“You never told me why you joined up in the first place.”
The long, pink-toned haired girl let out a gasp as her hand shies away from a small white rabbit. Her turquoise eyes pointed away and her back slouched as she struggled to make herself small. “I’m sorry,” she says. “I just really don’t want to talk about it, Ignia.”
Ignia rolled her orange eyes, which match perfectly with her short, red hair. “Oh come on, Fluttershy. We’ve known each other for two years now” She stands and turns before throwing out her arms and bringing emphasis to the green jacket they both wear. “We went through basic and everything together!” In a moment, she knelt in front of Fluttershy with the expectant look of an eager child. “And yet I still know barely anything about your past.”
Fluttershy’s eyes briefly darted up to meet her friend’s. “I know.” She rubbed her arm as her light-yellow skin pales to a near white. “I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want any more ‘sorrys’ from you Flutters. I think I have enough of those to last me more than a lifetime.” She smiled at her friend and gently put her hand on the other girl’s knee. “I want answers. Won’t you even tell me where you’re from? Who your parents are? Siblings? Whether you had a boyfriend or not?”
The last question caused Fluttershy’s cheeks to turn a fierce shade of crimson and let out a light squeak-like sound.
“You better not be doing what I think you’re doing,” booms a deep voice from the foot of the hill the two girls sit on.
Ignia jumps to her feet and waves to the approaching figure, “Hey, Bulwark!”
The man is large with a body clearly earned and the pride of his work beaming from his smile. His ochre skin compliments the particularly square shape of his jaw which in turn compliment the shape of his cerulean eyes. The wind grazes his buzzcut hair.
He’s dressed similarly to the two girls: A pair of thick boots that almost reach their knees with a bit extending further to shield the kneecaps, belts adorning their thighs and snaking up and around their body with empty latches in strategically placed along their lengths, and a green jacket cut short around the waist.
On the jacket’s sleeve and left breast is a grey shield, half of which is adorned by half of a sun while the other, half of a crescent moon over a midnight-blue cloud. The emblem of the Wardens, symbolizing them as the ever present guard of the people. They are one of three divisions of the Equestrian Military.
As he joins the other two at the top, he places a small wicker basket loaded with bread, a few jars of miscellaneous spreads, some utensils and a mix of fruits. “Is she giving you trouble again, Flutters?”
Fluttershy perks up at his arrival and gently shakes her head. “Not more than usual.” She reaches for a blanket tucked against of the basket and spreads it out.
“So what exactly took you so long to get here?” said Ignia.
“Ugh,” moaned Bulwark. “So much paperwork lately. They got truckloads of them this morning. They pulled in a bunch of us just to get it all sorted out.”
Ignia’s eyes lit up. “Ooooo.” She knelt down and grabbed a shiny apple. “These look great. Anyway, what’s goin’ on that the top brass suddenly sent so much stuff?”
Bulwark took a seat near Fluttershy and greeted her with a warm smile.before takin a slice of bread for himself. “It wasn’t from the top brass. They were reports from the edges of the barriers. The number of giant equines apparently skyrocketed the past few days.”
Some sentences carry with them a certain weight. His last line was the equivalent of a metric ton of bricks, summarily crushing the amiable air between them and leaving them bare to the silence of nature.
Fluttershy was the first to break it with a barely audible, “Oh my.”
“Those reports say anything about why?” asked Ignia, a trace of caution noticeable in her tone.
Bulwark shook his head. “Nothing. But everyone’s calling for reinforcements of all kinds, and even emergency expeditions from Wonderscout teams.”
“Those guys are stretched enough as is, especially since those refugees arrived.”
He gives her a playful smirk and says, “You could transfer. You said it yourself, they could use the help,” he gives a playful jab at her rib, “you could at least distract the equines with that loud voice of yours.”
“Ha ha ha very funny.” Sincere snickers and minor giggles dot Ignia’s sarcastic reply. “I dunno about you, but I;min no hurry to meet one of those monsters.”
Hushed and almost imperceptible, Fluttershy mumbles, “Then why bother joining the army.”
