The Kingdom of Everfree
Hunters
Traveling through the forest is dangerous, especially for an injured pegasus. He had nearly escaped death but had taken damage to his wing. He cannot fly and he is not used to traversing the woods through deep snow. The sun would set soon and the cold would overtake him with the little clothing he wore. Entering a clearing in the forest the pegasus stopped. Fear overtook him, his heart raced, and his injured wing that had frozen began to bleed again. He had escaped death but he knew he was being tracked, hunted.
Out of a nearby thicket rose an earth pony, his hooded robes bleached white to match the snow. The hunter had tracked him and cut him off waiting to ambush him here. The pegasus could not see the earth pony’s face, only the bright blue eyes glaring back at him. The faceless figure drew a sword and proceeded toward him.
“Just take it, let me go!” The Pegasus pleaded to the pony cautiously approaching with sword drawn.
“I have family, that is why! I just want to go back to them, take it. Don’t you have family to go back to?” The pegasus asked, desperately holding out a small burlap bag for the pony to take rather than his life.
The earth pony stopped in his approach, his bright blue eyes gleamed as the sun began to set and the shadows of the trees filled the thicket. The pegasus gained a sense of hope that this pony might spare him. However as soon as it seemed the hunter would lower his stance to kill there was a slight whistle on the wind. A short spear shot from the other side of the clearing catching the pegasus in the side and he dropped like a rock. A second hunter appeared from the trees and retrieved his spear, pulling it from the lifeless pegasus. After retrieving his spear he picked up the burlap bag and checked inside.
“Was it worth it you flying rat! Dying for a quarter sack of potatoes,” the second hunter said.
“Was it necessary?” The first hunter asked; sheathing his sword and pulling his hood back to reveal his black coat and blue mane, requiring the camouflage in this environment.
“It is if we want to eat for a day rather than starve for another. These pegasi have no honor, thieves and cowards the lot of them. We do not steal from them!” The second hunter growled with hate.
“Granted we cannot fly,” the first hunter replied.
“Their raiding party abandoned him for our hunters. If we could fly we know there would be no raiding parties at all. Such a waste, well we best get back on patrol,” the second hunter said as he swung the potato bag over his back.
“The sun will set soon, we should get back to the shelter, it seems it will snow again tonight,” the first hunter said, walking past the pegasus knowing the ice would entomb the body.
“Very funny Orion, it snows every day! I cannot even recall there ever having been a warm day since these winters get colder and longer every year,” the second hunter said with a smile.
“It still seems questionable to me that the pegasi would keep this winter going if even they are starving Basil,” Orion, the first hunter said as they proceeded through the woods.
“Well, the pegasi say that we hoard the food that we grow when there is little to none, seeing as how we cannot grow food with the land frozen,” Basil, the second hunter said.
“It’s also said that the unicorns are not raising the sun high enough to warm the land,” Orion mentioned.
“It’s a vicious cycle with no end. We all just have to do what we are best at. For us it is hunting down what we need to survive, others it is growing food, building shelters…” Basil was saying.
“Fighting,” Orion cut in.
Basil stopped and turned to Orion, his green eyes lit by the final glimmers of twilight through the shadows of his hood.
“The fighting Orion, is left to those warriors whose hearts are as barren and frozen as the land itself,” Basil said.
“So your heart is cold and barren?” Orion asked.
“I take no pride in killing Orion. I saw you hesitate back there, had to act. In any situation there is always the risk of being killed. You may have had the advantage then, but had he been hiding something that pegasus would not have hesitated as you have,” Basil explained.
“I see,” Orion sighed.
“I refuse to allow my friend to die only because he shared sympathy his enemy did not,” Basil said in all seriousness.
As night fell upon the land it began to snow, the two earth ponies gradually making their way through the forest. As the snowfall grew heavier, it became more of a light storm. The wind had picked up. Orion pulled his hood over his head, and the two quickly crept through the snow. They came to a stop at the edge of the woods, hiding behind a snowdrift accumulated near a thick tree. Looking out of the woods and up into the clouds they could see what looked like lightning flashes, making the clouds glow.
“It sounds like thunder-snow but it certainly doesn’t look like it. See the flashes in the clouds, some are different colors,” Basil said.
“Magic?” Orion questioned.
“I believe so. There must be unicorns holed up in ruins on the other side of this field,” Basil said.
“Can’t see across this field, perhaps the pegasi that raided us were waiting for night to raid them,” Orion said.
“There is a ravine that runs out of the woods along the field down that way. It would take us right behind the ruins, we can get a better look from there,” Basil said, giving Orion a tap on the shoulder to follow him.
The two earth ponies made their way back through the woods, the thunderous sounds of the flashes could still be heard yet they were muffled by the dense snow. When they arrived at the ravine there was a decline in the land they could travel on, but they had to be careful, the rocks were icy and further down the decline was a sudden drop too dark to see.
“Is it worth it?” Orion asked.
“Curiosity demands it Orion, I want to know what is happening over there and I do not want to be seen,” Basil said as he made his way along the decline of the ravine.
“No fighting then Basil,” Orion said as he followed.
“No fighting?” Basil asked.
