Rainbow Dash was the first to emerge in the broad chamber full of vines and thorny branches. Her ruby pendant glowed off the sickly carapace of the large deceased plant in the center of the compartment. Threading her way over and around the dangling obstructions, she paused halfway and turned to face the hallway from which she emerged.
"Quick! This way, guys! Just up the steps and—"
"Look out!" a pony's voice shrieked. Josho, Props, and a few other survivors had already emerged, but they all dove for the floor as something streaked past them, dripping with purple slime.
Rainbow gasped.
The lone, speeding pegasus pinballed off two vines and rose towards the looming ceiling. Its bony feathers dribbled acidic slime as it spiraled about, hissed, and dove suicidally towards the helpless group below. Josho could barely aim at the thing to get a shot off.
"Hnnnngh!" Rainbow Dash courageously threw her shoulder into the body of the undead beast. The two went ricocheting off the floor, crashing wetly through a wooden shelf full of moldy scrolls and ancient texts.
"Rainbow!" Josho shouted. "Watch it!"
"Don't let the damn thing splatter all over you!" Seclorum added, emerging and cocking his crossbow.
Waking up to the danger, Rainbow gaped at the puddle forming between her and the creature. She snapped out of it at the last second, ducking as the thing's mouth snapped violently at her scalp.
Right then, Razzar and two other Lounge members emerged. "Move aside." Razzar squatted and fired without hesitation. Ka-p-pow!
Yellow manafire flew in Rainbow's direction. Thinking fast, she rolled to the side, spiraling out of reach of the zombie pegasus' exploding innards. Purple slime coated the far walls of the granite compartment, sending smoke and steam billowing ceilingwards.
"Dammit, lizard!" Josho grunted as he telekinetically shoved more ponies ahead, boosting them towards their destination. "I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but shooting madly isn't helping!"
"Speak for yourself," Razzar droned. Right then, the thumping beat intensified, echoing throughout the whole chamber. "They are overcoming us! Brothers—"
The other three Lounge members had already formed a phalanx, aiming their manarifles at the tunnel exit. The last stumbling equines gasped, their eyes lit up by the weapons' light. Arcshod and Seclorum hoisted them out of the way just milliseconds before a wall of pulsating purple slime poured out, splashing outward in every direction.
"Fire!" Razzar howled, and then the room filled with thunder. Solid waves of yellow energy surged into the corridor, roasting every square inch of the door-frame. The bubbling ooze rolled back, undulated, and splashed forward with greater speed and viscosity.
The Lounge members adjusted their weapons, intensifying the mana output as they collectively struggled to beat the deadly solution back. In the meanwhile, Razzar turned, snarled, and shoved several ponies towards the far end of the room.
"You wish to go?! Then go!" his voice crackled loudly through the mask. "We'll hold them back as best as we can!"
"Throw yourselves at 'em while you're at it," Seclorum grumbled, then galloped up the stairs, ushering several fellow survivors along in the process. "Keep moving! Head for the door at the top of the stairwell!"
"Move it!" Josho added. He glanced upwards in mid gallop. "Rainbow Dash—"
"I could use some cover!" Rainbow hollered, watching in horror as two pegasi violently slipped past the Lounge's blockade. Set ablaze by manafire, the undead creatures stumbled their way through the vines and dove at a train of galloping ponies, their mouths drooling with lavender acid.
Josho's eyes darted upwards. He aimed his shotgun and blasted at a length of plant branches. P-Pow! A length of vines fell. "Paint bucket—"
"Got it!" Rainbow twirled sideways, spun, and grabbed the loose end of the falling vine in her mouth. Swinging her body around, she flew in a wide arc and clotheslined the two pegasi with the thorny branch. Both creatures twirled from the blow and slammed into a far wall, exploding into wet puddles awash with fluttering eyeballs.