Silence rejoins as the unwanted guest. The two stare at Fluttershy as she tries her best to look away from them.
“You know what,” Ignia says with a playful wiggle of her eyebrows, “I’m gonna be a good sport and tell you. I was never really all that interested in fighting the equines, I was always more interested in helping people, you know?”
“Why didn’t you just become a doctor or something?” asked Bulwark.
Ignia shrugged her shoulders. “I guess I got swept up by the fervor. You remember that campaign the royalty pushed? With all that jingoistic lingo and that whole ‘serve your kingdom’ and ‘for the glory of Equestria?’ I kinda fell for it and joined up. But I never left because I heard about all the stuff the Wardens did for people.
I was actually hoping to be assigned to the barrier towns, or one where a crystal pillar is. That’s where Wardens are really active. But here I am in Ponyville, way in the interior. Heck, you can even see the capital from here.”
“That’s true,” said Bulwark as his eyes drifted to the large castle built into the the side of the tall mountain in the distance. They came back and locked onto one of the fruits he brought with him. “Well, I don’t know about you girls, b ut I think that’s enough storytime. Let’s eat before they start calling us back to duty.”
And with that, the three friends settled in for an late lunch of fruits, bread, friends and light conversation.
A sound shot across the plains. It was deep and primal, yet distorted and unnatural. Flocks of birds depart the roofs of the trees and dot the sky with their silhouettes. Loud rustling of leaves and the snapping of wood is heard coming from the dark forest known as the Everfree.
Seldom do people come here due to its reputation as a haven for mysterious and dangerous flora and fauna. Rumors and legends have mixed and tell of things like manticores and hydras, lurking between the darkwood. Some even say that certain parts of the forest are locked in a state of ever-darkness, due to the thickness of the canopy above.
Since as long as anybody can remember, this forest has stood beside the hamlet of Ponyville. A strange blemish near the center of the normally green and flush lands of Equestria.
Somewhere near the center of this place, something ancient has stirred. Lightning flashed from a cloudless sky and struck the ground, causing a bright flare that illuminated the forest in overwhelming light.
The spectacle is seen from Ponyville and beyond. The townsfolk rush out from their homes and watch in a mixture of curiosity and wonder. Some dare not take their eyes off it, others watch with mouths agape. One man, built very well, with a thick moustache and a tennis racket in one hand, has a tear stream down his cheek.
Further from town, near the outskirts and underneath a tree, Fluttershy awoke from a slight nap, her eyes surprised by the sudden burst of light. She looked to her two friends on opposite sides of her and also leaning against the tree.
“What’s going on?” she asks to her sleeping friends. She gets up and holds her hand in front of her face to ease the glare from the sun-like ball.
A black dot emerges from it, followed soon after by many more. Their shapes begin to sharpen as the light starts to fade. Fluttershy’s heart began to race and her pupils shrank to pinpricks as she realized what was heading straight to town. She dives and roughly shakes her friends from their slumber.
The two grumbled and mumbled in symmetric annoyance at their friend before they came into focus at the sound of a loud shriek from town.
As the figures in the sky became unmistakable, Fluttershy let out noise somewhere between a gasp and a scream.
A four legged creature with an equine-shaped, pony-like body soared through the sky. It’s coat was a dulled pastel green that managed to darken when viewed from certain angles. It’s mane was short, messy and unkempt.
But what really made it stand out was its head; about as big as the creature’s own chest and with eyes that took up almost half of its face. The pupils were black, lifeless dots that thinly veiled a direct line to oblivion itself. It’s mouth was clearly watering as it surveyed the people scrambling for cover from the beast up above.
The pegasus put on a crooked smile, barely resembling that of amusement, just before landing near the town hall. It found its first target stumble out of an alley along the main street.
He was the baker’s apprentice. His face had a soft handsomeness to it and was complemented by a small, but sweet smile. His parents were farmers and had been taken aback, but not really surprised, when he told them he wanted to be a baker. He made the right choice as, even on his first day he had surpassed what the master baker was expecting. Even now, his cakes were the talk of the town. They had even managed to catch the eye of the young lady who tended a flower store in the market. He had invited her for a quick get together during the weekend and his heart fluttered when she had agreed.
