CYOA Badluck Femanon Ch 5

Chapter 5

 

>You feel a drop of water fall on your face.

>Followed by another.

>You wake up.

>It's dawn.

>The sky is a dark gray.

>You slept peacefully through the night.

>No caves.

>No changelings.

>Well, not technically.

>Mara is still hugging you tightly.

>He's wide awake.

>Did he even sleep last night?

>You have no idea.

>You notice something different.

>His hair.

>His silver-blonde mane is different.

>It's brown.

"Uh... morning."

>He loosens his grip slightly but says nothing.

>You feel the drizzle start to pick up.

 

"We should probably get out of the rain."

>You try and stand up.

>Mara isn't letting you move.

>You try to pull his arms away from you.

>His grip is tight.

"Hey. Come on. We need to find shelter."

>Your stomach grumbles.

>You realize you haven't eaten much in the last few days.

"And food."

>Mara finally lets you go.

>You pick yourself up and look around.

>There's a forest not far ahead.

>There's also a dirt path that runs along the side of the field.

>Dirt paths usually mean living things travel there.

>They also usually lead to civilization.

>And food.

>You see a flash of lightning in the distance.

>A few seconds later, a rumble hits your ears.

>You sigh...

>Hopefully the road isn't long.

>You offer Mara a hand.

>He looks at it.

>Then looks at you.

>His body dissipates into smoke again.

>You blink.

>That was... weird.

>"Go."

>He says impatiently.

>He's going to follow you.

>You start trodding down the path.

>Rain is slowly forming puddles around you.

>You look back and see wisps of smoke trailing you.

>He's watching your every move.

>Getting an eyefull too.

>Whatever.

"... this could take a while."

 

>You slowly and carefully keep on walking that empty road.

>After all that's happened, you're in no rush to leave the outside.

>Even if it's raining.

>Mara seems to be doing just fine on his own.

>Lucky spirit ghost body.

>Your foot slips on a big slick rock.

>You crash face first into a puddle.

"... of course."

>You grumble and pick yourself up with a splash.

>You look back at mara.

>Fucking ghostly body.

>You wipe some mud off your face.

>You end up adding more on it.

>Wiping your face with muddy hands wasn't the best idea.

>You keep walking.

>The rain can wash it off.

>Just as you finish your thought, the rain lets up.

 

>You notice that the dirt path is entering a wooded area.

>You're not sure, but judging from how dense the trees are, how dark and deep it goes, you guess this is the Everfree forest.

>The other side of the forest would lead to Ponyville, wouldn't it?

>Mara would probably transform and help you out if you got into any serious trouble.

>You walk inside the woods without a second thought.

>You spot a few fruit-bearing trees and bushes nearby.

>Berries.

>They sorta look like the ones that Chrysalis was going to have you eat.

>You pick a few and pop them in your mouth.

>They're bitter.

>But you're starving.

>You shove as many as you can down your throat.

>You pick a few more to take with you and keep going through the forest.

>The path winds and turns.

>The deeper you go, the harder it gets to see.

>Rainfall gently trickles down the branches and leaves.

>You weren't surprised that the ponies in Ponyville were spooked by it.

>You come to a fork in the road.

>"Stop."

 

>You blink.

>Mara said something?

>Out of nowhere, two grotesque looking creatures appear.

>You freeze.

>"Hehaeh... You. Creature. Ya trespassin'."

>One of them says.

>They vaguely look like wolves.

>Rotting, fleshy, angry wolves.

>You groan.

>You look over your shoulder.

>Mara is still there.

>Ghostly as ever.

>He doesn't seem to think these guys are a threat.

>"She's ain't no trespasser. She lost."

>The other wolf growls.

"I'm not... I need to get to Ponyville."

>"Oh?"

>The wolves circle around you.

>"Ye quite a beauty. We'll let you pass through. But you need to know which path to take."

>"Ponyville is down this path."

>"Ha. You listen to him and ye'll be dead by nightfall. My path is the way to go."

