Gleaner Chronicles: American Monsters

by sevenofeleven

Chapter Four: Small ponies in a big city

Unknown City
Rooftop

Lowering grey clouds covered the city as cold rain tainted with malice poured down on the roof of a particular apartment building. Then a group of small multi-colored ponies fell out of a blue-white portal.

Margot awoke on a frigid concrete roof while icy needles stabbed through her fur.

Everypony else squealed about getting rain in their eyes.

Far screamed. “It burns! What kind of world is this?”

Margot kept her eyes closed while trying to concentrate on scanning the area. Then the stabbing sensation stopped. She opened her eyes.

Nga'Devro had cast a telekinetic shield that acted like a giant umbrella. It flashed green as the raindrops struck.

A quick scan showed that, other than the malice that made the rain feel extra cold and biting, there were no dangerous chemicals. Margot climbed to her hooves. “Is everypony okay?”

Skybreeze shook her head. “I don’t think I will endorse this place for a vacation. Very few ponies will appreciate malevolence tainted rain.”

Far moved his fore hooves away from his tearing eyes. “Is it too early to ask for a refund?”

Nga'Devro looked over the rooftop area and noticed that there was an entrance just a few steps away. “Nga'Devro suggests that we go inside.”

Jerome nodded. “Great idea.”

Margot glanced at the SHC. Sweetie Belle seemed a bit sad, she kept looking down at the black asphalt of the roof. Scootaloo was looking around like she was a tourist. Her violet eyes were wide with curiosity. Apple Bloom on the other hand was looking at Margot.

She walked up to Apple Bloom. “You guys okay?”

Apple Bloom nodded.

Scootaloo pointed at the buildings. “They’re so much taller than the ones in Ponyville.”

Sweetie Belle looked up. “Manehattan is like that.” Then she sniffled.

Apple Bloom gave her a tap. “Rarity is here somewhere. We’ll get her back.” Then she looked at Margot.

Margot nodded. “Yes, we will find Rarity.”

For a moment, a smile surfaced on Sweetie Belle’s face and then it faded away.

Margot swept her gaze over the area. It looked like they were on a rooftop in the middle of a large city. It could be Manhattan or Chicago, She couldn’t see any landmarks. One thing she did see that seemed strange was that the concrete had a distressed look to it like it was exposed to some sort of corrosive substance. Her first thought was the rain was responsible, but after another scan, it just didn’t seem to have enough to affect concrete like that.

She made her way to the doorway then she used a bit of telekinesis to open the door. It rattled in her grip. Skybreeze walked up to her to see if she could help out.

Jerome looked around. “Ya know, we should be indoors soon. Who knows what could’ve seen us?”

Margot focused and used her telekinesis to pick the lock.

The lock clicked then Skybreeze opened the door. Darkness filled the doorway until Skybreeze cast a light spell.

Margot used her telekinesis to flick a light switch on. Now they had light from a bare bulb hanging from a bunch of wires. She didn’t like seeing lights like that. It seemed so shabby. The idea that they might be in a ghetto building didn’t make her feel safe.

On the left side was a door that had “Elevator Access” on it in red letters. She turned and looked for the rest of the team.

Jerome ran inside followed by Far.

Apple Bloom ran after them with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

Skybreeze cantered in and looked at the elevator room. “I wonder what’s in there.”

Margot just shrugged then she ran in.

Nga'Devro was the last one in. With a green flash, the umbrella shield was dispelled.

Far looked around. “What do we do now?”

Jerome looked around for a moment. “We should check and see if anyone or anything has sensed our arrival.” Then he looked at Margot.

Her horn glowed with a blue glow as she passively sensed for any living creatures. She thought it was annoying that Jerome couldn’t do a scan as well.

“No living creatures for at least two blocks,” Margot said while wondering what happened to the area.

Skybreeze looked around, there wasn’t enough room to turn around unless she went down the stairs. “What about dead creatures?”

Margot wondered if Skybreeze spent too much time reading about zombies.

Margot passively sensed for any magic based objects in the area. There were a lot, but the power level was low. She tried again filtering out those results. That left her with nothing. “No undead nearby.” Of course, such a scan missed killer robots but Margot figured those weren’t a threat. She resolved to use some divination spells later to find out what they should be afraid of. “Let’s go down stairs a few floors and pick an apartment to rest in.”

