Their Otherworldly Grace

by MonoGlyph

Artificial, Synthetic

I made my way slowly back to the meadow. As I did so, I couldn’t help but consider what would have happened if the chimera did murder me, if the Volume did not work as it did. Where did ponies go when they died? Death was not prevalent in this part of Equestria and when it did happen it wasn’t often publicized. Funerals were quiet affairs and one could be forgiven for not hearing about them at all. But I was aware of how things worked. If there was life, there must also be death. What would become of me, then? Would I be transported to some other plane of existence? Like the Domain? Would I be reincarnated? On some level I knew these fancies were all rather foolish. There was no Princess or spirit of the afterlife, not one I’d ever heard of. Not one who’d ever provided any evidence for their existence. In the end, all of us would experience the eternal dreamless sleep of death. I wasn’t sure if the thought comforted or terrified me.

I had made it back to the meadow. It almost looked as though nothing had happened, if one could somehow ignore the still form of the poisoned timber wolf and the trail made by the rampaging chimera as it chased after me. There was no reason to put off the task before me for much longer. Feeling numb from the prior excitement, I dragged the body of the wolf into the circle and started a fire. I needed to work quickly as the rain was threatening to put out the flame and the moist timber would resist an attempt at relighting. I cleared my mind of all my worries, as any proper spell required. Carefully, so as not to tear it, I unfurled the roll of spider silk. I needn’t have bothered. The strength to weight ratio of the fabric was astounding. I could see why Rarity valued it so highly. I used the stone-cutting tools to grind the boar tusks to a fine powder and set the pile onto a square of the silk. I squeezed a drop of blood from one of the numerous cuts I acquired in the chase earlier and set it onto the tusk fragments. I cast the necessary spell as I threw the pouch of material into the flickering fire.

A flash of lightning split the cloudy skies. Rolling thunder echoed through the silent forest. When my eyes readjusted I saw that the fire had gone out, leaving the blackened body of the timber wolf to soak in the falling rain. I looked around. Had the light gone out too soon? Had the spell failed? I still had half a roll of spider silk, but I wasn’t eager to ask Fluttershy for more boar tusks. As I considered giving up altogether my eyes registered movement from the ashen heap in the hearth. Something leapt to the dead grass, glistening in the light. I tried to lock onto the new creature, but it darted towards the trees.

“Hey! Wait a second!” I shouted inanely, running after it. It was pointless. The thing was too quick and too small. I lost it near instantly. I spent some minutes scanning the wood for signs of my creation, to no avail.

As I walked home I wasn’t sure how I should be feeling about the experiment. It clearly worked to some degree. On the other hoof, I was hoping to analyze the resulting creature more closely. Otherwise, what was the point?

On the nights that followed, I decided to take a chance and get some sleep, however brief. I returned to the Gray Domain in my dreams. I couldn’t say that I’d become familiar with the wasteland, incomprehensible as it was, but I no longer felt that it was a threat. The Other Gods allowed me free passage in their kingdom and I was grateful. I felt that they understood me, in their alien way. I was among the enlightened. The Volumes had given me a new place to study, to explore.

In the week that followed, I continued translating the book, hoping to find another spell I could test. It was on one of my sessions that I heard a knock on the door. I descended the stairs and made my way to the door.

“Applejack. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Sorry to bother you, Twilight. Fluttershy’s run into some issues. Isn’t Rainbow Dash stayin’ with you? Y’all need to get down to her cottage ay-sap, we’re meetin’ there. “

Rainbow Dash was resting in the branches of the library when I found her. Together we made our way to the cottage. I wondered if Fluttershy had found the dead chimera I left practically at her doorstep. Perhaps that’s what all this was about. I rehearsed my alibies as we approached the overgrown building. The rest of the ponies were gathered in the yard. Fluttershy made an effort to address our questions.

“Um. Thank you for coming, everyone… I’m really sorry that I had to pull you away from whatever you were doing… It’s just that. Many animals have been disappearing in the forest lately. The birds are going away for the winter, but a lot of squirrels, chipmunks and bunnies have gone missing… Angel among them.”

I relaxed slightly. She still hadn’t mentioned the chimera. Maybe she hadn’t found it yet.

“A-after I searched the surrounding area”—my heart skipped a beat—“I managed to find Angel. He looked frightened half to death. Like something had chased him… I continued my investigation and found some really scary tracks and uprooted trees… I think something big moved in from the heart of the forest… I’d like your help in chasing it off. If you’re able.”

I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. She must have found the corpse. It was so close. Why wasn’t she mentioning it? It probably didn’t make any difference. I wasn’t bringing it up.

Fluttershy led us to the first of the tracks she’d mentioned. They were large and misshapen, and they continued through the forest for a while before stopping. We didn’t find any more signs of the monster that day. We continued our search from the break of dawn on the next, and the results of our efforts then were likewise discouraging. In the early afternoon, however, we were approached by Applejack’s sister Applebloom who urged us to come back to Ponyville.

“What’s the matter, sis’?” asked Applejack.

“I spotted somethin’ big on the edge o’ town! It wrecked some houses and left, headin’ for the Ghastly Gorge!”

As we made tracks for town I wondered how we were going to stop something large enough to destroy a house. When we arrived to the family farm we saw something large in the distance, mostly obscured by the trees. I could see it glisten in the weak light of the sun behind the clouds. Wait. Glisten?

“What’s wrong, Twilight? You’ve turned awful pale.”

Could it be that the giant beast terrorizing this part of Equestria was one I created? The thing in the meadow escaped me when I brought it into this world. Has it been growing non-stop in the past days? Nothing of this world could evolve to such an extent in such a short period of time. What kind of spell would create this monstrosity? I had to remind myself. Knowledge is not evil in and of itself. Or… or is it?

