//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: Sands of Time // by Amaranthine Thought //------------------------------// I’m starting to wonder if this was a good idea. Mirage told me that the fillies had managed to escape her own capture, running away, but where could they have gone? I am very sure that they would have tried to make it back to the den, but since they did not return on their own, two ideas come to mind. They either got lost somehow, and are out wandering who knows where, trying to get back, which seems unlikely at best, or they ran into other ponies, who captured them and took them someplace else. Following Chancellor and Smart was mostly because I had hoped that they had found the girls, and that following them would lead me right to them. However, though I managed to spot them entering the mountains, they entered a cave soon after; one far too small for me to enter, forcing me to fly into the peaks, hoping to find them again later on. The mountains are far larger and more numerous than they first appeared. I’ve flown for hours amongst the peaks, and I think I could fly for days more amongst them. I’ve seen no hint of ponykind anywhere, be that the peaks or the valleys. I worry that Chancellor and Smart’s group might be within the peaks someplace, within a cavern similar to my own den. If so, I had no chance of being able to scout them from the air, and would force me to enter unfamiliar caverns which only might be able to allow my bulk through. A disheartening thought, to say the least. I hope otherwise yet, hence why I’m still flying, but now, I’m doubting most of my choices. What if this is futile? What if the girls are actually still amongst the unicorns, in a different tent or someplace? What if they’re lost someplace out there, alone and afraid, trying to find their way back and not being able to? What if I am wasting precious moments flying around these… …Did I hear something? … There! An echo, bouncing amongst the peaks! I am nearly certain that was Sweetie’s voice! She’s nearby! I just need to try and follow these echoes! My doubts cease plaguing me as I flap with renewed determination. My fears for them are great, but I am close to, at the very least, one of them, and it is hard to believe that they had been separated. I am going to save them. The mere thought strengthens me. I have flown for a time now, and I have not heard her again. I’m growing worried once more, more so than before. I hesitate in midair, my fear gnawing, before I suddenly roar, hoping that she might hear me, and resume her calls. My heart finds ease as my roar fades, and I hear her again, louder this time. I rush forward, determined to find her. I rise higher and higher into the mountains, chasing her voice, before I finally spot something. At first, just a glint on a cliff, but as I near, I see a pegasus in armor, the source of the glint. And right next to it is Sweetie. I roar in victory, and see them both startle, the pegasus suddenly cowering, while Sweetie starts trying to spot me in the skies. She soon does so, and I see her waving at me, trying to get my attention. As she does so, the pegasus seems to recover, and grabs onto her protectively, looking up at me with rather obvious fear. The pegasus appears female, with flowers plaited into her mane, her coat a soft sort of yellow. The armor had me a little worried she might prove a problem, but her reaction to my roar and now my approach convinces me that I should be able to scare her off with ease. As I near, it is more and more obvious that she is no warrior. I grin as I near them, my goal so close it might as well already be in my grasp. Then, I grunt as something hard and fast slams into my side, hitting with enough force to throw my flight off, and force me to correct it. That had hurt, and as I recover, I spot another pegasus in armor, blue, I think, darting through the skies. “Come on you brute!” he yells, his voice harsh and commanding, hovering in place. “It’s me you want!” His words are rather familiar as I recover, growling at him. Then I look back, spotting Sweetie still, the other pegasus still holding onto her; she seems to be trying to get Sweetie away from me, and I snarl at the sight. Which makes the other pegasus slam into me again, harder than before, making me yell, and tumble momentarily. “Private, get the filly away!” he yells, the voice telling me he was well used to being listened to. My sides ache, and I’m more than a little mad at him as I recover again, but I keep myself in check. I will simply stop them, grab Sweetie, and make an