Celestial Gift

by Wolfsalvo

Uh Oh

Chapter 9: Uh Oh

Bolting into an upright position as I finally managed to jerk away from the horrible nightmares I was being tormented with, I tried to keep as silent as I could, but a strangled gasp still left my lips. The speed at which my heart was pumping, along with how out of breath I was feeling, left me feeling more exhausted than when I had went to sleep the previous night. The nightmare hadn't been as bad as some of the more graphic ones I had endured while under the effects of sedatives, but it felt like it had been nearly as bad, if not worse.

Closing my eyes as my heart gave a painful wretch in my chest, I fought back a strangled gasp that felt almost like a sob, and an image of Celestia's mangled form came to my mind. Almost all of the scenario's that she had appeared in, I was able to fight the flood back, or sacrifice myself; yet there were a few times I couldn't do either of those scenarios.

A small amount of movement near the top edge of my visor was all it took for me to shoot my head in that direction and snatch my pistol from its holster at my side. The reticle appeared across my visor, but as it moved over the flank of a certain purple mare, I quickly lowered it so that I wouldn't accidently cause any harm. While I sighed with a shakiness that I knew I wouldn't be able to get rid of anytime soon, I looked back up, and saw Twilight appeared worse for wear than the previous day.

The disheveled mane, bags under her eyes, and the slightly bloodshot gaze showed a night of restlessness. Her gaze was looking towards the ground, so she hadn't really saw my hostile action, which was enough to cause me to issue a silent thanks to whatever deity these ponies worshiped.

She silently made her way towards me, and I was curious as to why she was giving me a remorseful expression as she would look towards me briefly, before back at the ground. Letting out a sigh, I reached up and wrapped my fingers around my helmet. Twisting it, I heard the brief hiss of pressurized air leave my suit, though very quiet, and I took it off. During that brief lapse of attention to Twilight, she had managed to reach me, and was now standing in front of me hesitantly.

She obviously had something on her mind as she kept shifting her weight from one hoof to the other.

I had waited two minutes before she suddenly asked, "How did... uh... how did you sleep?"

Feeling my eyebrows rise slightly as that seemed to be the only thing she could come up with, or that she was willing to say. Looking towards the ground, I shrugged my shoulders, before saying in a somewhat sturdier tone than what I had felt like when I had awaken, "Eh, I have slept better..." MUCH better...

Reaching a hand up and rubbing the back of my neck to get rid of the itch that was starting to crop up, I turned my gaze towards hers and asked, "Was your sleep truly as bad as your bed hair... er, mane?"

The shudder that was elicited from her was all of an answer that I needed, and as I stood up, I felt a few things actually shifting. Twisting my back, I felt a small snap through my body, and I was also feeling a bit tense in my muscles. Nothing a short run can't fix... and maybe I can go check out some of the local sights... anything to forget last night's dreams... anything...

I found myself staring out the window when Twilight cleared her throat, and when I turned to look back at her, she asked, "May I ask you a few things about your past...?"

Looking back towards the window, I wanted to go running already, so when I did turn back towards Twilight, I nodded, but said, "I wouldn't mind, but first, I'm going to... uh, do a morning workout."

Twilight seemed ready to stop me, but I made my way towards the door before she could do or say anything. Just the thought of Celestia being her teacher was enough to cause my heart to wretch with pain and fear, but more of the former. Shaking my head as I absentmindedly walked out the door, I felt my thoughts starting to shift back to those nightmares I so desperately wanted to forget...

As he walked out the door, the guilt I felt for what I had done last night sank deeper into my heart, and it felt even stronger than it had when I had awaken... or come from my partial dreaming state. The small glimpse into Steel's life before he came here, to Equestria... it made me sick... the blood, the death... the monsters.

Shivering as I made my way back upstairs, I was going to need to wake Spike up so that I could send a letter to the Princess. Shaking my head to try and alleviate some of the weariness that I was suddenly feeling again, I tried to let it pass; but I had just too little sleep last night.

