All I want
Several students in the School of Friendship are taking a few days off from schoolwork to recover from certain events. Gale was one of these students, he was hanging out with his friends, Moss, Trud, and Rusty. They fully understood what he went through when he was captured by a gang that kills dragons for weaponry, though it was likely he didn’t have it as bad as the other griffons. The four friends were hanging out in the lounge, hearing what Gale had gone through during those times.
“I guess it wasn’t that bad,” Gale stated. “I was still kinda worried about if they’d find me or not.”
“Did you at least rough the three gang members up?” Moss asked.
“Oh yeah. Totally! I lost count of how many times the villagers threw sand in their faces.”
“Where they now?” Trud asked.
“Probably being held in Canterlot for their crimes,” Rusty guessed. “Let’s talk about something that isn’t depressing.”
“Agreed,” Gale said. “I don’t wanna think how the others went through with things so bloody.”
“Yeah. I heard that the bookstore got some interesting newly-published novels. Maybe we could take a look around and have a peek at those books if you wanna purchase it.”
“Sure! Yak get bits!” Trud exclaimed.
“Me too,” Gale added. Trud ran to his dorm with Gale following him. Moss walked away to get his money so they could purchase some books. Rusty was on his way to his dorm when he crossed paths with Kelpie, a green hippogriff who was only a witness to the infamous events that happened not too long ago.
“Oh, hey, Kelpie,” the unicorn said.
“Hi there, Rusty,” Kelpie replied.
“What’s up?”
“I’m… just looking for something to do since I’m feeling bored right now,” the hippogriff responded. “You?”
“The guys and I are planning on heading into town to see if there are any new books at the store. Want to tag along?”
“Sure. I’ve got nothing better to do. I’ll meet you guys at the front.” Kelpie flew away to get some bits as Rusty walked into his dorm.
A few minutes later, the five students met up so they could count their bits. After that, they all headed down the street towards Ponyville’s bookstore. Along the way, Rusty decided to break the ice with Kelpie, since they hadn’t interacted with each other until now.
“So, Kelpie, what made you want to come to this school?” the colt asked.
“Oh, uhh… I just wanted to see what was outside of Mount Aris since I’ve been living there for all my life,” the hippogriff explained. “That’s a reason a lot of hippogriffs have for coming here, having my interest in seeing the outside world. However, I never have a lot of chances of seeing much of pony culture.”
“I’m glad you’re here now. I’m sure you’ll find a lot of amazing fiction at the store. I can help you pick something out.”
Kelpie smiled at the idea. “I like that. Thanks a lot.”
After a bit of walking, they arrived at the bookstore and headed inside. There were plenty of novels and comics to choose from. Gale, Moss, and Trud were interested in comics, though Rusty did try to help Kelpie find an original classic book for him to read.
A little while later, something caught Moss’s eye. There was a book that had an earth pony pulling a cart looking back to see an explosion. Windows were shattering at the pony looked scared while he ran for his life. The title on the top of the novel looked to be a rotten wooden sign that read ‘Equestria Fallout.’ The changeling picked up the novel out of curiosity.
“Hey, look what I found,” he called. Trud and Gale came over to look at the cover. Rusty and Kelpie showed up just as Moss started to read the back. “In the not-too-distant future, Cloudsdale develops a new power source for its industries. The trend starts to catch on, but once the weather factory explodes, all Tartarus breaks lose.”
"That sounds scary," Kelpie commented, feeling a chill when he said ‘all Tartarus breaks lose.’
“It’s mature,” Rusty commented. He took a look at the book and point out the 18+ logo that Moss had missed. “See? Right here. I’m not sure if we’re allowed to buy this.”
“Why not?” Trud asked.
“Do you know why there’s an 18+ logo stamped on this book? The number 18 means we have to be 18 years old or above to purchase this ourselves unless we have an adult accompanying us. We’re only like… 15.”
“I don’t think I'd like that comic anyway,” Kelpie admitted. “I mean, ‘All Tartarus breaks lose?’ That doesn’t sound like a good sign.”
“Maybe not. And besides, I found another book that Kelpie could like.” Rusty showed a book titled ‘Firey Spotter and the Alicorn’s Stone.’ “Here. It’s a classic.”
“Is it about that colt who has the genes of an alicorn?” Moss asked.
“That’s right. I think it’ll be great…”
“That’s about magic and we already have enough magic. This is something we’ve never seen before.”
“If you insist, bring it to the register. Let’s go.”
The friends brought both books over to the counter to purchase them. The stallion at the register didn’t have an issue with the book Rusty found for Kelpie, though he stopped to look at Equestria Fallout.
“Um, hope you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?” he asked.
Rusty looked at his friends and made an estimate. “I say we’re all around… 15.”
