Thanatos' Creed

by Shadowflash


Dunwich Horror - Part II

Chapter 7

Dunwich Horror - Part II

Edited by:
Gunsmith
Eldorado
Narlepoax III
RainbowBob


***

While Aeron fired off his pistol, it bounced upwards and the ghoul's head whiplashed as a bullet passed through it. After a moment, the ghoul slowly fell to the floor, hissing in response. Aeron sighed softly, looking over to Jericho and Dash.
"Alright, that takes care of one. Who knows if there are more? Let's just find the quickest way downstairs and not deal with any of this." Aeron checked his Pip-Boy again, seeing the other dots on his map had moved.
Slowly moving around the corner, they all took care in traversing silently. Aeron and Jericho's feet maneuvered around broken glass, miscellaneous objects and small piles of rubble. Dash tried to do the same, finding it difficult to find places for her hooves. While she was placing her hoof down, her hooves failed to keep her balanced and she collapsed swiping her hoof at a bucket and smacking it at a wall.
The clang of the bucket smashing against the drywall and bouncing against the floor echoed within the small corridor. The drywall crumbled and collapsed, showing the guts of the wall itself. Aeron and Jericho looked over at Dash with in annoyance, but only for a moment, turning quickly when the sound of gurgled roars came from nearby.

"Fuck," Aeron growled angrily.
Aeron holstered his pistol and pulled his assault rifle off his back. Looking back at Dash, he pointed to the wall. "Pull out a board. Wood is weak enough to do that. Strong enough for a good weapon. You can hold a giant stick, right?"
"Yeah, not hard," Dash answered.
"Good. Grab a piece. Quick."
Dash quickly moved over to the wall and slid her hooves behind one of the studs. It felt weak and squishy, as if it’d only be good for one or two uses as a weapon. She quickly pulled back and was immediately graced by a good chunk of the stud with nails protruding out of it wildly.

The sound of footsteps clambering and struggling to climb up crumbling objects echoed throughout the lower floor. Following the sound was an amplified hiss. “Kiiiiiiiilllllll....

"Be ready. Jericho, you cover that wall and shoot any getting too close, I'll remain right here and cover from this small distance. Dash, hang back and out of the way. Last thing we need is you getting hurt." Aeron moved over to the wall with the exposed studs while Jericho moved to the opposite. Dash followed her directions and moved a few feet back.
"Kid, are you sure staying in this small hallway is a good idea?" Jericho asked quietly while aiming his shotgun in front of him.
"Trust me, it is. Better than fighting them up close," Aeron answered.

Found you...” A voice sang from nearby. Aeron looked down to see a ghoul's body jump out from the hole in the ground.

Jericho quickly turned and aimed for the ghoul's chest. A burst of light, followed by the sound of metal grinding against metal, came from his shotgun. Blood and ribs splattered in front of Rainbow Dash, her eyes growing wide in horror.
Don't... Rainbow Dash looked away, tightly wrapping her forelimbs around the piece of wood, gagging. Don't throw up... You can do this, Dash! C'mon, it's not that big of a deal!
Ghouls started to rush around the corners of the hallway adjacent to Aeron and Jericho. The two both fed bursts of gunfire into more incoming ghouls. More blood and body parts flew towards Dash, a few pieces actually landing on her.

Uhg... Th-this... This is too much. I can't... I jus–

"Dash!" Aeron yelled as a ghoul had made its way past Aeron and Jericho, and readied to swipe at her.
Dash watched as the ghoul ran towards her, its boney and fleshy hands outstretched to grab her. Thinking quickly, she used the board within her hooves to her advantaged and jabbed the nail end into its chest. The ghoul’s arms flailed wildly, trying to grab her and was silently screaming “fleeeesssh...

