Equestria in Ruins

by Eclipse Shine

Chapter 8: Timber!

The snapping of fresh bark and clamoring of heavy steps behind us sparked our senses as we jolted ahead in defiance at the beasts that had made their way to our shelter. They followed us closely behind as we struggled to maintain an even pace. With no nourishment in us, our energy level was quickly dissolving as we started to slow down.

Closer and closer, the clamoring rang through my ears as the huge tree barks snapped like twigs. The timberwolves seemed to be unfazed by their seemingly helpless obstacle. The only thing standing between us and certain death was shattering all around, crashing like bombs on the unsuspecting wasteland of a ground.

We weren’t ready to face defeat, not after coming this far in our journey. There was too much left to accomplish; to free Equestria once and for all. I wasn’t doing this for self-gain. I was doing it for my friends, my family and everypony that had to sacrifice everything for their country. I was doing this for the world; for Ponykind.

Regardless of my will and the adrenaline that found itself pumping through my veins, I knew that I couldn’t last much longer or go on while my friends fell back. It was useless to run; we would lead them to Ponywville if we kept this up. No, this needed to end now!

I stopped in my tracks as my friends grinded through the dirt to a halt.

“What are you doing, do you want to get us killed?!” Starshard screeched as she gasped for air in her lungs after her outburst.

“It has to…It has to end here…” I found myself longing for oxygen as well as I spoke these words.

“Are you insane?!” This time it was Unity’s turn to question my sanity.

“Sadly not.” I replied without a drop of sarcasm in my voice. I would have to be insane to enjoy this madness!

“She’s right.” Shining Armor halted the argument as the timberwolves came closer. “It has to end now.”

Shining Armor’s horn lit up as he teleported us atop of a tree near the savage beasts, it would only be a few seconds before the timberwolves spotted the nervous ponies on the tree. We knew that the next few seconds were crucial. They would snap this tree with ease, using it as a toothpick for the fresh game they caught.

Atop the tree, we could spot the heavens above as they clouded with disapproval at our cowardice. It wasn’t out of fear though that Shining Armor teleported us here; it was to formulate a proper strategy.

“We need to jump.” Shining Armor declared.

“Oh Celestia, it isn’t only Eclipse anymore…” Starshard sighed in disbelief at what she thought to be another cruel joke.

Ignoring her arrogance, he continued with his instructions.

“If we sink our swords into the back of their necks, it would give us a chance to escape before they regenerate. Timberwolves are known to fuse in order to become a larger version of themselves so we must be as swift as possible in our execution.”

“What do we do after that?” Scootaloo asked him, awaiting orders from her leader.

“After that, we proceed by leading the lone wolf to Ponyville; there we would be able to stop it in its tracks.” Shining Armor paused, expecting a counter to his proposal but none came. “Timberwolves are particularly sensitive to sound; if we are able to clash our swords on a metallic object, we could make it run back into the forest from which it came.

We nodded as we awaited a signal from the stallion.

“Now.” He spoke dryly as if he has a sudden surge of confidence rush through his body.
I suppose we all felt the same since we leaped at these words, swords aimed towards the necks of the unsuspecting piles of lumber.

Sinking my sword deep within its neck, I felt my predator fall at the hooves of its prey; dissolving as it collapsed to the ground.

Par two of the plan.

RUN

We raced towards the entrance of the Everfree forest, passing by familiar landmarks that we had identified upon our arrival into this treacherous jungle of madness.

In the distance, the timberwolves regenerated creating one enormous Alpha wolf that proceeded its hunt for revenge.

The entrance was near, I saw light in the distance; freedom and security awaited us on the other side of hell’s gates.

The timberwolf was much larger and quicker than each individual entity. Its Jaws were wide open as it gained ground racing towards us; sending dozens of tree flying in its wake.

At last we made it to the entrance, almost colliding into one another upon arrival as we each tried to catch a quick glance of the approaching terror. The freedom wouldn’t last long as the wolf launched itself out of Everfree a few seconds after; its prey in sight.

The carriage was in the distance, its beautiful metallic body could serve us perfectly as a speaker; magnifying the sound of steel clashing into steel. The guards raised their weapons in anticipation of a battle.

The idea was absurd but it was our only hope at survival. It was no longer survival of the fittest, our savage days had long since passed; the intellectuals strived in this unjust world.

It wasn’t time to sympathize with the creature; it certainly had none for us. We wouldn’t let anything get in our way, we couldn’t afford it.

Reaching the carriage, we pounded our swords against the metallic surface which proceeded by projecting an outburst of loud noise that echoed through our ears.

The wolf stopped right in its tracks, projecting a howl of its own as it sped back off into the overgrown bundle of trees once more.

Holding in our own howls of victory, we collapsed in exhaustion; panting as we tried to fill our lungs with much needed oxygen once again. We had stayed stretched on the grassy ground for several minutes, looking up at the now mid-day sky. It had been a day since our journey into the Everfree forest; we were all tired and starving.

The members of the guard awaited us during these long few minutes of rest, glancing at us as if they had seen a ghost. The timberwolf was more than anything they had faced in Canterlot before and their reactions were understandable giving the circumstances.

We climbed into the magnificent golden carriage as we headed back for Canterlot. I found myself longing for a good meal, a shower and a comfortable place to rest.

The wolves were to be kept at bay for today.

Comments

[ilikepie1076]

First comment yay!But anyways im gonna start reading today and i will give you feed back on how good this story is and if you need to work on anything, etc....