The World that Came After

by Aslfrasle

The Jelly-Colt Cometh

Chapter 7: The Jelly-Colt Cometh

“Hey Grey,” said Noir, “you remember the changelings?”

“Of course I do,” Grey replied, “Not personally of course as I’ve never met one before, though my father did tell me stories about them. I heard they were shapeshifters that looked like some sort of bug-pony fusion. They tried to take over Equestria once but were beaten back by the power they came to feed upon, love. I’ve always been interested in their anatomy and capabilities as even the lowest drone has both a horn and wings like an alicorn.”

“Yeah, and they also have weird holes all over their body,” said Noir.

“That was another facet of them I wished to study one day. Where did the holes come from and why? How does their body work around the fact that parts of it are missing? How do their wings displace the air necessary for flight when there are holes that would prevent such?” Grey said wistfully. “I feel I might never know the answer and that irks me to this very day.”

“Ever since I heard about those crazy holes, I’ve had questions of my own,” Noir said.

“Really?” Grey asked, astounded. “ I didn’t take you for the scholarly type Noir.”

“Oh, I’m no scholar, I just want to know if any of ‘em have ever gotten freaky with those things,” Noir said with a chuckle. “Plus, I heard that the queen is the only female, and that she lays the eggs of every drone in her hive. I can’t even believe how much action she must get on a daily basis.”

Grey’s face flushed with red once more. “N-Noir!? That’s hardly appropriate. I was trying to have a proper scholarly discussion about changelings! This is no time for your perverted delusions!”

“Oh, come on Grey!” Noir said. “I know you’re stone-faced and grumpy, though you cannot tell me you’ve never thought about this before. I mean think about it, a single changeling has like, ten times the holes of your average stallion or mare. They could probably even take—” Noir’s voice was muffled by a hoof covering her mouth.

“I’m just going to stop you there before I hear something I can’t un-hear,” Grey said. “I am a pony of science, and as such I look at other ponies or other species, like the changelings, with only the purest of scientific interest. Lewdness such as yours only clouds the minds and distracts a pony from worthier pursuits.” Grey straightened his coat, standing tall, and trying to exude an air of confidence in his statements. He could not let Noir know that there was a tiny seed, planted by her last few statements, spreading sultry images through his brain.

He felt like Noir could see through his veneer of calm to the thoughts beneath, her sapphire blue eyes peering into his soul.

She sighed, “Oh well, maybe you really are purer than I thought,” she said. Grey let out a sigh of his own as he released the built up tension of his façade. “It’s a shame though,” said Noir as she turned around. “I know plenty of mares who just love it when a stallion isn’t afraid of what he wants,” her head turned and she flashed her most seductive smile, her eyes drawing him in, “myself included, of course.”

Once more, Grey felt his blush deepen to a crimson darker than any he had experienced before. He could not even comprehend the thoughts going through his head, they were too fast and too blurry to understand. All he could feel was a strong heat rising through his gut and back. He felt his wings spring up hard enough to tear the fabric of his coat, pulsing so vigorously that his back felt sore. He felt lightheaded and could feel his wobbly hooves stumbling to keep his balance. He feared he would stumble and pass out from the strain until he heard Noir’s voice, returned to it’s normal, non-sensual tone.

“Yes!” she shouted. “Two for two!” Noir’s laughter rang throughout the halls of the abandoned hospital and she herself began to stumble. “I knew you weren’t as pure as you were saying! Honestly you try to keep up that grumpy scientist demeanor though when it comes to sexual stuff, you’re like some colt who just saw his first nudie mag!”

As Grey calmed himself down from Noir’s latest joke, he realized something. Ever since Grey had found Noir stuck inside of the hospital director’s safe, he noticed she had been more calm and open with him. Gone was the sarcastic and uncaring mare he had known earlier. He had also noticed that since they had rejoined, her tone had changed as well. She seemed less cold and distant, as if she was no longer trying to hide something. Looking at the smile on her face, Grey could see that this, not the mare he started this trip with was the real Noir.

“You know Noir,” he said as she calmed her giggles, “I actually like this side of you much more than the reckless and brash bandit I thought I came here with. You might not know it, but the sight of you rolling around on the floor giggling was actually kind of cute.”

Grey thought he saw her blush though he could not tell for sure as she turned her head away in a huff.

“Wh…Whatever! I don’t care!” she shouted. “Maybe you should try saying that after you find the bit.”

