//------------------------------// // Sechs // Story: Lantern // by Imperator Chiashi Zane //------------------------------// “Fluttershy, How long.” Twilight stared at the two, unsure who to help. The book showed a Pegasus who looked very similar to Fluttershy, though a stallion. It listed that he had been known to ingest his own chemicals, that upon his death he was suffering from five different types of poisoning all at once with liver failure and feather rot. Fluttershy coughed, and Twilight gasped as flecks of red appeared on the yellow Pegasus’s lips. She whispered something Twilight couldn’t hear, and the creature launched himself across the room, to where Fluttershy had left her saddlebags. He tore the bag open, spilling books, flowers, and bits across the library floor as he grabbed an orange bottle. He seemed to stare at the white label for a moment before throwing himself back across the room. He pressed one of his claws around her neck, and his knee down on her belly as he ripped the cork out of the bottle and dumped it out on the table. His talons plucked four of the little green pills off the wood and dropped them into Fluttershy’s mouth, muttering something in Germane. Another cough tore out of Fluttershy’s throat, along with more blood, right before she went completely limp. The creature, Randel, stood up, leaving Fluttershy on the ground, where Twilight saw that her chest was still moving, if slowly. He turned to Twilight, “Verdammt . Der Bastard gab sie weiter .” “What?” Twilight understood some of it, but not all of it. Her translations were taking too long anyway. She willed her horn to life and it flashed brightly for a moment as Randel started repeating himself. “Verdammt . Der Bastard passed it on. He’s killed her,” a gloved claw slammed into the wall hard enough to crack the thick oak, “He’s been dead for three centuries, but he’s killed her.” Twilight’s jaw drooped, and she stared at the monster as he picked up the nervous yellow Pegasus and cradled her in his arms, “Can you save her? Can you save us?” He looked at her, then at Fluttershy, and pointed at the book, “He lived two hundred years. She will outlive him, as long as she doesn’t stop. The day she misses one, she WILL DIE.” Twilight levitated the green pills on the table back into the bottle and corked it again, floating it over to her. The label was clearly written, a prescription, sort of. It wasn’t from the hospital. It was from Zecora, “Fluttershy, what have you been doing to yourself?” Fluttershy raised her head and leaned over Randel’s massive arms, “Twilight, I’m sorry. It’s the only thing keeping me alive.” “This is pure ARSENIC! You should be dead!” Fluttershy whimpered, and wiped her hoof against her bloodied lips, “Twilight, you have to understand…” Randel placed his claw over Fluttershy’s mouth, “Please, do not talk. She…Cannot know. Not yet,” he pulled her closer and squeezed her lightly, then turned to Twilight and held out his other claw, supporting Fluttershy in one arm, “The bottle. I will explain in time, but now, I cannot.” __ Pinkie Pie stared at Gummy, “Stone, why do I need to hide this? Applejack will figure out that I’m hiding something,” her mane deflated slightly, “Then she’ll tell everyone, she’ll make me tell her. I don’t like when Applejack makes me tell her things.” I will take her ire then. She cannot hurt me. Pinkie winced, and grabbed the bucket again as images flashed through her head of things she had never seen, things she never wanted to see. They were terrifying, new, and yet entirely familiar. She filled the bucket and stared at the swirling cupcake goo and dripping blood swirling in it, “Why are you making me see these things?” I…am not. They are yours to see, yours to bear, as you are mine to bear. Your blood holds great power, but with it, great danger.” __ Rainbow Dash opened the box sitting in the bottom of her closet. Her father had specifically told her that he hoped, he prayed, that she would never need to open it. That she would know if she did, that if she did, she could never go back. He had never opened it, had never felt that itch to do so. Days before, when she looked at the birthright of the Dash clan, it had given off an air that just made her queasy. Now though, it was a sweet, almost enticing sensation. She looked into the box, stared at the harness, at the suit packed neatly inside. A bottle of cerulean liquid sat beside it. It burned her nose when she looked at it. She picked up the folder sitting on top and opened it. The words were written in a language she had insisted that she didn’t need to learn, Germane. It read: To my descendant, I am sorry. Truly. If you are reading this, it means you are lost. You are already dead. No, don’t try to run, it won’t help. Those chills running down your back, they won’t ever go away. Drink, and go. Go, burn everything. Make me warm. She shuddered instinctively, and pulled on a blanket, disappointed that it didn’t even give her a little bit of warmth. She lifted the bottle and took a tentative sip, or a gulp. By the time she realized she had even started drinking it, the bottle was empty. She was still cold. The suit. Maybe it was warmer? She shimmied into the armored fabric, “Come on, make me warm.” The suit was snug in places, though it was cut for a stallion, and pinched at her jaw. Still, she was slightly warmer. Maybe…She picked up the cylindrical device sitting on the bottom of the trunk, and smiled as a flame crept out of the tip, magically sustained. “Uncle Smith, I have found you your warmth.” __ Rarity scowled at the Crusaders. They were still looking, but hadn’t succeeded, not entirely. Apple Bloom had found her craftspony talent, and Sweetie Belle had discovered her singing talent. Scootaloo though, she maintained that her cutie-mark would be in flight of some sort, but she was using Rarity’s home as a launch-pad. __ Scootaloo shot off the ledge and soared into the air, howling with glee for a few seconds before attempting to flap at all. Still nothing from her Dodo wings, but she would land the trick. She rolled over, bringing her hooves and scooter towards the grou…Sky? She had gotten flipped over, and slammed into the ground on her back, sliding through the dirt and tumbling up onto her forehooves before dropping onto her belly. A glance at her flank made her smile. There was something there, and her hoof found that it wasn’t mud. The bat-like shape that had two yellow dots dead center made her leap into the air. High. She slammed into the dirt again, and glanced down at her hooves. Not even a scratch.