Chosen of the North
After being given our weapons, and a thin cloak each, Grimskull had lead us further into our new home, finally stopping in front of a series of longhouses, assigning each Hoof to one of them, before turning and leaving without another word. The accommodations were bare, nothing inside with the exception of five piles of straw kept in place by a small wooden frame. Clearly these were our beds, and all of us had quickly claimed which one would be ours. Gale had taken the one next to me, while Grafter had made a point of dragging his bed to the other side of the room, before lying down and going to sleep, trying to nurse the pain Grimskull had caused him.
The only other part of the freezing room was a small fire pit in the centre of the room, the ring of stones mocking us and our lack of fuel to burn in it. For some reason, the walls of the longhouse didn’t seem to do anything to deaden the cold, and everypony in the Hoof was shivering noticeably. We had been fed a thin soup before being left here, but there was hardly anything to it, and my stomach was still protesting about how unfairly it was being treated at the moment. Still, it was nothing compared to the pony beside me.
“By the great hydras frozen cock I’m hungry,” one of my Hoof muttered for what felt like the millionth time, and I let out an exasperated groan, before rolling over to face him.
“We know,” I hissed, not wanting to shout and draw the ire of the Sergeant down on us. “We’re all hungry, but going on about food and hydra cocks doesn’t help.”
“It passes the time,” the pony shrugged, before sighing and sitting up, looking at the rest of us with a cocky smile on his face. “If we’re talking about cocks though, I think we can all agree that Grimskull is a bit of one.”
I let out another exasperated groan, before sitting up on my own bed, banishing thoughts of sleep and looking at the pony for the first time. He was slightly older than me, but only just, and was not anywhere near Grafter’s age. He sported a dirty blonde mane and a dark green coat, and his warrior mark was a pair of stars, but what really drew my attention was his artificial mark. Starting from just in front of his warrior mark on his right flank, the tattooed body of a hydra curled around his own, two of the heads curling down his forelegs, while the third snaked onto his face, ending just above his right eye, the mark dominating most of his body.
“Yeah, a bit of a cock,” I chuckled softly. “And a pack of arctic wolves are ‘a bit of an annoyance’.”
“Summit,” the pony nodded with a grin, extending a hoof towards me. “From Breioa.”
“Hoarfrost, the runt of…Fitjar,” I sighed.
“Sounds like you’re unsure of where you’re from there Hoarfrost,” Summit chuckled.
“I think we’re just unsure of whether there is a Fitjar or not anymore,” Gale sighed softly, sitting up and looking at the two of us. “Gale, of Fitjar as well.”
“Ooh, it’s like that is it?” Summit nodded. “Chosen after your village was destroyed?”
“Something like that,” I nodded, before looking across at Knell. “So, I’m guessing you’re Knell?”
“He could be Grafter,” Summit pointed out.
“He’s not,” I deadpanned, looking over at Summit.
“Ah, so that’s Grafter over there is it?” Summit chuckled, pointing to Grafters sleeping form. “You two seem to have hit it off quickly, just more of a physical hitting off rather than talking.”
“Oh yeah, these two have been ‘hitting it off’ for years now,” Gale sniggered. “Haven’t you Hoarfrost?”
“Yeah, he’s a real friend,” I replied, my voice dripping in sarcasm.
“For the love of the Goddess, please shut up,” Knell growled, sitting up and looking at the three of us. “Honestly, the three of you are like little filly’s, jabbering on all the time.”
Knell was large, easily the same size as Grafter, and probably just as old as well, making Gale the youngest member of the Hoof, as well as the only mare and non-Earth Pony. His coat was black, and what remained of his mane and tail seemed to be a dark grey colour, but it was hard to tell through the burns and bite marks on his body. From his mark I could tell he was from Haell, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out how he had got some of them.
“Oh come on Knell, we might as well get to know each other,” Summit grinned, extending a hoof towards him. “I’m Summit in case you missed that, and this is Gale and Hoarfrost. The grumpy one in the back is…”
“Grafter, I heard,” Knell snorted, looking back at him. “He’s an idiot, goading the Sergeant. But then you aren’t much better, are you runt?” he asked, turning to face me. “Picking fights with ponies bigger than you is a nice way to get a bloody muzzle.”
“Really? Oh I’m so glad you told me that Knell, I knew I’d been doing something wrong all these years,” I shot back. “So anyway, how did the pair of you land a place here?”
“Went out to hunt another hydra with the rest of the village,” Summit shrugged. “Guess I wasn’t fast enough this time. Aegis found me, and I guess he used some of his freaky unicorn magic to heal me.”
“I don’t think he’s a unicorn,” I said slowly, slowly lifting my axe with the headsets telekinesis field. “I think he uses one of these, Grimskull too.”
“Maybe, but I still should have died,” Summit shrugged. “Whatever magic’s him and the Arctic Wolves have, it managed to bring me back from the brink of the hero’s halls.”
“Well, that’s something,” I smiled.
“Yeah, but I just want to know how the hunt went,” Summit shrugged. “Most of the village was there, I want to know who made it.”