“Help!” Dash yelled to Jericho, who turned immediately to see the pegasus struggling to hold out against the ghoul.
“Help her, I got this covered!” Aeron yelled as he fired off another burst from his assault rifle.
Jericho stood up and swung the butt end of his shotgun against the back of the ghoul’s head. Bits of its skull flew against the wall and blood poured from its brain from the brute force of Jericho’s hit.
“Jericho, look out!” Aeron called back to him a ghoul broke through Aeron’s fire and charged directly at him with a loud hiss.
The companion raised his shotgun to the ghoul’s head, pressing his finger into the trigger quickly, only to receive no offensive response. The ghoul reared its claw-like fingers at the man, who only muttered “shit,” at the approach.
“Dash!” Jericho grabbed the ghoul’s arms, holding them in the air only to have the ghoul chomp in front of his face.
“What do I do?!” She yelled.
“Fucking kill it! Use the Goddamned board before it bites my fucking face off!”
Rainbow Dash held the weak board in her hooves and trembled to go through with the act. The ghoul was getting closer to Jericho’s face and pushing itself onto the companion.
I can’t just sit here! Jericho will be eaten alive if I do! Rainbow Dash took in a deep breath at her thought.
“Kill it!” Jericho yelled as strain bellowed into his voice.
Dash quickly swung the board at the ghoul’s legs which caused it to stumble over and fall. It hissed violently and tried to push itself back up, however, Dash brought the board down on its chest causing it to shoot splinters and a chunk of the board off.
The ghoul was still on the ground, rolling onto its stomach and using its arms to slowly push itself up.
“Stay down!” The pegasus spoke as she brought the board down on its head this time.
She continued to hit the ghoul repeatedly, blood and bits of skull landing on her sweater, until the ghoul’s head was nothing but a gushy and bloody mess. Dash took in a few deep breaths to register what she did.
Wow... That felt... Just great! Dash shook the thought immediately out of her head and replaced it with reason. What am I saying? I just killed this thing! This thing that was... trying... to kill... me.

She stopped and began to glare at what was left of its head. Looking slowly at Aeron, she could see the bodies of many ghouls and blood trailing along the floor, ceiling and walls. He said nothing to Dash and only checked around the corners and down the hole for any incoming ghouls. When he noticed nothing the three regrouped in the small corridor.

"How'd that feel? To get rid of all thought and just kill?" Aeron asked with feigned excitement.
"I..." Rainbow Dash stopped for a moment, taking in a quick breath. "It felt great. To just... just let loose and let all worry drain away. I hate the thought of doing it, but, when I do it..."
Rainbow Dash let her words trail off to which Aeron and Jericho both nodded. "Well, you'll get used to the feeling of not worrying about your problems. These things aren't human anymore and they just want to kill you. That should ease your mind, hopefully."
Rainbow Dash smiled softly to Aeron's sentiment, but, it quickly faded and she changed to a much more stern expression. "Let's check out this building some more. I'm ready."
"Don't get too cocky, Rainbutt," Jericho chuckled softly, only to have Dash roll her eyes.

