//------------------------------// // Chapter 16: Ralph is Dead. // Story: Monster-bumps // by Napalm monster //------------------------------// The monsters eventually did soon overwhelm the students and staff. They resorted to hiding in some of the classrooms while monsters eventually began roaming the hallways of both first and second floor, heading towards the gym. AppleJack ran through the halls holding a dented golf club, the shaft was bent and crooked. She had to beat a few Terrors and giant spiders and save a few kids in peril. She ran into the CMC, holding bats and weapons from the equipments closet. "You girls alright?" AppleJack asked. "Yeah," Applebloom nodded, panting tiredly, "Those pumpkin headed monsters almost got us." "But we showed 'em." Scootaloo smirked full of pride, pumping her weapon in the air which still had a few pumpkin seeds clinging. "But I don't think we'll be able to hold them off for much long," Sweetie said, her voice with anxiety and unease, "Everytime we tried smashing a pumpkin head they just keep coming back." "Don't bother," AppleJack told them, "They'll jus' keep regeneratin' , jus' push the monsters back and slow them down as much as ya'll can, if things get too hairy then run, ya hear me AppleBloom?" Her sister nodded, still scared, "Do ya really think that new kid will be really able to able to save the entire town." "Ah sure hope so sugarcube." They could only hope Ralph was writing fast enough. Ralph sat at a large wooden desk in the center of a dark stage, staring at his paper, clutching his pen. “The night was dark,” he mumbled to himself, writing down his own words, But … no. “Dark was the night.” Better. “The darkness embraced the town.” Then he had it. “The night was cold.” Perfect. A cool breeze washed over his neck. The noises and roars of the monsters were soon intensified as they drew closer to his location. He looked up, suddenly on alert. Not that it would save him. Dead paced the hallways, closing in. He looked up and noticed the security camera. He let out a soft "hmmm...." Before looking for a particular monster. He went back downstairs to find a special monster to help pinpoint where his daddy was hiding. Seeing the destruction in the hallway made him giggle softly under his breath. He then spotted among the angry ants and zombies a giant metal robot, known as XT-1000. Who can hack any machine. "Hey metal head!" He called out. The XT whipped its head at Dead who began wagging his finger, beckoning to follow him. Which it obliged. The XT made loud metal clanking stomps as it followed the skeleton into the principals office. Dead stopped at the door when he tested it. Locked. But not for long. XT-1000 swung its metal fist forwards and began punching the door. It cracked under the pressure of its metal punch. XT-1000 turned sidesways and swung himself around before throwing all of his weight into the door driving his full mass into the door. The door shattered, bursting through, chunks of the door laid scattered on the floor. XT stepped aside for Dead to walk in, which he calmly strolled in with his arms crossed behind him. Once they were in the security room. Dead noted all the monitors off, he then gestured for XT-1000 to use his ability to manipulate technology. He acknowledged this request and shot a green light from his chest on to the monitor, accessing it. The screen of the monitor was enveloped in a digital bright, lime green light. Letting him see through the cameras. XT-1000 began searching through the whole school through the cameras. After a few minutes it accessed a camera to see the students running towards the gym when they began getting overwhelmed by the monsters. XT-1000 saw this and displayed it on one of the monitors for Dead to see. Dead chuckled as he saw the students fleeing for their lives just waiting to be cornered by his monster. The monitor shifted to the camera in the auditorium where they spotted Ralph writing in a hurry. Dead grinned evilly, he exited the principal office, making his way to the auditorium. "Daddy, where are you?” he called. “I want to see your face. I haven’t had something funny to look at all night.” Ralph tried to ignore Deads voice, he was only trying stall him from writing. He couldn't be swayed, he had to keep writing no matter what happened to him. He wrote furiously, faster and faster. “ 'All the monsters had converged. The vicious zombies, the wendigo, the praying mantis, the haunted monster truck—' ” "Forgetting somebody?" a tiny voice interrupted. Ralph looked up. The auditorium was dark. Only a single spotlight lit Ralph's desk onstage, and in its glare, he could see nothing. But he knew the skeleton was there. "Dead?" Giggles echoed through the empty room. Another spotlight flared, revealing Dead in a seat in the middle of the audience. He smiled at his creator. "No...You are, or you will be soon." the Skeleton cackled. “Are you ready for your final curtain?” "How did you find me?" Ralph demanded. "I