War Horse

by Spartanfur06

2. Something Terrible This Way Comes

Twilight Sparkle screamed and screamed but the strong hoof over her mouth prevented her cries of distress from being heard. Frantically she squirmed and writhed, kicking her legs and beating her wings in an attempt to break free from her captor. No matter how hard she tried she could not break free from the steely grip.

"Be at ease, Twilight Sparkle" came a voice in her ear, "I'm going to let you go, please do not scream?"

Wide eyed, the purple mare nodded. Instantly the grip around her loosened and withdrew. Whipping around Twilight found herself facing the grim visage of Ares. Holding a hoof to his lips he motioned her to be quiet.

"Ares! What in Equestria is going on?" she whispered fiercely.

"I don't yet know, but we must stick to the shadows until we know for sure."

Another scream tore through the chaotic night air. Creeping through the shadows of an alleyway, Ares led Twilight to its source. Peering through a bush the two ponies came face to face with a terrifying sight. A trio of griffins stood around the cowering form of Mayor Mare. They laughed cruelly at the fear etched on her face. Stepping forward a powerfully built griffin pressed one of his fore-claws on the back of the Mayor's head, pushing her face cruelly down into the dirt.

"Tell us Mayor Mare," said the griffin, his voice dripping with malice "where is Princess Twilight Sparkle?"

Mayor Mare's wide eyes flitted about at the three griffins but she said nothing. The griffin ring leader grinned maliciously and dug his claws into the mare's head causing tears of pain to roll down her cheeks.

Unable to bear the pain the Mayor cried out: "The library!"

With an inclination of his head the ring leader sent his compatriots winging off into the night.

Twilight felt the ice cold claws of panic in her heart.

"Spike!"

For a moment Twilight turned back towards the library, but a tug on her tail pulled her up short. Turning around she found Ares' eyes on her.

"I won't leave Spike!" she hissed.

Ares stared back at her for a moment, his face unreadable.

"Stay here," he responded before dashing off into the night.

Tears filled Twilight's eyes as the enormity of the night's chaos crashed down on her. Standing in the shadows as Ponyville burned around her, she had never felt so alone.

*****

Ares reached the library first. Dashing upstairs he frantically searched for the purple dragon. Spike's bed was empty and the only light came from the burning buildings outside.

"Spike?" he called out into the darkness.

A soft whimper answered him. Looking under Twilight's bed he found Spike's eyes looking back at him. The baby dragon was clearly terrified and looked to be on the verge of tears. Ares smiled gently at him.

"Come Spike, I will take you to Twilight."

Spike sniffed quietly and crawled out from under the bed. His wide eyes stared silently up at Ares and the stallion nodded reassuringly. Before the two could make good their escape a crash sounded from downstairs as the front door was kicked in.

Peering downstairs, Ares found the two griffins had burst through the front door. Their talons glinted dangerously as the fire-light from outside gave their feathers a fierce orange glow. Ares knew he had to seize the initiative before their sharp eyes adjusted to the darkness. Leaping from the Twilight's upstairs room the gray stallion came crashing down hard on one of the griffins. Tumbling through the dark Ares wound up on top of his foe. Before the griffin could recover Ares brought his hoof down sharply on the back of the griffin's neck.

Stepping out of the darkness, into a shaft of light, Ares confronted the remaining griffin. The two opponents slowly circled each other, slipping in and out of the shadows. Suddenly the griffin leapt at the stallion, murderous claws extended. Ares rolled with the attack, using the griffin's momentum against him, his powerful hind legs propelled the griffin into a nearby bookcase. The fallen griffin barely had time to register what had happened before the bookcase fell forward, crushing him beneath its weight.

****

Twilight paced back and forth anxiously as the smoke filled air stung her eyes and the cries of Ponyville's residents assaulted her ears. Just when she was about to lose all hope Ares trotted up through the darkness, Spike safely carried on his back. Spike wasted no time in leaping from his savior's back and into Twilight's arms. The two shared an embrace, finding comfort in each other in the midst of so much evil.

"Oh Spike, I thought I'd lost you."

"Twilight what's going on?" Spike queried, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"I don't know Spike," the purple mare's head swiveled to look Ares full in the face, her gaze questioning.

Another series of screams rent the air and, wordlessly, the three figures crept through the shadows towards the town's center. Peering around a corner, Twilight's breath caught in her throat. It seemed that all of Ponyville's residents had been herded toward the town center where they now huddled, surrounded by a ring of ferocious looking griffins. Up on the stage, where so much joy and celebration had started in Ponyville, the griffins had arrayed a group of hostages for public viewing. Twilight's eyes widened as she saw the bound and gagged forms of her friends Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Both pegasi 's legs were hog-tied beneath them with their wings wrapped tightly in chains. Rainbow Dash squirmed and writhed against her bonds, her eyes stabbing death at her captors. For her part, Fluttershy kept her eyes tightly shut, trying desperately to disappear. Stepping to the front of the stage a massive griffin, covered in scars and missing an eye, barked at the terrified ponies before him.

"Citizens of Ponyville!" Silence descended as every wide trembling eye turned to him.

"Rejoice, for the eve of your liberation has come!"

He smirked evilly at the cowering ponies, his eyeless socket staring ghoulishly in the half light of burning buildings.

"In their magnanimity, the rulers of the Griffin Kingdom have seen your plight and have come to your aid."

