//------------------------------// // Counterplay // Story: Lairs & Lycanthropy: Revival // by NeoNagasaki //------------------------------// Author's Note: Happy new year everyone. With a final pull Fluttershy struggled closer to the top of the rope. Rarity and Rainbow Dash’s help was gratefully accepted as they reached down from the railing and helped pull her onto the station's deck. She only thought of resting for a moment before catching herself and moving to a place so she could watch the soldiers. One night watch stallion screaming for help was all they needed to have their entire plan scuttled before it got underway. As she watched a young stallion in a marine uniform turned and started their way down the deck. “Marine...” She warned softly. With a nod Rainbow pulled the last pony up onto the deck and tossed the grappling hook back into the ocean. They had more than one and didn’t have the time to coil it up at the moment. Hurriedly the mares slunk down the side of the ship, some more successful keeping to the shadows and silence than others. One by one all four of them funneled into the mare’s restroom. With a muffled incantation a small magical ball of light flashed out of Twilight’s hoof and rested in one of the stalls, just bright enough to touch the edges of the room. They didn’t dare make it any brighter than that; the last thing they needed was attention. The bathroom of this place was far above the standards of other bathrooms she had been to. The wood was all finished and stained a lovely saffron and smelled wonderful. Was that smell...yes, yes the military apparently had potpourri as standard issue for their bathrooms. One of the benefits of having a female ruling the country was apparently that it was okay for things to smell nice. Applejack’s voice cut through her thoughts as the orange mare hauled the young marine in with a knife at his throat, “Y’all make one dang noise I’ll kill ya so fast yuh’ll never get heard by nobody. I can appreciate a stallion dyin’ fer his country, but only a dang moron dies fer no reason.” Twilight looked up somberly as they dragged him across the floor and into one of the stalls, “Fluttershy, please keep an eye on the door. Make sure nopony is looking for him. Pinkie, get your crossbow ready and come here.” Rarity’s face changed to a comforting one as she past Fluttershy on the way to the stall. Even as Fluttershy moved to the door to keep watch she dared to listen in. “Hello there.” Rarity cood, “We’re a tad lost. Would you mind very much directing us to your most secure experimental room?” The stallion’s voice shook as he answered, “Cinnamon Sails, r-recruit, Sh-Shadow Station Watch.” “You really needed to give me the information on where you’re stationed? We abducted you outside of the bathroom...ten seconds ago.” “Cinnamon Sails, recruit, Shadow Sta-” Rainbow interrupted, “What’s he doing?” Rarity’s voice answered, “He’s giving us the information required of prisoners of war.” “What? Does he count as a prisoner of war? There’s only six of us.” “I agree.” Rarity said, “We’re closer to terrorists than soldiers.” Fluttershy swore she could hear Twilight groan. “Look Cinnamon. We’re asking for one tiny piece of information that we could get from any map. Honestly, I’m guessing the floors are labeled so we could find it just by walking down the stairs.” “Cinnamon Sails, re-” “Come now dear.” Rarity cut him off, “Do you really think six mares could take that information and do -anything- with it?” There was a long silence before he finally softly said “No.” “Then just tell us what level it’s on dear.” Rarity said comfortingly. Fluttershy’s eyes widened as she pulled the door shut and turned to Twilight and began mouthing words she dare not speak aloud, “There’s one passing us.” Fluttershy and Twilight winced in unison as the marine raised his voice to say “I’m not!” Weapons bristled and for a moment the yellow mare was certain he was going to be the second pony Pinkie shot in the face this week. Luckily he quieted down quickly, but Fluttershy pressed her ear against the door, listening intently. She could hear the night watchpony. His hoofsteps were unhurried and even, pacing by the door like nothing had happened. Breathing an inward sigh of relief Fluttershy turned to Twilight and motioned to her that things were okay. Twilight nodded quickly before stepping up to the rest of them, “Alright girls.” she said in a hushed voice, “It’s on level seventeen. You’ll have...twenty minutes, maybe. This needs to happen fast, so get in place as fast as you can.” The girls seemed like they had more to say, but Fluttershy was their lookout. All she could do was listen for ponies and heal, so she dare not screw up one of the only jobs she could manage. Carefully she listened at the door, then eventually pushed it open slightly to look around. Everything was clear, thank Druantia. After another minute of standing guard, Rainbow signalled that they were ready to go and they slipped past the patrols and down the stairs to the lower decks. Every time they went down a level another large number engraved in the metal was there to greet them. Despite having six ponies in their party they moved quietly, Rainbow