True Black
Chapter 9
Escape From North Bay
31th of March.
Lobo had almost reached North Bay when he heard something in the distance. As his ears twitched towards the direction of the noise, even though the rain had dulled his perceptions, he could make out that it was a pony shouting loudly. Since the whole idea of him being there was to observe and study how ponies acted in general, he altered his course and headed towards whatever was happening over there. Slowly he glided between the trees, carefully moving through the shadows under the tree canopy so that nopony would notice his approach. As he came up to the edge of the forest, he looked out over a gathering of ponies. They were all watching five ponies standing on what looked like a stage. Three of them were completely enrobed in black. After taking a closer look, he discovered that the three of them represented one of each species of pony. Between two of the black-clad ponies stood a sky blue Pegasus mare with a two-tone purple mane and tail, her wings tightly secured to her sides while her muzzle was firmly wrapped in rope. Finally Lobo looked closer at the last pony up on the stage; he was apparently in charge of the whole thing. The stallion had plain steel armor covering parts of his legs, back and chest. On the pony’s chest he could see an insignia painted. It depicted a ship with full sails silhouetted against the rising sun. The stallion was grey with a white mane and tail. Lobo settled down behind some cover while he continued to look at what was happening; whatever it was, he started to suspect it would not be pleasant for the bright blue pony that had her wings tied down and her muzzle wired shut. Lobo once again focused his attention on the gray pony in charge and whatever he was blathering on about.
“…the punishment for that is hanging! The Empire's laws are absolute! No exceptions! It doesn't matter if you're a young mother or a colt!” Lobo heard the armored stallion shout out at the crowd while he started waving at two of the black clad ponies. They immediately started shoving the winged tied mare forward. She resisted as much as she could, thrashing and staggering while the two relentlessly pushed her onward. For Lobo it was obvious that the mare did not have full control of her extremities. The blue pony was shoved in between two wooden pillars with a crossbeam connecting the two of them. There was a black square painted on the floorboards where she now stood. A rope tied round her neck was secured to the crossbeam, but she still had a lot of slack in the rope.
Well at least she'll still be able to move around a little. Lobo thought, although he couldn't figure out what the ponies were up to. Whatever it was, the blue mare was terrified. He had never seen any pony shake so much or look so frightened before. She was looking out over the crowd, silently begging them to save her from whatever was coming. Finally the sky blue mare looked over towards the black-clad unicorn whose horn was glowing in a faint blue. Just then the floor beneath her hooves disappeared. He didn't care much for ponies in general, but the look of utter horror showing on the mare´s face will definitely stay with him for a long time. Lobo saw how her wings tried to snap open despite being tied down, and she was clearly screaming through her tightly secured muzzle. Just as her head reached the same level as the floorboards, the rope grew taught, and she was jerked to a sudden halt. Lobo shoots up on all fours in surprise. He was now growling menacingly while he was staring down at the dead mare swinging slowly back and forth at the end of the rope. Her now glazed-over eyes stared up into the sky she would never again fly through, the last tears she had cried in life slowly running down her cheeks. There was quite a diverse reaction to what had happened in the crowd. Most were just standing there in the rain, silently watching the spectacle. A few were openly crying while proclaiming that this surely must have been a mistake, but the reaction that was making his hackles rise were the ones who were stomping their hooves and hollering in delight. Lobo could only snort in revulsion.
What kind of ritual is this? Do they do this every morning? I thought I had seen the worst of ponykind at the camp with Black Star. Obviously these ponies are far more savage than I ever gave them credit for. He thought while the pony in charge once again strode forward to address the crowd.
“Justice has been dealt!” He cried out. Behind him the black-clad pony with wings now walked forward, holding a sword in his mouth. With a quick swing, he cut the rope that was wrapped around the dead mare's neck; the sky blue pony disappeared down into the black pit. Then he quickly reset the trapdoor.
“Proceed with the next prisoner!” The armored, grey stallion ordered sharply. Immediately, the black-clad unicorn started moving forward. From behind her, a very small pony came into view. It was light blue with black marks around the back of his romp. His mane and tail were also a darker shade of blue then his coat, and they were quite messy and short. The little pony was just hanging there in the air beside the unicorn, more or less catatonic and not moving a muscle. Completely empty eyes were staring down through the floorboards, as he came to rest in the middle of the black square, where the blue mare had stood just moments before.
That must be one of their pups. Lobo thought while he studied the little pony. Then the realization of what was about to happen slowly dawned on him; his entire form grew rigid. Every hair on Lobo´s body rose up, and a fury he had never felt before in his whole existence coursed through his entire being. His mouth grew into a vicious snarl.
THEY’RE GOING TO KILL THE PUP!!! Lobo had finally fully comprehended the situation and stood there in utter horror and disbelief. The small fact that he had referred to the foal as a pup in his own mind still hadn't registered with him. All he could think was that there was a pup in mortal danger, so there was only one thing he could do. He set off at full-tilt from his safety amongst trees heading towards his new charge.
