The Previous Night
Luna slowly walked through the massive halls leading to the throne room. She had woken up on her own accord for the first time in months, but she simply chalked that up to all this recent monster business. As she passed the halls lined with ancient paintings of leaders, heroes, and dignitaries long since past, she happened to hear voices coming from the throne room, more specifically, the voice of her sister. "Celestia spied on us; why should we not return the favor?" She thought vindictively as she very quietly trotted to the throne room door. She could hear the voice of a courier; she could not make out what he was saying, but she heard her sister loud and clear.
"You mean they intend to fight the beast in Ponyville?" She heard her elder sister say, concern evident in her voice. Luna still could not understand what the courier was saying, so she simply waited for Celestia to speak again. "Is there no other way to find the monster before it exits the Everfree?" So the beast escaped into that dreaded forest.
"Then should it not have perished by now?" She thought before hearing her sister speak again.
"Alright, tell them that I approve of the mission, but also tell them I want nopony hurt in Ponyville, Tell them to make sure that my wish is fulfilled." For the first time she heard the messenger speak.
"It will be done, your Highness!" She silently teleported a safe distance away as soon as she heard that he was done. "Dear sister is not the only one who knows that little trick." She giggled mischievously. It took a bit of time, but after enough wandering she found one of her guards, the reason for this act was plain and simple: If Celestia thought that after all of her sister's initiative and unfruitful efforts, she could just canter in and send her Wonderbolts to usurp what was rightfully her quarry, she would be grossly mistaken.
"Guard! Go to the barracks, and tell our Shadowbolts to head to Ponyville on over-watch detail immediately. Also, this is to be a covert operation, so tell them to leave their uniforms." She ordered with swift urgency.
"Yes, your Majesty!" He saluted before taking flight down the vast hallway, the only sound therein being the enigmatic flapping of leathery, nocturnal wings. Luna just hoped her elites could not only beat The Wonderbolts to Ponyville, but that monstrosity as well.
Garrosh, for the first time in a very long time, was able to slowly wake at his own pace after one of the best night's sleep he could remember. He lay on his back upon the soft yellow quilt that Zecora was kind enough to accommodate his resting ground with. Opening one eye at a time, Garrosh slowly sat up and looked around, feeling a feeling unfamiliar to him. From where he sat, he was given a vivid view of Ever Free; it was the most beautiful part of this forest he'd seen so far.
The forest itself seemed buzzing and teaming with fresh life, the distant songs of birds fluttered through the air around him, and the cool rushes of air flowing in currents past him, calmly rattling the bottles that hung from the native's home all created a caressing reception for his senses, which were seemingly heightened by a good night's sleep. Taking in everything this area had to offer made The Warchief feel strange, serene, content, safe. That was the unfamiliar feeling he felt; he felt safe. He earnestly began searching his memory for even a single, fleeting moment where he felt that same feeling. His mental search coming up short, he was left with a silent admiration for this place, and an un-admitted admiration for this new feeling.
"No wonder Zecora chose here of all places to live." He muttered indifferently to himself. Deciding he had gawked at the scenery quite long enough, he set about tending to the distraction that had just befallen him: A growling noise from his stomach. Reach over to his right, he grabbed and opened his pack not only to make sure he had everything he would need to continue towards the city he had seen, but to assuage his current need. He snatched a water sack and steadily drained it of its contents, then he scarfed down another loaf of the tasteless, stale bread. satisfactorially fed and properly clothed now, he started climbing the largest tree he saw, not knowing his acrobatics were being intently watched. He blasted his head through the foliage up above the lush, green canopy for the fourth time since he'd entered the forest, and began his routine reconnaissance.
"There it is!" He breathed to himself. He saw the city of the mountain growing ever closer, but just then it occurred to him that he knew no way up the steep mountainside it was nestled into. "Perhaps Zecora knows the way." His mind reasoned spontaneously as he bounded back down the tree to hit the ground with a quaking thud, leaving two, monstrous footprints in the mud in the process. He managed to startled his new friend as much as her presence had startled him when he turned to the hut. "Forgive me, I did not think you would be up this early." He spoke as approachably as he could. She smiled warmly before saying:
"There is no need for an apologetic term, but I do believe the early bird gets the worm." He truly must have been going mad, for he was actually starting to grow fond of her manner of speech.
"I shall be off now, though I have one final question, my friend." He said. She looked a bit sad for the fact that he was departing so soon, but she perked her ears up nonetheless to hear what he had to ask. "I need to know how to reach the city to the North of here." He stated, pointing in the direction of his destination. Her brow seemed to raise a little in amusement, before she answered.
"The road to Ponyville you seek? You must follow this path until you reach its peak."