All this flashed through his mind as his legs scrambled to get as far from the center of town as possible. The thunderous sound of massive hooves behind him echoed in his head, causing his vision to go blurry. His breath, already short from the effort of running, became shorter as his lungs began to burn from the inside.
Then the worst possible thing that could happen, happened. His mind raced into panic mode as he felt himself fall. The ground was ice to his touch as every bit of the impact ruptured inside him. He commanded his arms to move to no effect. All at once a million thoughts entred his mind yet he could not focus on a single one. His view began to change as he felt himself getting up.
Thoughts, heartbeat, breathing; all came to an abrupt halt as he realized he wasn’t getting up, but being lifted up. There was a certain pressure around his waist, but he could not tell what it was. He was higher than the buildings and he could see everything.
His arms, limp and useless now, were the first things he noticed. A number of thatched roofs of their community had caught fire. The bakery where he had been training had a massive hole in its roof as a crimson liquid dripped along it. In the distance, he saw somebody, his best friend who worked at the mill was engulfed by a dark aura in midair, slowly being floated to an enormous unicorn with proportions similar to the pegasus and with a horn glowing the same aura.
Another pegasus crashed right into a house on Fifth Street. In the distance, a couple, hands desperately clenched, ran as fast as they could out of town. The man was suddenly pulled away by another large equine with no horn or wings. The woman begged him to let go as her cries mixed with the sound of chaos but he refused. He gasped yet still refused to let go until the earth pony began to consume him. The woman flailed and struggled until she felt her arm enter the mouth of the equine. She could still feel the man’s hand on the inside. The scream she let out was blood curdling, but ultimately nothing compared to the sounds still happening around her.
That was when everything came crashing back to him. The baker felt his arms come back to life. He felt his neck and his body and his…
His eyes shrank to pinpricks as he bent his neck and completely took in what was around his body. He could see red liquid flowing along his body, yet he felt no pain. He realized he couldn’t feel his legs either. Rage overcame him as he began to pound the snout with his fists. It felt soft and curiously warm—almost hot, even—to his touch.
The twin pupils, black and lifeless as ever, looked at him with curiosity as he squirmed and struggled. It considered him for a moment before finally deciding to close its jaw a bit more. The man spasmed as if electrocuted and went completely limp. The pegasus tilted its head at his sudden stillness before doing a small shrug of its own and messily slurping the rest of him into his mouth.
“Come on!” Bulwark led the way through the once familiar streets of Ponyville.
Yesterday, the smell of sweets and cinnamon and vanilla coated the air with a delicious glaze. Now it was thick and heavy with the iron-like smell of blood and flesh. Crimson streaks covered the walls as the same red liquid formed puddles on the streets. A hand, departed from its body, is frozen i halfway through opening a door. A leg lies uselessly on the curb, a shoe it’s wearing still glinting in a fresh shine.
Fluttershy’s heart begins to palpitate as images of a life thought forgotten begin to flash before her. She clenches her fists tightly as her eyes race through the gore around them. Her running rhythm falters but is saved by her training. No, she thinks to herself. Not again.
The scream of a woman echoes just as the turn a corner at a toystore wiht a shattered facade. She struggles in the dark aura of a unicorn as her face contorts into a snarl of terror. Moments away from entering the beast’s mouth, her screams turn into sobs as her body goes limp.
“No,” says Bulwark as he takes a step forward. Before he gets the chance to take another, he feels Ignia’s arms around his shoulders.
Her eyes are intense as she looks at him. “Don’t you dare. There’s nothing you can do for her now. If you really wanna help we have to get to the barracks and get our gear.”
Bulwark mirrors her stare. “We can’t just leave her like that, what if-” He cut himself off when he realized the sobbing had stopped.
The pair turned their heads and their eyes widened as they felt the gaze of the unicorn on them. They feel a slight sensation as sparkles begin to appear in their vision. Out of nowhere, a large beachball flies between their heads and is engulfed in the black aura.
“Run!” Fluttershy screams behind them.
