//------------------------------//
// Fury 
// Story: Hollow Shades 
// by Dilos1 
//------------------------------//

	"Everypony, please calm down!"

Mayor Quartz's voice was almost unheard in the frantic shouting and clamoring of the crowd in front of her. Standing on the stoop of her house, she had her hoof raised in an attempt to calm the ponies down. 

It had been almost a half hour after Quartz had sent Roughshod out of her office, and she had been sitting at her desk pondering what she was going to do now that he was no longer allowed to guard the wall. It had been difficult decision for her to make, but it was one that she felt was necessary to ensure that nothing like it ever happened again. It had not so much been to punish Roughshod than to set an example to the other ponies the consequences of carelessness. It was not something that she particularly enjoyed doing, but Quartz felt that it was not an issue that she could just overlook. 

To tell the truth, Quartz was actually doing Roughshod a favor. If the townsponies found out that one of their own had been left behind and there were no consequences for the ones responsible, they would not only turn on her, but Roughshod and the others as well. They would go easier on them if there was already a firm hoof dealing with the matter.

It didn't make the decision any less difficult to make though, and Quartz could already picture Rose Flare's face when she came in to demand that she rescind the order. That was not a conversation that she was looking forward to.

But all of that was pushed to the back of her mind as she attempted to calm the throng of ponies gathered before her as they demanded some sort of explanation for the sounds coming from the forest. The unnerving noises sounded far off yet, and Quartz hoped that they stayed that way. She already had enough to deal with.

Feeling swarmed by what seemed like half the population of Hollow Shades, Quartz's attention was dragged left and right as more and more ponies came to her for an answer to their questions.

"Miss Quartz! What's going on out there?!" a mare asked urgently.

"Is that monster coming here? What should we do ma'am?" a stallion questioned nervously.

"We need to call the princesses for help!" another mare declared in a frightened voice.

"Everypony, please," Quartz said, finally able to get a few words in edgewise, though she  was only barely heard over the constant chattering. "I don't have an answer for what's going on right now, but rest assured that everything will be alright."

Her short speech little to ease the tension that had been steadily building ever since Roughshod came back with news of the bug bears death. It certainly did not help when a particularly loud shriek rang out in the night air, drowning out the clamoring of the ponies and making them fall into a tense silence as they collectively turned their heads to the town gates. 

Even Quartz was unsure what to say as she felt the icy grip of fear clutch her heart. Then the unsettling quiet was broken by another shriek, this one sounding as though it was coming from something much larger, followed by the unmistakable sound of tree limbs snapping as the creature moved through the woods. And in that moment, Quartz had never been so afraid in her life.

All around her ponies began to fall into absolute panic as they rushed back to their homes, guiding curious fillies and colts that had come out to see the goings on back inside while insisting everything would be okay despite the obvious fear i their voices. Only a very few ponies stayed out to see if there was anything that could be done to protect their town, and Quartz thought she heard somepony ask where Roughshod was. Quartz tried to get everypony to calm down again, but found that her efforts were next to pointless as ponies continued to run about like chickens with their heads cut off.

It was then that she happened to catch sight of an familiar emerald unicorn mare galloping towards her, avoiding the ponies as she approached. Quartz was tempted to just fly over their heads to greet her but decided to just trot the rest of the way.

"Miss Star," Quartz called when she felt they were close enough to hear each other over the din. "I'm glad to see you. I find myself lacking of somepony sensible to talk to right now. Is Roughshod with you by any chance?"

Star shook her head in response before quickly saying, "No, he went home to make sure Rose was alright first. He said he'll meet up with us when he's done."

Quartz nodded, understanding Roughshod's reasons completely. She would have expected his wife's safety to come before anything else for him.

"Of course," she said with a nod of her head. "Now, is there something I can help you with? As you can see," she said while indicating the ponies fleeing to their homes with a sweeping gesture, "we seem to be in a bit of a crisis right now."

"That's actually what I'm here for ma'am," Star said in a grim sounding tone. "Roughshod sent me to speak with you while he's checking on Rose."