leading the way, scanning the stairs as they wound down them. “Wow.” Applejack said quietly. “How are military bases so easy to get into? You were right about my barn being more secure than this place.” A grin crossed Rainbow’s face, “On the whole they’re better than the Apple Clan, but you guys expected an attack every week or so. These ponies haven’t seen any action in years. The most combat they’ve ever had to deal with was probably basic training.” Applejack gave a nod “I su’pose yah got a point. Nopony thinks anypony’s gonna be stupid enough to attack a base with just six ponies.” Suddenly Rainbow came to a halt and held up a hoof causing the group to halt. They held there for a moment before the clicking of several hooves moving up the stairs met their ears. Urgently Rainbow waved them back up and Applejack took the lead. They were ushered swiftly up to the last level they passed, level six, and they went in. Hastily Applejack looked around the hallway, but even Fluttershy could hear some ponies talking from around the corner and getting closer. Rainbow looked back to the stairway and swore under her breath as Applejack picked the first door she could find and went in. The inside room was fairly dark, and large. Oddly enough the entire room seemed to be experiencing winter while everywhere else was a nice spring. As Fluttershy moved she even stepped in some snow. By the back of the room sat some large crates, and when the sound of the talking stallions reached their ears the group found no choice but to rush to them for cover. Moments later the door opened and the sound of their conversation became clear once more. All four of them held their breath as best they could, taking every precaution not to be heard. The sound of the labponies talking and walking around could easily be heard, and it was getting closer. A slight tap on the ground attracted all of their attention to Applejack, who held her her crossbow up and motioned over the boxes to the ponies. A bolt was already locked in position, another was held in her aiming leg, and still another between her teeth. Rainbow looked thoughtful, but grudgingly nodded as she quietly drew the longblade. A whimper was stifled in Fluttershy’s throat as she realized that it might come to killing — that was always a possibility. In horror, Fluttershy realized that these ponies wouldn’t last long; they weren’t Equestrian marines, they were scientists! With Pinkie and Applejack concentrating fire they could probably cut all of them down without even alerting anypony else. Another clack caused Fluttershy to open her eyes and look toward Pinkie, who had silently rushed to Applejack’s side. A pink hoof raised across Applejack’s chest and pinned her crossbow in place. The two exchanged glances, confusion from Applejack, and disapproval from Pinkie, tension rising as the group continued to sit in silence. Hastily the pink mare brought a hoof to her lips, urging them to remain silent before she raised it to her ears and tapped one of them. With a spark of understanding the conversation between the labponies that Fluttershy had been tuning out came into clear focus. “I’m just saying, why do they keep storing this stuff on level six? If they stored it on level sixteen we’d only need to go up one floor to get it. Rolling crates down like...ten levels is exhausting.” “This is where they have storage. The admiral probably has to deal with the dockworkers giving him shit as it is. If storage was on the sixteenth floor they’d never shut up about it.” “So we get stuck doing it?” There was a slight laugh, “You know it. What are we gonna do, quit? I’ve got two foals to feed and no bandits are gonna attack us here.” Fluttershy’s eyes widened as the realization hit her: These crates were going to level seventeen! They were just going to walk them all the way down! If the ponies weren’t so close...The slight click of teeth alerted her to somepony biting her mane. Apparently Rainbow had been quicker on the uptake. One of the crate lids had already been pried loose and a hoof covered Fluttershy’s mouth to stifle the yelp as she was pulled inside. The hoof covering her face stayed in place as the hoofsteps came nearer. Slowly her body writhed about as she began burying herself in...what was this? That’s when the smell hit her, these were fresh fish. Each of the girls had half buried themselves in fresh fish. The crates shifted as the stallions lifted it onto some sort of cart, likely complaining about how heavy it was. As Fluttershy’s eyes adjusted she looked around the crate. On the other side Rainbow and Applejack were making disgusted faces and pressing themselves up against the lid to try and get fresh air. Pinkie had shifted her weight and was now practically laying on top of Fluttershy, one hoof still over the yellow mare’s mouth. That seemed odd. Sure making noise was a big mistake right now, but Fluttershy knew that. That didn’t explain the worried look in Pinkie’s eyes. She wasn’t about to start yelling now that they were safely hidden in this...delicious...pile...of-. Drool started to pool in her mouth as the scent of all this food so close hit her. She had been hunting with Pinkie, but she was