The Pony Loa

by Leila Drake


Chapter 4: At the Centre of Attention

"Oh crap oh crap oh crap..." Levinia muttered the words like a mantra. Hiding her aetheral body behind the palm trees as she flew after the captured Darren, she clutched the loaf of bread with her hooves. What had they gotten themselves into? Those trolls looked like they were ready to kill Darren if he made a wrong move. The angry woman at the front pushed forward with determined strides while the other two kept their arrow and spear pointed at the human. Darren appeared calm on the outside but Levinia knew him well enough not to be fooled by that. He was probably already thinking of a way to break free.

But where the hay was Eclipse? Had he managed to hide in the forest? Had he been captured? There was no way to tell.

Vol'Shalai was the last one in the line; carrying Darren's sword on his back, he kept looking back. When he spotted Levinia floating above him, he gave off a quiet sigh of relief.

Now they had reached a clearing. The trees parted and Levinia gasped as she beheld the massive stone pillars and walls that made up the village of the trolls. Intricate patterns and figures were carved into the monolithic structures, telling stories of warfare and legends. This was not some primitive clan, she realized, but an advanced civilization. As the trolls led Darren further into the village, Levinia understood that she needed to stay hidden if she wanted to help him. She reluctantly dropped the loaf of bread and let her solid shape dissolve into a little wisp of blue light. In this form, she could easily follow her friend as he obediently walked behind the angry troll woman.

The captors motioned for Darren to stand still as they gathered in what was probably the centre of the village. Dozens of huts stood in a rough circle around a large bonfire. As the sun rose, the denizens of the island left their straw-covered huts, curiously approaching the captive human. Some were armed; others were still holding a basket of food or a little child in their arms. The trolls had mostly blue or greenish skin, wild colourful hairstyles and a lot of jewelry around their wrists and necks. Their naked, furless bodies were more or less covered by cloth and leather. A mixture of interest, suspicion and outright hostility lingered in the air as they murmured and talked among each other. Levinia did not understand what they said but she could still imagine the meaning of the foreign sounds. "Who is that? - How did he get here? - Are there more? - Momma, is that a human? - Stay back, keep your distance!"


"Look!" Silence fell as the leader of the troll guards stuck her spear into the ground, at a safe distance from Darren. She pointed at him. "Look what we found on da beach! A dirty human!"

The crowd resumed their talking and a few boos and whistles could be heard. Darren fought the urge to roll his eyes. Even though his heartbeat was racing, he could not help but be amused by the way the troll woman was begging for attention. He was today's main attraction, that much was certain. Now the woman raised her three-fingered hands again and the chatter died down.

"And look what we took from him! The blade," she pointed at the scabbard in Vol'Shalai's hands, "of a death knight! I wonder, how did he get dat?!" She grabbed Darren's vest and pulled him closer to stare into his eyes. Her irises were of a vibrant pink, quite beautiful were it not for the burning hate that shone out of them. "Who did ya kill, human? And how did ya get here? Dis be Darkspear Village! No Alliance allowed! Did ya likkle boat have an accident?" she jeered.

Darren said nothing. He knew that it did not matter; this troll was not ready to listen anyway.

The other trolls waved their hands in a dismissive manner.

"Get on with it, Kali!" someone called.

Suddenly, there was a commotion at the back of the crowd. Some villagers stepped to the side.

"Let me go! Ow! Let me - !" A troll in a long robe stepped forward, struggling with an upset pegasus colt in his arms. They had caught Eclipse, too. Great. Darren sighed and prayed to the Light that Eclipse would not be harmed.

Vol'Shalai shoved the sword into the hands of the next best man standing beside him and stomped over to the robed troll.

"Please gimme da likkle pony," he said calmly. "Dat ain't yours."

The other troll laughed and looked at his catch. Eclipse stopped flailing his limbs around and gave him a dark look.

"Dis likkle ting be yours? I just found it over dere. If it be yours, what's it called, huh?" the troll taunted Vol'Shalai.

"Dat be Eclipse from Equestria," said Vol'Shaial instantly. His immediate response made a mutter run through the crowd once again. "And dis here," called Vol'Shalai, raising his voice, "ain't just any human. He ain't Alliance at all! Dis be Darren Houndslayer, a death knight from de odda continent! And we've been through a lot togedder. We fought traiterous Elves in Quel'Thalas, we've traveled to da Undercity and talked to da Banshee Queen. He be as much an enemy of da Darkspear as me - which is no enemy at all!"

