Cutie Mark Cultists
The things twitched and writhed as they waded through the undergrowth, trampling the fence-line into splinters, gelid black flesh flowing into new shapes as limbs formed and reformed, and the dozens of gaping mouths croaked and hooted. Thick greenish slime dripped from each orifice, bubbling as the foully unnatural creatures closed in, hooves digging deep into the earth under their massive weight. Trixie had finished her chanting, and was putting all of her attention on the trio of ponies pressed against each other in front of the stage.
“See? The Great and Powerful Trixie told you she could make trees walk.”
“Tri... Trixie dear...” stammered Rarity “maybe you should come away... come away from... from your trees?”
Trixie just laughed. “Let’s see your librarian do better than this!” The things were almost within reach of the stage now.
Applejack nudged Rarity, urgently. “She ain’t listening, hon. And we gotta shift our tails, right now.”
The nearest creature lashed out, snatching at Rainbow Dash. She flinched, wings beating frantically as the tentacle swept past her, and she pushed hard at her friend. “We are out of here! Move it, Rarity!”
They fled. Behind them, Trixie stopped laughing, but they didn’t turn around to look.
At least the things didn’t seem to be very fast – there was no sign of pursuit, and they let their initial frantic dash slow to a sustainable gallop. The edge of Sweet Apple Acres rolled by on their left, with the open ground on their right, both barely illuminated by the starlight. The waning moon had long since been lowered by the Night Princess, the better to show off her work on the evening’s constellations and auroras.
Dash was flying alongside the other two, backwards, peering towards the distant lantern light around Trixie’s stage. It seemed brighter than it should be, as if the stage was on fire. Occasionally, something would pass between her and the blaze, and she shuddered a little, inside.
Applejack still had enough breath left over for talking. “We gotta go get Twilight! Maybe she can, magic them back into the Forest or summint.”
“Was Trixie crazy!? How’d she get them to come out in the first place, anyway?”
“I don’t think I want ta know, Dash – Rarity, you go tell Twilight to meet us at the town hall, we’ve gotta get a warning to the Mayor. Everyponies probably out on tha streets already, judging by last time. Dash, you get over to Fluttershy’s and tell her we might be needing some of her special monster-wrangling know-how, real soon.”
“Hey, sis! Where y’all going so fast?”
Applejack skidded to a halt. Her little sister was propped up against the fence, with her two friends. Sweetie Belle was holding a butterfly net in her teeth, and Scootaloo was perched on top of the fencepost with a lantern around her neck. “Hi, Rainbow Dash!”
“Apple Bloom?”
“What’s going on? You shoulda seen all them ponies come running past, you’da thought a manticore was after ‘em!”
“’Ey ‘arity! ‘e’re ‘orrctin’ ‘ilk uffs!”
“Sweetie Belle! Thank Celestia we saw you! Trixie’s show... things!”
“Trixie? The Great and Powerful Trixie? Is there another Ursa? Or the same Ursa? Or Two Ursas?”
“Apple Bloom, you listen, and you listen good! You three get back to the house, get Granny down ta the apple cellar, and you stay there, ya hear? Tell your brother to get into town as quick as he can, and ta go around the long way iffen there’s anything out this side of the farm!”
The three fillies stared. “Aw, but Sis...”
“Right this minute, you hear?”
“Guys... I think those things are moving...” Dash was popping up and down above the tree tops, trying to make out black tree-like shapes against the black Everfree Forest. “And all the lanterns have gone out.”
“What things, Rainbow Dash?”
“I told you three to move it!”
“Aw, alright, we’re moving, we’re moving..”
The Cutie Mark Crusaders turned to stomp dejectedly back through the trees. “It ain’t fair!”
“Everytime something interesting is happening everypony tells us to stay out of the way. Even Rainbow Dash!”
“’e ‘innt ‘’nvn gnet-” Sweetie spat out the butterfly net. “I didn’t even get to see the Ursa last time! Just because Rarity said I had to be in bed... why do THEY get to have all the fun?”
“That,” murmured a voice they didn’t recognise “is a very good question.”
“Eek!” Scootaloo dropped the lantern, which promptly went out.
“Scootaloo! Now look what you’ve done.”
“It wasn’t my fault! I was surprised, that’s all.”
“Who’s there, anyway?”
