‘Is this is what it feels like to die? Does everything slow down as you wait for your demise to descend upon you, said demise coming in the form of a wooden wolf’s claw?’ Will thought as he clutched Jewel close to his chest. ‘If I am going to die… at least save Jewel. I won’t let this thing hurt her.’
Will felt a warmth radiating from his core as it spread through his body, focused in the palm of his outstretched hand. He felt his need to protect the filly coalesce in his being as resigned to his fate, and became the small filly’s shield.
‘God, that claw is taking a very long time.’
“Mister William?” Jewels small voice brought Will out of his stupor. Will opened his eyes and looked into Jewel’s.
“It’s okay, I got you.”
Looking up, Will noticed something seemed off. There was the twinkling of wind chimes in the air, and the world looked like it was behind a light blue filter. The timberwolf stood a few feet away, head cocked to the side in confusion.
The Timberwolf lunged forward, claw outstretched again, only to bounce off of... something. The blue light brightened at the impact, and the force sent a pulse of energy shot back into Will’s hand. Will’s eyes widened as he realized what was happening.
“What the fuck?” Will whispered. That was a magic shield…
And he was making it.
With his back to the corner of the building, he used the moment of relative safety to look for a way out. Suddenly, a grey blur slammed into the side of the timberwolf’s head, making an explosion of sticks as the beast was knocked to the side. Lieutenant Sabre hovered there, speaking words that Will couldn’t hear. It was like she was trying to talk underwater.
Will lowered his hand and the shield fell.
“-n’t know ya knew that horn-headed magic. No time. We gotta move.” Sabre waved for Will to follow before flying her way back to Nick.
Will scooped Jewel back up, holding her tightly to his side as they ran. The warmth in his hand faded, but he held onto the warm feeling he felt in his stomach.
“What was that?” Will shouted.
“No idea!” Sabre responded. “I have the foggiest when it comes to magic. Whatever ya did, it worked. Keep up, my kick will only keep it down for a few seconds.”
Nick fell back slightly and ran alongside Will. “Dude, how the hell did you do that?”
“No idea. I just kinda held up my hand and I felt something. I don’t get it either.”
Nich shrugged. “Well it worked. Hopefully you can do it again.
Will didn’t question it and kept running. A few minutes passed as they ran around another corner, turning onto the road that led up to the castle.
“Looks like we lost them,” Nick commented.
Sabre nodded. “Aye.”
As the group bolted up to the great gates, two guards at the entrance blocked their way with spears.
“I’m sorry,” The stallion spoke in an emotionless monotone. “Nopony is allowed into the castle at the moment. Her Highnesse’s orders.”
Sabre’s eyes flashed dangerously. “Care ta’ repeat yourself, cavalier?” Each consonant was sharp, meant to intimidate. The cavalier didn’t even meet her gaze.
“I’m sorry, but nopony is allowed into the castle at this time.”
Will quirked an eyebrow. For some reason, he could only draw similarities between this stallion and automated voicemails.
“Listen here you gimpy knob swallower,” Sabre growled. Will and Nick recoiled at hearing the closest thing to a swear they have heard come from the mouth of a pony. “If you had half of a brain, ya would know that orders are to escort civilians to the castle in times of crisis. Now, let - us - in…”
“Um… Miss guard lady?” Jewel squeaked, the lieutenant’s head snapping to the unicorn filly, still in Will’s arms. “I heard a scary guard say they were taking ponies to the eastern gate before… before they took-” Tears streamed down Jewel’s cheeks before burying her face in Will’s tunic as she sobbed.
Will looked paralyzed when he felt the tears soak his shirt. He shifted Jewel in his arms, bringing her up to his chest, hugging her firmly while she cried. When Jewel looked at Will, he didn’t pry, but she managed to choke out a few words.
“They took momma.”
“Jewel, what do you mean?” Nick asked.
“A- a stallion in scary armor… he told mom she needed to go to the eastern gate. Sh-she wouldn’t go without me, so… he hit her.” The tears intensified as Jewel cried into Will’s chest. “They took momma!” the filly wailed.
Sabre’s gaze hardened even further and every muscle in her body tensed. Like a spring releasing, the pegasus mare leaped off of the ground, instantly followed by the sound of hard hooves slamming into a metal helmet. Before the second guard could fully bring his spear to bear, Sabre was on top of him and dropped the stallion with a single strike of her forehoof.
To the two humans, the mare was just a grey blur. Probably even faster than Hurricane.
“Search ‘em,” Sabre ordered. Nick promptly took off the stallion’s helmets, revealing bloodied skulls within. They were breathing, but that would be one serious concussion. If her strikes were any harder, Sabre would’ve killed these guards. But Nick’s eyes were drawn to a strap of leather wrapped around the guard’s neck, a red gem inset into the front of it.
Moving to the second guard, he found another identical choker. “The hell are these?”
Sabre was by the human’s side quickly. “Aye, never seen anything like that.”
Will took a glance at the gem from over their shoulders and shivered. Something just wasn’t right about that gem, but he couldn’t put a finger on it. As he stared, he saw that it was pulsing with some sort of energy deep within. The roughly cut gemstone was emanating some sort of energy, and Nick was reaching towards it.