"Ponyville.... how original." He mused bluntly. Still, he was grateful to the zebra for all the honest help she had thus far given him. "Thank you, Zecora, for all you have done for me. May the ancestors always be with you, my friend." He said as he gathered up his things. He folded up the blanket he had slept on and handed it to her, she beamed at him as she took it back inside. Garrosh patiently waited for her to come back out, for he knew without a doubt that she wished to say farewell, and in her own way of speech.
"'Tis not often in this forest one meets a new friend; farewell, I say to you ,and may we meet again." He was most definitely going insane, for he was certain he would miss this zebra.
"Farewell, my ally, I do hope to meet again." He then began to march down the path, away from his new acquaintance's home. He looked back only once, to see her waving her forehoof at him; he waved back sincerely before breaking into a full-blown jog.
The Shadowbolts had set up their reconnaissance post at the windmill northeast of Ponyville. Stratus and Nightshade were both posted in windows, each one over-looking Town Hall with binoculars. Charger, on the other hoof, was posted on the roof of the mill. The mill's sails would get in his way every now and then for a mere few seconds, but in the long run, it wouldn't interfere too badly with his voyeuristic activities. He was suppose to be using his binoculars to watch the tree line for any signs of the monster. However, being the type of stallion that he was, he was using his very good view to get an even better view of a few mares in town. The team's other two members were being used as a cover-up. Blueball Blitz and Starry Skies were in front of the building; Starry was laying on a sun-tanning chair she brought, wearing her shades, relaxing, and over-looking the picnic grounds while Blitz was rolling around in the tall, green grass like a dog, not really doing much of anything. All in all, three members of the team looked like highly-paid assassins, while the other two pulled off the "brain-dead tourist" look perfectly.
Stratus, as usual, was doing as he was ordered. He was watching the town center for any suspicious activity on the locals' parts, which was not an easy task in the least considering there were so many ponies going about their daily grinds. Nightshade had it a bit easier, for her job was to watch The Wonderbolts, who were currently sitting at an outdoor restaurant, waiting for "their" target to show up. They looked like they were enjoying themselves, especially Soarin, who looked like he were being his over-dramatic usual. Charger, due to the fact that he was the only one that was not doing as he was told, was enjoying himself more than any other Bolt. He was currently peeping a very pretty, earth pony mare, whose coat was a light purple while her mane was a darker shade of the same color; she also had a cluster of grapes and a strawberry as her cutie mark.
"Holy molly!" He murmured as he watched the mare's enticing walk.
"Any activity from The Wonderbolts?" Stratus asked, hoping they had not moved; it would make their mission much more difficult if they kept moving around.
"No movement here. Any activity from the town square?" Nightshade inquired.
"That's a negative, Night." Stratus stated matter-of-factly.
"Just keep watching and stay vigilant; I'm not about to get another ear-chewing from 'Her Highness.'" She recalled bitterly.
After she voiced that fact, each and every bolt was able to hear Blueball yell up.
"When do we get to do our job?!" She whined, prompting Starry to reach over and pound her on the top of her head with the flat of her hoof to get her to shut up.
"Charger will tell us when to go!" She hissed sharply. "In the meantime, why don't you just go back to whatever it was you were doing?" Starry Skies asked with a tone meant for foals. Blitz did however, go back to catching grasshoppers.... In her mouth.
"Charger, you see anything at the tree line yet?" Nightshade's question was met only with silence. She put her binoculars down, stuck her whole front half out of the window she'd been spying through, and looked up at her unresponsive team mate. Seeing the fact that he was looking the complete wrong way, she slowly followed his line of sight with her own binoculars to where he was most likely looking, only to see a rather pudgy, purple mare with a matted mane and fruit-bearing flank walking along the market place. "Charger!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, which did more damage to Stratus than anypony else. It was more than enough to snap Charger out of his perverted state of hypnosis though.
"Okay okay! I'll get back to it." He finally responded with more of his manehattan accent than usual. The team of mercenaries then continued on with their mission. Hoping not only to see the creature they were after before The Wonderbolts did, but also to be able to arrest it before it did anymore damage to another town.
"Finally! I thought it would never end!" Garrosh exclaimed in relief as he exited the forest onto a small path that lead North. He had been following the "path" Zecora had told him to for about ten minutes now. It was rather difficult considering how it was not near big enough to fit him, so it became bigger when he walked straight on through it anyway. However, it was in that moment that two scents hit his nostrils; one was some kind of strange, potent, fruity smell coming from the northern path. The smell coming from the East however, he recognized immediately: It was meat!