“No fighting, we would not want our hearts to be as alike these stones we traverse,” Orion said jokingly.
“Right, no fighting, lest we become as dangerous as these stones without regret,” Basil replied.
Orion and Basil made their way along the ravine, as they approached the ruins the winter storm grew stronger, and the winds and snow made their path more treacherous. They climbed up to the edge, using a small stone wall for cover they peaked over the top. They saw unicorns scrambling about, shouting orders to each other and firing wildly into the clouds. At first it seemed an entertaining show for the earth ponies. However they soon realized it was not pegasi the unicorns were fighting. Great roars and growls shook the air from the clouds.
“Dragons?” Basil wondered out loud.
“There is no fire,” Orion stated.
The unicorns became more desperate in their attack. With every gust of wind and heavy snow blowing through the ruins more of them would vanish as it blew away. The earth ponies watched as the snow and wind seemingly came to life, thrusting masses of snow and ice against the unicorns. They would either be thrown against the stone walls of their own refuge or buried.
“Basil, we should get out of here, Basil!” Orion shouted to get his friends attention.
“What is it that they are fighting?!” Basil demanded to know.
“Basil!” Orion yelled, grabbing onto him to get him moving.
“Move!” Basil shouted.
An avalanche of snow swept away a unicorn and carried it over the stone wall, pulling Basil and Orion with it. Holding onto Basil, Orion had a grasp on the icy rocks of the ravine but was quickly losing hold. More avalanches of snow blew over the rock wall. It seemed as the weather was intentionally and aggressively causing it. Orion was pushed off the rocks and dragged into the dark pit of the ravine with Basil. It felt as though the ravine dropped forever, dragged down by the snow Orion was overcome with absolute terror.
Orion was unsure of when he reached the bottom, he scrambled sideways out of the snow. It was dark in the ravine, he could barely see and there is more snow carrying rocks down from above. Terrified and shaken Orion scrambled about searching for his friend while being beaten by debris from above.
“Basil!” Orion yelled desperately for his friend as he repeatedly unburied himself from the snow.
“Basil!” Orion yelled again through the chaos, he could see unicorns buried in the snow, killed by the fall.
“Orion!” Basil’s muffled voice could barely be heard through the snow.
Orion began frantically digging for his friend, risking himself due to the danger falling from above. It was difficult to know where Basil was due to the camouflage they wear to protect themselves. Eventually Orion grabbed hold of the dusty white fabric and dragged Basil out of the ice. The two earth ponies leaned on each other and scrambled through the ravine but it was too dark to see.
“Help!” A half buried unicorn cried out, using magic to light the ravine.
Basil and Orion staggered past the unicorn.
“Help me, please don’t leave me to die here!” The unicorn begged.
Orion, stopped and turned to help the unicorn.
“Orion no!” Basil shouted as a warning not to help their enemy.
“I will not be responsible for two lives in one day Basil!” Orion said as he quickly dug out the unicorn.
“I don’t think I can walk on my own!” The unicorn said worriedly.
Orion pulled the unicorn over his back and carried him, following Basil through the ravine. The unicorn kept the path lit as they moved on, the chaos at the ruins became silent and the flashes in the clouds had ceased. The journey through the ravine was a silent one, they eventually came to a rise where a creek had run into the ravine but frozen. They climbed the ice like frozen stairs.
“Basil, I think he’s unconscious,” Orion said, pointing out that there was no longer light.
“Is he breathing?” Basil asked.
“I believe so,” Orion replied.
“We have to get to the shelter, we won’t survive the night if we stay out in the open like this,” Basil suggested, proceeding forward into the woods.
The ponies arrived at their shelter, an igloo naturally camouflaged by snowdrifts. Orion laid the unicorn inside and made a small fire, the smoke funneled through a hole in the roof. Basil sat near the door silently glaring at the unicorn.
“You should have left him there Orion,” Basil said coldly.
“We needlessly killed one today, I did not want to see another die,” Orion said, tending to the fire.
“We are not free to decide the fate of our enemies Orion, either we kill them or they kill us,” Basil said.
“We can! When fate grants us the opportunity of choice, the power to decide; I stayed to find you, I would never leave you behind Basil. Fate granted me the choice to save him as well so I did,” Orion said in defense.
“Choice? I will remember that Orion but what will you do with him now?” Orion asked.
“I’m not sure what to do from here,” Orion said.
“We cannot take him to our hold, they will kill him. If we let him go, he will die in the forest. If for whatever reason we took him to the unicorn’s keep, they will kill us,” Basil explained the true nature of the situation, making it clear why he chose to let nature kill the unicorn.
“There is no safe place, we are stuck with him,” Orion said.
“There may be one, the guild,” Basil mentioned.
“Guild?” Orion wondered.
“There is a nearby guild, I heard of it the last time we were at the hold. I believe they will be less likely to kill any of us on sight,” Basil said.
“Perhaps they can shed some light on what happened at the ruins,” Orion said.
“Let’s hope, now get some sleep Orion. We’ll take shifts as usual and leave in the morning, wouldn’t want our new friend catching us off guard,” Basil said, receiving a nod from Orion.