Lairs & Lycanthropy: Revival

by NeoNagasaki

Interpose

The yellow druid first looked right, then left. How did ponies exist in this kind of environment? These ponies lived here and here she was having trouble just visiting. To the right was a long hallway with a grey floor, wooden walls, and evenly spaced lights; To her left...was a long hallway with a grey floor and evenly spaced lights! In fact, the last ten hallways she’d run through were long hallways with grey floors and evenly spaced lights!

The grove was simple: every tree and rock formation looked unique. If she was dropped anywhere in the forest she could make her way to where she needed to be. Some idiot had designed every hallway to look exactly the same. The building designers probably had a mapmaking business on the side. They probably all sat around a table in the dark wearing black robes and laughing about how people would need them to design maps to navigate through their stupid labyrinth! Oh, how she hated the evil mapmaking building designers...Well, hate was a strong word, but she certainly wasn’t pleased!

Finally she looked down another hallway and saw something different, a wider open area with a massive window overlooking it. Blessed Druantia, she’d finally found it! Twilight was smart, surely she’d help with the trip back. The yellow mare rushed into the open area and froze. The window didn’t hold a her two friends at the controls like she had expected. The window held a brown coated stallion wearing a labcoat speaking to somepony further back in the room. A lump quickly formed in Fluttershy’s throat as she realized something had happened to Twilight and Rarity.

What was she supposed to do now? She needed to get her friends, but how could she do that with some other pony in the way? Before it was simple, they could smash out the window and lower a rope down. Now, however, Fluttershy would need to find some way to smash the window from this side, then she’d have to fight whatever was in the room. Could she even get into the room? The window was a good distance up and even if she grew into her wolven form she couldn’t jump up there.

Quickly the mare paced back and forth, she couldn’t just wait here; she needed to make a decision. When a pony made the wrong decision things got worse, but being indecisive meant not even having a chance of making the right decision. Why did she have to make a decision, she wasn’t qualified in any way! The mare let out an audible whimper and she lowered her head. No; she couldn’t do this, but she could go find someone who could. Pinkie would know what to do, that pink mare always had a plan!

With that, Fluttershy turned about and bolted down a hallway, several moments later arriving back in the same room. In frustration she shut her eyes and grit her teeth. All she wanted to do was find out where Pinkie went! Was that so hard? Fluttershy's eyes jerked open as she looked around in confusion. For a moment she could have sworn Pinkie was in this room. Tentatively she closed her eyes again and waited, and again she was overcome with the idea Pinkie was in this room. With a start she realised she was sniffing the air in search for Pinkie’s scent. Quietly she tried to block out her other senses while she focused on the smells around her. Yes! Yes that was what Pinkie smelled like, and after concentrating she could pick out the smells of Rainbow Dash and Applejack and even delicious fish! Oh wait, that was her own fur. How could she not have noticed how distinctively each of her friends had smelled? It almost seemed silly now that she noticed it. For some reason she’d been focusing on using her eyes to notice things while ignoring such obvious and amazing senses.

Her head swiveled as she looked down a hallway with a grey floor, wooden walls, evenly spaced lights...and the smell of her friends! Hurriedly the mare dashed down the hallway, stopping only to sniff the ground every time she was worried she’d lost track of where to go. With something to follow it took a remarkably shorter time to find the room with all the plants. Pinkie’s scent was strong here, but it was also everywhere.

A pink maned head popped into the room and looked around before dejectedly leaving. Pinkie wasn’t there. All of her friends had probably gotten together to meet at the escape pods, so that’s where Fluttershy needed to be. Hastily she rushed down the hallway in a desperate bid to find them, then stopped. Slowly the pony backpedaled to the door of the lab she opened and took a closer look at what was inside.

The interior was not only filled with a sprawling ivy as she expected, but also strange webs and three large white cocoons attached to the wall. Her gaze swept across the room and stopped on the centre. The Elements of Harmony were still there, so Pinkie had to be as well - there was no way she would have left them behind.