living on scraps compared to what could fill her up. They weren’t hiding in a crate, they were hiding in a treasure trove of food, real food! Even the disgust she usually felt for her passion for eating animals was melting away. She had found food! Lots of food! Her head reared back as she started to let out a howl, but was brought back to reality as Pinkie pushed harder. Quickly fluttershy was sunk under the sea of fish while her friend climbed on top of her. She fought the urge to break free for a good ten seconds before she felt something...unexpected. Something was brushing against her stomach. No, that was a hoof, that was Pinkie’s hoof. Her friend continued to rub her underside, and while the druid found it odd, it wasn’t wholly unpleasant. In confusion she opened her mouth, which was quickly stuffed with a fish. Fluttershy’s hooves moved to stop her friend, but she found them clutching the fish instead. This was possibly the most relaxing life or death situation she’d ever been in. For a while the world seemed to drift out of focus. Fluttershy’s world became focused solely upon quietly picking at the fish as she floated in a sea of wonderful relaxing fishies. A loud blaring sound jerked Fluttershy out of her dazed state. Suddenly the world was turned red and Pinkie moved away so Fluttershy could push her way up to the surface of the fish. Outside of the crate there was a flurry of activity as ponies rushed about yelling things about evacuating the floor. They were at floor seventeen already? How long had she been laying there? After the sounds of everypony running became distant Rainbow Dash and Applejack furiously kicked the lid off the crate and leapt out, gagging and gasping for air. Carefully Fluttershy peeked over the edge of the crate. They were in a large room and the walls were lined with vicious monsters. She could right away pick out an owlbear and a manticore, but what she feared more was the snarling angry beast that was as big as her wolf form, but with black scales. Their snarls and roars added to the unpleasant sound of the alarms. Finally she pulled herself out of the box and moved up to Pinkie, whose pink fur melded so well with the red colour it was hard to tell she was pink to begin with. “Pinkie...” she started, getting the mare’s attention. “Don’t worry.” Pinkie said, “The alarm will stop soon and none of those monsters can get out.” Awkwardly the blushing druid shook her head, “No, Pinkie...in the crate. You um...rubbed my tummy...” Now it was Pinkie’s turn to look embarrassed “I’m sorry.” She said, looking away, “I really needed you to keep calm in there. I didn’t mean to do anything unpleasant to you.” Fluttershy stumbled over the words as she fumbled her thoughts, “It wasn’t...it.” She paused to think, “It was just strange. I think I’m changing...inside. It scares me.” Finally the red lights shifted back to white and the aggravating alarm ceased. A relieved expression crossed Rainbow’s face as she stretched out her neck “Ugh...finally.” Applejack rubbed an ear, “I hear ya, that alarm there was gettin mighty tiresome.” Pinkie held back and looked Fluttershy over. Fluttershy watched Pinkie’s eyes carefully, and for a moment saw a hint of disappointment. What? What had she done wrong? She didn’t mean to upset Pinke like that. She was scared, she just wanted someone to talk to. Even if there was nothing she could do. Pinkie’s hoof raised and brushed against Fluttershy’s cheek for a moment, then pulled back smeared with fish innards. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.” The pink mare said with a smile. Fluttershy couldn’t help blush as she smiled too, managing a soft “Oh...thank you...” before Pinkie turned and led her to the rest of the group. The hallways that had been once full were now barren, somehow the lack of danger put Fluttershy on edge. Well, more on edge than she was just being in this Druantia forsaken abyss. The group hurried down the corridors until it opened up into a larger area. Instinctively Fluttershy’s eyes were drawn up to the large glass window six or seven feet off the ground. A sigh of relief was issued from Rainbow as they saw Twilight in the room. The two had actually managed to somehow take over the security center for this level by themselves. Then again, they were useful members of this group, Fluttershy shouldn't have been surprised. Twilight raised a hoof to wave, and they all waved back. “Alright girls.” Rainbow muttered under her breath, “Let’s get this over with before we end up in a barrel of fish bait or something.” With a smile Rainbow looked up and raised her voice, “Where are they?” Rarity quickly appeared at the window with a confident smile. “A big room on the opposite side of the compound! Next to the botanical labs!” Well that wasn’t helpful in the slightest. Rarity seemed to reconsider as she lifted a hoof, “That way! Next to the room with plants!” Rainbow nodded quickly and turned back to the group, “Okay, we find the room with the plants. We get the elements, and we get out, fast. Eventually they’re going to get through these doors.” Then she turned back to the glass, “Hang in there, we’ll get them and get out! Be ready to get out!” With that