Grey had forgotten all about the wager they had made to see who could find the bit first. They had been searching for a while though the had still not found anything. Grey was starting to doubt if there really was one of the bits here as he felt they had checked every room in the hospital several times over. After having searched what seemed to be the entire hospital for the fourth time they had returned to the large atrium that made up the central hub of the hospital, hoping they could expand their search from there. He looked over at Noir who had fully recovered from her giggling fit and whatever reaction she had from his last comment, and he saw her gearing up to start searching again. He was about to follow suit and chase after her as he had no plans to lose this wager if he could help it.

Though no sooner did Noir start to gallop than did she slip and fall upon her side with a grunt and a thud.

“Noir,” Grey called, “You all right?”

“Yeah, I just slipped on something,” said Noir.

“How could you slip? This is one of the few clean hallways,” said Grey. “It doesn’t seem like there’s very much around here you could slip on.”

“I don’t know,” said Noir, “it was kind of cold and slimy. It actually felt similar to when we were crawling through the debris.”

“So, what? You think some kind of slime creature is following you?” said Grey. “Anything that lived here would died a long…wait a second, what is that?”

Examining the floor near where Noir fell, Grey saw naught but dust and debris, same as any other hallway. Yet when he looked at where Noir’s hoof had actually fallen, he could see a damp spot, as if something wet had been pressed into the ground. “Noir, move your hoof for a second,” said Grey, “I think your slimy stalker may have left something behind.”

Looking closer, Grey could see some sort of gel-like residue stuck to the floor. He leaned in closer to see if he could discern what is was from its scent. “What the…” muttered Grey. “Noir, could you please smell this and tell me what you smell?”

“What? Dude, no!” Noir exclaimed. “I’m not smelling some weird gooey mess that something, or someone, left on the floor.”

“Just trust me on this, please. I need to make sure I’m not just smelling this wrong,” said Grey.

“How can you smell something wrong? That doesn’t even make any sense!” she said.

“Please, Noir? Just come over and take a whiff. I need to make sure this is what I’m smelling,” said Grey.

Noir groaned, “Fine. If it’ll help with whatever it is you’re doing, I’ll smell it.” Noir lowered her muzzle and began to sniff at the strange substance. Grey noticed that he had been right when he saw the confusion on her face. “Is that–”

“Yes. Blueberries," Grey said. “Now what gooey substances do you know of that smell like blueberries?”

“You can’t be serious,” Noir said grimacing. “Grey, please tell me you’re not saying what I think you’re saying.”

“Only one way to find out,” said Grey. With a careful prod at the ooze, Grey carefully lifted a small amount up towards his muzzle. Turning towards Noir, Grey said, “If I keel over, just make sure to grab the supplies from my pack and bring them back to town for me, okay?” With one last careful glance at the substance on his hoof, Grey steeled himself for what he was about to do.

“Bottoms up,” he said, extending his tongue and taking a small lick. Grey swished the goo in his mouth for a few seconds only to keel over a few seconds later, bursting out in raucous laughter.

“Noir…you won’t believe it…it’s jam!” he shouted through burst of laughter. “Blueberry jam!”

“What!? So the mysterious creature that has been stalking me through this hospital and scaring me with it’s slimy touch…is a jar of blueberry jam!” Grey could see the rage building on Noir’s muzzle. “But…I don’t…How is that even possible?” she asked. “I thought nobody had been here in years, and any jam that would have been here would have long gone bad!”

Grey slowly managed to regain his composure, returning to his feet. “I don’t know. Maybe someone’s been here recently. We can’t be the only ones looking for the bits. It could just be that someone was exploring here recently and made themselves a nice sandwich.”

“That would be possible, but answer me this Grey. When was the last time Appleoosa, or anywhere for that matter, had enough fresh blueberries to make a jar of jam?” said Noir. “I honestly can’t even remember the last time I saw a nice jar of jam.”

“Hmm…you do have a point there. Appleoosa hasn’t had much luck with regrowing any of their field since the Blight, and what apples they do manage to get were pretty expensive whenever I saw them,” said Grey. “Though that still leaves us with the question of who left this jelly smudged into the floor?”

“Who indeed?”

“Grey, was that you just now?” Noir asked.

“Huh, what do you mean?” said Grey.

“I thought I just heard someone say “Who indeed?” and there’s no one here but you and I,” said Noir.

“I didn’t hear anything Noir,” said Grey, “Who knows, maybe it was the jelly.” Grey laughed. “There’s certainly enough toxins left from the Blight to cause some sort of mutation.”

