The hardest lesson for Twilight may not be found in the books
The scroll was from Princess Celestia judging from the seal, however the letters were garbled and sickly written. The message, though hard to read, was short and sent chills down Twilight's spine. She rolled up the scroll and darted into the library shoving Pinky Pie and Rainbow Dash to the side in the process. They had grumbled but Twilight had no time to make out what they had said.
Twilight retrieved her saddle bag from a storage closed on the ground floor of the library. The library was dimly lit from the sun peaking through the windows. Twilight didn't need any light to know where the books that she wanted to grab were located. Books of remedies and various magical spells were quickly crammed into the small saddle bag filling it to capacity. Rushing up the stairs to her room, Twilight chanted the self made locking spell that unlocked the bar safe that held her crown. After retrieving the crown she returned out side, slamming the library door behind her.
“What ever did the letter say”, Rarity said half yawning.
Twilight turned around slightly annoyed of Rarity's lethargic attitude with the seriousness of the situation being as it was. She unrolled the scroll and held it for them to read the garbled text. “It says 'HELP US'!”
Summers in the Equestria were always slightly muggy. The air felt thick and smelt musty from the molds that developed from the increased moisture. Never the less the temperatures always remained comfortable. It was never too hot and there was just enough breeze to keep the flying bugs from sticking around. Dew had remained on the plants in the morning from the evening showers glistening in the sun of a new day. Anypony could tell that it was going to be a wonderful day.
Twilight woke up early as the sun was just coming over the horizon. Although she was now considered a princess, she preferred the familiar surroundings of the library. Among the rows of books she felt at home. With the precision of an architect she made her bed ever so quietly as not to disturb her sleeping friend Spike.
The room had not changed much over the years save for the tokens of the adventures Twilight had been on. The tokens had been placed along the shelves that lined the room. However she reserved a spot on one of the shelves for a small cage like safe where she placed her Element of Harmony. Twilight was determined never to lose the crown again. She took a brief moment to reflect on the events that transpired at the Crystal Kingdom several months ago, and shook her head to clear her thoughts. She wanted to practice a bit of flying in before the day got too busy.
Out side of the library the small town was slowly waking up. Several of the shops already had their doors open however most of the residences still had the shutters pulled on their windows. Twilight stretched out her wings to work out the cramps and with a few quick steps she began her flight.
Twilight had been receiving instructions from Rainbow Dash. They were currently working a regimented training program that, as Rainbow Dash had said, 'will have you doing sonic rainbooms by the end of a month'. Twilight was skeptical of the promised results, however if it did not work it would not be from a lack of trying. She had started with the warmup maneuvers and steadily increased the pace until she was flying the whole practice routine from start to finish.
Rainbow Dash was an intense trainer. While the routine could be easily accomplished by anypony that could fly, for a pony that had spent her whole life on the ground, Twilight found the routine far from easy. She had all but mastered high speed turns and doing loops in the air. Weaving in between trees was a bit more difficult to master as small scrapes and scratches from collisions with the trees could attest to. Outside of small cuts and bumps, Twilight had never received any grievous injuries despite the difficulty of the training regimen. She enjoyed flying and the sense of freedom it brought.
An hour had passed from the time Twilight had started until the time she landed in front of the library. The town was in full swing and the town ponies were busy bustling around their daily chores. Twilight was surprised to find Apple Jack, Rarity, Flutter Shy and Rainbow Dash waiting for her at the entrance of the library. It looks as if Spike was dragging an almost asleep Pinky Pie behind him and had just arrived himself.
“Twilight” Spike shouted, “We have a problem!” He handed over a scroll which Twilight levitated over with magic to read.
The scroll was from Princess Celestia judging from the seal, however the letters were garbled and sickly written. The message, though hard to read, was short and sent chills down Twilight's spine. She rolled up the scroll and darted into the library shoving Pinky Pie and Rainbow Dash to the side in the process. They had grumbled but Twilight had no time to make out what they had said.
Twilight retrieved her saddle bag from a storage closed on the ground floor of the library. The library was dimly lit from the sun peaking through the windows. Twilight didn't need any light to know where the books that she wanted to grab were located. Books of remedies and various magical spells were quickly crammed into the small saddle bag filling it to capacity. Rushing up the stairs to her room, Twilight chanted the self made locking spell that unlocked the bar safe that held her crown. After retrieving the crown she returned out side, slamming the library door behind her.
“What ever did the letter say”, Rarity said half yawning.
Twilight turned around slightly annoyed of Rarity's lethargic attitude with the seriousness of the situation being as it was. She unrolled the scroll and held it for them to read the garbled text. “It says 'HELP US'!”