escape, and be long gone before either moves again. Glaring at him, I roar. …My power, He slams into me, cutting off my roar, but the shock of that pales before the other: I hadn’t felt it. My roar hadn’t been working. The power wasn't there. What had been in me since always is gone, and I don’t know why. I can’t stop time. I can’t stop him. He flies close to me, and I retreat slightly, seeing his face for a few moments. He… almost seems like he is admiring me, and has a rather irritating smirk on his face, but I’m… worried. A little fearful now. I don’t fly very well yet. Certainty not at his level, and he is far, far faster than I am. He hits hard too, hard enough to even move me through the air; where he has hit me still aches. I… Don’t think I can get rid of him. Too fast, too strong… I hear Sweetie call for me once more, and that tiny sound of ‘Kitty!’ firms my shaking soul. I must do this. I have to save her, save the rest. I can overcome this, even without my roar. I will save her. And if it means hurting this annoying blue pest, then so be it. I am falling. I’m barely conscious, the wind rushing past me as I fall, my wings limp, catching the rushing wind in tiny part. The blue pegasus had been fast, strong, and merciless. I had no luck trying to hit him, my attacks clumsy and slow to his blurs of speed. I’d gotten angrier and angrier at him, a fair bit because of the insults he had thrown during the fight, if I can even call it a fight. He flew literal circles around me and I was reduced to swiping madly in a blind rage. Then, at last, I finally made contact, one claw clicking off his armor and flicking him away from me; I think from sheer chance rather than any actual aim on my part. Right then, he had decided to stop playing around with me. And yes, he had been playing around with me the entire time. I saw him glare at me, and seem to outright vanish, before he slammed into the side of my head so fast that I didn’t even see him. I managed to stay in flight despite the daze, and spotted him flying overhead, and saw clouds pulling together over him, the mass growing swiftly, turning darker. I saw him build a thunderhead over me in moments, and saw him glare down at me from its center as it rumbled. And then the clouds flashed, lightning crackling over the dark clouds before it collected to him, covering him in a terrifying aura of crackling power. He had swung, and thrown a bolt at me, searing me from the sky. I can see him now still, watching me fall. So far over me as I plummet past the peaks, his tiny form wreathed in lightning. I see him leaving, the thunderhead dissipating in his wake, and I know. He is my better. He is my better a thousand times over. I’m never going to save Sweetie from him. My roar is gone, my power is gone, and I’m falling, watching the peaks shoot up around me, growing closer and closer and closer. I am helpless, helpless now, helpless then… I slam into the side of a peak, and the pain is too much. …Pain… “…s… hel… yo… rt…y!...u.” …A… voice...? The pain… too much… “…ad…st…wha…” …Voices again… distant… warped… can’t understand… It hurts… pain fills me… “et…tt…so…” “…ine…ate…bea…upi…nu…he…eas…” I sink back, away from the pain. “…nd…he…an…ful…rol…” “…rk…id…ar…” “…ea…yo…eas…ade…rol…” More voices… the pain is… less? Hard to think… “…rt…eas…st…” “…or…nks…” …I… the pain is less. My mind is… a little free of it. “…rking…bett…eek…” “…ime…dly…ime…help?” The voices are stronger… What are they saying...? “…end…pony…ing…ork…rt…” “…n…est…lor…” “…east…azy…” “…ack…lor…old…own…” “…pid…ould…ile…an…” “…out!” I… I think I’m… recovering? The pain is… fading. I can feel my life… strengthening. I feel something touch my head, and its touch is both painful and comforting, somehow. “…ya…guy… got...” I drift back to sleep. There is… a cold sensation in spots. It makes the pain fade. “…oing bett…ealing...ouple…” “…nt…orking…time…pegasi…” “…time… hurt…ime…recover…” Voices again. I… think one is familiar… My head hurts when I think… Something touches my head again. “..ot ya…ig guy… got…” I… I can sort of feel myself again. I am returning from death, I think. I feel so weak. My mind is muddy and unclear… “…rowing…nicely…healing…” “…don’t…orry…big…” “…fectly…oftie…” I… I know that voice now. I know the touch that comes. “Got ya… guy… I got ya.” The pain seems ever-present, unwilling to leave me. Each waking, it is there to greet me. Under it, I can feel a grave weakness. It worries me, but… I feel better each time. “…down!” The voice I know? “…out, before I… hurt…out!” …Is somepony taking care of me? I again feel the