"Arghhhh!"
I croak when darkness lets me go and I can enjoy the misfortune of my beaten body screaming for help. Good thing - I woke up after being savaged by corrupted dreamlings, bad thing - ouch.
The remnants of a ruined house must have worked well to keep me safe from the elements, because despite my Corrupted endurance I doubt I would have survived the frost out here in the flatland. The thin dusting of snow underneath me soothes my overused and burning muscles, and the slowdown of blood flow might have saved me from bleeding out.
Can I get up?
"Ooof!" spikes of pain from my whole body culminate into four points of agony as I stand up, careful not to shatter my bones.
"Hmm, nearly cleaved in half, most tendons on hind legs cut to shreds, lost about three ponies' worth of blood, and still here and breathing although regretting it considerably," I look around. It's getting dark which means it must be late afternoon. Unless I slept for multiple days, which I wouldn't have survived... probably, I recovered from wounds as fatal as they can be without being completely lethal extremely fast, "All in all, it could have gone worse, but also better."
I should find some Corrupted biomass to absorb in order to recover at least enough to survive a pack of Hunters finding me. Thick strings of my drool melt the snow underneath me as I'm forced to imagine juicy black flesh torn by my teeth, sliding down my throat, and the absorbed energy coursing through my veins, revitalizing the...
...monster I am.
I cringe.
I stare at the ground.
The area around is tainted, but I simply cannot absorb any nutrition. Perhaps my body's vision showed me the only possible way to heal myself? To physically devour another Corrupted?
My mental stomach revolves. My physical stomach growls in joyful expectation.
Fine, time to hunt. Let's just find a solitary Corrupted and see where I go from there.
Prowling the ruins of "D-DGE J-CT-N", I have to rely only on my enhanced senses, no Corrupted hive mind or the flow of energy through the tainted soil. Disregarding the reason for my hunt, I feel more like a pony than ever since my transformation. No multiple minds in my head, no senses spreading over the area the size of a small city, nothing aside from sight, touch, smell, and hearing.
Screw taste! The last thing I want to know is how it is going to taste when I cannibalize another living being.
The afternoon flies by. Why is this place so barren?
Crawling on what had to be in the past a bell tower, careful not to slip on crumbling walls, I look around from the roof. The wild forest on the horizon must be the Everfree, which means that way is west. To the north, there are more forests, but none look as menacing. East is dominated by flatland filled with tall grass and taller hills far far away, but south... south looks completely dead. Even the grass gradually fades into rocks and dead landscape. I recall mom talking sometimes about some place called the Badlands in southern Equestria which was supposed to be just a rocky landscape. The distant hostile land could definitely be it.
A movement in the corner of my eyes when I return to my hunt makes my body take over and pounce instantly.
A scrawny Hunter, one looking exactly like one would imagine somepony living in a place nopony other wants. Even in my sad state I overpower him easily.
"I'll make it quick, that's the least I can do," I mumble. He gives me a confused glance which last only a second before I grow a blade on my leg and cut his head off, "Damn, this was harder than I thought."
Killing a defenseless being, even a Corrupted, EVEN in a do or die situation, feels awful. I let my soldier training take over and steel my mind against what I'm about to do.
It is necessary. There is no way around it.
I rip a chunk of meat from the Hunter's chest before the body starts dissipating. Over and over, I plunge my teeth into the corpse of my own kind. Cannibalizing everything I can bite through - flesh, bones, sinews, liquifying pieces, I am finally done. It can't be right, but everything I eat tastes like the mushroom goop we used to eat in abundance in the enclave before the surface reopened to us.
Disgusting, but I am still thankful for my head masking the real taste of tainted flesh.
A shuffle.
A crunch.
A gasp.
The shocked gasp follows my jump behind the nearest piece of rubble. The plan is to assess the threat which must have moved in while I was engrossed in, and grossed out by, eating.
I twist mid-lunge to avoid a blade swishing past my ear and swipe my front talons in its direction. A pained groan and quick movement away are my reward. Hoofsteps are moving towards my cover. I have about three seconds to think.
Multiple hostiles using weapons, steel weapons. Blades the Corrupted grow on their body are tough, but sort of fleshy so they make a distinct lack of noise when they miss by a hair. Steel, however, I remember well from my Hex Guard training. This means thinking beings. A Ponyville patrol I don't know about, maybe?
"Hey!" I shove my head out from the cover and recieve a blast of scattered mortar as a bullet takes a piece out.
"Lyam, keep it busy!" a female voice barks, "Ava, let's flank."
I can hear yooooou!
Granted, a wild Corrupted would not understand a thing though. This means I'm going to have a moment of time with only one enemy which will be 'occupying my attention'.
