Flash Skies adjusted his stance, the soft soil feeling cool as it shifted beneath his bare feet while a light breeze tingled his exposed skin. He felt naked without his weapons and armor, never mind that he actually was naked; well, not entirely. He had kept his loincloth, despite the tribal queen’s insistence that he lose that too. The look on her face at his cheeky rebuttal still tugged at one corner of his mouth with amusement, satisfied as he was with his brief moment of wit.
Haha, Flash made a funny. He thought grimly to himself. But if he was going to risk death, it wouldn’t be as a total nature-colt; he would die with at least some dignity if it came to that. Well, as dignified as one could be while being somepony else’s lunch.
Said somepony was presently twenty feet away from him, curiously eyeing him up and down with an almost childlike wonder on her face as she slowly stalked the perimeter of the fighting ring created by the bodies of her fellow tribesponies, who took no pains to conceal the ravenous looks in their eyes as they gazed with eager anticipation upon the two circling combatants with drooling countenances.
In addition to feeling the eyes of the hungry audience gathered on him, Flash could also sense the anxious gaze of his fellow squad-mates, particularly a certain perturbed bat pony who had all but needed an order to stand down when he had accepted the Queen’s challenge. He wondered why Rose Dust seemed so nervous, not that all of his teammates weren’t; well, except for Lumen Dawn. The unicorn appeared to be on the verge of tears…of joy.
Thanks Lumen, you’re a real pal. No, seriously. Just tell them to help themselves why don’t ya? ‘Yeah! He’s healthy! Delicious! And there’s enough of him for everypony!’
Flash made a mental note to haunt the insufferable snob of a pony if he died before taking his attention off of his team to focus back on his opponent.
The islander was truly was an impressive looking mare, lovely even, if Flash could say so; though she reminded him more of a tiger than a pony, and that was not helped in the least bit by her tiger-orange coat, black mane and tail and yellow, slitted eyes; her t-bone steak cutie mark was also more than a tad disconcerting. More so than that, was the giddy, almost radiant joy and energy that she communicated in her movements; she was prancing like a filly.
Like the rest of her exotic kin, she sort of reminded him of a thestral without wings, if said thestral was about 15% larger, more sleek, and looked even hungrier. Then there were the teeth, those sharp, pointy pearly whites which she presently flashed at him in a genuinely friendly grin that reached all the way up to her sparkling eyes. Her fangs appeared more robust than those a thestral’s, but were just as sharp and looked more akin to tearing flesh and crushing bone than merely drawing blood.
Flash was fairly certain, even blessed as he was with the speed and strength of a pegaus, that he would not be able match her physically, but was confident that he could use his incredible speed to stay ahead of her. He would need to be as quick as a stabbed rat if he wanted to avoid being crushed by her. After all, with my flight magic, I’ve got to be quicker than she is, right?
As if in challenge to his unspoken assumption, the landshark of a pony suddenly paused mid-step before launching herself at him in a somewhat astonishing display of speed, rapidly closing the distance between them in a veritable blur of fur, hooves, and far too many teeth.
Flash’s mind raced in an attempt to garner an appropriate reaction to the hungry lethality presently hurtling towards him to eagerly tear his throat out, but it decided to begin with a word to describe his initial impression of his impending peril,
Huh...Horseapples.
Three days earlier.
“Princess Celestia, this is unacceptable! I demand that action be taken in the face of this, this monstrous travesty!” The tradespony known as Post Haste shouted, emphasizing his words with a loud stamp of his hoof on the throne-room floor.
Celestia sighed inwardly, praying for patience. This was not the first time the head of the merchant guild had demanded an audience with her in the past year, he always seemed to have a new complaint of some kind over some emergency, whether real or perceived. And the solar princess feared that, much like the colt who cried timberwolf, she might one day grow deaf to his pleas when an actual crisis arose, such as the one he was describing to her now.
According to him, one of the ships of his fishing fleet had been the victim of an unprovoked attack by a group of uncharted tribal ponies who lived on a small island off of the southeast coast of Equestria, right next to the merchant fleet’s fishing territory. Little was known about these reclusive ponies, who up to this point had largely existed only in tales and rumors. But what those rumors told, was of a tribe of savage, monstrous ponies with hooves of steel and teeth like lions who would devour anypony foalish enough to trespass on their territory.
Celestia had attempted to dismiss these stories over the centuries, as they seldom arose and carried little evidence of their veracity; that, and she knew just how much her little ponies tended to exaggerate their stories, especially when they allowed their fear of the unknown to get the better of them. But she knew better, she had long known the truth behind these tales that she had attempted to keep concealed from her subjects whenever they arose for the safety of all, but it seemed she wouldn't be able to hide the truth any longer. This latest incident was so dramatic to the point that that it could no longer be attributed to some some campfire story made to frighten foals. The best thing to do now, was to get ahead of the narrative, and that meant getting the whole story.
Apparently, the mysterious ponies had boarded one of the fishing vessels in broad daylight, attacking the captain of the vessel, an earth pony named Long Cast, and nearly killing him. According to the hospital reports Celestia reviewed, it sounded like the pony had been mauled by a pride of lions, having even lost a forelimb in the attack. And according to witnesses, the ponies responsible for the attack appeared very much like the tales suggested: tall and powerfully built, with strong jaws and mouths filled with razor-sharp teeth. Something like this simply could not be ignored.
