The funny thing about running for your life is the fact that it snaps everything into perspective. Everything is clear, and your brain is on overdrive as your body works to keep you alive. I found myself in this predicament as I ran through the dark forest around me.
I gulped down great lungfuls of air as I sprinted through the trees. Behind me, the sound of wood shattering and trees falling echoed as the thing chased after me. Branches scratched at my face as I tore by them. I didn’t have time to slow down; I had to escape!
Behind me, the Darkness roared, enraged that its prey was on the run. Trees fell beneath it as it plowed through them as if they weren’t even there.
“You cannot run from me, Wanderer!” The shriek caused me to wince, tears in my eyes as I covered my ears. I didn’t falter, however, and continued my all-out sprint for freedom. Around me, bits of wood and plant life flew as the Darkness drew closer. To my right, a tree toppled, nearly taking me out with it. I screamed and put on an extra burst of speed.
I spied a clearing in the distance and angled myself towards it. The trees seemed to grow thicker around me as I neared the clearing, almost as if they were trying to prevent my escape. It did little good as I broke through the scratching branches and burst forth into the open air. Behind me, the Darkness let loose a earsplitting screech that echoed around the forest for miles.
The clearing was small, surrounded by the dark trees on all sides. I was trapped. Above me, the branches of the twisted trees seemed to meet and interlace together, creating a web like structure above me. Through the gaps I could see the night sky. The stars sparkled down upon me, laughing at my imprisonment.
The Darkness screeched again and I spun around, bracing myself for the inevitable attack. Which didn’t come. The Darkness stayed in the forest, glaring out at me from behind the trees with its glowing red eyes. I couldn’t quite make out what it was, but it was massive! It glowered down at me, gnashing its teeth in anger.
“You can’t hide from me, Wanderer,” it growled, the ground beneath my feet rumbling with each word. “I...see...you!”
“What do you want from me?!” I screamed, tears in my eyes. “What?!” The Darkness didn’t reply. It just lurked behind the trees, just barely visible in the gathering gloom. I swallowed, breathing heavily as I squinted into the trees.
The silence of the clearing was broken by the sound of a snapping twig. Whirling around, I hunched down, waiting for an attack. It never came. Instead, I felt my breath catch in my throat and my eyes widened.
Standing in the center of the clearing was a large, pale horse. A long, slender horn protruded from its forehead, ending in a sharp point. Large wings adorned its back, spread out wide, nearly sixteen feet in width. Its long pink mane hung loosely across its face and neck, and it gazed at me with deep, magenta eyes.
It nickered softly, pawing at the ground. Slowly, it approached me. I stood completely still as it drew nearer. The horn itself would be enough to kill me. Running its nose over my body, it snorted as it breathed in my scent. The horse’s nostrils flared and its eyes widened.
Turning abruptly, it headed off toward the far end of the clearing. Glancing back at me, it nickered again. The intent was clear.
As I began to follow the creature back into the dark forest, I happened to glance back behind me. Across the clearing, the Darkness remained still, unmoving in the treeline. It gazed across the empty space at me and the horse, its red eyes flaring with hellish light.
As I disappeared into the undergrowth with the horse, I heard a voice carried upon the wind.
“Help...them...as only you can.”
~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~
It was a sweltering summer day in Ponyville, with the temperature reaching nearly 100 degrees. That wouldn’t have been so bad, except for the fact that, unless Twilight’s little weather device was broken, the relative humidity was nearing 80 percent. That meant that it didn’t feel like 100 degrees outside; it felt more like 150 degrees.
It was this type of weather that makes you feel like you are walking underwater. You’re sweating just lying on the couch, and you feel like, even if you used a towel, you’d never get dry again. Getting up to get something was hard, as the humidity made it difficult to breathe.
It was this type of weather where you could drink gallon after gallon of water, and you’d never have to piss because you’re sweating it out faster than you could take it in.
It was Hell on Equus today in Ponyville. And it was only 8:45 in the morning.
“Ugh, why would the weather team schedule this type of weather for today?” Twilight moaned as she lay splayed out on the couch. She had her wings spread out as far as they could go, with feathers sticking out at odd angles, as she tried in vain to cool herself off. Her normal straight and combed mane was disheveled. Her face was flushed and she was panting slightly. Overall, she just looked downright miserable.
“Or any day for that matter,” she added, still fanning herself with her hoof. “What possible benefit could this weather have for anypony?” I didn’t answer. I simply remained spread eagled on the floor, trying (and failing) to find a cool spot somewhere on the wooden surface.
This was the fifth day of this horrid heat wave. The first day we had managed just fine. We had taken it in stride and simply went down to Sugarcube Corner for some ice cream. We figured that it was just an off day, and the weather would return to normal tomorrow.