A griffon barrels past my cover on three legs, kite shield held in his talons covering him. My tail twists around his hind leg and pulls. He loses balance and I charge, taking him down on the ground. I transform a front leg back into a hoof and punch.
He starts coughing as I knock the air out of him, roll, grabbing him by his neck with my free talons, and use his body as a cover against the remaining four shocked enemies. The enemy group consists of one male griffon, currently choking slightly in my grasp, one female hippogriff, aiming a gun at me, a male unicorn, horn glowing with magic, a muscular female earthpony, trying to flank me from the side, and a male pegasus, wearing blades on his wings.
Gotta admit, I like the diversity. The 'killing me' thing puts a damper on my mood, though.
"Move an inch and I'll rip his head off," I proclaim clearly. Well, as clearly as I can without having any real time to regenerate my wrecked body after eating.
They freeze, and I hear the unicorn whisper:
"It talks?"
"Yes, I do," I say, "And by my authority as the high commander of Ponyville enclave Hex Guard and the second in command of Queen Nightshade's hive I order you to lay down your arms."
Confusion crops up in the faces of everypony aside from the hippogriff who looks shocked. The others feel as if they have no idea what's going on while she seems to know, but doesn't believe her own eyes.
"Wait," the hippogriff orders in a voice that is used to being obeyed. In contrast, her pistol aimed at my head doesn't relent. Her eyes narrow, "Let Lyam go and we can talk. You are the first intelligent Corrupted we've encountered, and I've been around a friday or two."
She looks between thirty and thirty-five, well-trained, and yet something feels off. Their clothes and saddlebags look different from anything usually worn in Ponyville.
"How about you first tell me who you are and where you're from?" I squeeze the griffon's neck a little to stop his struggling, "You are not from Ponyville or Canterlot, and I am not aware of any Crystal Empire patrols this far south."
"The places you are talking about should not exist anymore," the hippogriff's voice betrays her puzzlement, "We are from Manehattan."
I chuckle and decide to drop some names.
"Well, according to princess Luna, queen Chrysalis, princess Twilight Sparkle, and the royal family of Crystal Empire neither should Manehattan."
"Weapons down!" the hippogriff orders her group and nods to me, "Your turn."
I let the griffon go and get ready to jump at a moment's notice. Thankfully, they don't attack again.
"So," I start, "Let's start over. My name is Mana Burn, princess Twilight Sparkle's son and one of the twin leaders of Ponville enclave Hex Guard."
"But you are a Corrupted," the hippogriff comments, "and a talking one."
"That's a long story. In short, the Corrupted hive around Ponyville got under control of a pegasus mare by the name of Nightshade who got turned into a Queen. In few short months the ponies of the underground enclave and the hive taken over learned to exist together. It's not perfect and the ponies are still scared, but it's better than risk being eaten whenever walking on the surface. I will happily tell you as much as I know from the events later."
"Alright," she nods, "My name is Desert Shade and I lead this group of mercenaries. We work for griffons in Manehattan and are returning from an exploration mission in the Badlands."
"So Manehattan still stands then?" I brighten up, "Princess Twilight would love to estabilish contact with whoever is in charge there. We have managed to secure a part of central Equestria as well as a route to the Crystal Empire. What we are trying to do now is to find a way to the coast to ask griffons for help in restoring Equestria."
They stare at me as if I was completely crazy. Then Desert Shade bursts out laughing. It goes on and on and on. Tears streak from her eyes and even her companions give her strange looks. Finally, it stops and she wipes her face.
"Ask griffons for help. Oh boy, that got me good. Well, mister Mana Burn, the situation in Manehattan is a little different than what you and princess Sparkle might expect," Desert Shade takes a deep breath and makes several signs with her talons aimed at her group, "Secure the perimeter and let's break camp here. That building looks like a decent shelter," she points towards a house nearby that looks structurally sound.
"The nearest Corrupted is a Protector patrolling about an hour away east from this town. It is not heading this way," I focus and say my piece. I am getting stronger quickly. Despite not being in even remotely good shape, I am regaining my extra senses.
The group is visibly uncomfortable around me, but when I offer a helping hoof in pitching tents and making a fire pit I recieve few mumbled thanks. The equipment is different from what I'm used to, but similar enough to work with.
The unicorn of the group pulls out a large crystal from his bag, some device, and a canister of something. He pours the liquid into the device and uses his magic to light the crystal he puts into a slot in it. The device starts humming, and a minute or two later I feel the enclosed space warm up significantly.
"What is it?" I ask, examining it from all sides, "A heating unit of some sort?"
"Yeah," the unicorn says, professional interest taking control of his voice, "It's a petrol heater which is started by the magical charge in the crystal, but its heat also feeds the magical resonance in the crystal's structure which creates even more charge and makes for more heat at a lower fuel consumption. I don't remember how many I blew up or melted before that little twist worked properly. In any other place I would have made millions by patenting it, but not with the damn griffons...!"
