//------------------------------// // Prologue: Game Over // Story: Proto-Element of Harmony // by TheFanficStealer //------------------------------// Proto-Element of Harmony By: The Fanfic Stealer Disclaimer: I own neither MLP nor Prototype. A/N: This was an idea that just wouldn’t go away, born from skimming over some of the Prototype/MLP crossovers on this site. Expect long waits for updates, as “In a Strange Land” is still my main project. -Break- Prologue: Game Over Pain. All it could feel was pain. Agonizing pain. The pain of having a piece of the sun burn away a majority of its body. It couldn’t remember its name, or even what it was. It couldn’t see, smell, taste, or hear. It could barely move. All it could feel was pain… and hunger? Yes, hunger. It needed sustenance. Only with sustenance will the pain go away. But where to get what it needed? It couldn’t sense anything suitable for miles arou—wait. There. Body heat. Blood flow. Carbon-based life form. Approaching. Soon to be in striking distance. It prepared to shape what was left of itself into tendrils for piercing. The prey closed the distance. Closer. Closer... prey was within range. Strike. -Break- Fluttershy cautiously approached the scene of rampant destruction before her. It was late at night, and she’d been sound asleep when what sounded like a Sonic Rainboom, only several times louder than it had any right to be, had ripped through the quiet. Her first reaction had been to hide under her bed-- whatever had made that sound had to have been something scary, and she didn’t like scary things! But she then remembered all of her animal friends, and realized whatever it was could have hurt them. That thought steeled her resolve-- she would never be able to live with herself if she found out some of them had died just because she was too scared to go out and help!-- giving her the courage to go out and investigate. It had not been difficult by any stretch of the imagination to find the direction of the disturbance-- as soon as she was out the door, she could see a column of smoke off in the distance, somewhere in the Everfree Forest, as well as some changes in the tree line, meaning some trees had been knocked over by… whatever it had been. She steeled herself again-- don't back out now! Remember, someone might need help!-- and began the (hopefully) short trek into the woods. Fifteen minutes later found her in her current location: near the epicenter, about to enter the new clearing the whatever-it-had-been had made. The trip had been uneventful, thankfully-- it seemed all the animals had sensed it coming, and had evacuated the area before the resulting damage could harm any of them-- and all that was left for her to check was the site itself, and, judging by her current progress, she wouldn’t have to do more than a cursorily investigation. Stepping into the clearing had her re-evaluating her thoughts, though-- the destruction before her was incredible: the earth was blackened and churned up, the trees had been pulled up by their roots and thrown about, and small fires dotted the clearing. Strangely enough, there were also bits of metal scrap littered the clearing, though their nature was unidentifiable due to how twisted and melted they were. As Fluttershy traveled further into the clearing, she found more and more scorched earth, and less and less... just about anything else, until she found herself walking only on a fine layer of ash, approaching a shallow crater filled with… black goo? It was black and looked fluid, at any rate, and seemed innocuous enough, but something about it set off every flight instinct she had. Since there didn't seem to be any animals around, she didn't feel the need to deny that particular instinct. She was just about to turn run back to her cottage when the surface of the puddle shifted, revealing a flash of red. She froze; was something in there? Did one of the animals get stuck in… whatever it was? The instinct to get as far away from the clearing as possible suddenly warred against the only instinct that could possibly circumvent it, the instinct that made her venture into the forest in the first place: her need to help others, especially those in her care. She fretted, trotting in place as her mind was plunged into turmoil: on the one hoof, something about that black puddle scared her more than anything she’d ever encountered, trumping even the fear induced by Nightmare Moon. On the other hoof, whatever was stuck in it needed her help! It took her a moment to decide, but in the end the choice was an obvious one: her special talent was helping animals, so what kind of pony would she be if she turned away from her calling? Just because she was scared was no reason to deny them her aid. Besides, she recently faced Nightmare Moon! THE Nightmare Moon! A being that had been the stuff of nightmares for generations of ponies, and she’d helped defeat her! How could a bit of mysterious goo compare to THAT?! Fluttershy slowly inched toward the puddle, keeping her eyes on it in case whatever had moved revealed itsel againf. The puddle didn’t so much as ripple until she was nearly completely over it, gazing into the smooth, glossy surface. There was something… inherently wrong with it, even beyond the feeling of near-indescribable fear it instilled in her, but she couldn’t quite put a hoof on it… Then the surfaced writhed, and black and red tentacles tipped with razor-sharp spikes shot out at her faster than she could react. And it was in her last moments that Fluttershy realized the truth of the matter: The goo hadn’t been moving because one of her animal friends had been stuck in it. It was moving because it was a creature in and of itself! And, unfortunately for her, it was a predator. The tentacles speared through her even as she drew breath to scream, and she only managed a sickly, bloody gurgle before she was messily torn apart. The peices of her body were then quickly dragged into the the inky, writhing blackness, leaving the clearing barren of all life once more... -Break- A/N: Yes, I just killed Fluttershy. U MAD?