Hollow Shades, Night
Ebony kept her head down against the fierce wind blowing through the trees. She'd been on patrol for almost two hours now, and she was looking forward to being able to switch out at the end of her shift. Nothing ever happened around here, so patrol was one of the most boring tasks a guard could be made to do.
Slowly, she noticed the wind begin to pick up. Looking to the sky, she saw the small clouds overhead begin to coalesce into a swirling stormcloud. Odd, She thought, I don't remember there being a storm scheduled for around this time. It was at this point that she realised there were no pegasi to be seen in the sky at all. The storm continued to grow, swirling itself into a spiral. A few pegasi flew up to it to try and disperse it, but it was unaffected by their attempts. Ebony continued to watch in shock as lightning crackled within it, and still it spun faster. Suddenly, a rift opened in the underside of the storm, and from it fell a black shape. The rift resealed itself, and the storm slowly began to disperse, finally yielding to the efforts of the pegasi. As nobody else seemed to have seen the object, Ebony dashed toward where it had fallen, curious as to what could have come from such an event.
Luke crashed out of the sky and fell into the branches of a tree. He groaned and rubbed his head, looking around but seeing nothing save more trees. Suddenly, he saw his guitar fall past him.
"...Fuck." He said.
Retrieve it
He tried to climb down the tree that he had landed in slowly, but he lost his footing, still dizzy from the fall. He hit branch after branch on his descent, which served to slow his fall but also caused him a great deal of pain. Eventually, he tumbled onto the ground, battered and bruised.
Luke lay there for a few seconds, staring into the sky and cursing his bad luck. He sat up with a groan, and checked himself to make sure he wasn't injured. Satisfied that nothing was broken, somehow, he stood up and observed his surroundings. Trees surrounded him on all sides, and a foreboding atmosphere pervaded the place. He saw his guitar a few metres away.
Approaching it, he saw that it was sticking up from the ground, which he realised was unusual. Examining it further, he saw that it had landed on a tree stump. The axe blade on the end of it had sunk into the wood. Yanking it out, he examined it for damage, and discovered that the cheap plastic of the blade had now turned to metal, and it appeared to be part of the guitar rather than just glued on.
Make sure it still works
"I should see if it still works..." He muttered quietly to himself. Hefting the strap over his shoulder, he was about to try a chord when there was a gasp from behind him. He span around as he plucked the strings.
Lightning shot from his instrument and impacted a tree.
He gaped at the blackened spot on the tree before him. Holy shit! He thought. That was fucking lightning! From my guitar! Immediately he strummed a few more chords. Lightning once again slammed into the tree. He began to strum a short riff, and a continuous stream of energy channelled from the guitar to the trunk. Within the sound, he heard not only his own instrument, but he could also make out at least two guitars and what sounded like drums. He laughed madly.
He stopped after a few seconds when he saw a dark shape bolt from behind the tree. He shot off another chord, aiming for it, but missed. The shape let off a high-pitched scream. Luke swore quietly, realising that it was a person he'd just aimed for.
"It's okay, I didn't mean to do that. I didn't realise you were a person." He said to them. Slowly, they began to walk forward, and realised that he wasn't quite correct. It was a small equine, about half his height, with a black coat and dark blue armour.
"Okaaaaay." He said. "That's kinda weird." He slung his guitar over his shoulder and crouched down to their height. "What in the fuck are you?"
"I-I'm a pony." They said, cowering. Luke stared at them.
"...Okay, you're a talking pony." He said. "What the f-"
"Over there!" Came a voice from over the trees. "This is where it came from!" Luke tensed as a group of ponies in golden armour galloped from the tree line. They saw him almost immediately.
"Halt!" The one in the front cried.
Get away
The pony with him squealed in fright. "Oh no, they're here! They must have heard you." She said, panicking.
"Who are they?" Luke asked. A bolt of magic impacted the ground in front of him.
Protect her!
"Never mind!" He said, picking up the pony and running towards the cover of the trees. She was surprisingly light, he noticed. He set her down behind a tree before dashing into cover himself. Bolts continued to pepper the ground around them.
"Please, you have to help me fend them off." He looked down to see the pony he had saved staring up at him.
Fight them
"What?" He said. "How am I supposed to fight them off?"
She nudged his guitar. "Use your magic. I won't be able to get away unless you help me."
Fight them!
Luke nodded slowly, still somewhat unsure. "I...I'll try to buy you some time." He didn't know why he felt compelled to save the pony, nor why he felt he could fight off the armoured ones, but he knew he was going to try.
He stood up behind the tree and thought about what he was doing. He knew that he could shoot lightning with his music, and as badass as that was, he didn't really know how to use it.
I will help you. Now fight!
He steeled his nerves and stepped out from behind the tree, already bending the strings. He released a chord which sent a searing shot at the ground near the lead ponies hooves. He tried again, and again he missed. The lead pony yelled something that Luke didn't catch.
Just a chord won't do any good. You need more.
Luke panicked, and began to play the first song that came to mind.
As he began to play with a steady rhythm, lightning crackled around him, rather than simply shooting from his guitar. The ponies stepped back, fearful of what was about to happen. Luke, seeing this, grinned, finally being able to bring the energy under control.
Good, keep going.
Soon, the song built up to a small crescendo. The distinct sound of drums joined Luke's playing, the two melodies blending around each other. One of the horned ponies - a unicorn, Luke realised - shot another bolt of magic at him. Luke flinched, but the shot was deflected harmlessly by a strand of lightning. Other ponies tried the same, but he remained unharmed by their efforts. The song changed slightly, and occasionally a shot would branch from him and strike at the group.
The leader of the group called for reinforcements, and a winged pony - pegasus, he guessed - flew into the air. A shot from him smote the pony between their wings, and they fell to the ground with a scream.
Excellent!
He cackled madly, letting a flurry of shots impact the remaining ground bound ponies, and they scattered. Several powerful bolts of lightning struck at the fleeing figures, and one of them collapsed, smoking slightly. One of the pegasi charged at him from above, some kind of bladed weapon attached to his wings. Luke stepped back, and the lightning swirled in front of him, parrying the pegasus' attack. He continued to attack furiously, and Luke continued to hold him off. A unicorn charged him, a bolt of magic springing from their horn and slicing across his face, leaving a shallow cut.
Be more careful, you can't defend everywhere at once. You need to go on the offensive.
Luke snarled, blood dripping from the fresh cut on his face. He lashed out with his foot, which became wreathed in lightning. His assailant, not expecting such an attack, was caught in the stomach by it. An explosion of energy burst outward from him, and he was flung backward over the heads of the remaining ponies. Luke turned his attention to the unicorn who had cut him and smashed the blade of his guitar into her face. She reeled back, a huge gash across her muzzle, and he let loose another energy blast into her.
She flew toward the remaining ponies and exploded into a gory mess. At this, the few who remained standing fled. Luke breathed a sigh of relief and stopped playing.
Excellent work
He grinned to himself, pleased at his victory. Slinging his guitar back over his back, he began to walk in the opposite direction. As he passed the trees, the pony he had saved walked up to him.
"What are you still doing here?" He said. "I thought I told you to get away."
"I was going to leave, but I felt compelled to stay and watch. The way you fought, it was just..." She said. She looked back up at him. "Where are you going, anyway?"
"Uh, I don't really know." Luke said. "I just got here, so..."
"Then you should come with me." She said. "We'll be able to provide you with shelter and food, and we can protect you from them." She motioned in the direction that the other ponies had fled. "They're certainly not going to help you, after that."
Go with her
Luke considered her offer. "...Fuck it, I don't have any other plans." He said. "Lead the way."