//------------------------------//
// A New Challenger Approaches! 
// Story: A Hiss in the Dark 
// by Knight Breeze 
//------------------------------//

The front lines were in complete disarray.  Usually the chain of command was clear, and the ponies would have easily adapted to the loss of one of their commanders.  However, there was something… different about this.  The shadows cast by the pale moon seemed to lengthen, there were claws and teeth behind every corner, and many could hear a faint, mocking laughter carried upon the wind.

With that being said, it came to no surprise that when the undead had finally finished setting the blasting powder to clear the tunnel, most of the ponies on the train station walls turned and fled.

“We need to evacuate!”

“Everypony for himself!”

“Get back here!  We have a better chance if we bottle them here!”

However, despite the voice of reason calling out over the soldier’s heads, it went largely unheeded in the mad dash for the inner city.  Their fear seemed to have sapped any sanity or common sense that the defenders had, for they all seemed to have forgotten that the only ways out of the city was by air or by the train tunnels.  That meant that all of the Earth Ponies, as well as most of the Unicorns, were trapped like rats within Canterlot’s walls.

With a mighty explosion, tons of rock and debris shot from the entrance of the train tunnels, crashing into the walls of the train station, but going no further.  The train yard was oddly serene, with only the distant, panicked wails of the guards spreading terror through the city disrupting the peace that had fallen.

Then, like an ominous black wave, the living dead shambled out of the train tunnels, meeting no resistance from the once stalwart defenders.  The ease by which he entered only caused Orcas to laugh harder.

“Oh, how I have missed this…” five thousand voices said in unision.  “The shear terror, the thrill of the hunt, I have waited far too long preparing my army…”  Orcas closed his many eyes at this, breathing in deeply the scent of the pony’s fear on the wind.

It was so strong, he could almost taste it.

“Now… to find the ones that bear the elements, as well as that delicious prey that fled from me,” he said as the wave of undead surged forward.  “It cannot hide from me, I shall find it wherever it may be, and rip its-”

Whatever Orcas was intending to do to the escaped reptile, however, was fated to remain unheard; for at that precise moment, several explosions rang out over the wails and screams of the city.  A second afterwards, several large, speeding object crashed into Orcas’s ranks.

Many of the impacts were nothing more than ‘normal’ cannon fire: Large black balls of iron or stone, designed for use against city walls or airships.  Without ceremony, they slammed into the rank and file undead, crushing bones and creating craters where they landed.  Others, however, exploded upon impact, filling the streets and tunnel entrance with a viscous, sticky black liquid.

Orcas looked up into the sky, his eyes searching for the origin of the barrage, only to feel a small twinge of annoyance at what he saw.

There, framed brilliantly by the moon, sat the telltale silhouette of an airship envelope against the night sky.  Due to it’s positioning, Orcas couldn’t make out any distinguishing marks or flags, but he didn’t really need to.  He could already guess what ship had fired upon his position.

The Moon’s Ascent had arrived; far earlier than Blacktongue had told him it would.


*        *        *


“Sir, we have a problem,” the corporal at the radio piped up.  “According to the second lieutenant, there are undead breaking through the basement of Canterlot Castle.  They’re going to be horribly outnumbered in a second here.”

Captain Breeze swore at this, yet did not move from his position at the port side of his ship.  “Radio the princesses of this development, as well as the breach in the city walls.  They’ll want to teleport to where the fighting is heaviest once they arrive.”

“Yessir.  Speaking of which, both princesses have stated that they’ll be here far sooner than expected.”

“ETA, corporal?” Knight Breeze asked as he focused his spyglass on the hoards of undead below.

“Princess Luna and her special ops team is due in one hour, while her sister is due in two,” the corporal said with a salute.

“She’s bringing Nightfall?  That’s even better.  Inform her that we’ll hold the city for as long as we need to, and that I advise that she moves upon Canterlot Castle itself,” Knight Breeze said as he checked his pocket watch.  Once he was satisfied with what he saw, he returned it in favor of gazing at the city below through his spyglass.  “Increase elevation by two degrees!”

“Aye, sir,” Lieutenant Shadow Heart shouted from her position near the cannons.  “You heard the captain!  Move!”

