//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 - The Hunter With Twisted Teeth // Story: The Fiend that heralds Dark Skies // by Skijarama //------------------------------// The treeline of the Everfree forest loomed over Twilight ominously. It had been quite some time since she went in last; at least a year. Without a word, she went through a quick mental checklist of all of her supplies. Sabre, check. Armor, check. Zecora’s healing potions, check… Finally, she convinced herself she was as prepared as she was going to be and entered the forest at a brisk canter. Swiftly, the forest canopy smother much of what little daylight remained. Twilight slowed for a short while, allowing her eyes to grow used to the sudden dark before pressing on. What little light she had from the evening sun was fading rapidly as it set. Twilight waited until she had no other choice before conjuring a ball of pure light on the tip of her horn. Some bushes and branches in the trees rustled as nocturnal wildlife scurried away from the sudden illumination. Twilight continued her search for quite some time, unsure of how to find Skeintooth. She figured he would come to her, but she was more focused on finding her friends than the fiend at the moment. Still, she made sure to draw her sabre from it’s scabbard, angling it into a guard position. A pounce from the darkness would be the end of her if she wasn’t ready. She was beginning to grow disheartened when her ears perked up. A soft, gentle ringing noise filled her ears, somewhere close. What is that sound? Is that what Sweetie was talking about? Twilight thought to herself as she strode cautiously deeper into the Everfree Forest. Her armor felt unbearably tight against her skin, making her grit her teeth. She resented having to wear this, but knew it was necessary. Every bit of protection was invaluable against a fiend. Her sabre twitched next to her, anxious with dread and anticipation. The ringing sound was soft and soothing. She could feel her muscles relax slightly as she drew closer to it. It’s a trap; it has to be. But it’s my only lead to go off of… Twilight stumbled slightly as one of her forelegs caught on a root that was jutting from the dirt somewhat. She grunted and pressed up, focusing on the adrenaline that brief moment of surprise gave her. Stay awake, Twilight. Finally, she could see a soft blue glow not far ahead. It shone through the trees, blocking everything else out as she approached. For a moment, she recoiled, wanting to slam her eyes shut and turn away. It was fruitless; she was already entranced by the gentle pulse and sway of the subtle glow. Her hooves began to move on their own as she drew near, revealing the light was coming from inside some sort of small bulb, like a flower yet to bloom. She settled down and looked at it with dreamy, unfocused eyes. Focus, Twilight! Snap out of it! Twilight yelled at herself mentally, trying to make herself move. She couldn’t. The ringing sound and the gentle glow were all consuming. Come on! Skeintooth could be anywhere! MOVE! A subtle static shock just under her horn made Twilight stand bolt upright in surprise. She looked up from the pod and saw Rarity pinned to a nearby tree by an awful smelling, organic growth. She looked sleepy, only somewhat awake. “Dodge…” she mumbled out before going limp again. “Rarity-!” Twilight began to shout when her friend’s only word sunk in. With a blunt-force blast shot into the ground from her horn, kicking up dust and dirt to obscure her movements, Twilight shot to her right into a roll. The bulb was crushed as a long, lanky fiend with mangled, twisted claws and teeth pounced where Twilight had just been, sliding over the bulb and crushing it. The fiend glared at her and bared it’s teeth in a wicked smirk. “Princess of friends.” “I take it you’re Skeintooth?” Twilight asked carefully, putting her sabre in front of her, pointing the tip at the fiend. “Yes,” he growled, beginning to circle Twilight with his long, three-pronged tongue flicking out against his teeth and licking his lips and some of his face. “I Skeintooth. Skeintooth has need of Princess of friends.” Twilight scowled at the creature, keeping her blade’s tip between her and Skeintooth at all times. “Well, congratulations. You found me.” she flared the magic on her horn threateningly. “Now let. My. friends. GO!” “Ah, ah, ah… Skeintooth needs you, Princess. Skeintooth doesn’t care what part of you he takes!” with that, Skeintooth opened his mouth and shrieked. “Gah!” Twilight cried out in shock and alarm at the loud sound. It rolled over her and caused the grass to ripple and trees to shake numerous leaves from their branches. Her ears rang and her vision swam. Acting on instinct, she formed a magical bubble shield around herself. Skeintooth collided with it as it was still forming, his sudden movement and heavy body weight sending Twilight rocketing backwards several feet. Skeintooth jeered in glee before slithering forwards quickly to where Twilight was trying to pick herself up. Twilight looked up and cried out in agony as his teeth sunk into her lower back, ignoring her armor entirely. It was excruciating. His teeth were incredibly sharp, but their twisted and mangled shape tore the flesh they bit into to shreds, scrambling it thoroughly. Skeintooth reared on his hind legs, taking Twilight with him. He swung his head back and forth numerous times, each jarring turn bringing another scream of raw agony out of Twilight as her shredded flesh was torn further and further from her body. Finally, with a horrifying snap and squelch, Twilight went tumbling away from Skeintooth as the meat he had bitten into came completely free from the rest of her body. Skeintooth chewed once and then swallowed, his throat rippling. He gave a pleased shudder and gazed sadistically at Twilight. “Damnit, damnit, damnit…” Twilight gasped and wheezed. The pain in her back was beyond description. She tried to stand but found she couldn’t, the muscles near her hips and waist having received serious damage themselves. She was immobilized. No… not like this! “Is this all Princess of friends can do?” Skeintooth taunted as he lurked closer to Twilight, licking his teeth once more. “Skeintooth is surprised.” “Buck you!” Twilight snapped breathlessly. Thinking fast, she closed her eyes, lit her horn and emitted the brightest