His mouth started to water as he thought of what could be giving off that intoxicating scent; he inhaled once again, trying to pinpoint what would definitely be his next meal. "Boar! Sweet, succulent boar!" He cried out in revery to the skies above him. "Straying from the path to the North won't take that long, and I shall remember the way back. But right now, I want that boar!" He thought, determined to acquire said boar. With his decision made, he started to run with purpose through the woods to the East.
Garrosh had been running through the trees for about two minutes when he saw it: A cottage that sat alone near the tree line. The house itself appeared quite night elvish: It had a grass roof, its shape was rounded almost to the point of blending completely with landscape it was on, and it was adorned with random, unevenly placed windows. Another thing about the hovel was that its front yard was riddled with bird houses, and also a small garden bridge spanned a lilly-padded brook before it. Lastly, was the very small red door scarcely big enough to fit his foot through he'd surmise to say, and the crude, warped tan walls of the strange abode.
"Damn, this place is hideous." He thought as he followed his nose. The appetizing aroma of meat lead him past the house to where sat at least three animal pens. One held chicken, the second held dozens of miscellaneous creatures, and the third held his prize: Pigs! "Why are they all cowering? surely there must be one brave soul amongst them?" He thought before he felt something brush quickly past his leg.
"By my axe!" He shouted as he pulled out both of his axes and jumped away from where he had felt a creature touch him. However, upon closer investigation, he saw that what startled him was merely a small, white hare. "Little rat!" He called it as he put his weapons away. It hopped up to him and bit his leg, not that he felt much of anything at all. He grabbed the creature by its ears and brought it to his face. "Do you have a death wish, rodent?" The creature just swung its little fists at him, as if it could possibly harm him in any way. He briefly had to admit it; this was a brave soul (either that, or very stupid.) He ultimately decided against obliterating the pest due to its undeniable spirit; that is, if what he was about to do didn't kill it. "Well, I suppose this is goodbye then." He stated nonchalantly with a grunt as he threw the bunny as far as he could. He could swear he saw it land somewhere near that rural town off in the distance.
"Wait...." He turned back to the direction to see that there was indeed a town not far from here. "Zecora never said anything about a village in between me and Ponyville." The more Garrosh thought in silence about the name however, the more he began to realize something. "She wasn't talking about the mountain city... She misunderstood my question!" He was furious at himself for not wording the question more specifically. However, as angry as he was, he just couldn't let it fester, for the one thing standing between him and his delicious swine was now gone.
"Bah! It matters little. Now, to eat!" His mind cheered as he hopped over the shoddy, wooden fence that was housing the pigs. They all huddled together, hoping that numbers would somehow save them, but they scattered like roaches as soon as he charged them. He leaped at the biggest one and landed right on top of the boar. The pig squealed desperately just before he grabbed its head, pulled upwards, and jerked it forcefully to the side at an angle, effectively ending its life with a sickeningly hollow Snap.
With his food now ready to be cooked, he stomped triumphantly out of the pen. He broke a few links from the fence and ripped them from their holds on his way out; this act did let all the miscellaneous creatures from before out, but he didn't really care at that point. Garrosh then procured some of the hay making up the roof of the whimsical hovel. He set the fence links in a pile, place the hay wad in the pile, pulled out his axes, and grated them to together. He ended up having to do this several times before he got enough sparks to ignite a small bonfire. Once lit, he impaled the porcine carcass with a jagged fence piece and held it over the flames like a marshmallow, waiting patiently for what would be the best meal of this month.
Fluttershy and her friends were on a long, quiet, and depressing walk back to Pinkie's place from their.... discovery. Twilight had not uttered a word when she was examining the massive corpse, for even for her, the finding was stomach-churning. Even so, she was the first to speak up as soon as they exited the cave.
"Well, from what I've seen, the dragon was not killed by the blow to its neck, it was killed by the blow to the top of its head." She deduced glumly. The more they spoke of it, the more ardently Fluttershy wished to change the subject. However, seeing as how she could think of no way to change the topic at hoof, she stayed quiet, trying desperately to keep her mind on something else.
"Ah mighta' guessed it, but what could be that strong, Twi?" Applejack asked as she continued to kick a rock along the path.
"I have no idea what could have done it, but I do know what it used to do it. The cuts got wider and deeper as the wounds went on, and they also were not jagged or torn, so it had to have come from some kind of sharp weapon, most likely an axe or a very large sword or spear. Though, what could possibly be strong enough to get any of those things past a dragon's scales, I don't think I'll ever know." Twilight added.
"Well, how 'bout them weird prints? They were pretty faint, but ah saw a couple of 'em that looked like they were stomped 'round the body." Applejack recounted her earlier observation.