"What's wrong with griffons?"
"They-"
"Everything ready?" Desert Shade asks loudly. She apparently believes my information about Corrupted being far away. Good to know.
"Well," the unicorn huffs, "She'll tell you, I suppose. Des has a pretty good grasp of history."
The six of us sit around the heating unit in the fire pit. They unwrap some invitingly smelling supplies and chow down. Having lost my equipment during the flight from Pine Hills, I can do little but watch, at least until the griffon called Lyam offers me a piece of meat.
"Thanks, but I've got enough of... flesh for today. Got any pony food?"
"Sure, I just thought... well... considering we saw you eat the Hunter..." the comment fades into worried silence.
"The Corrupted part of me needed it. I got badly wounded while getting here, whatever this place is-"
"This used to be a small town called Dodge Junction," Desert Shade makes sense of the "D-DGE J-CT-N" sign.
"Here to Dodge," I continue, "I was in such a bad shape I couldn't just absorb nutrition from the tainted territory, I barely can even now. I've never physically eaten another Corrupted before and I would sure as hay prefer not having to do it ever again. I eat normal food in Ponyville."
Lyam rummages in his bag and offers me a brown 'something' the size of a pony hoof.
"Soy blob. They have a real name, but I don't recall what."
"Thanks," my three tongues wrap around it and I gulp it down in one bite like a snake, "Hits the spot."
The entire group shivers at the sight.
Heh.
When the others stop eating and make themselves comfortable, Desert Shade starts talking.
"I might not look like it, but I've been around even before the corruption started. Don't ask me why or how, but I don't age normally. It has something to do with my mother," she spits the word out, "and that is none of your business."
She takes a deep breath and continues.
"So, here we go. I was on the front lines against Corrupted even before Canterlot fell some ninety years ago. I led my first group of mercenaries when I was twenty-two into the Smokey Mountains in the far west. The first waves of Corrupted killed and transformed all my friends without even slowing down. All but one. We fled through days and nights north to Vanhoover, warning the populations. At first, they didn't believe us, but since we got there only few days before the first Corrupted arrived, they soon changed their stance on the subject," she chuckles sadistically. The other mercenaries are listening intently which makes it obvious they had not heard the entire story yet, "Well, Vanhoover fell within a day. A city of million ponies turned to a breeding ground without a single survivor but us, and that was only because we took a train to the Crystal Empire immediately when we saw the city officials didn't believe our story. We had to go north because all other trains used to go south through White Tail Woods first before going east. That was only the beginning."
Her amusement at the disbelievers' fate is long gone, and she just sighs.
"Prince Shining Armor and princess Cadence were skeptical at first, but when the first news about Vanhoover and Las Pegasus going dark arrived, they believed our testimony. The Imperial military was mustered and they sent emissaries to Yakyakistan and Rift, the new capital city of minotaurs. We were on our way to Canterlot soon after with diplomatic letters from the royal family to the princesses. About a week later, trains from the Crystal Empire stopped coming altogether."
As she recalls the past long gone, a bitter smile graces her muzzle again. I must cheer her up. After all, her early warning might be the sole reason the Crystal Empire survived the first onslaught.
"If you ever want to visit the Empire again, we can arrange it. I'm sure both prince Shining Armor and princess Cadence will be happy to see you."
"Shining is alive?" she raises an eyebrow.
"His wife is keeping him alive and healthy."
"Heh, it looks like the old world is more tenacious than I believed," Desert Shade chuckles, "Well, good to know there is a place without griffons to run off to."
"What's with the griffons then?"
"I'm getting to it. I sure as hay am not going to recap a century of my exploits to you," she rolls her eyes, but looks more amused than annoyed, "We warned the royals in Canterlot, and because we had the diplomatic communiques they believed our every word. With three alicorns and a changeling queen, I thought we were safe. My friend left for the coast immediately, wanting to find a new job in the Griffon Empire while I stayed in Canterlot. With entire west of Equestria disappearing and barely any survivors or information coming in, princess Celestia took the best of the best in the army and marched west. With our information about the spread of the Corrupted coming from an area south of Smokey Mountains, her legion's course were the White Tail Woods. Well, she disappeared as well soon enough, and I knew there and then I should get out of Canterlot immediately. At that time, panic was spreading through Equestria. Ponies were converging towards population centers in hope to find refuge, but all it did was gather them all for Corrupted to transform in one fell swoop. In the end, I ended in Manehattan, the largest city in Equestria."
She frowns.
