//------------------------------// // Disaster // Story: The Protector // by QueenChrysalisForever //------------------------------// Chapter 4: Disaster Hollow Shades- Shadow            It didn’t take much longer to tour the town, though my spine tingled as I felt the townsponies continue to stare at me. I hadn’t heard Cherry in a while now and that concerned me more than actually hearing her. Had she gone back to the pack, or was she just searching for me deeper in the woods where I couldn’t hear her? “You okay?” Gale asked. I turned to look at her, nodding. “Just worried. I need to let my pack know what happened! I don’t know how exactly, but they need to know.” “We’ll figure something out,” Gale soothed. “I just wonder if they would understand you now that you are a pony.” “I can still understand my sister,” I snorted, plopping down in a patch of grass near the end of town. “It might just be this spell, but I think she would understand.” Gale turned to look out into the woods, her ears twitching nervously. “What if she doesn’t? What if she tries to kill you?” She gazed back at me, eyes wide and frightened. “What if she succeeds? If one of us dies, will that darkness still escape soon? A-and will we then be doomed because we are not together to fight it?” She held her hooves to the side of her head, shivering. “Be at ease Gale,” I crooned, putting a hoof to her cheek. “If it is our destiny to face the darkness and drive it off, we will do so. I think.” She facehoofed, chuckled, then looked up at me around her hoof. “Guess we should just do what we can to prepare,” she sighed. “And letting your pack know probably is a good idea. Dangerous, but it needs to be done.” I nodded, getting back to my hooves, and took a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll head out now.” Gale stood up beside me, but I shook my head at her. “You stay here, they might recognize me, but I fear what they might try to do to you.” “Go out there alone?” Gale huffed. “What about the other dangers in the forest? Or if one of your pack attacks first and asks questions later? Who will be there to protect you?” “I’m hoping I still have enough of a dangerous scent to keep them at bay,” I admitted. “But you would only smell like prey to them. Please Gale, stay where I know you’ll be safe?” “Oh, I-I,” she mumbled, then let out a loud sigh and nodded. “Fine. Maybe that feeling of wrongness will come to me too if you need help?” I chuckled, taking the first few steps into the forest. “Let’s hope you won’t need it!” My hoofsteps paused for a moment, and I watched her from the beginnings of the trees shadows. Even with her nervous stance, shifting her weight from one hoof to the next as she gazed back at me, I was sure she would be okay. The tingling from the wrongness the night before was completely gone, not even a single claw- well hoof- was itchy. “See you soon,” I whispered, and disappeared into the shadows. Sounds of the wildlife around me filled my ears. The whistling, two-toned chirp of the chickadee, the guttural growls and grunts of two badgers fighting, and a little too close for comfort, the loud roar of a manticore. My ears lowered slightly as I heard it scratch its claws against a tree, followed by a loud crack and whine as the tree fell. I took a deep breath and kept going, hoping the manticore didn’t smell me –thankfully I was downwind of it, for now- and followed as close as I could the path I usually took to get to our den. The path was a lot larger than I remembered, but then I was a lot smaller now. Last time I was this small, was when I had been just a few moons old! “Welcome to the life of not being one of the tallest creatures out there anymore,” I chuckled to myself. But I didn’t mind, long as I could have Gale by my side. If we got that far. The walk was taking a lot longer than I remembered, but it gave me time to think over the past day. With the power of the timberwolf moon, I had found a potential mate. My feelings were already so strong for Gale, her beautiful smile and the way her mane caught the light. My beautiful angel. Her father had to be my big concern, though I hoped he would accept me. I cringed at the thought of my own father, and seeing him die before my very claws. We had been out hunting, padding along the trail of a proud buck deer. The buck had finally started to tire, after we had been hounding it for hours. Just as dad was about to lunge at its neck, the buck let out a scream of pain, falling to the ground. My eyes had widened, seeing the stinger of a manticore’s tail buried deep in its neck. Dad let out a low growl, baring his fangs, upon seeing the biggest manticore I had ever seen on the far side of