"Quezaat spare us!" a naga's voice could be heard shouting. Rainbow spun a glance over her shoulder. She saw Razzar's phalanx buckling, stumbling backwards as the dense flood of slime finally emerged from the corridor. With deadly splashes, one equine after another galloped out of the mess, charging the valiant defenders. Manafire converged on the undead hoard, sending them collapsing to the floor in wet splashes, spreading the slime thicker and thicker across the ancient granite.
"Retreat, my brothers!" Razzar shouted, nudging the other cloaked figures along. "I shall give you cover—" Just as he said this, a bipedal shape leapt out of the slime, lunging towards him. Holding his breath, Razzar ducked while the creature soared over his scalp.
Props gasped as she and Arcshod jumped in opposite directions. The thrashing creature collapsed against the large plant in the center of the room, a large thick tail whipping as it gnashed blindly at the air with a scaled mouth.
"Nagu'n!" Arcshod sputtered.
"Is that one of the Lounge?" a pony breathlessly stammered from the stairs. "But... it d-died just minutes ago—"
"Hressssshhhh!" The slime covered monster lunged at the ponies.
"Mmmmffnnngh!" Rainbow Dash dove down and slammed into the thing's chest. "It's looking pretty darn alive now!"
"Rainbow, watch out!" Props' voice cracked.
The beast propped itself up on its necrotic tail, swinging a fist full of claws at the pegasus' face.
Rainbow ducked, then flapped her wings so she could backstep from its second lunge.
Sliiiink! The monster's claws grazed the carapace of the plant, spilling bright orange fluid all across the floor. Rainbow Dash inadvertently slipped on the juice, falling awkwardy to her spine. The reptile spun, vomited purple ooze, and pounced towards the mare.
Rainbow flinched—
Pffft-Thunk! A single crossbolt sailed into the thing's neck, pinning it—dangling—to the trunk of the plant. The dead naga hung there above Rainbow Dash, twitching and convulsing. Then, with a sickening pop, its tail snapped clean from its body and fell to the ground with a splash of surging purple slime.
Spluttt! A dollop of the ooze splattered across the room... and caught Props tail. The mare gasped, collapsing breathlessly to the floor as the slime coagulated, spreading through her blonde hairs.
"D-Dashie!" Props whimpered, goggled eyes wide.
"Props!" Rainbow shouted.
Schiiing! Arcshod unsheathed his scimitar. In one massive stride, he swung the blade at full force, cutting off the last third of Props' tail hairs.
The mare gasped, scrambling away from the puddle.
Rainbow grabbed her forelimbs and yanked her safely away while three more undead pegasi galloped up.
"Raaaaaaaugh!" Arcshod howled in fury, lopping two heads off in one swing and skewering the chest of another. The last living corpse stuck itself on his blade, dribbling blood and slime that crept like animated mold up the sword. Realizing that it was a lost cause to salvage the weapon, Arcshod kicked away at the blade's hilt and levitated his crossbolt, skewering the skull of the impaled beast and the advancing pegasi behind it. The muscular Xonan joined the Lounge as they marched backwards up the stairs, firing potshots at the flood of equine death and slime spreading rapidly across the stairs and crawling up the steps after the survivors.
Meanwhile, up above, Rainbow Dash deposited Props' frazzled body besides Josho at the top of the stairs as they all went charging through the doorway and into the immense stairwell beyond.
I thought we had lost Props there for a moment.
Who knew an unplanned haircut could be so exciting?
Yeeeeeeeeeeeee.....that was a little too close for comfort there, Propsie...
Whew at least they saved Props.
This ancient evil does NOT fuck around.
halodiehards.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/The_Flood_by_cjfurtado.jpg
...joy
Spoiler alert: Yes.
Limmin' 'eck!
What is the purpose of the smooze? Does it just seek to consume the world?
This is Australia...
Pic related, apparently.
th01.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2012/299/6/2/praise_lord_smooze_by_equestria_falls-d5iznti.png
That is something that definitely need a serious case of sunburn, or even better, tossing off the edge of the world to dissapate screaming in the chaotic void beyond.
