The Mad Mane Six.

Chapter Eleven

"Help me." she cried out to the deaf-less darkness that seemed to have surrounded her. laughter answered her, cruel, wicked laughter from a familiar tyrant. "Shout till the world hears nothing, it doesn't matter to me. your will means nothing but just a wall to climb. Perhaps once you feel lonely enough, you finally see that I am the king of every living thing. Then you'll bow to Fear!" Sunset heard him say. The statement just emboldened Sunset.
"What is it that you want so badly, and why does it have to involve me?" She asked the monster. he answered in the tune of a mad prophet. "I wish to return to my throne, but I need someone to help me, someone with the very essence of power coursing through their veins, but the world I need is cut off, till I realized that this world connects to it. you weren't born it this world, and that was all that I needed, but the came the magic that flows so smoothly in your veins. I guess that you did this, for if you never came here, this would never have been a issue. You did this to yourself through what began as a need for power, and I respect that. I just guess you never saw your actions would have ended up with this result. I guess you'll get the power that you wanted in the end, so long as I get my crown." he then appeared in front of her. "and all you have to do is bow."
Sunset stood, and stared Fear in the cold, purple eyes, defiance burning brightly in her eyes. It was as much a challenge as it was a statement. Fear looked at her and a glimmer of joy sparked through. "I really do admire you persistence, it just makes this game that more interesting," He then landed a claw on her shoulder and dug in the tips. The only thing sharper than the his claws was the pain. It made Sunset wince, but despite her attempts, she couldn't scream. "All that pain, and no way to let it out. Now, if you please,"he then pushed her violently to her knees,"To your knees wretch."
Sunset wanted to fight, but the searing pain was intense. despite the fact that his claw was on her shoulder only, somehow he made her entire body writhe in pain. it felt as if he was about to break every single bone in her body just by pressing on the one spot. "Ah, you want it to stop now? Your halfway there to making it stop, just submit, and bow, and you will have the power to make this pain nonexistent. " Fear then let go, and Sunset almost fell into a bow, but instead she fought through the pain and stood. The glimmer of glee that Fear had faded. "Another failure, perhaps I keep underestimating your species, as human-like as you are. As much fun as breaking you would be, I need one who could follow me willingly. Seeing as you now know my plans, it would be a shame if you managed to survive to tell the Old Order what I doing. It would ruin the surprise, wouldn't it?" Fear then held up a claw to his own face,"such a waste, now you won't be able to correct your mistake." Fear then lunged the claw to her heart.
Sunset looked shocked, there was no impact. no pain, no breathless gasps, no more blood. She looked to see Fear had the same expression as her, but there was blood. Fear then disappeared into darkness and a scythe lay in the ground behind him, covered in the blood of the fallen king. A phoenix in black etched into the onyx blade and the handle was made of bones and ivory. She the looked up to see a cloaked figure that bled Darkness, his white eyes piercing into her very soul. She assumed it was a he, truthfully she couldn't tell. It was difficult to tell. Then he talked in a whispery and haunting voice to spoke of graves and dust. "I no longer need it, but you shall. Take the scythe, for you are my successor, Deathset." He then disappeared, and she stood. she then slowly walked over to the scythe and grabbed the handle, which was smooth and cold to the touch. She lifted the blade out of the ground and then the darkness faded revealing reality. She stood in the middle of the hall with the others staring at her. She looked down to see a a turned student that had been attacking the group. He had been sliced in half on the bias. She looked at the onyx blade to see the bloodstains.
"Let's find Twilight and get out of here." Deathset said. She then flicked the blade to see all the blood flow off. She had many questions of how she got to this point, but would rather ask the half wolf/ half human creature that was accompanying the group how she got there. Something told her she wouldn't answer, namely the scar on the wolfgirl's throat. She then got stopped by a question posed by Rarity."Are you OK?" Deathset then looked at her and answered with a statement that was truthful" I highly doubt that I am, and I doubt any of us are. Yet we are here, so lets make the most of it" She then walked forward, feeling not as she was, but as she is.