Pushing the door open with the tip of my hoof, I walked over to the sleeping dragon, Spike, and gently nudged him. After a few moments of waiting, I did so again, but a bit firmer, and this received a few grumbles from him. "Spike... Spike, get up..."

Using my hoof to prod his back once again, he groggily yawned, and when he turned his head towards me with sleepy eyes, then he truly woke up. "Woah! What happened to you Twi?"

I invaded someone's dreams, saw monsters that make hydra's look friendly, and received no sleep for my action...

Instead of telling him what was truly on my mind, I felt another shudder run through my body, before I shook it off and said, "Don't worry about that now Spike... I need you to take a letter for Princess Celestia..."

Turning and making my way towards a window, I looked outside and towards the rising sun. It was going to be a beautiful day, but a day I wasn't going to be able to fully appreciate...

Stopping in mid-step along with silencing my heavy breathing as much as I could, I tried to pinpoint the source of a sound I swore I just heard. It had a feminine sound to it, but my heavy breathing inside my helmet, along with the sound of my racing heart in my ears had drowned out any kind of understanding that may have been acquired.

Turning my head towards a different area as I tried to get another glimmer of sound, I felt a small chill run through my body. It didn't matter now that there was no sound, the shiver I felt trying to make itself physical through my body was enough to tell me whatever I needed to know; something was wrong.

Twisting my head in the direction of a small road leading away from the town and towards what looked like a forest, I knew now where the sound was coming from. And something told me, I needed to move fast.

Facing the path and beginning at a slow jog, I gradually sped up, until I was running full tilt, because not only was there noise, but I saw dark figures through the sparse open spaces as I ran. I was coming towards a clearing of sort, but I couldn't see what was in it, as the bushes and trees blocked most of the view past them.

What in the holy name of hell was that!?

Feeling a bit of fear suddenly pulse through me, I knew whatever had just ran through the bush to my side was anything but friendly. The only thing I had managed to see was a pair of large glowing green eyes, and it was gone; but not before it had let out a snarl that sounded strangely canine like.

HOLY FUCK!

Slamming into the ground as a heavy weight barreled into my back faster than I had been running, I tried to look over and see what had me pinned, but I couldn't maneuver my body in that way. There was a sound of growling all around me, and for a second, I thought it may have been grunts... but a grunt can't take down a human by itself that easily, nor run that fast.

Crunch.

Whatever was holding me down to the ground seemed to try and bite my arm, but through the metal plating, I felt nothing worth noting. What I was surprised about however, was whatever the creature was, the muzzle appeared wooden.

"H-Help!"

Snapping my head towards the direction I had been running towards, I knew that whoever was in trouble was most likely facing the same type of creature I was currently lying under. They most likely didn't have the protection of metal around their entire body either, so with a bit of strength, I rolled myself over, and was rewarded with another sound of snarling as whatever was on me jumped away. Looking around, I didn't see where it had went, but that didn't mean I could relax just yet, someone still needed me.

Getting up and rushing in the direction of the scream from earlier, I drew my knife in my left hand, and my pistol in the other. No need to face whatever had thought to attack me with just my hands.

Brushing past a bush as I ran down the road, I slid to a stop as I saw a cottage directly in front of me, but what appeared to be a yellow Pegasus was fending off several wooden wolves of some kind. It was like someone had mashed fairytale magic in with nature, creating living, walking, and viscous canine wolves.

The Pegasus had a few bloody marks on her body, with a prominent flow of blood running down her right foreleg. Her eyes were wide with fear, something I could see even from how far I was currently.

Running towards the pack of wooden wolves, I knew they couldn't harm me... unless they spit plasma...

"HEY!"

My shout did exactly what it was intended, as the majority of the wolves spun around with fearsome growls, but all they were met with was me running towards them. Raising my pistol and firing it towards the wolves, I made sure to aim for center of mass, and towards those that should I miss, wouldn't hit the injured pony.