"We had excellent relationship with the Griffon Empire at the time. They sent their fleet, tons and tons of supplies, soldiers, weapons. Anything their military might could spare was sent to Manehattan. The city held for months until the Corrupted stopped breaking blindly against the army posts. Unfortunately, the expenditure of Imperial money and forces could not last forever, at least not without anything in return. With ponies understanding that without griffons they would all be dead, they were forced to be on the front lines in missions aimed at scavenging pony legacy. The ponies survived, but the cost were the secrets of alchemy, magic, natural technology. It turned worse and worse, starting with unicorns. Those who weren't particularly talented with magic had their horns and other bodyparts harvested and used as drug reagents for pharmaceutical industry in the Griffon Empire. The others were forced to conduct more and more immoral and exploratory rituals to further the understanding of all kinds of magic and present the results to the griffon... slavers."
Her wings flap in frustration.
"And that's what ponies are today in Manehattan - slaves. A population over a million under the paw of the griffon military. Eventually, I couldn't bear it anymore, and moved to the Griffon Empire so that I wouldn't have to look at it day after day."
"BUT THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE LIKE THAT ANYMORE!" I shout, excitement growing inside me, "We can change that now. Princesses Luna and Twilight are alive. We have soldiers-"
"They have a LOT more," she snarls, "They have the minds of ponies who were born into being slaves. They don't know anything about Equestria or the princesses other than gossip and old mares' tales. They BELIEVE things are as they should be, no matter the abuse. They lost all hope."
"Have you ever heard the name Shadowstep? A changeling, from what I was told."
"I... have," she says cautiously.
"We have Corrupted on our side, organized and equipped with the knowledge of tactical combat. We can't move an entire hive to Manehattan, but if we can get inside we can transform griffons and spread from inside the city."
All of them are staring at me again, just like after they saw me devour the Hunter.
"I'm sorry. It's just... I was raised to believe every pony is important, even necessary. With the population of two thousand living in an underground enclave, I know a lot of them personally. Hearing about them treated like... resource to be reprocessed into something useful is a little too much."
"Heh, that makes more of us."
"Can you give me directions to Manehattan? I must admit I'm a little lost," I scratch my head.
"The second you are spotted the griffons will capture and disassemble you, no matter how ultimately futile doing that to Corrupted is."
I recall mom's frustration whenever she had to do research on Corrupted before Nightshade's time. They melt... and whoosh - nothing.
"So, they don't know anything?" I take a guess.
"As far as I know there is nothing which can be used to effectively suppress you. Aside from decapitation being the most lethal damage to cause to a Corrupted, and not to all of you to boot."
"Yeah, Corruptors are weird."
The half-liquid bastards are the only ones who don't care at all about their head being severed. Nightshade hates them too, because they seem to conflict with her Protector nature and refuse to form in any reasonable numbers within the hive.
"If you can get me some clothes, I can change myself enough to look like a big earthpony. As long as nopony looks me in the eyes I should be fine even in the city."
"Whoa, who said we were on the same side?" Shade grins. Yeah, we definitely are, but I have to play my cards right...
...or just be honest.
"We know of a way for changeling queens to assume control of Corrupted to a certain extent. I was sent to find one called Guiding Light. Before that, though, my mother told me about queen Chrysalis' general by the name of Shadowstep. While I wasn't sent to look for her, I assume that would be my next mission. If I can get her to Ponyville, she might be able to control enough Corrupted to secure enough territory for the princesses to safely pass from Ponyville to Manehattan."
"I doubt diplomatic approach would work."
I give her a wide and evil grin.
"My mother is Twilight Sparkle, and I know her better than she knows herself in some respects. She might look like a peaceful leader, but if she and especially princess Luna get to hear your story..."
Complete and utter carnage.
"Let's just say that even the Queen of Ponyville hive used to be a pony raised just like I was. The griffons might have a strong military, but we have two extremely pissed off alicorns, one changeling queen ready to stretch her infiltrators' muscles, and a Corrupted Queen, all ready to bring their righteous hooves down on the occupants."
"You know?" Desert Shade laughs coldly, "I've never been one for peaceful and comfortable life. We're on our way back anyway, so let's go to Manehattan together. Perhaps we'll make the world a little better place."
"Oh yeah..."
She gives her group a practiced look.
"Avalanche, Airburst, you're on the first watch. Lyam and Mist Cloud, you get the morning shift. Let's end this for tonight."
The earthpony and the pegasus nod while the griffon and the unicorn take their stuff and disappear into their tents. The heater is left outside to cool down but turned off. I lie down next to it to catch any remaining warmth.
A thick roll of cloth lands on me.
"A spare sleeping bag," Desert Shade nods and enters her tent as well.
I probably don't need it, but if I can spare energy by not warming myself from the inside I'll take it.
Griffons...
And here I thought Corrupted were evil, but they aren't, they just can't help themselves.
For a civilized species to treat intelligent beings like this...
They will pay.