That was, until the next day came, and the temperature went up several degrees. We had spent most of the second day indoors, trying to stay comfortable, which was rather hard seeing as the library's climate machine had died. The weather team had sent out a notification that, although they weren’t entirely sure what the problem was, they were working hard on figuring out what was wrong with the weather. It just seemed oddly suspicious that all this was happening AFTER the Weather Factory’s request for more money had been declined.
It was on the third day that things really started to get bad: the humidity had begun to rise as well. Ponies were dropping left and right, and the hospital could barely keep up with those passing out from heat exhaustion. It was on this day that I threw whatever dignity I had left out the window and decided to discard my clothing and walk around naked.
We didn’t get anything done that day, as Twilight had decided to forgo her list and try and seek out some form of relief from the heat. Did you hear that? That’s how hot it was. Twilight Sparkle was NOT obsessing over her list of things to do. You can put that down in the history books.
It was on the fourth day that things got completely out of hand. Some asshole on the weather squad decided that they could use a thunderstorm to cool everything down. All it did was make everything wet, and increase the humidity by 20 percent! That’s when, according to the newspaper, the entire Weather Factory in Cloudsdale threw up their hooves and gave up. We were told to simply wait the heat wave out, and pray for the best. And pray that the Weather Factory got their goddamn money soon.
Which brings us back to where we were: Day Five.
“Ugh...it’s too...bucking...humid!” Twilight whined, her tongue lolling slightly out her mouth. Once again, I didn’t respond. I just groaned in discomfort from my position on the ground.
“How are you holding up?” Twilight asked, glancing sideways at me without turning her head. I groaned again, before sluggishly raising my arms.
~Like I’m slowly roasting in— I paused, trying to decide how best to convey the word, before deciding to spell it out instead —H-E-L-L~
“Hell? Is that your world’s version of Tartarus?” Twilight asked, finally turning her head to look at me. She had that look in her eyes that she usually got when we began to discuss the differences between our worlds.
~Let’s just go with ‘yes’ and leave it at that~
“But I want to know,” Twilight whined, raising her head up off of the couch. She kept it raised for several seconds, staring at me, before she closed her eyes and her head dropped back down onto the couch. “Ugh, you’re right. It’s too hot to deal with this right now.”
“Twiillliiiighht!” Both Twilight and I turned our heads to look towards the source of the moan. At the top of the stairs, collapsed upon the top step, lay Spike. “Twilight, it’s too hot up here!” Twilight and I looked back at each other and grimaced.
Great, it’s so hot that even the fucking dragon is complaining. As if reading my thoughts, Twilight groaned loudly, holding her head in her hooves.
“Oh dear Celestia...we’re all going to die!” she moaned, “We’re all going to roast until we’re nothing but charred remains!” As Spike slowly made his way downstairs, step by step, I turned my attention to Twilight.
~Didn’t you say that Celestia controls the sun?~
“Princess Celestia,’ Twilight corrected without opening her eyes. “And yes she does, why?”
~So isn’t this kind of, like, her fault or something?~
“No, she raises and lowers the sun. She has no control over how hot it is!” Twilight replied, returning to fanning herself with her hoof. “The heat comes from the Weather Factory.”
That doesn’t make ANY sense! The sun is the source of heat!!! I decided to keep my disbelief to myself; it was far too humid to start another argument with Twilight regarding her mentor and the sun.
A thump from the foot of the stairs informs us that Spike has finally reached the bottom. The young drake just remains there, unwilling to move from his new position face down on the floor. Silence fell across the library as the three of us laid there, trying to not move too much to avoid becoming even more uncomfortable.
“WHY CAN’T THEY JUST GIVE THE WEATHER FACTORY THE CELESTIA-DAMNED BITS?!?!?!” Twilight suddenly screamed, causing Spike and I to jump as she broke the silence. “EITHER COUGH UP THE BITS, OR GO AND FORCE THE WEATHER FACTORY TO STOP THIS DREADFUL HEAT WAVE!!!”
~You get right on that then~ I signed, groaning as I was forced to move my arms. ~Send a letter to Celestia and ask her to take care of it~
“I’m not bothering the princess with something like this,” Twilight huffed indignantly. “Especially since she was the one who declined the Weather Factory’s original request.”
~Twilight, this is cruel and unusual punishment! It’s also probably illegal! You have got to contact the princess about this!!!~
“Nope,” Twilight said, shaking her head weakly. “No, I am not writing to her about this. She already has enough on her plate, without having to listen to my complaints.”
~Then you take care of it!~ I signed, growling in annoyance. ~You are a princess, after all!~
“I’m not using my status as Princess just to force ponies to do what I want!” Twilight looked horrified just at the mere mention of it.
“Then stop complaining about it,” came Spike's muffled voice from the stairs. I closed my eyes and nodded in agreement. Twilight huffed and turned away from us.