“So Breioa hunts hydras?” Gale asked in interest. “I always thought they were rare and impossible to kill.”
“Not impossible, just hard,” Summit shook his head. “And as for rare, trust me, two appearing in the last five years is more than enough for me thank you very much. The tattoo only just makes the hunt worth it.”
“So that’s why you’ve got the mark?” I asked.
“Yep, everypony who was part of the hunting party got one,” Summit said proudly, before turning to face Knell. “What about you Knell? What amazingly awesome thing did you do to get chosen for this motley crew?”
“I was with a raiding party,” Knell said simply.
“Umm…anything more to add there?” I asked with a slight chuckle.
“We were going to steal cattle from a town down below the great glacier. There was…an avalanche,” Knell sighed. “Our raiding party got caught up in it, and then I woke up here.”
“Such a mighty band of ponies you Haellers,” Grafter laughed from the corner. “Stealing cattle, missing the signs of an avalanche. Why the runts father ever wanted to ally with you is beyond me.”
“Father?” Knell asked, looking at me. “Your father was Chief Umbrage?”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “I know, look how pathetic Hoarfrost is compared to the mighty Umbrage. I’ve heard them all, let’s get it out of your system now.”
“He was a great warrior, I remember the Chief talking highly of him,” Knell shrugged, before turning back to Grafter. “So, pig. If you think us Haell ponies are so inferior, why don’t you regale us with tales of your exploits that landed you here.”
“I’m a warrior, the greatest in Fitjar,” Grafter laughed. “I…”
“Pissed yourself?” I offered with a smirk. “He’s such a great warrior when you ask him about it, but when it comes down to it, he gets tackled by a pup of a wolf, screams and pisses himself. I’m still surprised you survived that.”
“A wolf isn’t going to kill me,” Grafter snarled, turning his neck so I could see a large strip of hide missing from his back, the wound being closed, but still leaving a visible scar. “I managed to fight it off and get out of Fitjar. Maybe I didn’t kill it, but you’re no better. You ran away screaming with your pretty little fillyfriend.”
“Yeah, but I don’t pretend to be a great warrior Grafter,” I snapped back. “Go back to bed, wouldn’t want the Sergeant to come in and hit you. Again.”
Grafter snarled, and looked like he wanted to get up, before wincing and lying back down, grumbling to himself.
The room was suddenly filled with an icy wind as Grimskull kicked open the door, looking around at us with a sneer.
“I’m glad all the pups have found their beds alright. Best get some sleep, you’ll need everything you’ve got for tomorrow.”
Blowing out the solitary candle, Grimskull left us in darkness, before closing the door with a loud bang. Pulling my legs in close to my chest, I tried to ignore the cold that had set in as I sought to get to sleep.
“Oh guys, that odd rumbling sound you can hear?” Summit whispered softly. “That would be my stomach. Hydras balls I’m hungry.”
“Get moving pups!” Grimskull roared over the howl of the wind, standing still against the powerful winds.
We had been training for weeks, most of it being the same gruelling physical training that we were doing now. I felt my breath coming in short, sharp, ragged breaths, and my heart felt like it was going to explode as I continued forward, focusing on putting one hoof in front of the other. The large logs that I was dragging behind me as I ran made loud crunching noises as it slid through the snow, forcing me to slow down as I struggled onwards.
“Come on…Hoarfrost,” Summit panted, forcing his way up beside me, looking up at the slope.
“You pups want to talk?!” Grimskull roared. “Save your energy for running whelps! This is only a small hill, we’re going over that mountain today!”
Following his hoof gesture, my heart sank as I looked up at the huge mountain that lay before us. My legs felt like jelly already, and I was sure that I wouldn’t make it up there, but I refused to give in. I knew Grimskull wouldn’t do anything if I fell here, other than retrieve my weapons. He made sure to remind us all the time that the weapons were worth more than our lives, and had only got more exuberant with his explanations of our worthlessness when the first of our number had fallen, one of the Unicorns from another Hoof.
‘Your flesh is weak and pathetic, but the steel stays strong. That’s why it’s worth more than you.’ The words still rang in my head, as did the image of him plucking the axe from the corpse, before stalking off, leaving it to freeze. I hadn’t known the pony, he wasn’t in my Hoof so there was no need to, but it was still a harsh reality call that Grimskull really would leave us to die if we didn’t meet his expectations.
Taking in another breath, I pushed forward, heading further up the mountains. Casting a glance behind me, I looked back at Gale and Knell behind me, and beyond them, the small cluster of longhouses and training facilities we called home. We had already travelled miles, but I knew that we hadn’t even travelled a quarter of the way yet. How Grimskull kept going was a mystery to me, but I was determined to match his accomplishments, or die trying.
I dived to the floor, rolling away from the blunted axe strike that missed me by inches, before lunging forward, bringing my own training axe forward and slamming it into Grafter’s side. I had never imagined what fighting as a unicorn would be like, but after a week of training with the headsets, I was beginning to see why they were such feared warriors. The horn, my horn now, glowed dimly as I blocked another wild slash from Grafter.
