Pinkie looked sadly into the horizon, seeing the police car speed off into the distance before vanishing. Applejack was right sadly, Crimson did have that quirk about him. If his mind was set on something, he'd do whatever he can to do it. He was also hot-headed from time to time, and who could blame him? Pinkie knew his mind-set better then anyone else almost, and she knew that Crimson was in pain right now. He needed to rest. Pinkie looked at Twilight, who was now sobbing on the concrete ground below. She went over and wrapped an arm around her, giving the crying Twilight the warmest smile she could give her. "It's going to be alright, Twi..." Pinkie said before pulling her into a hug. "I promise.."
----- "I still can't believe any of this is happening..." About a week had passed, during which Circuit was still coming to grips with his situation. Not only were his closest friends, save for Crimson, practitioners of arcane arts, but Sunset and Twilight were apparently from a parallel universe where they were sapient horses. "I know it's a lot to take in," said Twilight, "but it's the truth... and these... things... followed me here. I may not have intended to bring them with me, but we're making damn sure they don't live long enough to follow me back."
"What did ya intend to do, Twi?" Applejack looked at her curiously. "Well Girls! Here's the idea." Twilight enthusiastically said, noticing she accidentally missed out on mentioning Circuit, meekly smiling in response at her slip-up. "I've done some research upon the worms, and I've discovered that they have something that both our worlds have in similarity. The worms share Eusociality like other insects that currently live on Earth. Certain insects, crustaceans and mammals have this, although they are much more present in animals such as Hymenopteran insects, such as bees, wasps and ants." "Wait...are you saying that whatever was controlling Circuit" Rainbow piped up. Twilight nodded. "These animals share a collective consciousness with one another. In short, a highly developed hive mind." The girls gasped in shock at this discovery, even Sunset, who must have learned this animal in her youth back in Equestria. She must have forgotten about their existence, mostly due to how used she is to Earth. "How did you learn about all of this Twilight?" Fluttershy asked, curious about this seemingly alien creature. Twilight then had a confident smirk on her face, as she soon reached down and picked up a jar, and placed it on the table. "Because I managed to capture a live specimen!" Almost all of the girls screamed at the horrific appearance of this creature, except Fluttershy, who looked in wonder. The loudest scream came from Pinkie Pie, who almost fainted....
The creature, a small, centipede-like insect covered in a brownish-grey exoskeleton and wart-like growths all over its body, rapidly leapt about in the jar, as if it doesn't realized it is trapped. "Twilight..." said Rainbow Dash, anger and fear in equal balance, "...we are all... SO LUCKY... that you have that damn thing inside a jar..." Twilight rolled her eyes. "Gee, we're so lucky that I took the necessary precautions to keep this creature from doing any harm..." she said snidely. "Anyway, when not attached to a host, they are about as intelligent as the average insect, and completely cut off from the hive mind; it relies solely on its instincts to attach to a host. Once they attach, however, they'll be able to carry out the will of their Mothermind; a central organism that controls all of the worms once they attach to a host. With very minimal hosts, she is normally incapable of even moving around on her own, being rooted to one spot in a tree-like form. However, with more hosts, she begins to increase in power, until she exceeds the abilities of even the most powerful beings in Equestria. Even worse... as the number of hosts go up, the immunity and resistance rates go down." Twilight's face widened in fear. "There are 423 million ponies in Equestria, and having control over all of them is bad enough. I shudder to imagine what she could do with seven billion human hosts."
"Are you saying that, should everyone on Earth be infected, that this mothermind is the closest thing to....." Fluttershy said in shock, eyes going wide at the realization of such a creature having that much power. "If the Mothermind gained the control of all seven billion human hosts, then it would be biologically impossible to destroy it. This would be the closest thing to a Human deity imaginable. Imagine a sentient organism with near omniscient intelligence, among....other physical luxuries. It'd be as if Earth would have it's own personal god..." Twilight said grimly. "And not the benevolent type either...but we don't know that for sure..." Rarity then thought about something. "So....if all seven billion people managed to gather in a single place, and well....procreate. Would the minds of the children that are born increase it's power?" Twilight nodded. "Overpopulation is going to immediately become the biggest issue to Earth. But...let's focus on the positives. In the current state, I'm able to detect that the Mothermind isn't really mobile at all. And it should be easy to destroy." The girls sighed happily, before Twilight's eyes looked down in shame. "Crimson was right....everything is my fault.
Applejack gave Twilight a pat on the back. "Listen, Twi, the only way this coulda' been yer fault would be if ya brought them there critters here on purpose," she said reassuringly. "And ah don't think you'd never do nothin' ta hurt us. If anythin', Crim was just gettin' real worked up over something that's beyond anybody's control."