Silence from the group was broken by a jumble of unintelligible question that Twilight could not possibly know the answers to. She rolled up the scroll and shoved it into her saddle bag. She interrupted the questioning “Get your elements and meet me at the train station. We need to hurry!” The group departed quickly to retrieve their respective elements.
Flying made the trip to the train station quick for Twilight. The ponies that populated the station walked around blissfully ignorant of the cry for help of the princess. Twilight suspected that is what Princess Celestia would have preferred; not burdening her subjects with whatever ailed her. She was strong, pure, and dedicated to her subjects well being; Twilight admired her for these traits.
Twilight had been flagged down by a guard standing at the entrance to the ticket booths. The white pony was clad in golden armor indicating he was from the royal guard. He had a squad of his men clearing a path to the speed train that was for official and emergency use only.
“Use of the speed train has been authorized for you and your party Twilight”, the guard said.
“What is going on”, Twilight asked with consideration not to alert the other ponies in the station of any dire situation.
“You will be briefed in Canterlot. Please hurry, time is of the essence”, the guard replied.
The single car train had been designed from the ground up for quick travel. The thin single row body of the train widened out at the base to allow for a wider wheelbase aiding the stability while taking fast turns. There were no seats in the car to cut down on weight leaving only a thin floor to stand on. Twilight walked to the back of the car to allow room for her friends when they arrived.
The small porthole style windows allowed a small amount of sun light into the train car. Twilight wasted no time in retrieving her book of magic spells. As her friends arrived she did not acknowledge their presence as she poured over the words in the book to make sure she knew every spell in the book. The train would reach Canterlot in a quarter of the time as a normal train would. Time was not something Twilight had to waste on idle chatter.
Canterlot was surrounded by Shining Armor's protection spell. The pink orb engulfed the entire city with the hopes to bar enemies from entering the city. As the train passed through the protection field the ponies received a small jolt. They were to focused on the task ahead to comment on the tickling feeling.
The train station in Canterlot was packed with royal guards. They had cordoned off a large portion of the station from the general public. The guards had prepared a carriage for the ponies to take them directly to the castle. The carriage was pulled by pegssus guards as not to waste time with a less direct path. Shining Armor greeted the ponies as the exited the train.
“Twilight, thank you for arriving so quickly on short notice. There is a disastrous problem” He said as he and the other ponies got on the carriage. “Both the princesses have fallen ill. What we know is it was a planned attack. We have an intruder in custody however the intruder has died. No one knew how he entered the castle but based on the letter we found we know he was the one who infected the Princesses.”
“A letter”, Twilight interjected. The carriage's flight was well underway at this point.
“Yes, it is being studied at the castle. Oddly enough it was addressed to you.”
The short carriage ride ended when they landed outside of the throne room. The guard presence was heaver than usual but that was to be expected given the circumstances. Shining Armor escorted them into the castle.
The air in the throne room smelled of vomit and feces. Curtains were drawn across the windows toning the light down to nothing more than a hazy shadow. Even in the dim light a blood stain could easily be seen in the middle of the carpet that led to the throne. Judging from the streaks of blood leading to a door on the side of the room, what ever had been bleeding had been drug off. From the end of the room continual cries of pain and agony filled the ears of everypony in the room. The sound made Twilight sick.
A medical pony rushed over before any of the ponies could react to the situation. She stood in front of Shining Armor preventing him from from leading the group further into the throne room. “They are not allowed to be here.”
“TWILIGHT” a tortured scream cracked from a cross the room broken up by sobs “Twi...”
Twilight rushed by the medical pony and ran to the side of Princess Celestia. The princess was writhing around in pain on the floor. She was covered in deification and vomit that she had rolled around in during her convulsions. Princess Celestia strained to keep herself stationary while she addressed Twilight.
“I..”, Princess Celestia gurgled out while chocking on saliva and snot running down the back of her throat, “I need you... to get the cure...” Her command ended with a stained groan of pain. Frothy saliva made pink with blood drained out of her mouth as she continued to writhe in pain.
“I will! I promise”, Twilight said tears streaming down her face. The medical pony had returned to Twilight and started forcefully removing her from the room. Twilight directed her attention to the medical pony pushing her out of the room, “Do something! Stop pushing me and do something!”
The pony stopped pushing her for a second and looked into Twilight's eyes, “Don't you think if I could, I already would have”, Twilight began sobbing on the shoulder of the medical pony, “Now I need you to leave the room so I can attend to the Princess.”
Twilight nodded and rejoined the group still by the entrance to the room. The other ponies, with the exception of Shining Armor, were also crying. He nuzzled Twilight and whispered to her “You need to be strong Twiley. The other ponies are going to look to you for strength.”, Twilight whimpered a soft agreement to her brother. She magically retrieved a cloth from her bag to wipe her face and blow her nose with. Shining Armor faced the entire group, “Princess Luna's condition is no better.”