The others hesitated but then walked with, the questions they had plentiful, and a sense of dread hung over, much like the smell of blood and rot. The halls were quiet and dark, with the occasional snarl, growl and crunch. It led to any unfocused or sensible soul to watch the area behind them in case of something stalking them, which was always. Deathset always stopped when they got to a body, checking to see if it was alive, and found many corpses. She wished she could bury them, but knew she couldn't. Simpler times were done, and half the challenge was now dealing with the death that made itself known. The aftershock would always be worse, for it always stuck closer to home. One such strike was sent to Applejack, who looked at the two bodies all to familiar to her. The Shadow walked to her and placed her hand on Applejack's shoulder, minding the spikes that the natural carapace placed there. Applejack looked at the hybrid's hand, and knew she understood.
"So he got to them as well, and it looks like he died protecting her. I wish I was there to stop this from happening, but i wasn't." Applejack said. The Shadow just looked, and looked at the others, all of them lost everything. The least she could do was to help. She took out a medallion with the Old Order symbol and sat down next to the bodies and used the warriors blessing to allow them to leave without torment. She usually didn't do this for civilians, but this was a special case. These people didn't grow up in a world where death was numbingly constant. She then got up and placed the medallion into Applejack's hands and pressed it against her heart. Applejack didn't understand it, but felt appreciation for the action. if she only knew the blessing that she and her family was given, she would feel more than appreciation.
They then left the dead bodies behind and made it to the science wing, and there was Twilight, who had holed herself up into a room that had a reinforced door that could be locked. It was a good thing, for there was evidence that a large Nightmare had been stalking her. smears of blood and flesh covered the science halls stating that the monster in question had been busy finding victims, although the lack of bodies and waste stated that this one was particularly dangerous. The Shadow the pulled out her SSG-SF32 Shotgun and prepared it for a fight, if there was one. Deathset looked around and walked forward and got to the door, knocking on it. it seemed as if she knew the beast that stalked these halls was not there.
Twilight looked through the window and was Deathset, and smiled when she saw her friend. She then unlocked the door and let Deathset and the others in, but not without saying,"hurry, before it comes back." the entire group walked in and Twilight then closed and locked the door. She then looked at the group and asked,"What is going on?" The entire group gave a sigh and all of them stated the same thing, "alot."
She looked around and then saw Pinkie, who held her throat were Fear had sliced, rendering her voice-box useless. Twilight knew that it was odd that Pinkie wasn't talking, or how Rainbow-Dash constantly reached for a spot on her back, or how Applejack was spiky. Another set of questions included the hybrid, the scythe, and the massive molten creature that was stalking her. Guess what took priority?
"What is up with the creature that seems to want to get me? Its massive and it looks like its made up of a bunch of bodies all melted together." Everyone looked at each other, and even the Shadow looked confused. The a voice rung out to the group that they didn't expect to hear. "I don't know, but Trixie wants out of this nightmare factory, and prefers to go to a hospital." the Group looks at Trixie, who held a gash on her arm, which was bleeding, but not terribly. It was Stormy that spoke first. "Of all the people that manage to survive what happened, it's the one that has a ego, and yet refers to herself in the third person. Absolutely the one we need, and she's injured no less." Deathset then cut in,"I'd rather see her alive than dead, for she can help. Fluttershy, see what you can do about that wound. I don't suppose you have your magic tricks, Trixie?"
"OF course Trixie has them, a magician never leaves without a few tricks to use. Just a question, how are a couple of smoke bombs, confetti bombs, and tissue ropes and a rabbit going to help against the things out there." Deathset had learned a few things, one such thing was how easy it was to distract one of the beasts with a simple sound, smell, or visual affect. She just hopes, however, that the rabbit wont be needed. "I may have a idea, and it involves making a sling, Rarity, you the crafty one, how well can you make tissue rope slings." Rarity looked surprised, but answered quickly with,"I'm sure it wont be too hard, what are you up to?" Deathset smiled and the looked at Twilight,"think we can use whats in here to bolster or make more of those smoke bombs, along with something louder?" Twilight nodded, it wasn't hard to see what Deathset was thinking of. "Then lets get to work, and I will give the story, or the best rundown of while we mess with reactive chemicals."
