Zevana

(Anthro perspective. Horror themes (light body horror, light lovecraftian), violence. Blueberry Hill was once a vibrant farming community known for, unsurprisingly, its blueberry farms until, one year, the blueberries suffered from a terrible blight, withering the crops and leaving the farmers destitute, driving many to leave the small town in search of employment elsewhere. It seemed like that the town, like the blueberry bushes, was about to wither away to nothing until, like a miracle, the eyes of big industry set their gaze upon Blueberry Hill. The old, blighted farms were bought up and massive factories were erected on what was once tilled, fertile soil. And where there was once the scent of delicious blueberry pies being carried on the wind now only the acrid scent of industrial exhaust wafted through the air, soot staining the whitewashed walls of the homes. The factories brought jobs and opportunities as well as a modest level of prosperity to Blueberry Hill, though also the vices and troubles that come with an industrial town as well. Blueberry Hill spent almost two decades in a 'golden age', so to speak, but like all good things it was not to last forever. The factories began to close down almost overnight, the labor now being outsourced abroad and the factory workers, much like the farmers before them, were now out of work. Many left, but some still remained in Blueberry Hill, surviving in the dying industrial town, either hoping for yet another revitalization of the town or simply because they had nowhere else to go. Now, in modern times, Blueberry Hill is just another weathered industrial town living on borrowed time as it waits for the slow death that stagnation brings upon a community. Utterly unremarkable in every way, save for its crime statistics which rank among the highest per capita for towns in the region. Still, even with that, nobody thinks of Blueberry Hill because nothing happens in Blueberry Hill. Or so ponies think nothing happens in Blueberry Hill. But there was something wrong in town. Though nobody talked about it there was a sense of dread in the atmosphere, heavier than the smog that once hung over the town. Tempers flared as sleep began to become ever more elusive for those living in and around the town, though nobody seemed to want to talk about that either. Or would they talk about the dreams they would have when sleep would overcome them. Late in the evening, under a starless new moon sky a stranger walked alone down the streets of the town, the sounds of heavy boots the only noise that could heard as the stranger walked the crumbling sidewalk towards the abandoned industrial park, path lit only by the occasional flickering street lamp. The stranger wore a dark robe, hood pulled over her head as she walked past the chained and boarded up warehouses and factories. Her presence didn't go unnoticed, the various squatters and transients who stayed in the abandoned buildings watching the stranger from the shadows. A couple ponies attempted to approach her from behind, though when the tall unicorn mare turned her one eyed gaze upon them they backed off quickly, deciding that whatever they might have had in mind was not worth it. The mare made her way deeper through the industrial jungle until reaching her destination, a massive complex with towering smoke stacks and exhaust vents surrounded by a tall wrought iron security fence and a large, heavy iron gate with the words “Manehatten Chemicals” engraved in it, the once vibrant red and yellow paint now mostly chipped away due to neglect. As she came closer to the factory she was stricken with a feeling of unease and dread, a small shudder going down her spine as the feeling of wrongness grew with each step closer, she took the the factory. She had found the right place. The mare walked to the front gate, stopping in front of it as her horn flashed for a second, a small flash of magical energy discharging into the lock of the gate, followed by the clanking of the gate unlatching. The mare opened the gate just enough to slip through and shut it behind her quickly as she made her way to the main entrance where she repeated the process to let herself into the building. The mare walked into a main lobby, the faded green carpet squishing under foot, the smell of mold and mildew strong in the air. The mare glanced upwards, noticing that the pipes in the ceiling had at some point burst and leaked. Pieces of ceiling were littering the floor and there was black mold growing along the walls of the lobby. There were a few old, weathered chairs and the large reception desk with the name of the chemical company painted on the face. The factory was dark, save for the few flickering emergency lights that did little to provide light. The mare closed her eyes, horn flashing again as she cast a Cat's Eyes spell on herself, causing her eye to burn intensely for a split second but when she opened her eye she found her night vision to be vastly improved, allowing her to see her surroundings and navigate the facility much easier and without needing to risk alerting anyone to her presence with a light. And so she went deeper into the factory, the feeling of unnatural dread more potent the