Rainbow Dash darted off, and her three friends gave chase down the hallway. With the exception of smelling like fish, everything was going according to plan. All they needed was five minutes to get ahold of the elements and they were out. They were going to beat Discord by, ironically, doing something chaotic and unexpected. Rainbow slowed as the group trotted up to the door and froze. This was the right one, Fluttershy was sure of it. Beside the door were small windows, two panes of thick glass with a tightly knit wire fence in the middle. Beyond the windows all six of the Elements of Harmony sat in glass cases in the middle of the room. Stupidly Fluttershy dared a smile, but it faded as Rainbow swore loudly. A vicious cyan hoof stomped on the metal door that refused to give. “Dammit! Evacuating the floor and they still remembered to lock the stupid door?” Rainbow fell to all fours, glaring daggers at the last obstacle between them and victory. “We’re trying to save ponykind! Why are they being so goddamn difficult about it?” “Over here!” Applejack said, pressing up against one of the windows. There’s a switch inside that unlocks the door! If we can smash the windows, maybe Fluttershy can call up one of those critters to go in and pull it!” The druid stepped up and crossed her hooves in discomfort, “I-I can’t. The wires are too small, anything small enough to get in would be too weak to pull the lever.” Damn, she’d come so close to being useful this time. Cyan hooves clacked together as Rainbow took on a determined expression. “Got it. There’s got to be something on this floor that can cut through wire. We just need to find it, and fast!” “Hey!” Pinkie spoke up, causing everypony to turn and look at her, “The room attached to this one is full of plants! Maybe Fluttershy should go see if any of her strange naturey stuff will help!” Immediately Fluttershy’s head lowered as all eyes set upon her. “Oh no...I couldn’t...all alone...” With a smile Pinkie leaned closer to touch Fluttershy’s shoulder and look her in the eyes, “You can do this Fluttershy.” A slight swell of courage flooded through her. This was a dangerous situation and indecision could get them killed. Pinkie was her friend, she wouldn’t make her take a risk if it wasn’t necessary. “O...okay.” Fluttershy said resolutely. Rainbow and Applejack immediately nodded and took off, but Pinkie leaned in to pet her friend a few times, “You can do this Fluttershy.” She whispered, then disappeared after the others, leaving a blushing yellow mare alone in the hallway. Numbly Fluttershy looked to the lab next door and began her trek alone. A Tentative hoof pushed the door ajar and the yellow mare peeked inside. “H-hello?” She asked in a hushed voice. The room answered her with silence. She took a long steadying breath and pushed her way inside. The room was beautiful; manufactured certainly, but beautiful. Like all the rooms in this place there were baskets of papers. As cautious eyes swept the room she noted the desks which were likely filled with more papers. This room had something the others didn’t though, life. The smaller plants were sitting in ceramic pottery on the desks. They stood proudly with a flurry of brightly coloured petals that brought a smile to her face. The sides of the room here were filled with dirt, likely indentations running down several feet into some sort of water source. Though they lacked the brilliant colouring of their floral counterparts they still stood majestically. Trees and bushes of all sorts were all in good health hinting they were grown with good care. The only thing marring their beauty was the unholy environment around them. No squirrels, no birds, no sign of fauna in the room save a single yellow pony. Hesitantly she pushed towards the center of the room, weaving around several desks in the process, “Is anyone here?” More of that unnatural natureless silence met her. With a sigh she closed her eyes and tried to focus. A pink mane jerked backwards as she gasped in surprise at how fast Druantia’s embrace rushed into her. These plants instantly connected with her and rejoiced in even briefly reconnecting with the true goddess. Fluttershy let her eyes slowly open and watched as every flower slowly rotated away from their artificial lamplights toward her. “I’m sorry.” She apologised to the plants. “I can’t get you away from here. I need to help my friends fix Equestria.” The plants understood, and yet they didn’t understand. Plants were strange like that. They didn’t think the same way ponies did, and after Fluttershy left they wouldn’t miss her. You couldn’t make friends with a plant, but for now they were her loyal army...although she didn’t like to think of it that way. Her hoof stretched out towards the wall as she focused on a single plant. Druantia’s will pulsed out and the delighted plant reacted instantly. It had only been a small patch of ivy, but she willed it to grow and it did. The plant’s spindly roots snaked away from it’s base, sprouting leaves far faster than any plant not under Druantia’s naturing gaze. This was the true power of the druids, Druantia’s gift had allowed them to remain independent of Equestria at every turn. As Celestia