precious. I should have known Bejewelled Sabre would stab me in the back,” he said as she strode forwards through the crowd.
“Can you blame us? Ponies like us, we live for profit, we take the greatest risks so we can reap the greatest rewards. You’re a bright kid Minds, with a bright future. In case you haven’t seen, something really crazy is happening outside. This… secret facility just broadcasted its location to everypony this side of the planet. Now, Sabre knows this has something to do with those bothersome humans. You give us them back, I let you walk.”
Mind’s Eye hesitated at this ultimatum, he couldn’t give Sabre his last card. Without this ace up his sleeve he would be out of the game, a game that could change Equestria forever. Then his eyes blinked wide open, a clever smile erupting on his face. “What about Marius? If I don’t send my assassin the target, then they won’t act.”
Precious gave a snigger and started tutting. “That won’t save you right now. Eagle Eye is on standby.”
“My guy is an expert when it comes to staging accidents. Eagle Eye’s a straight-up shooter, sure, but everything about his hits screams professional. You need him ergo you need me, and I need a human. You can take the other one if you want.” Mind’s Eye knew that this was the only way he stood a chance of surviving this escapade. They wouldn’t rub him out if he stuck with Yao.
“Other one? I was told that you took five,” Precious said, looking at him quizzically.
“We needed them for…” Mind’s Eye began.
“Charge! For the One-Eyed-One!” Hayton screamed, using his talent to magnify his voice to almost deafening proportions. He was now dressed in a full suit of plate armour, his face obscured by the grille of his helmet. The guardsponies suddenly found themselves being attacked on all sides by heavily armoured and armed, if not very well trained, ponies. Hayton charged from the left side, flanked by a large group of earth ponies and unicorns toting all manner of weapons from pikes to flails to battleaxes. With a deafening crash the bulk of the Followers ploughed into the Guard, cries of pain and grunts of effort filled the air as the two forces went at each other.
Mind’s Eye breathed a sigh of relief and pulled open the door to the core room again. Yao was sitting against the wall next to the door but stood up when he entered.
“What the hell is going on out there?!” Yao shouted at the distressed unicorn.
“We need to be gone now! You’re as much my ticket out of here as I am yours. Stick close to me if you want to live and I’ll try my best to get us both through this in one piece. I’m afraid your friend will have to remain here but we’ve got to leave! Now!”
“Fine, Get us out of here then, oh magical one,” Yao replied sarcastically.
“Get on my back and we’ll charge through them.”
“On your back?” Yao looked very unsure at this suggestion.
“Yes! Right now! Let’s move!” Mind’s Eye was screaming at Yao now.
Yao sighed and walked over to the blue pony. He carefully mounted the unicorn, having to tuck his legs in to avoid dragging them along the ground. He suddenly found himself hurtling forward as the unicorn kicked into overdrive, shooting through the open doorway and into the battlefield.
Both sides seemed evenly matched, the expensive weaponry and armour of the Monocularists against the training and tactics of the Guard. The clang of metal against metal was deafening, punctuated only by the occasional cry of pain as a weapon met its mark. The dazzling gold armour of the Guard contrasted heavily against the greys and silvers of the Followers despite the many, many colours the ponies came in. Up above, groups of Pegasi smashed into each other, occasionally showering the combatants below in blood.
Mind’s Eye charged through the battlefield dodging attacks from both sides. It seems the Followers knew he had betrayed them. Yao found himself constantly ducking to avoid wild stabs out with spears and pikes. The pair tried to stay away from the thick of it, but the fight had spilled out from the centre and now overtook the entire chamber. A purple earth pony with a trident almost caught Mind’s Eye in the flank but he twisted at the last moment, kicking out with his leg before continuing to run away. An arrow sailed through the air, hitting a pony right in front of them who spun around wildly with an axe in rebuttal. Yao ducked as far as he could, burying his head into the unicorn’s mane. They managed to just slip under the axe’s wild swings and carried on fleeing.
After another close call with a dive-bombing Pegasus, Mind’s Eye’s horn began to glow again as it created a shimmering blue force field around the duo. Weapons clattered harmlessly off the shield but every hit slowed Mind’s Eye down as he focused more on sustaining it. The exit was in sight now, heartening the two of them as Mind’s Eye put the rest of his energy into a desperate charge. Mere metres away another arrow soared through the air and ignored the force field, burying itself in Mind’s Eye’s leg. With a wild howl he tripped up throwing Yao across the threshold of the door.