Hesitantly Fluttershy stepped into the room and glanced around. Her heart thumped furiously in her chest even as she saw she was alone. Slowly she stepped up to the table and looked down upon the reason they came here in the first place. A hoof reached out and touched the golden choker with the butterfly gem on it. Wistfully she looked back at her bare flank, it had once bore a similar symbol, and once this was over it would again.

Forlorn remembrances were instantly cut short as movement caught her eye. One of the cocoons had wiggled, she was sure of it. What was in them anyway? It was far too large to be a caterpillar, but there were so many wonderful creatures on Earth she couldn’t rule it out.

The choker was set back on the table as she moved towards the cocoon. A hint of curiosity filled her as she watched it wiggle, why would scientists keep three cocoons out here if one of them was still alive? They kept every other animal locked up tight, why be so casual with this one? Slowly she bent forward and stiffed the cocoon...Pinkie? The cocoon smelled of-

Her thoughts were cut short as something struck. It was there and gone before Fluttershy even had a chance to see it. With a yell of surprise she stumbled sideways but fell as her front legs refused to leave the ground. In a panic she forced herself onto all four hooves looking about in each direction, but there was nothing to see. Once again her senses told her she was alone in this room, but this time she knew her senses lied.

She pulled quickly on her front legs, but they wouldn’t give. Whatever it was was quiet and fast, no wonder it thought it could attack her. Luckily most ponies would think twice before attacking a wolf twice their size. With a growl Fluttershy quickly shed her puny pony body and adopted her massive wolven form. It was scary how much more often it was useful to be a monster than a pony.

Pain in the form of pinpricks shot across her left flank moments before it struck at her from that direction. It landed and even as Fluttershy barked and lashed out, it zipped around her, covering her midsection in a coat of webbing before vanishing again.

Panting in panic Fluttershy looked around. The room was silent save for the sound of the wiggling cocoon and smelling the air only told her that yes, it was still here. The thing was too fast and quiet, she needed to see it, all she needed was one solid hit.

A prickling pain shot up and down her back, causing her to look up as it dropped from the ceiling and began tying her up again. Viciously she thrashed about, throwing the spider off. Her entire body was starting to feel stiff, even the weight of all the webbing it was leaving behind slowed her somewhat.

The beast stopped and let out a slow breath. She didn’t stand a chance seeking it out and fighting it fairly, so instead she would attack on instinct. Her eyes closed as she stood still and waited. After only twenty seconds or so she felt prickling pain shoot up and down her right hind leg. Without thinking she adjusted, raised her back legs and bucked. Fluttershy felt her claws slide into the spider’s body and tear it open. Even as she looked back the thing’s terrible screams met her ears. It screamed in a high pitched whine as it staggered into tables before pitching onto the floor, it’s legs curling up around it.

In thirty seconds Fluttershy had torn the webbing off of her paws and moved to make sure it was dead. The closer she approached the more painful the feeling became, her body yelled at her to stop, but she had to know it wasn’t getting back up. Her paw swatted the thing over as she viewed it.

Upon seeing it’s back she cringed and moved away. The feeling of piercing needles running over her had been...wolfsbane? Somehow this spider had bits of the purple flower ground into it’s back. Wolfsbane...what a horrible plant! A plant so vile that it’s very presence could cause pain to another creature. Fluttershy had never hated a plant before, even the venus flytraps, but this plant deserved to be wiped from existence.

Fluttershy’s ear twitched as she picked up on some sound from further out in the hallway. She gave a quick look back at the cocoons hanging on the wall, but they were safe now and could wait. Slowly she peeked out of the door and stopped, some distance down the hallway were a squadron of marines setting up to rush into another room.

Heart now pounding the young mare pulled herself back inside. Instinctively she reached out and flipped the switch on her door, forcing it shut once more. Who knew, maybe it would hold them off. There was no way they were all going to make it to the escape pods alive. If they had control of the main room they might not even be able to use the pods. Her wolven form withered as she tried to steady her breathing. This wasn’t her responsibility, she was here to help, but Pinkie...she would know what to do!

Quickly she rushed across the room to Pinkie’s pod and pulled out her sharpened rock. With a quick swallow she carefully sawed the outside of the cocoon, then pulled it open. Inside a blue eye popped open within a massive mound of messy mane. “Fluttershy?” Pinkie’s voice asked.

