Rotwhite chapter 10

You’re woken up by hooves shaking you as somepony begs for you to get up
>You get up fast, albeit groggily since it does not feel like you’ve slept at all
“The ladder’s gone!”
>That wakes you up fast, you hop off the bed and look at the pony, the same pony who was one of the ponies building it
>”What do you mean it’s gone?”
>Soothing Plume rushes to your side with Honey Mug in tow
“And some of the ponies are gone too! You don’t think they’d...”
>Suddenly your mind clears up
>”Mosscoat, that pony that came yesterday, is he around?”
>the pony who designed the ladder speaks up
“No, he’s not around, and neither are Moonlilly and Tepid Tales”
>”Who?”
>The builder pony speaks again
“Tepid’s one of the ponies who helped to build the ladder, he was really itching to get away from this village as fast as possible”
>Soothing Plume continues
“So was Moonlilly, you remember, the haughty mare that looked like she’d gotten up with the wrong hoof. She was talking about something like that as well. You don’t think that-“
>You slam your hoof against your bedding
>”Damn! We need to go after them right away, I need all the fastest po-”
“Sir Snow!”
>You look as another pony rushes to you from near the window
“You need to see this!”
>What now?
>You tell the builder pony to gather up the fast ponies while you follow the other pony to the window, Soothing Plume in tow, and take look outside
>”W-what the...”
>It’s like you are staring at a blizzard
>there’s an unbelievable amount of those spores in the air, making it look like you would be stuck in the middle of a heavy blizzard
>It’s piling on the ground rapidly like snow
>Everything outside looks alien now, you can barely see the trunks of the gigantic mushrooms, which you suspect to be the cause of all the spores, but all the walls, ground, everything is covered in growths of white rot and spongy fungal fauna
>it has killed all the trees and flowers in the village, turning trees into skeletal remains caked with white, and the flowerbeds into moldy mounds
>You turn to look at Soothing Plume who’s absolutely speechless
>”Do you have any filtration masks?”
>Soothing Plume snaps out of it and nods
“Yeah, we have plenty”
>”Prepare them”
>Soothing Plume nods and rushes downstairs while you follow suit, deep in thought
>You are unsure if that stuff is safe to breathe or not, but you’re not going to take any chances
>But you’ve got something more important to think about
>”Listen up everypony!”
>All the ponies stop doing what they are doing, which is pretty much panic, and look at you
>”Due to many circumstances we need to escape from this village, right now. We are going to pursue the stolen ladder and either get it back and escape, or escape if it’s already been deployed. Please gather up your things as fast as you can, and only take the light things you absolutely need!”
>The small amount of ponies that’s left get to it instantly
>but then a very distressed looking Soothing Plume approaches you
“They’re broken!”
>”Broken?”
“As in somepony deliberately broke all of the remaining ones”
>You grit your teeths angrily
“How about using wet cloth to cover our mouths? That would stop us from breathing in those spores”
>”Yeah, it’s better than nothing, can you prepare them for everypony?”
>Soothing Plume nods and hurries off
>The ponies quickly gather near the window and put on the wet pieces of cloth that Soothing Plume and Honey Mug hand out
>with everyone ready, you push the window open and a gust of wind kicks up a big cloud of spores in
>You close your eyes as the spores sting them
>ponies behind you start to panic a little but you tell them to calm down and keep their eyes squinted
>it leaves everyone with even less visibility, but there’s no other option
>”Alright, let’s go!”
>after everypony has climbed down you look at the tracks on the spore covered ground
>it’s not good, there’s so much of these spores falling down that they are starting to get covered
>You follow the tracks as well as you can with everypony else in tow
>You do not know why, but it’s really windy outside, and it’s like trying to walk trough a raging blizzard
>after a bit of walking and being on edge due to the constant fear of those monsters popping out from somewhere you make out the silhouette of a lone pony in front of you
>The ponies stop too and one of the few braver stallions approaches you
“What is it?”
>You point at the silhouette which just stands there
“You think it’s one of those monsters?”
>You shake your head
>”No, look, it’s clearly got wings instead of those white spongy things”
“I’ll tackle that pony to the ground, take it by surprise”
>The stallions gallops quickly towards the shape before you have any say in it so you just sprint after him with everyone in tow
>But the stallion is much faster than you and soon enough you only see his shape in the blizzard of spores jump at the pony and knock it to the ground
>”Who is it?”