“Sorry, kids. You can’t purchase this book here. That’s why there’s an 18+ logo stamped on it, only ponies… or creatures since there 3 of them with you… who’re 18 or above are allowed to purchase it, not unless you have an adult accompanying you.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell them, sir,” Rusty said, then turned to Gale, Moss, and Trud. “Sorry guys, you heard what he said.”
The three disappointed students went to put the novel back while Rusty was given the receipt for the book he and Kelpie purchased. The colt and hippogriff walked out of the book store and headed back to the school.
“So, you said that this is in a book series?” Kelpie asked.
“About 7 books,” Rusty explained. “We can look at the other ones if they catch your interests.” Kelpie looked at the cover of the book, which had the main character Firey Spotter apparently walking on a path of sparkles, which almost made it look like he was walking on air.
“It's got my interest. Hopefully, the story is good too.”
“Oh, it is good. Trust me, my mom loved this series.” The two walked home as they were unaware of what the other three creatures were doing.
Later that evening, in the cafeteria, Moss, Gale, and Trud met up with Rusty and Kelpie, who was already sitting at a table talking about Fiery Spotter. “It’s surprising how bad Fiery’s aunt and uncle are,” Kelpie admitted.
“I think it’s them playing favorites with his cousin,” Rusty guested. “Did you get to the part where…” They were interrupted by their friends sitting at the table.
“Enjoying the redundant book?” Moss asked.
“…Yes,” Kelpie responded. "It’s pretty good. I want to know more about what’s going to happen.”
“Then you’re gonna love this,” Gale spoke. He showed them the novel Equestria Fallout. Rusty was confused and shocked.
“Wait a minute! I thought they wouldn’t let you buy that,” the colt said.
“We know we couldn't,” Moss noted, “but Pinecone could.”
Rusty and Kelpie glanced at each other before they questioned, “Who?”
Moss smirked as he changed into the tall stallion who had a bit of a goatee and a pinecone for a cutie mark. “The guy just let me buy the book.” Impressed with what he did, the changeling shapeshifted back to his base form.
“Moss, there are so many things that might go wrong with that,” Rusty stated. “We could get in trouble for more than just our teachers. That’s very illegal.”
“We have the book now, so we might as well read it.”
The colt sighed with worry. Alright then. Did you at least keep the receipt?”
"Is that what this is?" Trud asked. He handed the colt a piece of paper, showing the price of the book. Rusty decided to hold onto it since Moss and Gale weren’t interested in listening.
“Okay, so we could only buy one copy,” Gale noted, “So how do we all read it?”
“Simple, we just read part of it one at a time,” Moss explained, “then we tell each other what we found out, then we pass it to the next.”
“Who goes first then?” Kelpie asked.
Moss thought for a minute before coming up with a plan. “I’m thinking of a number between 1 and 20. If you guess a number smaller than it, then you’ll go before I do. The lowest goes first, highest goes last.”
“2!” Gale called out.
“7!” Trud cried.
“Um… 5?” Kelpie spoke.
“19,” Rusty commented. This guess was shocking to his friends since there was no way he’d be first for reading.
Moss soon explained the results. “Okay then, so the order’s going to be Gale, Kelpie, me, Trud, and Rusty.” He handed the book over to Gale, who seemed pleased to go first. Rusty, on the other hand, was a little perplexed why Kelpie, someone who was creeped out by the description of the story, was wanting to read it.
“Don’t worry about me skimming through it,” the griffon said, “This is something I’m interested in.”
“Make sure to give good details.”
“I will.” They placed the book to the side so they could enjoy their meals. Rusty was wanting to change the subject, but it seemed that Kelpie had gone quiet. He appeared to be thinking about something.
Rusty wasn’t able to talk with the hippogriff until the next day. Kelpie was in the library reading Firey Spotter and Alicorn’s Stone when he saw his friend walking over to him. “What’s up, Rusty?” the hippogriff asked.
“I want to know more about your opinion on ‘Equestria Fallout’,” the colt spoke.
“Oh, that… uhh… It sounds... again, pretty scary.”
“Then why did you want to read it even though it’s scary for you?”
“Um… maybe it isn’t as bad as we think. I mean, ponies say that we don’t just judge a book by its cover, don’t they?"
“That’s true, but it’s not a hundred percent accurate. Forget about the fallout, tell me where you are at Fiery Spotter.”
“Alright. He just found the secret platform and is on his way to…” He paused when he saw Gale walk into the library with Moss and Trud by his side.
“Look, I think that since the chapters are all different lengths, we should just count the prologue as one chapter,” Gale stated. “I didn’t read any of the good stuff. The factory hasn’t blown up yet.”
“If we don’t limit each of us to one chapter we're all going to blaze through the book,” Moss stated and then saw Rusty and Kelpie sitting beside the table. “Look, there they are.” The three creatures sat down with their friends and placed Equestria Fallout on the table.