Rolling my eyes, I rolled over and slowly got to my feet. The very act of standing up caused me to become short of breath.
“Where are you going?” Twilight asked, glancing at me over her shoulder. I didn’t answer. Shuffling sluggishly along, I made my way towards the kitchen. The linoleum floor seemed to stick to my feet as I made my way to the sink. I grasped the faucet in my hand and turned it on, cranking it as far over to ‘cold’ as it would go. Putting the drain plug in place, I waited several seconds for the sink to fill up before dunking my head.
I held my breath for as long as possible, enjoying the sensation of the cold water against my skin. Eventually my lungs began to burn, and I was forced to remove my head from the cooling embrace of the water. I let the water run off my head and down my body, shivering slightly as the cold water trailed down my flesh. Taking a deep breath, I plunged my head back into the sink.
I repeated the process several times before draining the sink. Sagging against the kitchen table, I closed my eyes and simply enjoyed what little relief the cool water had given me before the humidity began to work its wicked magic.
Sighing heavily, I stood up and opened my eyes. I moved to make my way back to the main room of the library when something caught my eyes. It was beautiful. It was gorgeous. It was my savior.
It was the refrigerator.
Hurrying over to the appliance, I threw open the freezer door. It was built with the height of ponies in mind, so I had to get down on my knees, but I didn’t care. Ignoring the fact that my head was still wet from sticking it in the sink, I shoved my head into the icy depths. I shivered instantly, the combined feeling of the cold freezer air on my wet head and the cool fridge door against my stomach feeling incredible. As I knelt there, feeling my body temperature drop several degrees, only one thought made its way through my head.
Why the hell didn’t I do this sooner?! I remained like that for several minutes, enjoying the painfully cold feeling, until I heard the sound of something moving behind me. Tiny claws grasped at my arm as something pulled itself up my limb. As the thing reached the top of my arm, I felt tiny clawed feet stand upon my shoulder. One second later, Spike’s head appeared, resting his chin on the top of my head. I reached a hand up and patted the little dragon on the back before I let it drop and hang by my side again.
The sound of hooves on linoleum was our only warning before Twilight’s head joined us, her horn scraping the top of the freezer as she slid in next to me. I felt her drape a wing across my back as she tried to force as much of her head into the cold confines of the freezer. The three of us gave a great sigh of relief.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Spike moaned, his voice causing the top of my head to vibrate. I snicker slightly at the sensation, my breath clearly visible. Silence filled the freezer as we basked in bliss. It felt like several hours before any of us moved.
~I feel like packaged meat~ Beside me I feel Twilight tense. It took me a second to realize why.
~Sorry, I feel like an ice pop~ Twilight relaxed, breathing out a cloud of mist. Spike giggled, before breathing out as well.
“Look, instead of fire, I’m breathing icy mist!” This caused me to chuckle, causing more water vapor to appear. The sheer stupidity of what was happening caused Twilight to laugh as well, which set off Spike again, which set me off. It was a cycle that soon had all three of us laughing at our breath.
“You do realize how ridiculous we’d look to anyone who came in right now?” Spike asked between laughing fits. “The three of us with our heads in the freezer, laughing at nothing.” The laughter died down instantly as we realized the truth of what he just said.
“Why has it come to this?” Twilight murmured.
“It’s because of the heat,” Spike replied. I nodded my head silently, Spike’s head gently thumping against mine. My cheek rubbed against Twilight’s furry one as I moved. A small blush spread across her face.
We fell silent again, our heads still pushed deep into the freezer. My hair was slowly beginning to freeze, and it was starting to actually become painful.
“If only there was something we could do,” Spike sighed. I nodded again, my cheek brushed against Twilight’s, causing her cheeks to redden even more.
“Or someone we could ask for help.” Both Spike and I glanced over at Twilight. She was silent for a few minutes, refusing to meet our gazes. I coughed, causing Twilight to glance over at us. She stared at us for several seconds before sighing.
“Fine,” she grumbled. “I’ll write to the princess.”
~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~
One letter later and Twilight, Spike and I were standing outside, staring off in the direction of Cloudsdale. Although we couldn’t see the city itself, we could see the sky lighting up like a firework display. It had taken the princess the rest of the day to respond to the plea for help, but when she had, it was rather spectacular. The display of anger, which looked very similar to a 4th of July celebration back home, actually looked very pretty in the evening sky.
~She’s not actually hurting anyone, right?~ I asked, not taking my eyes off of the light show.
“No, she’s just ‘explaining’ to them why what they are doing is wrong,” Twilight replied.
~If you say so~ I chewed on my cheek as we continued to watch.
“I know it looks bad, but it’s more of a shock-and-awe type of thing,” she explained. “The princess doesn’t get mad often, but when she does...” She trailed off, shrugging.