"I know; I saw them too and was careful not step in any of them. I tried examining them too, but in the end, there was just too much dust settled onto the prints themselves to make out any details; there was definitely a big battle that stirred up a lot of dust from the cave's floor. Even if I were to recognize them though, they faded without a trace off as soon as they exited the cave." Twilight explained, visibly frustrated by her wasted efforts.
"Speaking of dust, it was the only thing I saw throughout the entirety of the cavern. Where in Equestria was the dragon's treasure trove?" Rarity asked with preeminent disappointment.
"A dragon who didn't like treasure; he's a funny dragon.....was a funny dragon...." Pinkie corrected herself, looking uncharacteristically downtrodden. Pinkie's miserably failed attempt to lighten the sore situation was felt with distress by all but one fuming pegasus.
"Yeah! What the hay?! First dragon to go down since forever, and he just so happens to have no treasure!" Rainbow ranted on. "I mean, come on! It's not like it would make any difference to him at this point." She let that last remark slip absent-mindedly, knowing her mistake as soon as the words left her mouth.
"Rainbow!" Twilight snapped at her in a scolding manner, causing everypony in their company to stop momentarily. Rainbow, within a few seconds (and after a brief glance at Fluttershy), started to look sheepish and guilt-ridden already.
"...Right, sorry..." She managed to mumble out to the rest of the group as she rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof, bearing an apologetic expression. "I don't know why I said that." She truly didn't, for Rainbow new that if there was one thing that could make Fluttershy more depressed than she already was, it was one of her closest friends saying something like that. Rainbow reluctantly landed next to her saddened friend and gave a gentle nudge. "I'm sorry, Flutters; I know how much things like that mean to you. I shouldn't have said that at all." Fluttershy was quick to respond in kind.
"I know you didn't mean to hurt my feelings, and I forgive you." She sighed as she leaned just slightly into Dash's form. In truth, how could she not forgive her? She was one of her dearest friends, no simple slip of the tongue could change that.
The group of investigating mares eventually fell silent as they continued trotting along the make-shift path home; the mood was just as morbid as ever, until Fluttershy finally remembered something she had to do.
"Oh! Um, I'm sorry, girls, but I can't go back to Sugarcube Corner with you. I have to go home and finish checking Applejack's pigs for that flu strain." She said, becoming slightly more chipper thinking about her work. The aforementioned pony perked up when she heard this.
"By the way, how are they doin', sugercube?" The farmer asked cautiously. Fluttershy couldn't wait to tell her friend that none of her swine had the flu; it gave her a whole sense of accomplishment.
"Oh! they're doing just fine, and none of them are sick so far." She said as she beamed with a little temperate pride. Applejack did look impressed.
"Thanks, Fluttershy, ah know when ah asked you to check em' up that it wudn't a good time, but ah jus' didn't know what else to do. When ah heard a'that flu and that it was passin' through these parts, ah don't think ah'd trust anypony else with my livestock." The green-hoofed pony complimented.
"I'm just glad to help." Fluttershy said with mild joy. It was the first thing she'd had to be happy about for the past day and a half.
"Would you like us to accompany you home, Fluttershy dear?" Rarity asked suddenly with a concerned, almost maternal tone. The last thing Fluttershy wanted to be was a bother, but she did so love the idea of having her friends over for a while.... maybe even for the next week.
"Oh! Only if you really want to, I would very much appreciate it." Fluttershy whispered with her usual quiet, timid voice.
"We could have a really big sleep-over if you want." Pinkie Pie suggested, Her bubbly, care-free mannerisms starting to return to her.
"I couldn't ask you girls to do that; I m-mean, I-I wouldn't want to be a bother." Fluttershy replied, the quiver in her voice growing more noticeable.
"It would be no trouble at all, deary." Rarity assured as she cantered nearer to her butter-yellow friend. Fluttershy was very grateful indeed to have such caring friends.
But this ordeal was not yet over, for the mood quickly changed when dozens of little critters ran in sheer panic right up to Fluttershy, each one making there own extremely frightened sound. "Oh my, um, please calm down; I can't understand you if you all talk at once." She told them, trying to get a hold of the fearful little creatures.
"What are they saying, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked as she tried to help calm them, even though animals had never really taken a liking to her.
"Come on! Break it up!" Rainbow Dash yelled to the mob of small animals as she took flight again. It was not working very well, as they were only listening to Fluttershy.
"What? A monster at the house? Hurting the pigs?!" She asked as she herself started to panic; those pigs were not her animals!
"What!?" The stetsoned earth pony blurted out loudly. This was far from good; if anything happened to those pigs whatsoever, Fluttershy would never forgive herself.