“Ready!”

“Fire!”

With a shuddering report, the cannons that lined the hull of The Moon’s Ascent barked again, sending their flaming payload streaking towards the city below.  In an instant, the black liquid that the first volley had covered the front ranks of the undead in turned into a raging inferno, incinerating the front line of monsters and holding the back lines off as they waited for the fire to burn itself out.

“Sir, that won’t keep them contained for long,” Lieutenant Shadow Heart said as the ponies under her command began the process of reloading.  “We also don’t have the ammunition needed to drive them back, or even hold them off, for more than a half-hour or so.”

“I am aware of that, lieutenant.  How much glue shot do we have left?”

“About four rounds.  Those pirates were pretty persistent…” the lieutenant said with a grimace.

“It can’t be helped.  Load the shot, but keep it in reserve until we need it.  For now, just continue harassing them.”

“Yessir!” Shadow said with a salute.

“Sergeant Light Wing!”

In an instant, a Pegasus in Solar Guard attire landed next to the captain, saluting smartly as he did.  “Sir.”

“Take your team to the air docks and bring back as much ammunition as you can carry,” Captain Breeze said, his eyes still locked on the enemy below.  “Corporal!  Contact the lieutenant, tell him to do his best to rally his troops, and to spread the word that the princesses are on the way.”

“Yes sir!”

After all, those ponies need a little hope after all that's happened, Captain Breeze thought with a grimace.


*        *        *


Sergeant Light Song and her team ran through the castle, clearly in a hurry to get to their destination.  It was oddly quiet, their hooves echoing off of the stone floor without anypony else’s noise to muffle the sound.  It was strange that the castle was so devoid of ponies.  True, at this time of night, especially with the enemy at the gates, there was hardly any staff around, but there should have at least been some guards at their posts.

As the group approached the Element of Magic’s rooms, Sergeant Song signaled her troops to slow, not wanting the enemy to catch them unawares.

“Ma’am, what do you think these traitors are after?” a young private asked uncertainly.

“My guess?  They probably work for this Orcas fellow.  Keep your guard up, ponies, we’ve got no idea where they might be, or what their numbers-” Song started to say, but stopped when a large bang suddenly rang out through the corridor.  Almost immediately following that bang, the squad jumped in surprise as an armor-clad pony hurtled from around the corner of a distant intersection from the left, only to disappear as the body continued down the hallway.  The sergeant cautiously  approached the distant intersection and peered around the corner, only to sigh in relief.

Standing amidst the unconscious bodies of several presumed traitors was the young Twilight Sparkle.  Her horn was crackling with arcane energy, and she had a no-nonsense look in her eye.  She caught sight of the sergeant almost immediately, and fell into a readied stance, clearly waiting for Light to make the first move.

“We’re not your enemy, Miss Sparkle!” Light Song called out from around the corner, not really wanting to get blasted by the talented young mage.

“Prove it!” Twilight shouted angrily.  “You here to try and force me to run while there are people who are hurting and dying!?”

“No!  No, Miss Sparkle.  There’s been a breach in security, several of the guard have turned their backs on their oaths.  We still don’t know why they’ve done this, but we’re here to stop those traitors!”

“Likely story!”

“We can prove it, Miss Sparkle!” Corporal Sunny said, drawing a questioning look from his superior.

“How do you plan on doing that!?” Twilight shouted back.

“By letting you go, Miss Sparkle,” the corporal said, drawing another look from the sergeant.

“Ha!  You think that’s-wait, what?”

“It’s true, Twilight, we’re only here to make sure you weren’t captured, and to ensure that you made it out of the castle in one piece,” the sergeant said, catching on to what the corporal was getting at.  “If you can make your own way out of the castle, all the better.  It will give us less to worry about, and we can instead concentrate on hunting down these traitors!”

Twilight paused at this, during which Light Song took another glance around the corner.  She only meant to look for a second, but froze when her eyes spotted something that should have been impossible.

Shambling down the corridor was a mismatched abomination of body parts made to resemble some sort of grotesque centipede.  Huge metal pincers sat on the front of its face, while its entire body length seemed to be constructed from spines and ribs.  Its legs, which were oddly silent, were composed of griffon foreclaws, which allowed it to move down the corridor at an astonishing speed.