Rusty could already tell where the conversation was going to be about. “So what was in the first chapter?” he asked.
“Nothing to do with a fallout,” Gale responded. “I’ve just learned about the characters that are in this story. The story is styled like a journal that’s written by the main protagonist: Duke Strikes.” Taking another look at the cover, Duke appeared to have a beige coat with a maroon mane that was kept combed.
“Who else is in there?” Kelpie asked.
Gale thought for a minute before looking back in the chapter to double-check the characters’ descriptions. “There’s also his coworker, Hot Hoof, someone who’s hotheaded. There are also two hippogriffs named Sandy and Splashy…”
“Wait, hippogriffs?”
“Yeah. Apparently, there are more than just ponies in this book. The hippogriffs both seem to be a bit airheaded to Duke’s perspective. There's also a pegasus named Fluffy Cloud and a griffon named Gauge, they both work at the weather factory. Then there are two characters who I’m pretty sure aren’t going to last long or are going to be invincible. Duke’s wife, Orchid, and their daughter, Lilly Pad.” Gale turned the book around to show Duke, Orchid, and Lilly. Surprisingly, Orchid was a kirin while Lilly appeared to be a kirin earth pony hybrid. Not much detail could be explained as the drawing was in black and white.
“Huh, interesting,” Rusty commented. “Any other important details?”
“Well, Duke thinks that the new power source is kind of redundant as the factory appears to be running just as it was before.”
“Maybe the new energy source is cheaper.”
“Then the workers are probably getting what they paid for in the future,” Moss guessed.
“Plus, the factory had a ‘fire drill’,” Gale said making quotation gestures with his talons. “Duke thinks there’s something else going on.”
“Kelpie, I’m sure you’ll be getting to the good stuff.” Gale put the book down and slid it over to the hippogriff. Kelpie picked up and looked at the book for a few seconds before putting it beside him. Gale, Moss, and Trud were all guessing what the summary meant by ‘All Tartarus breaks loose.’ It gave a sinking feeling to not just Kelpie, but Rusty as well.
Later that night, Kelpie returned to his dorm with Equestria Fallout in his talons. He looked at the bunk bed, where his roommate, Pate the Changeling, was already asleep. The hippogriff sat down on the other bunk and looked at the bookmark that Gale had put in where he left off. Curious about what would happen next, he opened the book and took a look at the first chapter that hadn't been read.
The Cloudsdale Crash
June 1st
2:05 PMFor Celestia’s sake, I knew this would happen. I was at the market picking up my deliveries until everyone heard a small explosion. We looked to see a mushroom cloud coming from the weather factory with a siren starting to blare and we knew we had to get to cover.
I’ve never seen creatures move so fast and I don't blame them. Nobody knows the negative effects of this new power source and we don’t want to find out now. For some reason, I saw Heif the Changeling flying pasts me, heading towards the weather factory. I yelled loudly at him to turn back, but he didn’t listen. I hope for the best, but I have a big feeling that he wouldn’t make it out alive.We managed to get to shelter at the Town Hall just before the factory explosion hit us with its shockwave and, jeez, it was strong! I could’ve heard glass panes shatter from the windows and some creatures nearly tripped down the stairs, but we all managed to get down to safety. Looking around in the bunker, I saw a few griffons, changelings, and even a yak, but it was mostly just ponies. There was plenty of food and water for us down here for at least three days so we should be fine for a while.
9:31 PM
It's been over six hours in this stupid bunker. There should’ve been someone coming to get us out of here per the evacuation plan. I don’t know where Orchid and Lilly are, I hope they’re alright.
This was a lot to take in for the young hippogriff. The first paragraph was a mad dash getting to safety before getting to safety. Not to mention the mention of Heif the changeling, who Gale might’ve forgotten to mention at dinner, didn't seem that well. Especially the part of ‘wouldn't make it out alive’ was a little grim.
Kelpie looked at the back of the book at the summary of the story. It was in a small box that was above a map of Equestria, which had a red circle around Ponyville, Canterlot, and Cloudsdale. He was wanting to put the book down until he accidentally dropped it, making the book open up on a page that was terrifying. There was another picture showing a kirin who looked horrified at the strange silhouette hovering above her that appeared to have spider legs.
Despite being scared, Kelpie decided to take another look at the story to see what happened after Duke got to the bunker.
June 2nd
6:27 AM
Some ponies were getting tired of waiting for the rescue team to show up. They decided to venture out and see if they can get to the station. That was half an hour ago and we haven’t heard back from them. I’ve talked with some of the other creatures in the bunker, specifically the yak, who’s named Skuld. He doesn’t like being in this bunker anymore, however, he's been threatening to bash down the doors.