Apple Bloom’s stomach growled. “Mahgot, maybe we can get something to eat too?”

Margot looked downstairs. “Yeah, sure.”

Skybreeze led them downstairs. She also conjured a small light so they could see what floor they were on. The ponies walked down two flights of stairs.

Scootaloo pointed to the floor number text. “What does that mean?”

Margot and Jerome traded glances.

Jerome said, “Eighth floor.”

Margot wondered if they would have to translate everything. It could be a real pain. She didn’t have any training with language based magics. As the group traveled downstairs, she wondered why the building was so quiet.

They decided to check out the apartments on the eighth floor. The dark hallways were a beige color with green mouldings. The hallway split into a left and right section.

Margot looked to the right. “Do you want to go there?”
Far looked around. “Yeah, let’s go right. I don’t like how quiet it is.”

They carefully stepped down the hallway until they reached the first apartment.

Margot put her muzzle at the bottom of the door. It didn’t take long for her to smell several dead ponies. “Some ponies died here.”

Apple Bloom looked down. “We should give them Oonte’s Grace.”

Sweetie Belle yawned.

Scootaloo shrugged.

Jerome looked down the left side of the hall. “How about we deal with that before we leave. Maybe this side is dead pony free?”

Far nodded and walked past Jerome to the apartment that was the closest to the elevator. He checked under the door. “I don’t smell any dead ponies here.”

Nga'Devro pointed at the wall and the elevators. “Why is the paint scratched here?”

Far looked at the wall.

On the other side of the hallway was a bunch of open windows that looked across the street to another dark apartment building. Margot glanced at the windows while she walked to the door next to Far. She hoped that nothing was watching them from across the street. Her nervousness increased.

Skybreeze walked up next to Margot.

Apple Bloom tapped Margot. “Mahgot, are you sure this is the right thing to do? Going into pony’s homes while they’re not there?”

Margot exchanged glances with Jerome.

Skybreeze looked around. “I find this situation quite unsettling. I’ve been in apartment buildings like these and there’s some sort of noise. What happened to the ponies living here?”

Nga'Devro also looked around. “Nga'Devro worries that maybe some disease or disaster befell the ponies that lived here.”

Jerome looked at Margot. “Can you scan for disease or at least radiation?”

Margot frowned. “Radiation yes, disease not so much. I have to take some time for that. I really think we should be inside and not in the hallway.”

Far looked out the hallway window before looking at Margot. “Those dead ponies you smelled, were they fresh?”

“No. Let me scan for radiation.” She started a passive scan. An active one would attract attention. Margot sensed that the radiation levels were low and safe.

“What is ‘radiation’ Margot?” Skybreeze asked.

“It’s a kind of energy that makes ponies sick. There’s more but it’s complicated.”

Jerome looked down at Apple Bloom. “Ya, know what? I don’t like standing around in the hallway. How about we take our discussion inside. If the owner drops by, we’ll work something out.”

Apple Bloom shook her head. “We’re breaking into someone’s home without their permission.”

“True but what if they’re dead?” Jerome said.

“It’s still wrong,” Applebloom said then shook her head.

Far sighed. “You know what? We need to get inside and find out more about this city. Arguing in the hallway is such a poor start. Margot pick the lock so we can go inside. Apple Bloom, I’m sorry, but we will have to break into this pony’s home so we can be safe and maybe fed. I don’t want to be wandering around in a strange city hungry and clueless. Do you understand?”

“Yes Fah.”

“Good. Let’s get inside.”

Margot picked the locks on the dark beige metal door.

Skybreeze pushed the door with a hoof then she moved the light into the foyer.

After that, Margot used her telekinesis to turn the foyer light on.

Pictures of dressed ponies lined the pale green walls. Some of the scenes were from trips to amusement parks and others were to local parks. Margot noticed that all of the ponies were dressed. She had an idea this was important. A moment later she stepped into the foyer so the other ponies could step in.

Apple Bloom closed the door.

Skybreeze turned off her light spell then she hit the light switch in the hall. She pointed at a picture of a brown stallion standing next to a pony in a mouse suit. “What is it with ponies and mice? See how happy he is.”

Sweetie Belle laughed. “Mice are cute.”

Skybreeze huffed. “I had a mouse in my lab. The wretched little beast gnawed a hole in my cereal box then it befouled my breakfast. I was on my second bowl before I knew something was wrong.”

Scootaloo laughed.