“Mind’s Eye! Get in here! I can seal the door from the inside!” Yao shouted before ducking around the wall as another arrow almost made its mark.
“He isn’t going anywhere!” A ridiculously loud voice bellowed out as Hayton finished off a green unicorn and turned to face them.
“Back off old man! My arrow stopped his escape therefore this kill’s mine!” A pink pegasus snarled at the armoured unicorn as she flew over to Mind’s Eye.
“Oh no you don’t!” Hayton shouted as his armoured horn began to glow a deep orange. A throwing knife levitated off his belt before shooting into the air with such speed that it whistled. Precious tried to alter her flight course but the knife still caught her left wing casing her to spiral out of control.
“You’ll pay for that!” Precious screamed, jumping to her hooves. She swiftly drew her bow and fired five arrows in quick succession.
Hayton’s horn glowed once more as he lowered his head in concentration. When nothing happened he stepped back in shock before the five arrows impacted into his tough armour, knocking him off his hooves.
“Tempered glass arrows, not affected by magic,” Precious sneered at the collapsed unicorn. Before she could react another knife had buried itself in her eye. She screamed in pain as she flailed about wildly.
“Custom-fit steel plate armour, not affected by most attacks,” The orange unicorn replied as his knife hit its mark. Before he could celebrate properly a pair of pegasi guards smashed into his side throwing him back to the floor.
Seeing Hayton struggling with the two guardsponies, Precious attempted to take to the air again, but her crippled left wing made her completely off balance and she quickly crashed again. Seeing no other course, she pulled out her short sword and charged at Hayton.
Hayton kicked out as hard as he could with his steel-clad hoof, knocking one of the guardsponies right back out of the fight. The other guardspony backed away from his flailing limbs and picked up a spear. Hayton rolled out of the way just as the guardsman stabbed downwards, and leapt to his hooves. He jabbed out viciously with his horn and caught the guardspony in the chest, before finding a sword buried in his back.
“Goodbye Hayton,” A voice called out as he collapsed to his knees. With a last burst of magic the spear that lay impaled into the ground flew out and shot right behind him earning a cry of pain before he fell to the ground and blacked out.
Mind’s Eye managed to crawl the rest of the way to the doorway, dragging his body with his forehooves as the two leaders battled unaware behind him. A short sharp scream sounded out just as he crossed the threshold. With a loud bang the door shut behind him and the sound of the battle behind died down.
“You okay?” Yao said concernedly as he crouched beside the injured pony.
“I can’t move my rear leg man, help me up and I should be able to hop along beside you,” Mind’s Eye replied with a masking smile. Yao picked up the injured unicorn and, sure enough, he could manage an odd hobble. “I’ll lead the way, the stuff we took from you will be in the R&D labs. Once your armed we can try and shut down whatever it is we started,” Minds announced with as much bravado as he could muster. He turned to face a long hallway and began to plod, Yao walking alongside.
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Trottingham Forest, 1:00 p.m Eleven Hours Until the Summer Sun Celebration
Trottingham was the biggest town in the Bark Lowlands, thanks to its central location. The town was built around its market and, as it was exactly in the middle of the other three major towns in the region, many goods flowed through the town. Metals were sent down from the mining town of Stonehewn, the bounties of the sea from the fishing village of Hoofby and all manner of organic products from the farming village of Clopton. All of these goods eventually reached Trottingham where discerning buyers from all over Equestria would purchase in bulk, or pick up a few choice items. Many craftsponies made their homes in Trottingham too, due to the abundance of natural resources available there so the market was almost full to bursting with natural and pony-made products. It was also the site of this year’s Summer Sun Celebration so tourists thronged the streets in massive numbers.
On the outskirts of town sat Trottingham forest, which was one of the largest natural forests in the kingdom, and supplied most of the wood that ponies everywhere used. The Everfree forest may be considerably larger, but the wild magic there made the place ridiculously dangerous. Trottingham forest was a cakewalk in comparison, usually, but several of the townsfolk had mentioned an unusually high amount of disappearances in that area lately, so Gracchus had led his investigation team there. Thirty-five strong guardsponies would be enough to discourage all but the most determined beast so Gracchus had only selected five of his best to accompany him into the forest. The other thirty had been split into groups of ten and sent to the three biggest towns nearby.