"Was Mr. Manticore hungry again? No, I told him to tell me if he was." She continued to panic as she started to run towards her house. "Come on, girls!" She yelled back to the rest of her friends. They all started to run (and fly) full speed back to Fluttershy's cottage, each of them garnering their own ideas of what could possibly be causing this commotion.
Twilight especially was in deep thought, for she had a single, resounding, bone-chilling suspicion based on what she saw back in that cave. Twilight had told everypony that she didn't know what slayed the massive dragon and that she couldn't make out the details of the incriminating prints they'd all found, but she was afraid to mention the only thing she knew: Due to the odd forward placement of the print and the awkward, primate-like shape of them in general, she was able to hypothesize that what ever this thing was, it was bipedal. This was something she decided to neglect telling them for two reasons. One: It would spread great fear amongst not only her friends, but possibly the entire Ponyville community, something neither her nor Celestia would wish to befall them, and two: What if she were mistaken? What if she were to tell them all and risk scaring them out of their wits for nothing? How would everypony view her then? All of these questions and thought processes led her to keeping her mouth sealed as she ran with her companions to the cottage where she could have a chance of clearing this all up.
"One thing's for sure: If it's the same monster that killed that dragon, then the last thing we want to do is get into a fight with it." Twilight concluded as she used the same method of running as she did during the Running of the Leaves. Meanwhile, there were many other thoughts flowing through the others' heads.
"Could be a timber wolf, consarnit! Those darn things are always lookin' fer some trouble!" Applejack thought as she kept close pace with Fluttershy, Which was harder than it sounded considering she was running like the wind.
"Whatever it is, it's gonna pay for messing with Shy and her animals; she's had enough to deal with this week!" Growled Rainbow as she flew alongside the group, more and more anger starting to build within her heart.
"What would want to hurt a pig? The smelly things don't really do anything." Rarity mused aloud distastefully whilst struggling the most to keep up with the pace set by the worried pegasus.
"The hay they don't! Those pigs won ribbons at the fair!" Retorted Applejack defensively, sounding just as worried as Fluttershy looked.
"Why would somepony be hurting a little piggy?! They're so cute!" Pinkie pie added in. She had no trouble at all keeping up with the crowd; she always knew eating all those sweets had a bigger purpose than being irresistibly tempting.
The six mares ran all the way back to the small abode, only to see that both the house and the property were eerily empty: There were no birds, and no bunnies; not a single creature could be seen for literal miles. The dwelling would have been likewise silent were it not for one tell-tale factor: The spine-curdling snapping and crunching sounds coming from behind the cottage.
Being the staunch fighter she was, Rainbow Dash was the first to start warily hovering around towards the back of the house, followed closely by a heavily concerned Applejack and Fluttershy. The other three mares saw their friends come to a dead stop as soon as they looked around the house into the back yard, eyes wide, jaws dropped. A deplorably curious Twilight went around next, only to fall under what looked to be the same mortified trance. Pinkie, wondering what could spook them like that, hopped out from behind the house wall, stopped dead in her tracks as the others had, and stood petrified as her mane made a deflating sound before going completely flat. Rarity was still catching her breath while witnessing her friends' reactions to some unknown horror.
"Oh for pity's sake! what is wrong with every--" Rarity was trotting around the house to join her friends, whispering sharply to them, but she stopped talking as soon as she saw It. It was a colossal, hulking mass of brown muscle hunched over what looked like.... something that was, unfortunately, no longer. It crouched on two scar-riddled legs, and its barrel-like arms looked no better. Another terrible fact was that it appeared to be ravenously and thoroughly devouring what now could be seen as one Applejack's prized pigs. The worst thing about it however, was how tall the beast was, if it stood up right then, at least three ponies would have to stack upon each other to look it in the eye. Rarity, looking upon the traumatizing sight, did the only thing that came natural to her at the time. She screamed.
Garrosh had just gotten done cooking his pig. He couldn't care less that it wasn't seasoned; he was just glad to finally have himself an up-scale (not scorpid), carnivorous meal. He took the pig off the fire and began to dig in. As he tore into the delectable delight, he let out a satisfied growl that rolled with the fields. "I never thought boar could taste so delicious!" He thought as he took a gigantic, gaping bite from the pig's haunch. He ate the delicacy very quickly, physically unable to savor such fine food. It was not like Durotar boar in any way, for it tasted much more fed. Also it was bigger, its meat was less stringy and more juicy and sweet, and the form had more gristle to it. All in all, it was a lunch to be remembered. But all was not well for him; he was only half-way through his only course when he heard an ear-piercing shriek coming from behind him.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
"Arrgh! Why must all these stupid horses react to me in the exact same manner?! Is there not one soul beyond cowardice?!" Garrosh questioned his mind irritably. It was then he decided to give them another taste of their own medicine.
"RRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" He yelled as he turned to face the one who had interrupted his feast. He wished it weren't true, but it was. Standing before the flustered Warchief, was not just one, but six of those insufferable horses. He immediately took note of their rather gaudy colors, and started deducing weaknesses that some of them showed.
"Alright, the winged prism one does not look happy and appears to have slight bulk and pre-battle posture, she is a threat. The one with the humanish hat has much muscle for their size and is extremely angry also, she's a threat as well. The one of purple and the one of white have small spears mounted atop their heads, although the purple one does have wings as well; charging may be a problem. The other two won't be a problem though." He deduced that the pink one was no threat to him due to the fact that her face had turned a stark, sickly green, and the yellow one sat upon her haunches, weeping with her hooves folded over her eyes, meaning they probably wouldn't attempt to attack him.
"Why are they all female?" was a questioned deep in the back of his mind when he finished sizing them up. They weren't moving to attack, and he was not about to stand there all day letting his boar get cold. "If you don't have anything to say, then I shall be returning to my meal." He said with as indifferent a voice as he could manage. It seemed to work as an intimidation factor. All six of them stood their ground, except the white spear-headed one: She fainted. "Hahahaha! Pathetic." He turned to go back to his banquet (which was by now becoming luke-warm) when the prism-haired one spoke up, quite loudly too.
"Who are you calling 'pathetic', ugly?!" She taunted as she flew up closer to him. He turned around to face her, drawing his axes.
"Rainbow! Get back!" The purple horse yelled to the prism one. Garrosh was not sure if she even heard her compatriot.
"Hmmm.... I don't think I'll be needing my axes for this one." He said with a happy, but derisive tone; this one was far too easy to rattle.
"We'll see about that!" She yelled as she rushed him. Garrosh didn't even bother blocking the initial strike, for he just allowed her to pile-drive into him shoulder first and then proceed to punch his upper torso over and over again. Her so called "friends" just sat back and watched the appalling scene with mouths agape as he took every hit she gave him without so much as flinching, even the ones aimed at his face.
"This is depressing, but in a funny way, amusing." He thought as she continued her ineffective attack. It took her a full twenty seconds to realize that he had not struck back nor displayed any symptoms of pain. When she ceased her useless assault, and sheepishly looked up at him, he grinned wickedly.
"You've a warrior's attitude, little one." He said while he leaned his face close to hers, peering malevolently into her frightened pinkish eyes with his own. "If only you had the strength of one as well." He whispered as he lunged at her and grabbed her throat. He didn't even use half of his strength to snatch her out of the air and she already sounded like she was choking to death. "Weak!" He derided the rag doll in his hands.
"Put her down!" Screamed the purple one. "You have five seconds to put her down or else!" She said. Trying to sound as intimidating as possible, it was a failed attempt.
"Or else what, weakling?" Garrosh asked, still choking the foolhardy horse with wings. The purple one seemed furious as the horn on her head sparked to life. He'd recognize that sound anywhere; she was a mage, and her horn her wand.
"Five!" He needed to conjure up a plan post-haste: He couldn't leap at her, and he couldn't throw the warrior at her, but he could possibly use the warrior in another way. His grip loosened slightly on the warrior's neck as he began to focus solely on the mage's energy.
"Four!" He had his plan, and he knew if it worked that the results would be perfect.
"Three!" She got louder with each number, as if to accentuate the fact that his time was running out. Her horn glowed more with each passing millisecond.
"Two!" He knew when to time it, and was now ready for her attack.
"One!" This would be the greatest mistake she ever made.
Immediately after she screeched the word "one", she fired off an enormous bolt of magic. Garrosh leaped a mere foot to the side, but kept the arm that held the prism warrior in the way of her ally's blast. It took the prism horse clean out of his hand and sent her flying limply into a nearby bolder.... head first. "There, now look at what you've done." Garrosh spoke with a scolding tone, his voice dripping with sarcasm. The lavender magus looked nothing short of horrified.
"Rainbow!" She screamed as she galloped to her fallen friend, skirting him generously as she went. Garrosh hadn't smashed her right then and there, for he was far too amused looking off to his left, watching the teary-eyed yellow one try in vain to wake and lift her unconscious white comrade. A smug smirk found its way to Garrosh's face as he shook his head and turned to follow the magus with intent of finishing her off as well. When he felt something wrap around his arm, he paused, looking to his left arm where a rope was tightly lassoed to it. His eyes quickly trailed down said rope to find the other end held by the orange horse with the human hat, but what was odd was the fact that she had the other end of the rope in her mouth of all places.