“Sparkle!  Watch out!” the sergeant said as she jumped out of her hiding place and charged towards the hideous abomination.  However, before she even took two steps, she ran headlong into the magical barrier that Twilight had reflexively thrown up the moment Light Song jumped from hiding.  The sergeant stumbled back in pain, her gaze sweeping up, not really wanting to see what the thing was about to do to the young unicorn, but she looked nonetheless.

Her relief was almost palpable when she realized that Twilight’s barrier was not a single wall, as Light had initially thought, but a dome; preventing not only the guard from assisting the unicorn, but also the undead horror from coming anywhere near her, or the still unconscious ponies at her feet.  Twilight smirked at first, when she saw the guard bash her face against the barrier, but nearly jumped out of her skin when the monstrosity behind her did the same.

“Wha- WHAT IS THAT THING!?” Twilight shouted in terror as her eyes swept over the disgusting grave-beast.

The creature reared back, its hideous face looking at the assembled ponies in what could only be described as detached contempt.  “It asks what I am?  I am its doom, here to take it from its home.  It will assist me, or it will die.”

“Twilight!  Teleport out of there!  Get to safe-” Light started to say, but stopped when she realized that something was happening.  The centipede had started attacking the barrier, determined to break it down, but each swipe of its claws and pincers seemed to be having a reaction on the barrier itself.  The wall of magic seemed to glow brighter and brighter, until eventually it was too bright to even look at.

“Everypony get back!  Now!” Sergeant Song screamed as she suddenly realized why Twilight’s forcefield was acting the way it was.  

Without hesitation, the assembled guard scrambled to do as their commanding officer directed, ducking around the corner before the field went critical.  “Ma'am, what was that?  What is it doing to Sparkle’s forcefield?” one earth pony asked nervously.

“It’s one of the undead.  Somehow, they’ve managed to get into the castle without having to go through Warrant Officer Breaker.  As to what’s happening, Sparkle didn’t construct a forcefield, private.  She threw up a kinetic barrier.  It’s going to keep absorbing that… thing’s attacks, until-”

The air around them seemed to breath outward as the world suddenly became silent.  Though the guard couldn’t hear anything, they could still feel what had happened, since the explosion had been great enough to cause the very walls and floors to shake as bits of rock and dust flung themselves down the corridor.

In reality, there was actually a lot of sound, but the Royal Guard armor was equipped with several protective measures, one of them being a sound suppressor, which was set to activate should there be a sound louder than one hundred and ten decibels.  It wasn’t used as often anymore, since its primary function was for protecting soldiers against dragon roar.

The last war with the dragons had been over a thousand years ago, though, so most ponies had called it a waste to put such an obviously unneeded piece of magic into every suit.  Despite this, Princess Celestia had not relented on her stance on keeping her guard protected.  Personally, Sergeant Light Song felt quite grateful to the princess and her ‘be prepared for dragon attack’ attitude, especially since it had just saved her and her unit’s eardrums.

“Thank Celestia…” one of the guard muttered as his hearing came back.

“You okay, Twilight?” Sergeant Song said as she peeked around the corner.

If one were to look at the area directly around the purple unicorn, one would have thought that nothing had happened.  Unconscious bodies still littered the area, and Twilight hadn’t moved from her spot, despite the horror that had attacked her.  However, if one looked beyond the circle where the barrier sat, it told a whole different story.

The ceiling and walls looked like they had been hit with some sort of large hammer, causing breaks and cracks to form where before there had been none.  Bits of bone, a long red smear, as well as the metal pincers which had embedded themselves in the far wall were all that remained of the undead monstrosity that had attacked the Element of Magic.

“Yikes… Remind me to never tick her off…” one of the guards muttered to himself.

“You and me both, brother, you and me both…” Song agreed.

Twilight Sparkle turned towards the guard, a somewhat dazed expression on her face.  “You were saying something about getting me out of the castle?” she shouted, obviously having suffered some hearing loss, despite being inside the protected area of the barrier.

“Yes, Miss Sparkle,” Song said loudly, accompanying her words with a salute.

“Well, we need to get to my friends, first."