the buck. It had to of been the leader of the small pack that lived on the edges of our borders. Dad was still bigger than it, and the stinger would have little use against our barked hides, but the beast was still strong and a more than worthy adversary. The manticore removed its stinger from the buck, latched its fangs into the furry back, and began to drag it away. “I don’t think so,” Dad had growled. He wasn’t ready to let this beast steal our prey. The manticore’s ears twitched, it turned around and fluffed out its mane, then let out a earthshaking roar right into Dad’s face. He didn’t even flinch, just stared the beast down. It was then I swore I heard the manticore chuckle. The bushes and grasses around us cracked and were pushed aside by three more manticores! They circled us, fangs bared, turning their gaze to the deer, then back to Dad and me. “Run!” Dad yelled at me, springing to push me to the side as they all sprang at once. I let out a yelp as I tumbled down a hill, crushing an old log to splinters as I came to a stop at the bottom. I scrambled back up the hill, hiding behind a tree, shivering in fright as all four manticores went at Dad. He fought bravely, even taking one of them down with a bone snapping crunch to its neck as it tried in vain to stab him with its stinger, but then the remaining three were on him. I hugged the tree I hid behind tight in my paws, gouging huge strips of bark from it with my claws, unable to turn my gaze away as they tore him apart. Even if we were able to heal from many injuries, what they left of him a few minutes later when the largest one led them away, the deer dangling from its jaws, wasn’t enough. I paused, shaking away the horrible memory as I heard a low howl. In the same moment, my hooves began to tingle. Gale! The howl came again as I turned around, racing back toward the village. My ears flattened and I raced even faster, letting out a yelp of surprise as I tripped over a root, catching myself just before I toppled over. Cherry was back near the village! “Oh Gale, stay safe,” I moaned, huffing as I continued to run. Hollow Shades- Nightingale            I bit my lip as I watched Shadow walk into the forest alone. Sure he probably knew it like the back of his hoof, but he was a pony now! “Why did I let you go in alone?” I sighed, shaking my head.     “Let who go in where alone?” Mossy asked, trotting up beside me. He looked around, then back to me. “Where is that stallion, Shadow right?”     I nodded, “yes, his name is Shadow. He went into the forest alone.”     Mossy shrugged, “well, he had to make his way through it to get here, right? He can probably find his way just fine.” He gave me a small smile, ears perking up. “Did he decide Hollow Shades wasn’t for him? I wouldn’t be surprised with how most ponies have treated him so far.”     “No, he’ll be back,” I said shaking my head. Mossy just sighed at that. I blinked, looking over at him curiously. Did Mossy not want him to return? “He just… went to talk to somepony.”     “Then he probably won’t be back for a while,” Mossy said, a soft smile returning to his face. “Want to help Ivy and me in her garden? Or did you have other plans?” He rubbed a forehoof against the other, looking down at the ground.     Taking one last look back at the forest, I sighed. It would take my mind off worrying about Shadow. “Sure,” I said, turning back to him. “Great!” he beamed. “Follow me.”     I silently followed behind him, hiding a smile behind one hoof as Mossy practically pranced back to his home a few down from my own. What was with him lately? Whatever it was, I shook the thought from my head as we trotted behind the house and over to the large garden they had behind it. Unlike the community gardens, theirs contained only flowers, flowering trees and bushes. A simple wooden fence surrounded it, keeping it safe from anypony unintentionally trampling it. Most of the flowers were roses, in a hue of almost every color: reds, pinks, yellows, oranges, and tiny little dark blue ones, crawling up a trellis in the back. Ivy stood near the center of the garden, a hoe in her mouth as she dug a hole for a new rosebush, this one the exact shade of a ripe tomato. Upon hearing us trot up, she dropped the hoe and wiped a drop of sweat from her brow. She wore a straw hat nestled in her ruby red mane behind her horn, her off-white fur smeared with dirt and mud. Her cutie mark, blue roses wrapped around a trellis, wiggled as she beamed in delight. “Gale! So good to see you,” she trotted over and opened the garden gate, wrapping me in a hug. “Good to see you too Ivy,” I said, hugging her right back. “Your garden looks beautiful for so late in the