“Don’t touch the gem!” Will shouted, startling Jewel.
Nick stopped suddenly. “Will?”
“Don’t touch it with your bare hands. I don’t like that thing. We are dealing with magic now, Nick. This looks like some bad ju-ju.” Will tore a piece of cloth from his tunic, handing it to Nick. “Please, just trust me on this one.”
Sabre and Nick nodded as Nick picked up the choker with the cloth, wrapping them up before Sabre took the pair.
Their moment to breathe was cut short as a beastly howl called out from the road behind them. Stalking up along the pathway, three timberwolves were slowly stalking their way towards them. The beasts were only about a hundred yards away.
“Shit, they must have heard you, Sabre. Inside. Now!”
The group hurriedly swung the castle gate open as the Timberwolves charged remarkably fast. Will put Jewel down on the ground a good distance away before joining Nick in holding the door shut when the first one impacted the thick metal bars, a claw scratching Nick’s shoulder.
The gate was almost like a small tunnel, just big enough to fit the three timberwolves side by side, or a large cart.
“Will, another shield would be great right about now!” Nick yelled as the timberwolf readied itself for another charge, it’s soulless eyes intent on breaking through this metal door. “Any time now!”
“I would if I knew how!” Will braced himself as the timberwolf threw itself at the gate again, the humans’ feet sliding across the cobblestones as the metal bars buckled slightly.
“I got an idea, hold on lads!” Sabre yelled as she took to the air.
Nick and Will’s eyes met as the timberwolf shook off the last charge. With knowing looks, they nodded to each other before digging their heels into the ground. From where they were, Nick heard the shredding of metal armor past the timberwolf about to charge. It was like opening a can of baked beans. In the opening on the other side, there was a pair of blood splatters and the sound of wooden teeth tearing into flesh. The other two timberwolves slowly entered the tunnel, fresh blood dripping from their thorn-like fangs.
“Jewel, don’t look,” Will said slowly, an uneasiness in his stomach. He closed his eyes, calling upon the warm energy in his core, he let it flow through his hands, imagining it coating the gate’s metal bars. Soon, the gate was covered in a dim, cool blue light. Nick looked at his friend. Will was holding the gate shut with all of his might, sweat pouring from his face and a vein visibly bulging from the strain of concentrating on the flow of magic through his hands.
Nick turned to the timberwolves, all three readying a charge. Then, all at once they threw themselves at the gate. Nick felt the impact, but it was much less than when the first timberwolf charged alone. Will on the other hand, looked like he was just punched in the gut. Nick’s eyes widened, Will’s magic absorbed a lot of the blow.
When Will looked up to meet the gazes of the recovering timberwolves, there was a fire in his eyes Nick had only seen a few times. A mixture of anger, determination, and focus were alight in Will’s dark brown eyes. Despite this, the magic Will was casting was noticeably dimmer than before.
“You got this,” Nick said evenly. Will didn’t respond, but his grip on the bars tightened. And with a howl, all three timberwolves charged.
-Only to be crushed by a falling steel portcullis.
The explosion of wood sent splinters everywhere. Nick and Will shielded their eyes to protect themselves from the shrapnel. When the dust settled, the timberwolves were gone, the wood that made up their bodies slowly turning to black. With a gust of wind, the sticks crumbled into dust, wafting into the air carried by the wind.
“Haha!” The two humans looked up to see Lieutenant Sabre flying above, doing small loops in the air. “That’s how ya do it, lads!”
Will panted, hands on his knees, snark coming through in his tone. “Yeah, thanks for making us the bait.”
“Ah lighten up, we still got work to do. And seein’ you two work, I could use yer help!” Sabre punched Will lightly on the shoulder. “Right! We still have traitors on the loose. With me. Little miss!”
Jewel’s ears perked up. “Yes, miss Sabre?”
“We’ll see to getting yer mom back, but for now you’re gonna stay with us. You stick with Will.” Sabre looked Will sternly into the eyes. “You keep her safe, aye?”
Will straightened his back, catching his breath and nodded without thought. “That I can do.”
“Good. Sisters, I would kill to make the two of you guards. You take orders better than half of those spineless excuses for ponies they usually give me.”
As the group approached the donjon, everything was quiet. The courtyard framed the spectacle above them perfectly. The stone that made up the walls of the Everfree castle gleamed near-white in the midday sun. The stained glass windows shined bright colors, almost making parts of the castle look like a pastel rainbow. It was unlike anything Will had seen on Earth. Nick had seen this once before, but it was as beautiful as the first time he saw it.
As they approached the large double doors, inlaid with gilded accents, the humans had a sinking feeling in their stomachs despite the gorgeous exterior. Because, for the first time, this place was hostile territory.
“Hey, Nick?”
“Yeah?”
“I think I finally know how to answer that question they always ask at each doctor’s visit.”
Nick looked at Will quizically. “Yeah? What’s that.”
A forced smirk crossed Will’s face, but the humor never reached his eyes. “I really don’t feel safe at home.”
“Quiet you two!” Sabre barked. “We have a job to do. Full focus. We need to find the princesses, and hopefully the captain. If this is how the guards are actin’ then she must be in trouble, or a traitor herself. Stay close, and trust no one.”