>You fight the urge to facepalm.

>This is some sort of joke.

>You get the feeling that this is like that one riddle.

>Two paths.

>Two people

>One of them lies, the other tells the truth.

>You don't have time for riddles.

>You're wet, hungry, and tired.

>You just want to go home.

 

>The only way you're getting home is to bite the bullet and solve the riddle.

>You think you've solved this one before.

>You had to ask them a question in order to figure it out.

>They'd both point to the same road and you'd take the other one.

>You to ask which-...

"Which path would your comrade want me to take?"

>"Eh?"

>Both wolves point down the right side.

>You start going down the other.

>The left.

>The one wolf is following you.

>"I be tellin' ye, terrible mistakes are down this path. Mine is safe. I never lie."

>The other wolf starts laughing uncontrollably.

>"You full of shit. You and I both lie plenty!"

>"Ye shut up. I only lie sometimes..."

>You stop.

>Wait, what?

"What did you say?"

>"I said, he and I both lie plenty."

>"I lie sometimes?"

>The wolf beside you cackles.

>You panic.

>You back away from the beast.

>Both of them...

>There's no way to tell which way is the right one.

>You back into a tree.

>"Now beautiful, why all tense."

>"Ye aren't scared, are ya?"

>It dawns on you that they're both wolves.

>Magical. Dark. Scary. Bloodthirsty wolves.

>They're playing with their food.

>Shit.

>You look around for Mara.

>He's nowhere to be found.

"M-mara?"

>"Ma? You callin' for ye mother?"

>The wolves start laughing.

 

>You backtrack and start running the way you came.

>They snarl and lick their lips.

>"You can't outrun me."

>Where the fuck are you Mara?

>You hear a massive crash just ahead of you.

>A tree was hit by an insane explosion of lightning.

>The leaves catch fire.

>The trunk starts splitting.

>You make a mad dash forward.

>You think that maybe, just maybe the tree will fall on the wolves?

>You leap past the tree just as it falls.

>The wood smashes against the ground.

>You turn your head to look.

>There's nothing under the tree.

>They weren't crushed at all.

>But they weren't behind you.

>And you weren't dead.

>You breathe a sigh of relief and stand up.

>It was about time you got a little luck.

>You hear a branch snap to your side.

>"Thought you were safe?"

>"We can walk around."

>Oh... yeah. That.

>You back away.

>You end up slipping and falling on your back.

>Shit.

>You scramble to get up away from them.

>The wolves pounce at you.

>You close your eyes and brace yourself.

>BOOM!

>You feel an intense surge of heat pass by you.

>You wait a moment.

>No wolf tearing you apart.

>No painful bites or slashes.

>You nervously open an eye.

>Smoke hangs low in the air.

>You make out a small silhouette of something.

>"You two will not make her your toy. Now go away like good little boys."

 

>You can't see who it is.

>But they just saved you

>You look around and see the wolves.

>They're hurt.

>Trying to stand up..

>You jump back up to your feet.

>You watch as the wolves scurry away.

>You turn and look back towards the figure.

"Hello? Mara?"

>The figure steps into view.

>"Anonymous, is that you?"

>Your face lights up as the figure approaches.

>You see a gold-adorned zebra.

"Zecora!"

>"Hello my child. I am happy to see you too."

>You run up to her and give her a big hug.

 

>She drapes her cloak over you.

"Thanks."

>It feels nice to be with company you knew.

>"Give me one second, that's all I need."

>She unties a bag from her neck.

>"To send a signal for the others to see."

"Others?"

>You watch as she mixes two powders and puts them into a small reed tube.

>She then drops a pinecone in it and seals it.

>She shakes the tube and points it up high.

>In a second, the pinecone shoots upward like a signal flare.

>Others.

>Twilight and the others?

>You breathe a sigh of relief.

>You're going home.

>Zecora looks at you and gives you a smile.

>That smile quickly turns into a frown.

>"The name before that you said. Could you be talking about a spirit undead?"

>What?