Twilight nodded sadly. "I suppose so. I mean, he's very overprotective of his mother. I think it's because of what he's been through as a kid." Applejack smiled before looking with the girls with a sense of determination. "He will be back, Twi. But that....nasty Mindworm? We need to deal with it." Rainbow nodded. "You're right. It's time to make things right again. Twi, Sunset, where do you think this Mothermind would be located. Sunset thought for a moment about the location of the mothermind. "Well, it's most likely rooted itself somewhere, far from human interaction. Somewhere secluded....but where?"
"There's an abandoned television station just 20 blocks away from the school," said Rarity. "Once, it was the city's only TV station since 1974: KNTR. I remember turning to good old channel 11 as a young child to watch Mr. Rogers every morning!" she added with nostalgic glee. "Unfortunately, they weren't a very well-funded station, so they went off the air in 2005, and we've only gotten Colorado Springs stations since." "And there's been all these rumors of weird noises and whatnot goin' on over there lately," noted Applejack.
Sunset raised an eyebrow at these developments, looking over to Twilight beside her as the rest of the girls seemed to get an insight to what their Red-haired friend seemed to know about. Circuit especially, seemed interested, mostly at finding out about a part of the city's history before he arrived in Canterlot. "You don't think....the the Mothermind could be using that old TV station as it's...lair....do you?" Circuit seemed to say what everyone was thinking. "Only one way to find out..." Said an familiar voice at the doorway, causing everyone to turn around in surprise. Nearby the door was a teen of average height, wearing jeans and a pair of sneakers. Along with a trendy T-shirt, the familiar face couldn't help but smile at his friends. "Crimmy!" Pinkie suddenly gasped in shock, quickly running over and pulling her boyfriend into a bear-hug. Crim winced at the pain still, but it wasn't enough for him to pull away, letting the pink-haired girl hold him tight. The other girls looked happily at the return of their friend. "Hey Crim!" Circuit said before seeing his friend, then remembering something. "Shouldn't you be looking after your mother or something?" "She woke up about two hours after she went unconscious. She's already up and running like her old self, she really doesn't know when to quit. I came as soon as I could." Crimson proudly said to his friends, before seeing Twilight's sudden pained expression. This caused Crimson to walk over, sighing in regret. "Listen Twilight...I'm sorry for everything that I've said about you. I tend to be kind of a hot-head...and a goofball....but I got really scared about losing my mother last week, and well, I overeacted..." Crimson said in a really meaningful tone, still filled with sadness from all the pain that the two must have gone through. "I'm very sorry for what I did.... Twilight looked at him for a moment, except she seemed....happy that he was apologizing despite treating her like dirt. She suddenly pulled him into a tight hug, causing the Aussie to wince again in pain slightly. "Apology accepted..." Twilight smiled.
"Good to have you back, Crim," said Circuit as he joined the hug, causing Crimson to gasp for air slightly. "Good... to be back... mate..." he wheezed, with a smile on his face. "STOP! YOU'RE CUTTING OFF CIRCULATION!!" shouted Fluttershy in fear. "Oh... sorry..." said Twilight, blushing awkwardly as she and Circuit let go.
Crimson gasped for air loudly, but he didn't seem agitated at all, showing that he was alright. "My ribs have basically healed. Sore still, but they don't cause me any pain" Sunset sighed. "That's a relief..." "Yeah...I was told in the hospital that it's a miracle that I can even walk, much less recover back to full health." Crimson said happily. "Wait, what happened to you guys and girls before I got here?" Twilight asked. Sunset went over to whisper something in her ear, causing the Princess's eyes to widen in utter shock. "Oh....." Twilight gasped. Crimson then confidently looked at his friends. "Let's not stand around for much longer. It's time to defeat this evil, and well, save the world...."
"Jeez, first a street gang, now this," said Circuit in exasperation, "I guess a normal life is too much to ask at this point... Oh well, Crim's right. If we don't try to destroy this thing now... well, there won't be anyone able to live a normal life." Rainbow Dash chuckled a bit. "Don't worry Circuit... this is normal for us," she said with a smirk.
Some time later... Spoiler: Picture of building The group of friends soon got prepared to make a journey across town, driving their way up to the top of a hill just outside of town to find the old TV station. Nearby one of the main roads, just cutting into a forest, was a two-story high concrete building, complete with a small radio tower. A steel fence totally covered the entire area of the outside building, the rusted metal looking worn out due to corrosion and rust. Some holes had been made overtime, where some of the local critters entered. The carpark had been totally abandoned, with moss and fungus starting to grow from the cracked concrete, nature trying to reclaim it's lost area. The whole building seemed to have been locked up, covered in graffiti on the outside, yet a single abandoned white camper van sat just outside of the building. It was fascinating, for a place that had only been abandoned of human life for just over ten years, it looked like many decades had passed. And the building did not age well... "Well...here we are." Applejack and the rest of her friends said, standing just outside of the fence. "The Graveyard of Ol' Channel 11...."