smelled you. Or was that something I stepped in on the sidewalk?" Dead cackled at his bad joke. "You can’t hide from me. Because I know you. I created you. Or is it the other way around?” He giggled. "I always forget. We’re so similar …" The light went out, dropping the room into darkness. Dead disappeared once again. "Bones?" Ralph called, panic in his voice. “Where are you?” Lights on: Dead was closer now, sitting in the front row of the auditorium. "Your so ugly. You make me want to Ralph" he rasped, "HA-HA-HA-HA!" "Yeah well, your jokes are so old, 2005 wouldn't want them back." Ralph replied. "Hmmm, not bad. If I weren't trying to kill you, I'd actually be impressed." Dead grinned. "What do you want?" Ralph demanded. "I’ve decided to give you a choice. Work with me, and you can live. Work against me, and…" He trailed off and giggled. How he loved the sound of his own evil laughter. "Well, let's just say you’ll miss the show." But Ralph looked outright offended by those words. “No, Dead. I won't help you destroy this town.” Dead stared at Ralph, his eyebrow shifted almost resembling a disappointed expression. He growled softly, not the answer he was hoping for, he shook his head "Well that's disappointing, but not unexpected." "Please stop this madness Dead," Ralph pleaded, hoping to make the skeleton to atleast see reason, "If you go far away and promise never to hurt anyone, I won't come after you. And I'll never write with the pen ever again." "Oh please! I know you better than you know yourself. ‘I’m done,’ you say. ‘I’ll never write again.’ But you always come back to me. Because you need me. Because you are me!" Ralph grimaced. "We are not the—" "—same person?" Dead said the words along with him. Then he chortled, seeing the expression on Ralph's face, he made his features grow into a taunting 'I told you so.' look. "See? I know your every thought, i know what scares you, I know your deepest, darkest fantasies, Daddy. And I know some of your more...'personal' desires.” DeadBones cackled loudly as he saw Ralph blush intensely. He then shifted uncomfortably and broke eye contact, remarkably embarrassed. As he knew the one secret that not even his own sister knew about him. "And let's just say you are a bigger freak than I could ever be, you are definetly into some weird shit! And that's coming from me!" Dead's laughter soon filled the entire auditorium, "-The talking skeleton! HA-HA-HA! But don't worry your secrets safe with me, I might be evil and crazy, but I'm not that much of a dick to tell the girls or anybody else about that........Thing." Ralph let out a silent sigh, feeling a shower of relief wash over him. "But your still gonna die though." "What?" Ralph whined. Dead shrugged, "Hey kiddo, I said I wasn't an dick, but I did say I was evil. And the fact of the matter is, you need me more than I need you! We are one being together!" Ralph wanted to protest. Though he could tell that deep down in both him and Deads core, they were the same force. Driven by hatred and lust for power and respect. They were one singular being. With a few fragments of each other's personality traits. The only difference was Ralph's and Deads misanthropy lead them through different courses. Ralph wanted to punish everyone for ignoring him. While Dead had the tools and means to actually accomplish it. He mulled over it. Ralph knew the sad truth: Ralph and DeadBones are the same being..... He rejected it though and stood up, shouting, "No! Things have changed." Dead shook his head. "Changed? The only thing you should change is your underwear pal!" The auditorium went totally dark once more. "Bones?" Ralph called. "Bones?" When the stage lights came on again, Bones was standing on the desk, holding Ralph's new pages. Bones read: “ ‘Everyone in the high school joined forces to defeat Dead and his monsters.’ ” "No, that won't do." Dead improvised his own line. “‘But DeadBones had other ideas.’ ” Ralph reached for the pages; Dead reached for Ralph. He grabbed the young writer’s fingers and pulled back hard. There was a sickening crunch, then a gasp of pain. "Aww, I'm sorry did that hurt? let me try harder then,"Dead giggled and pulled Ralph's finger harder making him howl in pain more. "You said I was crack up before, well you weren't wrong about the crack part! