It came from Golden Oaks

by Exelzior

Examination

Examination

About an hour passed before Spike had cleaned the kitchen and made his way to Twilight’s study room. Putting away the cleaning tools he stretched his back and walked out of the now sparkling clean kitchen, making his way upstairs to his master’s room. He stepped into the room where Twilight sat slumped into a chair next to the window, her nose buried deep within the pages of a book. He tapped the door frame, snapping Twilight out of her reading.

“Oh, there you are, Spike. Listen, I’m sorry about what happened earlier, I just hope we can put that behind us,” Spike nodded.

“Good,” Twilight added, “Now come here and help me with this,” she said, whilst pointing a hoof to the brown box on her desk. Spike approached slowly and hopped up on a chair next to the table, looking at the package.

“What’s in it?” he asked.

“I don’t know, Derpy gave it to me earlier today. I was going to wait until we were together to open it,” Twilight said, levitating a pair of scissors from a drawer. “I guess we’re about to find out what it is.”

She took the scissors and started cutting the tape around the box, taking care not to damage it just in case. Once all the tape had been cut Spike opened the lid, only to find the inside to be filled with scrunched up paper packed tightly around something inside the box. Digging through the paper with his tiny hands, Spike finally uncovered something, and Twilight used her magic to lift it. Slowly but surely a large stone urn floated out of the box. It was roughly the size of a pony’s head, made out of dark grey stone, and shaped like a vas, top and bottom slightly smaller than the mid section. Carved into the stone was a strange pattern of lines, all of them interconnected to form a bizzare maze. Around the middle a ring of dark green gems were etched into the stone. Twilight carefully put the urn down on the table and looked upon it with great interest.

“What in the world is this?” she mumbled to herself. Spike too was looking at the strange stone container, his eyes focused on the gems. They had a strange aura about them, like nothing he’d ever felt in his life, much less tasted. Each gem seemed crafted not by hoof or hand, but rather seemed to have been formed by nature itself, except Spike couldn’t think of any instance where gems would be naturally smooth like this. As he examined them closer he noticed that right beneath their glistening surface there seemed to be patterns as well; strange patterns forming unknown symbols that simply couldn’t be natural. He shook his head and stepped away from the urn, crossing his arms.

“Dunno, but I don’t like it. There’s something about it,” Spike said promptly. He critically eyed the urn which just stood there. Twilight sighed.

“Oh come on Spike, I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about,” she said, but as she did she felt a knot forming in her stomach. Normally she would be thrilled to examine this thing, but even she felt slightly unnerved by it. Something about the patterns and the gems, and as she’d just noticed there was no lid, gave the thing an alien feel.

“Maybe this will tell us more,” she said and picked up the letter that had come with the package. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a regular brown paper letter with a postal seal. It wasn’t heavy, but it was bulging a bit. “Let’s see if we can get to the bottom of this,” Twilight said and grabbed the scissors again, cutting open the letter. She reached inside and pulled out a large folded up paper and a note. The folded paper was old and yellow, while the note was new. She picked it up and scanned her eyes across it.

From an old friend. Instructions included.

Twilight raised an eyebrow at this. Just two sentences, nothing else. She tapped her chin and turned the note around, looking to see if maybe she was missing something, but she found nothing.

“What does it say Twi?” Spike asked from his spot on the table.

“It says ‘From an old friend. Instructions included’,” Twilight said without looking at Spike. “I don’t know what to make of it, I haven’t got any old friends, at least none who’d send me a gift like this without a name or anything. And what about instructions?”

“Maybe they’re referring to this,” Spike said and picked up the folded paper. He started to carefully unfold the paper until it was sprawled over the table. They both looked at it curiously. The picture was old and slightly smudgy, seemingly drawn at least a century ago, but the image was still clear; it was a similar urn to the one that stood on Twilight’s desk, with instructions and arrows pointed at it. Twilight scanned the paper for a while, trying to make out what it was trying to tell her, and after a few silent minutes she finally spoke.

“I think I got it, Spike. I think it’s telling us how to open this thing,” she said and glanced over at the urn basking in the sunlight. Twilight grabbed the paper with her magic and turned to the mystical container. Spike watched her in silence as she went on with her business. “Let’s see, apparently if I push here first, then here, hmm…” Twilight mumbled. Spike slowly walked up to her.

“Um, Twi, are you sure we want this thing opened? What if there’s something bad in it,” Spike said.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Spike. Why would anyone willingly send me something bad? Now hush and let me concentrate…” Twilight said and pushed one of the gems. This caused the urn to react. The gems lit up with an eerie green glow, and soon the same glow spread into the patterns on the surface like water being let into canals. Twilight and Spike both stepped back, the little dragon hugging Twilights leg and trembling in sheer terror, while Twilight just stared at the thing with the same kind of fearful expression.

“T-Twilight, what is it doing!?” Spike shrieked.