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Iron Rod heard a wet smack when Bright Sky´s body landed down in the pit, but he noted that she hadn't fallen very far.
This pit is getting full. We'll need to dig a new mass grave and move the gallows… Well at least the hang ponies will have something to occupy them during the next week. He thought while he looked back to see the trapdoor being secured again. Then he looked over towards Zig Zag and steeled himself. The colt was now just hanging in the air next to the unicorn hang mare, completely still, catatonic and broken.
Right now it will be more merciful for him to just get this over with. Iron Rod thought.
“Proceed with the next prisoner!” Iron Rod ordered sharply. Immediately the unicorn trotted forward with Zig Zag floating beside her. She put him down in the middle of the black square and was about to secure the rope around the crossbeam when she heard screams of panic and fear rise from the back of the crowd. She looked up only to see an enormous black shape launch itself over the guards in front of the stage. It landed squarely in front of her; its teeth, for it definitely had such, clamped down on her horn. She didn't even have time to scream before the enormous beast yanked it right out of her skull. She flopped down on the floor and jerked spasmodically a few times before she died. Iron Rod was completely stunned and left in silence as the enormous beast turned around towards him. He could now see that it was a massive Wolf. It was larger… much larger than any Wolf he'd ever heard of. The Wolf's yellow eyes were bored into Iron Rod, making him take several steps back. But the most noticeable thing, excluding his size, was the enormous war plate collar it had around its neck, being designed to resemble dragon scales. It moved so fluidly with him; one would think it was part of his skin.
By the moon! What is that thing! It must be as big as Empress Celestia! He thought.
The hang mare’s horn still protruded out from the side of its jaw, on the base of the horn, parts of her skull and some brain matter still clung to it. The enormous, black wolf just dropped the horn and let it clatter against the wooden floor, quickly moving over to the colt. Iron Rod was then completely shocked when instead of gobbling the colt up in one big bite, as he thought it would, the Wolf instead tentatively and tenderly removed the hang noose from the colt’s neck, and then the gag from around his muzzle. Zig Zag was still just standing there, staring down into the boards, not really having noticed anything going on around him.
“Guards to me!” Iron Rod now bellowed. Immediately the twelve guards, who had thus far just been standing around gawking, scrambled up on the morbid stage and fanned out around the Wolf and the colt. Lobo looked around him with burning eyes of hatred, while a low relentless growl came from him. All the guards were sweating profusely as they shuffled around him.
“In the name of the silver-seas duchy, you are under arrest, Wolf! Now step away from the colt!” He bellowed angrily. Lobo continued to growl while looking around himself; there were too many ponies here, and he would not be able to handle them all while still keeping the pup safe at the same time. This realization made his lips curl up even more; he wanted to rip every one of these ponies’ throats out. Suddenly, Lobo noticed that Iron Rod had a very foreboding smile across his face.
“Dump them! We’ll finish them off when they're down in the pit!” Iron Rod shouted. Behind Lobo, one of the hang ponies hit a switch on the floor. There was a click beneath his paws as the trapdoor fell away underneath them, but Lobo was bigger than these ponies. His back paws were still on solid ground away from the trapdoor. His front paws were able to catch on to the edges of the trapdoor with his claws digging into the wood, while his head shot down and caught the pup across the shoulders before it disappeared down into the pit. Now as Zig Zag was hanging there over the pit in the black wolf´s jaws, the sharp pain of having Lobo´s teeth digging into to him, across his shoulders and down his side, snapped him out of his mental shutdown. The two of them looked down at the horror that lay beneath them: a pit that was more or less full of the bodies of ponies in different stages of decomposition. Even through the rain, the retched stench of it was almost overwhelming for Lobo. And there in the center, on top of all the filth, lay Bright Sky, her neck at an odd angle and her sightless eyes staring up at them. Zig Zag once again started screaming and fighting violently.
“Let me go! I have to save mum!!! Let me go! Let me go! I have to save her!!! I have to!!! LET ME GO!!!” He screamed while Lobo jaws clamped down tighter around him so that he would not fall. With a powerful shove of his front legs, he pushed himself away from the dark abyss to land safely behind it. He once again looked around him at the stunned expressions of the guard ponies. They couldn't believe that the two of them had not fallen down into the pit. The pony leaders’ lower jaw was literally quivering in fear. Lobo growled menacingly at them all, making them take a step back even though every single one now had a sword in his or her mouth. He so wanted to kill every one of them, but the safety of the pup came first, so without a second thought, he set off, leaping straight over the head of their leader to land on the now mostly empty ground in front of the gallows. Every civilian in their right mind had fled back towards North Bay. Only a few drunks, a scholar too nosey for his own good, and Iron Boots were still there, staring at them as they landed. Zig Zag´s and Iron Boots’ eyes met, and then he saw the shining necklace hanging around Iron Boots’ neck. Lobo had softened his grasp around the pup now so as not to hurt him. With a ferocious snarl, Zig Zag twisted out of Lobo´s grip and flung himself on the scared witless Iron boot.