“I want to see the letter”, Twilight said with a quiver in her voice. Shining Armor nodded and escorted the group out of the throne room.
The seven ponies traveled a short distance down the hall to a meeting room. Compared to the throne room it was brightly lit. The cluttered voices of twenty ponies filled the room with a mild droning sound as they discussed the situation. The walls were covered with tapestries that depicted previous generals and captains in heroic stances. The group gathered around a table surrounded by higher ranking guards. In the middle of the table was a piece of parchment stained with blood. The paper itself looked different then what was usually used in Equestria leading Twilight to assume that who ever had done this was not in Equestria. Some of the ponies in Twilight's group of friends were still whimpering from the sight of Princess Celestia.
Twilight did not waste anytime with introduction or chatting with the military officials. She levitated the note off the table and read it aloud.
“My dearest Twilight Sparkle,
By now you and your group of harmonious friends have witnessed the plague that I have bestowed unto Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. It is a fascinating sickness that I constructed to infest the spinal column tricking the brain to receive every in-comming and out-going signal as pain. Do not fret my dear, the sickness is nonlethal and is gene-coded to work only with in the two Princesses. However, it is incurable with magic or herbal remedies and will only continue to get worse as time progresses.
I had always admired their stoic demeanor. The way they can just take it on the chin time and time again for the sake of their subjects. That is why I made this sickness the way I did. To attack their strengths, to cripple their best quality. When I used a similar sickness on test subjects the results where exhilarating. The strongest of the test subjects lasted five days before scumming to madness and running a knife into his head. I could not have hoped a better outcome.
I developed Mr. Shaky, your intruder, to deliver this message to you (as well as the sickness to your princesses). I would not bother asking him questions. I am sure that he has he has degraded at this point to no more than a pile of useless organic tissue. I tried to get him to trow vials of red and blue liquid at the princesses however in trial runs he ended up losing an arm. They were just colored sugar water anyway. Science just looks cooler if you have vials filled with colorful liquid. Ah, well he was 'loosely put together' if you know what I mean.
Anyway let me introduce myself. My equals call me Professor. My subjects call me King. My creations call me God. You can call me by my name, Stalic, since all of these title are better than you deserve and I would ask that you not sully the titles by calling me by them.
I would like to extend an invitation to you and your friends to spend a lovely all experience paid weekend with me at my lovely estate. I have drawn a map on the back of this letter. I am sure you are looking forward to meeting me as I posses the only cure for the sickness that plagues your princesses. Remember I only have enough punch and cookies for the six of you. I would hate to have to pour out the cure because I needed an extra cup for punch for some uninvited guest.
I have a lot of fun things planned!
Yours truly,
Stalic”
“That egotistical jerk”, Shouted Apple Jack her southern draw enhanced with a twinge of rage.
Twilight continued reading the letter, “PS, Tell Rarity that it is not egotistical to acknowledge when you are greater than someone if you really are greater than them (also when we meet tell me if I was right with that guess. I would like to add it to my paper on Statistical Probability under the subject of Coin Flipping).” Twilight flipped the letter over and examined the map. The eloquent map's black ink showed through the blood stains carving a path through the Everfree Forest. “We leave today.”
Twilight, Fluttershy, Apple Jack, Rainbow Dash, Pinky Pie and Rarity all gathered on the edge of the Everfree Forest where the first way point of the map was listed. The map was exquisitely drawn. With the amount of detail put into the drawings alone would months if not years to accomplish. The pathway led a serpentine path through the forest. The ponies were happy to see that not only was Zecora's hut listed on the map, it was the first checkpoint. The one after was labeled Glee. After Glee there was a drawn sign with an arrow leading off the page saying 'To the COLC'.
They had retrieved some supplies for the trip from the Royal Supply Depot. The supplies included tents, packs, and food rations for a ten day journey. They were given a cart to haul their supplies which the six had agreed to take turns pulling, however Apple Jack was determined to pull the cart for the duration of the expedition.
The definition of 'The COLC' escaped Twilight. She studied the map intently to see if she could derive an answer from other information listed on the map with little success. From her studies of the forest in the library she knew that few ponies ever dared venture through the Everfree Forest and those who did seldom returned. What ever laid on the other side of the forest was shrouded in mystery still to this day.