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! "Ugh!" Trixie said bring down her frying pan over an angry ant, squishing it between the metal and the floor, "Stupid bugs! Do you not know who The Great And Powerful Trixie Is?" Two zombies then grabbed her arms and made her drop her pan. Trixie yelled, "Get off of me, your rotting hands are sooo disgusting, Trixie demands you release her." The zombies just growled and lunged for Trixies neck ready to snap. Trixies yelled and squirmed in fear. Two baseballs suddenly were sent flying in Trixies direction. The balls crashed into the zombies head making them spring back before they could eat her. The balls knocked a few teeth out of their rotting mouths. Trixie turned to see AppleJack, Sunset and Aiden holding baseball bats with a few baseballs scattered on the floor. "Hmmpf!" Trixie muttered, she closed her eyes and stuck her nose up arrogantly, "Trixie could have handled that." "Uh," Aiden said awkwardly, "Your welcome?" AJ, Sunset and Aiden could suddenly hear Ralph groaning in pain from outside the auditorium. They burst through the doors. He was alone onstage, sitting by his pen, holding his injured hand tenderly. "Are you okay sugarcube?" AppleJack asked, helping Ralph up. "That evil skeleton broke my fingers!" he shouted. Aiden rushed over to help her brother. AppleJack put his left arm over her shoulder while tenderly raising him back up. Aiden began bandaging her brothers broken and damaged fingers. "I only had five or four more pages," he told them. "Forget the pages," Sunset suggested. "Just write two words: The End." He shook his head. "That’s not how it works, it needs to be a full story or the magic won't activate." Suddenly, the building started to shake. Something told them it wasn’t an earthquake. The PA system buzzed, and the Celestia's voice boomed. “I have an emergency announcement! Monsters have overwhelmed Canterlot High. Retreat to the storage room in the gym in an orderly fashion." Aiden grabbed the pages and the pen. "We’ll figure this out later. Just run!" They raced down the hallway, dodging monsters every few feet. Celestia was right, they were everywhere: man-eating plants blasting out of lockers, angry ants crawling on the surface of the wall and on the ceiling, gingerbread men crawling through ventilation shaft, scarecrows in the hallways, jack-o’-lanterns, swamp monsters, scary clowns, and mummies. All of them were chasing them. "AppleJack!" The group turned to see AppleBloom surrounded by four Terrors with their claws outstretched, ready to attack the bow wearing girl. "AppleBloom!" AJ cried to her sister. "I'll go!" Ralph volunteered already running. "But your fingers!" Aiden said. "These are my monsters! My responsibility!" Ralph yelled, grabbing a baseball bat off the floor quickly running towards the Terrors. The green horned Terrors snarled, their tail flicking behind them as they were slowly creeping towards the helpless smaller girl. Ralph suddenly jumped between them, holding the bat in his good hand. He then turned to Bloom, peering over his shoulder, who was still lying on the floor. "Are you okay?" Ralph asked. "No, my ankles twisted, I can't move." Ralph opened his mouth but was cut off when a Terror tried swiping him. Ralph ducked and swung his bat in the air, purposely, to make them move backwards. Ralph looked at the girls at the end of the hallway. "Girls? Less gawking, more helping!" Aiden and AppleJack nodded and ran to Ralph and AppleBlooms aid. Aiden held her bat and stood between AppleBloom and the Terrors, alongside Ralph trying to ward them off as they kept growling and snarling at the Shiverribas. AppleJack ran up to her little sister and put her arms around her shoulders, picking her up bridal style whilst the Shiverribas kept warding the Terrors off. Ralph and Aiden swung their bats over the Terrors heads making them flinch and growl angrily. But a second bump to the head made them whimper and retreat. The Shiverribas ran back to Apples. Who were smiling gratefully, for saving the youngest of the family. "Thanks y'all," AppleBloom said happily, still in her sisters arm, "Ya saved my life." "No problem," Ralph nodded. AppleJack smiled, "Yer alright in my book Ralph, that was really brave of you. I guess I owe you an apology fer misjudgin' you." "Later," Ralph said dismissvely, "We got to get everyone and your sister to safety." The Mutant Mantis was perched over the school, it claws blocking the entrance, surveying to make sure no one leaves. The Ooze soon encompassed itself over the right building, dripping its sticky mass as some of the students in that building screamed in terror when they looked out their window to see the large pink mass smothering the window threatening to enter inside and eat them all. And large plants enveloped the left building with roots, vines, green tendrils, leaves, and flytraps surrounding each side, snaking their way around the building. Through it all the Rainbooms and Ralph somehow made it through the doors and into the gym storage room, closing themselves in with the rest of the student body. AppleJack gave AppleBloom over to nurse RedHeart to take care of her, while Rainbow, Sunset and Big Mac barricaded the entrance. Terrors, Zombies and Scarecrows pressed their faces to the window, banging on the glass. The ceiling quaked. Plaster dropped in drifts and clumps. Something was up there, determined to get in. Roars and angry grunts echoed beyond the barricade. Maybe they were safe for now, but not for long. "What now?" Fluttershy asked. "I don’t know," Aiden admitted. Ralph peered through the window facing the parking lot. Most of the