year.” “Thanks!” she said. “I’ve been imbuing come of my own magic into the soil. It’s a little hard to explain, but everything should stay this beautiful at least until we get our first winter snow.” Mossy chuckled, “that’s our Ivy for you, smartest one in the family.” He lifted a hoof and poked the dome of her hat. Ivy blushed, waving a hoof at him. “Aw, you are smart too Mossy.” She turned back to me. “So did Mossy recruit you to help in the garden?” I nodded, “what can I do for you today?” At least gardening had been one of the better things I was okay at. Unlike when I tried to help Mossy cut down wood and nearly chopped off one of my hooves off. “I could use an extra hoof to help plant Big Bertha here,” she grinned, trotting back inside and holding one of the new rosebush’s flowers to her muzzle as she sniffed it. “Then I’m your mare,” I chuckled, trotting in after her. “Guess I’ll go back to pulling weeds,” Mossy laughed, trotting in after me. He flicked his tail against me as he passed, heading toward a patch of sunflowers on the northern corner of the garden. I grabbed up the hoe Ivy had dropped, digging the hole deeper so the rosebush would have plenty of room to grow. “You know,” Ivy whispered, lowering the rosebush into the hole and then joining me as I swept the dirt back over it, patting it down. “I think my brother likes you.” “Of course he does,” I said putting the hoe to the side and sniffing at one of the roses. “We are friends.” “I mean as more than friends,” Ivy giggled, winking at me. “Wha?” I stared at her, mouth gaping open as I listened to Mossy grunting as he pulled up a weed. Ivy simply nodded, grinning. I chuckled at her, and shook my head. “Where do you get these crazy ideas Ivy?” She shrugged, standing back up and wiping dirt and mud from her forelegs. “Fine, don’t believe me.” I whipped around as I heard somepony scream, others soon followed it and I heard the sound of pounding hooves. “What the hay?” It was then a howl reverberated through the town and my ears wilted. In a single bound I leaped over the fence, running toward the howl. “Gale, what are you doing?” Mossy yelled, the sound of his hooves hitting the dirt as he jumped the fence and ran after me making me turn around. “Saving somepony, hopefully,” I said and continued on. “Stay here Ivy,” Mossy snorted behind me and ran to catch up. Other ponies raced by us as we galloped toward the sound of the howl. I skidded to a stop, Mossy nearly running into me as I spotted the timberwolf stepping out of the trees. It was smaller than Shadow had been, but still probably twice the size of any of us. Its bark was a light reddish color, eyes a burning orange. Below one of its clawed paws, was a panicking Sugar Glider. “No!” I gasped, racing closer to the timberwolf. “Gale, wait!” Mossy called, but I ignored him. Did he expect me to just let that thing hurt Sugar? I took a firm stance in front of it, glaring into its face. “Let her go,” I growled, ears splayed back against my skull. The timberwolf lowered its long neck, staring me in the face. I scrunched up my nose as its putrid stench poured over me. It let out a growl of its own, baring its fangs. “I said let her go!” I stomped my hoof in front of it, trying to ignore the frantic beating of my heart as I stared it down. “Gale!” My ears twitched at the sound of Shadow’s voice, breathing heavily as he burst out of the bushes behind the timberwolf. He paused by me, taking in deep gasping breaths as he looked up at the timberwolf. “You know this one?” I whispered. He nodded. “This is my sister Cherry.” Cherry paused at his words, looking sideways at him. Somepony collapsed behind us in a dead faint as she sniffed at Shadow. Shadow stood still, letting her sniff him, then grinned up at her as she backed away, releasing Sugar from under her paw. I raced over to the poor filly, wrapping her in my hooves and holding her close as she sobbed into my neck. Luckily, her worse injuries were just a few scrapes from where the claws had held her to the ground. Trotting back over to Shadow, I watched as Cherry shook her head, snorting and loped back into the forest. Shadow let out a breath and collapsed onto the grass, watching her run. “That was close,” he said softly. “Is she okay?” “Yeah, she’ll be fine,” I nodded, sitting down next to him. I jolted as hooves ran over to us and I felt mother wrap hers around me. “Oh my baby!” she wailed. “Those timberwolves just won’t leave you alone.” “It’s okay mom, I’m fine. I don’t think she is coming back.” “Ever since your Grannie died, these monsters have been getting antsy,” April Showers, an older bat pony mare, snorted, stepping up beside us. “She did seem to have a way