“Wait, seriously? You’re kidding right? The Blight toxins couldn’t make food become sentient, right?” Noir asked.

“Yes Noir, I’m kidding. No need to jump at shadows, I can promise that the mean jelly won’t do anything to hurt you.”

“You’d be surprised what it can do, doctor.”

“Okay, that I heard,” said Grey. “Who’s out there, show yourself!”

“Oh, I’ve been here the whole time, I’ve actually been following your movements since you entered the hospital last night, and may I say you’re certainly taking your time with searching this place. Most of the ponies who came sniffing about usually finished in half the time.”

“I said show yourself, coward!” Grey shouted. “Get out here now.”

“As I just said, I already am “out here.” Sweet Celestia what is it with ponies nowadays, over half the races in Equestria can fly, and yet nopony ever thinks to look up.”

Grey turned his gaze to the ceiling, only to see an intriguing sight. Sticking to one of the corners of the wall, where a semi-collapsed archway met the wall, he could see a large mass of jelly, similar to the smudge below them. Within the mass of jam, he could see the vague outline of a pony though he could see no skin, no bones, no mane or tail, nothing that would be present on any sort of living being.

“Dear sweet… What in Celestia’s name are you?” Grey asked.

“Oh, I’m just a pony like you or anypony else, just a little different ever since the Blight. I used to be a normal pony like you, special talent, skin and bones, the works,” the voice said. “I did have a slight proclivity that made me different that most however what most would call an “unhealthy obsession.” I always thought of myself as a sort of connoisseur of fine preserves, though most could not see my love for what it was.”

“So was it some sort of sexual thing? Not judging or anything, I know everypony has their kinks,” Noir interrupted.

“Noir, don’t you think that might be a little bit too personal?” Grey said.

“No, no, that’s quite alright. That’s probably the simplest way to describe it anyways,” said the jelly-pony. “I’m not sure why, though my whole life I’ve always loved the taste, the feel, of jellies and jams. I’d put them on just about any meal I’d eat, day or night, and I’d usually bathe in it at least once a day. Now how I got this–”

“Okay, I’m still not judging or anything, though you gotta admit that that is just the teeniest bit weird and gross,” said Noir.

“Noir, please stop interrupting,” said Grey. “and that is almost the definition of judging by the way.”

“Grey, come on! He bathes in JELLY! That so not normal!” Noir complained.

“Yes, he does, and I happen to remember that a certain mare here enjoys eating other ponies, so everyone’s just as weird as each other, so shush!” Grey snapped.

“He’s still a weirdo…” Noir said in a huff.

“As I was saying, it was a very simple day, while I was in the middle of a jelly bath, when the evacuations began. I heard the sirens blaring as ponies began to gather in the Ponyville town square. According to the ponies there, they were judging who was necessary and important enough to save inside their precious domes. Unfortunately for me, I had no real social standing and my talents were, as they put it, “useless in a world that would no longer have fruit.” Hearing this I went home and resolved to enjoy what seemed to be my last days alive. I spent the remaining days eating, bathing and otherwise enjoying all the jams and jellies I had saved up over the years,” he said wistfully. “On my final day, I grabbed my prized collection, ready to take one final bath in my favorite jams.”

“How could those jams be any different?” said Grey. “Isn’t all jam just made from fruit, and if so, how do you compare them?”

“These were special because they were made from rarer fruits, or other things. I had one of the first bottles of zap apple jam, as well as a bottle of jam made from one of each type of fruit bat, I even had a confit made from the egg sac of a Changeling Queen,” he said.

“I wasn’t even aware you could make jams like that,” said Grey.

“You can make a preserves out of almost anything, so long as you’re not concerned with taste or other petty things like laws. How about we get back to the topic at hand though, shall we? I was comfortably bathing when I noticed the fog of the Blight begin to roll through the town. From my window I could hear as ponies began screaming, trying to flee from the encroaching fog. I had already resigned myself to end it and refused to leave my prizes behind, so I merely sat in my tub and listened to the music of the apocalypse. As the noxious fog began to invade my bathroom, I simply closed my eyes and waited. With each second I could feel the fog dissolving my flesh, chunks of skin and hair sloughing away into the jelly in my tub. Strangely enough, there was no pain, only the calming feeling of the jelly on my remaining skin.”

“But how is that even possible? The Blight is a cloud of concentrated poison deadly to anypony caught in it. Even the Umbrae who survived their exposure still went through the excruciating pain of death before they were reborn!” Grey interjected.