“I don’t know, Spike! Stay behind me!” Spike did as he was told. On the table the urn was now completely enveloped in green light, and suddenly it started making a grinding sound. The top had started spinning slowly, releasing a cloud of dust, and once it stopped spinning the top opened. Twilight watched as the glow slowly died down, an eerie silence draping over the scene. She didn’t dare approaching it, she just stood still, waiting for it to do something. Out of pure reflex she lit up her horn, ready to shatter the thing into pieces should it do anything. Suddenly there was another grinding sound, this time from inside the urn, and a cloud of dust rose from inside it. Inside the smoke Twilight spotted something rising out of the opened top, and once the dust cleared she found herself looking at a glass vial held by some kind of ancient mechanism.

“W-What is it, Twilight?” came Spike’s voice in a tiny whisper.

“I don’t know. Stay back, Spike, I’m going to take a closer look,” Twilight said and stepped forward. Spike tugged a bit on her tail, but she ignored him, and she slowly approached the now quiet urn. She had to stand up on her hind legs as the thing had nearly doubled in height, and found herself looking right at the vial. It wasn’t like anything she’d ever seen. The glass itself seemed to be hoof made, with a spiral shaped body ending in a top shaped like a snake head, and the bottom flattened to enable it to stand. But it wasn’t the design that caught Twilight’s eye the most, but the content. Inside the vial was a thick black and purple liquid that glistened in the sunlight from the window. Twilight turned the vial a little, but the liquid didn’t seem to move at all. As she watched it, her fear was slowly replaced with scientific curiosity, and she felt determined to find about more about this strange gift.

“Twi? What are you doing?” came Spike’s voice from behind her.

“Spike, go down in the basement and set up my lab. I’m gonna crack this thing.”

***

Half an hour later the basement of Golden Oaks Library was bustling with activity, with Twilight at the center of it all. Spike had set up the lab like she’d ordered him to, and the table was littered with jars and vials, large vats filled with boiling liquids of all colors and consistencies. The whole place looked and sounded like something out of a horror movie, with the constant bubbling sounds and electricity crackling. At the center of it all, among the vials and equipment stood the vial containing the strange liquid. Next to it was a glass bowl and some other vials belonging to Twilight, all of them filled with their own strange mixtures. Twilight rubbed her hooves together and smiled.

“Everything’s in place. Spike, turn on the recorder, I don’t want to miss anything,” she said and glanced over at her dragon assistant who stood beside her wearing a hazmat suit, a recording device clutched in his hand. He looked a bit nervous as he clicked the button.

“It’s on, Twilight,” he said. Twilight nodded and stepped up, making gestures for Spike to follow her. He reluctantly followed, never taking his eyes off the vial of liquid. He hopped up on a chair next to the table and joined Twilight.

“Good. Okay, time is four in the afternoon, Tuesday. I’m about to open the vial, now,” she said and levitated the glass container with her magic. Slowly she twisted the snakehead shaped top, taking care not to break it, and soon it gave in. She put the head down on the table and gestured for Spike to set up the glass bowl, which he did. Ever so carefully Twilight held the vial above the bowl and started tipping it. The liquid still wouldn’t budge. She gave it a gentle tap and got results, as the thick stuff finally began to run towards the opening, taking its due time. After what seemed like an eternity the liquid had reached its destination, and a large drop began to form, falling into the bowl, followed closely by a few more. Twilight and Spike both looked at the small pool that had formed at the bottom of the bowl. The stuff was very thick, almost like tar, and glistened like oil in the light. Twilight put the vial away and levitated a pipette close to the stuff, but realized quickly that it was just too thick to allow itself to be sucked up. She tapped her head with a hoof and sighed.

“The liquid won’t allow itself to be handled normally, I’m going to try another approach,” she said and grabbed a small metallic spoon which she scooped up some of the stuff with. Once she had what she needed she levitated it over to a microscope and put it under. She pressed her eye against the other end of the scope and looked, and almost immediately she frowned. She couldn’t see anything, just a black blob of nothing. No matter how much she zoomed and un-zoomed she couldn’t get a clear picture, only more black. With a heavy sigh, she stepped down.

“Impossible to examine under a microscope,” she said and glanced over at Spike, “I’m starting to think we might have to consider slightly different methods.”

She scraped the liquid back into the bowl and looked at it. “Seeing as how the liquid won’t allow itself to be examined, I’m going to try exposing it to the elements,” she said and levitated one of the vials from the table. “First off, a dose of regular sulfuric acid,” she said and poured a small drop of clear liquid onto the black mass. It sizzled a bit, but nothing happened. The black goo was still as sticky and unresponsive as ever.

“No effect from the acid,” Twilight muttered and grabbed a new vial, “Let’s try something a bit stronger this time.”

The same procedure repeated itself for a good hour. Whatever Twilight tried, it simply didn’t seem to affect the stuff at all, and with each failed attempt, Twilight was becoming more and more frustrated. After pouring pure nicotine on it without results she threw her hooves up and slumped down on the floor.

“I’m starting to think this stuff just doesn’t WANT to be examined. I’m bummed out,” she said with a heavy sigh and looked over at Spike whom just looked at her with his big green eyes sympathetically.