with the animals,” Clarinet, a petite pegasus mare said softly. “We’ve never had any problems with them before, thanks to her.” “What’s next?” Stronghoof, a burly earth pony stallion huffed. “Will the manticores come after our goats and pigs? Will our town be overrun by these monsters?” Sugar shuddered against me, and I hugged her closer to me. “It’s okay,” I whispered to her, rubbing a hoof through her mane. “We must take action,” Rhubarb Pie, an elegant unicorn stallion said, stomping his hoof. “We have to protect our children.” “If anypony goes after them, those beasts will surely kill them all!” Mother sniffed, wrapping her hooves around me again. “They might have just been looking for something,” Shadow said softly. I turned to look at him. A small frown was on his face, eyes looking around at everypony around us, more gathering as they learned the timberwolf was gone. “You kidding?” Stronghoof snorted, glaring over at Shadow. “It was clear that beast was after a juicy pony meal. You and Gale might have scared it back into the woods for now, but I’m sure it will be back.” Shadow sighed, looking down at me. ‘I’m sorry’ I mouthed to him, and he nodded, smiling at me. “Then what would you propose we do?” I asked, looking over at Stronghoof. “None of us are trained to fight the timberwolves, let alone the manticores or other things in the forest.” “Well I−” Stronghoof paused, scowling at me. “I don’t know. For now, I propose we keep our children far away from the woods.” “I think that is a good idea,” mother said. “In fact, everypony should stay away. We don’t want to tempt them.” A chorus of affirmations and nods echoed across the crowd, as ponies grabbed up their protesting children, hurrying away from the woods. A small, nervous looking pink pegasus mare, Petal Breeze, tiphooved over to us. “Mama!” Sugar yelled, running from my hooves and over to the mare, wrapping her in a hug. “Thank you for saving my dear little Sugar,” Petal sniffed, tears pouring down her muzzle. “Of course,” I grinned, wiggling out of my mother’s grasp. “We just did what anypony should have done,” Shadow said, stepping up beside me. Petal nodded, and with a hoof around Sugar, led her away. Mother, Shadow, Mossy and I were the only ones left by the forest. “You should get home Mossy,” Mother said. “I’m sure your mother is very worried.” “Yes Mrs. Peach Pie,” he said turning away. He took last glance back at me, eyebrows raised in concern, and trotted off. “Why don’t you come to our place for now Shadow?” mother smiled over at him. “I had a talk with my husband. He shouldn’t give you any more trouble.” “Thank you,” he said nodding to her. Mother led the way back toward our home, Shadow and I following close behind her. Hollow Shades- Shadow            I walked silently beside Gale, wondering what had provoked Cherry into attacking the little filly. She knew what dad had always taught us, and she was a good wolf, most of the time. None of my sisters or me, far as I know, had ever had pony. Now they were talking about heading into the forest.            “They can’t go in there,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I won’t have anypony dying because of us, or even worse, the manticores.”            “Even with weapons or magic, I think most are too scared to enter anyway,” Gale said softly. “We are not hunters after all, and know little in the way of battle or war.”            “Then let’s hope things cool down and we won’t have to worry.” I sighed. “There’s no way we can tell the full truth now,” I whispered. It was a painful thought. The others deserved to know, and I hated hiding things like this.            “You two have sure had a long day!” mother said, looking over her shoulder at us.     Gale smiled at her, and I followed her lead, smiling as well. “Yeah it has been pretty crazy,” Gale chuckled.     “Will you be okay? Facing those things must have been hard,” Mother shuddered. “Grannie may have revered them, but they are still very dangerous creatures.”     “Yes mother, I’ll be fine.” Gale let out a deep sigh, shaking her head.     “S-she’s right,” I nodded. “I won’t let anything bad happen to her Mrs. Peach Pie.”     She grinned back at me, chuckling. “Well, well, have you taken a liking to my daughter, Mr. Shadow?”     Gale groaned, blushing deeply as I let out a light chuckle. “Recent events have led us to be… closer than you would expect from somepony you just met.”     She nodded, looking over at Gale who had covered her face with her hooves, ears flushed pink as well. “Nothing to be ashamed of Gale, Shadow here is a fine stallion.” Her gaze fell back to me, as she poked my chest with a hoof. “But you better treat her well, and take this slow! I might want grandfoals, but we need to get to know you better first.”     