Twilight stuck her hoof out to take the first step into the forest. She held it out for a second and then slowly pulled it back. Twilight had been on many of adventures with her friends before however none were ever as dire as this one. The stress was astounding as she contemplated leaving her friends in Ponyville. Twilight did not know what dangers laid ahead or if she would be able to protect her friends from them. With her eyes closed she hung her head limply feeling her eyes well up. She slowly turned her head to see her friends lined up behind her. They looked to her with smiles and voiceless support. “I...”, Twilight started to say.
“There is noting to say Twilight. We are here with you until the end”, Fluttershy said.
A wavering smile appeared on Twilight's face edged by a few tears, “Thank you, everypony.” Twilight took her first step followed by a second. With in a short amount of time she was running down the over grown path to Zecora's hut.
They could smell it long before they arrived at the hut. The smell of infected wounds and death hung thick in the air. Twilight was the first to see the carnage of what was left of Zecora. The bones from her chest were stripped bare leaving the exposed ribcage propped up on her four legs. Polls had been skewered through her front and rear legs along the bone exiting through a frayed hole in each hoof to maintain the rigidity of the legs. The head was removed from what was left of he corpse and impaled on a stake, her eyes, nose, mouth and ears were stuffed with straw. Inside of the ribcage was a metal box and the words written in dried blood on the hut behind the display read 'Open Me'.
The sight had turned the stomachs of the ponies and they quickly retreated back the way they came until they were out of sight of the display. Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinky Pie took turns vomiting behind bushes along the path.
“Why? She was not involved! Why would he do that!”, Twilight said between dry heaves.
“Stalic put it on the map for a reason. He wanted us to see it”, Rainbow Dash said. “Did you see the box?”
Twilight shook off the last bit of vomit and nodded. “We are going to have to get that. I am missing the next part of the map.”
Slowly and carefully, Twilight approached the hut again. She let out a loud belch from another dry heave when the vile display came into view. As she approached the corpse display she found that maggots had already been implanted in the exposed meat that was left on the legs. The dirt on the ground was cracking from the dried blood. She started thinking of a plan to remove the metal box with out disturbing the remains.
Twilight tried to remove the box from the corpse with magic. Despite her best efforts the box would not move from it's location. Perplexed as to why her magic didn't work, Twilight sought out another way to extract the box. She saw a square handle on the side facing what would have been the front of the ribcage. Leaning in carefully she grasped the handle of the box with her mouth. A heavy iron taste filled her mouth either from the box or from the blood. With a quick tug the box dislodged from the ribcage tipping the display, spilling the maggots and putrefied meat.
Caring the box in her mouth the whole way, Twilight quickly rejoined the group of other ponies. She dumped the box out her mouth in the center of the group, jarring the lid open. Twilight looked on the ground at the spilled continence of the box. There was another piece of parchment along with six individually colored vials. Twilight levitated the parchment out from under the vials and read it out loud.
“My dearest Twilight Sparkle,
Ah, so you found my first lesson to you. Can you guess the value of this lesson? Nah, I am sure you re too busy having a good time. The lesson is I am dead serious about only you and your five friends tagging along on this trek of yours.
But every lesson has a good side to it! The vials in the box are for each of you. The colors match the color of your coats. Since it is hard to make shades out of food coloring, Rarity, yours is clear (don’t worry, I didn't skimp on the sugar). I know that you will all be good little ponies and drink the vials. It is not a trap, not this time anyway. Think of them as a communication device. I will be able to hear you just like you will be able to hear me. I would hate to have to teach a lesson on how to follow simple instructions.
So if you are looking for the next piece of the map, you are going to have to speak to Glee. By the time you got here I am sure he has done a good job at clearing out a path for you. I doubt that you will run into any woodland creatures, but hey, that is a good thing right?
So pop your vials (those of you with magic may have to help your friends with out thumbs).
Look forward to talking to you,
Stalic”
“I don't know if I want to talk to this jerk if he sounds anything like his letters”, Rainbow Dash said.
“We are all drinking the vials. I don't want any of you becoming a 'lesson' for this madpony”, Twilight said picking up the vial with purple liquid and removed the cork lid. She put the rim of the vial to her lips and tasted just a drop on her tongue. The sweet liquid had a slight grape flavor to it. It occurred to Twilight that this was all just a sick game to the pony they were dealing with as she drank the rest of the vial. She then proceeded to help Rainbow Dash and Apple Jack with their vials while Rarity helped Pinky Pie and Fluttershy.
“How do we know if it worked? I think I might need another! It tasted like candy”, Pinky Pie exuberantly said.
“Why don't you go and check Zecora's corpse for another vial Pinky”, Rainbow Dash snapped back at her. Pinky Pie recoiled back from what she said, remembering the circumstances of which they found the vials.
“AH SNAP”, a disembodied voice said. There was no clear direction from where the voice was coming from but that didn't stop the ponies from looking around. “I assure you Pinky Pie, they are working.”