>Name? What name?

>You blink.

"You mean, Mara?"

>Her gaze turns angry.

>"You are with an mara spirit?"

>She looks up and pulls you behind her.

>"Stay behind me, you must not go near it!"

>Mara is floating right before the two of you.

>Where the hell did he come from?

>Or more importantly, where the hell did he go?

>Zecora sprays a powder at Mara.

>It goes right through him, and sparks when it hits the ground.

>... wait, shit.

"Zecora, stop! That's not-"

>Before you could say another word, you hear a cry from above.

>"Zecora! We saw your signal!"

>Rainbow Dash?

 

>Rainbow glides down towards you.

>You hear some footsteps from behind the now put-out fallen tree.

>"ANON!"

>Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity.

>Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Spike.

>A smile tugs at your face.

>You shake your head.

>Mara.

"Zecora, stop. Don't hurt him."

>"That spirit is a danger, You do not know of this. The thing that saved you is really an incu-"

"Incubus, I know. And he saved me."

>You gently pull Zecora away.

>"Anon?"

>Twilight steps up to you.

>Cautiously.

>"Anon, that's an incubus. He'll try to-"

"He'll visit my dreams when I'm asleep and try to rape  me. Yeah. I know."

>Twilight's eyes widen.

>"Did he...?"

>You shake your head.

"Not yet, but I promised him I would let him if he got me out."

>"Out? Out of where?"

"Queen Chrysalis, she kidnapped me and stuffed me in a cave."

>"Chrysalis?"

>Applejack shoots you a confused look.

>"What would that filly-napping sawtoothed cheese grater want with you?"

"Food. She was going to use Mara for it."

>Twilight stares at you.

>Her ears droop slightly.

>"Anon, we were so worried."

>Your friends surround you.

>They give you a warm embrace.

>You stay like this for a while.

"Girls? I just really want to go home."

 

>The whole gang, yourself included, starts heading home.

>"Hold on!"

>Rainbow flies up to Mara.

>"I don't know what Anon promised you, but you are NOT coming to Ponyville."

"Rainbow, stop."

>"No. I'm not just going to let my friend get attacked by some evil sex demon."

"Rainbow, it's okay, really-"

>" I"m not having it, and neither or you. And besides, do you even realize what this thing is? It's an incubus! He won't care who his partner is, he'll attack anyp0ny and everyp0ny! And if we bring him back to Ponyville, we'll risk him attacking every single last mare and filly. No, he's staying right here."

>Twilight looks at you and sighs.

>"Rainbow Dash is right. We can't endanger the lives of our friends. He can't come with us."

>They step between you and the floating spirit.

>You feel flattered that these girls care so much for you.

>But Mara won't take to kindly to this.

>Just as you suspected, Mara started to transform.

>The ground starts to shake.

>"What's going on?"

>Shit.

>Mara's body started turning solid, opaque.

>It stretched and twisted, growing in size.

>"Anon, what's happening?"

"Mara has the power of changelings! He can transform into anything!"

>"He has WHAT?!"

>"He's gonna kill us!"

>You probably should have mentioned that.

>It doesn't matter now.

>Mara is pissed.

>You walk up to him.

"Stop, please. It's okay. I'm not going to go back on my promise."

>His body stops transforming.

>You turn towards Twilight.

"I have my own place that's just outside of Ponyville. He can stay there. He won't attack anyone. "

>Twilight looks at you.

>"Anon, I can't let you-"

"You have to."

>Mara returns back into ghost form.

"You either let him live with me, or you all die and I stay here in the forest."

>"Anon..."

>You look at her with pleading eyes.

>At all of them.

>"If he makes one wrong move, he's gone."

>Mara huffs.

"... fine."

>For the rest of the way back, you walk next to your little stalking guardian.

>You hope that he's on the same page as you.

 

>You arrive at your home, safe and sound.

>"This is how things are going to go down."

>Pinkie Pie, surprisingly, is setting some ground rules.