“You may call me Herald. Allow me.” There was a noise in the dark, and a whoosh of flame, and they saw him. His mask was lit from underneath by the re-lit lantern, the contours stark, and the eye-sockets empty and black.
“AHHHHH!” screamed the three fillies.
Herald chuckled. “Not Eeee-ahhh? But nevermind. You don’t have to be afraid of me.”
Apple Bloom looked up from the huddle “Sorry mister. We didn’t see you there. What are you doing out here anyhow?” she added, suspiciously.
“I bet I know!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle, pushing her way out of the pile. “You were here to announce Trixie’s show, weren’t you? That’s what heralds do! Announcements and... proclamations... and stuff.”
“Something like that.” agreed the black-coated stranger, in his deep and quiet tone.
“Is that why you’re wearing a mask? Were you part of the show too?” Scootaloo interjected “Could you tell us why everypony was running away? Rainbow Dash and Applejack and Rarity wouldn’t say.”
“I could tell you, but don’t you have some chore to do?”
“Yeah... but if we go do it we wouldn’t be able to come back....”
“Why do you suppose that is?”
“I dunno” said the disgruntled filly. “We miss all the good stuff.”
“I expect they want to keep you out of harm’s way. Were they in a very great hurry?”
“Yessss” said Sweetie Belle. “My sister musta been really busy. She didn’t even ask what we were doing out here after dark.”
“Is that a fact? So, what are you three doing out here after dark?”
The three Cutie Mark Crusaders exchanged a guilty glance. “Sweetie Belle got in trouble...” confessed Scootaloo.
“Again.” added Apple Bloom.
“Hey! That’s not fair Apple Bloom! You get in lots of trouble too! Just because I wanted to make some new Cutie Mark Crusader capes and used up all of Rarity’s gold silk –“
“Again.” added Apple Bloom.
Sweetie squeaked in outrage “I was the one that wanted to make it up to her and get more silk!”
Scootaloo continued “But Sweetie Belle didn’t want to get the silk from spiders -”
“Eww!” said the unicorn
“ – even though I know a great place for spiders, so we asked Twilight where you can get silk from without spiders and she said something about silk moths -”
“So we’re out here catching moths.” Apple Bloom held up a bottle, which was empty.
“- and once we’re got some moths will find out how to make silk from them. And then we’ll get our Cutie Marks!”
The three leaped in the air and clapped their hooves together. “Cutie Mark Crusader Silk Farmers YAY!”
Herald watched this display with wry amusement, as far as they could tell. “Fascinating. I expect you’ll be wanting to go back to the farmhouse now, however?”
The three slumped. “Aw, yeah.”
“It’s not that we don’t wanna, mister...”
“But if we do then we won’t get to find out what’s going on until tomorrow –“
“... and we won’t get to catch any moths...”
“And Granny said she’d tan our hides til we’re dead, if she caught us out of bed again.”
Herald nodded. “I see. Do you think your sister would object to you coming into town, to see what was going on, if there was somepony to escort you?”
Apple Bloom cheered up “Yeah! I’m sure that’s what she really meant!”
“Well then.” continued Herald “Since I’m going that way myself, and I’m sure three enterprising fillies like yourselves will be able to get back here after all the excitement is over, without your big sister finding out, I’m sure I can walk you, oh, at least as far the edge of town. You might even be able to find a place to watch from. Somewhere tall, perhaps?”
“I know!” exclaimed the orange pegasus “How about the windmill! You can see all the way across Ponyville from up there!”
“Yes” said Herald. “That sounds... ideal.”
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I'm kind of worried about Trixie at this point, mostly because this might happen to her. Though I wouldn't mind it happening to Herald, as he is probably an Eldrich abomination in pony form, and he is responsible for this, not to mention what he's going to do with the CMC.
894702 You're right to be worried.
1169000 Nyarlathotep!?! OH SH
!!!
GET DISCORD!!!
Well, see, that's appropriate. Children should have adult supervision, and you can't get much more "adult" than Nyarlathotep, right?
3693993
You can, but only if you are Azathoth
5453379 All Azathoth does is sleep. Lazy bastard.
6205990
Yeah, well, when he wakes, we're all fucked, so....stay lazy, Azathoth.
6939146 HAIL AZATHOTH!
Nyarlathotep finally figured out that he has to catch them young.