//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: The Stench // Story: Starcraft: The Equestrian Resistance // by NeutralParasite //------------------------------// “And why are we going to Zecora’s again?” The Cutie Mark Crusaders were doing what they were normally doing on any weekend commute; trying to find their cutie marks. Applebloom sighed, “Ah’ told ya’ Sweetie Belle, we need ta see if makin’ fancy potions will get us our Cutie Marks!” Applebloom had just finished her sentence when she stuck nose into the air with a disgusted look on her face. “It’s nah’t just me smellin’ that, right?” as Applebloom attempted to cover her nose with her hoof. “It’s not just you,” Scootaloo said before her expression changed to that of disgust. “Where is that coming from?” “I dunno, but it maht be from Zecora’s. We better get there fast.” The Cutie Mark Crusaders hastened their speed to their destination. Each one of them held their breaths as they travelled towards Zecora’s house, occasionally taking quick deep breaths to gather more air, trying not to gag during the process. The forest looked no different than any of the other times Applebloom had come to the Everfree Forest; dark, populated with trees, and on any other day absent of the terrible odor. As they arrived at Zecora’s hut, Applebloom nearly tore off the door upon entering, trying to close it as quickly as possible. “What is this? The source of the Stench? You must have come from the deepest trench,” Zecora turned to see the three small fillies, she had immediately grinned, “Ah, Applebloom and her friends, what do you need me to lend?” she said as she was retrieving a flask from her cabinet. Applebloom approached Zecora, having a minor frown on her face, “Well, we were gon’ come to your place tah help you out, but this smell is jus’ too much for mah nose to handle,” Applebloom was scanning the already-known area around her, noticing nothing different, no foreign materials that she hadn’t seen before. “Do you know waht’s causin this horrible odor?” Zecora frowned, “Sadly, I do not.” She had gotten some materials and proceeded to crush them, followed by the mixture to be poured into the flask. “Man, how can something smell this bad?” Scootaloo wanted to leave the forest as soon as possible, but she was also curious what the source of the scent was. Sweetie Belle was starring out the window, pondering the awful stench, “I can’t stand this smell any longer. Let’s get back to Ponyville where it’s a bit less severe.” The other Cutie Mark Crusaders couldn’t agree more. With a quick goodbye to Zecora, the trio had left the stench-filled forest and back to the clear air in Ponyville. The sun had started to disembark to the other side of the planet, making the sky a vibrant orange. There was never enough time to appreciate the little things in life, and even when there was, nopony ever realized how the little things made the more important things much more beautiful than they were. The three had made it back to the town in one piece, still sick to their stomachs due to the smell that lurked through the forest. The sun had finally departed, and nightfall soon followed. In the Everfree Forest, the green cocoons had hatched into evolved beings. They had the same shell, though less durable, unimportant compared to the newly made legs. They had extended from the original form’s thorax, with a total of eight legs. In between the legs there had been skin connecting all of the legs, like a wing would on a dragon. The mouth was replaced with two sets of somewhat sharp fangs and two rows of 8 eyes. Claws had also been formed near the upper region of the body, as if they were designed to easily do harm, although they did not use their claws for fighting, but for collecting resources. After the evolution, the newly made organisms had started to rid the area of useful minerals, such as trees, rocks, and water. After retrieving the minerals, they had stored it inside of the base they had once come from, to which it would stay there, unknown what it would be used for. --- --- --- The morning was greeted with the same vile smell as the Everfree Forest had the day before. Everypony in town was wearing something to protect their sense of smell, ranging from scarves, to medical masks. Scootaloo groaned, “That awful smell is here too?” she had covered her mouth with her helmet, which blocked the horrid smell only slightly. “We need to go back into the Everfree forest to find out where it’s coming from!” Sweetie Belle said as she gasped for a breath of air before holding her breath. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had returned to the Everfree Forest, where the smell was unusually bearable; most likely due to their nostrils finally getting used to the smell. “Ah’ don’ know about this, maybe we should jus’ turn back,” Applebloom said as they passed by Zecora’s, who was most likely looking for the source as well. They had finally reached a small clearing of trees, which looked like they were chopped down just recently, followed by a strange trail of slime. It had an unusual tint of purple to it, although not many animals left such a trail, especially not purple slime. “What is that stuff?” Sweetie Belle said with a look of disgust. “Well, whatever it is, it looks like the trail to something!” Scootaloo said with confidence, as the other two Crusaders looked at her as if she was crazy. The trio had followed the trail for quite some time before stopping in complete surprise. Applebloom was the first to speak, “What are these things!” as her mouth stood open. “Whatever they are, they don’t look like anything I’ve seen before,” Scootaloo replied. She was staring with an eyebrow raised; she suddenly grinned and continued, “They look cool!” Sweetie Belle was behind the other two, looking as if she were staring at Nightmare Moon herself. “W-we should leave, I don’t think they’d like it if we were found in their territory.” They continued to stare in fright as the unknown entities slowly destroyed the world around them. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had fled the forest with breakneck speed, going to tell the other ponies what they had seen, but they hadn’t had a clue what kind of animal or organism the unusual creatures were. It was the Equestrian Brood; the first group of Zerg on the Known World.