I felt a gentle but insistent nudge from Applejack.

“Twilight. Focus, please.”

“S-sorry. Applejack, maybe you should get some rope while we’re here.”

“Rope? I thought we’d be chasing the critter off.”

“Just in case. Get the rope.”

She nodded and trotted hurriedly into the farmhouse.

“Pinkie, I think this would be a good time to fetch your fireworks.”

“Oh boy! I finally get to use the thingies I made? I knew this day would come, and nowhere near New Year’s!”

“Fluttershy, you go help Pinkie with her supplies. Rainbow, you should scout ahead and tell us if it changes direction. Rarity…” I was about to advise her to go home, but I knew the recommendation wouldn’t be received well. I had a plan and her presence was a little problematic.

“Uhh, you can come with me.” I hoped it wouldn’t become an issue.

Rarity and I followed the departing creature for half an hour. When we finally caught up with it on the edge of the Gorge, we saw that Rainbow Dash had already started a fight. She was circling the monster like an angry wasp, making contact every time she passed it. As we got closer the creature lucked out and one of its limbs connected with Rainbow’s fragile frame. She was thrown backwards quite a ways, though no lasting harm was readily apparent.

“Whoo-eee! That is one ugly fella,” I heard Applejack exclaim as she approached us, Pinkie and Fluttershy bringing up the rear. As I looked at the creature once more, I couldn’t help but feel that was a bit of an understatement. The thing was an obscene mass of flesh and tentacles. It was squirming perpetually, its multiple eyes continuously focusing and refocusing on different aspects of its environment. I stumbled off to the side so I could vomit. I heard Rarity ask me if I was alright, and nodded weakly.

“So what’s the plan, cap’n?” Applejack asked.

“Ugh. Not sure. I think the first step would be to tie it up somehow but I don’t see how we—“

“Say no more! Rainbow Dash, Ah’ll need your help with this.”

Applejack threw the lasso just as the creature raised what could be called a leg. The loop tightened around the slimy member. She tossed her end of the rope to Rainbow Dash who took it in her mouth and started circling around the thing once more. As the creature flailed, it neared the edge of the Ghastly Gorge. I spoke up.

“Pinkie Pie. Aim the fireworks at the base of the cliff underneath it!”

“Rrrrrrright-o!”

The colorful missiles soared from their cases, violent as gunpowder. A few stray flares hit the creature, doing it significant damage. The explosions severed some of its various appendages, and its fluids spilled across the plateau. It started regenerating before our eyes. New tendrils grew where the old ones were separated and the wounds closed fairly quickly. Before it could recover completely the sheer cliff collapsed beneath its weight and the continuous assault from Pinkie’s firecrackers. It fell to the bottom of the gulch, bouncing against the stone. More rocks rained on top of the creature as it splattered against the floor, crushing it. Even now it continued to heal at an alarming rate. I had to cast a counter-spell before this chance slipped through our hooves. We hastened down a side path into the Ghastly Gorge. Fluttershy asked me what I intended to do but I didn’t spare any breath for an answer.

We quickly made it to the creature’s side. It was still re-growing its damaged tissue. Though it was certainly alive, it lacked the strength to keep us away. I started the process of undoing the ‘create life’ spell. Rarity looked like she was about to say something but reconsidered. As the light from my horn got brighter I could see that the monster knew what I was doing. It twitched feebly, trying to crawl away. But it was over. The bonds between the few ingredients of the original spell weakened before my magic. Before the creature disintegrated completely it let out a horrific scream that was undoubtedly heard all the way back in Ponyville. A powerful wind blew across Equestria. This was no ordinary wind. It bypassed the flesh and chilled one to the very bones. I supposed I must have felt it somewhere previously.

The others cheered for our success in defeating the vile spawn. Most of the others. Rarity, as the only other unicorn of the group now voiced the one question I had been dreading heretofore.

“Twilight? Now, I’m glad you were able to slay that awful, awful beast. However, I simply must ask. What you just did. That was a counter-spell, wasn’t it? The sort that one uses to undo magical mistakes? How could you have known that the monster was summoned or otherwise called here via arcane means?”

My mind raced to find an adequate excuse.

“I… I sensed the spell that bound it to Equestria.”

“Sorry? You sensed the magic?”

“T-that’s right. It’s a dormant ability of most unicorns. I studied magic almost all my life. Princess Celestia helped me unlock this power.”

I could hardly believe that this was the best I could come up with in these circumstances. Rarity looked even more skeptical now than she was prior to asking the question. I started to sweat.

“Hey now,” Applejack interjected. “All’t matters is that the monster’s gone now, right? Who cares how she managed it? I’m just glad Twilight was with us this time. Not sure we coulda managed without ‘er.”

At the time I was glad for Applejack’s support. We split up for the day and not much else happened for a while. In time, I saw this as a turning point. As Equestria changed, so did my relationship with Rarity and the others.

Comments

[blue_star]

really enjoying the story, very well written, keep up the good work

[MonoGlyph]

608195
Thank you! I'm trying my best to keep up the quality while also updating as I can. Also not really sure if I should continue sticking in the pictures. I dunno if they're good enough, and they take a bit of time to draw, too... So everything's a bit of a balancing act.

[Pleaseworkforonce]

can someone turn the cat into twilight
i49.tinypic.com/flv67t.jpg

[torrentialCAM]

Ah, Twilight, all the books in the world and you're still not genre-savvy enough to know that bringing an eldritch entity from beyond the realms of perception is probably not such a slick move.

As Bobby Singer from Supernatural says (in an episode about Lovecraft, fittingly enough), "It's never friendly!"

[Acadians6545]

610723
I love supernatural's Lovecraft episodes.