“Someone is already on their way, Miss Sparkle.”

Twilight just shook her head at that.  “That may be true, but I’m not leaving without them.”

Sergeant Light gave her a long look, before finally relenting.  “Fine, but stay in the back, and run if things get too dicey.”

The corporal gave his sergeant a look at that.  “Are you sure, ma'am?  She’s a civilian and-”

“And we’re short hoofed as it is, corporal.  Miss Sparkle is an accomplished mage, who knows far more spells than I could hope to learn in a lifetime,” Light cut him off.  “If we want to have any chance of getting through this, we’ll need all the help we can get.”

The corporal looked like he wanted to say more, but finally relented.  After all, Sergeant Song was right.  At this point, they needed all the help they could get.


*        *        *


Corporal Dawn Breaker made his way carefully through the castle corridors, his team following closely behind. Private Lancer, who happened to be a Thestial, was the only member of the team that he knew. The other two ponies, a Pegasus and Earth Pony, were both BNGs. The two new recruits had been added to the squad right before the castle came under attack, so the unicorn hadn’t had a chance to get to know them yet.

The corporal really wasn’t too sure about how he felt towards the two newbies; he hadn’t heard either speak a word other than ‘yes sir!’, both gave nothing but hard looks and angry glares, and to top it all off, they were rather closed-lipped about anything relating to them personally.  As bad as all that was, however, Dawn Breaker could understand where they were coming from:  The sergeant had said that they had both came from Ponyville, and if that kind of thing had happened to his hometown, Dawn Breaker would probably have been just as brooding.

Dawn Breaker signaled the team to halt as they came to an intersection of corridors. He had already learned his lesson after running headlong into a bunch of undead.  They hadn’t been too tough, consisting of a few griffon corpses and a single unicorn, but their presence was unexpected:  Either the Warrant Officer had failed in halting their advance, or the enemy had found another route into Canterlot.

After checking to make sure both ways were clear, he led his team on. No one wanted to take part in clearing the castle of hostiles, especially when squads had to break up to do it, but there was barely enough horsepower to deal with the enemies at the gates, much less the ones that were in here.

The small team of ponies made it to a dead end. All that was left in this corridor was a doorway to an unused tower.  “Should we check it out sir?” Lancer asked. “The last two were duds.”  It was true that the last towers they checked were only filled with cowering staff and nobility, but Dawn Breaker wasn’t going to get lax on account of a few empty towers.  He was about to reply when the door opened.

The ponies all turned as a strange, wolf-like creature casually exited from the staircase. The creature’s clothes were wet with blood, as was its hands and mouth.  Dawn Breaker took a step back in surprise, his stance falling to the ready as the creature regarded them for a moment, cocking its head to the side curiously.  Then, without any other warning, the beast lunged forward.

Dawn Breaker lowered his spear, but the wolf knocked it to the side with the back of its hand.  The creature then grabbed him by the throat and threw him over the rest of the team with the ease that one would use to toss a hoofball.  The corporal hit the stones of the floor hard, his shoulder taking the brunt of the impact, which seemed to go oddly numb almost instantly.

The creature didn’t even pause as it reached down, grabbing Lancer by his head and smashing it against a nearby wall.  The beast left the dazed Thestial in favor of the newbie Pegasus, lunging forward to sink its teeth into the back of his neck. A loud snap could be heard, and the pegasus went limp.

All of this happened in only a matter of seconds.  The creature moved with such speed and grace, that Dawn Breaker was barely able to catch it.  He tried to get up, but a sharp pain in his shoulder stopped him.  He immediately knew it was dislocated; All he could do was watch as the beast turned on the other new recruit, bloodlust in its feral eyes.  The BNG tried to rear back, but the creature grabbed him by the back of the neck, and pulled him in. This time its maw clamped down on the back of his skull.

Dawn Breaker had seen some bucked up things during his time in the guard, but seeing that earth pony die would haunt him.

The creature stood, blood dripping from its jaw.  Dawn Breaker glanced towards Lancer, noticing that the night pony was still breathing, yet clearly unconscious.  The poor pony’s helmet certainly kept him from giving the wall a new paint job, but wasn't enough to protect him completely from the blow.

