//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: Chaos Falls // by Black Hailstorm //------------------------------// Sounds in the Mist In hindsight tackling something made out of wood, logs, twigs and leaves was not my best idea. In fact it was my worst idea yet. “Run Pinkie! Run!” I felt the wind get knocked out of me, as I felt my feet leave the ground, before I landed with a slam on my bare back to find the timberwolf now on top of me. “Hailstorm!” Pinkie called with concern rushing towards me. The timberwolf however wasn’t having its meal get interrupted again. Turning around the beast slashed at the mare, forcing her to nimbly jump out of the way. Drawing back a paw quickly before it could be interrupted the beast attempted to gorge me in the chest. I stopped it with my hand, struggling as it brought its other paw out to deliver the deathblow. I stopped that one with my other hand. Now the beast of nature and I struggled on the ground. The timberwolf leaning its fangs towards me and trying to sink it’s teeth into my neck. I could smell its putrid breath every time it gnashed at me, every time it’s drool dripped onto my bare chest I could feel my my heart beat increase, then possibly skip a beat. The wolf struggled, rolling both itself and me who had firmly gripped its wrists, around two times before it landed on top of me once more. With a swift movement the beast somehow managed to free one claw from my grip. I froze for a millisecond, as time slowed down. Watching the timberwolf raise its arm ready to deliver a blow into me that could most likely prove fatal. But not before I would get one hit in for myself, and for Pinkie. Just as the paw moved up above the timberwolf’s head I immediately shot up into a sitting position, with my left hand clenched, shot a left jab directly under the beast’s maw. The levels of shock and pain my nerves sent to me was simply amazing. The timberwolf snarled from the hit to the maw, not hesitating to bring its slowly descending paw crashing down against my shoulder. Slashing firmly against my left shoulder and drawing blood in the process, before it quickly hopped off me, retreating just a few inches away to nurse it’s jaw. I rose quickly as well, seeing my chance and preferring not to be pinned down again I ignored both the blood and the pain that seethed in my left shoulder, raising both my arms and taking up a defensive poise. It took a second, then another. Both timberwolf and I injured. Or maybe it was just me, in all honesty I still didn’t understand how their physiology worked, but that didn’t matter right now. I quickly glanced around, looking around for any sign of a pink blob that may be around in this barely visible haze. I didn’t see her; Pinkie was safe. Good. I turned my attention back to the timberwolf that snarled at me, demanding I pay attention to it. The creature was just a couple feet away from me, but I could still make out it’s appearance, if just barely. If my glasses hadn’t fallen when the thing tackled me I wouldn’t have a problem, but beggars can’t be choosers I suppose. So the beast and I circled each other, slowly, cautiously, meticulously. Waiting for the other to make the move. I could hear something, voices maybe. For a second I was sure I heard Twilight or possibly Rainbow Dash in the distance but judging from what I saw when I had rushed to Pinkie’s aid this could just be the fog playing mind games with me. The timberwolf and I continued to circle each other for a few more seconds. Waiting, watching. I took a step forward, it took a step back. It took a step forward I took a step back. Both our eyes narrowed, adrenaline flowing through my veins, my heart racing, my breath gaining speed. A feeling of both anger and guilt by what had nearly happened to Pinkie, what could have happened to Pinkie. Then the beast howled loudly into the sky. And that’s when I saw two more pairs of sick green eyes peek out from the misty shadows that surrounded us. Crap! was the only thing I thought, as the two other timberwolves joined their leader. I backed up, they advanced slowly and stalkerish. This wasn’t good. If I ran I could probably still make it. If I was fast enough and trust me I know how fast I can run. I could get out of here. My eyes glanced back to where we’d rolled from. Possibly where Pinkie was looking for me. Possibly where the others were looking for us, for each other. I couldn’t leave. I can’t leave. If this mist is playing tricks on Pinkie then there’s no doubt in my mind it’s doing the same to the rest. And that means the others could easily get sucked into a trap like this one. Sweat slowly slid on my brow as I glared back at the timberwolves, now pushing me back in Pinkie’s directions. I have to make a choice now. “Do I run and alert Celestia before it’s too late. Or do I stay and protect them?” Rainbow Dash’s ears twitched. The mare had lost sight of her friends in the blink of an eye and it had done more than greatly disturb her, but completely frighten her. Every time she called