MIASMA
BY THE YOUNG AND FREE DRAGON
CHAPTER THREE
"Twilight!" Cherilee shouted, snapping her out of her trance.
Twilight turned away from Rainbow Dash, looking questioningly at Cherilee. It had been almost an hour and the ponies were no longer congregating.
"Nopony can stop them!" Cherilee cried. "They're going out in the the mist!"
That was all Twilight needed to hear. She rushed to the front of the bakery, where onlookers watched as a group of ponies were removing the bar from the door.
"What's going on here?" Twilight asked, though it was easy to guess. She just wanted their attention.
The group was composed of Octavia, Dr. Whooves, and two ponies Twilight couldn't call by name.
"We're getting out of this nut-house, that's what!" Octavia exclaimed.
"Octavia please-..."
"We do not want to hear anymore of this nonsense," Octavia interrupted.
"There's nothing out there but condensation," Dr. Whooves stated flatly, and opened the door and headed out, followed by the two ponies.
Before Octavia could get out the door, Twilight Sparkle put a hoof on her shoulder.
"Twilight Sparkle, release me or I will-..." She began, but Twilight cut her off, summoning a rope with magic.
"All of you should tie this around yourselves to stay together until you get on to the road."
Octavia was going to challenge her further or refuse, but Dr. Whooves stepped back inside for a moment, agreeing to this. Twilight used her magic to link them together with the rope and stepped back. Big Macintosh closed the door behind them, as the four went out into the mist. They glanced about themselves at the fearful specter that shrouded them, before disappearing into its depths.
"Look now!" Trixie shouted suddenly in the middle of the silence. "Judgment shall be passed on those who defy this prophecy! Their science and false wisdom shan't protect them from the monsters that breed outside. And now they shall become fodder for these minions of hell!"
"Nopony's buying your dragon shit!" Somepony shouted.
"I do not fear death as you do!" Trixie declared to the crowd. "For I know the one true way to survive this end to sinners!"
"What is it?" Snails cried, as he and Snips had fallen to their knees before her.
"Redeem yourselves in light of our-" Trixie was unable to finish as a lasso flew through the air and wrapped around her muzzle, forcing it shut.
Everypony's head turned to look at Applejack who had cast the rope, and who now dropped it from her mouth to speak.
"Ah have had it up to here with y'all!" She growled, indicating the height with a hoof. "Twilight told y'all she was here by Celestia's orders, and every single pony better listen!"
Trixie tore the rope from her maw, her eyes shining with hate as she she prepared to lash out with her razor tongue. But she was cut off by a long, echoing scream. Everypony looked out the windows to where the scream had come from. A chorus of other cries joined it, though the miasma continued to swirl calmly.
All went silent for a moment and then one of the unknown ponies that had gone out appeared out of the mist and pressed herself against the glass.
"Help us!" She screamed. "Please help us!"
The rest of the rope that was hanging limp behind her picked up and there was an ear splitting male scream and a sound like a tarp shredding. Then out of the mist, an object came flying at the window and shattered it. The thing dropped to the floor before the crowd and everypony began screaming as they saw what it was. The severed head of Dr. Whooves stared up at them with one eye, the other was now a jagged hole that revealed partial parts of his massive brain, the masterpiece was now a red and gray jumble of mush.
The pony outside let out a scream as the slack that had been created in the rope by the severing of Dr. Whooves picked up again and began pulling her back into the mist. However, before she disappeared, it lifted her straight up into the air and suspended her above the window, leaving only her upper half visible to them as some creature on the roof or some massive creature hung her.
She let out a cry of fear that was followed by several shrieks of pain, as a tearing and rending noise filled the air, followed by a loud snap and crunch. Blood began to rain down from the part of her body that they couldn't see and splattered on the ground, as well as leaving long rivers down the glass. The ponies inside had fallen silent in horror, and a mass sharp intake of breath was all that broke the silence inside as a final crunch detached her from the rest of her body, and she fell to the ground, her internal organs spilling out of her severed body. She squirmed for a few moments before going still in a puddle of her own leaking fluids.
They all stared outside in fear of a monster that never came. Despite that it must have been out there, no sound had ever been emitted by it. Perhaps, even if it made a noise, the mist would absorb it. It seemed only screams could emerge from out there.
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Twilight looked around the bakery. A few ponies were slipping back into the cooking area to be farther away from the windows. She didn't blame them for that. But as she looked around, she saw two ponies on their knees in front of Trixie, as well as Snips and Snails. The slaughter that had occurred outside had not only fortified and created belief in the monster, but also brought sense to Trixie's words. She stepped up beside Applejack and tapped her shoulder.
"Could you keep an eye on Trixie while I get up on the roof? I'm going to see if I can shed any light on our surroundings."