flash of raw, focused light she possibly could. Skeintooth howled in alarm as the sudden flash of light blinded him. With that done, Twilight channeled her magic once more and teleported herself a fair distance away. When she reappeared, Skeintooth’s howls of aggravation were still quite audible, echoing through the forest. Need… Potion. Twilight could feel herself going faint. She reached into her satchel with her magic, fumbling with the flap and clasp before clumsily drawing out a healing potion. She could only hope it was enough before prying out the cork and downing the bitter liquid. It tasted awful, but almost instantly went to work. Her lower back grew warm and numbed itself somewhat. The flesh would take a little while to regrow, but, hopefully, it could allow her to defend herself more effectively. She lay hidden for several minutes, catching her breath and trying to collect herself while fearfully awaiting Skeintooth’s pursuit. When it had been five minutes, his howls having faded four of them ago, Twilight couldn’t help the confused frown that crossed her face. Why isn’t he trying to find me? Why is he being so quiet? Twilight tried to stand, carefully testing her hind legs. She hissed and slumped back down to the ground. Her back wound was still healing and the area was incredibly painful if she put any weight on it whatsoever. With a bit of help from her telekinesis, though, Twilight was able to get herself into a position where she could reliably fly without being in too much pain. With a grimace at the realization she had left her sword behind, she started back towards where Skeintooth had last been. Her friends were still there and needed her help. Then a scream caught her ear. Rarity! Twilight picked up the speed as much as she could, still trying to maintain a low profile. Once she reached the edge of the clearing she had been mauled in, she froze. Skeintooth was still there, only now he was savagely ripping Rarity out of the fleshy cocoon she had been imprisoned in. Her front legs batted uselessly against him in an effort to defend herself. “Leave her alone!” Applejack screamed from her own imprisoned position, struggling against her confines to no avail. “Silence, farmer!” Skeintooth shrieked at her. “Skeintooth is hungry! Skeintooth has what he needs! So Skeintooth eats! Skeintooth leaves!” his claws curled around Rarity before throwing her into the ground hard enough to kick up dirt. She screamed in a terrified panic, trying to scramble away. Skeintooth grabbed her tail and yanked her back. “That’s it! Be afraid, pony! Skeintooth likes scared meat!” “HELP ME!” Rarity cried at the top of her lungs as Skeintooth came down on her. Blood splattered across the grass around her, but it wasn’t hers. Rarity cried in alarm and covered her eyes reflexively. Skeintooth howled in pain and stumbled away from Rarity, his claws grasping at his upper jaw wildly. Twilight had just stabbed her sabre into his upper jaw and through his lower jaw. His tongue flailed in his now forced open mouth. Twilight wasn’t done. With an angry shout, she sent a beam of raw magical energy from her horn into Skeintooth, pinning him in place. “Rarity! Get everypony out of these things and get close to me!” Twilight ordered through grit teeth and a strained voice. Rarity looked up, nodded and swiftly sprinted towards the fleshy cocoon that held Applejack and Applebloom. “Hold on, you two.” “Thank heavens ya made it, Twilight!” Applejack called out to the alicorn over the sounds of her struggle. Rarity set to work trying to sever the fleshy prison with a highly focused beam of magic. It was not her specialty, and it showed. She wasn’t cutting the flesh, only thinning it. “I can’t sever this thing like this!” Rarity cursed in frustration. “Find a way!” Twilight shouted in response. Skeintooth howled in rage, his claws finally finding the sabre’s hilt and pulling the weapon out of his mouth in a spray of blood. Now he had fewer things distracting him. “Rares, keep burnin’ it! Yer makin’ it weaker!” Applejack barked, pushing hard against the cocoon. “Applebloom, help me out here!” “R-right!” Rarity wasted no time in continuing to focus her magic into specific points, trying to weaken it structurally as much as possible. It was giving way… Suddenly, the cocoon tore open. Applejack and Applebloom flopped out to the ground with grunts of pain and disgust. “You alright, darling?” Rarity asked breathlessly. “Later, Rarity!” Applejack shot back, rushing to Scootaloo’s pod. The orange filly in question was struggling against her prison as well as she could, but was at such an angle that she couldn’t get any good leverage. Applejack grunted and looked the pod over. “These points. Here and here! Burn ‘em!” she barked at Rarity. “C’mon, girls! I-gah! I can’t keep him down forever!” Twilight gasped, taking a step back to put more distance between herself and Skeintooth, who was still gradually advancing against her magic beam. “Applebloom, help me!” Applejack said quickly before grabbing onto the steadily weakening points on the pod and pulling as hard as she could. The substance was foul and rubbery in her mouth, but she could deal with that later. Applebloom did as best as she could, yanking with all she had as well. Twilight cried out in pain as Skeintooth suddenly shot forward and tackled her through her magic. The stream faded and she was sent tumbling backward, the back of her head cracking against a tree trunk before she fell completely still. “Twilight!” Everypony cried out in unison. Skeintooth’s eyes shown with euphoria. He licked his fangs and reared back for a killing bite. Rarity, acting fast, stopped her flow of magic into the cocoon and instead lifted Twilight’s sabre from the grass. With a grunt of effort, she lifted it up and brought the blade down as fast as she could onto the tip of Skeintooth’s tail, severing it. Skeintooth screamed out once more, glaring at the stub where his regrowing pod had once been. With him distracted, Rarity was quick to pull Twilight over in telekinesis. She was barely awake, eyes unfocused. “Twilight, teleport! NOW!” Twilight didn’t answer, though she seemed to understand the command. With a sudden surge of magic, everypony was engulfed in a bright flash and vanished from the clearing, leaving Skeintooth to howl in bitter disappointment, frustration and ravenous hunger.