Quartz raised an eyebrow when Star said that, as it usually was not like the earth stallion to have others run any sort of errand for him. Although she supposed that given the circumstances she should have expected as much.

"Did he say what for?" she asked, and Star was about to respond when she was cut off by another unearthly screech. The sound seemed to reverberate across the landscape before fading, and the two mares waited with baited breath as a brief moment of silence followed. Then the noise resumed, and to everypony that heard it, it seemed that it was steadily getting closer, and the panic increased tenfold.

"Ma'am," Star said urgently, snapping Quartz out of her terrified trance. The mare started slightly at her voice before replying.

"Yes?" she asked in a worried tone. Quartz was trying and failing to conceal her building fear of the monster in the woods.

Sounding just as nervous, Star quickly said, "Roughshod wanted me to ask you if you still have that carriage of yours. The one that flies."

It took Quartz a moment to register what the unicorn was talking about before she remembered. Star was of course referring to her own private air carriage that she had for her personal use. She did not use very often due to her mayoral duties, and had been sitting in a barn collecting dust for weeks. It had been something of a prize when she was elected, but she personally never saw much use for it. So for Star to bring it up now threw her for a loop.

"Of course," she answered. "Why does Roughshod want to know?"

Star shrugged and said, "I don't know. Roughshod said he would explain later. But that's not the main reason why he sent me to find you."

Quartz motioned for Star to continued, and the unicorn obliged.

"He also wanted me to tell you that we need to organize ponies to defend the town. Get as many ponies on the wall and pegasi in the air with thunderclouds as possible. He thinks they might be able to at least drive off whatever's out there if it comes close to town."

It only took a moment for Quartz to ponder the proposal before she came to a decision. Giving a short nod she said, "Of course. That sounds like as good a plan as any. Can you help me round up ponies for it?"

Star nodded an affirmative before another shriek reached their ears, causing them flinch in response.

"I suggest that we hurry," Quartz stated. She then proceeded to fly up to a balcony on the second floor of her home before calling for everyponys attention as Star began going door to door. As Quartz called out in a loud voice and ponies began to reassemble before her, she wondered in the back of her mind if that mercenary she hired had anything to do with the situation out in the woods.





Gerald let out a squawk of surprise as another uprooted tree flew past them before it came crashing to the ground, its branches just barely missing them by a few inches. Bon-Bon was tempted to tease him about it, but at the moment she was preoccupied with the pounding of her heart as she galloped as fast as she possibly could to get away from the enraged monster as it pursued them. 

It was thoroughly incensed as it tore apart the forest to get at them. Nothing stood in its way. Full grown trees were either shoved aside or uprooted completely. Heavy boulders were picked up and thrown either out of its path or at its quarry. The only reason it had not caught them yet was because the forest was dense enough that they were able to stay just ahead of it as it pursued them. But that would not last, as the ponies and griffon were starting to become wore out from their exertions while the creature only seemed to grow even more determined as it steadily gained on them.

Bon-Bon knew that if something did not change in the next few minutes then their tired legs would be the least of their concerns.

"Um, excuse me, but Miss Drops?" Harp called to her as he galloped beside her with imminent death only a few hundred feet behind them. "But is there some sort of plan you happen to have that I don't know about, or are we just screwed? Because I don't know how much longer I can keep this up."

"Just keep running!" Bon-Bon shouted. "And my name's Bon-Bon!" 

"Not the time for arguing!" Gerald called before all three had to take cover behind tree trunks to avoid being impaled by large splinters of wood when the creature caused another implosion. A great many trees had been cleared in the explosion, allowing it to gain quite a bit of ground on them. There was now reduced to a number of yards as they took off again, aiming for where the forest appeared to be thickest, hoping it would buy them some time.

"How is it doing that?!" Harp exclaimed when they resumed their flight.

"Don't know, don't care! Shut up and keep running!" 