Even though the dire situation Fluttershy’s heart jumped, Pinkie was okay, and there was hope. “Um...Pinkie?” Fluttershy said quietly, “The hallways are full of ponies and Twilight and Rarity are stuck. Could you tell me what to do...if you don’t mind?”

A Pink hoof burst from the cocoon and caused Fluttershy to jump in surprise. A pink hoof latched onto Fluttershy’s trophy necklace and pulled her close. “Fluttershy!” Pinkie said forcefully, earning her the yellow mare’s rapt attention, “Listen closely, get the others and get ready to run to the stairs, you understand me? War is coming and you don’t have a lot of time!” With another tug the chain on Fluttershy’s necklace snapped. A resounding pop filled the room and suddenly the cocoon deflated.

“Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked, pushing her nose into the opening of the cocoon. “Pinkie?” Again she was only answered with silence. A great sadness swept over Fluttershy making her want to curl up and die. Pinkie had abandoned her, taken back her necklace and abandoned her. Left the three of them to fight a war against hundreds of marines...no. No she couldn’t think like that. She had asked Pinkie what to do and Pinkie had told her. She had to trust her friend’s words, was there any other option?

Steadying her breath, Fluttershy moved to the next cocoon and slit it open. The moment the inside pouch broke a loud voice erupted from inside “...going to rip each and every leg off and shove it up your spidery ass!”

Fluttershy blushed hotly as she continued cutting, “Um...Rainbow. Are you okay?”

The screaming stopped momentarily before Rainbow spoke in a far more even tone, “Fluttershy? You’re alive?”

With a small smile Fluttershy pulled the slit apart to look her friend in the face “I hope so.” Then she continued cutting.

“Okay.” Rainbow said quickly, “I’ve got a real dagger in my right hoof, if you can cut that free I can help you...wait there’s a spider that you don’t even see coming. You’ve got to get out of here before it comes back.”

“The spider’s dead.” Fluttershy said as she moved her stone to cut carefully at the webbing on Rainbow’s right foreleg.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Rainbow’s foreleg got free. “How...how did that happen?” Rainbow asked quietly as a fancy silver dagger punched out of the cocoon and started slicing.

“Oh um...” Fluttershy’s mind floundered. The last time she had asked Rainbow and Applejack about killing they said they could do it because they were soldiers, but Fluttershy was no soldier. When she talked to Derpy about it Derpy said she could do it because she was a monster. Ironically Derpy said that it might take a monster to make the world safe for ponies like Fluttershy. As the spider lay behind her still oozing blood out of it’s still warm corpse Fluttershy could not help but admit that assertion was correct. However, Fluttershy didn’t want everypony to know what she’d become to make the world safer. How could they ever look at her the same again? So she did something she’d gotten better at since she’d come to this fake world, she lied. “Pinkie killed it.”

“That makes sense.” Rainbow said as she sliced the cocoon open enough to begin wriggling out, “I’d thought....I’d thought...” With a grunt, Rainbow pulled herself out of the cocoon and stood up to look Fluttershy over, “I thought we’d lost you Fluttershy...how much of that blood is yours?”

For a moment Fluttershy stopped and looked down at her coat. Now that she was paying attention she could see she was almost as red as she was yellow. One benefit was that it could help hide all her blushing, “Very little, I haven’t been hurt much...but the hallway is filling up with marines.”

“Fu-” Rainbow started, but caught Fluttershy’s gaze, “Uuuuuh...damn. Come on I’m going to grab the Elements, you start cutting Applejack free.” Rainbow moved hastily away as Fluttershy darted to the next cocoon, carefully slicing into the outer web.

“Pinkie told me to get you guys free and to be ready to run.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes, “Yeah, well I don’t see her here. She’s self serving Fluttershy, she probably just took the opportunity to escape. She might even be using us as a distraction.”

“What?” The druid asked, “Pinkie’s our friend!”