deeper she went, feeling like a punch to her gut with each step as the primal, animistic part of her brain screamed for her to get away from the factory. But this feeling only confirmed her need to be here, so deeper she went until reaching an old service elevator leading to the underground levels of the factory. The only way down, as it turned out. With only the slightest bit of hesitation the robed mare entered the small elevator, the sliding door sticking and requiring the mare to force it open just enough for her to slip in before pressing the 'Down' button, the metal gears screeching and whining, the elevator lurching and rattling as it slowly descended. A few seconds passed and, suddenly, a tinny intercom in the elevator popped and fizzed to life, “Ahaha! They told me that you'd be coming, Inquisitor! They warned me!” a feminine voice cackled from the other side of the intercom, voice hoarse and frantic. “Surrender and this can be over quickly for you,” The mare spoke, voice firm and calm. The voice on the other end of the intercom cackled again before shutting off. And then the elevator came to a sudden stop. And then, with a heavy metallic snap the elevator began a free fall, the mare grunting as she was slammed against the side of the elevator. Quickly the mare's horn let out a powerful glow, the unicorn straining as she forced her magic to surround the free falling elevator, the mare struggling as she used her magic to slow the elevator, horn glowing brighter as she exerted more power, the elevator screaming as it slowed but still slammed down to the bottom level with a heavy crash, the mare being forced to the ground, wheezing and coughing, body aching but still alive. On uneasy legs she forced herself up, head aching from the amount of magical energy she had to exert to slow the elevator as she began to climb out of the wreckage. The mare's robe caught on the piece of metal, the mare simply shrugging it off and revealing her lightweight metal armor that was hiding under it, several runes worked into the metal to provide protection from magical assaults. The mare also carried various knives and a short sword scabbard to her side. With a grunt she pulled herself out of the elevator and onto solid ground, stumbling as the sound of an intercom overhead popped to life, “You survived that? Disappointing but not surprising, Inquisitor. They told me you'd be resourceful, They did!” the voice cackled, wheezing and coughing into the intercom. The mare didn't respond, instead she headed down the corridor. She could sense the dark magic stronger now. She was close to the source. “You cannot stop me, Inquisitor. I have fed Them for months now and the ritual is nearly complete. You're too late! Too late!” the voice jeered at the mare as she picked up her pace. The air began to shimmer, a sickeningly sweet smell mixed with filth filling the room. The mare ran faster and the voice on the intercom continued to cackle. After what felt like hours of running the mare saw a room glowing with bring, florescent light up ahead. She ran faster, boots thudding loudly as she prepared a glowing magical shield around herself as she barged into the room. The room was huge, obviously used for some large scale warehouse of some sort at one time. In the middle of the floor there was massive magical sigil, scrawled in a dark red liquid and in the middle, there was an emaciated white pegasus mare, the feathers of her wings half missing and her mane in knots and tangled. The unicorn stepped closer to the sigil but was suddenly stopped by a magic force field that surrounded the circumference of the sigil, sending the mare reeling back with a hiss as it burned her skin like fire. The pegasus laughed and locked eyes with the unicorn as she lifted an ancient looking bronze bowl above her head, the mare loudly and frantically reciting something in some unknown language as she poured a black liquid over her head, the pegasus allowing it to flow over the length of her body before grinning a rotten toothed grin at the unicorn as she pulled a lighter from a pocket, “Too late!” she barked out madly, flicking the lighter and pressing it to her flesh, the liquid igniting in a sickly green flame as the mare screeched, the sigil glowing bright as the mare collapsed to her knees, head craning upwards, her mouth opening wider, and wider, unnaturally wide as a long, sinuous arm reached out from the pegasus' maw, it's three clawed hand flexing as it pulled itself out of the burning pegasus like a diver would pull themselves out of a wetsuit. The creature was tall, it's fur light brown and with a narrow head, black beady eyes and two bull-like horns on the side of its head. The creature flexed its shoulders, shaking its head like a feral beast as it stepped from the former pegasus and turned its regard to the unicorn, it's mouth twisting in a too wide grin, hundreds of needle like teeth on display, “It's a pleasure to meet you, Inquisitor Zevana,” the creature spoke, it's voice that of a posh noble and words not syncing with its mouth movements. Zevana glared, her sword out of its sheath now and her horn glowing brightly, “Outsider. You do not belong in this world and I, acting as emissary and enforcer