//------------------------------// // Sacrifce // Story: Urbs Secretorum // by AshuraZXexianGlitch //------------------------------// I felt someone shaking me violently. I opened my eyes and saw Zane shaking me looking beyond worried. “Zane! Zane I’m up, I’m up!” He stopped and gave me an apologetic look. I sat up and looked around me, it was still dark out. “Why would you wake me Z?” It’s four in the afternoon! I reread the words he had written on the paper. I just looked at him confused. He gave me the same look back. Their partying out there too? “You’ve got to be kidding me!” I heard myself ask as I ran over to the window. I saw a familiar pony too, his smile wasn’t something easy to miss. Perhaps was out there dancing about with the crowd. “Zane I’m starting to get a little creeped out.” I watched the crowd, they just seemed to look more and more bizarre as I watched them. “Zane look at this, it’s just beyond weird. Yeah I was alone, all I felt was a giant chill fill my entire body. I looked around and it was as if Zane wasn’t even there. I then looked outside the window and I saw him surrounded by the town folk. “Quite the predicament your little friend is in.” Perhaps said with a chuckle. I wasn’t quite sure what to do. I mean who could tell what they were goanna do to Zane. For all I know perhaps was the bad guy here. “We are all bad guys in this little story little lady.” “What does that even mean?!” I asked still conflicted with what to do. Perhaps laughed and pranced about. “Here nor there, up or down, does it really matter Scootaloo. We all have choices, poor little Zane is running out of his.” I had enough of this, especially when I saw the crowd tying him to a post. I think the worst part was seeing him as if he was trying to yell for help. He even had blood running out of his lips. “Let him go!” I yelled before jumping through the window. It probably wasn’t the best idea, but it was the fastest. I was met with ponies shoving candy and cider in my face. “Get him down from there!” I screamed as loud as I could. It went quiet, everypony was utterly still. Zane ran up to me and hugged me with tears in his eyes. I looked around and couldn’t believe anypony here would do something like this. “No he must be sacrificed, it is his turn!” Somepony yelled from the crowed. All the ponies in town looked at each other with shifty eyes. “Sacrificed!?” I asked surprised, this town was bizarre, but now they sounded like a cult. All I knew is that we were surrounded and my bones felt like ice. “A town that throws a party every day just to deal with the trauma of losing loved ones, watching them suffer as Mistress Sylva devours them.” The crowed made a hole and there stood Perhaps, but his coat hadn’t changed color. It was pitch black and his eyes glowed an unnatural yellow. “Shut your mouth Perhaps, we are sick of your misdeeds in Secretor.” One of the ponies from the crowd bellowed angrily. There was a wave of agreement from the others. “Secrets! How many more! Huh how many of your family and friends will you put on that stake to be devoured by that witch?!” He spat at the towns folk. “Mayor Bolt was the last of us to go, and all of you have forgot him!” “You don’t decide anything perhaps, it’s a choice weather or not one goes. That kid volunteered!” One of them spat at Perhaps. “Maybe he did or didn't he, he cannot speak. You’d throw a stranger into the void just to save yourselves the sorrow of seeing it for one more night. Put me on the stake already, I finally give up!” Perhaps said looking feral. “I’ll take his place!” “No you can’t do that! No pony is being sacrificed!” I spat out. “You don’t have a word in this kid!” I watched helplessly as Perhaps was surrounded and then soon tied to the post Zane had been tied too. “Four hundred years and he finally caves. Maybe Perhaps will be enough to satisfy mistress for a while.” One of the ponies said with a laugh. “He is the oldest out of us all, he has to something for mistress’s hunger.” Another one commented. There was a big wave of laughter. Zane and I just stood there helpless to do anything. We were just kids, what could we do. “How could you do this?!” I asked holding tears back to no avail. “Shut it kid, Perhaps should have been on that post before his wife and kids themselves. A selfish bastard who refused to do his duty.” A mare said with a big happy smile. “I still remember the story that has been pasted down by my family, he let mistress into the village. He refused this entire time, I’m sure she will be happy to see him again.” All the ponies laughed as they started to dance about. They were starting their party again. How can a town be like this? That’s when I saw it, the trees moved in the distance. A large roar engulfed the air itself. My heart began to pound on my chest as if it wanted to run away. The crowed stopped dancing and watched the creature emerge in the distance. The best way to describe it was a giant dragon made of wood and grass. I watched the beast as it grew closer to us. But as it got closer and closer it seemed to get small and smaller. It started to glow and the next thing I knew I was looking at a creature standing on two legs. It looked female and was wearing a dress made of leaves. Other than the dragon part, she would have been beautiful. But I couldn't get that dragon out of my head. “It’s nice to see you again smiley.” She said looking at Perhaps. “Been a long time hasn't it.” He said with that big creepy grin of his. “How did it go about, how I tricked you to let me in?” Sylva asked as she walked around the post. “Exactly you tricked me, letting you in here was a big mistake!” He spat at her. She smiled at him and leaned in closer to him. “I made your town immortal did I not?” “What kind of life is that? Sure we all have the potential to live forever, but you make us choose who dies!” Perhaps said his coat becoming red, his eyes following thereafter. “Give and take Smiley.” Sylva said before looking at the town’s folk. “Less and less of you every feeding. I might have to move along if this persists.” “Don’t you dare laugh, you’re the cause of it. This town was triple the size before you came. I wish you’d just kill us all, stop leading these poor ponies along, they may not see the truth. I do, I know what will become of us!” Perhaps tried to struggle out of his binds. “Stop your protesting Perhaps!” One of the mares from the crowd yelled. “Mistress, devour him. He is the oldest of us all, he should be most pleasing to you!” A stallion said soon after. Sylva smiled and looked around, she stopped when she saw us. “Most amusing.” She said with a smile that bore large fangs. Sylva turned around and looked at Perhaps, a giant smile grew on her face. A white energy that came from Perhaps was going into Sylva. “Hmm 400 hundred years tastes so good. But it would be better topped with some young ones.” “Kids run!” Perhaps yelled, without think both Zane and I ran away from the crowd as fast as we could. Adrenaline running through my entire body, Zane and I ran toward the forest. We didn’t hesitate to enter the forest it seemed the best way to get away from the mob of ponies after us. Turns out it did help get away from them but not from the town. Let me put it this way, we entered one way and came out on the other side of the town. It took us for a big spin, we stopped running and tried to process this. “What just happened?!” Zane looked at me confused. I could see the mob at the end of town. They didn’t want to enter the forest what so ever. I grabbed Zane and went too hide between two of the nearest buildings. It was lucky it was dark, we were able to hide there until the town stopped looking for us. We had to stay there until everything settled down, and it took hours for that to happen. The town went back to partying when they gave up looking for us, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t come after us if they saw us. “Local town enemies I guess is what we are Zane.” He nodded at me with sorrow in his eyes. We needed to get out of this place but we couldn’t really do that if we just wound back here if we entered the forest. “Hello is somepony there?”