Despite the pain shooting through his shoulder, Dawn Breaker stood up, determined to keep him and the remaining private from becoming wolf chow.  He quickly charged up an attack, his horn sparking as the magic built up in a matter of moments.  He had always prided himself on being both quick on the draw, and accurate even in the toughest of spots.

With a grunt of pain, Dawn Breaker caused a beam of light to lance towards the creature, threatening to carve it into pieces for what it did to the corporal's unit.  However, to Dawn Breaker’s horror, the creature sidestepped the attack as if it had been nothing more than a pebble.

The creature stepped forward as Dawn Breaker launched another beam, yet it just stepped to the side of this one as well.  At this point, the creature was too close, and Dawn knew that he had missed his chance.  Yet, despite this, the corporal had one last resort.  If he couldn't hit the darn thing with his spell, there still might be a chance that he could gore it with his horn.  The unicorn tensed his hind legs and readied himself.  As soon as the creature was close enough, the corporal lunged forward.

He jerked to a stop as the creature grabbed his horn, easily halting him with one hand.  Terror filled Dawn Breaker as he looked up into those feral eyes.  He had fought so many battles, had survived so many hopeless situations, but only now did he feel his doom breathing on his neck.  Corporal Dawn Breaker screwed his eyes closed in resignation, waiting for that moment when the creature's teeth would sink into his spine.

Without any warning, however, he felt himself hit the floor. The creature had unceremoniously dropped him.  With a bit of a scramble, the corporal rose to his hooves, looking up towards the beast.

Only to see it walking away from the two surviving ponies as if nothing had happened.


*        *        *


"Let go, Pinkie!  That’s one of them!  They’re the enemy!”

With a pained groan, I slowly came to, my head spinning wildly from the force of the impact.  “Did someone catch the number on that train?”

“It’s waking up!  Let go before it kills someone else!”

“Dash!  Calm down and stop being a meanie pants!  He’s a good guy!”

I sat up, making sure to keep my eyes shut, as I didn’t want the world spinning on me like the last time I got conked in the head.  I still felt an overwhelming urge to vomit, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as last time.  Maybe I’m developing calluses on my brain, or something…

“Good guy?  His kind destroyed Ponyville!  How can you say that that kind of thing is a good guy!?”

“Come on, Dashie!  You know that some of them are trying to stop them, remember?  One of them was the whole reason nopony died that day!”

Bracing myself for the worst, I cracked open my eyes, and was immediately greeted with the world trying it’s best to imitate a tilt-n-whirl.  Despite the nausea, however, I kept them open and unsteadily got to my feet.

“Pinkie!  It’s up!  Let go of me now before it kills both of us!”

“Rainbow!  Just-”

“Would you both just shut up for a second?  I’m still trying to figure out which way is down!” I said as I stumbled about a little bit.

Surprisingly enough, what I said seemed to have worked, since both of the voices decided to stay quiet long enough for me to get my bearings.  We were still in that large hallway, though there seemed to be a bit of blood smeared across the floor now.  A quick touch to my face was all I needed to confirm that, yes, it was mine.

In addition to the blood, there was also a blue pegasus with the most outrageous hair I’ve ever seen.  There was no possible way those rainbow colored locks were natural, especially since the individual streaks didn’t seem to mix together much.  That being said, it still looked pretty cool, all things considered.  On her flank I could see another one of those weird marks that all the ponies seemed to bear: a tri-colored lightning bolt coming out of a white cloud.

She was glaring at me with nothing but profound hatred, and looked like the only thing she wanted to do was give me a piece of her mind.  Or serve me another punch at mach ten.

The only reason she wasn’t doing either of those things, though, was because she was being tackled by the pink mare that had followed me up to this point.  “You’re Rainbow Dash, I presume?” I asked a little groggily as I steadied myself against a nearby wall.

“Yeah?  What’s it to you!?  How’d you know my name!?” the blue mare asked aggressively after she managed to get Pinkie’s hoof out of her mouth.

“I’m Ammon Cook.  I know your name because your friend here was shouting it while she was trying to get you to shut up,” I said as I turned around to make sure we weren’t about to have any unexpected guests.  “Anyway, the reason that it’s important is because I was on my way to protect you and the other Element Bearers from the traitors running loose.”

