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Into Azeroth3,394 words
Wolves & Royalty3,625 words
Druidism3,012 words
The Forsaken3,111 words
Magic, Trees & The Holy Light2,531 words

The Forsaken

Rainbow Dash backed away from the beast, her eyes flashing with suspicion. What the heck was this thing. She reared up onto her hind legs and punched at the air, narrowing her eyes at the minotaur-looking creature.

“Well? Come at me! I can fight you!” Rainbow yelled, bouncing back and forth on her hind hooves.

To her surprise, the creature made a low rumbling noise that sounded like a laugh. He shook his head and stood, rubbing his jaw. His amber eyes flared and Rainbow faltered. The beast was huge. He loomed above Rainbow, who dropped back onto all four legs.

With large hands, the beast grabbed Rainbow around the waist and pulled a crystal vial from his pouch. It was filled with a glowing white liquid. The beast pried open Rainbow’s mouth despite her protests and poured its contents into her open maw.

Rainbow tried to splutter, force it out of her mouth, but it slid down her throat. She coughed as the disgusting liquid went down. The beast released her and Rainbow Dash charged him right in the stomach. He grunted and fell backwards.

“Watch it!” the beast muttered, rubbing his torso. “That’s the second time you’ve hit me.”

Rainbow’s moth dropped open, “What? I can understand you now?”

“A language potion. I can’t talk to the Forsaken without Gutterspeak, and it’s a pain to learn it when you’re alive,” the beast explained. “My name is Caine and I am a tauren hunter. This is my friend Claire.” He gestured at the wolf, who continued to growl at Rainbow.

“Well, I’m Rainbow Dash. I’m a pegasus. Where am I?” Rainbow said, throwing her question casually at Caine, tossing her rainbow mane back.

“Pegasus? No matter. You do have an odd name,” Caine commented and rubbed his chin. “Anyway, we’re on the outskirts of Gilneas City, attacking on behalf of the Dark Lady.”

“What? Where’s Gilneas? Who’s the Dark Lady? And that hardly answers my questions,” Rainbow rambled, her mind swimming. Everything this… tauren said made no sense to her.

Caine’s eyes opened wide, “You don’t know? Are you from Azeroth at all?”

“Azeroth? No, I’m from Equestria and… MY FRIENDS!” Rainbow suddenly shrieked and shot up into the air, hovering above Caine’s head. Claire started to bark at him, her teeth bared.

“WHAT?!” Caine roared, ripping the wooden bow off his back. Rainbow Dash suddenly felt fear clench her chest. The anger in Caine’s eyes was apparent.

“Wait! Wait!” Rainbow Dash cried.

“Any creature from another world could work for the Burning Legion!” Caine yelled angrily, raising his bow and aiming at Rainbow.

“What? I don’t know what this Burning Legion is or where I am or why I’m here, but I need to find my friends! They could be anywhere,” Rainbow said desperately, waving her hooves at Caine’s face.

Caine narrowed his eyes and lowered his bow slightly. “You don’t look like a demon, and Claire hasn’t attacked you outright. Perhaps I can trust you… No, you will come with me to the Dark Lady to confirm it. Her apothecaries could tell us whether you’re a pegasus or demon.”

Rainbow protested, “But what about my friends? I need to find them!’

“So? Right now, we need to make sure you have no harmful intentions,” Caine growled angrily, before he marched off. Claire raced off after Caine and, after a moment, Rainbow followed. She had no idea where she was and this creature, no matter how hostile, was her only hope.

Glancing around, Rainbow took in her surroundings. She noticed that the sky was covered in grey clouds and a city rose up in the distance, its black buildings outlined sharply against the pale background. Rolling, dark green hills rolled out towards a river flowing in from the sea. A large wall loomed up to her left, cracked and broke in some places.

For the first time, Rainbow noticed the fighting. Huge, wolf-like creature lashing out with sharp claws at hunched figures that smelled like rotten flesh dressed in deadly armour.

Rainbow raced to catch up with Caine and asked, “Why is everyone fighting? That ain’t right!” She frowned at a pair fighting close by, both who were evenly matched.

Caine snorted, “Because the Forsaken wish to take Gilneas, but the Gilnean worgen obviously won’t let that happen.” He spat out ‘worgen’ as if it tasted like the potion Rainbow had just ingested.