out to them, her voice would only be rudely thrown back to her by the echos of this accursed forest. And personally she was starting to get really , really angry. “Guys! C’mon say something already! There’s no way you can’t hear me!” she bellowed into the haziness of the forest, floating by trees and roots as she went down the path. “Guys! C’mon say something already! There’s no way you can’t hear me!” her voice echoed back a few seconds after. “Nrgh! Stop that!” she yelled. “Nrgh! Stop that!” the voices teased. “That’s it!” she said beating heavily with a fury before taking off and soaring into the air. Shooting off into the sky the cyan pegasus soared high through the fog, seeing a bright flash of light in the distance. Breaking through the cloudy shroud of fog Rainbow Dash soared above the fog from above, staring down at the barely visible enigmatic forest. Damn she thought. “I can’t see a thing from up here” she muttered with a scowl, scanning the ground to find any sign of her friends. Her ear twitched. Rainbow Dash’s keen hearing had picked up on a sound down below. Her eyes scanned the area but the fog was to thick to see through, so she’d have to rely on her hearing. Dash grinned, I like those odds. Ceasing the flap of her wings, the mare plummeted back down into the forest and it’s hazy smokescreen, the sound coming closer and closer as she fell through the air. Dash kept her eyes closed the entire time she fell like a rock to the ground, waiting for the right moment. Her ear twitched, the sound was growing stronger on her left. Once the mare was a few feet from the ground and looked certain she would fall to her death she spread her wings, the wind catching her in its embrace and lifting her up as she pulled and sailed with a sharp left turn, picking up speed as she could sense she was reaching her target. A sniffle. That sounds almost like...! Dash’s eyes narrowed as she realized who it was she was hearing, the sound now requiring her to make another left turn before she zoomed straight ahead to the faint sniffles. Sniff. Dash stopped, almost passing the sound, and as she did so some sand and small pebbles that had been following her after her acceleration came to a stop almost directly behind her hooves, before she landed, beside the whimpering pony before her. “Pinkie?” Dash said with some concern. “What’s wrong, have you seen the others?” The pink mare turned to face her friend, a few tears running down her muzzle. She sniffed, “No...well, actually yes” she said wiping her nose with a hoof. Rainbow Dash stared at her bizarre friend with a cocked eyebrow. “What are you talking about? Have you seen the others or not?” “I’ve seen Hailstorm” Pinkie replied rising to her hooves, her sad demeanor still present. “And where did he go?” Dash said her reaction now becoming suspicious as she looked around. “Dash!” the cyan pegasus jumped hearing Pinkie’s angered shout. “What?!” she said in surprise, rubbing her ear. “Jeez did you have to yell like that?” The bubblegum mare’s stern stare however didn’t falter as she glared at her friend, who practically began to cringe under the glare. “What Pinkie?” “Hailstorm saved me, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t start throwing suspicions at him!” she chided, then lifted her hoof to show the cut she had received. “See this, if he hadn’t came to help when he did I probably would be in a worse situation than this!” Pinkie said her voice starting to rise and echo throughout the area. Rainbow Dash’s ears wilted, she averted her gaze to the ground not bothering to look up fully knowing that Pinkie’s heavy stare was still on her. “Look I’m sorry I just-” “You just what Dashie? I get you’re concerned, because he lied to us, because he’s well not who we thought he’d be, because of all the things he’s hiding from us. But don’t you think he has a good reason? I mean if he really wanted us dead or do us harm, he’s had multiple opportunities to do so.” Dash frowned, fully accepting the fact that she had jumped to assumptions and conclusions too quickly. Probably something she should try working on at a later time. Her ears perked up though when she realized something. “Wait you said you had seen him, and if he saved you what exactly did he save you from.” It took only one second for Pinkie to digest what her athletic friend had just said to her before her eyes widened in shock. “Hailstorm!” she yelled in the last direction she remembered him being in. “Dash we’ve got to-” “I know” Dash said pawing the ground with a snort. “Let’s go find our friend.” Applejack now made her way through the haze, her eyes squinted, as she peered around the Everfree trying to locate her missing comrades. There were a few instances where she’d seen the figure of one of her friends and called out to them, only for that figure to turn in her direction and morph into something completely different. She’d wisely chosen to stay away. Now the mare had no idea where she was going or if she was even going in any right direction anymore, this