The loud echoing pops of my pistol shooting made all present, save for myself, flinch, growl, or whimper. Two wolves were hit multiple times, but the bullets only staggered them a bit, and the others now turned towards me.

Brandishing my knife as I got closer, I slid the blade into the chest cavity of a wolf, and it seemingly fell apart instantly. Feeling a bit of confusion come over me, I raised my knife up, and saw that it was still the same kind of blade as it ever was; yet it had done what my pistol could not. Least to say, I was swarmed by the rest of the pack of wolves; all trying to some way or another to harm me. All attempts were futile.

Stabbing another in the gut, I lost track of which one it was, as it too fell apart after a seemingly painful yelp. Looking over and seeing that my hand with my pistol was being viscously gnawed at, I tried to pull it away, only to feel a sharp pain in the wrist. "AGH! You little mutt!"

Bringing my knife arm up, I tried to swat at the offending beast, only to suddenly find it being bitten by two other wolves, and that was when I saw a painfully horrible sight; the wood of one of the downed wolves was slowly coming together, reforming what had once been a pile of wood into a snarling wolf.

Looking towards the pony that was still cowering in fear near her home, I shouted out, "Run! Go get help!"

Snapping my head back above me as the wooden teeth of one wrapped over the edge of my visor, I felt ready to hurl as somehow, its breath made its way into my suits system. It was a foul stench, and it was probably one of the only things that could compete with the foul odor that came from flood forms.

Jerking my legs under the body of the wolf atop me, I kicked out with as much force as I could, but even after it was off of me, another replaced where it had just been. No matter what I did, they seemed to be able to replace the places their comrades had been, until they could repair themselves...

Feeling a small bit of dread welling up within me as I levitated the Princess's letter in front of me, the surprise from her quick reply was beginning to fully wear off now. Looking towards the entrance, I saw no sign of Steel, but that did little to quell my nervousness. While there was no law or rules against using magic to gleam information from ones dreams, and it was something not many unicorns knew was possible to do, it would still be considered rude should anypony discover the deed.

Unrolling the scroll with my magic, I looked over the extensive amount of writing, but felt anything but joy.

Twilight,

I feel it is only right that I address the question you asked first. I am highly disappointed in the choice of actions you had thought would be wise, for ones memories are something that should be kept personal. I want you to tell him and apologize to him when he comes back from his workout, as he said...

Wha-

*tap tap*

Turning my gaze up as someone suddenly tapped on the door, I would have ignored it, had it not been the sudden opening of the front door. Instead of Steel coming in, it was Fluttershy that rushed in. following her mad dash to a corner the library; I felt my breath taken away at the sight of her. She wasn't only shaking like a leaf during fall, but what really caught my eye was the blood seeping from her leg. It had since covered her entire outer part of her leg, "F-Fluttershy? ...SPIKE!"

"Yeah Twilight?" Spike's voice was muffled from him being upstairs, but I needed him now so that we could help Fluttershy before she lost too much blood.

"Get the first aid box, and hurry!" Stopping by Fluttershy, I noticed the tears running down her cheeks as she was gasping for air. "Fluttershy, what happened? Why are you bleeding?"

All I received in response was the sound of muffled whimpers as she seemed to somehow curl tightly into a ball. Looking around frantically, I didn't have anything to help her with, and the small puddle of blood that was forming near her leg wasn't doing anything to comfort my fraying nerves. "SPIKE!"

"I'm coming, did you get another paper c- WOAH!"

Shooting my head towards him, I yanked the red cross covered box from his grip, and I opened it as it came towards me. Using my magic to take out the needed supplies, I turned my attention to the now sobbing Fluttershy, "It's going to be alright Fluttershy... this may sting a bit..."