Gracchus strode at the front of the group, the earth pony had donned a worn steel cuirass instead of his ceremonial glistening armour, they were trying to be stealthy so the dulled grey shouldn’t make them stand out as much. Behind him strode his newly promoted second, Tertius, along with another pegasus and two unicorn guards that had been dubbed “The Tedious Twins” by their comrades. The small group stuck to the central pathway for fear of getting lost in the thick undergrowth. The trotting of their hooves was the only sound, unusual for a lively forest like this. The guard kept a professional pace, despite the uneasy looks on the two pegasuses’ faces. A bush ahead started rustling and then, with a deafening cry, a bird shot out and into the air.
“Something is definitely off here, sir,” Tertius said with a sigh of relief from behind. The eerie silence made the air thick with tension. Tertius’s gaze shifted from tree to tree, but the only other movement was from the wind blowing through the boughs.
“I agree with you there captain, no forest should ever be this… static,” Gracchus replied from up front, “but we have an objective to complete. Apparently there’s a small logging camp along this route, if anypony is going to know what’s going on here, it’ll be the lumberjacks.”
“Roger that,” Tertius acknowledged, trotting behind the aging general. Once again they sank into the oppressive silence, but marched on as best they could.
After another ten minutes of silent marching the other pegasus who was with them, Gallus, piped up, “Sir! I could fly up and see if I can spot the camp, if you wanted, sir!”
“Hmm, yes, I’d imagine it would be an easy matter to spot the camp from up above,” Gracchus replied, rubbing his chin with a hoof whilst still keeping pace. “Yes, that would be a good idea. But I wouldn’t want to send somepony off by themselves. Take Tertius with you, when you spot the place come straight back. Oh and stick to the pathway or you might never be able to spot us again,” Gracchus ordered.
“Of course, sir!” The two pegasi barked in reply before taking to the air. Gracchus motioned to the two unicorns to move up and take their place.
“See, you can already see it! That large wooden crane just has to be the lumber mill,” Gallus motioned to a distant wooden spire poking above the thick canopy.
“Well that was easy,” Tertius said with a laugh. “The path seems to take a pointlessly long route though,” he said motioning to the twisting trail that the others were following.
“We might as well check the place out before we go back and tell them, right?” Gallus asked, earning a shrug from the other pegasus. “Well I will then, coming?”
“Why not?” Tertius said with another shrug and the two pegasi flew towards the spire. As they got closer it became even clearer that it was a lumber camp. But something was wrong, the camp was completely silent.
The two pegasi landed in the centre of the camp, by the large mess hall which would normally be full of excitedly talking ponies on break. A chill breeze blew through the fabric of the tents, carrying a light whistling sound with it. Tertius shivered apprehensively, the tension of the forest was nothing compared to this. A bird cawed in the distance then was quickly silenced.
“I think we should head back now Gallus, this place is a dead-end,” Tertius said nervously, his eyes darting around the camp for any sign of trouble.
“No way, whatever destroyed this camp is probably the same thing that’s been abducting villagers. It’s our duty to find out what it is and stop it!” Gallus shouted confidently.
“I’m not saying we shouldn’t. I’m just suggesting we fly back and get the others first,” Tertius whispered, visibly quaking.
“You can. I’m going to find out what in discord caused all this,” Gallus waved Tertius away and began to trot into the mess hall.
“Wait! We’ve got to stick together!” Tertius shouted as he galloped after him.
The front door was unhinged and the lock had physically broken off. It was as if something large had rammed it down. On the other side the wooden floors were stained a mix of crimson and yellow. Meals lay scattered around the place in various stages of consumption. Tertius dipped his hoof into a mug of coffee. “Still warm, whatever happened here can’t have happened long ago,” he said turning to his confident colleague. The two trotted further into the hall, the kitchens might yield some evidence as to what more happened here. Tertius couldn’t help but look nervously around, trying to piece together the events that would have caused this.
“As best as I can figure it. Something happened here during dinner time. Almost all of the ponies would have been in this hall enjoying dinner. Something then attacked from outside. Look at the way some of the chairs lay on the ground, as if somepony had jumped to their feet and galloped away. If I had to guess, this red that seems to be scattered everywhere is blood. The yellow flecks I don’t have a clue about, they might belong to the attacker. Or should I say attackers, look at the hoof prints in the blood, there’s two different types. The attackers must have at least been equine. Someponies closer to the door tried to bolt it shut but they burst through and killed them, the remainder seem to have fled into the kitchens, though the blood splattered here and there could signify some ere cut down while fleeing,” Tertius said to his comrade, pointing out the physical evidence whenever he spotted it. Once he finished the gravity of what he had just said suddenly hit him and he physically paled. “Okay, once we’ve checked the kitchens we are leaving! Okay?!” he shouted worriedly to Gallus.