"Yer not goin' anywhere, ya pig killer!" She yelled accusingly, a bit muffled by the mouth-full of rope. Garrosh whipped his left hand around and grabbed the rope, and put all of his strength into one big yank. To her teeth's credit, she managed to hold on, but she couldn't hope to match the strength of that sudden pull. The overwhelming tug sent her all but flying right at him, but his right fist was the first to meet her. She skipped off the ground a little ways away as if a rock on a pond, but he figured for sure she was probably just knocked out. He then turned and stalked menacingly toward the warrior and mage, vying to finish this fight for good. However, the warrior had woken up and seen the fact that he was approaching.
"Twi-- run!" She croaked as she shoved her friend out of the way of Garrosh's oncoming kick, feebly lifting her front hooves in an attempt to block the inevitable. She didn't succeed nearly as much as she would've liked, as the sheer force of his kick sent her back into the rock for a second time; only this time, she didn't get up; she didn't even so much as twitch.
"A shame that such courage was wasted here today." He jeered as he raised his foot to crush his foe. Right as he was about to end it all for the puny, little pegasus, a pink blur took the foot he had anchored to the ground right out from under him. "Gaaahh!" He yelled as he hit the grass back first with a ground-shaking thud. It was in that split second that he realized the pink one had been nowhere to be seen when last he looked; she must have been waiting for the right moment to strike. He swung his arm out in a rising attempt at revenge, catching the magic wielder while she was trying to recast her spell from before, instantly sending her hooves-over-head, but the pink blur once again was nowhere to be seen. He couldn't care less about that clumsy magus; he was after that annoying pink pest!
"Show yourself!" He roared with rage as he felt a set of hooves kick him hard in the back of his leg. He returned the kick to what ever was behind him, only to find he had kicked the same orange horse that he had punched earlier. "Do these things ever stay down!?" He questioned in his head as he continued looking around for that infernal, pink wretch. When he finally saw her, she was a small ways away from him, sticking her tongue out, blowing raspberries and waving her rear end at him. "You will die today, whelp!" He declared, right before he felt a meager arcane bolt singe his back. It had to be one of the weakest bolts of magic he'd ever felt; a fledgling mage could have done better. Garrosh turned to face the sorceress, who was standing there with a look of pure shock.
"H-h-how are you still standing!?" She asked, her voice laced with confusion and terror.
"...Must have wasted all your mana reserves on your 'friend.'" He partook in mock conversation with the stunned horse as he sauntered over until he was standing right in front of her; once there, he spoke again.
"Remember, harridan, that it was your kind who chose this fight." He chided as he raised his fist to crush her horn through her skull and into her brain. The magus stood petrified, staring up into two, horribly cruel, yellow eyes that she was certain would be the last she'd ever see, able to do little more than continue stammering. He was a millisecond away from delivering the macabre fatality when the same whisper he had heard when he was standing over the bull Chief stopped him.
"You were once a hero, young Hellscream, but now you have a chance to be better than your father before you. Will you take it?" He was now certain the Greatmother had just spoken to him. He was in the process of making his choice when the prism warrior from before (whom Garrosh thought dead) slammed her shoulder into her friend in yet another attempt to rescue the foolish witch. The winged horse looked as though she could barely stand, let alone fight him. After seeing such riveting courage and loyalty even to go up against something she knew she could not defeat, he made his choice. He slowly lowered his fist, went to one knee, and spoke firmly unto the fearless creature.
"Know this, warrior, your bravery is the only thing that saved you or your allies this day." An astounded look crept slowly onto the bruised face of the warrior as they stared into one another; little did they both know was that some of her allies had not heard what he just said. A mere few seconds after the words had left his mouth, his back felt a very heavy blunt force, accompanied by a loud "boom."
He howled out in pain as he lurched and staggered forward, nearly crushing the spent prism warrior accidentally. He spun around to see a cannon sitting on the small hill just a little ways off, smoke still rising from its barrel. He then saw that pink abomination rolling around halfway between him and the cannon.... as if her body could become a sphere at will! "Did she just fire herself at me?!" He thought incredulously. Garrosh at that point had had enough of this magenta devil, so he stood to full height, readied himself, and barreled towards her at full speed. She promptly saw this and sped off in response, but there was no way he would stop chasing this one. He kicked one of his axes off the ground and into his hand; this ended here! He would kill this one if it was the last thing he ever did; he didn't care what he had said to the prism one. "Blood and Thunder!" He bellowed as he ran after the puffy, pink demon.