“Is that you Stalic” Twilight shouted setting up a fighting stance.
“Uh, no. This is Pizza Peat's. Of course it is Stalic! Who else could build nanorobots that not only pick up what you are saying but allow you to hear what I am saying? You think that kind of technology is easy”, the was a brief pause, “Or cheap?”
“Give us the cure, stop this madness”, Twilight shouted again.
“Now Twilight, you know you can't just ask a teacher for an A, you have to do the work first”, Stalic's voice chuckled. “Now I recommend that you get moving and stop talking with yourselves. There is a couple of princesses that need your help.”
Twilight looked to the rest of the group. Biased on the expressions, she assumed that they too had heard the conversation. She rolled up the parchment and shoved it in her saddle bag next to the map.
“Let's go talk to this Glee guy and get that map”, Twilight said with new found determination.
The group slowly approached Zecora's hut. The gore pile did not have the same shock affect on the ponies as it originally had. Although they had become desensitized to what had happened, Rarity wretched as she pondered what the liquid dripping out of the legs from the toppled display was. They briefly paused in front of the hut to silently pay their final respects. Twilight retrieved a spare blanket from the cart and laid it over the corpse before they continued.
Stalic had been right. There was a clear cut path through the forest from Zecora's hut. Trees and plants that lined the floor of the forest had been cleared to allow for a dirt path to be constructed. The canopy above was casting patchwork shadows on the ground obscuring random roots that rutted the path. Along the way they found remains of dead animals. It was too late to determine what they were. Rot had set in disfiguring any recognizable features. As they advanced along the path the piles of gore became more fresh, but the manner of which they were killed left them unrecognizable.
Dusk had fallen over the ponies as they entered a clearing in the woods. Fresh gore piles were scattered all around the clearing with out a defined cause. On the opposite side of the clearing there was an opening that lead to a field on the other side. The ponies stopped in the center of the clearing and looked for Glee.
“Glee”, Twilight said almost in a whisper.
The sound of snapping twigs came from the right of the opening to the field. A large creature was pulling it's self down out of a tree. The creature moved in a sickly manner with jerky unsure steps. The raspy breathing could be heard from where the ponies stood. As it worked it's way to the center of the clearing the group got a clear look at the creature. It was an abomination with a snake's head, ripped at the seams violently stitched over with scars. The body was a patchwork of pony flesh stapled together with heavy gauge staples. The legs were those of large dogs stained red and clotted with blood. As it shambled over to the group of ponies it leaked a mixture of blood and black ooze that wreaked of hate and pain.
“Glee we need the map”, Twilight said slowly backing away from the creature.
The creature advanced towards Twilight unfazed by what she had said. The other ponies parted ways around the creature as it advanced. It did not take notice of anypony but Twilight and walked right into the middle of the group.
“Glee, we were told we needed to talk to you about the map” Twilight said.
With out warning the creature pulled back it's claw and swung it counter intuitively at Rainbow Dash. The claw sliced the thin skin on Rainbow Dash's chest. Blood formed a dome over the wounds and then continued to bleed from the lower part of the wound. Rainbow Dash reeled back from the attack with a scream of surprise and pain. She wobbled back and laid on the ground her wings unfurled laying on either side of her. Blood began pooling under Rainbow Dash.
“Rainbow” Twilight shouted.
Twilight focused her magic on lifting the creature. She was sure that she had managed to grab the entire creature but when she lifted it, only the staples lifted and left the abomination. The skin of the creature peeled off revealing a makeshift bone structure. As the skin draped off the creature writhed in pain making choking sounds as it thrashed wildly. As it swung around the blood mixture drained out of the creature. After a few short moments of suffering, the creature perished.
“It should have just given us the map” Twilight said tearing up. Even though the creature attacked and hurt one of her friends, the actions that she took to kill it weighed heavily on her. Her attention turned to Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow! Are you ok?”
The other ponies had gathered around Rainbow Dash. They had managed to stop the bleeding but she was still unresponsive. Twilight used a simple healing spell to help the blood coagulate and ease the pain.
“Twilight, we should camp for the night in the field. We don't know how RD is faring but rest would do her some good”, Apple Jack said. Twilight nodded in agreement. Rarity used her magic to lift Rainbow Dash out of the clearing and into the field. The other ponies busied themselves with setting up tents.
Twilight walked over to the abomination and looked through the remains. It was clear that this creature was not born but constructed. The bone structure was held together with crude rivets, in some cases cracking the bones they went through. Some of the organs appeared to be heavily damaged; while others looked as if they were added as an afterthought, not connected to anything, just thrown in. What ever drove this creature to live could not have been pleasant spending what ever life it had in agony.