gained new territory, disputes over resources and borders had dragged the druids into conflict with her viceroys. The forces of Celestia’s armies were ten times the number and strength of the druids. If any druid were to face a knight in armed conflict they would surely lose, yet Celestia had never won a single battle against them. Fluttershy knew it wasn’t because of their battle prowess - instead, the druids had simply denied the knight’s the opportunity to ever fight one. Every battalion of soldiers sent out would find all terrain impeded their progress. Roads they had carefully carved out would disappear in days and every insect and parasite wanted a piece of them. Their food was attacked by everything from mites to groundhogs, and when they foraged they would find no tree bore them fruit unless it was poisonous. Without a single sword being drawn their armies were sent back home; those that didn’t starve or succumb to disease did anyway. Those were the tales Fluttershy was told, luckily nothing like that had happened since she became a druid. The ivy had climbed up the wall and worked it’s way into the small slits that circulated the air in this place. With a smile Fluttershy urged it onward, feeling it spreading into the room with the elements of harmony. She bid it to spread, to cover the walls and coil around every handle on the way. She strained as she moved closer to the wall, covering some distance to connect with the plant more. Finally she stopped — she knew where the switch she wanted to hit was, and the ivy was definitely there. It was close enough that she could guide it to push the lever down once she went back anyway. With a smile Fluttershy stepped back, slowly releasing Druantia’s light. It was done, she had been useful! She sat for a moment and admired her work, a smile crossing her entire face. Only for a moment though, the others would be getting the Elements now and they still needed to get Twilight and Rarity into the escape pods. Behind her a hoof stomped thrice in appreciation “Delightfully interesting work dear. You make the druids proud.” Instantly Fluttershy spun about, fear welling up in her eyes. She had been so concentrated on her task that she hadn’t heard the ten ton death machine walk up behind her. A knight in blackened full steel plates slowly moved his head from viewing the ivy to focus on her. “Hello.” The world spun and stung as the stallion smacked her across the face with a heavy armored hoof. An aching pain radiated out from her face as she lurched violently off balance and crashed into a set of potted plants. The mare stumbled, awkwardly trying to regain her footing as dirt and bits of ceramic pots fell about her hooves. Her doubled vision subsided just fast enough for her to lurch back. She could feel the fur on her muzzle ruffle from the blow she barely dodged. Instinctively she scrambled back, but the knight didn’t give chase, instead he chuckled, “So good to see you again...Fluttershy wasn’t it?” The shards of pottery were ground into dust as a plated hoof crushed them out of existence. “Tell me where the traitor knight is and surrender. The good viceroy treats his druidic servants well, I promise you that.” The fear Fluttershy felt quickly melted as her survival instincts kicked in. The ocean was a merciless wasteland for her, but he had chosen the one room in the entire ocean where Druantia was still listening. A bright green flooded forth from her eyes as she put a hoof forward and growled. The connections to all the plants flooded swiftly back into her. She picked one set, the plants in the crushed pot right under his feet, and pushed. With a green pulse the saplings doubled in size, their roots arcing out and wrapping themselves around his hooves. He looked down, and then back at Fluttershy as he casually wrenched a hoof free. Another push and the ivy in the walls sprouted new tendrils and snaked across the room towards the knight. Angrily they ran up the sides and over the tops of the tables, rushing to bind the beast in place. The stallion struck forward with his free hoof and a sudden burst of wind hit Fluttershy square in the chest. A cry of pain pulled itself from her recoiling maw as a flurry of tiny pottery shards slashed her unprotected face. His hoof then swept sideways and a blast of air dispersed the approaching ivy. With one sweeping motion he casually he pulled his longblade and severed the roots around his remaining foreleg, then sheathed it. As his slow methodical marching closed in Fluttershy backed against the wall in panic. With the internal powerful link to Druantia severed the druid instinctively she fell back upon the few prepared spells she knew. With a quick wave of her hoof and a flash of green light a snarling dog appeared before her. Brave though it was, the beast was unarmoured and half the size of her attacker. It rushed, a flurry of white fur and teeth, before it stained the ground and the knight’s longblade red. Then he moved closer, the blood vanishing into nothingness as the spell ended. Another dog was summoned, this time it died so close to Fluttershy the blood spattered her face. Her eyes shut as she reached out to summon another, but even as