“Pinkie...” Rainbow sighed, “Look Fluttershy this world has changed us, and not all of us for the better. It’s made Pinkie...into something else. The last time we fought Discord he turned me against you guys. He did that to me and I’d die before I let some high and mighty superior being take the world away from ponies for what they think is right. If he could do that to me, isn’t it possible she’s not the pony we knew anymore?”

“Ponies change,” Fluttershy said, “But that doesn’t mean Pinkie did. You said on the boat a week ago that you were glad to know she wouldn’t turn her back on you when things got bloody. All we really have anymore is friendship. If we can’t even trust each other there’s nothing left to believe in.”

Rainbow’s face softened, but the conversation turned away from that as the cocoon was pulled open. Inside the upside down Applejack groaned, “All the blood’s gone ‘ta my head girls. I’m mighty dizzy, couldja get me out?”

A voice from the back of the room called out calmly, “Agreed, take her out.” Fluttershy and Rainbow turned about as twenty marines raised their crossbows simultaneously. After a moment the one wearing a slightly different uniform spoke again, “Wait...bad choice of words, sorry. Please remove her from the...whatever that is.”

With a snarl Rainbow dropped the dagger and put a hoof on her longsword. Naturally this prompted each marine to bring their crossbows to eye level and focus all of their attention on her. Instinctively Fluttershy stepped in the way, rearing up to full height and throwing her arms out. She stared into Rainbow Dash’s eyes even as she felt the sights of twenty crossbow burning into her back. “Rainbow...Even if you’re ready to die here...I’m not ready for that.”

Rainbow stiffened and grit her teeth, “We’ll be prisoners of Discord.”

Fluttershy nodded, “But Discord doesn’t kill ponies. Please Rainbow, don’t leave me.”

A moment passed, but Rainbow’s hoof lowered to the floor to pick up the dagger. “I...surrender.” She spat as she stood and finished cutting Applejack free.

“Come on now.” The leader of this group of marines said, “Cuff them and take their weapons. We need to get back up in case something happens with those ships.”

“What ships?” Applejack asked, but received only a withering gaze in return.

In turn each of them were relieved of their weapons. As the marine moved to Fluttershy he took out a set of manacles. Instinctively the mare jerked away with a cry of horror, causing his two friends to level loaded crossbows at her face.

Slowly she sank back down “I...I’m a druid.” she explained in a voice barely above a whisper.

The marine hesitated, then turned to look back at his leader. The lead pony sighed as he rubbed a hoof between his eyes, “Do it anyway, we don’t have time for special treatment the base is in trouble. We lock them all up and sort it out later, if the Viceroy is angry I’ll take full responsibility.”

The marine turned back and gave Fluttershy and apologetic look as he held out the shackles. “I’m sorry warden.” he muttered, “But we have our orders, please don’t make it worse.”

Her yellow shaking hooves slowly descended into the shackles before they snapped shut. Instantly the world felt cold, empty, and miserable. She let out a cry of surprise and fear as the world faded into this new drab existence. Slowly her hooves lowered to the ground as the marines surrounded them.

They marched down the grey hallway with the brown floor and evenly spaced lights with about as much speed as could be allowed when wearing manacles. “So...” The leader of the marines said, “Any chance you’ll tell me why you were taking these?” his hoof patted against the saddlebags he was now wearing. “Surely there are easier things you could have tried to steal than gold necklaces from a military base.”

Rainbow let out a harsh snort, “They’re ours. Viceroy Shadowflame stole them from us.”

“Mmmmmhmmm I don’t think that excuse is going to go over very well. Viceroy Shadowflame is nobility, he’s allowed to take whatever he wants. It’s the law.”

“Your law can go fuck itself.” Rainbow spat, then threw a glance over to Fluttershy, “Er...sorry Fluttershy.”

The marine leader shook his head, “That’s the problem with you types, you can’t see that law and order are the only-”

The double doors they were passing exploded open as a furious roar erupted across the hallway. Six or seven ponies were sent sprawling from the impact and every other pony staggered away in surprise. The manticore that ripped the door open struck, leaving a blood trail across the wall as a pony was ripped clean in half and thrown far away.