The group bolted down a narrow road where a bag of groceries lay scattered and abandoned. Pebbles on the ground began to bounce as the sound of powerful trotting echoed against the walls around them. A cottage just behind them exploded in a flurry of dust and debris as the unicorn that had spotted them plowed through it and ended in a pile of tangled legs and hooves. It moved its limbs unnaturally as its bones snapped back into place.
“What are they made of?” asked Ignia as she took a moment to glance at their persuer.
“Shoot!” exclaimed Bulwark. He ground to a halt and held his arms to his side to stop the two following him. The exit of the road they were on now lead to a giant earth pony, its muzzle contorted into a sick grin with fresh blood still rolling down its jaw. It’s dull orange coat was stained in various places by spots of red. He grabbed the girls arms and pulled them through a small pathway between two two-story cottages; the thumping of hooves still deathly clear behind them.
Behind them, Fluttershy screams as she points above. A pegasus drops from above, wings outstretched and blocking the sun. It was too late. By the time Bulwark and Ignia had fully processed the descending beast, it made impact with the cottage to their side. The pressure from the explosion sent them flying in multiple directions.
Ignia grunted as her lower back hit a beam. Bulwark’s face was bloodied as he felt his hand underneath something unidentifiable heavy. Fluttershy was the most fortunate of the three, only slamming hard against the wall on the other side of the road.
When the dazed Warden started to regain her bearings, the first thing she noticed was the pegasus, standing over a pile of rubble and eyeing her menacingly. It’s head began to lower itself, getting closer with each moment. Fluttershy’s world had shrunk to just her and the monster. Her heart was racing as sweat began to pour down her face. Her arms began to tremble and she found herself frozen as a statue, helpless to what was in front of her.
“Flutters! If you can hear be get to the barrack as fast as you can. I got Ignia but she’s pretty hurt!”
Bulwark’s voice, especially the tone and intensity, were able to break Fluttershy out of her catatonic state. She shook her head and the world around her expanded back to normal. The pegasus had even taken notice of his shout and now had its eyes set on Bulwark.
Fluttershy scrambled to her feet, almost tripping again in the process. She ran into the house she had slammed against in the hope of leaving through the back. The roof had a massive hole and the inside looked like a hurricane had just passed by. Even the back door was completely missing.
She burst outside at breakneck speed. As her legs pushed her forward she held hands to her ears to block out the screams and horror. It wasn’t too far. She could make it.
On the curb, to the left were the entrails which led to the upper half of a young jeweler. She briefly remembered him offering her a small ring. His smile glinted almost as much as the gold. She had to cover her mouth at the nausea from seeing what was left of the poor lad.
The next street had the bonnet of a young mother whose daughter Fluttershy fondly remembered playing with during the weekend. She shuddered to think where they were. Hope suggested they made it out. Reality suggested otherwise.
At last the barracks was in sight. A sigh of relief escaped her lips before immediately being sucked back in. Vibrations travelled up her spine as she felt its approach. She turned her head and locked eyes with an utterly massive pegasus. It was the same one that had ambushed her and her friends. Worse yet, there was a green sleeve hanging from its mouth.
The worst thoughts entered her mind and refused to leave. She wanted to scream, to breakdown, to just give up. But something else pushed her on. She wasn’t sure what, but she knew that she couldn’t let it end like that. There was no logical explanation for it. After all, the equines were everywhere and it was obvious that the Wardens had so easily been overwhelmed. Yet her body, as if egged on by some invisible force, proceeded towards the barracks in thge hope of getting something to defend herself.
Her dread intensified as she noticed that while the building’s facade was intact, something was obviously wrong with the rear. She made it to the door and took a quick glance back. The pegasus was still there, casually walking towards her, as if assured in the knowledge that she had nowhere else to run.
She wanted to curse it as she gripped the knob tightly. Instead she just threw the door open and herself inside. She closed the door tightly and turned to face the inside.
What she saw made her knees buckle. Her back slid against the slimy door until she was on the ground. Her hands shot to her mouth to block the sound that would soon come forth as her eyes shrank to dots.
The barracks may not have been the best idea.