"Da Banshee Queen betrayed us!" someone shouted and some trolls nodded. "How do we know ya ain't makin' dis up?"

"Gonk, save me from dose ignorant fools," Vol'Shalai muttered. He raised his hands, trying to make the villagers listen to him. "Miwemba! Where is my woman?" he demanded. "She knows what happened. She was dere, too!"

"Shut ya mouth, husband!" Miwemba strode over to Vol'Shalai and slapped his cheek. Laughter swelled in the crowd and some trolls even turned their backs and walked away, getting bored. "Ya be makin' a fuzz again," she said, grabbing his arm. "So what if dat human ain't Alliance? Nobody must know da secrets of da Darkspear tribe, ya know dat! No exceptions! Now, do I have ta clean up ya mess or are ya gonna do it yaself?"

Darren let his eyes wander, looking for a gap in the crowd. While Vol'Shalai and his wife were still bickering over who had to "take care" of Darren, he noticed that the trolls were beginning to lose their patience. Some called to kill him, others wanted to try some of their magic on him first. He also noticed how a few villagers made sure to send their children away to play. A bad sign; he had to prepare himself for a fight. But what were his chances, unarmed against dozens of trolls? He could only try to die with honour...

Eclipse, who had gone limp during Vol'Shalai's failed speech, wiggled around and managed to break free of his captor's grasp. Flapping his little wings, he ran over to Darren. Purple smoke drifted upwards from his eyes and his grey coat darkened. He dashed through right between the legs of Kali, dodged another troll and leapt into the air, further than a pony usually could.

"Oh shit," said Darren.

Eclipse's dark magic exploded in a cloud of purple and black mist. The sinister haze stretched into all directions and enveloped the colt whose eyes were now aglow with a stinging blue. He spread his forelegs and wings. A beam of purple lightning sprung from his chest, bridging the distance to the troll that held Darren's sword. It hit the troll and threw him backwards; the weapon was torn from his grip. The trolls shouted and screamed in alarm; some ran away while others readied their weapons or raised their hands to cast spells.

Darren jumped over to grab his sword; he brandished it and raised his other hand. Now that he could channel all of his magic they might have a chance. He reached for the power inside of him and released a whirlwind of ice. The trolls closest to him stumbled and fell, pushed away by the force of the cold wind. Darren used the chance to swing his blade around and parry the strike of a mace that somebody had aimed at his neck.

"Darren, what are ya doing?" Vol'Shalai called, reaching for his axe. "What be going on wit dis pony? How can he do Shadow Magic?!"

Levinia also had enough. Turning from wisp back into a pony, she rose above the fighting humanoids and opened her mouth. Unfurling her wings, she let off an otherworldly scream that made the trolls stumble and clutch their heads in pain. However, since she had not screamed with all her might, the disoriented trolls quickly pulled themselves together and attacked Darren and Eclipse once again.

The first troll to threaten Eclipse was a female priest; she raised her hands and a golden beam of light formed around them. Throwing the Light at Eclipse, she sang something and the Light grew brighter until Eclipse squinted his eyes. It seared his flesh; he screamed in pain and fear as the force threw him backwards.

"Stop!" Darren shouted, shocked as he saw the colt writhing in agony. "Don't hurt him! Eclipse, you need to calm down!" he added in Equestrian. "Eclipse, look at me!" Darren knew that his eyes were now glowing in a cold light but he also knew that Eclipse had never feared his magic. And he was right; when Eclipse turned his head to look at Darren, he could see the child's confusion and desperation but also a glimmer of hope.

"Come on, come over here," Darren urged him. He stretched out his free hand and reached for the dark apparition that was his protegé. "Just calm down and we're gonna find a way out of this." He could see movement in the corner of his eye and had to duck and swing his blade once again. A clang and a thud and another troll had lost his weapon and his balance. "You gotta breathe, boy, remember? Breathe the Light!"

