//------------------------------// // ...A Thousand Words // Story: The Remaining: Transformations // by Xvern //------------------------------// The door slammed open, allowing entry to the tired flier. So exhausted was she that her wings simply dragged across the floor. Eyes crazed by fear and uncertainty scanned the room, taking in the shocked faces of it's occupants. The windows were cracked, inviting a breeze that seemed to caress the sweat-soaked face of the intruder. “Twilight?” Celestia asked as two guards came trotting in after said alicorn, their faces a mixture of concern and confusion. Numerous servants rushed in after the guards, two of them working to try to cool down the physically exerted Princess. “Ce-Celestia...I...Ponyville...Creature...Screaming,” Twilight gasped between breathes. She hadn't stopped or slowed in her flight, pushing her muscles to their absolute limit and beyond. Some of the nobles in the throne room may later comment on her appearance but there were more pressing issues at the time. “Creature? Screaming? What happened?” Celestia asked, standing upright with her wings spread in surprise. Before answering, Twilight accepted a glass of water from a servant with a nod. While her former protege gracelessly chugged the water, Celestia asked that the throne room be emptied besides the two alicorns. By the time Twilight finished the glass, only the two Princesses remained, an unsettling quiet between them. “Now Twilight,” Celestia spoke softly as she walked down the steps from her throne, “tell me what happened.” “Last night, Applejack heard enraged howling, a kind which she hasn't heard before. She woke me up, thinking I knew, but I didn't even hear the howl. So we went to Fluttershy's but, on the way there, we heard what sounded like somepony screaming in the forest. Scared, we picked up the pace and got to Fluttershy's to find that her cottage was full of scared animals. We asked her about the howl but even she didn't know what it was! After heading back outside, I had Applejack get Rainbow Dash to do a fly-over to see if she could spot anything weird while I came here.” Celestia stood stock still, her features frozen in shock as her former student caught her breath again. Then, a flip was thrown, and her face turned to steely resolve. A pony was hurt; One of her ponies was hurt. She had to act. “Sergeant!” The door opened enough for a helmeted head to poke through, “Yes, Your Highness?” “Gather your platoon and make haste for Ponyville. You are to keep watch of the Everfree for an unknown creature and ensure that no harm come to Ponyville's inhabitants. Am I understood?” A hoof appeared and was quickly brought to the Guardspony's brow, “At once Princess!” The door slammed shut, again leaving the two alicorns alone. “Where are your friends?” Celestia asked. “They're probably waiting in the Council Chambers.” “Then that is where we shall go.” With a blinding yellow flash, the two were gone from the throne room. Upon entering and seeing that she was gone, a Guardspony made to wake Luna. Somepony had to put up the false wall of normalcy, after all. -_-_-_-_- If James had learned one thing in the apocalypse is that you not only look a gift horse in the mouth but you place a loaded firearm to it's head and watch it's reaction. So when James came across a hut in the middle of the strange, dark forest, he was more than a little skeptical. It made it worse that the hut appeared to be built into a still alive tree and have many native African decorations scattered about the outside. He could feel it though; he could feel the crazed eyes of the Infected on him. He could see it stalking through the woods, approaching him. Looking behind him, he was met with no sight other than that of the gnarled trees. Fixing his eyes back on the hut, he gave a large exhale before moving toward the structure in a crouch, his eyes moving to and fro. About two meters from the home, he turned around and aimed out at the woods. His pack hit the wall of the hut with a soft crunching noise. His eyes scanned the woods as he side-stepped toward the door. Something was making the hairs on his neck stand on end. The feeling caused his body to release adrenaline into his bloodstream in preparation for the Fight or Flight reflex. Was it the Infected? Could it have already found him? If it did, he thought as his index finger caressed the rifle's trigger, It's gonna get a nasty surprise. For his entire life, James had been told by innumerable individuals to “expect the unexpected” but when you're being chased by a deranged, cannibalistic human, the last thing you expect is for a pole staff to come a hair's breadth from crushing in the back of your head. With his only warning being the creaking of a window opening, James had come to a dead stop as the staff whisked by his head with enough speed to cause a strong wind. In a second, James had his left hand on the staff and gave a hard yank. He heard a gasp and felt the resistance disappear, causing him to rip the staff from the hut and toss it farther into the forest. It gave a resounding 'thwack!' as it struck one of the trees. With a fight at hand, his mind didn't fully register the noise that was being made. His rifle up in the firing position, he moved to the hut's door. Raising his leg, he launched it out and connected with the door. The hinges held, but that was because the brunt of the kick was focused next to the door handle. The locking mechanism, a simple chain, was ripped off as the door violently swung open. James entered quickly, his rifle up and scanning. He froze, his mind unable to comprehend the scene before him. There, standing on it's hindhooves in a martial arts stance, was a zebra with a mohawk. Gold rings were stacked on it's left foreleg and neck with golden hoop earrings. The face was a bit... compressed with a smaller snout. The eyes were large slits that seemed almost to big for it's face. A hoof was swung and James snapped out of his daze. He brought his