Margot looked away so she wouldn’t laugh.

Sweetie faced Skybreeze. “Second bowl?”

“I was hungry that morning and just shoveled down the first one.”

Jerome looked at the pictures then faced Skybreeze. “What happened to the mouse?”

“Well, it had the nerve to stand in front of me and preen with it’s filthy little paws. I guessed it thought I would gush about it. No, you disgusting creature. I got someone from another lab to cast an exterminatus spell. No more mouse or gnawed cereal boxes!”

The hallway was filled with silence while Margot looked at a picture of the stallion sitting on what looked to be a rollercoaster car. He was sitting on the bench like a human, not sprawled like a pony.

Skybreeze pointed at the same picture. “Changelings at an amusement park. Strange.”

The group moved past the kitchen to the living room. There was an extra deep couch along with a tv set and a cable box. On the right side a hallway led to a room and a bathroom.

Nga'Devro used his telekinesis to turn on the lights in the living room then he went right to the mail stacked on the table. The first thing he picked up with his telekinesis was a Victoria’s Secret catalog. “Nga'Devro likes how these mares are well formed though they all seem to wear some sort of clothing.”

The SHC sat on the couch along with Far and Jerome. He used his telekinesis to turn on the tv and the cable box. “Nga'Devro pass me a piece of mail.”

Nga'Devro used his telekinesis to give Jerome some mail. He glanced at it. “This apartment is owned or was owned by a David Bently.”

Scootaloo wrinkled her nose. “What kind of name is that for a pony? DavidBently?”

Jerome just shrugged. “Let’s see if he paid his cable bill.”

Margot moved in close to the couch. One thing she noticed, the remote had buttons too small for a hoof to hit without hitting other buttons.

The first few channels just had unauthorized notices. Mr Bentley’s cable package didn’t support those channels. Then Jerome found a channel that showed a pegasus pointing to a map of the NYC area. Jerome was familiar with the area because he had lived there for a while.

“We should be dry for a few days even though it will be cloudy and hazy in the morning. It will clear up during the day. You won’t need your umbrellas.”

Scootaloo leaned forward. “Who are you? What are you saying?”

Jerome faced Scootaloo. “She can’t hear you. TV is one way. ”

Apple Bloom pointed at the TV. “What is she saying?”

Jerome looked back to the TV, it was on a commercial about COPD. It seemed like a cartoon wolf was having problems breathing.

Sweetie Belle covered her eyes. “Funny looking wolves are scary.”

Jerome looked back at Apple Bloom. “The weather pony said it was going to be cloudy, but no rain. The morning will be warm and clear.”

Far faced Jerome. “Thank goodness, I don’t like the rain here.”

Jerome went through more channels, until he found one with multicolored small humans. A purple one with glasses pulled a large book off a shelf. “Barb look at this. According to this tome, the stars will aid in his escape. Nightmare Dude will be free.”

A green and purple dog stood up on its hind legs. “Come on Bry! That’s an old man’s tale!”

“Maybe so but today is the one thousandth summer solstice. I should call the Prince.”

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes. “Boring!”

Jerome went through more channels until he found one with several ponies wearing uniforms and carrying guns in some sort of hallway.

“Talk to me Hicks!” A cigar-chomping zebra sergeant said.

A twitchy blue pegasus was holding a device that was making ringing sounds. “Sir! I am getting movement all over the place!”

“Hicks are you using that right? I don’t see anything!” A grey-burro mare wearing a bandanna and carrying a large gun said.

“Yeah, I’m using it right. Something is moving here and it’s not us!” Hicks said while partially unfurling his wings.

A male griffin with panic filled golden eyes swung his rifle left and right. “Wha what do we do now sir?”

The sergeant drawled. “Stay frosty, stay frosty.”

Margot couldn’t believe what she was seeing and hearing. Then the aliens appeared, the burro shouted “Let’s rock!” and things went south. She glanced at the couch, all of the fillies there were staring in fascination at the TV. Even Far and Nga'Devro were watching. She tapped Skybreeze but she shook her head. Margot headed off to the kitchen.

It looked like a kitchen back on Earth except for the size. For some reason, there were a lot of small buttons on the microwave and the oven. Again they were too small for hooves. Margot wondered how ponies were able to touch them. From the pictures she guessed that David was the brown stallion in the pictures. A growl from her stomach made her decide to fuss with the mystery later. Some sort of meal needed to be made.