“Even I’m not sure how it happened. To this very day I still have o idea what or who spared me from that pain. All I do know is that as I felt the last few chunks of myself dissolved into the jam, I still felt no different that I had before. I was still conscious, I could still feel my skin and my limbs, I could still hear. As I struggled to open what I thought were my eyes, I looked down at where I had been laying, only to see an empty tub full of jelly. As I tried lifting my limbs or moving about, I noticed ripples forming along the surface. A few moments later, while trying to move one of my front hooves, I saw a gooey hoof-like mass rise from the tub. After a few slight attempts to move the hoof, I noticed it was my own. Somehow, someway, I had not died when I had dissolved, my mind lingering behind to fuse with the tub of jelly. After a few days of trying, I finally gained full control over my new body and was able to exit the tub. This form you see before you is the result, a pony made entirely of jelly.

“That’s all well and good Mr. Jelly-Colt, though that still doesn’t explain what you’re doing here and why you’ve been stalking me,” Noir said in a huff. “I’ve been slimed by you twice so far and since we’re the only ones in this hospital, I’m willing to bet it was you who threw me in that safe!”

“For future reference, my name is Hugh. Hugh Jelly. And I’d be pleased if you’d refer to me as such. The reason to every one of your other questions miss, is the same reason that you two are presumably here for. I want that bit and the magical wish that it can grant. With it and the other bits I could finally go back to being a flesh and blood pony again!” Hugh shouted.

“Well, that’s too bad for you Jelly-Colt, ‘cause that bit is mine!” Noir said, eliciting a sharp look from Grey. “I mean, that bit is ours! Why would you want to go back to being a normal pony anyways? For a weirdo like yourself this seems like it should be a dream come true.”

“You’d think that, though when your whole body is made of jelly, you can no longer taste it or feel it as it slips across your coat. I haven’t been able to enjoy a proper jelly bath in years now!” said Hugh vehemently. “Anyways, it doesn’t seem like you’ve had much luck finding the bit yourselves. Might that because of this?” Hugh pulled a pouch out from the gelatinous mass that was his body. Opening it up he removed a small golden bit.

“Where did you find that!? We’ve looked everywhere!” Noir shouted.

“Oh you’ll just love this,” Hugh said, “it was actually in the safe like you thought it would be!” Hugh let out a laugh. “I’ve been here for weeks now and I hadn’t yet managed to open it, and yet you just stroll in and crack it like it was nothing. I knew the bit was inside so once you had finished opening it, it was a simple matter of knocking you out and leaving you inside. I figured nobody else would be able to open it and you’d just die in there, though this one,” he said pointing at Grey, “just had to ruin my plans. Now I’ve had to take matters into my own hooves.”

“One question before what I assume will be you attempting to kill us, if you would be so kind,” said Grey.

“I don’t normally grant requests but since this will be your last, go ahead, ask your question,” said Hugh.

“If you already had the bit, why are you still here? I can’t imagine any of the other bits are in this hospital and it would be much faster if you went out and searched for them on your own would it not?” Grey asked.

“It certainly would be faster to leave,” Hugh said, “but it’s not really my choice you see. My body is made of jelly as you now know, with all the perks and pitfalls that entails. What may I ask was the weather like on your walk here?”

“It was a pretty warm, though nothing that strange for summertime in Appleoosa,” said Grey.

“And that is exactly the problem. During the summer in a desert area such as Appleoosa, the temperature, even at night, can still be quite hot. What you may not know is that most jellies have a melting point well below 35 degrees. Even walking around this hospital for prolonged periods of time causes me to start melting. I’ve had to coop myself up in the hospital morgue as that’s the only place cold enough to stay solid!”

“Interesting,” said Grey he raised a hoof to his muzzle, “does you body exhibit any of the other properties of gelatin? I’m honestly curious as to how your anatomy works if even your insides are jellied. Is it just one solid mass, or does it mimic a pony’s with organs and veins made of jelly? Ooh, and do you have to eat or ex–”

“Grey I don’t think this is the time to start treating him like a science project,” said Noir. “I may be wrong but it seems to me like he might be planning to kill us.”

“Oh no my dear, you’re quite right. I can’t have anyone knowing I’m here. Plus, if I left you go, you’ll eventually come back to try and steal this bit. Unfortunately, you will have to die here.”

“Not if you die first!” Noir shouted as she launched herself up through the air towards the roof of the ruined atrium.