continued for minutes and minutes as she walked in silence before she finally couldn’t take the tear clenching silence that threatened to drive her insane if she didn’t hear something. “Is anypony out there?!” she called, her voice echoing back to her. A few seconds of silence and the mare stomped her hoof on the ground in frustration. “Con, found it where is everyone?!” She froze. Turning around, the mare could hear something approaching her. And whatever it was it was gaining and quickly. She could hear it's voice The breathing was fast paced, whatever it was that was coming her way it was coming fast. She couldn’t tell if it was being chased or not, but whatever was happening Applejack had the feeling that if she ran she’d only get even more lost. So she did the next thing she thought was the best course of action. She stood her ground, tilted her hat up a bit to cover her eyes ever so slightly and took up a stance ready to face the foe. The mare didn’t expect to see the form of a minotaur like being rushing towards her through the haze. Her guard dropped and she squinted. “Is that...Hailstorm?” The choice I had made was obvious. Protect the others. But I couldn’t do that if I was dead now could I? So I ran and ran and ran, not bothering to look back when I heard the wolves howl and give chase their meal. Despite somehow regaining my shoes and pants every time I revert back to my original form I could still feel the ground underneath my feet as if I were running barefoot. It was very annoying. With my vision horribly impaired at the moment unlike my equine form and my glasses missing, I couldn’t tell if there was something ahead of me or not, but if there was something ahead of me and I saw it’s shape I told myself to take action first and ask questions later. Something that wasn’t my style of attack. As I ran, I could hear the howls of my pursuers right behind me but what was really on my mind was whether the others were alright, and if Bill was having a ball watching me run for my life. “...Hailstorm?” I heard ahead of me. I turned my head in the direction of the voice only to see Applejack directly in front of me. And just like the emergency brakes of a car I slammed my heels into the ground, slowing to a stop as the rough terrain tore into the leather of my shoes till it was full of scratches. Applejack and I stood there, side to side staring at each other in surprise. The mare now staring, eyeing my human form with surprise to see I had changed again and looked ready to speak but was cut off by a distant howl growing closer. Shit! my heart began to pound once more. At this rate that heart attack I had recently asked for in the past would become real if I didn’t slow down, but I couldn’t. There were three of these things out here and possibly a loads more of others that were pursuing. If I stayed and let Applejack fight with me there was a chance we could easily beat them. No, we’d be sure to beat them. But then there was the fact that this was a wolf based lifeform. And if it had easily been able to call its allies out from the shrouds of this fog like that, then there was no doubt others would be nearby I reasoned. “Hailstorm what’s happening?!” she asked, another howl followed by two maybe even three more others coming towards us. I bit my lip, staring at the mare with concern who looked at my shoulder with a glint of fear in her eyes. “You’re hurt” she whispered. I merely nodded. Waiting for Applejack to get close enough I knelt down and patted her shoulder comfortingly, like I was going to tell her something. She smiled warmly. I smiled back. Then I shoved her. Watching the mare tumble backwards down a steep hill she hadn’t noticed was behind her I slowly rose back to my feet. She fell to the ground with a light thump her hat falling off her head after she came to a stop. Shaking her head, to get out of her daze the mare glared daggers at me with those green eyes of hers. “What in the hay was-” She looked up to see my back facing her. Running back in the direction I came I grabbed the nearest stone I could find and hurled it in the direction of one of the timberwolves. It went straight down one of their throats and the thing exploded immediately. “Huh” I said with a slight amused smile. “Lucky” the two other timberwolves though howled at me, snarling in rage before giving chase. I quickly glanced back at Applejack who seemed to have understood what I had shoved her for before taking off in a completely different direction, calling out to the wolves who quickly gave chase after me. “Come on out uglies. If you want your meal you’re going to have to work for it!” I yelled as I picked up the pace. All the time I ran, I could hear Applejack shouting as she began the climb up the steep hill in failed attempts to grab the nature based life forms attention. I grinned, knowing the timberwolves now had me as their sole target. There was only one thing I had to worry about now knowing Applejack was safe, I really hope I don’t pass out from the pain in my shoulder.