As she said that Bon-Bon risked a quick glance behind her, then immediately regretted it when she saw just how close the monster was as it steadily caught up to them with each passing second. It was temporarily preoccupied with clearing a path through the dense forest, but  she guessed that they only had a few precious moments until it was upon them again, and then it would all be over. Bon-Bon was confident in her skills, but she found it to be highly unlikely that she would be able to hold it off for long when it eventually reached them. She needed to think of something, anything, that would help them live through the night. 

Then suddenly, an idea popped into her head as she glanced around at their surroundings. She recognized this particular spot in the woods when she was scouting for the bug bear, and she knew its layout like the back of her hoof. 

"Follow me." she commanded as she abruptly altered her course. Unsure what she was doing, both Harp and Gerald obeyed. They did not know what her plan was, but at the moment any plan was worth a try. The monster also changed its direction to pursue them, growing more and more violent in its efforts as it slashed and hacked at obstacles. 

In the back of her mind Bon-Bon wondered what was making it behave like this. The sort of anger the creature was displaying went beyond simple hunger or defending territory. Before it was like it seemed disinterested in actually fighting them, like it was limiting itself, which had confused Bon-Bon a little when she fought it. Now though it seemed that its only goal was to kill them with extreme prejudice. They had done something to anger to the point of murderous rage, and she was lost as to what that was.

She didn't have much longer to ponder it however when she spotted a shaft of moonlight a short distance away, peeking in through the trees. Steering towards it, she soon came out into small field of tall grass. A dozen yards away, the land dropped off suddenly, and Bon-Bon recognized it as a steep cliff more than three hundred above a shallow river. She quickly ran to the edge just as Harp and Gerald exited the tree line with the creature mere seconds behind them. 

"What are you doing?!" Harp demanded when he saw her standing at the edge. "Are you trying to get yourself killed!"

Bon-Bon turned her head to address them as they skidded to a stop beside her."No time to explain," she said. "Just do as I say and stay where you are."

"What?!" Gerald squawked, his voice barely rising above the creatures own angered screeches. "Miss Drops, I know what plan you have, and I trust you, but that is stupid plan! You will get us all killed!"

Without warning Bon-Bon turned on the griffon and struck him on his beak with a swift jab from her right forehoof. Gerald staggered backwards a few steps, clutching his beak in his talons.

"Ack! What was that for?!"

Bon-Bon spoke quickly, knowing they only had a few seconds before the creature reached. "If you want have a chance at surviving until morning then you're going to do as I say! That thing will catch us if all we do is run all night. We need to buy ourselves some time to get some distance between us and it. We just need to wait here for it."

"Are you crazy?! We'll be sitting ducks for that thing!" Harp exclaimed.

Before they could argue the point any further they were interrupted when the din of trees snapping in half like twigs drew their attention to the monstrous creature as it disposed of the final obstacle between it and its prey. Harp and Gerald looked like they were about to run again, until Bon-Bon put a stop to that by stepping on their tails. 

"Not yet!" she hissed through clenched teeth. Reluctantly the two obeyed, and stayed right where they were as they waited for the monster to make a move. It hissed viciously at them with its mandible like jaws quivering as it crouched low to the ground, its fifty foot body curling up slightly like a snake poised to strike. It stuck its two meter claws into the ground, and Bon-Bon tensed up, getting herself ready. Beside her Harp and Gerald fidgeted nervously under the monsters supposed eyesight. 

"Not yet," the mare said quietly, hoping there was a limit to how high it could float. Barely a second passed after she said that the creature pounced, propelling itself at them with its claws, its teeth and talons spread wide in anticipation of killing them. 

"Now!" Bon-Bon shouted as she dove to the side with all haste. Harp and Gerald wasted no time to copy her movement as they did the same. The creatures body thudded onto the ground where they just were, its claws creating deep furrows in the soil. Its momentum carried it close to the edge of the cliff. Having virtually no time to recover, it skidded over the side. It tried to halt its fall by clawing at the ground, and Bon-Bon just barely avoided being skewered as it slid over the edge.

And just like that, it was gone, and Bon-Bon felt herself collapse onto her belly as exhaustion took hold of her. A short distance away Harp did the same while Gerald sat on his haunches with his head sagging to the ground, clearly not used to having to run instead of fly. All three of them were breathing heavily from their exertions, but they all felt a sense of relief now that the creature was no longer on their tails.