There was a floating white piece of parchment in the slop of the abomination's innards. Twilight lifted it out. “The City of Lost Children” was written in black ink. The parchment was folded four times and upon unfolding it Twilight found the next part of the map. This part of the map was just as detailed as the other part. Also like the other piece of the map she had the path lead to another section which Twilight assumed she had to obtain. Unlike the other map there was an Inn outlined in the map with a drawn picture of the face of a creature that Twilight had seen when she went through the magic mirror to retrieve her crown from Sunset Shimmer. The inscription below the picture was “This man can help you”.
“I call this lesson: Killing is easy”, the voice of Stalic said. Twilight didn't respond.
Though she was exhausted from the days journey, Twilight's concern for Rainbow Dash's safety along with the flood of emotions from the horrors she had witnessed kept her from sleeping. Through out the night Twilight checked on Rainbow Dash's condition. Her wound was festering. Blackened veins could be seen through her fur splaying from the wound. As bacteria ate her flesh a smell of cheese permeated the air in the tent. With out more advanced medical treatment the infection would eventually consume her. For the moment she was sleeping and Twilight found some comfort in that.
That morning, after the supplies had been packed, Twilight addressed the other ponies. “We need to get Rainbow back to Ponyville. She will not survive unless she gets some treatment. I would like Rarity and Fluttershy to bring her to the hospital. Rarity can carry her and Fluttershy can help with the creatures in the forest. Pinky, Apple Jack and I will continue to the City of Lost Children.” Twilight had half expected to receive retorts from the group, however they complied with out question. “The journey back to Ponyville will take the better portion of the day so take some supplies with you.”
“She will never make it you know”, Stalic's voice appeared.
“RD is stronger than you think”, Apple Jack shouted.
“RD is stronger than you think! Hyuck Huyck”, Stalic responded mockingly in an over embellished southern accent. “I am the maw of my sister! Hyuck! Hyuck!” Apple Jack blushed and looked down bashfully.
“Just ignore him, he is wasting our time”, Twilight said to the ponies.
“Just ignore him” Salic's voice said half in surprise and half mocking, “You should be listening to me. After all, I control the lives of two dear princesses. I might say something important.”
“Unless you are going to give us a cure, I have no interest in talking to you”, Twilight said.
“Nope no cure, but I do have some tips that can help you. That is if you want my help”, Stalic said.
Twilight did not respond to Stalic. She looked to Fluttershy and Rarity who had packed some supplies for the trip back. They simply nodded to Twilight knowing that Stalic would hear anything the would say. Not giving him the satisfaction, Twilight nodded back. With out sharing words the three ponies left back to Ponyville.
“Well if that is the way you are going to be then I will just talk to you. See, one of the cool things about these nanites is that you can't block the sweet sweet sound of my voice. There are things I want to say, but I am afraid I am a very busy man so I will make it quick”, Stalic said. There was some other noise in the background of the transmission this time. If Twilight were to guess it sounded like shuffling papers. “Right, so don't be fooled by the name of the city. It may be full of lost children, but they are swindling back stabbing corrupt mud eaters. Most of the inhabitants ended up there as children, neglected, broken, forgotten; only to grow up in a society with out rules and regulations.
It is fascinating to study. Even in anarchy, the population managed to come together to build a large city. The city is infested by three large gangs. The Clicklids, the Yumitudes, and the Twisted Carnival. You really don't need to know much about them except for the fact that if any of them find you they will probably kill you. Ponies have often been a source of sadistic fun for these gangs.
That brings me to my next point. You need to get to the Inn run by Clyde Sandersun as quickly as possible. He is an undercover agent of mine doing studies from the inside. His Inn is located in Twisted Carnival territory marked by the flesh of their enemies hanging from the lamp posts. You will need to deliver a box to him that is located outside of the main gate. I will let you know what rock to look under to get the box. If you give it to him he will let you into the underground passage to my Lab of Life. Catchy name is it not.
Ah, well look at the time. I am on the verge of something that is well beyond the cusp of invention. It is unlike anything you have ever seen. It is truly awe-inspiring, a wonder to behold.
I am rambling again. Fulgrim! To the lab!”
The communication between the ponies and Stalic was terminated. Twilight noticed a numbing feeling in her mind. She rubbed her forehead with her hoof. Apple Jack and Pinky were doing the same.
Twilight chuckled a bit still rubbing her head, “So anypony find that as mind numbing as me?”
“Oooh, I never have had a brain ache like this like this since the all you could eat ice cream party at Sugar Cube Corner”, Pinky Pie said.
“You mean head ache right Pinky”, Apple Jack said.