Eclipse's eyes widened and he nodded. He flapped his wings and jumped into Darren's arms, throwing his forelegs around his neck. Darren felt the colt's chest expanding and contracting as he took very deep breaths. His lips were moving as he whispered, "In, out, in, out..." The smoke slowly dissipated and Eclipse's eyes returned to their normal sapphire blue. Darren put his arm around Eclipse and held the pony's head close to his chest as he spun around and parried another strike. He swung the sword upwards and threw an icy lance at his attacker, a particularly muscular troll warrior in thick armour. The ice encased the feet of the warrior, binding him to the ground at a safe distance. He shot furious looks at Darren but could not reach him with his large axe.

Levinia circled above them with her wings spread widely, casting angry glances at everyone who dared to come closer. She opened her mouth to scream again. The trolls who saw it yelped and retreated. She closed her mouth and smiled darkly.

Darren noticed that he was now standing back to back with Vol'Shalai. The shaman's face was contorted with frustration as he twirled his axe, ready to hit anyone that tried to attack. But the other trolls hesitated; it was clear that they did not like the idea of fighting their own kinsman. Miwemba stood next to him, shooting an accusing glare at her husband but still clutching a spear she had wrung from somebody's hands and pointing it at the surrounding rabble.

"What is going on here?" The shout cut through the air like a whip. While Eclipse kept counting his breaths, trying to contain his dark magic, a new troll had appeared. The crowd parted respectfully to let him through as he walked towards Darren and his two allies.

"Vol'Shalai, why are ya defending dis human? And what are ya all doing?" he called at the crowd that immediately looked much less interested in making any sudden movements. "If anyting, dis is business of da watchers! Where da hell is Morakki? You, and you, go find him. Kali, get back to yar post! And somebody help Tunari heal dese fools!"

The new troll was obviously in charge - everyone did as they were told and the village centre emptied as quickly as if someone had thrown a stink bomb. Only a few armed trolls remained and Darren noticed that their armour looked very similar. Two of them helped up the priestess who had injured Eclipse. She muttered something under her breath and hurried over to the next wounded villager to heal him.

Scoffing and raising his head, the leader looked at Vol'Shalai along his long nose. White patterns decorated his cheeks, forehead and tusks. Now that he was standing still, Darren recognized the tabard he was wearing over his armour of leather and bones. This troll showed the colours of the Horde. The red and white curved rune - a stylized head or claw - was the same one Darren had seen many times and learned to avoid.

"Well?" he said, his accent significantly weaker than that of his people. "Speak up already."

Vol'Shaial lowered his axe. He pointed at Darren.

"First, can we please agree not ta kill my friend? And I tink da likkle pony is hurt."

The leader's long pointy ears bopped up and down as he nodded curtly. He raised an eyebrow as he inspected Darren and the shivering Eclipse and frowned when he saw the runeblade. Levinia landed next to Darren, guiltily biting her lower lip.

Vol'Shalai quickly reached for a pouch at his belt and opened it. He took one of his small totems, an object made of wood and string and bones, and closed his eyes. He pointed his open palm at Eclipse and a stream of water formed around the colt.

Eclipse gasped as the water flowed to the wound on his cheek and healed it. In a matter of seconds, the only remains of his injury was the missing fur on his cheekbone. Still clutching Darren's neck with his legs, Eclipse gave Vol'Shalai a weak yet thankful smile.

"Ya see, boss, it be all my fault. Miwemba and I tried to call for Samedi but someting went wrong. We summoned dis spirit instead. And Darren and Eclipse," Vol'Shalai pointed at each of them, "dey got caught up in da current. Now dey be stuck here...," he lowered his voice, "on Azeroth."

The leader's eyes widened in alarm.

"Dey're from another world?" he muttered back. "By da Loa, dat ain't good news. Ya say ya trust dem?" he asked aloud.

"Wit me life."

"Very well, den. All of ya got a lotta explaining ta do. I've seen ya fight," the leader said to Darren, "and I've seen ya got de blade and abilities of a death knight. But ya look way too alive to be dead. I wanna know everyting. Let's go to the Darkspear Hold and sort dis out."

Darren nodded, deliberately pointing his sword at the ground. Eclipse shifted around in his arms, trying to get a good look at the new troll without falling down.

The troll picked up the scabbard and gave it to the surprised Darren.

"I'm no friend of humans," he said with a sneer, "I've killed a lot of you, seen, but da young human king showed me dat your kind can be honourable, too. So if Vol'Shalai says dat you can be trusted... den Rokhan is ready to listen."