Power Through Deceit

by FrostyDawn

Altered Bridge

Applejack had been through the Everfree forest numerous times, growing less afraid of it every time. She was terrified of the forest before, and the sole person who lives there, the rhyming herbalist Zecora. Applejack approached Zecora's house, knocking on the door.

A few seconds later, Zecora opened the door with a charming smile. "Ah, hello young Applejack. What brings you by my forest shack?" She asked, welcoming her inside.

"Howdy, Zecora. We need you to create more of an elixir for us." Applejack said, showing Zecora the syringe. There was still antidote inside, but less since Rarity cured Applejack. "You can do that, right?"

Zecora blinked, and eyed the strange purple liquid. "Crafting some potions is easy, even for one like you. Replicating is harder to do." She said. "But there is something that I wish to ask. Why are you so interested in this task?"

Applejack sighed. "It's a long story. Basically, those mercenaries are alive, and one of them's infected with somethin' nasty. This here's the antidote. We wanna make more to cure anyone we can." She explained.

Zecora's eyes widened at the mention of the mercenaries. "So they are alive and well? I suppose I could try, from what you tell." She said, pulling up a small cauldron.

"Thanks, Zecora. Mighty fine, havin' ya help out." Applejack said, watching Zecora hard at work. The herbalist quickly gathered a myriad of ingredients, fine powders, several swirled liquids, and small jars and pouches of leaves and petals.

Zecora started grinding leaves, dissolving powders in mixtures, and creating a second brew. Then, Zecora took the syringe, and gently pushed a small purple drop of the antidote into the new mixture. The two compounds reacted almost instantly, creating a second bucket full of the antidote.

Applejack smiled. "Land sakes! That's amazing!" She said.

Zecora proudly grinned. "You're quite welcome, my friend. The sickness this potion will surely mend."

As Applejack picked up the cauldron, she noticed the liquid bubbling and swirling on its own. "Uh... Zecora? Is it supposed to to that?" She asked.

Before she could be answered, a gooey shape similar to a human hand erupted from the pot, and flailed in the air. It was nearly human, but seemed to be completely made from goo. Shocked, Applejack shrieked dropped the cauldron, backing into a corner. The cauldron spilled onto its side, and used the arm to pull itself toward Applejack.

Zecora quickly intervened, grabbing a cloth sack and sprinkling a red powder on the slimy hand. The appendage froze, and went limp, before Zecora picked the cauldron back up and the hand melted into a potion once more.

"What in Sam Hill was that?!" Applejack said as she felt her heart pounding in her chest.

"My sincerest apologies. I'm afraid I used to many Slydek Berries." Zecora said, handing the cauldron and syringe to Applejack, still shaken from the incident. Zecora then handed Applejack her small powder pouch. "There's no telling when it'll lose control. Use this to keep the potion whole."

"Thanks, Zecora. I just hope this doesn't backfire on me." The cowgirl muttered. The jungle mystic nodded, and Applejack carefully carried the vat back to Twilight's library.

Applejack pushed the door open, setting the new antidote "Howdy, Spike. How's that bug watchin' goin'?" she asked.

Spike, however, was laying in his bed, and peaked down the staircase as Applejack called to him. "Bug watching? Oh, right. That's fine. Nothin's leaving my sights." He nonchalantly said.

Applejack didn't buy it. "You didn't get distracted, did ya?" She asked skeptically.

"Of course not! I was keeping an eye on it the whole time!" Spike said. "See, I still have the key." he said, waving it.

Applejack walked up the stairs, and took the key from him. "Did ya actually use the key?"

"Well... you bet I did." Spike said nervously.

Applejack fit the key in the lock, and popped open the chest Twilight sealed the bug in. The stack of books was still there, so Applejack shifted them off, and gasped. It was just a hole. A hole that bore straight through the glass jar, through the bottom of the chest, and even burrowing through the wall itself! The gap was about an inch in diameter, and the edges dripped of a green, sizzling substance.

<><><><><><><><>

Bee Cave, Texas, U.S.A.

Rarity and Fluttershy found themselves in a dark room. The sounds of crickets chirping sounded in the air, along with a draft and the smell of meat grilling.

"Where are we? Is that... animals being cooked!?" Fluttershy squeaked, the mere thought of an animals being roasted over a fire frightening her.

"Relax, Fluttershy. I'm sure there's an explanation. Let's just find a way out of here, first." Rarity said, patting the wooden walls for any sort of opening. She found one, and pressed it open, letting some light into the room. It was a tool shed, filled with metal pieces and equipment.

On the outside, Rarity was a little surprised to see where they ended up. She saw a vast field, stretching on for a while. The sun was setting, leaving one half of the sky a dim orange and the other, a deep purple, twinkling with the stars overhead. They had emerged from a wooden shack, in the backyard of a small, wide house. Between the shack and the house, was a fireplace. A large fire was in place, its orange wisps crackling against a large piece of meat, rotating on a metal rod. But there was one thing Rarity hadn't noticed until now. A guitar. An acoustic guitar playing a gentle, southern song.