Once she had reached her target altitude, she leaned into her right hoof as she adjusted her weight to increase the strength of her free fall. She began to pick up speed as her now immense weight pulled her down towards Hugh. She could see Grey below looking up at her as she fell. To the right of him she saw Hugh trying to escape the area, intent on clearing the blast zone before she could hit him.

“Oh no you don’t!” she shouted as she fell. Keeping her weight steady, she shifted her concentration to the jellied mass of pony below her. It was difficult to get a grip on his definite weight as his gelatinous form kept shifting and changing. She did manage to grab hold of what should be his hooves, applying as much weight as she could to them to stop his movements. As she continued her drop she could see him struggling to move as best as he could though she had applied enough weight to him that he would not make it away.

Noir smiled as she made impact with Hugh’s jelly torso. The feeling of jelly collapsing and giving way under her modified weight, while unpleasant and sticky, proved her blow had connected. She could feel each part of him, from his hooves, to his torso, his muzzle, and his jellied mane and tail being crushed as she hit the ground below him.

Satisfied that he had been throughly ground into the ruined pavement, Noir got to her hooves and examined her work. What, moments ago, was a weirdo of a pony was now a large splatter exploding outwards from her point of impact. The nearby area was covered in jelly, with strands of it painting the walls and hanging from every light and structure.

She groaned as she surveyed her outfit. There were several globs of jelly stuck in Noir’s mane and tail and her clothes had been covered in it. “Oh, Celestia-dammit! This is going to take forever to wash out! I’m going to end up smelling like jelly for weeks now!”

“Well, Noir, that’s what happens when you drop like a meteor onto a pile of jelly! It’s going to go everywhere! What did you think was going to happen!” Grey shouted as he examined his coat. “Now I’m going to have to find some way of getting all this jelly off.

“You’d be surprised how hard it is to get rid of,”

“Oh come on,” Noir complained, “are you really still alive? How is that even possible? I crushed you into tiny, itty-bitty, pieces!”

“Yes, you certainly did. And all those itty-bitty, teeny-tiny pieces of me are all still here and still intact,” said Hugh. “One of the perks I mentioned earlier is that jelly, while easily melted, is actually very durable otherwise. No matter how much your crush or squish it, it can always regain it’s shape.

Noir’s happiness disappeared as she saw the individual pieces of jelly from the walls, floor, and even those on Grey’s clothing and her own pulled themselves away and began to reform at the site of her impact. Moments later, Hugh was standing before her as if nothing had happened. How was she supposed to beat him when any damage she could do was recoverable.She was’t sure pummeling him would work if he could reform himself after each blow.

It was at that moment that Grey appeared next to her and began to whisper something in her ear.

“Noir, I have a plan,” he said quietly, “I’m going to need you to keep him busy while I search for where this hospital kept it’s MRI’s. Can you do that for me?”

“Yeah, I can try,” Noir said in response. “Are you sure your plan will work?”

“If everything I’ve seen about his anatomy so far is any indication, then yes I’m sure,” said Grey.

“All right. Just hurry up, I’m not sure how long I can stall him,” said Noir.

“Sure. I’ll go as fast as I can,” he said.

She saw Grey take off in a rush behind her as she tried to figure out some way to stall Hugh. She could not outright defeat him or even fight him for that matter, as any blows she gave would probably be nullified. How are you supposed to fight someone when they’re almost tailor-made to stop you. Battle strategy had never been Noir’s strong suit, though in her defense she never really had to fight, she only ever needed to charm her way through it and people would fall in line. She briefly considered the prospect of trying to charm Hugh, though she dismissed the idea. To her knowledge, his jelly body did not possess the necessary organs for her to charm, plus he already seemed like he was in a committed relationship with jams and jellies. She laughed at the thought of him marrying a jar of jam.

“What are you laughing about pray tell?” Hugh asked. “Your not really in any position to be making jokes right now.”

“Oh nothing,” she said, “ just the thought of you marrying a jar of jam.”

“What!” he shouted. “That’s preposterous! I can’t even beg–”

Hugh’s complaints were cut off by a heavy punch that sailed right through his gelatinous face. Noir’s hoof retracted from it point of impact in the crater that was Hugh’s face, covered in jelly as it was before, only to have his face reform itself shortly after.

“I already told you that won’t work,” he said with a scowl.

“I figured as much,” said Noir, “though I don’t have much in my repertoire but this so it’ll have to do. I’ve noticed it takes a few seconds between your reformations so if I keep pummeling you, you won’t be able to properly reform fast enough.”