I gulped, nodding down at her. “Y-yes, of course.” By the elders broken fang, I think she was even scaring me a little! No pony had ever scared me before, that was like being scared by a bunny, a ridiculous notion.     We paused at the front door, Gale’s mother smiling at us. At least she didn’t seem angry, that was a relief. She bit her lip, turning to Gale. “Gale? Would you mind if we gave you Grannie’s room instead of your loft?”     “W-what?” she gasped, her breathing becoming ragged. “Why?”     “Well, Mr. Shadow here doesn’t have a place to stay, do you?” she asked. I shook my head. “Thought so,” she nodded. “While you look for a place, if Gale is okay with it, you may sleep in the loft.”     Gale looked over at me, panic in her eyes. I couldn’t blame her. The idea made my neck tingle. If I stayed, we could get to know each other better that much sooner! I was tempted to ask if we could just share the loft, but after the stares everypony gave me when I mentioned eating meat earlier, I didn’t dare. What if their customs on courting were different from that of the wolf? “W-well I-I guess that would be okay?” Gale stuttered, blushing. Oh was her blush so cute.     “Excellent. Mr. Shadow, what do you think?”     “Well, if Gale is okay with it then sure,” I nodded. We could move on to sharing later, after I spoke with Gale about that custom for ponies.     “Good, then let's head inside and get ready for dinner,” Peach grinned, leading the way inside. Hearing the howl of my sister Maple, I smirked slightly at the berating tone of it. Cherry seemed to be getting quite the talking to. I just hoped she wouldn’t try something like that again. As I was about to step inside my hooves itched in pain for a brief moment, then the itch grew still. Something was about to happen, that would threaten us all, even my dear Gale. “You okay Shadow?” Gale asked, pausing in her hoofsteps. “Do you sense something wrong? Is it the darkness?” I shook my head, “no I’m pretty sure it is something else. Either way, it poses a threat to you.” I growled softly out into the slowly fading light. “It won’t have you, not if I can help it!” Gale grinned. “Look at you, ready to protect me again so soon?” “Not only soon, but forever,” I whispered. Taking a quick glance at her mother, who had trotted into the kitchen, I gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “Shadow!” she gasped, blushing brightly. “I-I-,” she stuttered, looking at me with a dazed grin on her face. She took in a deep breath, then wrapped her hooves around me in a tight hug. I wrapped my hooves around her as well, hugging her back. “Shall we go in, before somepony wonders where we are?” She giggled, nodding. “Let’s go.”     It was strange, to say the least, sleeping inside a building. The ticking of that clock –I think is what Gale called it− grew irritating as I tried to sleep. It had been hard enough climbing up that ladder, without claws I swore I felt like I would fall with every step up. Yet, the bed had to be the best part.            After being used to dirt and stone, the softness of the mattress was like melting into a warm, thick patch of grass, but better. It cradled muscles I didn’t even know I had, and being able to still see the moon through the window beside me made it feel like- home. I did feel bad, kicking Gale out of her usual resting place, especially when she entered her Grannie’s room with ears lowered. I could hear her heart beating rapidly as she closed the door behind her.     At least in the morning she still looked well rested, a smile upon her face as we sat down at the table. Her father glared at me the entire time, but unlike yesterday didn’t say a word. He nursed one of those bottles again, apple cider from what Gale called it, as he ate and would have had a second if Peach hadn’t knocked his hoof away from the icebox.     “You need to lay off the alcohol,” she huffed. “Do you think Grannie would want to see you this way?”     He had just grunted, trotting to the sink to pour a glass of water instead, and sat back down. His mane looked better today, combed and laying against his shoulders. Yet in his eyes I could see how much he still hurt.     Looking over at Gale, I smiled softly at her. She had taken extra time to brush her mane and tail this morning until they shined, her coat also looked as soft as a baby rabbit. Oh she was just so beautiful.     I started from my watching of her as I heard a knock at the door. “Who could that be at this hour?” Mrs. Peach asked, standing up and trotting to the door. She opened it to reveal a pale green unicorn mare. “Carin’? Is everything okay?”     