***

"Alright, so Inclement Storm said he already searched all over Ponyville. I guess it's safe to say we can rule that out of the picture," Twilight told the girls while they were gathered around her.
"However, he never said he checked Cloudsdale. So, I think the best course of action is to fly up there, ask some ponies, put up posters and look around." The four around Twilight nodded with agreement.
"No wings this time, right? Hehe..." Rarity questioned with a nervous smile.
"Nope. Cloudwalking spell, remember?" Twilight smiled for a moment, her expression changing to one of determination.
"Ah, good. Just making sure we don't make the same mistake twice!" Rarity giggled softly and then returned to a placid expression.
"So Pinkie, you have the posters, right?" Twilight asked simply.
"Yupperdoodles!" Pinkie pulled a stack of papers from her saddlebags and handed them over to Twilight. Looking them over, it was a picture of Dash and then a description of her most prominent features.
"Good," Twilight gave an approving nod to Pinkie. "At least she didn't mess this up."
Twilight gestured for the girls to follow her, which they did, and she trotted over to a nearby clearing in which her balloon sat upon a hill. Twilight directed the others to prepare the balloon while Rarity stayed behind to talk to her.
"Twilight, dear, are you sure Rainbow Dash will even be in Cloudsdale?" Rarity asked, the frilly unicorn gazing in the distance to the floating city. "I mean, I know I agreed to check there with you and so did the others, but are you entirely sure?"
The five friends were currently standing at the crest of a hill, perfect conditions for take off in a hot air balloon. Said balloon was currently being filled by Pinkie Pie, the number one expert on how to spew hot air. Fluttershy and Applejack were helping with preparations on the basket, leaving Twilight preparing the cloud-walking spell for everyone with Rarity to talk to.
"It's the best chance we have, Rarity," Twilight replied, her horn glowing with magic as she prepped the spell. "So far we have no leads or evidence where she's gone. Cloudsdale is our only other option, since I'm pretty sure she wouldn't be at Canterlot. If she's not there... then she's officially missing."
Rarity gave a faint smile of encouragement before it faded. The balloon was fully blown up and the other ponies had gathered around Twilight.
"Alright, let me just cast this spell..." Twilight's horn formed snake-like strings of magic which wrapped around everypony's hooves, excluding Fluttershy's. After a minute of casting the spell, the glow and the strings faded, and the group made their way into the basket of the balloon.
With the hot air Pinkie ignited from the burners, they quickly took off, drifting on the gentle air currents leading to Cloudsdale. Twilight was the navigator while the others settled comfortably in the basket, including Fluttershy who decided to stick with her friend rather than fly.
Holding onto her hat to prevent it from flying off, Applejack asked. "So, why do ya gals think Rainbow Dash came here in the first place?"
"Well, it can't be because of the Wonderbolts. They aren't scheduled to appear in Cloudsdale for weeks," Fluttershy replied timidly, twiddling her hooves.
"Ooh, maybe she's planning a party for one of us!" Pinkie Pie guessed, giving the others a cheerful smile.
"Sorry hon, but none of our birthdays are comin' up soon," Applejack reminded her.
"Aww," Pinkie said sadly, her poofy hair deflating slightly.
"Don't worry, darlings. I'm sure Rainbow Dash is perfectly fine and safe. Just in Cloudsdale for whatever reason," Rarity tried to reassure them, glancing at Twilight for help.
Noticing the look of worry Rarity gave her, Twilight nodded her head. Her horn glowed as she steered the balloon to the close approaching Cloudsdale. "Rarity is right. I bet Dash is waiting for us right at the entrance to the city. Probably a prank she decided to pull on us."
"Well, guess we'll know when we get there," Applejack mused, just as the balloon basket touched down on the cloud leading to the entrance to the splendid cloud city. Buildings and architecture made from clouds surrounded them, as magnificent rainbow rivers flowed down in waterfalls to the land below.
"I don't see her, Twilight," Fluttershy stated quietly.
"Hrm... Well, we have to be optimistic. Let's just take the time to ask some ponies if they've seen her around. Put some posters up, too." Twilight gave a faint smile to her friends, hoping they wouldn't see past it.
"Alright, no time for squanderin’, then. Let's head on out and try and find her." Applejack picked up her pile of posters, the others following suit.
"Meet back here in two hours. If we don't find her by then... Well, we'll have to try another place," the purple mare told the group, trotting off with her own posters.
The next two hours were spent putting posters up, asking passerby pegasi if they'd seen Rainbow Dash, and having no luck or clues to where she could be.

~

"Excuse me, partner, but have you seen my friend here?" Applejack held up the poster of Dash to a female pegasus. "She's gone missing and I need help finding her."
"Oh, well..." The pegasus held up a grey hoof to her chin, her blue and red mane swaying gently in the wind. "I think I've seen her work for the weather team. But, I'm not sure where she might be. I'm sorry."
"Ah, shoot, no worries. Thanks anyways." Applejack smiled gently as the mare walked away.

~

"Excuse me... Uhm... Sir...?" Fluttershy gently tapped the shoulder of a brown stallion, who slowly turned his head to her. "I don't mean to be a bother, but, uhm... I'm looking for my friend, Rainbow Dash."
"Rainbow Dash? You mean the mare on the weather team?" the stallion asked with a raised brow.
"Yes!... I mean, yes. Have you seen her lately? She's gone missing and my friends and I are getting worried." Fluttershy frowned slightly to the stallion.
He brushed a hoof through his chocolate brown and vanilla mane for a moment, and then shook his head. "Sorry. Haven't seen her. Only know her for being a weather mare."
"Oh... Thank you, anyways." Fluttershy sighed as the stallion nodded and walked away.

~

"Hi!" Pinkie jumped in front of a gray mare who jumped back in surprise.
"Hey! Don't do that!" the mare requested as Pinkie giggled.
"Sorry! But, I'm wondering if you've seen my super-duper-awesome friend Rainbow Dash?" The pink mare showed the poster of Dash to her, only to have her shake her head.
"Sorry. Haven't seen her. Excuse me, I have to do something for my family." Pinkie nodded as the mare flew off. After a moment, the pink pony let off a sad sigh.