“That may work for now, though I doubt even a brute like you could keep punching forever,” Hugh said.

“Oh, I don’t need forever,” Noir said with a smirk, “just long enough.”

“And just what does th–” Hugh was cut off once again by Noir unleashing a rapid onslaught of weighted blows to his face and torso.

As she had predicted, he wasn’t able to properly combat her while she was pounding his face into the concrete. She knew she wouldn’t be able to keep this up for long though, and hoped Grey was able to quickly find what he was looking for.

* * * * * *

Grey’s flight through the halls of the hospital was difficult as the tight winding corridors made it difficult to fly at more than a crawl. Every corner or staircase required him to slow his pace so that he could turn effectively and it was really wasting his time. He knew Noir couldn’t hold out against Hugh forever so time was of the essence. He needed to find those MRI machines.

So far, the MRI machines were their only chance that Grey could think of. Well, not so much the MRI’s themselves but what was attached to them. Most hospitals I know of had at least one MRI machine before the Blight hit, and though we never had one at Dad’s clinic, I still know a bit about them. Grey remembered what his father had said about the MRI’s at Cloudsdale General Hospital when He had taken Grey on a tour when he was younger. He said that the machines needed to be kept cold to function properly, and that hospitals would usually keep several tanks of liquid-nitrogen for that purpose. Grey knew that this hospital should have at least one MRI and with it a supply of liquid-nitrogen to keep it cooled.

He remembered seeing the MRI’s while he was searching for Noir. They had been in the radiology department two floors below where the Director’s office was, to the right behind the emergency room. It took him several minutes to navigate the stairwells and hallways down to the radiology department though, once he got there it was relatively simple to get inside. The door had been locked, though years of rust and decay made it easy to break.

Once inside, he made his ay through each of the rooms, searching for the MRI.

“X-rays, nope.”

“CT scan, no.”

“Ultrasound…still no.”

“Mammograms, not a mare so nope.”

“Come on, where are they,” he said losing patience.

“MRI, finally!” he shouted. “Now where would I find that liquid-nitrogen?” He searched around the machine, to no avail, until in the back of the room he found a large container marked “Coolant storage.” The lock on the container had become broken and was no longer usable. Grey groaned. I don’t have time to break this open, the rust is to new. I’m all out of Blight toxin as well as after busting that supply closet open. What to do, what to do. Come on Grey. Grey’s face paled as he remembered how he opened the safe. Am I really going to do this twice in one day… he groaned once more, this one much more angry than the last. It’s not like I’ve really got a choice now, is it.

Taking out his medical tools, he grabbed the first scalpel he could find and begin to make a second incision, this time on the opposite hoof, once again squeezing out some of the toxic slime that filled his corrupted veins. As sludge met lock, he could see the rust begin to fizzle and bubble, metal and rust beginning to melt away. Grey couldn’t wait for the process to complete on it’s own so he grabbed a nearby piece of metal, placing it in between the lock and the container door. The pipe combined with his weight acting on the now weakened lock proved sufficient and the lock burst as the container swung open. Inside were several racks with tanks of liquid-nitrogen. I guess I can count myself lucky they had gotten a new shipment before the Blight hit. Tank in hoof, Grey flared his wings and began the flight back to the hospital atrium where Noir was waiting for him.

* * * * * *

Noir felt like she had been pounding down on Hugh’s jellied face and torso for hours. She didn’t know how many times she and crushed his face, only for it to reform moments later with the same tired grin on it. She was getting tired herself, and wasn’t going to be able to keep this up for much longer. Where are you Grey? I’m almost out of strength.

Noir hoof was about to impact Hugh face once more when she felt it stop in mid-air.

“Now, I told you that wasn’t going to work forever, didn’t I?”

“You are fucking kidding me!” Noir groaned. Looking up from the jellied mass that she had been pounding on from the past fifteen or so minutes, she saw a gooey hoof grabbing onto hers. The hoof led up to a similarly gooey pony that was an exact replica of the pony she had been beating on. “What’s next, you’re gonna make a Celestia-damned army of yourself to take over the world?”

“No, maintaining two bodies like this is hard enough. It took me this long just to figure out how to properly split my body into two separate but still controllable bodies,” Hugh said. Even now I don’t really have full control of both and don’t really know how to control both at once, though one should suffice for now.”

“And why is that, I could easily fight both of you at once,” Noir said with a smirk.