~She makes it so you won’t want to do it again~
“Exactly.” We continued to watch the light display with the rest of the ponies in Ponyville. The minute the sky started lighting up, the temperature and humidity had dropped significantly. After just 5 minutes, it had become relatively comfortable outside. The town had taken notice, and now everyone was out enjoying the cooler weather. Foals ran around, laughing and playing with their friends. Adults chatted with each other as they watched the flashing lights.
“I have a feeling that we are in for some perfect weather for the next couple of weeks,” Twilight commented, sipping at a glass of iced tea she had brought outside with her.
“And you didn’t want to bother the princess,” Spike snarked, giggling from Twilight’s back. Twilight’s ears splayed back, but she ignored the comment. I chuckled along with Spike, enjoying the nice breeze that was beginning to blow through Ponyville.
“Well,” Twilight said after several minutes, stifling a yawn with her hoof. “I think I’ll go back inside. We have a lot of catching up on my to-do list tomorrow.” Spike and I groaned loudly as Twilight headed back indoors, Spike still clinging to her back with a sour look on his face.
I was headed back in after them when I decided to take one final look back in the direction of Cloudsdale. I eyed the flashes of blue, green and red as Princess Celestia apparently dealt with the unruly pegasi of the Weather Factory. It looked almost like an aurora. I smiled slightly as I gazed at the pretty sight.
It’s funny that something so beautiful is caused by the anger of one pony. Shaking my head, I made to turn back to the library, but something in the sky caught my eye. I stopped, my hand on the library’s door knob. Squinting, I tried to make out what it was.
It was small, but moving fairly quickly through the air. It passed through clouds, dissipating the white, fluffy objects as it flew through them. As I watched, the object appeared to be getting closer.
My eyes narrowed as the object drew closer. The flying object. The cerulean flying object. The cerulean flying object that had a rainbow trail behind it.
My eyes widened as I realized what was about to happen. As Rainbow Dash closed in on her prey, I groaned inwardly and braced myself for impact.
Strangely enough, flying through the air with a pegasus attached to you does not actually help cool you off.
~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~
I staggered down the basement stairs, heading down to my room. After fending off the surprise attack from Rainbow Dash, I was bruised and exhausted. Thankfully it was actually pretty cool in the basement, mainly due to the fact that it was partially underground. With the cooler weather rolling in, and my underground bedroom, I felt that I was in for a great night's sleep.
I was going to need it too, if Twilight was really going to work on getting her to-do list caught up.
Tomorrow is going to be a long day, I thought as I shuffled towards my bed. Groaning, I collapse upon the sheets, not even bothering to put my sack-clothing on. I’d deal with that tomorrow. Tonight I was sleeping in the nude. I wiggled around a little bit, trying to get comfy. Resting my head on my pillow, I feel my eyes getting heavier and heavier as I slowly begin to drift off.
I laid there, just between sleep and consciousness, listening to the relaxing sounds of the world around me. The muffled sound of crickets chirping coming from outside. The occasional hoot of Owlowiscious from upstairs. The distant clip-clop of Twilight’s hooves as she moved around her room, getting things organized for tomorrow. The sound of scratching coming from my closet.
…
…
...scratching from my closet...
…
...
My eyes snapped open and I shot upright, fully awake. I stared at my closed closet door, my heart rate slowly increasing as the scratching noise continued to emanate from within. Slowly, silently, I got out of bed and made my way towards the closet door.
It’s probably just an animal, I tried to convince myself as I inched closer to the closet. Maybe a little raccoon that wandered in through some small hole in the wall.
I reached the closet and clasped the handle in my hand. Behind the closed door, the scratching sound ceased. With my heart threatening to rip itself out of my chest, I pull on the handle, yanking the closet door open.
I stared into the empty closet, my heart lodged in my throat. There was nothing there. Nothing was inside. My eyes scanned the bottom of the closet, looking for any evidence that something had just been inside it.
I found nothing. I was just about to brush it off as my imagination and head back to bed when something caught my eye. Crouching down, I ran my hand across the floor of the closet. Looking at my palm, I noticed that it was covered in some form of dust. Bring my hand to my face, I sniffed at it tentatively.
Sawdust? Rubbing my fingers together, my eyes slowly drifted up the inner wall of my closet. My breath caught in my throat and I froze as my eyes landed on something that wasn’t there before. Slowly, my blood cold in my veins, I rose to my feet. I don’t know how I had missed it before, but now that I saw it I couldn’t tear my gaze away.
There, etched deeply into the wall, were two words. Two words that froze my blood. Two words that chilled me to the bone. Two words that caused my heart to practically explode in my chest. Two words that came from my darkest nightmares.
HELP THEM
I was up the stairs and in Twilight’s bed before she even knew I was coming. Needless to say, I did not sleep in the basement that night.