Not too long after Skuld’s threats, someone opened the door. It was Hot Hoof. He looked to be rather pent up about something. Judging by the argument that he and Skuld were having, Hot Hoof saw something we didn’t. We got a good look at the aftermath of the factory explosion. The sky seems to have turned red and the trees look like they’re drying out, there are leaves are dying and falling out.After I managed to get Hot Hoof to calm down, he told us that he was near the outskirts of Ponyville with Heif, who I remember seeing fly past me. Hoof said that there were some creatures who needed help, but the changeling just flew off without warning. Hoof had no time to save everyone, so he had no choice but to leave some creature behind. Everyone had split up after the shockwave, which had almost knocked Hoof out.
He wondered around for a little bit, seeing several creatures lying around the town looking horribly disfigured. Mutated is what Hoof called them. He said it could happen to all of us and wanted to get out of town as soon as possible. Skuld was having the same feeling. I wanted to still look around for survivors, but Hoof didn’t hesitate. He ran into the bunker to grab himself some food, then he ran off towards the station. I’m afraid I haven’t seen him since.
8:59 AM
I managed to convince Skuld to help me look around for anyone else. Ponyville was in a bad shape. Practically every window had been shattered and I saw a couple of bodies, from young children and infants to the elderly and all others, looking like burnt raisins. I almost puked a couple of times seeing them. Wandering around a little bit more, we saw Splashy the Hippogriff, though we weren’t happy to see her. She was horribly mutated, her face was melting and she has no eyes, just eyeholes.
Splashy looked like she had a tear, at least I hope that’s what it was. Skuld and I stayed away from her, we didn’t know if the mutation was contagious. The hippogriffs growled and gave some muffled speech. I felt sorry for her. She just wanted to see the world, explore, have fun. I could only imagine how much pain they felt.7:35 PM
Skuld couldn’t take it anymore. He took my cart and had everyone else that stayed in the bunker into it. They all ran off, heading north to Yakyakistan. I’m on my own now. I’m keeping the bunker doors locked in case any mutants show up. I hope I find someone else who isn’t like those hippogriffs. Maybe Hoof had to ride the idea to get out of town as soon as possible.
Kelpie then almost dropped the book out of fright when he looked at the next page. It showed a picture of an injured Hot Hoof, who was lying in a ditch with his legs possibly broken. Those were minor details of what was happening to the stallion. His teeth were growing bigger and sharper, almost impossible for him to keep them in his mouth. Though he was busy looking at another mouth that was taking shape on his cheek, much to his horror.
The hippogriff just put the book down on the side table, shivering a bit from what he saw and read. He covered himself with his bedsheet to try and get some sleep. Hoof’s mutation however kept him awake for most of the night, not to mention what Splashy looked like now. He was a scary thought, no question about it. Plus, Kelpie didn't fully know what that spider silhouette belonged to. Most likely, it was another mutant.
Kelpie was awfully tired from the lack of sleep. He barely had enough energy to get himself out of bed and follow Pate to the cafeteria. Rusty was getting his cereal when he saw the tired hippogriff crawl into the cafeteria. “Hey, Kelpie,” the colt called, “Did you sleep well?”
The tired Kelpie rubbed his eyes before looking over to his friend. “I might’ve gotten carried away with the book,” he explained. He yawned as he took his breakfast over to a table where Rusty promptly joined him.
“You’ve spent all night reading the book?”
“No… Just a little bit of it. Where Gale let off.”
Rusty was a little confused but he had a theory. “If you didn’t read all night, what kept you up?”
Kelpie was about to answer if he wasn’t interrupted by Trud butting into the conversation. “What hippogriff learn?” the yak asked. Trud definitely sounded excited giving the tone of his voice and he was partly standing on the table. As Rusty made him sit in the seats, Gale and Moss joined them.
“Hey, Kelpie,” the griffon said. “How’s the book?”
Kelpie thought back to what he read last night and what he saw. Doing his best to hide his fear, he explained what he read. From the powerful explosion from the factory to everyone but Duke heading away from Ponyville. Then he told them about Splashy’s mutation along with showing a picture of Hot Hoof’s current state. Rusty could barely look at the stallion’s second mouth.
“Sick,” Moss commented. "That was all in one chapter?”
“Yeah, I think so,” Kelpie responded. “Although, I think I got a sneak peek about something rather important…”
“La la la!” Trud cried out loudly, “Not listening.”
“Dude, easy with the spoilers,” Gale spoke. “Let me tell you what happens when I read it.” Kelpie just nodded before he passed the book over to the changeling, who was excited to find out about the fallout.
After breakfast, Kelpie walked down the hall wanting to get to bed as soon as possible. Rusty walked alongside him. “I’m starting to see why you didn’t sleep well last night,” the colt commented. “Why’d you say yes?”
“Uh… Gale’s been through a lot and… I’m doing this to help him feel better.” Kelpie looked inside of his dorm and was about to go in, but he felt like he forgot something. “Do we have classes today?”