She opened the fridge. The stench of rotting food wafted out. White, green and even pink mold grew out of some chinese food containers. A multicolored string stretched from the door like it was trying to escape and spread.

Jerome tried to cover his nose. “Ya know, I hope that’s not the gourmet meal you promised us.”

Skybreeze grimaced. “Maybe we can kill it with fire?”

Margot shook her head. “Maybe later. Let’s see if there are any canned goods here. Hopefully none of the cans bulge.” Then she looked at Jerome, Nga'Devro and Far who watched her from the doorway. “Jerome, you can’t have cheese without mold.”

Jerome just shook his head. “I’ll pass.”

Far shook his head. “I never liked cheese, it smells funny.”

Nga'Devro smiled. “Nga'Devro prefers a runny cheese like a Shetland.”

Jerome and Far looked at Nga'Devro.

Nga'Devro just looked back.

Margot closed the fridge door. She gingerly opened the freezer door. Other than some ice, she found several boxes of vegetarian burritos. Emboldened by her success, she checked out the cabinets. In almost no time, she had several pots filled with bow-tie pasta, burritos and tomato sauce. When the food was done, Margot left the kitchen to see if anypony was hungry.

She saw a poor female griffin pilot get killed by an alien. Margot went back to cooking. A lot of thoughts went through her head. It seemed like this world was like the one she left except it was filled with ponies and other creatures. Margot wondered if there were humans on this world while she searched around for bowls for everypony.

A half hour later, they had dinner. Well, some ponies ate while others watched the movie. Margot, Jerome and Skybreeze ate. The other ponies were too busy to eat. When it was over, She filled the bowls and the other ponies ate then she walked into the living room.

Margot noticed that some sections of the beige carpet looked faded and worn. She checked out the other rooms and saw that the wearing was in other places too. Deep down, Margot had a feeling that this was important, but she didn’t know why.

Scootaloo slurped up the last of her soup to Skybreeze’s annoyance. “Jerome can we see another movie?”

Jerome looked at the clock on the kitchen wall. “I dunno, it’s kinda late for young fillies. You guys stay up to ten thirty?”

Scootaloo stood up proudly. “We stay up late all the time!”

Skybreeze hid a yawn behind a forehoof.

Margot walked back into the kitchen. “I think we should take turns being on watch. This place may not be safe.”

Jerome looked at Margot. “Ya think ya might be a bit paranoid?”

Nga'Devro stood up. “Nga'Devro agrees and volunteers for the first shift.”

Far fished out a bit of pasta and ate it. “Yeah, it makes sense. Count me in.”

Skybreeze used her telekinesis to pick up the empty bowls and placed them in the sink. “I will also stand guard if I am needed.”

Jerome sighed. “Count me in too.”

Sweetie Belle yawned. “Where are we going to sleep?”

Far looked at Apple Bloom. “Maybe you three could share a bed?”

Apple Bloom nodded. “Yeah, if Scootaloo doesn’t thrash too much.”

Scootaloo looked up from her bowl. “Hey!”

Sweetie Belle just nodded then she yawned again.

Margot left the table to see if there was a linen closet. She found one that was across from the bedroom then she came back to the kitchen. “I can get some bedsheets and put them on the carpet so nopony has to sleep directly on it. I don’t know when it was cleaned.” She got the linens out while Skybreeze cleaned up.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo squabbled a bit on who would get the first position on the bed before Apple Bloom won. Then they went to the bedroom.

Far checked out the couch, it didn’t turn into a bed, but he said he could sleep in it.

Nga'Devro stayed on watch while the other ponies went to sleep.

Margot picked a place next to the bedroom, but off to the side. This way if any of the SHC had to go to the bathroom, they wouldn’t disturb her.

While Margot’s eyes slowly closed she worried about what to do for breakfast and what would happen in the morning. They still didn’t get enough info on what happened to the city. The worries faded as Margot went to sleep.

Comments

[ferret]

Her orange eyes were wide with curiosity.

Scootaloo's eyes are violet, by the way. Don't worry, the show gets hers mixed up with Apple Bloom's all the time.

“I’m sorry about how I behaved, but the portal to the other world won’t stay open much longer.

The Prophetess can open portals?

[sevenofeleven]

8545603

The Prophetess can open portals?

No, she can't. The Messenger did it.
I wonder if I have to say that.