//------------------------------// // Contusion // Story: Grounds for the Dead: A L4D2 Story // by SCP Pinkamena //------------------------------// Grounds For The Dead: Chapter Fifteen To say Charger was angry would be an understatement. He was down right furious. Jockey knew better than to act like that... and to another infected no less! Charger beat large left hoof into the ground, panting in anger. His hazardous green eyes lit up suddenly, the luminescence of the color lighting everything in his way. "Damn it Jockey... even your stupidity is making me go back to how I was before..." He muttered to himself and looked around. He found himself in an old castle, the windows gone and broken, the walls themselves were crumbling. Why, a good clean charge and the place would topple. Over on the other side of what used to be a pedestal, where light blue and purple pieces of armor broken in battle. He stared at the them before picking one piece up and stabbing it into his left arm. He felt the pain, but didn't show it. He removed the piece and looked at the rushing blood. 'Nope... not a dream...' "Tell me... why have you come to my castle?" A luscious voice said from behind him. He jumped onto his hind legs and turned around to see his potential attacker. She was a black unicorn pegasus, with a mane that flowed like smoke and held stars and galaxies. It was like staring into the embodiment of the night. She, herself, noticed Chargers' deformities, and looked down at him with faux caring eyes. "Why is one my subjects so... like this? Where have I been all this time?" She asked herself but mainly to him. Using his right hoof, he placed it on his shoulder and sighed. "I have something known as the Green Flu, where I came from anyway..." He told her, hoping she was listening, "It changes my kind into... monsters that killed everything that wasn't us. We were insane and attacked everything that moved." He said spilling everything to her. How they followed four survivors of the apocalyptic world they lived in, all the way to where they "died" on the bridge only to end up here. The mare smiled and looked down at Charger. "My little pony, I can give you back your form if you want. It will be just like how you got here before." She said with a small smile and her horn began to glow a soft starry aura. Charger nodded his head, the thought of being back to normal... wow. Suddenly her soft smile turned evil and malicious. Lightning cracked above them as her starry magic promised to do just that. And then some... _______________ "Jockey, please come out of there, it's been an hour already!" Boomer said coaxing Jockey to come out of the closet (*Snirk*) he was locked in. Jockey only replied with a series of laughs and crazy screams that Boomer and the infected only could understand. "Well I never! Hold your tongue boy, no use of that language in front of the lady!" Boomer scolded but no reply from the closet this time. He sighed heavily before turning back to the group, letting one of them try. After a fruitless fifteen minutes, Tank was just getting ready to beat down the door. Twilight gave him a stern look and shook her head. "J-Jockey? C'mon it's okay, you'll be fine." She said into the closet and a series of screeches were heard on the other side. Jockey, please, I know what it's like..." The door of closet opened only slightly, allowing him peak through the crack. "What would you know about it? Charger's like a brother to me, all of us are family and though we have MAJOR differences, we still stick together and work as a team... but Charger yelled at me... and hit me and... no..." He whimpered and closed the door of the closet again. Jockey was a miserable wreck. The front door suddenly burst open and an orange mare with a stetson hat upon her head burst in. "Twilight! Some monster is-... Twilight, what did we tell you about using live ponies as test subjicts?" Applejack said clearly confused. "No time for that, you said a monster?" Twilight asked now more concerned for this. "Yeah, it was some giant! A big honking arm, with this little scraggly arm that flailed everywhere. It stood on two legs and-" She was cut off Smoker grabbing her by the waist an pulled her towards him with a serious look in his eyes. "Where?" _________________________ He's never felt so alive! Having the freedom he wanted, the joy he needed. He could ram buildings and they would topple, not stop him midway. The ponies around ran away from him, seeing that it was fruitless to fight. That's what he wanted, to be feared by the living again. A small filly, orange coat and purple mane, was beneath him, completely vulnerable and helpless to do anything... and in the view of his mercy. He raised his fist to crush the filly, just as he was about to let it fly home, a rope of some kind wrapped around his arm. Seeing the pinkish color of the rope, he knew it belonged to one pony. He growled, turned, and groaned at Smoker. "Charger! I have two things to ask: One, why are you freaking out, attacking the very peo- ponies that saved our asses, and two, how did you change back?!" Charger replied with a series of grunts and howl like sounds only the infected could understand. "You... made a deal with a mystical mist?! Charger you are an absolute MORON!" Hunter yelled, his teeth bared for combat. Tank and Witch both had masks of irritation, but at the same time looks of war lords. Boomer, still keeping to himself, hadn't even bothered putting on a brave face, but Spitter had acidic drool leaking from her maw, burning the ground and her lips. Smoker retracted his tongue, and gave Charger the look of a predator and took one step forward. Charger gave a sound similar to a dog barking, and snarled, his face moving as his jaw moved up and down. Suddenly, a dark blue smoke began twirling around him, and inside the mist was the face of Nightmare Moon. "Hahahaha! Hello again Elements of Harmony, and these must be the creatures Charger was talking about... Yes, each one with a unique 'Mutation' as he calls it. And it shows..." She said gesturing towards him. Twilight and the other five (Excluding Fluttershy) cased a disgusted look towards the mist, but Smoker and the other infected growled and began showing their true natures again, even Boomer was beginning to dribble bile. "What do you want, Nightmare?" Twilight ask. Nightmare only smirked and pointed with a ghostly tail towards the infected. "Them", she said, "I want them!" If Tank still had hands, they would be balled in fists, if Witch still had it in her, she could scream so loud it could pop the eardrums of those around her. Now was do or die, because Nightmare Moon had Charger in a deadly grip, and the only way to save him, is by giving themselves up...