>But the pony just stays on top of the other one, holding it down and not answering you
>You are starting to feel a bit irritated again
>”Why are you no-“
>You stop talking and running as you notice that the pony that jumped the other is now a wax-like statue
>There are a few shrieks as the other ponies get close enough to see it too
>”Hold still, I’ll check it out!”
>You take a few steps closer and then you see what’s pinned down by the cocooned pony
>it’s one of the monsters, but yet again different
>It looks exactly like a pony now, and it’s got a pair of white wings consisting of that spongy material
>the evolved monster is struggling beneath the stallion who met an ill fate
>it’s tongue is stuck on the cocooned pony, rendering it unable to use it
>You look at the narrow street you are all in, and at the quickly fading drags of the ladder being dragged
>There’s no other choice, all of you have to go past this
>”Everypony, come here!”
>the ponies gather near you, and immediately stop as they can make out the monster
>there’s a few screams and a lot of panicked questions mixed with hysteria
>You do your best to calm them down, but eventually just tell them to buck up because the only way is to go right past it
>You decide to keep a close eye on the monster while the ponies slip past it one by one
>Honey Mug has her eyes closed while she and Soothing Plume slip past it
>After everyone else has gone past it you start making your way to them, but then the monster suddenly manages to pull its tongue free and shoot it right at you
>You barely manage to dodge it as you roll to the ponies as your hurt hoof throbs in pain at the unexpected acrobatics
>There’s a few cheers as you get up, but then you freeze
>above the group, and in the air
>at least 4 of those monsters, and they’re flying
>”Loo-“
Just as you yell for them to look, one of them snipes a pony with its tongue, making the ponies jump in shock and look up
>and panic explodes
>the ponies are fumbling around on the ground and starting to run away in random directions as the monsters fly around in the air after them
>”No! Everypony come here! We can’t get separated!”
>Thankfully Soothing Plume and Honey Mug were already running towards you, and you manage to catch the attention of two more ponies which hurry to you
>You look around with mild panic, but you can’t see any of those flying monsters anywhere, but you can hear the random scream of terror of one of the ponies who decided to run away from all around you
“What are we going to do? Those ponies can’t survive out there on their own!”
>You know that, but
>You glance at the tracks, they are barely noticeable now
>”We keep going”
>Soothing Plume looks at you with shock
“You mean we are going to leave those ponies behind? We can’t!”
>You reply back to her with more aggression in your tone of voice than intended
>”I can’t help it, the tracks are getting covered and it’s their fault for running away in the first place. I can’t save everypony!”
>Soothing Plume glares at you, but stays silent
>Honey Mug just gives you a depressed look while coughing a little
>”Let’s just go”
>You get back to leading the now noticeably smaller group of ponies
>one of the stallions stays next to Soothing Plume and Honey Mug while the other runs up to you
>You cough a little as your throat burns, these masks are not doing the best job at keeping the spores of this rot out, not to mention your eyes feel like someone threw salt at them
“Did you see that? Those things were flying while we’re unable to”
>for emphasis the stallion flaps his wings a few times while running
>”Yeah, it’s a really shitty situation”
>The tracks round up a corner and sop do you, but as you see what’s out there you instantly hop back behind the house with the stallion
“What is it?”
>”Monsters, and we found the ladder”
>the tracks lead up to the large doors of a large house, with a numerous amount of monsters flying around it, trying to ram at the doors, walls and boarded up windows
>The 5 of you peek at them from behind the corner
“Do you see that? They’re spreading it”
>You wonder what Soothing Plume means before you focus your eyes a bit better and notice what she’s pointing at
>as those now flying monsters flap their spongy wings, it kicks up more spores from within those weird wings, spreading the spores around
>”They’re spreading the spores too?”
>the other stallion starts to cradle his head
“What will we do, even if we run away those things will just fly after us and create more places like this...”
>”Let’s deal with one problem at a time, the ladder must be in that house, is there any way we can get to it?”