This seemed to get her attention.  “Wait, that’s what those losers were chasing me?” she asked suspiciously.  “I thought they were just being worrywarts.”

I looked at her, then back to what I was doing.  “No, they’re definitely not here because they care about you.  A gang of them nearly got Pinkie here before I stopped them.

The Pegasus looked like she wanted to say something, but seemed to be having a hard time deciding what that was.  I ignored her, though, in favor of paying attention to whatever that loud cacophony of sound was that was coming from down the corridor.  Whatever it was, though, it seemed to involve a lot of screaming.

“Pinkie, you and Dash get out of here.  There’s something coming; I’ll slow it down, but you two have to go find the other elements before the traitors can round them up.  Can you do that?”  I wasn’t really sure why I said that, though to be honest, it was probably the concussion talking.  Whatever this thing was, though, needed to be dealt with now, and I really couldn’t do that with these two underfoot.

“Yes sir, mister boss sir!” Pinkie said as she pulled off a pretty decent salute, despite the fact that she was still tackling the multi-chromatic Pegasus.

Rainbow stopped trying to get at me when she noticed the screaming, at which point she gave me one last, suspicious look.  “Why are you helping us?” she asked simply.

“Short answer?  Because it’s the right thing to do,” I told her without even looking at her.  “Long answer would take too long.  Maybe I’ll tell you if I survive.”

There was a long silence that followed this, but finally I heard the blue Pegasus’ wings as she took off with a loud whoosh, the sound of the pink one leaving not far behind.

Now it was just me and whatever it was that was coming down the corridor.  Trusting that my invisibility would do its job, I started mounting the nearby wall, intending to get the literal drop on whatever it was that was coming this way.  Just like how it was in the caves, my dead arm turned the task into torture.  On top of that, my fatigue was making each movement sloppy and imprecise.  Despite my handicap, though, I still managed to get myself into position before whatever it was could make it here.

At first, I couldn’t quite figure out how to draw my weapon, while keeping my grip on the wall, but a nearby wall sconce proved to be the answer.  Thinking quickly, I wrapped my tail around the fixture, giving me an anchor point that would let me stand on the wall.  The sconce proved to be quite stable, surprisingly, easily taking my weight and giving me the perfect ambush point.

Now, all i had to do was wait.

As it turned out, I wouldn’t have to wait that long.  With a clatter of its claws on the stone floor, a large, wolf-like being entered the room, its black fur slick with blood.  It took a second to look around the room, but didn’t seem to see me hanging from the wall not twenty feet away.

That’s it, just a little closer… I thought as I held my spear at the ready.  If it continued on its course, it would pass directly underneath me, giving me the perfect opportunity to attack.

However, just before it came under me, I noticed its ears twitch and swivel in my direction.  I froze at this, sure that I hadn’t made a sound.  However, that notion was quickly dispelled when the wolf looked up at me, its head cocking to the side curiously.

Crap!  I thought as panic overtook me.  I quickly uncurled my tail, leaping at the beast while thrusting my spear.  Even though it had noticed me, there was still a good chance that it couldn’t see me, making my thrust far deadlier than it normally would be.

As I quickly fell towards the wolf, though, it sidestepped my attack, almost as if my strike had been nothing more than a lobbed muffin.  The beast then brought its arm up close to its face, and casually backhanded me before I could even hit the ground.

The blow sent me tumbling across the stone floor, not stopping until I had hit the far wall with a thunk.  Winded and dazed, I tried to get to my feet, only to be stopped as something large and heavy shoved me back down.  I looked up at the beast in fear as it stared at me, its teeth bared as it growled menacingly.

It lowered its head, its teeth so close that I could almost feel them on my skin.  I screwed my eyes closed and turned my head to the side; even if I were to struggle, anything I had to give would have been token at best.  Better to know when you’re beaten, I thought as I felt the beast’s hot breath on my throat.

Instead of chomping into me and being done with it, however, the creature decided to instead sniff me, once, then twice, its cold nose tickling my neck despite the terror that ran through my body.  I peeked open an eye, only to see it bear its teeth once more, before taking off like a bolt from a crossbow.