~

"Any luck, girls?" Twilight sighed as they all sat with their faces showing feign enthusiasm.
"No... Nopony has seen our dear friend," Rarity announced with a bit of a groan.
"Yeah. Where else could she be, Twilight? I mean, we've had Inclement search Ponyville already, and Cloudsdale is the only other place she really goes to," Applejack said truthfully.
"Maybe she went for a flight in the Everfree...?" Fluttershy suggested quietly.
"The Everfree? Why would she go there, silly?" Pinkie raised a brow to the Pegasus.
"Well, the weather was kind of bad when she left Twilight's house, wasn't it?" Twilight nodded to Fluttershy's question. "So, it'd make sense if she accidentally flew into the Everfree, right?"
"Yes, I have to agree with Fluttershy," Rarity nodded with a small smile.
"Right! Maybe she's staying with Zecora!" Twilight smiled brightly. "C'mon, girls, let's go!"
The five ponies got back into the balloon and floated it away from Cloudsdale and back to Ponyville. In about forty-five minutes, the girls had reached the edge of Ponyville which led to the Everfree. Twilight lowered the balloon to the ground, and then dropped the weights as they landed.
"Alright. Let's follow the path that Zecora showed us a while ago. Then, we can ask her if Rainbow Dash stopped by," Twilight said, trotting over to a small patch of dirt that lead into the forest.
The others followed suit, as they pushed past the bushes, trees, vines and roots making their way down the narrow path. After ten minutes, they pushed through a large bush and found the wooden hut that belonged to Zecora. Twilight quickly trotted to it and tapped the door gently with her hoof.
The door opened to reveal the zebra known as Zecora. The zebra's blue eyes scanned Twilight and her friends, the zebra raising a brow for a moment, and noticing a certain blue Pegasus was missing.
"It appears one is missing from your group. Perhaps you can bring me into the loop?"
"It's just that, Zecora. Rainbow Dash is missing and this is the last place she would come to that we could think of!" Twilight gave off a panicked look, but Zecora smiled gently.
"Twilight, please, don't panic; be calm. I'm sure Rainbow Dash is all but gone." Zecora smiled softly, moving out of the way of the entrance and gesturing for the five to come in.
They all did, and took their respective seats in the zebra's hut. The hut was filled with a strong scent of honey and a pot boiled gently in the middle of the room.
"That smells heavenly..." Rarity said, inhaling the aroma deeply.
"Ah, yes. I've been brewing for quite sometime. It's a new recipe of mine." Zecora picked up a white rose from a table and gently dropped it into the pot.
"Zecora, can you tell us where Rainbow Dash is? You had to have seen her!" Twilight was biting her lower lip in anticipation and impatience.
"I did not notice Rainbow Dash since last night. I watched her, as she had one heck of a flight." Zecora sat down as she slowly explained.
"So, where'd she fly off to?" Twilight asked quickly.
"She flew not here or there, but to a place where death is a burden to bear," Zecora said grimly.
"What's that mean? You mean she's... dea–"
"Rainbow Dash is far from that fate. But she is being threatened by a force of hate." Twilight was interrupted by Zecora's cryptic rhymes.
"A force of hate? So, where is she? Who's threatening her?" Applejack growled angrily.
"I may have a clue that will solve this riddle. Please, be gentle, for it is very brittle." Zecora then pulled out a dirty newspaper from underneath a table, handing it to the five mares.
They all stared at it and read it over. It was much more astonishing than they could believe.

Friday, June 3rd, 2072

U.S. to Annex Canada

By Dorothy Proud

Capital Post Staff Writer

In a move that is being widely viewed as both necessary and overdue, the United States military today declared that they will begin the immediate annexation of the country of Canada.
The decision comes after a long and contentious relationship with the Canadian government that began shortly after the Chinese invasion of Anchorage, Alaska, in the winter of 2066. The Canadian leadership at that time expressed its opposition to American troops passing through their country or traversing their airspace, but ultimately capitulated.
Tensions with our neighbor to the North have only escalated since then as the United States has found itself relying heavily on Canada's natural resources—including wood cultivated from the country's great Timberland forests—to maintain the war effort against China.
But it was a recent near-sabotage of the Alaskan pipeline that finally tipped the American military's hand.
"That was the last straw," said Buzz Babcock, commander of U.S. forces in Canada. "You know what's been stopping the Reds from pouring into downtown Juneau? American soldiers, that's what. And now we've got to worry about someone—Chinese, Alaskan, or otherwise—taking out the pipeline? I don't think so. Effectively immediately, United States troops are beginning a complete takeover of all Canadian assets and resources. Little America is ours. But let's face it, it always has been."