“Head ache? No silly my head is fine. It is my brain that hurts”, Pinky Pie responded. Apple Jack hung her head content not to argue the point with Pinky Pie.
Apple Jack still pulled the cart as they advanced towards the City of Lost Children. The path they were on cut through the endless field of grass like a snake. It swerved over the countless rolling hills. The path was well maintained although it looked hardly used. The grass along the edge of the path was well manicured, cut short and even. The path itself was smooth with out ruts or washboards.
“Under different circumstances, Ah think Ah would like to come back here”, Apple Jack said as she looked side to side partially looking at the scenery, partly looking for enemies.
Talking was kept to a minimum as they walked along. There was a silent consensus that the less that Stalic knew the better. Twilight hoped that he couldn't read the thoughts that she was thinking. She was constantly coming up with plans, trying to figure out what was in store.
As they walked along the crisp clean air became thick with an industrial fog. The smell of burning chemicals became more potent as the smog became thick. Large crude walls of twisted pipes formed a wall around the city. The dilapidated state of the city was a stark contrast to the field the ponies had just traveled through. Their progress was halted by a gate that was chained closed despite only hanging on one of one of the hinges.
“Hey Twilight”, Stalic's voice said. Twilight did not respond. “Awww, come on. Don't be that way. We can still be friends.”
The way his snide voice came over the transmission made Twilight's temper burn, “You and I will never be friends. You have poisoned the princesses, killed Zecora, really hurt Rainbow Dash, and told hurtful lies about my friends. On top of all of that you are making us go through all these games to get the cure. No, you and I will never be friends!”
“Well first off, Apple...”, Stalic was cut off by Twilight.
“First off nothing! You are a horrible disgusting creature, hurting ponies for your own sadistic pleasure!”
“Oh, please tell me how you really feel”, Stalic said sarcastically. “Now to your right there is a large round rock. Under that is a hole and in the hole is a supply box for Clyde. You will deliver this to him or I will have some more of my, how did you put it, 'sadistic fun'.”
There was a ring of small sized rocks to the right of Twilight. One of the rocks was conspicuously larger than the other ones. Under the assumption that this is where Stalic had hid the supply box, Twilight used her magic to move the rock. As promised there was an olive drab metal box in a hole under the rock. Twilight discarded the rock to investigate the box.
The box was simple enough. A clamp on the front kept the box closed while a hinge on the back of the lid only allowed the box to be open from the front. There was yellow words painted on either side of the box that Twilight was unable to distinguish, however, the words on the top of the box were written in a language that Twilight understood and it read “Clyde's Supplies”.
“Well, aren't you going to open it”, Apple Jack asked sounding almost impatient.
“It might be a trap”. Twilight said still trying to make out the writing on the box.
“Or that might be what he wants you to think and inside is really the cure. We will have it until we reach Stalic and he will be like”, Pinky Pie said changing her voice to mimic Stalic's voice, “Ha Twilight! You had the cure all along.”
“I don't think provoking Stalic is a good idea Pinky”, Twilight responded putting the box in the cart Apple Jack was pulling. “Besides, I want to meet Stalic. I will make sure that something like this never happens again.”
The city of Lost Children was far from a vacation destination. The streets, or at the very least the spaces between the buildings, were cluttered with refuse and what appeared to be remains of slaughtered creatures. The few inhabitants that the three ponies did happen to see on the roads watched them with hungry smiles that cut like knives through the smog and stench of decay. Despite the sickening feeling that these inhabitants left the ponies with, they all kept their distance from the traveling group.
Most of the inhabitants Twilight saw were dogs. They all carried long crude cutting weapons; of these weapons most appeared to be rusted or stained. They all wore matching vests of red and black with a large jester patch on the back. They gathered around lamp posts that had corpses displayed on them, letting the blood drip on their already matted fur. The corpses themselves appeared to be a verity creatures from griffins to one or two ponies. It was fortunate that the Inn that Clyde Sandersun ran was close to where the ponies entered the town.
The Inn looked like a fortified garrison from the street. A ten inch thick door was propped open to reveal a prison cage antechamber. The walls were equally thick made of stone and steel, scared on the outside from surviving numerous battles. The building was adorned with bars over bars over windows which appeared to have metal shutters that could be closed from the inside of the structure. If there was anywhere in this town to feel safe, Twilight bet that it was inside this building.
Once on the inside, Twilight could see the creature drawn on her map across the lobby behind a cage through the bars on the prison cage antechamber. She was shocked to see how accurate the drawing on the map was. It was as if a picture had been taken as she stood there looking at it.
“You will have to leave the cart outside”, the creature spoke, “and by outside I mean you might as well just forget about it. It won't be there in the morning.”