Only questioning looks greeted his statements. He sighed a showman's sigh and shook his head as if trying to explain the plain truth to ones too dense to understand.

"For too long you have languished under the oppressive rule of twin tyrants! Immortal despots who peer down their muzzles at you as they control the seasons while you work to survive! And what do you get in return for your loyalty? Nothing! Mere scraps of smiles from your betters too far removed from your struggles to understand. No more! A new age has come."

He paused with a sadistic smile as he let his words sink in. From the front of the crowd a brave voiced rang out in defiance.

"We love our Princesses!"

Murmurs of assent rumbled through the crowd.

The griffin's smile faltered for a moment.

"And what has that love brought you? A thousand years of peace? HAH! A thousand years of the same drudgery. No progress. No change."

"Princess Twilight will stop you!" cried out another voice.

"Princess Twilight?" he sneered. "Princess Twilight will be found and her head put on a pike!"

Silence reigned for a moment before the original pony who spoke out stepped forward.

"You'll never win. Right now our fastest pegasi from Cloudsdale are probably on their way to warn Celestia of your treachery!"

Like a coiled spring the griffin pounced. His muscled bulk landed atop the defiant pony and driving it to the earth. One large clawed foot rested on the pony's head holding it immobile and helpless.

"Cloudsdale!" he roared in mock shock, causing the nearest ponies to step away in fear. Then, visibly calming himself, he reasserted his sneering smile. Bringing his head down to the trapped pony beneath his feet he whispered almost conspiratorially, but loud enough for all to hear.

"Where do you think we struck first?"

With a sickening crunch the pony's skull caved in.

*****

The screams... the screams...

Oh sweet Celestia the screams!

Twilight couldn't get them out of her head as she ran. Her hooves thundered over the turf, her heart pounded in her ears, tears ran freely down her cheeks, and Spike claws dug painfully into her neck as she hurtled over the earth.

"Twilight slow down!"

No matter how fast she ran she could still hear the screams.

Twilight Sparkle ran until she could run no more. Her shaking legs gave way beneath her and she fell to the earth. For a moment, the purple mare stared horrified at her legs and their apparent refusal to carry her on, then she too started to scream. She screamed out her fear, rage, and disbelief into the night air. She screamed as if to empty her soul from her body so that it could continue its flight from the horrors of this night.

No matter how hard she screamed she could still hear them. She could still hear the crunch and the screams so loud they had hit her like a physical wave.

A strong pair of hooves slipped over her ears and pulled her close to their owner. It was Ares. He had followed her in her flight from Ponyville. He hadn't left her and now he pulled her comfortingly to his chest as she vent her terror to the surrounding trees.

After what seemed an eternity she stopped screaming and an eerie silence reigned. Twilight had never felt so numb and empty. She just wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear from the face of existence. Then, like a hand reaching out to a drowning soul, Ares' hoof turned her face up to met his gaze. His aquamarine eyes held hers as if to give her spirit something to hold on to, something to drag it back from the brink.

"Twilight, I need you to listen to me" his voice was strong and steady.

"I know right now you want to give up. I know you just want to make it all go away, but we can't stop here."

"A-Ares?" Her voice quaked as it struggled to find itself. "I-I'm so scared. I've never seen anypony m-...murdered before!"

"This I know, Twilight Sparkle. I know you're scared, but if you want to survive you can't give up. Spike needs you. Your friends in Ponyville need you. You can't give up!"

Twilight's eyes seemed to come back to focus and a small spark of resolve lighted within them.

"Twilight, what are we gonna do now?" asked Spike from her back. He seemed just as shaken as she was.

"We have to get to Canterlot, Spike. Princess Celestia needs to know what's going on. Ares, will you go with us?"

Ares nodded without hesitation.

"On my life, I will see you there."

Thus began their lonely exodus. Three shadows in the night, fleeing the burning buildings of Ponyville. They walked for what seemed like endless hours, sticking to the cover of the forest as the shades of griffin patrols circled overhead.

"Something's wrong," Twilight muttered during a brief respite, "the sun should have come up over an hour ago."

Ares said nothing though a growing sense of unease began to worm its way through his gut.

With the mission to reach Canterlot in her mind, Twilight's shoulders were set in a determined stance. Ares marched a few steps behind her marveling at her spirit. Most ponies would have given in and cracked under the pressure. He knew the feeling only too well. Madness was a tempting fruit to the strained mind. Comforting in its siren song it would drive a pony to his knees and swallow him like the last precious drop of water from a canteen, leaving his soul bereft, naked, and alone against the elements.

But, somehow, this Twilight Sparkle possessed the will to stave off madness and keep putting one hoof in front of the other.

Ares' thoughts were interrupted as Twilight gave a shout and galloped ahead.

"Look Ares! Spike! It's the sun! It's rising over Canterlot!"

Sure enough a warm orange glow was becoming visible over the horizon. Sprinting up a hill with Spike clinging gamely to her back, Twilight's hopes soared. Upon cresting the hill's peak she came to an abrupt halt. A half second later, Ares skidded to a halt beside her. Twilight's mouth hung open at the sight before them.

Canterlot burned.

No rising sun greeted them, instead, the hateful fires of a siege surrounded the Equestrian capitol as far as the eye could see. Even at this distance they could smell the acrid smoke.

Shaking in fear Twilight turned to the stallion at her side.

"Ares... what is going on?"

Ares' eyes were hard as steel.

"War, Twilight Sparkle. War has come to Equestria."