“I don’t doubt that you could. Your entire strategy however, is built on keeping me unable to recover from your attacks so if you attack one body, I can use the other to keep you busy.”

“Whatever, that just means I have to attack both of them,” Noir said. She threw a weighted punch at the Hugh holding her hoof, only for him to dodge as the Hugh she had been beating on threw a punch of his own, knocking her down from her perch above him.

Noir returned to her hooves and faced Hugh, both his bodies standing in front of her. She leapt forwards, throwing punches at both bodies in front of her. They easily dodged and delivered blows of their own. Getting hit from both sides at once was not something Noir was expecting and had caught her off guard. Noir fell to the floor coughing up a small amount of blood as she struggled to stand.

“Oh, I’m sorry, was that too much for you? Where’s all that pomp and bravado from before?” Hugh said with a sneer. “It seems to me like your starting to slip. Is fighting two people too much for little, old, you?” Hugh began to laugh as he cantered over to her bruised form.

“Oh, you did not just call me old!” she shouted.

Noir quickly turned to strike as he got closer, only for Hugh #2 to slam into her from the side, knocking her into the hospital’s wall. As she slumped up against the wall, trying to catch her breath, she felt her attacker, Hugh #2 pick her up and toss her over to Hugh #1. As she was tossed through the air she was met by a swift hoof to her ribs as she choked on the blood that had risen to her throat.

Noir collapsed on the ground in a mess, unable to stand, as she coughed up even more blood from her damaged organs. This was the first time she had been in a fight that she wasn’t sure she could win. Pain wracked her body as she felt the Hugh standing over her, Hugh #1, pick her up by her neck, holding her at eye-level.

“And you were so close too. Just a bit more and maybe your punch would start damaging me,” Hugh said, before bursting out in laughter. “I told you from the start that this is how it would end. With my gelatinous body, your punches and attacks have no effect on me making any resistance entirely futile.” Hugh #1 scanned the area, “It’s a shame your little friend left you here to die. Maybe he could have done something to help and saved you from your unfortunate fate. Oh well, time to end it, I guess. Hey Hugh #2, get over here it’s time to finish her off!”

Yet there was no response to be heard in response to Hugh #1’s order.

“Hugh #2! I said get over here!” he shouted. “What’s going on, you're a part of me so you should be her–”His face paled in astonishment as he looked behind him.

His other half, Hugh #2 stood frozen in place, a look of complete fear overtaking his features, completely frozen solid.

“What!? But…how!?” The only remaining Hugh stumbled over his words as he tried to figure out what happened to his jelly clone.

“I didn’t leave you know,” he heard whisper into his ear.

A sense of fear overtook him at once as he began to feel a cold sensation coming from his back hooves. Looking down, he saw that both his back hooves had been frozen in the same way as his clones. He tried to move them, anything that might free them from their icy prison.

“What the fuck is going on!?” he shouted, eyes bulging as he struggled to free his legs.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” said Grey as he emerged from his cloaking ability. “Gelatin has this funny little property where, when frozen, it becomes as brittle as glass.” Flicking a hoof against the frozen statue of Hugh #2, Grey shattered the clone, a small pile of icy shards forming where the clone pony once stood. “Now I’d suggest you let go of my friend Noir, as well as that bit we came for before you suffer the same.”

Hugh released Noir as she slumped on the ground, still in pain from the injuries she sustained. He did not however release the bit.

“That bit is solid gold, so even if you’re frozen solid I can easily pull it out of your shattered remains,” said Grey. “My offer of mercy is purely for your benefit. Take it or leave it.”

Hugh attempted to struggle once more, only to shatter the jelly connecting his hooves to his torso, causing him to fall to the ground. He began to crawl to where Noir was laying. Eliciting another spray of liquid nitrogen from Grey freezing his torso and one of his arms.

“I won’t ask again, stop and release the bit and I will let you go alive,” Grey said sternly, “don’t however, and you will die here.”

Hugh continued his crawl unabated. As he reached Noir’s bruised body, he used his one good arm to break a shard off of his body, intent on stabbing her and finishing the job he had started. As he raised his arm, prepared to make the final strike and end her life, a final blast from Gray ended his ambitions once and for all.