“What’s a worgen?” Rainbow asked. “And the Forsaken?” 

“Honestly, you have so many questions,” Caine grumbled. “The Forsaken are the undead who broke free of the Lich King’s control. The worgen are the wolf-like creatures that live in Gilneas.”

“What?” Rainbow said, still completely dumbfounded by the world she had landed in.

Caine rolled his eyes, “Whatever. You’ll learn more soon enough. Come on. A bat is waiting for us. We’ll fly to the Undercity.”

“I can fly, you know,” Rainbow exclaimed, flapping her wings.

“Suit yourself, but those bats are pretty fast,” Caine said as they approached a camp of purple tents. Many of the Forsaken were here, restitching wounds, reattaching limbs, sharpening weapons or carrying half-rotten supplies from one spot to another. Rainbow shuddered, but she couldn’t help but find them just the slightest bit cool.

With a trade of some silver coins, Caine mounted a huge, red and grey bat. Claire leapt up behind him, sniffing curiously at the bat’s wings. Rainbow spread her wings, ready to fly.

With one strong movement of its wings, the bat was airborne and spun around towards the huge wall in the distance. Rainbow shot after him.

“Still think you can fly?” Caine called over the sound of rushing air.

“Oh, yeah,” Rainbow replied and increased her pace, shooting ahead of the bat. Caine smirked and urged the bat forward, levelling with Rainbow. Rainbow grinned and kept going faster, feeling the wind flow through her mane.

But Caine’s bat was quick. Its muscled body tore through the air after Rainbow Dash, giving her a challenge she hadn’t felt since her days at flight camp. The pine forest below them flew by, occasionally dotted with dark buildings and glowing green vessels filled with goo.

Eventually, the pine forest acquired a purple hue. A huge ruin of a city rose up in the distance and Rainbow turned back to see Caine waving frantically at her. Rainbow frowned and slowed to the bat could catch up.

“We’re gonna stop in Brill and walk to the Undercity. I have to replenish my potion stock and there’s a good apothecary there that doesn’t smell like plague,” Caine explained as he continued through the air, aiming for two towers that loomed above the forest.

Rainbow nodded and asked, “Where are we?”

“Tirisfal Glades. It used to be part of the human kingdom of Lordareon. That ruin over there, that’s the old capital. But when a huge plague the Lich King concocted up struck, the majority of its inhabitants were killed and became Scourge,” Caine ranted as the two of them flew between the towers and down towards the small town below.

“That’s pretty creepy. Is the Scourge some sort of zombie army?” Rainbow questioned.

“Indeed. The army of the Lich King,” Caine replied.

The Lich King… What I would give to kick his ass. No one should be killed and resurrected against their will. How could he destroy an entire kingdom? Rainbow thought as Caine had his bat land next to a Forsaken who’s hair shot towards the sky like a pillar. Rainbow had to hold back a laugh. It looked ridiculous.

Caine and Claire disembarked and began to head into town, Rainbow trotting after them. With her brightly-coloured mane, she felt sorely out-of-place in the gloomy town of Brill.

“Be careful around here, Dash. I’m going to brew us a potion that dulls our sense of smell and permits us to breath normally in the Undercity. Let me tell you, that hellhole is not meant for the living,” Caine muttered softly as they entered the first building to the right. It was circular, dark and filled with vials, most of which contained the same glowing green liquid Dash had spied on their voyage here.

“What’s in those vials?” Rainbow asked curiously.

“Plague,” a hoarse voice replied. Rainbow jumped and spun around to see a Forsaken eyeing her from a huge cauldron. Caine wrinkled his nose from where he stood beside the zombie and Claire made a low growling noise. Rainbow took a step back, much to the Forsaken’s amusement.

“Heh. Don’t worry. It’s all sealed up. Anyway, tauren, what can I help you with? I assume you need a couple vials and some… mageroyal? Stranglekelp?”

Caine gave a disdainful sniff and said, “Silverleaf will do. And a couple vials.”

The Forsaken bowed and bustled off to gather the necessary ingredients. Caine sighed and leaned over to say to Rainbow, “Usually, an alchemist like myself would know how to gather herbs, but I never found the time to learn.”