The pony leader took a step back in shock, but raised to his full height as he drew a sword, “Stallions! Rally on -hurk!” his order was cut off as Rainbow leapt onto his back and wrapped the chain around his neck and pulled. Most of the marines had turned away to face the beast and barely noticed, and the few who turned to stop her didn’t seem willing to shoot at her through their leader’s thrashing body.

The manticore’s tail raced down and stuck viciously into a marine’s neck and sent him sprawling to the floor, choking as he crawled away. A spray of bolts slammed into the beast and drew blood, but that just seemed to make it angrier as it began chasing then down and brutally murdering them one at a time.

The choking marine struggled as his sword bounced uselessly against the floor and walls before he fell back to the ground. Fluttershy watched as he reached for a knife on his flank. Instinctively Fluttershy turned about, reared up her hind legs and bucked him in the face as hard as she could. When she turned back the stallion had stopped moving. The manticore charged down the hallway angrily chasing down the fleeing marines, but the few remaining ones finished reloading their crossbows and aimed them at her friends.

The door burst open as an owlbear lumbered out. Whether on purpose or in surprise a bolt slammed into it’s shoulder and it turned on them. With a cry of feral hatred the beast rushed the remaining marines, spraying blood as it slashed and cut. Applejack was already at Rainbow’s side when Fluttershy got there.

Applejack fumbled with the manacle keys as she swiftly freed Rainbow, “There’s sixty or so of those beasties on this floor far as I can tell. If they’re all gettin’ out...”

“I know!” Rainbow screamed, throwing the marine’s body to the side as she retrieved her saddlebags. Applejack freed herself, then freed Fluttershy.

The sounds of screaming filled the hallways, not just from their area, but in all the hallways. If the marines had sent several teams down here then they were in for an all out...war. Fluttershy blinked as she looked to her friends “Pinkie said to be ready to run for the stairs! We need to go!”

“What?” Rainbow asked, “We need to get to the escape pods!”

From inside the room to their left came ten audible clicks in rapid succession. “Was that...” Rainbow started, but Fluttershy had already rushed past her, screaming in horror the entire way.

It wasn’t long at all before her friends were right behind her, Applejack screaming, and Rainbow holding the hilt of the officer’s blade in her teeth. Several times they actually passed contingents of marines that completely ignored them when face with some other horrible threat. Eventually they actually made it to the staircase, at one point the staircase had been barricaded with armed troops poised to stop anypony from leaving. Now however the barricades were torn apart and the scores of dead bodies were the only evidence this place put up a fight.

Without even pausing they barreled through and rushed up the stairs. Finally, panting they made it to the top and Rainbow sat her sword down. “Now what?” She asked.

Fluttershy shrugged “Maybe we can get to the water and find our boat?” she asked.

Applejack shook her head morosely, “It’s early morning Fluttershy, and they know we’re around here. I don’t see much chance of us....wait, do y’all hear that?” The sounds of battle still sounded in the air...but now that Fluttershy thought about it that didn’t make much sense, the fighting was seventeen floors down. Where was this coming from?

Rainbow pushed the door ajar and looked out onto the deck. Fluttershy strained to look through it and gave a half smile of surprise. The deck was a flurry of ponies in combat. Half wore the red and black uniforms bearing the red cloud inside a shield of Viceroy Shadowflame. The other half wore the yellow crown inside a star of the Starsoul Knights. Of the ponies wearing that crest were several fully plate clad warriors with shimmering magical blades. Celestia’s forces and the Starsoul Knights themselves had arrived.

Comments

[NeoNagasaki]

1966993
Sorry to disappoint, I flipped back and forth between doing the (Rarity/Twilight) thing or this and decided it would be best to resolve this first. Dash's listening skills are superb, she was a monk once so wisdom isn't her dump stat. The threat of the monster is that it is so quiet and fast no one can see it coming. It's not a sleight on Dash's abilities, it's a testament to how dangerous this thing is.

1965829
I'm sorry, I try not to always end chapters on cliffhangers, but sometimes it seems appropriate. I need to write the story the way it should be written when it's done. After all, in a few months when everyone has finished reading this and my story fades into obscurity forever, the only one who will care how it was written will be me.