“Fine, but if Gracchus complains, then it’s your fault for being such a foal,” Gallus said with a sigh. Tertius ignored the second half of that statement and trotted on a little bit more confidently now. Gallus pushed open the door to the kitchen tenderly with his hoof. It was pitch black inside, but there was a horrific stench that almost made him throw up. He unfurled his wings and beat back the stench, blowing it back into the room.
“By Celestia, that is the foulest stench I’ve ever smelt!” Gallus said, physically retching. Tertius noticed the darkness inside and went back to fetch a candle from one of the many receptacles that adorned the walls.
“I’ve got a candle but I need a light!” Tertius shouted to the still flapping Gallus.
“I can just make out a stove in here! You toss me the candle and I’ll get it lit,” Gallus yelled back. Tertius trotted up behind him and passed the unlit candle. Gallus took a deep breath and galloped over to the stove, twisting its dial. A harsh buzzing sound seemed to be coming from the darkened corner. Within seconds a flame appeared on the centre hob and Gallus thrust his candle into it. The candle lit considerably brighter than he had expected, almost making him drop it. “Damn magic boosted candles,” he mumbled then realised his mistake as his sense were bombarded by the same cloying odour that seems to force its way down his throat. Gagging he spun around to see a sight almost as grotesque as the smell.
Corpse lay piled upon each other, body after body tossed messily into a heap. Flies buzzed all around the mound of flesh. Not all the bodies were intact either, a missing limb there, a massive gouge there. They were all savaged and coated with dried blood. There was something else though, the bodies seemed to be fused together by some kind of yellow substance, almost like a tree root. Gallus couldn’t hold it back any longer and threw up all over the floor; it took all of his willpower not to faint.
“You okay in there Gallus? What is it?!
“I’m… I’m fine! Stay out there, I’ll be out… in a second,” Gallus shouted in-between retches.
“Are you sure? You sound pretty…” Tertius began.
“I’m fine! Don’t come in here!” Gallus shouted, turning away from the sight and towards the door. After a few seconds he began to drag himself slowly back to the exit.
“Hurry it up in there! Things are getting crazy out here!” Tertius shouted, his voice wavering with fear. Gallus picked up the pace and walked out of the room. His face was pallid and sickly, his eyes set back and gaunt. “What the hell happened to you in there?!” Tertius shouted upon seeing the state Gallus was in. Gallus hesitated and shook his head. “You know what, I don’t want to know. Let’s just get out of here,” Tertius said with a sigh and began to trot back out of the mess hall. Gallus stared at his hooves for a few seconds, breathing out heavily, when a sharp hiss sounded out behind him. He spun around, it was coming from back inside the darkened room. With a frightened yelp he galloped after Tertius.
Tertius pushed open the front door and walked outside. A shrill shriek suddenly sounded to his left, causing him to flinch and reach for his ears. Shambling on its three legs came an extremely sickly looking pony. Its skin was a dark green whilst its fur hung off in great clumps. Its distended stomach was bloated with bulbous sores. “What in Celestia’s name is that thing!” Tertius shouted. The door behind him was suddenly bucked open and a frantic Gallus sprinted out.
“They’re still alive! The corpses are walking! Let’s get the buck out of here, right now!” Gallus shouted unfurling his wings and taking to the sky. Tertius followed quickly followed suit. “At least they can’t get us up here right?” Gallus said, looking for reassurance from his cohort. As if in reply, a saw blade flew through the air and embedded itself in Tertius’s flank causing him to scream in pain. Gallus screwed his eyes up, searching frantically for the thrower while Tertius spun around, crying with pain. “There! Those unicorns can still use their magic! Flee!” Gallus shouted as he shot away, speeding straight back to the nearby town.
“Wait up! Wait for me! Tertius shouted after him, trying to adopt a comfortable flying position which was near impossible with a saw embedded in his flank. Just then he heard a sound that made the blood freeze in his veins. The sound of pegasus wing’s. He spun around and sure enough a pair of rather bedraggled looking pegasi had taken to flight after him. Tertius knew there was no way he’d be able to outrun them with this saw in him, and he couldn’t fight them alone. Then with a relieved smile he remembered Gracchus and the unicorns were still trotting the path. Putting his last ounce of strength in he turned and sped away from the camp, following the twisting pathway.