//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 (modified) // Story: Whistling Rain // by Schwabauer //------------------------------// Twilight stepped back, her mind going blank at the visceral image before her. Her hooves took another step back. Rarity was wide eyed beside her, a green look on her face. The ponies around the door fell backwards, scrambling away from hole in the wood. A green eye surrounded by pale flesh poked through the hole, bellowing his his strange tongue. He stepped back, before the end of one of those metal clubs forced it’s way through. And with an ear shattering bang a lead ball flew out, puncturing another guard. Behind the ball came smoke and the smell of sulfur. Just as the smoke cleared a volley of musket balls cascaded through the door, shattering the wood and sending splinters everywhich way. The ponies who trapped themselves inside panicked, ducking into the dirt and digging down. The whinnies of horses split the air, two horses being felled by the fatal volley. From outside a couple of shouts emanated, and the sounds of boots grinding against stone and dirt approached the barn. Twilight reared up at the sound, her eyes wild with fear. Turning she sprinted back towards the door, spike barely clinging on. Rarity followed just behind, and the remaining four guards behind her. The sprint of terror brought her tumbling out the door, into a crowd of the bipeds. She rolled forwards, her horn goring one of their ankles and launching spike into the crowd. She regained her footing, neck swiveling in search of Spike. He was sitting on his butt, rubbing his head surrounded by five soldiers pointing their dangerous weapons at him. Twilight fired four sleep spells in rapid succession, hitting three of her targets while the fourth careened into an unintended sixth soldier. She charged into the group and stopped Spike onto her back with magic. She then turned in a circle crazily, searching for the rest of the group. At the gates the rest of the ponies were madly sprinting out, their thoughts on saving themselves from the fate of their comrades. Twilight galloped out after them, while the soldiers scrambled to organize themselves. A few stray balls sped past her, the air crackling and whipping at her mane. She darted out the gates, and used her magic to slam them shut behind her. Arrayed just outside the gates the company was cowering with fear. “Girls!” Panted twilight, looking for them. “We need… to… do the thing” She crime din desperation. Her cries fell onto the ears of her friends, reviatalizing them greatly. They are emerged from the crowd of ponies nervous smiles on their face. “Of course Twi’” Said Applejack, as the group joined in a half circle around her. Their elements glowed lightly in the formation, seemingly sensing the need for saving. Concentrating, Twilight reached deep inside, pulling at a now familiar sense of love and friendship. Rending it out of her, she turned to the gate of the fortress. A gate that began to crank open. Along the top of the wall the enemy soldiers began to line up. Shouts, filled with anger and a fierce sense of confidence, came barraging Twilight. Through the gate a group of maybe sixty soldiers marched, their feet in perfect step. Their uniforms were all in different states, some wearing a full uniform, other missing breaches, still more their over coats. They all marched with full mustaches and high morale. Twilight released the magic of friendship at that moment, a magic beam shooting high from all her companions elements, and then her own. The arced high into the sky, drawing the eye of even the most disciplined soldiers on all sides. The arcing ray of friendship, as all things bound by dues ex machina tend to, hit it’s target. It started on the left side of the fort, and twisted over to the right. All soldiers it passed over turned to stone, the first few having mere looks of confusion, while the ones after started to have bugged eyes, then were breaking and running. The soldiers just outside the gate turned and saw what was happening to their comrades above them. And promptly began to run every direction. Unfortunately the men on the left decided to go right, the front to back, and vice versa. Collisions led to the horde being swallowed by the merciless rainbow beam, freezing them in their final moments of terror. But the rainbow wasn’t finished there. It traced it’s way into the fort, ringing it in the eye burning glow and leaving no man unstoned. Soldiers running half dressed to the battlement were frozen, weapons in hand, mid step. At first silence saturated the fort. Then an uproarious cheering burst from the company of guardponies. They had just witnessed the use of the greatest weapon for the preservation of their beloved empire. Several of the ponies hugged each other, or hugged the elements. Tears of joy washed down several faces. Twilight herself was elated at the ease with which they pulled forth the power of friendship to cleanse the fort of evil. Her legs wobbled when she walked. She plopped onto the ground and rested her unstable legs. Her friends noticed she wasn’t doing too well, and trotted over. Warmth enveloped Twilight as five fluffy bodes, and one scaly body, pressed against against her in a group hug. They carefully and strategically provided comfort and platonic love, helping steady her heart. No words were spoken, just mutual hugs. Few minutes after this touching action, Captain Grapefruit trotted over. A distasteful look was painted across his muzzle. He stood silently just on the edge of the hug for a minute, before cough slightly for attention. The group carefully separated from each other and looked wearily at Grapefruit. Twilight spoke first, addressing the captain, “What is it, Grapefruit?” For a movement Grapefruit was silent a look on concentration and deep thought contorting his face. He finally responded with “We need to bury the dead. Then there’s that invader’s village. We also should deal with that.” Twilight nodded, and then looked at the others. Their weary faces had fallen, solemn looks of regret evident on them. They all nodded, and almost instinctually began gathering their specific groups of guards to help with the burials. The steady crunch of hooves followed everpony into the fort. Renentering the fort, Twilight gazed about and saw how much devastation she had missed in her fleeing. Across the yard two ponies were resting in pools of their vital red juice, cuts from bayonets scattered all over. One pegasi lay broken on the roof of a building. The bipeds had even more dead. One soldier lay across the sill of a shattered building. Still bleeding from a wound on it’s neck. Maybe a dozen, perhaps even two, were motionless on the ground around the walls they fled down. Several more dotted the courtyard where the desperate escape had happened. Twilight, as well as the rest of the main six, turned green at the sight. Rarity committed while Fluttershy cried. Rainbow and Applejack turned away from the carnage. Pinkie’s mane deflated and her head drooped. Twilight herself backed up a step, before looking horrified at Grapefruit. He looked with no small understanding and then nodded at the guardsponies. They began moving to the pony corpses and grabbing personal effects. Meanwhile Grapefruit turned to the mane six plus Spike. “I understand this must be.. unpleasant and shocking too you. So please step outside. We will handle this in a few minutes then we can move on the village.” Wordlessly, thanklessly, the seven civilians walked out of the fort. Past the stoned soldiers. And into the clearing. There they rested and waited for the burials to be complete. ——————————————————————————————————————————— In a recently cleared clearing just two miles east of the fort sat the beginnings of a humble town. Already two houses were fully built, with eight more waiting for their finishing touches. A simple stables held all the farm animals for now, and the wooden town hall had just began construction. Thomas Bauer was a young man, just turned sixteen, in search of a new, adventures life in a new world. His father had been a farmer in Bavaria before the migration, while his older brother was following in his footsteps. His older sister was engaged to a nice Protestant farmer from the Alsec-Lorraine region. Thomas himself wanted to join the Jäger company at the fort just down the way. He thought it would just be a grand adventure as a Jäger in this brave new world. He hoped he could get sent to explore these strange new territories and lands seeing this new world for himself with his own eyes. Or perhaps enlist in the shinny new artillery school at the port city and command one of the awesome howitzers, firing whistling rain down upon Prussia’s foes with glorious prejudice. Obliterate anything in the path of the infantry, reducing them to ash and splinters. His father, a kindly Catholic man, would support his decisions regardless of what he did. And so when Thomas finally decided to attend the artillery school, his father insisted that he depart as soon as possible. With a couple of days of food packed in his bag, and the warmest clothes Thomas had on his back, and a bible in his pocket, he departed just before dawn one winter morning.