“I know a way”
>You turn to look at Soothing Plume
“That’s the old bakery, it was owned by a couple that lived in that house
>Soothing Plume points at a house across the street that’s missing a door and has a few broken windows
“They have a secret tunnel in their basement that connects to the basement of the bakery, we can use that to get in and out”
>”Ok, let’s go”
>You get up and start sneaking towards the house, but then stop as you notice a monster walking behind a broken window
>”There’s monsters in there”
>You look back at your little group
>”I’m going to go there with either one of you”
>you look at the two stallions
>”And the other one stays with Soothing Plume and Honey Mug, and keeps them safe”
>Soothing Plume shakes her head
“No, I can take care of myself and keep Honey safe, besides you’re going to need all the help you can have if there’s a group of hostile ponies waiting for you inside the house”
>You open your mouth to tell her she’s wrong, but you can’t come up with anything good to say
>One of the stallions hits you on the back with his hoof
“Don’t worry your head, Soothing Plume might be the teacher but she’s a though lady”
>Soothing Plume nods
>”Ok, but if anything happens, scream. Scream as loud as you can so we can hurry to you. And don’t leave the nearby area”
>As Honey Mug and Soothing Plume wish you good luck you turn around and then run to the house with the two stallions
>As the three of you get into the house the monster takes notice of you and shoots its tongue out
>you three dodge in opposite directions, making the monster confused
>it’s all the time you need to grab a large metal pot and whack it on the monsters head as hard as you can
>the monsters wails out and tumbles towards one of the stallions which jumps away in fright
>you and the stallions stare at the monsters, and as it starts to show signs of getting up the other stallion grabs a chair and slams it as hard as he can on the monsters head
>it stops moving and the three of you search the house for the entrance to the basement
>thankfully it was closed, and you found no more monsters in the basement
>as the three of you galloped in the underground tunnel your ears picked up muffled sounds of ponies
>”Wait”
>the stallions stop and you listen closely
>It’s almost like the ponies are arguing?
“I’m not going to go out there, you saw it too! We’re finished...”
>the sound of one of the mares
>”Let’s hurry”
>as you rush forward with the ponies you make out words and parts of sentences, but you do not focus on them
>Soon enough you three see the door at the end of the tunnel and ram it down
>The door falls to the ground with a slam
“What was that!?”
>That was definitely Mosscoats voice
>You waste no time in rushing out of the basement with the ponies and into the abandoned, empty large space that was once a baker
>And there he is, Mosscoat, with the haughty looking mare and the ladder on the ground
>You stare at the pony with fury as the mare breaks into crying loudly while managing a few apologies in between her wallowing
“Snow!”
>Mosscoat rushes at you and you start running at him as well
>Just as you prepare to ram him something happens
>Something bursts trough the wall, kicking up a big cloud of spores, dust and pieces of the building in a large gale of wind that sends everything flying
>You impact against something hard that knocks the air out of your lungs as your ears pick up a roar
>a very deep, loud roar that makes your ears hurt
>You manage to open your eyes and that’s when you see it
>the silhouette of a huge dragon standing in the ruins
>You stare at it in shock as the large form takes a few steps while looking around
>the horrified screams of agony snap you back
>you look to your left and notice the body of one of the stallions which came with you, bend at an unnatural angle
>Another shriek of terror and you turn your head just in time to see Mosscoat get smashed beneath one of its claws
>You stare at the white, fuzzy claw as some of the debris and dust settles down and then glance at the dragon once more
>a large, white dragon with glowing red eyes and large, spongy wings
>And on its head, a crown that’s made of those large white rot mushrooms that have grown to the size of large trees in the village
>This dragon, it’s infected with the white rot just like those monsters that were born from ponies
>The dragon Roars and spreads its wings which sends out a powerful gust of wind and spores, pushing you against the piece of wall while burying you in the rot spores
>You fight out from beneath it and gasp for breath once you’re out, your nostrils and eyes feeling like they’re burning
>The dragon has walked to another building and is smashing it down
>You hear Soothing Plume scream and empowered by adrenalin you instantly spring up on your hooves and look around
>it’s no good, the dragon has kicked up such a storm that you can hardly see anything, but then you notice something else near you
>the other stallion and the latter
>The stallion looks hurt as he drags himself towards the folded ladder
“Snow where are you!”
>”Over Here”
>You yell out to Soothing Plume while hurrying to the stallion
>But just as you are about to get to him, a form appears above him and pierces him with its tongue
>You stop as the flying monster turns its attention towards you, but then something impacts against you from the behind with a scream and sends you tumbling towards the latter
>You quickly hop up on your hooves and look at what hit you, but as you notice it’s Honey Mug and Soothing Plume you turn your attention at the sky
>there’s no sight of the monster anymore and you quickly help Soothing Plume on her hooves
“What happened, suddenly there was a big dragon and-“
>You quickly rush to the folded ladder and pull it out from all the spores on the ground
>”There’s no time, we need to escape now! Help me carry this!”