“I don't think so.” The hippogriff gave a thumbs up before climbing back into his bunk and falling asleep.
This might’ve been a mistake for Kelpie since he slept through most of the day he wasn’t tired enough to sleep through the night. Therefore, he was tired again the next day. It wasn't as bad as the time the other day, but it was still kind of bad. He met up with his friends again, with Moss nervous yet excited to tell them what he found.
“How’s Duke doing now?” Gale asked.
“He’s not alone anymore,” the changeling explained. “He decided to take one more look around until he found Gauge. The griffon was with a couple of other survivors, some of which had minor mutations, but nothing too serious.”
“How did he not get mutated?” Gale asked.
“I have no idea, neither does Gauge. Though there was something that you should know about.” Moss opened the book to show the frightened pony and the silhouette that freaked Kelpie out. “Apparently, there is some sort of beast running around Ponyville. Don't really know what it looks like yet, since the book is being vague. Though, there's one thing I think is kind of clear. Gauge said Fluffy Cloud flew past them one night ‘trying to scream’.” The way he said that struck fear into Rusty and Kelpie. Gale and Trud felt shivers down their spins too.
Trud shook his head before speaking up. “Yak can find out what happens,” he spoke. He sounded pretty excited with his tail wagging while the book was passed over to him.
“Just remember, one chapter.”
“Trud knows.” Trud couldn’t help himself and started reading the next chapter right there. “Oh no.”
“What happened?”
“Survivors get attacked.”
“By that silhouette?” Gale questioned.
“The beast.” Trud began reading the story, but his broken English got on his friends’ nerves to the point where Gale snatched it back so he could read it properly.
June 6th
4:21 AM
We barely escaped with our lives. The beast came charging at us. A dragon known as Blaze thought he could take it on, but one stab was enough to prove him wrong. He still bought us enough time to escape. That poor dragon. We managed to get some lanterns to work, but we’re keeping them low so we don’t attract too much attention from whatever it is out there.
5:37 AM
We’ve managed to make quite a good distance. We’re just heading north as traveling along the tracks will be difficult since there have been reports of a collapsed bridge. We made it pretty far until we found Skuld, as well as fewer survivors that left Ponyville with him. The yak was missing his jaw and his breaths were very weak.
From what we heard from the survivors, a monster chased them until the cart’s wheel broke off, making Skuld lose control and break his jaw on a rock. The beast gobbled up most of the survivors but was led away by Fluffy Cloud. We decided to bring the remaining creatures with us. No one had the strength to put poor Skuld out of his misery, we do’nt have a choice but to leave him there. No one dared to look back, we would’ve only felt worse.
Gale looked up from the book as he and his friends were feeling nervous. “Um… Enjoy reading, Trud.” He handed the book back to the yak before continuing with his meal. Rusty could see Trud feeling his jaw, even though he couldn’t see his eyes, he could tell how he was feeling. Kelpie would have to work on his poker face as some beads of sweat were sliding down his face. Rusty made sure that he would find out where he left the receipt.
Kelpie tried to forget about the book. It was creeping him out, yet at the same time, he had to know more. Fortunately, he saw Trud sitting in the lounge later that day. “Um, hey, Trud,” the hippogriff said. Trud jumped a little bit when he heard his name called. He looked over to Kelpie, who stopped beside him. “How far did you read?”
“Yak read Duke go back for survivors,” the yak explained. “Some creatures go with him.”
“Isn’t that dangerous given the beast?”
“That what yak thought, but… creatures still alive.” He looked at the cover of the book before he resumed. “Would hippogriff like to read?”
“Wait, really? Isn’t Rusty supposed to be next?”
“Um…. Friend take yak’s turn.” Trud handed him the book before anything else could be said. A bit confused, Kelpie didn’t complain. He just looked for a seat to sit in then started reading the book.
1:32 PM
I couldn’t believe it, we found Lilly! She was stuck in her treehouse which seemed to have seen better days. Fortunately for her, she had a couple of snacks that Orchid packed for her, so Lilly could eat those over the few days. She was slightly mutated with a third eye and one of her regular ones melted, but aside from that, she’s still the same little girl I know and love. I’m not leaving her side now. She’s sticking with me from now on.
2:22 PM
It’s a day of surprises for everyone. We found Heif at Sugarcube Corner, which looks to have been abandoned since the second day of the explosion. Heif seemed to have seen better days. Despite being in a baker for who knows how long, he looks to be starving. We tried approaching him, but he just kept backing up and muttering to himself. I tried to talk with him, but he wasn’t in the right state of mind.