I kept my eyes on it until it had disappeared down a nearby hallway, not daring to move until the wolf had made its getaway.  Once it had gone, though, I was up and off like a certain speeding roadrunner, completely determined to put as much distance between myself and the wolf as possible.

I… I still have to find those other ponies… yeah, I’ll do that, I thought to myself, still not sure how I had escaped that with my neck intact.  It occurred to me that I should probably be following that thing, but I quickly threw that idea out the window.

Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor...


*        *        *


The Alpha charged into another group of not prey. The pack leader had marked a pony at the heart of their group, and so it must die.  The not prey lowered their spears in anticipation of his charge, but he was no base prey. He dove over their weapons, and sunk his teeth into the creature the pack leader wanted dead.

He rolled as he neared the ground, his prey was still clenched in his jaws. It hadn’t even had the chance to scream. He stood, tearing a chunk from the prey. He chewed the flesh and bone, reveling in its life giving properties. The remaining not prey stepped away.  They seemed to be conflicted.

“The lawn mowers can’t decide whether to attack or flee. They have done an excellent job suppressing their instinct to run, they might actually attack,” the pack leader’s beloved voice said as she marked a new target for him.

Swallowing his mouthful of prey, he charged in the direction that the pack leader had indicated. Two not prey were blocking his way, but eventually their fight or flight response finally settled on the action that would save their lives.

The Alpha moved on. He ran through the corridors ignoring the not prey that fled, and batting aside the not prey that fought. He had little time for such distractions.  More and more prey fell to his teeth and claws.  He took one bite from each prey they fell, the thrill of the hunt driving him on, while the bloodlust clouded his mind. Only the pack leader’s subtle direction kept him from slaughtering every living thing in the castle like sheep stuck in a barn.

He came upon another prey that the pack leader marked. It did not wear the armor of the guards, but that mattered little. It died like the rest.


*        *        *


Blueblood plodded along, his eyes darting back and forth as he looked for an opening, a way out, something, but nothing was revealing itself to him.

Come on, there has to be a way out of this… he thought to himself.  However, the more he looked, the less likely it was that he was going to get out of this one alive.  Briefly he glanced towards the white unicorn at his side, impressed by how she was keeping her cool despite the obvious danger.

“So, tell me, was the price for your allegiance worth your honor?” Rarity asked calmly.

The leader of the traitors just gave a short, barking laugh at that.  “Honor is for suckers.  I prefer the side that’s winning.”

“So your oaths meant nothing, then?” Blueblood asked, genuinely curious, though still quite angry.

“Those stupid things?  Those are for guards and weaklings, not winners,” the pony in guard armor said with a laugh.  “Besides, I never took the oaths.  If you haven’t guessed by now, we’re not exactly with the Royal Guard.”

Good, he’s a talker, I can use that, Blueblood thought to himself.  “You’re a mercenary.”

The leader gave another short laugh at that.  “I prefer the term ‘military contractor’, but-”

All of the ponies suddenly stopped what they were doing as a guttural growl echoed through the hallway.  It was a horrifying sound, one that reached into the primal, herd animal instinct of the ponies, and told them one thing.

They were about to become someone’s lunch.

Not even skipping a beat, Blueblood nudged Rarity towards a nearby hallway, then took off in a sprint.  There was a shout behind him, as well as the sound of unicorn spellwork, but fortunately for the two fleeing unicorns, the growl had created just a large enough opening to allow Blueblood and Rarity to slip out and get several hooves away before it happened.

There was a clattering of claws on stone, followed closely by the sounds of bones cracking and ponies screaming, but Blueblood didn’t stop to look back.

“What is it?  What’s happening!?” Rarity shouted as the two ponies continued to put as much distance between them and the enemies behind them.

“I don’t know, but I suggest we don’t stay to find out!” Blueblood shouted back.


*        *        *


It was over. The pack leader had set The Alpha’s path to leave the castle. He ran, lowering onto all fours, his bones restructuring themselves to accommodate.  His path was clear.  All of his prey was dead, and the not prey had learned to steer clear of him.

He found a large room with a massive set of stairs leading to two large double doors, his exit.

 “WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!” A loud voice echoed through the room. The Alpha stopped in his tracks, throwing his hands to his ears.

He looked up to see another not prey. This one was unlike any he had seen yet; it was significantly larger than the rest, and was almost as tall as he was. It had a dark coat, a flowing mane that shimmered like stars. The not prey wore silver armor, and was flanked by two dozen heavily armed, and armored not prey.

“I’m sorry, were you going to leave?” the large not prey asked with a scoff. “You come into my home, hurt and kill my people, and you expect to leave like some guest?”

The Alpha crouched motionless just feet from the newcomer, his hackles raised aggressively as he regarded this new not prey.  “Careful little one,” The pack leader said. “This one is no base prey.”

The Alpha shifted his stance, his bones changing again to accommodate his new position.  He then held his hand out, his short spear appearing in his hand in a brilliant flash of light;  Teeth and claws were useful, but only worked against the lesser prey.

“I’m tired of your ilk,” the large, not prey said, venom in her voice. “You attack, and the moment we show up you run.  This time, I’m not letting you get away."  With a flash of her horn, the not prey summoned a mighty ebon scythe to her side, its silvery, crescent moon blade gleaming wickedly in the castle's gemlight.

"Today, you die.”


*        *        *


The Huntress only seemed to have two emotional states, relentlessly cheerful and unnervingly focused. She had taken on the former as her champion tore his way through the castle.  The mood around the table was tense, many players openly wincing as piece after piece was removed.

The observant player would have noticed something odd about The Huntress’s movements, however: she seemed to only go after certain pieces, while completely ignoring others.  Any of Liar’s or Defiler’s, as well as certain other players, she killed on sight.  Others, she let live, though she left them with a memory that would haunt them for the rest of their days.

It was unnerving how efficient The Huntress’s Alpha was; all anyone could do was sit and watch as she cleared the playing field.

The mood immediately lightened, however, as soon as the princess arrived.  All of The Huntresses efforts would be meaningless if she lost her champion here. True, she would have extended the game, but she would still lose if The Alpha died now.

“Looks like the tides have turned on you,” The Defiler said with a laugh. 

“Anyone want to make any bets?” The Deceiver asked with a grin, all anxiety having melted away.

“You seem so confident that my pup will lose this confrontation,” The Huntress said, her mood shifting to unnervingly focused, her eyes never wavering from the board.

Fate let out a sigh, stroking his long beard as he eyed The Huntress with pity.  “Huntress, I have gone over every possible scenario, and I must say that there is no way that he can survive this engagement.”

Glee seemed to spread around the table at that pronouncement.  If Fate had decreed the beast’s doom, then it was sure to happen.

“I’ll bet on the beast’s death,” The Defiler said.

“As will I,” Desolation called out. 

More and more players began to bet on The Alpha’s death, and by extension, The Huntress’s loss.  The Huntress eyed them all, anger flashing in her eyes as she hunched over the board, yet her mouth was turned up in a smile.  “You all seem so certain that my pup won’t make it,” she said, filtering her hate and anger through a mask of cheerfulness.

The atmosphere had turned against her.  Even those that had been routing for the Alpha turned their eyes down, certain of the beast’s doom.

“I bet he lives.” All but The Huntress turned in surprise towards The Lady, Her constant poker face staring back at them. 

“Lady,” Fate said uneasily, trying to reason with his counterpart. “The Alpha is weak to combat casters, and Princess Luna happens to be the most powerful one on Equis.  She’s also a level higher than he is.  Aside from that, The Alpha has used most of his stored power in his hunt, and the Lunar Princess has an axe to grind against him.  Surely, my dear, you can see that he doesn’t have a chance.”

The Lady didn’t answer Fate, choosing to instead to regard The Huntress sitting across the table from her.  The Huntress just looked at her with those golden eyes, a question passing between them.

All The Lady did to answer her was to give a sympathetic smile.

The Huntress turned her attention back to the board, her body quivering nervously.  Her pelt had gone black, but luckily for her, no one knew that meant she was terrified.  With shaking hands, she picked up the dice, then took a second to force herself to still.

With a deep breath, she gazed at the board, then slowly, she began to smile.  Several players shifted nervously.  They knew that that smile could only mean one thing.

The Huntress knew she was going to win.