"Wh... What the heck is this?" Rarity looked it over again, not believing what it says.
"War? Annexation? Canada? America? Where'd you get this, Zecora?" Twilight asked the zebra in confusion.
"I do not know how it came to be, but, I do not want it with me," Zecora spoke with distaste.
"Thank you, Zecora. We'll take it with us. Perhaps it'll help us find her." Rarity gave a slight smile to Twilight, who nodded.
"It was my pleasure to try and help. I hope this goes well and without a yelp." Zecora smiled gently as the five mares left the small hut.
"What now, Twilight?" Pinkie asked with disappointment.
"We send a letter to Celestia and Luna. They have to have the answers. But, first, we need to get home." Twilight answered with a sigh.
I hope we can find Dash... I really do... she thought to herself as they all left the area that was Zecora's hut.

***

Aeron, Jericho and Rainbow Dash had found themselves in a large room with a massive hole in its center. Down the hole, they could see light emanating from what appeared to be a room. As for the room they were standing in, the floor was all collapsed and aimed downward into the hole. Piles of rubble, glass and dirt were pressed against the windows, which had dim light flowing through them.
Aeron walked over to the crater and turned on his Pip-Boy light. He could see it wasn't that big of a drop, but decided to not risk falling through the floor below. "Jericho, Dash, find something we can use as some sort of staircase. Not going to risk jumping down this thing."
Jericho and Dash nodded and started to rummage through piles of rubble and debris, finding only junk or fungus attaching itself to something. Dash sighed as she had no luck and looked up at the ceiling. When doing so, Dash spotted a large, tin plank hanging off the edge of the collapsed upper floor.
Flying up, she quickly pulled it off the piece of floor it was hanging from. It made a loud, thunderous noise as it bounced in the air but stopped as she lowered it to the ground. "Aeron, is this good?"
Aeron looked over and nodded. "Yes. That's perfect. Just slide it down into the hole for Jericho and me."
The mare slowly dragged the material to the hole, gently leaning it against the floor below and the floor above, making a perfect ramp. Aeron and Jericho then made their way down and rejoined Dash.
"Thank you, Rainbow Dash," Aeron ruffled the mare's mane jokingly.
"You’re welcome," Dash rolled her eyes, smiled slightly, and followed the two further down the hole and to where the light was coming from.
"A door. Hope it's not locked. Don't want to break it." Jericho joked as they saw a half broken door closed at the end of a small hallway.
"Would be such a shame, Jericho," Aeron smirked softly.
"What's so funny?" Dash raised a brow to the two.
"Oh, we have this thing with half broken doors at the end of hallways. If it's locked, I let Jericho blow it open with his shotgun. No door can withstand that power. Except metal doors and such," Aeron explained.
"Well, let's get this over with, then," the Pegasus sighed in annoyance.
"With pleasure..." Jericho smiled devilishly as he slowly approached the door.
Raising his shotgun, he pointed it at the doors knob. Quickly he fired and the door blew open, breaking off its weak and rusted hinges. Jericho laughed for a moment before he suddenly collapsed to the floor.
"Jericho?" Aeron ran forward to help Jericho, only to also collapse to the floor.
"Uh... G-Guys...?" Dash spoke quietly to the two, seeing as their unconscious bodies weren't responding.
“Guys, you okay?” Dash trotted over to them, quickly, and began to shake their forms.
What the heck happened? How’d they just collapse? The pegasus looked around her as the gentle creak of the building displaced the impending silence.
I-I... I don’t like this... Dash shook Aeron and Jericho’s bodies. “Guys, c’mon, wake up. Joke's over!”
Hastur... Come to me...A voice slithered into Dash's ears, making her jump.
"Wh-What?" The Pegasus looked around for a moment, seeing nothing around her.
See you soon, Hastur... Four, nine, five... It spoke with the whispering hiss of a demonic creature.
Before Dash could respond, she felt her eyes become very heavy, and her body drained of all energy. Her limbs slowly dragged her to the ground as an outside force pushed weight upon her. Unable to resist, she collapsed, just like the others. Her eyes very slowly closed as she watched something black approach from the room in front of her. Her eyes finally shut as one last word slipped into her mind.

G'yeeeeeeth...