After he calmed down, Heif managed to explain. He said that he was looking for his wife, Coxa. She was at the hospital the last time he saw her and just wanted to know if she was okay, but he got knocked by the shockwave when he tried to get there. Just when I thought he needed a minute, there was a deep groggy voice that said, “It's all your fault, Heif. You were so greedy!”Heif started breathing heavily as we got a good look at the backside of his head, that's when we saw it. The changeling now had a second mangled face on the back of his head. Both eyes were different sizes and the muzzle was almost flat like it had been crushed. But it was clear, he was talking to the voice inside of his head, literally.
Kelpie shivered at the thought of what a second head could look like. He looked over to where Trud was sitting a few minutes ago which was now an empty seat, meaning the yak had walked away. With that being noted, the hippogriff continued the story.
4:32 PM
We didn’t expect this. To our surprise, Sandy the Hippogriff showed up a few minutes ago, looking completely different from the ‘party girl’ I first knew her as. She had bandages wrapped around her talons which had some red substance that I could assume was blood. She also had some goggles and a helmet on while she wielded a bat that had the same substance as her bandages.
Sandy told us what happened. She was in a bunker in Cloudsdale when the factory exploded. She and the other survivors stayed there for two days until some ponies showed up and tried attacking the non-pony creatures in the bunker. Many creatures fought back and so did Sandy. It was pretty brutal, but they managed to escape from the attackers.After finding a place to hide, they could see a couple of mutants wandering around. Sandy and the survivors suited up with whatever kind of armor and weaponry they could find. They wandered around for survivors, beating up any kind of mutant that tried to bite them. After explaining the story, the next thing Sandy asked was “Where’s Splashy?!”
It hurts when I told her about her sister’s mutation. I didn’t fully understand it at the time, so I just ran. Sandy broke down into tears knowing her sister’s fate. We managed to keep her calm and we thought it would be a good idea that all survivors would stay at Sugarcube Corner for a night. First thing tomorrow, we would head back to where Gauge’s group of survivors were camping out. We decided to try and take some pastries that were still in the bakery. Many were a bit stale but aside from that they still tasted pretty good.
8:53 PM
I’m having much trouble sleeping. Heif is still having trouble with his second face, who we called "Back Talk," though the changeling’s calm right now. Lilly is fast asleep and I’m trying not to disturb her. Sandy offered to be one of the survivors to stay guard for the night in case we were attacked.
I’m still thinking about the beast that attacked us earlier today. I hate to say it but… I feel that it could be Orchid. This whole town has gone to Tartarus. Almost everyone I know is either missing, dead, or mutated. Now my wife is a bloodthirsty monster that eats insides like Nightmare Night candy. Hopefully, when we get through this, we should be able to move somewhere like the Crystal Empire. Maybe there could be a cure for these mutations. I cannot wait for all of this to be over.
Kelpie closed the book and took a minute to think about what he just read. It wasn’t as bad as what he read previously, but still a little chilling. He remembered that Moss said they could only read one chapter per day, but… he was tempted to read more. Things were starting to look up for the characters and Rusty didn’t sound too interested in the book. Plus, he might’ve read ahead before when he got a peek of the beast. So he decided to read a little more.
June 7th
7:13 AM
We were all woken up by the shouting. Heif was holding his head as he kept walking in circles telling ‘Back Talk’ to shut up. It got to the point where he was screaming in pain with his wings nearly making him fly all over the place. It was like he was fighting for control. When he landed, Heif looked at me and simply said, “Duke, take care of Coxa for me.”
Without warning, he ran outside of the bakery towards the town’s fountain. There was a sharp point that an unlucky creature could impale themselves on. The second I saw him running towards it, I knew what was going to happen. We called out for Heif to stop but it was too late…
Kelpie stopped reading at that point, and just left the book on the chair and just flew away to get his mind off of what happened. Pinkie Pie was walking by after dropping off some snacks when she saw the book on the chair. She saw the 18+ logo at the corner of the book. “Why is this book here?” she asked herself. After picking it up, she walked off to find whoever that book belong to.
Later that night, Kelpie wasted no time getting to bed. He wanted to forget what he had learned. He didn’t say anything to Pate and just covered his head with his blankets. He tried and force himself to get to sleep.
When Kelpie woke up, something didn’t feel right about where he was. He could see the top bunk of the bed was missing. It wasn’t that had been carefully removed, judging by the broken wood it looked like it had been torn off. Feeling concerned, Kelpie got up and walked past the door that was almost busted off its hinges. Walking around for a little bit, he found Pate, who was sitting in the lounge and muttering to himself. “Pate?” Kelpie said.
“Oh… Hey, Kelpie,” Pate said. He gave a meek smile before he started muttering. “I'm sorry. I just wanted Shimmy to be safe. It’s not my fault.” This sounded familiar. Kelpie flew closer to his roommate who tried backing up. “Please, leave me alone!”
“Pate, I just want to talk. What’s going on? Where’s everycreature? What happened to them?”