cars were crushed by the giant mantis or swallowed by the Ooze and dissolved, but a row of school buses was lined up and ready to go. "They’re gonna get in here soon." Rainbow stated "Dead wants me," Ralph stated. "That’s who he’s after. If I can lead the monsters away on one of those buses, I know they’ll follow me—and you’ll all be safe." Aiden looked horrified, even more so thinking about her little brother in peril. “Then I’m coming with you!” "Aiden, no." Ralph rested a hand on her shoulder. "I’ve run away from people my whole life. I was so mad at the real world that I created these terrible monsters. It's time to face my demons." Aiden shook her head. "There’s got to be another way!" "Aiden, let me do this." Sunset couldn’t believe it. Maybe people really could change, even people like Ralph. Were they really going to let him go out there on his own, into the jaws of certain death? To die by the hands, claws, and tentacles of his own creations. Then Sunset noticed a tackling dummy tucked into the back corner of the room. And she had an idea. "I've got an idea, but we got to get to those buses outside." "We tried that," Applejack informed them, "The doors somehow frozen over, it's more tight than Wionna's jaw sunk into a T-bone." Rainbow began throwing herself to the door, she slammed her shoulder against it multiple times, but to no avail. She rubbed her sore arm. After a few minutes, Rainbow stopped, panting furiously after her exertions. "It's no use, we're trapped." "Stand back everyone," Pinkie said shoving everyone around her aside, she then narrowed her eyes and smirked mischievously, "It's my time to shine." She then pulled out a large baby blue colored cannon out of nowhere and pulled the string which unleashed a high pressure blast of confetti and streamers. The doors to the back soon blast open in a large explosion, a ton of debris concrete and twisted metal mixed with snow, shattered ice and spiderwebs creating a large gap for the group to escape. Everyone looked at Pinkie in shock and disbelief, as she held a confident aura and an even more confident smirk. Mutant Mantis glanced over to the parking lot and gazed at a familiar black hoodie entering the larger yellow vehicles that were too big for it to destroy. It began chittering its maw to alert the other monsters. Queen Bee stopped buzzing in circles, Poison Thorn rose from the vines on the roof left building. The Ooze made loud moans and rose a piece of itself up like a wave, forming an angry face with a scowl. Dead watched Ralph sneak onto the bus. He saw the black hoodie highlighted in darkness as he opened the doors. He listened to the roar of the engine. He watched the bus pull away from the gym. "Oh, daddy, there's no escaping from us!" Dead crooned. He flipped a hand at his army of monsters. “Bring him to me.” Then he thought about it for a moment, darting his eyes around. "Actually, just KILL him. I’m getting bored with this game." The order had been given. The monsters halted their attack on Canterlot and quickly exited the building towards the main road. The other students cheered knowing Sunsets plan had worked, the monsters were now lured away. Principal Celestia instructed the remaining students to help everyone who was trapped. Meanwhile the monsters galloped and stomped and lumbered after the bus. Dead followed them in the monster truck, laughing from all the excitement. Very soon, it would be over. Very soon, the writer would die. But his creations would live on. And Dead would lead them all. "You had this waiting for you for over three years! HA-HA-HA! Better late than never! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!" The bus hurtled down the dark highway, blazing a path through the night. Then, a flicker of giant wings cut through the darkness. Followed by a loud buzzing noise that sliced through the silence. The Mutant Mantis used its powerful wings to send itself towards the bus along with Queen Bee buzzing loudly, hovering alongside the Mutant. Both Bugs descended on the bus, clamping on to the sides before kicking it down the highway. The bus rolled and rolled before coming to a stop, its roof nearly torn off, its metal crushed and scorched from road burn. Inside the wreck, there was nothing but silence. The monsters crept toward the twisted metal ruin, eager to see the lifeless body of what use to be their creator inside. The bus laid to the side, the metal still burning, and the wreckage still fresh. The giant mantis lumbered its way towards the bus, it's stomps making thundering noise. It then used its giant claws to the cut the side of the bus wide open. "Outta the way!" Dead yelled. He pushed aside any monster in his path as he made his way to the front of the wreckage, the most eager to see Ralphs's motionless body. He paused and stared up the bus, how tall it was, he couldn't climb given his already short stature. "Uhm," Dead uttered awkwardly, "A little help?" The Wolf Boy, picked him up by his hoodie