I can't survive the evil. Also, if it can eat the sword, does that mean it can make an eyelander?
reminds me of an old defensive game called Creeper World, as the purple slime/acid was oozing up the passageway with the remaining Lounge firing at it
Where did I put my bucket of sodium hydroxide?
Bolt Thrower - Graven Image
4356283 Hey, Creeper World isn't that old. The third one just came out.
The smooze really kinda to me feels more like a natural disaster. No visible or implied evil. Which kinda makes it more terrifying. Just pure Unstoppable and unfeeling destruction and death.
Man, that was a close call. I dunno how they're gonna beat this thing. Someone - either Hurricane or the ancient pegasi or something - obviously managed to contain it before. I wonder if that dead tree is/was the key, like perhaps the orange substance counteracts the Smooze. That, or maybe the Sword of Solstice can do something, wherever the hell that is.
This ancient evil is gross. I wonder if the princesses kno what it is.
The changelings are fucked.
I do love me some panicked escapes. It's awesome.
4356846 Hurricane bore the Sword of Solstice. Didn't appear to help her much.
Everything is danger.
The tree is the Flume, you guys. The Flume! It gives the smooze it's potency!
Two things about warnings about ancient evils. 1: They are always vague and generally unhelpful save for a "don't go here or do this, very bad." 2: They are always right, no matter how long it has been.
Oh God, if we had lost Props...
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The actual scientific name for what the Smooze is/does is a "Gray Goo Scenario." (Albeit one relying on a literal goo instead of molecular nanotechnology.) So yes, it does seek to consume the world.
Holy... Smooze is scary!
So, the Lounge doesn't need their ship anymore, right? Time for a core breach!
GAK ATTACK!
It just struck me, why "paint bucket"? Have you ever seen a paint bucket with more than one color in it?
Also:
Missing a letter there.
Alright, where's the salt when you need it? Ebon, get your changeling butt over here now.
Don't be silly. Nothing can stop the smooze.
And you know what those mask the Lounge have remind me of? Right, Saint Seiya. The female Saints have to always wear masks, and have to kill or fall in love with any male who sees their face. I have already compared the Austraeoh saga with the Sanctuary arc from Saint Seiya, and this, being the fifth story, has stuff in common with the Leo temple. A prominent female Saint during the Leo temple portion of the arc is Ophiucus Shaina. Ophiucus, Naga, both are snake-related.
I know this story is actually unrelated to Saint Seiya, but finding coincidences is fun.
use the fire extinguisher
freeze it
come on, I mean one of the crashed ships on this temple has to have a fire extinguisher right? just one?
Whoops, almost skipped a chapter.
Really, the changelings did not know what they were getting into.
This is very bad.
-Spirit
This seems to be the Flood indeed, but this is far worse. Instantaneous death and instantaneous reincarnation. It also can spawn flying monsters, and this isn't even taking into account its highly acidic nature. I'm afraid the world is doomed if it were to be released.
We have no choice. We must activate the Ring.
Oh wow, for a second there I thought we lost Props and almost got a heart attack.
5801138 No, there is another way... We overload the Tarkington's engines and the Flood gets blown up without the destruction of all sentient lifeforms!!
5801138 Not necessarily worse, it is lacking one thing that the flood had, intelligence. Once contained it cannot adapt, whereas the flood can. Also the flood to can do instantaneous infections, see Halo 3. Though I will grant you that the acidic nature makes it far more durable on a per unit basis.
The flood was scary. The smooze was scary. A combination of both? Downright disturbing.
That was way too close for comfort. If the jury ;lost Props, I don't think there'd ever be any chance of recovery.
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In more ways than one.
Luckily for Props, short tails are in this season.
Well then.
This... I never thought I would say this but this is infinitely worse than the Flood...
At least you could shoot the Flood before it infected you...
7:40 p.m. MST 6/19/2017
Nothing like zombies in an enclosed, isolated location of finite area to make one truly feel endangered~ no siree!
Oh man, this is bad. We're fighting a freaking living gak commercial and it's not gonna go down well.
Let's hope the rest of the Jurists are doing alright.