“You have to learn how to gather plants?” Rainbow asked in disbelief.

Caine nodded, “Don’t want to pick the wrong thing and make a potion that causes you to shrink instead of grow in size.”

Rainbow shrugged. “Fair point.”

Rushing back over to them, the Forsaken handed over the ingredients to Caine and asked, “Anything else?”

“No. Thank you, sir. May the winds be at your back,” Caine said in farewell.

“Beware the living, tauren,” the Forsaken replied with a leer. Caine snorted and herded Rainbow and Claire out of the apothecary, Rainbow shivering from what the Forsaken had said.

“Don’t worry. That’s their usual farewell. Well, one of them anyway,” Caine muttered under his breath as they entered the streets of Brill once again. Claire raced off towards a Forsaken standing away from the rest, surrounded by cages.

“Oh, dear. Looks like Claire wants to see the pet vendor. Hang on while I make these potions, then we’ll be off to the Undercity,” Caine said. Rainbow nodded and decided to look around. She trotted after Claire, staring at the different Forsaken who stood around her. To be honest, she found this place pretty awesome.

After a good fifteen minutes, Caine finished up his potions and went to find Rainbow. Claire had long since returned to his side and was now curiously sniffing at the flasks in Caine’s hands.

Rainbow, meanwhile, was listening intently to a Forsaken who was explaining how to care for a skeletal horse, which she had found towards one of the entrances into Brill. Intrigued, Rainbow had asked the nearby Forsaken on how they had come back to life and had received an explanation on how it had happened.

“Rainbow! I hope you don’t plan on killing yourself so the val’kyr can make you one of those horses,” Caine teased as he approached.

Rainbow turned and grinned. “No way. I like being alive, but they look so cool. Just like this place. I really like it here.”

The Forsaken arched what was left of an eyebrow, “Really? Never heard that from the living before.”

Caine shook his head. “No matter. The Undercity awaits, and I’m pretty sure you’ll find it looks… better than Brill. Here’s your potion. Drink it.” Rainbow opened her mouth and Caine poured its contents down her throat. He uncorked the second one and did the same to himself.

Saying a swift goodbye to the Forsaken, Caine, Rainbow and Claire wove their way through Brill and out a gate leading towards the ruins of the capital city. Rainbow frowned. Was the Undercity inside the ruins? It had looked pretty abandoned to her.

“There’s a reason it’s called the Undercity,” Caine said lightly as they entered. The vast, strong structures rose up from half-dead grass. Moss and lichen crawled up the once marvellous architecture. Rainbow shuddered, for her ears were picking up the faintest sound of whispering, yet there was no one in sight.

“So… the Undercity is underneath the ruins,” Rainbow said slowly as she glanced around nervously. A couple huge white creatures who’s stomachs had burst open to reveal the organs within stood guard. Rainbow shrank away from them.

Caine nodded, “Yes. We’ll have a word with the Banshee Queen and hopefully she’ll help keep an eye out for your friends.”

“Banshee Queen? Is she a ghost?” Rainbow squeaked out.

“Hah! She was a ghost. Now, she’s an undead high elf. You’ll understand when we meet her, but be warned. She’s bitter, ice-cold and has absolutely no sympathy for anyone except herself. We’ll be hard-pressed, getting help from her,” Caine said softly, his eyes narrowed. Distaste filled those amber orbs.

“Why can’t we meet your leader?” Rainbow whispered, feeling like she’d rather meet someone like Caine over someone like… like that.

Caine shook his head, “I wish, but the High Chieftain sent me here to keep an eye on the Banshee Queen by order of Warchief Garrosh. No one trusts her except the Forsaken. Besides, my home capital is on Kalimdor, and that another continent entirely.s”

Rainbow shuddered as the two stepped into the ruins of the castle at the centre. They crept through an empty throne room, where the whispers were loudest yet. Rainbow strained her ears and found that she could understand what they were saying.

“What is this… What are you doing my son?”

“Succeeding you… Father.”

Rainbow heard a sudden grunt and all was silent. “What was that?” she breathed.

“Arthas Menethil killing his father,” Caine replied. “If you want to hear that story, you’ll have to leave this place. It was Arthas who killed the Banshee Queen. Tortured her. Made her his servant.”