to the holy Princesses, demand that you depart from this realm at once or I will destroy you as is my duty,” Zevana said sternly and with all the authority of an Inquisitor, showing no fear as the air shimmered and churned around her. The creature let out a guttered bark of a laugh, head shaking wildly as it stepped closer to the inquisitor, hand and clawed palm out stretched as the mare suddenly retched, her mouth feeling like it was filled to the brim with maggots, wet and writhing. Zevana them felt a powerful force fall upon her shoulders, forcing her to her knees with a grunt. “You are strong, inquisitor. But your powers are frail compared to my own, as you see. Still...,” the creature said, cocking his head, “I could find a use for you. For some time, and then you shall find use as a vessel for one of my brothers,” the thing continued, head cocking to the other side as it stepped closer, Zevana let out a muffled yell, unable to talk as speaking resulted in the feeling of maggots falling into her throat. She was suddenly overtaken with the feeling of thousands of termites attempting to burrow into her mind, though the magic wards that all inquisitors place on their minds to resist all forms of compulsion and mind control kept her from succumbing for the time being. The creature let out an amused bark, lips curling again as Zevana collapsed to her side in pain, “Strong! But not strong enough, not even close. You'll see, you'll see...” the creature said, stepping out of the sigil, clawed hands outstretched towards the unicorn. Through all this the inquisitor kept her eyes locked on the foul monster, noticing the air shift around the sigil as the creature stepped out, breaking the shield around it. The creature moved closer, closer, soon looming over the inquisitor as it reached down to press its hands over the unicorn's head. And, mustering all her willpower and strength, Zevana swung her sword out and towards the creature, runes along the blade flashing a brilliant white as it made contact with the monster's flesh, biting into it. The creature bellowed in pain, hissing as it's magical assault dissipated and Zevana rolled to her feet, swinging her sword again for a follow up but the beast parried it with his long, dagger like claws and then backhanding the mare with his free hand, sending her flying across the room like a ragdoll. The inquisitor quickly recovered, rolling back onto her feet as the beast got on all fours, head lowered and as it charged like a raging bull. Zevana dodged at the last second, the creature turning quickly and coming up for a second charge. This time Zevana used her magic to create a solid wall in front of the charging beast and jumped away at the last second, the beast hitting the magic barrier with a sickening crunch but still managed to power through the spell, though it stopped for a moment, head shaking as it was left dazed. The inquisitor didn't give the beast time to recover, sending a powerful blast of magical fire at the creature which screamed in pain and rage before leaping out of the flames, fur charred and smoking as he slashed its claws at the inquisitor, the mare blocking with her sword and with magic shields as the beast tried to fight her into a corner. Zevana leaped, the creatures claws managing to rake against her shoulder though her armor thankfully deflected the worst of it. The inquisitor spun, landing a strike on the creature's back with her blade, the runes flashing as the creature howled, spinning the slice at the unicorn with those wicked claws but the mare was too nimble, dodging and landing another blow on the beast who bellowed, collapsing it its knees “Enough!” Zevana yelled, horn and eyes glowing with power as she poured her will into her spell and formed magic chains around the creatures arms and legs, the spell burning the creature as it held the beast in place as a magic circle began to form around the creature, the beast slowly starting to sink into it. The beast glared at Zevana with its emotionless black eyes as it sunk downwards, though it's lips began to curl into that awful grin again, “Do you think this matters to me, unicorn? This is no true defeat as I am not bound to time as you mortals. I will try again, countless times,” he laughed as he was drawn out of the world by the chains, “Then countless will be the times the Inquisitors will stand read to cast you out, outsider,” Zevana said coldly, staring at the beast whose smile remained as it was swallowed up totally by the circle. Zevana's horn flickered out, the circle vanishing as she turned around and limped over to the closest wall and leaned against it, breathing heavily and clinching her eyes closed. She could still sense the residue of the dark magic, but it was over, thankfully. The inquisitor pulled out a small scroll from a side pocket in her armor and a pin, quickly scribbling down a quick message, 'Mission successful. Burn. -Inquisitor Zevana' And with a quick flash of magical energy she sent the message away before limping away. The next day Blueberry Hill made national news as the abandoned Manehatten Chemical factory caught fire, burning it and several adjacent buildings to the foundations. The cause remains unknown.