rifle up in time to block the blow. With the zebra-thing closer, he could see that even on it's hindhooves, it was a couple inches shorter than him and he stood at a comfortable 5'10”. The hoof came around and, again, James used the rifle to deflect it. During the two strikes, the duo had circled around so that James was now looking out of the door. What he saw made his eyes widen and his heart quicken. There, standing in the treeline, was the Infected. Fresh blood coated the front of it's body. It's face had a bright red smear around it's mouth and drops around the rest of it's face. The blood was still fresh enough to drip from it's chin. It's teeth, shown in a wide smile, were stained red with the life essence; it's tongue snaked out in a manner that seemed almost seductive to lick some of the blood from it's lips. A large, bloody bone was held in it's right hand. Even from where he stood, James could see the chunks of meat that still clung to it. With all of this sensory input, James was only able to utter one word: “Fuck.” -_-_-_-_- The castle was deafening in it's silence as the seven ponies present examined the three pictures before them. It had taken little time to develop the pictures with the two alicorns present, this being done while Applejack was comforting a shaken Dash. When the pictures were ready, they had gathered around to see what the late naturalist had captured. What they saw had brought forth that silence that echoed the halls. It showed an unknown bipedal standing with a predatory slouch. It's eyes, looking as if Discord had touched the animal, was locked on the camera bearer. Blood could be seen on it's torn clothing but it couldn't be discerned if it was it's own or something else's. It's blonde mane was a complete mess with forestry sticking out of it and mud keeping it up at odd angles. The second picture showed the creature closer than before in full gallop. It's mouth was open, saliva connecting the two rows of sharp, carnivorous teeth. It's cheeks were pulled back in what the ponies assumed to be a smile, however deranged it appeared. The third picture showed the creature in uncomfortable detail. It's arms were out, ready to snatch the camera bearer. It's mouth was open that much wider and it's cheeks pulled back that much farther. The ponies could see the dried blood around it's mouth and splattered on it's face. While examining the photos, Twilight noticed something else. Scrunching her brow, she levitated the first picture closer to her face and looked it over again. A second later, her brows shot up and her eyes shot open... then her brows immediately scrunched down again as she moved the photo even closer to her face. “What is it Twilight?” Celestia asked, curious as to her student's reaction. “There's... There's another one, in the picture, but,” Twilight paused as she thought over her words, her eyes seeming to pick apart the very molecules of the picture, “I don't think it likes the one that attacked the photo-taker. Here, have a look.” Celestia's yellow took over Twilight's purple as the picture floated to the white alicorn's face. She examined it much as her former student had, brows scrunched. Her reaction was also much like the lavender princess. “I believe you are correct Twilight. That thing in it's paws looks to be a strange crossbow.” Celestia levitated the picture back to the floor, allowing the other five ponies a chance to look closer at it. In the picture's background, almost obscured by the trees, they could see the other creature. It was in a crouch with it's crossbow up, not at the late pony but rather at the pony's killer. “This raises even more questions,” Celestia stated. “The first being: Why didn't it intervene?” Applejack added. -_-_-_-_- The Zebra, realizing that James' reaction was not directed to it, turned around to see the Infected step into the clearing. The weird equine dropped back to all fours and, even with it turned around, James saw it's jaw drop open and it's eyes go wide. The Infected took another step, and another, quickly speeding up into a sprint. James had only seconds to act before the Infected would be inside the hut. He stepped forward, roughly shoving aside the zebra with his leg. Raising his rifle, he let off two rounds aimed at the center of mass. Ears ringing, James watched as the rounds struck the Infected's chest, the power of the 7.62 round making it stumble back a couple steps. However, right before James slammed the door, he saw it continue to move toward the hut. With the door shut, James noticed a problem. He had kicked off the only way of securing the wooden construct. A large bookcase, sitting beside the door, solved that issue as James tipped it on it's side so that it lay in front of the door. Not a second later, the Infected slammed against the door and, even with the bookcase there, nearly gained entrance to the hut. Notably deranged laughter came through partially opened door. “I just want to play!” the Infected screamed before descending back into laughter. Not waiting for the Infected to get through the door, James made way for a room in the back of the hut. The equine was already inside, sitting wide-eyed in the corner. Slamming the door shut, James got about barricading it. A bed, a dresser, a bookcase, and more were shoved against the door. It was after he moved the dresser that the zebra had gotten up and began to help as well, babbling away in what James' mind could only deduce as a foreign language. The man let the zebra ramble, hoping it was trying to calm itself. -_-_-_-_- “Princesses!” The guard came careening into the Council Chambers, making all of it's occupants jump with fright. Seeing this, the guard came to an immediate halt and dropped to a bow. “Apologies but we have heard thunder coming from the Everfree with no clouds overhead. Flyby has reported an unknown bipedal assaulting a hut in the forest.” The former Element bearers' eyes widened as one, the same name coming to their lips in exclamation: “Zecora!”