I suppose it was only a matter of time before they were discovered, Celestia inwardly lamented.
“What would you have me do, Post Haste?” Celestia asked, keeping her expression neutral.
“I demand that you send the guard to wipe out these savage beasts before they can harm another pony!” He shouted with indignity.
Celestia frowned, “Post Haste, I will not entertain suggestions that we simply wipe out an entire group of fellow ponies over what was most likely a miscommunicat-”
“They’re not ponies, they’re animals your highness!” The billowing pony blustered in outrage. “You can’t reason with them, they tried to eat one of my workers for heaven’s sake! They must be put down, all of them! Why not send that, that hyooman or whatever it is he’s called, that pet monster of yours? I hear that thing’s merciless when dealing with the likes of-”
Celestia rose from her throne, flaring her magnificent wings, a hint of a glare in her narrowing eyes; the gesture causing Post Haste to instantly clamp up.
“Post Haste!” Celestia snapped, “Captain Flash Skies is a decorated officer of the Equestrian Royal Guard, not some brute on a chain and I will not have you refer to him or any of my military officers without the proper respect due to their station, do I make myself clear?”
Post Haste sheepishly cleared his throat before mumbling, “Ah, yes, your highness. M-my apologies…”
Celestia’s gaze softened slightly, though she still kept a bit of sternness to the tone of her voice, “I understand that you’re upset my little pony, and your legitimate concerns have been duly noted. I assure you that there will be a response, we will get to the bottom of this situation, and if it is found as you have described then the guilty parties will be severely punished. But it will happen according to my directives and according to the code of Equestrian Justice. Now, is there anything else?”
The somewhat mollified pony shook his head, “No, your highness, but I assure you, you’ll be wasting your time if you try to reason with these savages!” And with a dismissive flick of his head, the proud pony turned and exited the throne room, the doors closing with a hollow boom.
Celestia sighed before motioning with her head towards the two royal guards posted next to the doors a gesture that they were both well familiar with: I need the room.
Nodding in understanding, both ponies saluted before exiting out of the ancillary side entrance. Once gone, Celestia bowed her head, rubbing her temples with both hooves.
“'Pet monster?'” Flash Skies stepped out from behind the Sun Princess’ throne and casually leaned against its side with his arms folded, a mischievous grin on the human's face. “I gotta say, that’s a new one.” He said, a sparkle of amusement passing though his blue and violet starburst eyes. Celestia shook her head, casting an apologetic glance towards her loyal soldier,
“I’m so sorry you had to hear that Flash, Post Haste has always been, well, hasty, for a lack of a better term, with his words and judgments.” The eighteen year old young man was wearing light tan utility slacks and a black shirt with his brown-leather jacket. Flash shrugged,
“Nah, I kinda like it,” he said with a small chuckle, “Has a nice ring to it, could make for a great unit nickname…” He said, tapping his chin in thought, “‘The Pet Monsters?’ ‘Equestria’s Monsters?’ No wait, I got it,” he said with a snap of his fingers, “‘Celestia’s Monsters!’”
Celestia stared, her mouth partially agape before breaking out into a soft laugh, shaking her head, her previous stress forgotten,
“You are still such a colt, my little human,” she said, finally allowing herself to smile back at Flash’s grinning face. “I thought Ella would have worked that part out of you by now!”
“Well,” Flash said with a shrug and a quick glance at his wedding band, “She can try,” he chuckled, causing the Princess to laugh as well as he stepped forward to accept her offered embrace; she took the opportunity to give his silvery, windswept hair a nuzzle. After separating, Celestia’s tone turned serious.
“So my officer, what do you make of the incident?”
Flash frowned, “Well, it’s definitely worth investigating, but it doesn’t make any sense. Why would a hereto unknown tribe of apparently carnivorous ponies who were content enough to remain hidden for generations suddenly up and attack a fishing vessel? Something doesn’t add up." Celestia nodded,
“My thoughts exactly Flash, it seems that we’re not getting the whole story."
"Is there any truth to these rumors? You know, carnivorous ponies? I know its not outside the realm of possibilities, after all, we have our thestrals, but even they aren't pure carnivores." Celestia gave a sad smile,
"Many years ago, I learned of the existence of a tribe of earth-bound, carnivorous ponies, distant cousins of the thestrals. Because they are so different from us, and knew that they would be feared by other ponies, they requested to remain separate from the rest of Equestria; they are extremely territorial, and even I know very little about them other than that they are very dangerous and highly value their privacy. I want you and your team to travel to this island and investigate what truly happened, and if possible, to make contact with this community so that we may try to finally establish relations with them. Find out why they attacked Long Cast, and see what can be done to avoid such violent incidents in the future.”
Flash raised an eyebrow, “And if it was an unprovoked attack?”
Celestia’s eyes narrowed, “Then make it clear to them that I will not tolerate any further attacks on my little ponies, is that clear Captain Skies?”
Flash smiled and nodded, “Crystal, your highness.”
“Very well, you are dismissed Captain, I wish you and your team a successful mission.” Flash snapped to attention and saluted her before turning to leave.
“And don’t get eaten!” Celestia called out after him. Flash spun on his heel while walking,
“Eh, they’d just choke on me your highness!” He said, his spin carrying him full circle as he continued walking away.
Celestia shook her head, laughing softly to herself, “Such a colt…” She muttered quietly. After Flash had gone, she summoned back her guards, ready to face the next issue brought to her by her little ponies.