The door then got unlocked, and the plan was set into motion. The objective was to get the turned to follow the decoys as the group tried to save the survivors of the school. They knew who to use as well, then ones that turned knew how to protect themselves, but Applejack needed to stay behind to protect the group if a nightmare decided that it wanted to make a run for fresh meat, there was a armored protector to keep the group safe. Deathset and Rainbow were faster and more agile anyway, so it made sense that they would go and become the distraction. It also made sense that those that were going to be the distraction would be going first. The others would wait till it seemed safe. So it began when the distraction left and ran right to head to the farthest point away from the room that had the survivors. A few moments later, the rescue group left. they rushed quietly to makes sure that they didn't attract any attention for the monsters. The Shadow led the group, having Rarity tell her were they needed to go.
Deathset and Rainbow ran, not caring if they did make noise, for they needed it for the plan. It wasn't long before they got the attention they were asking for. Eveasera was the quickest to the scene, and it made sense that it would be her. She was stalking Sunset, and a nightmare never likes to leave their chosen prey alone. Deathset was hoping on this, Eveasera was noisy. More Nightmares and Nightstallions would come, and the more that came, the better the chance the rescue group had. They then deployed a smoke bomb and then cut into a classroom, causing the horde to slow down and giving the distraction more time to be prepared for the size. It seemed that it grew much more considering that there were several more creatures. There was even a large creature that massive claws and muscles that served as both armor and power. Eveasera seemed to clamor onto the back of the beast and seemed to use him as a sort of ride as she looked around for her prey. Deathset knew it wouldn't be long till they got found out, but she was ready.
"Where to next?" Rainbow asked. Deathset looked at her and said,"Art room, it would be the best choice. It is the furthest area from the school front. Ready to run?" Rainbow nodded, and it was a good thing too, the Brutus was about to bash the door in. It would take a couple of heavy hits, or that what she thought. Just as Rainbow opened the door out, the door that they came in was blown off its hinges by the hit that the Brutus gave it. Deathset barely got out of the way before she was smashed by the door on its way in. Good thing too, for the door made a massive indent in the wall that it hit. Deathset got up quickly and had to slash off a Biter that lunged at her, and found the scythe was more than capable of delivering capable blows. One clean cut, and the Biter was sliced in twain. Deathset felt a surge of strength wen she killed the thing, and it was invigorating. That scared her somewhat, and yet a part of her craved that feeling.
"Let's go."Rainbow said as she grabbed Deathset. The action put Deathset's mind back on track, and reminded her of her mission. It was going to harder now that she had made her first kill, and it would be difficult to maintain control until she realized her true purpose. She would have to contend with her reality before she would learn that. Truth is often found in tragedy rather than celebration, for it is the one time that we are more open to ideas that once seemed too far to grasp. Too far to think of, until a door is opened, that is.
Deathset ran as fast as she could, but even with the strength that she had gained, it seemed to pale in comparison with the creatures that they ran from. The Brutus was the biggest issue, its large feet crashing into the ground, breaking the tile with each stride They knew that if they were going to keep themselves alive for the plan to work long enough, they would have to fight soon enough. They then came to the art wing and found the place in shambles. It was as if the area had suddenly been blown to bits, but such a explosion would need a high amount of explosives to deal that damage, and yet there was no sound of such a blast. She then saw piles of ash upon the ground, as if something had been cremated and then dumped in that spot. They couldn't look for long, they were being chased after all.
The Brutus reminded them as it roared before it crashed through the double door behind them, almost sending the door at the two girls, but fortunately they were lucky to be in front of the door that had the most recent hinges, for the hit just cause the door to hit the walls beside the doorway. The two girls ran quickly, only to find out that the Brutus was much quicker in the larger and more destructible halls. It even used the bricks that it had broke free as stones to throw at its prey. One managed to hit Rainbow in the head, causing her to stumble and fall, which then allowed her to get a look at the beast. It was a mutant that seemed to be made of other bodies, all melted together in format that was disturbing and abominable. Jagged broken bones, skulls, veins and muscle all melted together in a fashion that looked as if they could move freely if needed. It wore a mask of some sort, or was it the skull owned by the same creature, just tormented and twisted to give it a demonic appearance.