With Hugh dealt with, Grey went to check on Noir. She was coughing up a decent amount of blood, the same toxic sludge that ran through his own veins. He made sure to keep his coat and skin clear of her coughs, the substance fizzing and bubbling as it slowly ate through the uppermost layer of concrete that made up the hospital floor. Her body was also quite bruised, though she was not as injured as she seemed. Most of it was superficial injuries that would heal over a few days of rest after proper treatment. The worst was the blood as it could mean she was suffering from some sort of internal bleeding. Luckily, the blunt trauma from Hugh’s blows was not that severe so he could probably rule out internal bleeding. He still felt the need to check if she was still conscious and not suffering from any sort of trauma, physical or mental.

“Noir, can you hear me? Are you able to stand?” he asked.

“Grey? I…Is that you?” Her voice sounded strained and weak.

“Yeah, it’s me. Don’t worry, Hugh’s been dealt with and your safe now, though I do need to get you out of here so I can treat your injuries. Are you able to stand, or do you need some help?” he asked again.

“I should be fine in a bit…haha, get it? bit,” Noir laughed weakly.

“Noir, you might not be in critical condition right now though that doesn’t mean you should be taking this lightly,” Grey said. “I need to get you somewhere where I can properly examine your wounds to see how extensive the damage is.”

“Grey, don’t be such a worry wart. I’ve had worse on a typical saturday night,” said Noir. “All I need is a good night sleep and a nice meal.”

“Noir, this is serious!” Grey shouted. “If you lose anymore blood, you’re in danger of going into shock! You could die!”

At the mention of death Grey could see Noir veneer of calm slip. Her faced changed to one of deep contemplation. “Fine…I’ll behave. Now just do what you have to,” she groaned.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have anything for treating blunt trauma. Unlike invasive wounds, like gunshots or blades, blunt trauma like you is entirely on the inside. I can’t really get inside to treat you without cutting you open; something I’m not sure you’re all to keen on,” Grey said with a smirk. “Even then, there wouldn’t be much to treat anyways as most of the damage is just from the impact of Hugh’s blows. Since there’s no internal bleeding, we can assume that nothing inside you ruptured meaning most of your wounds will probably heal with rest.”

“So what are you fussing over then if there isn’t anything you can fix?” she asked.

“I was telling you to calm down because the sooner we start your relaxation, you sooner you’ll be better," Grey said flatly. “What I would suggest is that we start right now. I’d still like to get you checked out back in town however, so I would suggest that you take a nice nap and start relaxing while I carry you back to town. Sound good?”

“Are you sure that’s all you’ll be up to?” Noir asked, a grin spreading across her face. “I mean, I’m a young, impressionable mare alone with a stallion, and you’re asking me to just let my guard down and sleep while you do whatever you want? Grey, you fiend! How could you suggest such a scandalous thing!”

Grey could see she was stifling a laugh as she spoke. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. There’s no way you’re fooling me three times,” said Grey. “We both know I don’t have any intentions of the sort. Plus, I was willing to do the same for you on the way in.”

“Oh, you’re no fun,” Noir said in a huff. “I almost had a hat-trick.” Despite her protests, Grey could see that she was starting to relax, a yawn escaping her lips. “Fine, do what you need to do. Just wake me up when we get back to town all right?”

“Sure thing,” said Grey.

As Noir made her self comfortable and drifted off into the first sleep he had seen her take, he hoisted her onto his back, prepared to head back to town and deliver the good news to Zed. With the stash he had found, the town should have more than enough medical supplies to last for another few months at least.

Making sure not to forget, he wandered over to the living statue that used to be Hugh. Still buried deep within the liquid form that was his torso, Grey could see the small pouch that housed the bit. Sorry for this Hugh, but I did warn you, he thought before turning and giving a sharp, powerful buck to the frozen pony, shattering it into dozens of shards of frozen jelly. Bending down, he reached out to the shard that housed Hugh’s satchel. You won’t be needing this any longer. With a heavy stomp, Grey crushed the shard under hoof, and pulled the satchel out from the mass of tiny shards that remained.

He placed the satchel around his neck securing it to make sure it would stay as he cantered towards the hospital exit. One down, however many to go…maybe this won’t be so hard after all. he thought as he walked. At the very least, Noir’s certainly going to make this interesting.

Author's Note:

Well, this certainly too quite a long while to write. Sorry this was such a long wait. Originally I had the chapter almost finished but I decided to merge this chapter and the next chapter to finish this first arc now instead of later. The result is the 7,645 word chapter that makes up a fourth of the entire story.

Anyways, as always I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and know that I'll try to hurry a bit faster with the next one. The next chapter won't be nearly as long as this so it shouldn't take that long to write up.

Thanks for reading and thanks once more to Mithos for pre-reading and editing.