and placed him near the edge of the bus. He climbed up the side of the bus, along with Frosty, the Wolf Boy, Wild Wire, and Arachnida who all clambered on the top. "What?" Dead said in confusion as he peered inside to discover that the lifeless body was a tackling dummy dressed in the writers black hoodie. A hockey stick was propped against the gas pedal. A leather belt bound the wheel in place. The monsters roared in anger. Knowing they had been all fooled. The Wolf Boy found a wire lining the side of the door. It tugged once, twice, and then there was a strange clicking sound. Dead's eyes followed the wire all the way to the back to see large barrels of explosive and other highly flammable chemicals connected to the wire. The monsters ontop of the bus gasped and gulped in fear after realizing they unintentionally just set off the trap. "Oh boy." The snowman murmured nervously. Fire appeared from the lid of the barrels. The chemicals started reacting violently, reaching their peak. The flames could not be held back. The barrels heated up, turning bright red with an aura of intense heat surrounding them. DeadBones growled in hot anger, grinding his teeth together and yelled his last words before the barrels erupted. "YOUR ALL.....F***ING.....FIRE--" Before DeadBones could finish, the barrels detonated. Dead, Winter the Wendigo, Arachnida, Wolf Boy, Wild Wire, Killer Frosty, and the Mutant Mantis, along with any other monster near the bus were swallowed in a ball of fire as it exploded. Ink exploded and pattered against the streets. "It worked!" Aiden crowed, peering through the window of their bus as they sped past the explosion. "Woo-hoo!" Pinkie cheered. Even Ralph cracked a smile. "Okay, now, where were we?" Ralph said, once again in his white t-shirt. He was dictating as Applejack drove the bus. Sunset was writing his book for him due to his damaged digits. “ ‘Ralph’s ingenious plan worked to perfection,’ ” he said. Sunset stopped writing. Ralph’s ingenious plan? "Am I going too fast?" he asked. “ ‘Ralph’s bravery was beyond measure, not only did he save Canterlot High and the helpless students within. He had blown the monsters to bits and single-handedly saved the town. He was a hero, but he didn’t need to brag about it because that wasn’t his style. But he did still prove he was brave as he was handsome’ ” "You want me to write that last line?" Sunset asked sarcastically. "Hey, I'd write that myself but my fingers are indisposed at the moment!" Ralph replied. "Just write what I say." "Uh, where are we going?" Fluttershy asked. "Dead will know wherever I go. Because he is me." He didn’t seem very happy about it. "We have to go somewhere I’ve never been. Somewhere I don’t even know exists." "I know where to go," Rainbow said. The explosion had vaporized half of the monster army, but that wouldn't kill them forever. Very soon the ink puddles where the monsters stood were soon reforming taking shape of angry pissed off monsters. Dead's body was launched into the air by the explosion as a fiery ball, like a human molotov. The Monster Truck sped back and successfully caught its leader on the hood. The body still burned, half of his face was charred from being too close to the explosion. He laid their motionless with an mad scowl, depicting his anger. It only took a moment for the body to began healing from the surprise explosion. However the left side of his face was black and continued billowing black smoke. Dead stood up and dusted himself off, putting out small fires on his torn hoodie. Absolutely livid. "That sneaky son of a bitch!" He snapped angrily. Though a bit impressed by the misdirection tactic. The Monster Truck let out a few honks, to Dead understood, but didn't seem to care. "Oh you think it was a trap, eh?" He asked, voice dripping with sarcasm, "Thanks for warning me so early!" Dead growled in annoyance, something then caught his side glance as he looked up into the air and saw the remains of Ralph's burning hoodie drifting lightly in the wind, now half destroyed. Wafting towards him as it slowly descended, with small fires around the edge of the fabric. He quickly snagged it and gazed over to the werewolf who had just completely regenerated from its injuries. He let out a shrill whistle, despite the lack of lips. Gaining the beasts attention. "Here! Mind the soot!" He yelled before throwing the hoodie to which the werewolf grabbed and began sniffing, "Follow the scent lead me to Ralph!" "I'm gonna kill those stupid brats!" Frosty yelled, picking up his stick arm and shoving it back into his torso. "IM GONNA ZAP ALL'EM REALLY GOOD!" Wild Wire garbled, electrcity beginning to spark across his body angrily. "Take a number!" Dead called out jumping into the drivers seat of the truck. After the werewolf picked up the scent, he let out another howl and chased after Ralph and the Rainbooms. Dead smirking evilly as the Monster truck followed them. The monster truck then purposely ran over Ralph's hoodie.