It raised a claw to smash on top of Rainbow, but Deathset picked her up and quickly moved her away. The claw landed with a thud, cracking the decayed tile beneath. Dash then got up and started to run, Deathset following close. "I kinda wish we had a gun at this point, how can there be something that strong?" Rainbow asked as they ran. Deathset didn't say anything, she was coming up with a plan. The thing was strong, but it had a one track mind, and it seemed that it would be easy to trick. The only issue was that even if they used a trick of some sort, it wouldn't work for long.
It appeared that the creature used more that sight to find prey, but rather all its senses. Deathset noticed much that many others wouldn't have. The elongated nostrils, the light sensitive skin, the fact that it seemed to have eyes in several spots. It was as if a monster from the Arcane Mythos suddenly started hunting her and her friends. Another thing she noticed was that she never read the Arcane Mythos, and yet knew all of it. Another question for another time, for now was the time to deal with the monster that was bearing down upon them. Then came the answer, the brute wouldn't expect it.
Deathset then stopped and sidestepped the attack that was about to hit her, allowing her scythe to hold itself out and the Beast to cross pass by. The creature let a spew of blood go as it passed by, covering Deathset in the thick red fluid. It only traveled a few steps move before it clutched its side and knelled. Its flesh then flowed to the wound to try to repair it, but something kept it from repairing. Deathset held up the Scythe and saw that it had Darkness flowing off it. It's all coming back to her, she who the Scythe first slain. Every owner of this Scythe would come to know her, and this was Deathset's first glimpse into the madness of a Reaper. The Scythe revealed its name, De'leara, First Slain. Such love stories are told by the blood left on the hilts of blades.
Upon the reveal, Deathset gained the blade's trust, and thus earned it's respect. Deathset then let the blade go and willed it aloft with her mind. It did as she asked, and when she asked for a killing blow, it did so, decapitating and the mincing the Beast into shreds, and all in a matter of moments. Rainbow stood at the far end of the hall, her jaw dropped and eyes wide. Deathset then called the blade back and held it like a old friend, and walked over to Rainbow. They looked at each other, but no words spoken. At least until they opened to door and saw Eavesera, but she seemed scared.
Gunshots then spoke of what she feared, and Eavesera sell to the hailstorm of molten metal that flew at her, and in consequence Deathset and Rainbow. Rainbow quickly pulled Deathset out of the way, getting grazed in the process. It stung as the bullet caught the outer thigh of her left leg, but it didn't make enough of a impact to her as it only grazed by. It was still enough to make her fall and try to take cover. Deathset pulled her to safety and then took note of the new threat, which was a man that had some sort of armor that was covered in yellow lights, a LOC insignia, and a T shaped cross on his right arm.
"Look at that, get one to run and she reveals more. Perhaps these will beg, although, it seems as if they, too, are infected. Such a shame, there are not many females left for us, but i would even go for the prettiest face if it was infected. I guess it was a good thing we should have several uninfected girls once this is over, after all, the race is dying off after all." The comments were made in a sadistic, egotistical tone that angered Deathset to no end. The blade sensed this and quickly flew in and sliced off the man's hands at the wrists, making him drop the gun and scream in pain. Deathset then walked over to Eavesera and saw if she was ok, finding out it took more than a few bullets to kill her, and then Deathset held out her hand and helped her up. Deathset then looked at the man and said, "I think I got you something, He tried to kill you for fun, and while you tried to kill me, it was for food. What do you think I should do." Eavesera, smiled as the bullets fell out of her flesh and the wounds healed.
"I think I'll allow it, this time, but your mine right?" Deathset asked, and Eavesera scoffed,"only if you feed me." Deathset the motioned to go ahead as the man began to get what was happening. He might have gotten away if he had gotten it sooner. Deathset then Walked over to Rainbow and helped her up, only pausing a moment to say,"The others are in trouble. Let us help get them out of it." Then she left. Rainbow looked at her for a moment, wondering if she was looking at the same friend that she knew before. She was half right to wonder. Rainbow then followed, hoping to get away from the area.