>Soothing Plume rushes to help you and the two of you lift it up while Honey Mug sobs
“Where’s everypony else?”
>You tug on the ladder to get the three of you moving
>”There is nopony else left, they’re al dead!”
>You look around with haste as you hear the dragon flap its wings and take flight
>”Where’s the wall?”
>You look at Soothign Plume, but she’s frozen in place, her mouth moving but no words coming out while Honey Mug looks at her with worry as she cries
 >”Soothing Plume!”
>But, just as you yell out to get her to snap out of it, you see the glowing eyes approach the three of you
>and then you’re suddenly flying in the air, spinning uncontrollably before you fall down on the ground, hitting your head in the process
>”Agh!”
>You rise up as fast as you can as your vision swims a little
>And then you see the ladder on the ground in front of you, or at least half of it
>You stare at the broken piece of the ladder in shock
>W-what are you three supposed to do now
“Honey! Honey where are you! Honey!”
>The sound of Soothing Plume screaming for Honey Mug in distress snaps you out of it
>You look to your side and just barely make out Soothing Plume looking around franticly
 “Honey!”
>She seems to notice something and rushes out form your vision and into the murky blizzard of rot
>”Soothing Plume!”
>You rush after hear while hearing the dragon flying around above the village and swooping down every now and then with a roar as the sounds of buildings falling apart and tree sized mushrooms falling over
>You just barely spot Soothing Plume Hugging Honey Mug and quickly rush to them as your hoof aches in agony
>But when you get close enough to them you stop
>Soothing Plume is not holding Honey Mug in her hooves
>Just her upper half
>You just stare in shock at the lifeless upper body of the filly as some of her innards hang out
>But the roar of the dragon snaps out back to reality
>”We need to go!”
>You rush to Soothing Plume and shake her with your hoof, but she’s not responding
>She’s just staring at nothing while her mouth hangs open in a silent scream, the filly’s blood staining her body and hooves
>You shake her more roughly while ignoring the painful ache you feel in your chest as Honey Mugs lifeless head just limps back and forth as you keep shaking Soothing Plume
>But then a javelin-like tongue pierces Soothing Plumes shoulder right before your eyes
>You jump back in fright as Soothing Plume wails in pain and drops the body of the dead filly
>she manages to turn her head to look at you with fear in her eyes before her whole body becomes encased in the wax-like cocoon
>You just
>you just scre-
>the dragon lands near you and sends you flying in a gust of wind again
>You slam head first against something hard and you can hear something break with a disgusting wet crunch
>You slump to the ground as your mind feels fuzzy
>you can barely focus on anything or move your body
>you look in some direction, but all you can see is the ever moving white blizzard of spores
>it’s heavier than ever before, but you can still see the eerie red glow of the dragons eyes as it slowly comes closer
>Your ears are ringing and you can’t hear anything else
>You try to move your body but it does not move, seemingly only your right hoof is moving properly
>You notice a piece of bone sticking out from your hurt hind hoof
>Your hearing starts to clear up as the ringing fades
>the flapping of wings, it sounds like there’s a swarm of those pony monsters buzzing around you, just outside the reach of your limited vision
>as the dragon roars and moves towards you your right hoof touches something
>you pull the object out from under the spores and stare at it
>it’s a tinder maker
>the words of one of the ponies ring in your head as the large gaping maw of the dragon comes into view
>You stare at the dragon and notice a swarm of the pony-like monsters approaching as well
>shit...
>You lift your hoof up and strike a small spark
>and then the whole world seems to slow down
>the explosion starts to grow right in front of your eyes, but painfully slowly
>You close your eyes just in time as it hits you
>but you feel nothing
>instead, your whole life flashes in front of your eyes
>all your memories, the good ones, the bad ones, it’s like you are watching a movie about your life
>and even the ones you forgot...
>so...in the end...Mosscoat was lying...
>you...were a good pony...
>On that day, the village of Axmoth and the vicinity of that village disappeared from the face of Equestria in a big fiery explosion that scorched the nearby forests with it