“I take it that you are Clyde Sandersun”, Twilight replied.
“That's my name, don't wear it out. And by don't wear it out I mean don't say it too often. It annoys me.”
“We have supplies for you in the cart.”
“Well get them out of there and bring them in. I don't trust carts. And by I don't trust carts I mean sometimes they carry unwanted surprises. And by unwanted surprises I mean...”
Twilight looked to Apple Jack and spoke softly while Clyde was clarifying what he meant, “I think it would be best to leave the cart outside. Let's take all we can carry and leave the rest. I will take his supplies.”
“.... and by losing half of the Inn's guests in one night I mean a loss in profits.”, Clyde finished explaining himself.
“Ok, we will leave the cart outside. My name is Twilight and...”
“I know who you is. God explained everything to me last night. He also said there would be fewer of you that we had expected on the account that one of your friends was a bit slow around Glee. And by slow I mean retarded”, Clyde said.
“Apple Jack why don't you go ahead and put the cart outside. I think we have all the supplies that we need for now”, Twilight said removing the metal box from the cart with magic.
Apple Jack walked outside to find a crowd gathered around the door. Word of the ponies arrival had spread. The twenty or so dogs slowly crept closer to Apple Jack grinning sadistic smiles. She quickly ditched the cart and went back into the antechamber.
“We best be getting a move on Twilight. There is a bunch of those dogs out there that probably aren't interested in being our friends”, Apple Jack said backing away from the door. She watched as the group descended on the cart. They did not have any plans to pilfer the cart for it's goods. With in a few seconds the cart and the supplies it held were brutally destroyed and spread down the street like confetti.
Large pistons activated and the door slammed behind them. The ponies could hear large bolts finding their homes locking the door tight. After the door behind them had locked the steel cage in front of them unlocked and swung open granting access to the lobby. The lobby was lit with lamps placed on tables and in the corners of the room. The interior had a golden wood vainer over the cold stone and metal structure. The walls were decorated with various pictures of unfamiliar landscapes most of which were damaged.
The ponies approached Clyde's barred window. As they walked into the lobby the gate on the antechamber closed behind them. A large metal drawer extended from the wall. Clyde indicated to the drawer saying, “Put the supplies in there.”
As soon as Twilight put the box in the drawer it retracted. Clyde reached over, grabbed the box, and placed it on his desk in front of him. He flipped the latch and the box cracked open with a light hiss of escaping air. From the box he removed a piece of parchment, a vial of vibrant blue liquid, and a sack of metallic coins.
Clyde read the note. He looked over at the ponies and said, “You are staying the night. You will go to the lab in the morning.”
“No, we are going there tonight. No more delays”, Twilight demanded.
Clyde reached under the desk and pulled out a metal tube and stuck it through the bars of the cage. There was a loud bang that temporally deafened Twilight. She opened her winced eyes and over a ringing in her ears she heard the cries of Pinky Pie.
Twilight turned around to find Pinky Pie on the floor writhing in pain. Blood and smoke poured from a hole in the lower portion of her chest. Pinky Pie's cries were garbled by the blood filling her lungs. Apple Jack was applying pressure on the wound the best she could with her hooves with little affect. Twilight ran over to help but before she arrived Pinky Pie had perished from her wounds.
“You are staying the night here. You will go to the lab in the morning”, Clyde repeated placing a key labeled 34 on the counter, “I will dispose of the corpse.”
Apple Jack stood up and in a rage turned to face Clyde. She was about to say something but Twilight placed one of her hooves on her shoulder stopping her. “I don't want to lose you too”, Twilight said looking down at Pinky Pie.
Twilight sulked over to the counter on the desk and grabbed the key with magic. There was a set of stairs that she solemnly walked up. Apple Jack was slow to follow but when she did decide to follow she stopped at the desk. Hopping up on her hind legs she slammed her hooves on the desk.
Clyde was not startled by her action. Apple Jack looked down on Clyde with a scowl and growled, “You didn't have to kill her.”
Clyde picked up the parchment off the desk and waved it in her face, “I did, according to this.”
“What kind of monster are you!”
“I am a human.” ,Clyde answered. Apple Jack snorted at him with disgust and slid her hooves off of the counter leaving streaks of blood.
Apple Jack found Twilight in one of the beds in the room; wrapped in sheets that were wet with blood. She was whimpering and soaking her pillow with tears. The room was simple yet it did have a restroom with a sink where Apple Jack cleaned the blood off of her hooves. She ignored the open bead in the room and climbed in Twilight's bed behind her back.
“We will get through this Twilight. I am not leaving you.”, Apple Jack whispered to Twilight. She turned her face to her pillow and cried herself to sleep.