>"If that thing is ever in town, he must be beside you at all times, no less than ONE candy-cane's distance away. He will not be allowed in the town at night. He will not be allowed to visit anyone. He will only speak when spoken to and he will NEVER speak with any fillies, EVER."

>Applejack speaks up.

>"Yeah, and he's not allowed to buy anything either. I don't want him scaring off customers and hurtin' our business."

>You nod.

>"Agreed. Ooh, and he's not allowed to be in his ghostly form. I don't want him peeking at any of us at the Spa."

>"He should transform into an easily recognizable pony so that he doesn't frighten others."

>"He can't touch Anon while you're in town either!"

>Rainbow adds.

>Everyone looks at Fluttershy, expecting her to say something.

>"Oh. Um. He won't be transform into anything dangerous. Only if he feels like it..."

>You facepalm.

"Okay, enough. I got it."

>"No, Anon, you simply get it! If you got it, he wouldn't even be here right now! We're taking a super-tremendous-enormous-monstrosity-giant-cake sized risk having him here. If he's gonna be here, he's going to play by OUR rules. If he doesn't?"

>Pinkie slides a hoof across her neck.

>Holy shit.

>Pinkie is scaring you.

>Twilight looks at you empathetically.

>"Alright, girls, that's enough for today. Anon has been through enough these past few days. She understands that Mara is going to be kept on a tight leash, right?"

>You nod.

>The girls leave your house and head back into town.

>Twilight lingers.

>"Are you sure you're okay with this Anon? I don't feel happy about this, leaving you alone with him..."

>Alone.

>Hm.

>A few days ago, you really were alone.

>You'll be living with Mara from now on.

"It's okay Twilight. I'll be fine."

 

>You give her a quick hug and wave as she walks off.

>You shut the door.

>A pair of eyes were hiding behind it.

>You jump from surprise.

>Mara's staring at you, uncomfortably close.

>He's expecting you.

>And you don't have a choice.

>You resign to your fate.

"Could you give me a few minutes? To prepare myself?"

>Mara floats off to your bedroom.

>You'll take that as a yes?

>You step into the bathroom and turn on the shower head.

>Mud is caked all over your face.

>You look at your reflection in the mirror.

>Your hair grew out a little bit.

>You're completely dirty.

>You laugh to yourself.

>What have you gotten yourself into?

>You take a few deep cleansing breaths.

>You step into the shower.

>You slip.

>Your arms shoot out and brace against the sink.

>Caught yourself this time.

>You scrub the dirt and mud away.

>This is all too much.

>Too fast.

>You've signed off on a lifetime with an incubus.

>You're never done anything with anyone before.

>What if your lack of experience pisses him off?

>He could kill you right then and there.

>You stop.

>You're psyching yourself out.

>Scaring yourself.

>Mara saved you, and you're giving him what he wants.

>Besides, if it was like the other times, you'll just be floating, paralyzed.

>You finish up and dry yourself off.

>No point in putting on any clothes now.

>You walk to the bedroom door.

>Suddenly, you feel a stabbing pain hits your chest.

>Every step, the pain grows more intense.

>What the?

>You reach the door and open it.

>What's going on?

>You gasp for air and collapse on the floor.

 

>What's happening?

>You can't breathe.

>The pain starts to move.

>Down your chest.

>Into your stomach.

>You scream as something is ripped out of you.

>And suddenly the pain is gone.

>Disappeared.

>You remember that feeling.

>You had it a day before.

>You look down at yourself.

>No wounds. No blood.

>You feel something behind you move.

>Mara pulls away.

>His hands have transformed into freaky black claws.

>They're covered in something.

>It looks like a dark purple paste.

>"Poison."

>Mara says quietly.

>Wha?

>You think back.

>The berries that you ate earlier.

>Holy shit.

>Mara phases through a wall for a second.

>He comes back.

>His claws are clean.

>He wraps them around you tightly.

>Mara then lifts you up and sets you down gently on your bed.

>He keeps hugging you.

>The lights blow out.