//------------------------------// // 11. The Story of Rarity // Story: Azure Edge // by Leaf Blade //------------------------------// Rarity’s suspicions had been confirmed; a timberwolf king stood in a small clearing deep in the Everfree Forest, the remains of Rarity’s quarry having fused together to create a hulking monstrosity of wood, mud and leaves that dripped lime-green slime on the snow in its wake. But as a single target, it would be a much simpler matter to defeat it than the pack before it had been. It had taken Rarity no time at all to track the timberwolf king, the early-afternoon sun hanging high in the pale blue sky as she sat upon a sturdy tree branch far from her prey’s claws and nocked an arrow. Rarity had several different types of magic arrows at her disposal, but if she hit her mark perfectly, it would only require one shot; the arrow upon hitting the timberwolf king’s muddy flesh would decay the creature from the inside out, making it easy to dispatch with her sword if the arrow didn’t slay it outright. The beast paced around in a circle, and Rarity presumed it was gathering magical strength from the forest in order to solidify its transformation. It wouldn’t matter, as the wolf didn’t notice Rarity’s presence, and it wouldn’t until it was too late. Or at least, that’s what Rarity thought, but the wolf was smarter than she realized, and Rarity should have known better than to underestimate it. The instant Rarity released her arrow, the timberwolf king charged with startling tenacity toward Rarity’s tree—the arrow whooshing right past the beast to land harmlessly in the snow behind it— and slammed its head into the trunk, disorienting Rarity who managed to secure her position atop the branch just in the nick of time— The nick of time to get unceremoniously knocked from the tree by a second rapid charge, with Rarity sent falling backward, the snow doing little to cushion the impact as her back hit the forest dirt with a blunt thud, and Rarity swore she heard a very disconcerting crack as well and hoped it was merely a fallen branch that had broken. Rarity gripped her bow tightly; she had used all her knives to deal with the timberwolf pack— each one’s magic only good for a single charge— and her arrows were all she had left that packed enough punch to down this beast in one blow, so she couldn’t afford to lose the bow. The timberwolf king wasted no time pouncing on top of her, a rancid green slime dripping from its snarling jaws as it stood over her, and Rarity activated her shield with a spark of magic, the sudden punch of iron into the timberwolf’s belly causing it to recoil ever so slightly, enough for her to pull an arrow out of her quiver with her magic and fire it from her bow, hitting the beast right in the eye socket. The decaying process started immediately, and Rarity allowed herself a victorious smirk, albeit prematurely. To her shock and horror, the timberwolf king tore into the poisoned eye with its claw and ripped the organ out of its own head, throwing it aside as it withered into dust and leaving the rest of the beast unhindered, its bared fangs mere inches from Rarity’s throat. The timberowlf sunk its splintered teeth into Rarity’s shoulder and it took every ounce of strength in her not to scream in agony as the wooden beast crushed her bones in its jaws. With a flick of its neck, the timberwolf flung Rarity with shocking force into a nearby tree. Between her spine hitting the tree and then the ground, Rarity would be surprised if she could even move with the pain she was in, but she forced herself to try getting to her hooves and magicking out another arrow to use against the timberwolf. But she was too slow. The timberwolf lunged, slashing across the side of her chest with a powerful claw that tore through her skin, leaving three bloody gashes in its wake and knocking Rarity to the ground once again. She wasn’t about to give up though and used her magic to slash her sword through the timberwolf’s claw, separating three of its four talons from the rest of its body. The timberwolf bit down hard onto the sword, catching it between its fangs before skewering Rarity in the gut with another of its claws. As Rarity retched blood and stumbled back, her already sore spine hitting another tree and sending a wave of pain shooting up it, the timberwolf threw the sword into the distance, separating it from the range of Rarity’s magic. The timberwolf lunged again, but with only one useable claw, its attack was easy to predict and Rarity lurched underneath it, the beast jumping straight over her. She tried to sprint for her sword and she almost reached it before a claw tore open her back and made her scream bloody murder as she fell to her hands and knees. She knew she had to keep moving, and forced herself to spring toward the sword as hard as she could, landing flat on her stomach with her pathetic, weakened jump, but getting close enough to the blade that she could grab it in her blue aura. Rarity barely rolled out of the way of the timberwolf’s declawed stump pressing down on her and found herself underneath the beast, and she swung her flying blade through the timberwolf’s leg, cutting it from its stump of a foot and knocking it completely off-balance. Incidentally, Rarity realized only too late that destroying the timberwolf’s leg while it was right above her would send the creature toppling down right on top of her. The force of the timberwolf crashing down onto Rarity’s chest knocked the wind right out of her and her brain briefly entered panic mode before she managed to regain control of the situation by stabbing the timberwolf right in its one remaining eye, causing the beast to recoil. It couldn’t push itself back into a standing position without both its forelegs, so instead it lurched back and let out a shrill howl, giving Rarity just enough breathing room to smash her shield into its other paw, severing two of its claws with the blunt impact of the shield. The eyeless beast bared its fangs once more at Rarity, sickly green ooze pouring out its mouth all around her. Rarity held her hand out and grabbed hold of the hilt of her sword, stabbing the blade through the lower jaw of the timberwolf as it lurched toward her to bite her. The timberwolf recoiled, and as Rarity pulled her sword toward her and the beast reeled back, its entire lower jaw was split in two. Rarity had enough of an opening to slowly back away from the giant beast now and prepare for her finishing blow. She quickly took an arrow from her quiver and nocked it against the bow, firing it directly into the timberwolf king’s forehead; where it then exploded in a blaze of fire and flying splinters, several of which nicked Rarity as they buzzed past her. The headless remains of the timberwolf king fell limply to the ground, defeated. And Rarity quickly did the same. She thought she would be in pain, or that adrenaline would still be coursing through her veins. But more than anything, she just felt cold. And tired. Her eyes fluttered, her vision blurred as she stared helplessly into the sky and her only sense of feeling other than the cold that wrapped around her entire body like an icy blanket, was the warm blood dripping down her chin. She was breathing haggardly, her fingers twitching as she tried desperately to move her shredded body. She couldn’t leave things like this. She couldn’t leave Pinkie Pie alone in the woods. She couldn’t leave Rainbow Dash without a partner, or Applejack without somepony to playfully bicker with. She couldn’t leave Sweetie Belle without her adored role model, or her parents without their beloved daughter, or Celestia without her prized student. But more than anything, she hated the idea that this is what her life amounted to. She knew no one would find her body here, and the story of Rarity would be one of a woman who walked into the forest one day and never returned, her remains buried under the snow and lost to time forever. No one would tell the story of her life. When her family passed on, no one would even remember it. And the saddest thing of all was that Rarity wouldn’t be able to blame anyone for forgetting her. Because the life she had led had been completely pointless. She couldn’t let that happen. But she had no strength left to fight. The last thing she saw, as her eyes rolled back and everything began to blur beyond recognition, were a pair of yellow hooves in the snow.