That sense of relief went straight out the window when they heard the creature shrieking, sounding like it had not fallen as far as they were hoping. Picking himself up, Gerald cautiously made his way towards the edge. He peered over, half expecting the creature to be right under his beak. As he peered over the cliff Bon-Bon heard him mutter in a defeated tone, "Oh, come on."

Knowing she would regret it, she hesitantly got up and trotted up to stand beside him, with Harp joining them. They all peered down, and were disheartened to see that the creature was swiftly climbing its way back up to them. It was hissing hissing and snarling at them as it scuttled up the vertical cliff like some sort of cross between a snake and a spider. 

Out of the corner of her eye Bon-Bon noticed Gerald remove another flash grenade from his vest pocket before he dropped it directly on top of it. The object fell straight down onto its head before exploding, and for a moment the monster was hidden behind a cloud of dust.

"Did that work?" Harp asked nopony in particular as the dust began to clear. His question was answered when they saw that not only had it not worked, but the creature seemed to be angered even more by it, as it continued to pull itself up the cliff with all four arms at an increased rate. Gerald removed another grenade and was about to toss it before Bon-Bon smacked him upside the beak, causing him to drop it.

"Agh! What is with you and the hitting Miss Drops?" he demanded as he clutched his beak, still sore from the previous hit.

"Cut that out," she said. "You're only making it madder." 

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

Bon-Bon pondered the question, knowing she only had at best a minute to come up with something before the creature had climbed the rest of the way up the cliff. Once that happened it would pretty much be all over for them. They were already so tired from just trying to stay ahead of it that she wasn't sure how much longer they could go on until it caught them, but she knew that they would never even get make it to Hollow Shades. 

Just then she got another idea. It was desperate, but it was all she could come with that would at help at least some of them survive. 

Feeling that she had little other choice, Bon-Bon turned to address them. "Alright, listen up. Here's what's going to happen: you two are going to go that way. . ." she said while motioning with her head to point South-West, "and back to Hollow Shades. You are not to stop for anything. I don't care what happens, just keep going until you reach town. Tell them what's going on."

"What are you talking about?" Harp asked, growing concerned at the way Bon-Bon was speaking. "You don't seriously expect us to just leave you alone with that thing?"

Adopting a stern expression, Bon-Bon said firmly, "That's exactly what I expect you to do. And here, take this with you." Bon-Bon reached into her left saddle bag and pulled out a dark glass bottle, gripping the neck of it between her teeth. Gerald took in his claws, eyeing it with recognition as Bon-Bon added, "You know what to do with it. Get a message to the Princesses, inform them of the situation."

"The princesses?" Harp exclaimed in surprise. "Just who are you two?"

"No time to explain, just go!" Bon-Bon ordered them. For a moment, neither pony nor griffon moved an inch, no doubt finding what she was requesting of them to be highly distasteful. Eventually Gerald stored the bottle in in a satchel and said to Bon-Bon in a strange tone that the former agent had only heard from him on the rarest of occasions, "I wish you good luck, Miss Drops." 

That was all he said before he turned around and started moving swiftly back into the trees. Harp lingered for a moment, regarding her with a look of worry before he did the same. He paused to cast one last concerned glance at her before he disappeared into the woods as he followed the griffon, leaving Bon-Bon alone by herself. 

Hearing the creature draw closer she quickly galloped away just as the monsters enormous dagger like claws impaled themselves into the soil, and it hoisted itself back onto level ground. Bon-Bon lingered just long enough to allow it to spot her before she took off, hopefully ensuring that it would follow her and not the others. The monster shrieked loudly and began the chase anew. Getting her second wind, Bon-Bon galloped as hard and as fast as she could through the trees, wondering if she would even be able to stay ahead of it for more than a few minutes.

In the back of her mind, Bon-Bon also found herself regretting not giving another instruction to Gerald. 

Lyra was certainly going to be missing her after all.