Rainbow felt a pang of sympathy. Once again, she was someone raised from death against their will to serve forever. It was wrong, just like all this fighting and killing.

The Elements of Harmony could set things right, Rainbow thought, but she knew that was impossible here. She was separated from Twilight and Fluttershy, while Pinkie, Rarity and Applejack were all still in Equestria. And right now, Rainbow wanted to focus on her friends instead of this place.

The two companions stepped onto an elevator and were sent deeper underground to where the Undercity lay. As they stepped out past two more abominations, Rainbow gasped. She had expected the Undercity to be cool, but it was so damn small.

Caine chuckled at Rainbow’s face, “Don’t worry. There’s more surrounding the outside. This is the centre of the city.” He headed off down a ramp and Rainbow ran after him, her rose eyes darting from one place to the next. A bank loomed in the centre, small alcoves in the side of the wall revealed places where stores had been set up. There were even moats of glowing green goo.

Making their way down a hall, Caine lead Rainbow past more shops, over a bridge that spanned across another moat and past a place filled with vials, blood splotches, cages, chains and many other objects hidden in the shadows.

“There. That’s the hall that leads to the Banshee Queen,” Caine said, pointing to an archway flanked by two Forsaken garbed in red armour over the standard purple Rainbow had seen so far.

They approached the guards, one who stepped forward and asked in a guttural voice, “What business have you with the Dark Lady?”

“It’s my business with her, not with you,” Caine replied snappishly.

“Hm. You’re the tauren sent by the Warchief. Don’t think the Dark Lady’s blind to your true intentions,” the guard hissed, but he stepped back to let them pass. Rainbow scurried into the hall, unnerved by the hostility in the Forsaken’s voice.

Caine seemed even more uncomfortable. His tail lashed about and his nostrils flared every so often as they descended even deeper underground to the chamber of the Banshee Queen.

Rainbow felt the cold beginning to seep into her bones and she shuddered. She tightened her wings against her body, trying to keep herself warm.

When the hall opened up into the throne room, Rainbow nearly ran right into Caine, so distracted as she was by keeping warm. Claire gave a warning growl, and Rainbow peered around Caine’s legs to see what was going on.

Caine was standing there, rigid, with the blade of a short sword pressed to his throat. The sword’s holder was a tall, slim figure garbed in dark armour, feathered shoulder pads and a hooded cloak. Piercing red eyes gazed straight into Caine’s amber ones, revealing so much anger, so much hatred. Long, ice-blue ears poked out from underneath the hood, which reflected the rest of her skin colour quite well. Dirty blond hair fell to her shoulders from underneath the hood.

“I should have known something was up when a tauren was sent from Orgimmar,” the figure hissed, her voice echoing, commanding and stone-cold. Rainbow shrank back.

“Lady Sylvanas, it was not my will to act as a spy for the Warchief,” Caine said smoothly, though Rainbow could detect the fear in his voice.

Sylvanas tipped her head to one side and said, “Oh, I’m sure. How many lies have you told him?”

“None, m’lady.” Cain replied.

“Really? Because I’ve been asked to go to Ogrimmar because of some rumours that the plague is still being used, despite its ban,” Sylvanas said darkly, her eyes boring straight into Caine’s. Even though she was so much smaller than the mighty tauren, Rainbow watched as Caine flinched back, one hand twitching instinctively, as if he wanted to grab his bow.

Caine bowed his head as best he could with a knife at his throat and said, “Please, m’lady. I said nothing of the plague. Nothing at all.”

“No matter. You, your mutt and your newfound rainbow companion will be coming with me,” Sylvanas commanded. “You’re under my command, tauren. Don’t forget it.”

Caine glanced back at Rainbow, then turned to Sylvanas and said, “We will obey.”

Rainbow felt Sylvanas’ eyes turn on her. She stared into those amber depths and, for the first time, Rainbow spied, in those abysses of hatred, the tortured gaze of someone who had been to hell and back again.

Author's Note:

NEW CHAPTER YAY!

Hope you like it. Just one think. I'm going to do a time-skip next chapter so we can get to the good part. If I didn't, there would be another three chapters before Twi, Shy and Rainbow all reunited. I have also given up on following the storyline. So I may mash expansions together or remove one entirely. Please be forewarned.

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