"It's the perfect hideout." Crimson commented on Circuit's comment, as he immediately went over to open the gate. Sure, he was about to break the law and trespass onto private property, but for the betterment of mankind, he had no choice. Along with that, he hasn't been a very good boy lately.... "Wait, you serious Crim?" Circuit quickly said, placing his hand onto his shoulder. Crim shrugged. "You have a better idea?" Circuit was about to argue a point with him, then realising that if the Mindworms managed to infect him and Crim's mother, then it mostly likely has infected the rest of the police force as well... "Nevermind...just keep going with breaking in." Circuit said, sounding defeated as Crimson was busy lock-picking into the abandoned station.
"Just be careful..." said Twilight, "If Rarity and Applejack are right, this could be very dangerous." "Oh, yeah, like we needed a reminder," replied Rainbow Dash sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
The group of friends carefully made their way towards the entrance, passing a large group of overgrowth along the way. Who knew what sort of woodland critters were inside there, and it was most likely not the friendly kind. Crim went to unlock the front door again, about to use his skills that he'd picked up back in Australia, before the door suddenly fell from the hinges and fell apart onto the ground, surprising the group. "Well....that's one way to open a door." Pinkie jokingly commented before being the first one to walk through into the building.
As one would expect from a derelict building, there were no light sources apart from the Sun that worked. Those who brought flashlights were forced to turn them on as a result. Their surroundings were typical of a low-budget TV station that had went off-air permanently almost ten years ago. Old, dust-covered cathode-ray tube televisions that looked to have been manufactured in the late 80s were cluttered onto desks, some of which had cracked screens or broken power cords; while what appeared to be Betamax tapes were strewn about the floor, with the names of programs to have been aired scrawled on them in permanent marker. In the corner of the room, a lone Commodore Amiga computer with heavily yellowed plastic sat on a desk, floppy disks scattered around it haphazardly. "It smells as if we're in a mass grave," said Rarity in disgust, pinching her nose shut. "Or like Sweetie Belle's cookin'," retorted Applejack playfully, which earned her a stern glare from Rarity. "...sorry, sugarcube," said Applejack awkwardly. "Guys, we need to be quiet," whispered Sunset, "We shouldn't attract any attention to ourse--" Suddenly, a loud buzzing sound could be heard, followed by one of the televisions turning itself on. Another turned on, and another. They all seemed to be showing random programs aired throughout the station's history, such as Doctor Who, Barney, or Antiques Roadshow. "...I'm afraid it is far too late for that," said what sounded like a disembodied feminine voice; almost ethereal in quality, and menacing yet seductive. As the televisions turned themselves off, a light turned on, showing something that had been obscured by the shadows. It was a very gruesome sight to behold: it looked like what appeared to be a tree, shaped like a very horrifically deformed humanoid woman, yet seemingly made of rotting maggot skin. The weaker-stomached of the group nearly vomited, while Fluttershy was mentally reconsidering her secret desire to become a tree. "I notice that you have found my children quite the entertainment," said the voice, which appeared to be coming from the tree, "though if you intend to prevent their spread, you have failed quite miserably," she added. This was when the girls noticed that she was seemingly becoming less treelike, and more humanoid; her features slowly shifting from grotesque to an uncanny, unnatural beauty. "I now control this entire city," she gloated, "perhaps even this entire region. With every passing second, my children spread at an increasingly rapid rate, and my power grows exponentially." "We're putting an end to this," said Rainbow Dash defiantly, "so you can kiss your plans good-bye!" "Such feeble words," replied the Mothermind, now completely humanoid. "Your mistake was delaying your assault. Soon, this entire world... nay, the entirety of all of reality, will be under my control. And soon, you too will join me, and together, we will reshape existence into perfection." She approached each of the group individually. "No more worrying about the joy of others..." Pinkie Pie stuck out her tongue rudely. "...or your physical appearance..." Rarity folded her arms in disgust. "...or your athletic prowess." Rainbow Dash gave her the finger. "Your families will be accounted for..." Applejack scowled harshly, while Crimson rolled his eyes. "...and the approval of your mentors will no longer be a concern." Sunset gave a hateful glare, as Twilight groaned in disgust. "Your lives will be enriched..." Circuit placed his hand over his face. "...and all inferior species will be dealt with." "You... MONSTER!!" shouted Fluttershy, enraged. The Mothermind chuckled sinisterly. "Oh, if I had control of one being for every time I've heard that said of me..." she said, smirking. "Oh wait, I do." "Control this!" shouted the angry voice of an Australian-accented woman from behind all of them, as the hissing of a flamethrower grew louder and louder. The Mothermind turned around, trying to stop the flames, but it was too late. The abomination screamed an inhuman wail of pain and rage, as it melted into slime and ash. There, in the doorway, stood Winter Rush, holding a flamethrower in her hands. "Your mistake was monologuing," said the policewoman. Circuit sighed. "Well, that was anticlimactic."