"Should I get Big Mac to tie 'er up?" Applejack offered, hopefully.
"I wish," Twilight sighed. "But we can't do that. Nopony wants to listen to us anyway, and if we do that, they'll trust us even less."
"Alright," Applejack sighed.
"But if she causes trouble, stop her," Twilight said, trotting away.
She climbed a stairway that lead up to the roof, where Pinkie would sometimes make special recipes under the light of Celestia's sun. Pinkie... She felt her chest tighten up as she realized for the first time that Pinkie Pie was dead. She stopped halfway up the stairs and felt her knees weakening as her eyes filled with tears. Losing Derpy had been hard enough. But her best friend...no more parties, no more surprises and no more "Pinkie Sense." And as not only the weight of losing somepony she loved deeply filled her stomach, she realized that they must be doomed. Unless Celestia could do something, there was nothing stopping these monsters without Pinkie Pie, the Elements of Harmony were incomplete. They were useless...
And Fluttershy! She felt tears flowing faster as she thought of her being dead as well. There was a possibility she had survived in her house, but Twilight could sense how slim it was. They were doomed. Absolutely doomed... She had most likely already lost two friends as well as her number one assistant (and basically her brother), one was alone, and anypony else who wasn't here was probably dead. This place wasn't even safe itself.
She was sobbing by the time she was at the top of the stairs and she collapsed on the roof, not caring about anything now. The mist drank her tears, and they seemed to be sucked into the air. The mist itself was almost salty, as though made of the tears and sorrow it had brought upon this place.
"Twilight?" A voice said.
Twilight didn't look up but as she felt a small hoof on her shoulder, she took a glance. Sweetie Belle stood over her, looking harrowed and scared.
"Sweetie Belle?" Twilight asked, trying to figure out whether it was simply a vision created by the mist (which seemed capable of anything) or the real filly.
"Yes, it's me, "She murmured. "D-Do you know where Rarity is?"
Twilight sat up. What was Sweetie Belle doing on the roof? Why had she not come downstairs upon hearing noise from the ponies below... Had she seen what killed the ponies outside?
"What are you doing up here?"
"It's not safe down on the ground. Those things got into the basement. I locked them in, but they could get out any time..."
Twilight's blood ran cold. This place wasn't safe, but having the confirmation by the existence of creatures in the basement shattered the remains of her hope.
"Why didn't you come down and tell us? Everpony is downstairs."
"I thought that noise was the monsters. Is my sister down there?"
"No, she's at the library..."
"Is she safe there?"
"...of course."
Sweetie Belle looked doubtful, but before she could speak, an in-pony screech tore through the air. They looked up into the sky where it had come from and a chariot appeared out of the mist, led by two royal guards who were under attack. A white, bird like creature was snapping at them with razor teeth. It had red eyes and a flattened face, the teeth hanging at angles from its mouth, which was much too small to accommodate the wicked jaws. It's wings were In the structure of a bird's, but with a bat's membrane spread across them On its chest, were two knobby arms which were folded up, not in use at the moment. The legs and feet were folded under, looking much like the arms.
The chariot crashed on the roof top, the guards breaking from it and falling in different directions. The creature landed on the roof top and seemed to transform. The wings retreated into large flaps of skin on its back, and the small forearms spread out, the sockets in which they were attached moved to its shoulders, and a bony chest emerged between the arms.
It now acted like a monkey, jumping on one of the royal guards with claws and teeth hungry for flesh. He held up his large forehooves, but they were not armored so the creature latched on to them. Its teeth gnashed his right fore hoof, digging into the bone and making an audible cracking noise. Twilight's horn glowed, and a brick that was sitting nearby struck the creature and was knocked away, but tore flesh away with it.
The other guard reacted without hesitation, bringing his powerful fore hooves on to the creature's exposed stomach and chest. The creature writhed in agony as its ribs crushed, but the guard was far from finished. He continued to bring his hooves down on it in an innumerable amount of times, leaving sounds of snapping bones and squishing flesh ringing in everypony's ears. Yellow blood flew all over the guard's face and body as he tramped the monster. He finally stopped after what seemed like hours, and glared down at the yellow lump of twisted flesh, internal organs, spurs of bone, and any other things that had been within the creature's body.
Twilight wanted to cover Sweetie Belle's eyes bit she knew she had stood idle too long. The filly had seen the brutal overkill of the monster. It seemed that while flying, the guard was not capable of defending himself, but on the ground, he was a ruthless force. He looked at Twilight and Sweetie Belle once before going to his comrade and helping him inside, presumably to treat his wound. Twilight watched them go and then glanced once more at the quivering remnants of the creature. The roof definitely was not safe. She led Sweetie Belle downstairs without a word, and closed the roof exit.