“Maybe you should take break, Twi,” he said, “We’ve been down here for almost two hours. Let’s take a break and come back tomorrow, this stuff isn’t going to go anywhere.”

Twilight sighed again, knowing Spike was right. Forcing herself to try and crack this one would only aggravate her more, and now that she’d began to settle down she also noticed just how hungry she’d gotten. Coming home and yelling at Spike, followed by them opening and examining the urn had made her forget about food altogether, but now all she could think about was eating. She stood up.

“Yeah, you’re right. Could you put the stuff back in the vial for me while I get lunch started?”

“Lunch? Isn’t it a little late for that,” Spike said with a slight frown and pointed to the clock.

“Oh my, I guess you’re right again. Dinner it is then,” Twilight said and headed for the stairs, leaving Spike alone in the basement. The little dragon looked at the glass bowl still containing the black liquid and narrowed his eyes at it. Grabbing the same metal spoon that Twilight had used he scooped the liquid up and tried forcing it back into the vial, which was easier said than done, as the thick stuff stuck to the spoon like a wrench. After a bit of struggle he finally managed to force the thing back into the vial, though a small amount of it still stuck to the spoon. He didn’t notice it though, as he heard Twilight calling him from upstairs.

“Hey Spike, how’s a waffle dinner sound to you!?”

Spike’s eyes widened at this, and his lips curled into a bright smile. “Sound great, Twi! I’ll be right with you!” he shouted and threw the spoon into the lab sink, then quickly removed the hazmat suit and ran upstairs, closing the door behind him. Down in the sink however, something was happening. The black liquid was starting to loosen up from its tar like state and make its way into the drain, bubbling and sizzling as it did. With a dripping sound it soon vanished into the sewers beneath Ponyville.

On the surface the sun had begun to settle, bathing the small town in a bright orange light. There was a calming silence draping over the town, like it was being enveloped in a warm blanket. Everypony would be in their homes soon as night fell, tuckered away safely in their beds, protected from all the evils of the world. At least, most of them would.

***

Mr. Waddle awakened in the middle of the night. Normally the elderly stallion was quite a heavy sleeper, able to sleep through everything from a thunderstorm to and earthquake depending on the situation, but this time it was something else. His old eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness around him as he fumbled for his glasses. With some effort he sat up and perked his ears, his eyes might be bad, but his hearing was as sharp as it had ever been. And then he heard it; the rumbling. It sounded like it came from under the floorboards and from inside the walls. He listened carefully, trying to pinpoint where it would come from next. He finally heard it again from down the hallway, the upstairs bathroom to be exact, and groaned. On old and shaky legs he slowly dragged himself out of bed, making his way through the dark corridor towards the sound. He didn’t need to turn on the lights, he knew his house well. Once he reached the bathroom he pressed his ear against the door and listened. There it was again. He pushed the door open and stepped inside, the moon shining in through a small window, bathing the room in dim blue light.

He went up to the sink and looked at it, though he couldn’t see much in the dark. He tried turning the knob on the tap, but no water came out. Thinking to himself it must’ve been a clog in the pipes he turned tail and began to head back to bed when he heard the rumbling again, and louder this time. In fact, it didn’t sound like a rumble, but more like a sickening gurgle. Against better judgment he turned towards the sink again and looked down into it. He leaned closer, the gurgling growing in strength. And then he couldn’t see.

Mr. Waddle felt something grab hold of him, like a wet blanket covering his face. He tried to struggle, only to find that his oxygen supply was quickly running out, and the more he fought the more he had trouble breathing. He started panicking, but the thing holding his head wouldn’t let go. Desperately he tried wiping it of his face, only to feel his hooves getting stuck in some kind of substance. His air supply was almost gone. He kept trying to breathe to no avail, as he found he couldn’t open his lips, the pressure around his head constantly increasing, making him feel like he was trapped in a vice. He felt his mouth and nostrils being filled up with something thick, and then he was being hoisted into the air before crashing down, being slammed into the floor like a ragdoll. There were cracks and pops echoing through the empty house as Mr. Waddle’s old bones broke, followed by silence. The old pony’s body had finally caved in as he lay on the floor in front of the sink, his body broken, legs sprawled in unnatural ways. The dark house was soon filled with another sound; a slurping, sucking sound, followed by the sounds of more bones cracking, and something being squeezed into a tight space. And then there was silence.

The town of Ponyville slept peacefully through the rest of the warm summer’s night.

Comments

[Hard-Pressed Scribe]

Dark goo? I know enough Internet to know where this is going. The feature box, that's what!

[Exelzior]

3120424
Maybe when pigs start to fly
I seriously doubt this one will end up anywhere Close to the feature box, but thanks for the support.

[Bootsy Slickmane]

Two paragraphs into the prologue and I was hooked. This is engaging, intriguing, and creepy. I must have more. Probably helps that I've been creeped out by gooey black evil goop since I saw The X-Files movie (the first one) way back when I was 9 years old (thanks a lot, dad ). Anyway, I am loving this story and can't wait for more.