she did his mailed hoof stopped hers. In an instant a brutal strike across her face weakened her back knees and stung her face. Her face had hurt already, but this strike was even more vicious than the last. “That’s for trying to use druid magics against me.” He told her. Her eyes opened and through the blood she could see the knight’s uncaring visor glaring down at her. There was a small pause, then he reached back and slapped her again. With a cry of agony the mare’s knees gave out and she collapsed to the ground whimpering before him. “And that’s for not showing nobility it’s proper respect.” Fluttershy could only sob as pain radiated through her face in waves. Through the pain she could feel the blood slowly seeping out of her mouth and cheeks. It was difficult to miss, as it covered the knight’s hoofguards as well. Slowly he reached up and managed to unbuckle the straps for the helmet, then let it fall to the side as he looked her in the eyes. His eyes were full of superiority and contempt as he watched her pathetic figure mewling before him. “Now girl, as good as it was catching up, I don’t have all day. The viceroy doesn’t like it when we abuse the druid slaves. So start acting like one.” Commander Calescent stepped forward and swung a foreleg into her. It slammed into Fluttershy’s left foreleg as she instinctively moved to defend her ribs. More pain washed over her as the knight stood directly over the cowering, weeping mare. His stony eyes witnessed her plight, but were unmoved by it. Again he raised a hoof, “Where is the traitor knight?” Rip his throat out Fluttershy turned to her tormentor and coughed up some blood onto the floor. Rip his throat out Her eyes turned up to him pleadingly as she nodded and let out a strangled, submissive whisper. Rip his throat out Cocking an eyebrow he leaned in. “That’s a good girl. Now speak up.” With a roar Fluttershy exploded off of the ground and leapt up at him face first. All of the pain was pushed to the back of her mind as her wolven form instinctively took over. Her face grew and stretched forward, her teeth shifting into jagged points moments from clamping down on his jugular. Commander Calescent’s blood started pouring into Fluttershy’s mouth as she scrambled to her paws and pushed him back several meters. Her jaws quickly locked as she let out an angry growl at his hooves thudding against the side of her head. Out of the corner of her eyes the druid saw his hoof move for his sword — the last desperate act of a dying stallion. Now twice the stallion’s size she lifted her head, pulling him clean off the ground by his neck. Then she started flailing her head from side to side. His choking half breaths continued as the sword flailed about a bit in his grasp, but fell uselessly from his grip the third or fourth time she shattered a desk with his body. At last his body weakened, leaving him pathetically pushing on her closed jaws. He wasn’t a threat anymore, she could let him down. She could probably even stop the bleeding long enough to save his life, Druantia willing. Now was the time for mercy, and she knew he wouldn’t threaten them anymore this day. Except, it wasn’t the cold calculating idea that he was an enemy that might come after her. Hell, it wasn’t even that she was angry he had slapped her into the floor. Right now, it was about the mewling, bleeding, delicious prey in her jaws. She reared up onto two legs and set her front paws onto the collar of his armour, then let him fall forward. A resounding clang filled the room as his back slammed into the floor. Then she pulled. Slowly she pulled back as flesh tore and muscles ripped. Gleefully she tore his throat out and stared down at him as his own crimson fluids dripped from her maw to cover his face. Fluttershy was faintly aware as he seemed to continue pushing at her maw — his hooves were slick from the blood that was oozing out of his wound. The terror in his eyes slowly faded as the blood continued to leak out of him. Fluttershy could hear...no, see the desperate beats of his heart. With each thrum of his heart, another spurt of blood coated that black armor, making it slick even as it faded. His hooves stopped pawing at her maw, falling limply to his side as the blood flow slowed to an ebb. As she watched the life pump out of him beneath her hooves she swallowed what she had clenched in her jaws. Her tail wagged furiously as she beamed down, satisfied at her kill. Now she could go get her friends, they needed to get to the escape pod and get out of here as soon as possible after all. Her muzzle buried itself into his flesh as she continued to feast on his delicious warm body. Ecstasy overcame disgust as she blissfully sank her teeth into the blood soaked stallion and tore more pieces off. When his spine began to graze her teeth she paused, panting from the fervor at which she’d eaten. She had to...do something. She couldn’t quite remember, but it was important. With a snarl she rested a paw on the metal armor and began tearing the leather strips apart that held them in place. This was hers. Hers! Her mind became a flurry of dizzying and confusing emotions as she ripped and tore. She was hungry and the world would wait.