The owner of the guitar was a man sitting in a lawn chair in front of the fireplace. He was just casually strumming it, not even needing to look down at the strings as a wide cowboy hat brimmed over his eyes.

Fluttershy managed to speak up. "Uh... mister?" she said softly. The man stopped playing and looked up.

"Well, Ah'll be a monkey's uncle! Ah remember you!" He said, a wide grin on his face. "Yur them gals that helped out with them robots! What brings y'all 'round here?" He said.

Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Hello, mister, uh... Engineer. Aren't you curious as to how we got here?"

"Nope." He said bluntly. "Ah aint surprised, with all that magic y'all be usin'. And by the way, call me Dell."

"Um, mister Dell, what exactly are cooking there?" Fluttershy whimpered, pointing toward the large hunk of meat.

Dell smiled. "Heh. Ain't it purty? That there is the tenderest chunk of cow I ever did see. Slathered in barbecue sauce, and slow roasted to medium-well. Care for a bite?" He offered.

Fluttershy whimpered, and shook her head. "No thank you. I'm a vegetarian." she finally said.

Dell's smile faded into a blank expression. "Oh. Well then." He said.

"As am I. We don't really kill animals for food in Ponyville." Rarity added.

"Ah, well. More for me." Dell said. "Now, why are you two here again?"

"We're looking for Rainbow Dash. We think she came to Earth, and we have to get her back." Fluttershy, trying her best not to look at the roasting beef.

"Rainbow Dash, eh? That's that gal with the colored hair, right?" Dell said, resuming to strum his guitar. "I reckon I heard the Scout mention her before we all went out separate ways. Sumthin' about remembering each other. Ah didn't really listen. Why're ya trying to get her back? She misbehavin' or what?"

"Actually, we're trying to protect her." Fluttershy muttered.

"From what?"

Rarity took a deep breath. "From the same virus that drove the Medic insane."

Dell stopped strumming. "Sawbones? Ah always knew he was a little off."

"It's worse than that. He tried to kill me. Or... something worse." Rarity whimpered, which got Dell's full attention.

"He what?! Sawbones wouldn't kill anyone! Well, maybe those damn BLUs back in the war, but that's different! Why would he try an hurt a gal like you?"

"I don't know. His eyes were orange and he said something about feeding a queen... I was just so scared. But we have an antidote! If we can cure the Medic before he dies, we can make all this right." Rarity said hopefully.

"What?! You didn't say Sawbones was gonna die!" Dell shouted.

"Uh... yea. It's part of the poison. We have to act fast. The quicker we find the Medic, the sooner we can end this."

"Well, Rarity, what if one of those bugs poisoned someone else? Or... what if he infected somebody?" Fluttershy asked.

"Look, I wanna help you gals. Ah cant let one of mah teammates die on mah watch." The Engineer said, setting his guitar down. "Take me back to Equestria. I'll help you, ah promise."

Rarity sighed. "Alright. Perhaps Twilight has had better luck than we did." She said, motioning Fluttershy and Dell closer. She shut her eyes, and visualized Ponyville. A bright light started to glow near her forehead, and soon, the three of them were gone in a flash.

<><><><><><><><><>

Boston, M.A., U.S.A.

Rainbow Dash felt her blood chill as the dark winged figure glared at them from the building's corner. Scout tugged at her arm. "Dash, we gotta go! Now!" he yelled, sprinting down the alleyway with Rainbow Dash short behind.

"What the hay is that thing!?" She asked frantically.

"You remember that one guy of our team? The one who likes to set things on fire?" He asked.

"You don't mean-?!"

"Yeah... that's the Pyro!" Scout said, and everything came back to Rainbow Dash. Her fellow pegasus-friend, Derpy Hooves worked alongside the Pyro, and often referred to him as "Smokey". But know, as Rainbow Dash glanced back, she regretted it.

The Pyro was chasing after then, his eyes and hands glowing a dim orange with fire, despite the harsh rain. Even the wing-like parts on his back were colored a bright reddish orange, as waves of heat emanated. His gas mask had changed as well, with a white mask over his face, and colored like a skull.

"What's with those wings?! He can't actually fly with those, can he?!" Rainbow asked, as they continued to dart through the alleys.

Scout turned back, but the Pyro wasn't there, instead, he was high in the air, a flash of lightning crashing behind him. "Uh.... he can now!" He said, as the Pyro streaked toward them at a downward angle. He collided with Scout, causing him to trip and slide on the ground. The Pyro had one hand grasping the Scout's neck, and the other, was set ablaze in a ball of fire.

"The guilty shall burn..." A eerie, deep voice said, coming from the Pyro.

Comments

[RhesusPeace]

Pyro is insane now?

Everyone is DED.

[ChromChilled]

2307804 Forget that, he can talk!!!!! EVERYONE RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[RhesusPeace]

...now that I think about it, you didn't base Pyro off of, say, this guy, did you?

[FrostyDawn]

2312000 Yes... but I also wanted him to have a Wraith Wrap too.

[Warrior Kitten]

My god, corrupted pyro!

[HorrorYen]

Run b**** RUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNn