//------------------------------//
// Chapter V 
// Story: Shattered 
// by sunstar93 
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I am not really sure what to expect as I pass through the gate. House Everfree is composed of an extensive assortment of creatures; it is difficult to know exactly what we will face. All I know is that, regardless of how worn-out I feel, I have to fight with every ounce of strength I can muster.

Father breaks into a gallop, Striker looking back and then charging after him. Wildfire snorts and lowers his head, heading straight towards the incoming mass of ponies. At least, some of them are ponies. Wildling ponies make up the bulk of the Everfree force, their shrieks chilling my blood. There are zebra warriors behind them, their armor composed of canvas and wood, their helmets made from the jawbones and skulls of different forest beasts.

I shake my head, pounding my hooves into the ground as I take off at a canter, accelerating into a gallop as I near the front line. I crash into a wildling just as it prepares to jump at me, running one of the blades through its neck. The wildling emits a piercing scream as a gurgle of blood gushes through the wound, bubbling around the embedded blade and dripping onto my helmet. I raise my head and shake the pony off, its limp body easily sliding back off the blade and flying off to the left before landing in the grass. I swerve to the right, spearing another wildling in the barrel with the serrated blade. The wild pony’s shrill cry is marked with agony as I force it to the ground, driving the blade deeper through its stomach. I shake my head, the serrated edge sawing its way through the inside of the pony, rupturing organs and ripping muscle. The smell of its foul blood is overwhelming, burning my eyes with its stench.

I hear another pony behind me, but before I can turn to look, it pounces on my back, battling at the plate metal and trying to tear at the chainmail. I throw my head up with enough force to send the first wildling sailing back, landing a foot behind me. Small fragments of muscle and what I assume to be the lining of the stomach remain caught between the individual serrated teeth. I buck furiously, trying to throw the wildling from my back. It works and the pony crashes in front of me, sprawled on its back. I rear up above it and smash my hooves into its face, shattering the skull and sending shards of bone flying. I step back, my hooves sticky with blood and brain.

That’s when I hear a distinctively canine howl rise above the sounds of battle. I spin around, watching with wide eyes as a timberwolf lopes onto the battlefield, its red eyes glowing even in the bright morning light. The infantry ponies and cannoneers have already swarmed in, the cannons firing in a cloud of black smoke. I make a desperate attempt to locate Father, to make sure he is alright, but it is too chaotic for me to concentrate. Dozens of bodies litter the ground- Everfree and Earthborn alike- but the attack doesn’t begin to fade. I see two zebra warriors galloping towards me, carrying double-sided swords. I sprint in their direction, quickly closing the space between us. But I remember this morning’s practice with Wildfire and lurch to the left, impaling one of the zebras by angling my head so that the serrated blade goes straight up through his belly. It works, and a rush of blood escapes as I retract the blade and leave the zebra writhing in the grass.

The second zebra has circled around me while I maimed his companion, trying to stab his sword through the chainmail on my neck. The zebra’s sword breaks a few of the links, enough to form a small hole, but nothing more. I knock the zebra aside, dispatching him easily with a double-edged blade to the throat. The timberwolf is still pacing the outskirts of the fight, as if it is waiting. But for what?

I feel something prick the skin on my neck and turn my head to see. In the middle of the chainmail, where the links ruptured to form a hole, is a poison dart. It sticks straight out, the barb implanted deep into the muscle, the multi-colored feathers tattered and limp. I knock it out with a flick of one of the blades, but the barb breaks off as the barrel of the dart falls to the ground. This means there are zebra skirmishers present, lurking near the battlefield. The poison immediately begins to take effect, and I feel light-headed and dizzy. My hooves feel like lead weights, rooting me to the spot. Then my legs give out and I crash to the ground; lying in the blood-spattered grass, beside the bodies of the dead zebras, I hear another howl. The timberwolf bounds across the grass, running over warriors, and my heart stops with the realization that I am the target.

The timberwolf precariously steps around me, picking me up gently in its massive jaws. The stink of its hot breath fills the small space of my helmet and I begin to sweat. A numb feeling creeps up my legs, spreading through my body and up my neck, until my face is frozen. I can only blink and my breath is ragged, my lungs struggling to expand in my paralyzed chest. Then my vision begins to fade until, finally, my world is black.


I’m not sure how much time has passed when I finally open my eyes again. The watery light fills the small room I’m in, filtering through a small window high up the wall. The walls and roof of the room are made from thick sticks, tightly tied together to secure them. I realize the feeling has returned to my body and limbs, and that my armor has been removed. I sit up, my legs tucked beneath me; one of my hind legs is encircled by an iron shackle just above my hoof. I am tethered to an iron ring that is bolted to the wall, the chain snaking along the ground, rattling with each twitch of my hoof.

The door to the room- or, should I say, hut- swings open and a Unicorn enters. The mare steps inside, her face partially hidden by her long mane.

“Storm Surge,” the mare begins.

“Who are you? Where am I?” I demand, my anger rising.

“Who I am is not important, at least not at the moment. As for where you are, you are now a prisoner of House Everfree.”