“He was greedy. They’re all gone. It’s all your fault, Pate!” The deep groggy voice was a red flag that Kelpie remembered. Before he could ask any other questions, Pate screamed before running out of the lounge. The hippogriff tried to catch up and quickly found himself outside of the school. He saw Ponyville, which was an absolute wasteland. Buildings were burnt and destroyed, the sky was bloody red, and trees were dried out and missing their leaves, it was freakishly eerie.
Despite this, he wandered around trying to see where Pate and presumably ‘Back Talk’ ran off to. As he did this, he could see a couple of things that were familiar. He saw a crater in the middle of the town that had Rusty Wrench sitting in. The unicorn didn’t seem to notice the hippogriff, he looked more concerned about his… second mouth.
Kelpie looked away, feeling like he was going to vomit. He flew away as he could hear some muffled screaming. Looking up, he could see Gale, who was missing his beak and his eyes looked someone had made spiderwebs across them. He only got a glimpse of the griffon before he flew out of sight. The hippogriff was freaking out now. He turned around a corner and saw Trud lying on the ground.
He could only see the backside of the yak, but given what he knew and had seen, he didn’t want to see the face of his friend. Kelpie ran in the other direction hoping that he would find some way out of the town. He could see some other familiar faces from school but they were fairly mutated. Even some of their bodies, like Gallus, Silverstream, Dotta, and November Rain, all burnt into crisp from head to toe. Others got impaled like Peridot, where Emerald was standing, kneeling down and mourning for her twin sister's death.
Kelpie didn’t stop to check on them until he flew to the train station. Once there, he saw Moss, who was sitting motionless with a thousand-yard stare. “M… Moss?” Kelpie stuttered in fear. The changeling didn’t respond and just slowly started approaching the frightened hippogriff. Kelpie started backing up out of fear until he found himself walled into a corner that logically shouldn’t have been here. Moss just stared at the hippogriff who was shaking with fear.
Suddenly, the changeling’s chest opened up like the petals of a flower to reveal a row of teeth. Kelpie screamed in fear and tried flying away but a tendril came out and wrapped around his hoof. “Gah! No! Let me go!” Kelpie flapped his wings frantically as he was slowly pulled downwards. Being just inches from the beast’s jaw, Kelpie screamed in fear just before he was about to be eaten.
Out of the blue, a beam of light shot at the beast, which promptly disintegrated. Kelpie opened his eyes and looked around breathing heavily. He was relieved that the beast was gone, but was confused about what happened. “I don’t see why your friends talked you into this,” spoke a voice.
Kelpie looked around until he saw somebody had heard of but didn't expect, Starswirl the Bearded. Shocked, the young hippogriff didn’t know what to say other than a simple question. “How are you here?”
“Somebody had to take over dream duty after Princess Luna retired,” Starswirl explained. “Let’s talk about what’s more important though." With a glow of his horn, Ponyville’s post-apocalyptic look was gone for the one that everyone knew and loved. Every mutant creature returned to normal as the sky regained its normal color. “Now, I believe you’ve been reading some you shouldn’t have, did you?”
Kelpie felt rather embarrassed as he felt like he would be in trouble. “Yes,” he said. “But… I was wanting to hang out with Gale and his friends. That’s all.”
“I understand you want to make the griffon and his friends happy given what happened in the past few days. However, that doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice your own happiness.”
“You… You’re right. Maybe I should’ve listened to Rusty.”
“Perhaps, you should’ve just stuck with Fiery Spotter.” Another glow Starswirl's horn teleported them to a school with unicorns running around. Their attention was grabbed by the sound of an argument.
"Give it here," spoke a young voice. They looked over to see two unicorns fighting. One levitating holding a pocket watch that looked rather old while the other was familiar to the hippogriff.
“Hang on, is that Fiery?” the hippogriff asked with amuzement.
“It’s how I envisioned him,” Starswirl admitted. They watched the scene of Fiery and another unicorn fighting each other over the pocket watch. “You showed great interest in this series, I enjoyed it myself. What I don’t understand is why you kept reading the book despite fearing it. It’s more than just making Gale feel better.”
Kelpie rubbed his arm as he let out a sigh. “I haven’t done too much of getting to know most of the creatures here. I’ve been trying to keep up with my schoolwork. I think I only stood out during the superhero contest. That’s when I was pretending to be someone else.”
“Like how you pretended that you wanted to read more of a book that frightened you?”
Kelpie paused as he thought about what he was told. “Well, when you put it like that, I guess you’re right.”
Starswirl smiled and chuckled. “It took me a while to learn the ways of friendship, you on the other hoof don’t have to struggle too much. Just explain the situation and I’m sure they’ll understand. And don’t worry about their karma, it’ll catch up with them in the end.”
With that, Starswirl walked away leaving the hippogriff feeling better. Then he heard some loud thumps. He could feel them too.
Suddenly, Kelpie woke up. The school was quaking, waking other students up in the process. The thuds seemed to have a few second pauses, that combined with the sound almost made it clear that it was a yak stomping.