Fleetfoot had never really much cared for any earth pony architecture, always preferring the majestic, angelic, and mighty Cloudsdale to anything else. It didn't help at all that she was not only nervous to no end, but the market place was louder and busier than a Wonderbolts show! What she truly didn't understand was how Spitfire, despite the environment and situation, seemed completely relaxed; she just sat there, sipping on her ice tea every now and then while reading yet another magazine. Rapidfire, on the same hoof, was sitting at the same table as they, but he looked utterly uncomfortable. He had always despised rustic, country places with every fiber of his being. Wave Chill simply sat and watched the many ponies walk by like an ever-vigilant statue. He had never told his preferred place of living to anypony, not even her. Soarin was kicking back on one of the chairs that had a slightly bendable back, and he looked bored beyond all Tartarus. However, the worst problem they all had in common was that it was hotter here than the San Palomino Desert, but Spitfire had chosen an outdoor place to sit and wait. No member was in their flight suit, seeing as how the suits would do nothing but stick to them if they were wearing them. That and crowds would too, and they needed to keep a low profile at all costs.
Each member had a beverage in-hoof; if they didn't, they probably would have died five minutes after they arrived. Fleetfoot had just gone with a regular ice water, mostly due to the fact that she was very self-conscious of her weight, despite the fact that she was always the smallest and lightest Wonderbolt on the roster. Soarin was not at all concerned about his weight; he had by now ordered three drinks, all three of them being at least ninety percent sugar. He was also the only one to order any food, namely a double order of apple pancakes thickly laden in maple syrup with two sides in the forms of a large toasted chrysanthemum tomato sandwich (olives on top) paired with a platter of hay fries completed with a dipping vat of ketchup. Rapidfire had simply purchased a vanilla milkshake in a futile effort to stave off the heat. Wave Chill had surprisingly ordered a pink lemonade, which was very uncommon for the water-obsessed pegasus. When the silence among the group was finally broken, Fleetfoot would have preferred anypony talk but who did.
"Sweet Celestia!" Soarin burst out. "When is that.... thing gonna show up?! I'll be dead before it does if we have to wait here much longer!" He yelled as he flailed his hooves around and sank back into his seat. Soarin's whining was the last thing Fleetfoot needed, and it clearly showed.
"We're all miserable here, Soarin! So why don't you just try doing something new and shut up?!" She snapped. Her sudden outburst did not go unnoticed by Rapidfire.
"What's gotten into you Fleet? Sure we all know you and Soarin have never been the best of friends, but you're being a lot more aggressive than usual." It was true, she and Soarin had never really been the best of friends, mostly due to how different the two were, but even she had to admit that she had been much easier to aggravate than usual as of late.
"I'm fine. Just edgy is all." She replied as quietly as possible. Though the comment did not go unheard by her team mates, at least Soarin looked a little less bored now.
"We're all edgy here, Fleet, we've been tasked with arresting something that took a buffalo down in one hit. Who wouldn't be edgy?" Rapidfire stated lightly. The reason made sense, she really did not want to fight this thing, but if the crown wanted it alive, then by Celestia The Wonderbolts would get it done. What happened next though did not give her any courage in the least.
"Do you hear that?" Wave Chill asked as his head and eyes darted about frantically. She didn't hear anything though.
"What is it, Wave?" Spitfire asked, finally breaking from her relaxed state. Fleetfoot then stated to hear something, it was a thumping sound, very fast paced and it sounded like it was getting steadily closer.
"Look!" Soarin yelled as he pointed to Spitfire's tea cup. At first the rest of them didn't get what they were looking at, then they saw the tremor in the drink itself. Then they all heard random screaming from the town square, something that was never a good sign. The stomping was getting closer very quickly, they all held their breaths as it continued to approach. It was not long before they saw a pink earth pony run around the street corner like a bat out of Tartarus. The earth mare was followed by at least a dozen other random ponies running fearfully from an unknown foe. It was not long before what was chasing them made its first appearance as it burst into the main street with a blood-curdling roar.
"Oh pony feathers...." They all heard Soarin whisper in awe. What Fleetfoot saw, looked like nothing less than the host of a Nightmare: It was monstrous in size; its arms were the size of her! It walked on two legs, and its skin was brown, leathery, and hairless. Its teeth looked like they were meant for tearing other creatures limb from limb, but what told her that this was their target, was the lumber axe it held in its.... hoof with smaller appendages protruding from of it. However, the most intimidating thing about the beast was its horrible, yellow, soul-piercing eyes that looked around lividly for whatever it was searching for.
"Well, It's been nice knowing you guys." Wave Chill deadpanned before taking flight to land only a few feet from the demonic titan. This was going to be one hectic afternoon.