familiar touch. Now, I know she whispers to me: “I got ya, big guy. I got ya.” My mind is still… foggy. The pain is fading, weakness taking its place. I taste something grainy in my mouth. I fight the weakness, and suddenly, the pain returns sharply. I hear sounds. “…it did!... ave to…thing…” “…royed the… rong…” “…danger! …to…before… us all.” “…orried… plan… ollar…” …Unfamiliar voices. I don’t know them. I again feel the touch at my head. “I got ya big guy. Don’t worry, I got ya.” Her voice is calming. …Images, places, thoughts. They drift through my consciousness, mixed and blurred. What has stolen my clarity...? What has given me such pain to rob me of my mind…? I think I hear my own voice. A gasp. I’m afraid… …I want… something. It lurks just beyond me, somehow… waking has it fade from me, slipping from my mind. A touch I know. So gentle. I... feel stronger now. Somepony is there for me. I must rest more. Heal, recover. My life is so weak yet… “Got ya, big guy… I got ya.” …She’s sad… …Something’s wrong. “Giant problem…” I don’t know that voice. It’s dark, grumbling… angry. “…won’t listen. I’ll just… myself.” It moves in front of me, and I worry of it. What is it, A sudden burning pain strikes me. Then another, and another, in swift succession. It is enough for me to move, trying to pull away from it, but it remains there, chasing me. “Hold still!” The pain… I must make it stop! I heave forward, my jaws opening wide. I hear a gasp just before I snap them shut, and I feel the sudden spray of blood in my mouth and across my face. The taste… helps the pain inflicted to fade. The warmth feels so good. But this taste is so… this taste… This taste is pony. I disgorge it suddenly, sickened by it now, the taste no longer so good. But the blood, the lingering flavor… The urges are growing. Eating sounds so tempting, the food is right in front of me… My body begs for me to eat, to recover… I… I mustn’t! The fight is so hard. The scent of blood fills my mind, and the taste lingers in my mouth. My pain and weakness confuse me, weakening my will, tugging at my mind. I whimper in distress, and try to move away from it as the urges keep growing. I hear something rush to me. Gags and retches issue from my side. I feel something press against my side. “Sun above…” She’s here… good. The urges grow weaker, knowing she is near. I drift to sleep once more. …What is that? There is a strong scent. One… almost overpowering. I can almost choke on its… sticky sweetness. “…seen him at all?” “Nope. I haven’t…” More voices… one I know, others I do not. “…worried about… could have gone?” “…the woods?...helpin…lookin fer some… maybe?” “…your help…” “No problem.” “Why the pine?” “Fresh scent.” Pine? This scent is pine? I hear movement, and no more voices, and I wonder. I no longer smell blood. So, what of the pony I… killed? …They would have killed me in my helplessness if I had. I must have somehow dreamt it. It was so real, but… even the injuries it had inflicted no longer hurt. I feel the familiar touch. I purr at its presence, making it startle a second before resuming, a little stronger. “I got ya, big guy, I got ya.” I hear her tell me. With great effort, I manage to crack one eye open. At first, my vision is little more than blurs of color and a shining light that mostly blinds me, making me shut it again. “Hey… you wakin up?” I open once more, and some of the blurs and shine are faded, my vision righting itself. I see something orange standing in front of me, something red and very large just beyond. A sudden feeling comes to me, one of urgency. Something… Something precious needs me. But, what is it..? I… I know it! Sweetie! The girls! Mirage! I have to get back! I heave trying to get myself to move, to get back up, fighting the weakness that constricts me mostly unsuccessfully. I can barely move, even so desperate to do so. “Whoa there, ain’t time just yet, big guy.” I hear her, the orange blob, say. “Ya need jus a little more time.” she tells me, and I sort of see her reach out and gently close my eye once again. “You rest till yer ready ta get up.” Despite the urgency, I find her words easy to accept, and I relax once again. She’s probably right anyway; what could I do, so weak as I am? Recover swiftly, then go to whatever I am needed for. I’ll be of no aid like this. “Ya don’t have ta worry big guy. I’m right here fer ya.” I hear her murmur to me. I hear her determination, her affection, and oddly, her slight sorrow. “…I’m sorry.” I hear her whisper as I drift back to sleep, and I only slightly wonder what she meant as I return to my slumber.