Poking his head out of his dorm, Kelpie saw Trud running down the hall, stomping and ramming into the walls all the way. “Beast won't get yak!” he cried. “Yak keeping jaw!” Trud ran past the dorm as Gale came flying around the bend. The griffon was carrying a pot and a pan which he used to make some noise when he got close to the yak.
“Dude, seriously, wake up!” Gale screamed banning the cooking equipment as hard as he could. “You’re sleepwalking!”
“Beast stay away!” With one more scream, Trud ran full speed right through a wall into the showers. To make matters worse, the sleepwalking yak broke a pipe making cold water shoot out both the showers and hallway. Kelpie and some other students came over to see the disaster. It was one of the few times they could see Trud’s eyes, which opened up so he could see what happened.
“Trud, what were you doing?” Kelpie asked.
“Yak was being chased by beast,” Trud explained while he stood up. “Yak keeping jaw!”
Pate, who was one of the students in the crowd didn’t understand this claim. “What is he talking about?” the changeling questioned.
“It’s something from this book we’ve read,” Gale explained.
“And we’re going to return it,” Rusty proclaimed. He walked through the crowd so he could talk with his friends. “Gale, we’ve crossed the line now. Trud’s having nightmares because of what he learned from that book.”
Some hoofsteps could be heard as Starlight Glimmer came in to check the students after hearing the noise. Needless to say, she was shocked when she saw the hole and the water spraying everywhere. After a few minutes of being speechless, she finally found her voice.
“…How did this happen?” the headmare asked.
Kelpie and his friends looked at each other before the hippogriff bravely spoke up. “Headmare… I think it’s been something to do with a book we've been reading,” he explained.
After a quick explanation, and turning off the water to stop from spraying everywhere. Kelpie, Gale, Moss, Trud, and Rusty were called into Starlight's office. The mare wasn't pleased with what she heard.
“That’s why those ratings exist for a good reason,” she noted. “It’s very mature for the young audience.”
“That’s what I said to them,” Rusty spoke. “I tried to get a good starting book for Kelpie, but Moss twisted his talon.”
“He was the one who could’ve said no,” Moss cried trying to defend himself.
“Moss, listen. I know you’re in the wrong here,” Starlight noted. She opened a drawer to reveal ‘Equestria Fallout’ then pointed to the 18+ warning. “Pinkie Pie showed me this yesterday. I was tempted to ask around for the owner, but it seems that won’t be necessary.”
Moss, Gale, and Trud didn’t say a word knowing they were in trouble. Rusty had something to inform their headmare. “I’ve been holding onto the receipt for this book, Headmare,” the colt informed. “It’s being kept in my room.”
“Good. We just need that and then we’ll return it back.”
“Um, we’re not getting our refund, are we?” Gale asked.
“No, it’s store policy. They’ll be spent to help pay for the damages for the showers. Plus, the bookstore will be informed about detecting changeling.” The griffons, changeling, and yak groaned as Kelpie started looking worried. “You don’t have to be dragged into this, Kelpie. You didn’t spend any money on the book, so you’re safe.”
This made the hippogriff feel better.
“As of the three of you, listen carefully. You’re in trouble. But let me say this: it’s good to purchase a good book for you to read to gain more knowledge, but purchasing a book that has inappropriate images and disturbing scenes at a young age can lead to consequences like what happened a while ago. The next time you buy a book, novel, or comic, when there’s an 18+ stamp on it, don’t… buy it unless you’re at that age. Understand?”
Gale, Moss, and Trud nodded in reply.
“And, Moss, don’t even think about shapeshifting into an adult again.”
Moss nodded, telling her that he solemnly swore not to do it again.
“Good. All of you are now dismissed.” Soon, everyone was let out of the office, and Rusty quickly got the receipt for Equestria Fallout, and give it to Starlight. After the headmare left for the store, Rusty and Kelpie had a moment alone.
“I should’ve just said no,” Kelpie sighed. “This couldn’t have happened if I said it.”
“It’s alright, Kelpie,” Rusty said. “I know what it’s like to keep reading a book that scares you.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. When I was younger, I found a book called “War of Equestria.” There were these creatures that came from another dimension and they… You know what? I think I’ll save you the details. Long story short, it gave me nightmares.”
“Uh-huh. Funny thing about that, I almost had a nightmare, if Starswirl didn’t step in.”
“Wait, you saw Starswirl the Bearded in your dream?”
“Yes. He did say that he was taking care of the dream world since Princess Luna retired.”
“Oh. That makes more sense. Let’s just pretend to forget about that book and focus on… Fiery Spotter?”
“Sure. Even Starswirl recommends that.” The two friends walked off to find the book they bought, while Gale, Moss, and Trud thought about how they would get the money they wasted back.