The police chief sighed in relief as she lowered the flamethrower from her hands. seeing the sudden joy on the faces of the youthful group of students nearby. Fluttershy looked in horror at the burning flesh and slime that the now dead Mothermind had left behind, the stench being so potent, that she mustered whatever she could to prevent from puking all over the place, gagging uncontrollably. Rarity threw up regardless. Suddenly, Crimson carefully went over to hug his mother happily, as the woman dropped the weapon carefully on the ground. The mother and son quickly shared a loving embrace of warmth, before suddenly being joined in by an incredibly happy Pinkie Pie. Even Twilight went to join in. The strange worms suddenly went into shock and died instantly. With the loss of the Mothermind, it seemed that virtually their entire race went extinct in mere moments after the connection was severed. Some of them had been connected to the ceiling for some reason, dropping to the ground and turning into ash. Twilight couldn't believe it, suddenly jumping for joy. "We did it! We saved..." She continued before realising that Winter didn't know about the Portal, and hopefully, she would stay that way. "Save what?" Winter looked at her curiously. "The world?" "Um...yeah. Something like that" Twilight nodded sheepishly. Crimson went to the gas canister of the flamethrower and picked it up, now thinking of an idea. "I suppose we just took a life mum...." Winter nodded. "It wasn't a human life, and to be fair, this was an act of self defense....and personal retribution." Crimson went to take the flame thrower. "Time to make things right....lets make sure that this will never happens again."
"Wait a minute," asked Twilight, "you knew what that thing was?" "Kind of hard not to when it's telling you to kill your son," replied Winter, "Though the idea that it came from a parallel dimension was a bit much to take in..." "That thing... had some kind of mind link to the worms' victims..." explained Circuit, as he remembered what had happened to him. Then he remembered something else, and his eyes widened. "Wait a minute... does that mean..." "You're talking about Twilight and Sunset, right?" asked Winter, "Yes, oddly enough, the creature from another dimension recognizing two other life forms from back home was the least of my worries. Still is, funnily enough." ----- People across Canterlot were cleaning up the worm carcasses from the streets, though most of them were none the wiser about what had happened to them, or where the worms came from. All they knew was that these things had to be disposed of. Circuit watched from his bedroom window as Rugburn picked another worm out of the driveway. "Good Lord, that's the second time this month something horrible's happened," Rugburn said, "And here I was trying to get away from the crime and whatnot in Cali..." Suddenly, the doorbell rang. "Circuit! There's someone here to see you!" shouted Rugburn. Circuit ran downstairs and opened the door. It was Twilight. "Come on in, Twilight," said Circuit. "Sorry, Circuit," said Twilight sadly, "but I can't. I... have to go back home." "Already?" replied Circuit, disappointment evident in his voice. "But I hardly even know you!" "Oh, don't worry," said Twilight, smiling slightly, "Sunset has ways of keeping in touch with me. So you guys won't be missing me too much. If something weird happens... she knows who to call." "Thanks for everything, Twi," said Circuit, "We couldn't have done this without you." He hugged her, which caught the alicorn by surprise, but she soon returned the hug. "I'll miss you, Twi." ----- After Twilight returned to Ponyville, she had learned that two new ponies had moved into the small town, and from what she had heard, they were very similar to the two young men she had met in the human world. The next morning, there was a knock on the castle door. Twilight opened the door to see two unicorn stallions; one with a grey coat, brown mane and eyes, and glasses, and the other had a red coat, with a purple and yellow mane, and blue eyes. "G'day, mate," said the red stallion, in a thick Trotstralian accent, "Name's Crimson Lionheart, just moved here. You must be Princess Twilight!" "Um, yes, yes I am!" the purple alicorn replied nervously. "Pleasure to meet you, Princess," said the grey stallion, holding out one hoof, which Twilight took and began to shake. "I'm Circuit Breaker, and I also just moved here." ----- A U-Haul truck had just pulled into the driveway of a recently purchased house, and out of the truck stepped a young woman in a grey-and-white pinstriped business suit with a red necktie. Her skin was a bright shade of lime green, her long, flowing hair being forest green with light green streaks, which only served to complement her sky blue eyes. "Well," said the woman in a thick French-Canadian accent, "I think it's time to get settled into my new home." ----- END