The mare nodded, stepping inside when Mrs. Peach waved her in. “Yes, everything is fine.” She looked over at me, cocking her head. “It seems we are getting a lot of visitors lately.”     “You mean we have another?” Gale asked, pushing her chair aside and walking over to wrap Carin’ in a hug.     She nodded, hugging her back. “He arrived early this morning. Mossy was the first to see him and well−” she paused, biting her lip.            “Well what?” Gale asked.     “He is a rather unusual pony. Come, the mayor has called a town meeting. Seems he has something to tell us all, this pony.”     Gale and her mother nodded. I stood and walked over to Gale, her father following after, breakfast forgotten. “Does this happen often?” I asked as we trotted toward the middle of town.     “Usually about once a month,” Gale said. “We get together to talk about the harvest, problems in town, and the like. This short of notice though is unusual.”     I pondered that as we walked toward what Gale had told me earlier was town hall. Easily the biggest building in town, every pony I could see still outside was making their way there. Stepping inside, the noise of so many ponies filled the air, whispering to those around them as they glanced around, worried looks on their faces.     We stepped into the main room, finding a place to stand beside the others in front of some raised structure, large pieces of cloth behind it.     “The mayor will talk to us from that stage,” Gale whispered, pointing at it. “You don’t think she is going to assign ponies to go into the forest, do you?”     “Hopefully not,” I said, glancing back up at this stage when I heard hoofsteps upon it. An old mare, probably around half of Grannie’s age, paused near the center. Her mane was red except for a few streaks of silver from age, and her coat a light tan. Like Gale, she was also an earth pony.     “Hello everypony,” she said then paused to wait for the chatter around us to cease. “I am sure you are all wondering why I called you here at such short notice.” There were murmurs around the room as ponies nodded.     “As you know,” the mayor continued. “We have been having problems with timberwolves the last few days. After nearly a decade since the last one entered our village, we have had two sightings in the last two days. Both of these,” she paused, raising a hoof. “Have involved injury to somepony before the wolf was able to be chased off.”     But I hadn’t even hurt that pony! Scared him sure, but I didn’t slash him open or even scratch him. I groaned, shaking my head as she continued on.     “We are not fighters. Having made our village a peaceful place to live for all, we gave that up so our children would never need to feel the horrors of war,” she stomped a hoof on the stage, then lowered her head, letting out a sigh. “But something needs to be done about these attacks. I don’t want any more of our children to be hurt.” She glanced over to her left, where Sugar Glider sat astride her mother’s back, bandages wrapped around her cuts and scrapes.     “This morning,” the mayor continued, “I received a visitor. He is from out of town, and the moment he heard of our problems volunteered to help.” She stepped to the side, and gestured to the back of the stage. “Citizens, I’d like you all to meet Mighty Charge!”     At her words, a unicorn stallion stepped out from behind the cloth. A moment later, a strong, tingling pain rushed through my legs and I couldn’t help letting out a gasp. Gale turned to me, concern on her face. Oh this was bad, bad, bad! I bit my lip, trying to ride out the pain as the stallion grinned down on us all. His mane was pitch black, coat the color of dried blood.     Along his barrel hung all sorts of weapons, some I didn’t recognize, but one that I did made my stomach drop. Mother had told of some of the things that could actually kill us for good, few though they usually were. This gun, about as long as the average pony and made from some shiny black metal, was one of those. I didn’t know much about it, mother not understanding the weapons of the ponies, but I did know it shot living flames, so hot it could take the tallest tree in our forest and reduce it to ashes in under a minute.     Gale put a hoof around me and rubbed my back as I quivered, the tingling feeling of wrongness covering my body.     “Hello everypony, so happy to meet you,” Mighty grinned, looking out at all of us. I wasn’t the only one to shudder at hearing his voice. It was cold like the river after a snow melt, if you drank too much of it all you would get is an aching stomach. “I hear you have a timberwolf problem,” he chuckled. “But not for long.”