“That's my necklace!!!” He screamed as he bowled into the bully. But he was still very weak, so the initial charge was more or less all he had in him. The only thing Zig Zag had managed was to make Iron Boots stumble a bit. But he wasn't really after him right now. Zig Zag clamped his teeth down on the silver necklace just as Lobo´s jaws once again closed around him in a secure hold. Lobo set off towards the woods once again caring his precious, little load. Behind them, a stunned Iron Rod once again came to his senses.
“After them! Don't let them escape!” He roared at the other guards. The four pegasus guards that were with them flung themselves into the air in hot pursuit. He had received a good head start while the stunned pegasus had been busy gawking after him before they started their chase. And although they were clearly gaining on the Wolf, they were not catching up as fast as they thought they would. Just before they could catch him, he disappeared into the woods. Lobo knew that once he was in there, there was no way for them to keep up with the agile Dire Wolf. The pegasus burst through the canopy in an attempt to follow him from above, but by the time they looked down, they had already lost him amongst the shadows. They flew around aimlessly searching for a few minutes, before giving up and headed back to the execution stage. If all they were to receive at the end of this day was a flogging, they would count themselves lucky.
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Lobo was breathing heavily after the mad dash to escape those crazy ponies of North Bay. He was back up at the cliff where he had been the night before, although he kept himself and his charge well hidden amongst the shadows of the trees now. He carefully laid the pup down on the ground in front of him. It had curled up into a ball and continued to keep its eyes closed, but his tears had never stopped flowing from them.
“Don't be afraid little pup… I won't hurt you…” Lobo whispered soothingly. The little thing shivered a few times and then cracked one of his green eyes open a little bit. Upon seeing the enormous wolf standing over him, both his eyes shot open in terror, and he quickly backpedaled until his rump hit a tree. Zig Zag was staring wide-eyed at Lobo while taking in little gasps of air through his clenched teeth. He still had Cherry Blossom’s necklace clamped between them. He looked at the black Wolf with its piercing, yellow eyes; there was no way it wasn't going to eat him. Then Zig Zag realized that he didn't really care if the wolf ate him. His mother was dead… He had seen her lying there at the bottom of that pit. The image had been burned into his mind; he just couldn't rid his mind of how his mother's eyes had been looking up to him as if pleading for him to rescue her and accusing him for his failure.
It's all my fault… I couldn't save her… Zig Zag thought and sank down on the ground, not really caring what would happen to him anymore. As his head lolled to the side, he could look out over the ocean between the trees. The rain was still falling heavily, making the whole world grey and colorless. The pendant fell out of his mouth and came to rest on the ground in front of him. He looked at it while he slowly continued to tumble down into an endless abyss of sorrow and sadness.
Oh yeah… You're dead to Cherry Blossom… He thought as he slowly got to his hooves and staggered off in a random direction. Lobo watched the little pup worriedly; he had seen too much for someone so young, for someone of any age truth be told. He saw the little pendant the pup had left behind on the ground. He had risked a lot to get a hold of it, so it must hold significant value to him. Lobo walked over and picked it up, then followed the little pup as it staggered through the trees. All of a sudden he stopped, shuddering slightly. A blood-curdling scream rose out of his throat. All the impressions and emotions of the day had finally caught up to him, and the little pup just couldn't cope with it. He fell onto his side, stiff as a board, and gave another bloodcurdling cry of pain and sorrow before going quiet as he slipped into unconsciousness. Lobo was already standing above him to protect him from the rain. He looked down at the little pup feeling completely useless since he couldn't do anything to console the pup. All he could really do was be there when the pup wakes up and hope that he somehow made it through all this with some of his sanity still intact. He noted that the pup was now shivering, so Lobo put his nose against the pup’s nose, feeling that he was quite cold.
We need shelter from the rain. Lobo surmised. He himself had never been cold since arriving on this physical plane, but then again he was a Dire Wolf and possessed one of the most insulating furs amongst all the species inhabiting this world. Carefully he lifted the little pup off the ground again and set off to find shelter. After searching for about an hour, he found what he was looking for, an overhang from a cliffs provided excellent shelter from the rain. Lobo quickly curled into a ball with the pup in the middle to keep him warm and dry. He settled down for a long wait to see if the pup would wake up again. He looked at the pup nestled to his side, as it slept in blissful oblivion.
Don't worry little one… I will guard you… I won't let those ponies touch even a hair on your head. Lobo thought while his ears constantly scan for any noise that would betray an intruder.
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Thanks to Meeester for the Pre-read/Edit