Using the disinfectant to wash away the blood around the top of her foreleg, I saw her wince, but her sobbing muffled into whimpers as I started to press the bandage over that large wound, and I brought more bandaging from the box as was needed. Her injury was larger than I would have expected from how well the animals listened to her, but I didn't want to worry about that as I applied the bandaging tape over the edges of the bandage.

As I began to clean the rest of the blood from her fur, I asked, "Fluttershy... what happened to you... did one of, your animals...?" I knew I didn't need to finish, and with a quick shake of her head, I felt a bit at loss for what had done her such a serious injury, "Did... did a pony do it?" Once again, the shake of her head showed that I was wrong, and I was glad I was too. "Then what d..."

Fluttershy slowly raised her head, and she stopped crying as much, though I could still see her shaking horribly. Her eyes remained downcast, and I saw the extreme pain and fright that was still locked within them.

Slowly, she looked up towards me, and with a single name, she sent shivers down my own neck and to my tail, "Timberwolves..."

"TIMBERWOLVES!? How did you escape!?" Spike asked suddenly, and it was then that I noticed his brief shout scared Fluttershy. It was only as a shudder ran through her back did she seem to realize something, and she shot to her hooves, but quickly fell down just as fast.

"Oh no. No no no... he is going to get hurt!"

"He? Who is it Fluttershy?"

"I d-don't know... he was tall... and he was entirely black... I don't think he was a pony... or a griffin..."

Once she had described that small amount of detail, I felt like a cold bucket of water was dumped over my entire body. "S-Spike, make sure Fluttershy is alright!"

Before anything else could be said, I quickly ran out of the still open front door, and just as I did, I crashed into somepony.

"Whoa, hold up sugar cube. What is this 'bout Fluttershy being alright?"

"APPLEJACK!? Oh thank Celestia, come with me, I need your help!"

"With what Twi?"

Looking towards the library, and then the area Steel was most likely at, I said, "I will explain on the way, but we don't have much time...!"

Keeping low to the ground as I brandished my knife in front of me, I was starting to get tired of trying to hold off the six wolves that had surrounded me. I had managed to get out from under them, but they kept bringing me down. The only reason I wasn't severely hurt was of my armor, but I was starting to get sore from the bites that were getting through the joints of my armor. While they haven't actually pierced my suit, their jaws were like vices when it came to the joints of my armor.

Now however, the wolves were slowly circling me, and I looked towards the largest one as he snapped towards me. I would have shot any normal animal by now, but I had already wasted nearly all of my ammunition trying to kill them; it was now proven standard munitions did little to deter these... monstrosities. They are nearly as bad as the flood...

Nearly...

Come on... make an attack already, I know you mutts don't get I won't be taken down.

Feeling something suddenly go amiss, I looked over just as a pair of ponies started to come around the turn, but it was at that moment that the entire pack of wolves jumped me.

Falling down as the mass amount of weight began to weigh me down; I snapped a punch into the muzzle of whichever wolf was close, while feeling the serrated edge of my blade slice through wood, only to be caught on the ribcage of a wolf with the jagged edges.

"Steel!"

Growling as I kicked out, I managed to get a wolf from making an attempt at my waist, but that only let the wolf holding onto my shoulder shift its bite to my elbow, and pull sharply. It did nothing more than make my joint sore, but as it dragged me across the ground, it seemed the others had a truly fantastic idea. They all began to yank my body in separate directions... before they all began to move in a single direction...

"Steel!" I yelled as he was quickly being buried by some of the largest and meanest looking Timberwolves I have ever had the horror of seeing.

"Hush Sugarcube!"

Being pulled to the side as Applejack covered my mouth with her hoof, she said, "I want to help him too, but we are no use to this Steel stallion if we are dead."

"The Princess entrusted me with his safety, I can't do no-"

"I know, but y'all can't rush in without a plan!"

Turning my head towards him, I felt my heart leap into my throat, and Applejack followed my gaze. Steel, along with the Timberwolves, had just disappeared into the Everfree Forest...