We were still going on runs every morning with Grimskull, but they seemed to be getting easier and easier as our strength increased. I could already feel the difference in my body weight, and while I was still the smallest pony in the Hoof, with the possible exception of Gale, I was much bigger than I had been back in Fitjar. I had also found my calling, and spun the axe around, bringing it slashing across Grafters face and hitting him with the flat edge, just as he slammed his hoof into my chest, sending me skidding across the floor. It was a harsh reminder that while I may be outclassing my old bully in the use of weapons, he was getting stronger just like I was, and he was putting it to deadly use with his hoof-to-hoof skills.
Both Summit and Knell had also taken to the headbands, and were busy trading blows with each other, not pulling any of their strikes as they slammed into each other again and again. We had started off trying to not hurt each other when we had begun training, but Grimskull had put a stop to that. We weren’t going to pull blows against our enemies, and they wouldn’t pull blows against us, so training would mimic that. Ponies might die, but those that survived would be stronger for it. That seemed to be the mantra that all of us were settling into. The strong prospered, the weak perished. It was the rule of the north magnified by a hundred, and while savage, it was brutally effective.
The only pony who did not seem to relish the idea of smashing things apart with an axe was Gale. She didn’t complain when she fought, and while she wasn’t perfect, she kept an open mind when she thought, allowing her to often get in strikes against Grafters closed mind or Summits wild attacks. Against Knell or I though, she faltered, not knowing how to deal with similarly trained opponents who also thought while they fought. Still, Grimskull didn’t seem to care, the grizzled sergeant watching impassively from the side of the courtyard, only occasionally wading in to deliver discipline, or to offer rarely given advice.
Arrows whistled across the courtyard, fired from our recently acquired crossbows as my Hoof stood in a line. Like our axe, these crossbows were now ours, and as such it was our responsibility to keep them in working condition. I had seen Grimskull send a pony to the infirmary with a broken leg after he had let the string snap, and had promised that the next pony who allowed their weapon to break would be used for target practice.
Now that I thought about it, it wouldn’t be much of a punishment to be my target, as yet another arrow soared wide of its mark, hitting the wooden edge of the target. Growling, I shoved another arrow into the crossbow, before taking aim and firing.
The arrow slammed into a bull’s eye with a ‘thunk’, and I let out a triumphant snarl.
“Um…Hoarfrost,” Gale said softly, tapping me on the back.
“Told you I’d get better,” I grinned happily. “Dead centre.”
“On my target,” she snickered, pointing down range. I followed her hoof with my eyes, looking at where my arrow had landed, and seeing that my target was bare of arrows.
“Fuck,” I snarled, dropping the crossbow on the floor. “I hate this stupid thing.”
“It’s not that bad,” Gale smiled, picking up my crossbow and holding it next to her own, before loading and firing both of them at the same time, scoring a perfect shot on both my target and her own, splitting my arrow with hers, before tossing my crossbow back to me.
Out of all of us, it was easy to see who had taken to the crossbow the most, Gale being able to land shot after shot where ever she pleased or was told to. Grimskull seemed pleased with her progress, but had been livid when she had proven that she was even a match for him. I had expected him to lash out, but instead he had simply snarled, before turning and stalking away, smacking Knell over his head as he went as he once again messed up the loading procedure. It was the first time I had seen Grimskull as anything other than a monster far above ponykind, and in that moment, I had seen the pony in him. It had been squashed down to make way for the Arctic Wolf, but it was still there, no matter how much the sergeant tried to deny it.
Shaking my head and chuckling at the memory, I reloaded my crossbow, pointing it down range as I slipped another arrow into the mechanism and pulled the string back. Breathing out like Gale had taught me, I sighted down the length of the arrow, closing one eye as I lined the arrowhead up with the target, before slowly squeezing the trigger. The arrow flew through the air, sailing over the target and disappearing from sight.
“Oh fuck me,” I muttered, reluctantly loading another arrow. This was going to be a long training session.
I panted as I ran back towards the Longhouse, the rest of the Hoof around me as we all collapsed in front of our accommodation. Slowly, I got back to my hooves, my legs feeling like jelly as always, and after two tries, I managed to open the door, moving over to my bed and falling into it, sighing as the soft straw cushioned my fall. If you had told me three months ago that I would be grateful for a straw bed, I would have laughed and dismissed you as crazy, but now I could think of nothing better. Well, nothing better than getting food in my belly.
It had been yet another gruelling day, filled with combat drills and an even longer run than normal, dragging two massive logs up over the mountains that surrounded us. To make matters even worse, the weather had been against us today as well, and fierce winds bit into us as we moved around outside, pushing us to the very brink of our physical endurance.
“Gale, serve up the food,” Knell groaned, sitting down in his own bed, his actions followed by Summit a moment later, the cocky pony sighing contentedly.
“Ah, is there anything better than getting back from a nice stroll in the wondrous land of the north,” he chuckled, looking around.
“Not having to listen to your annoying voice might be a bonus,” Gale smirked, before looking at the fire pit and the pot that they had left their food in from this morning. “Hey, it’s empty!” she roared, looking round at the rest of us. “Which one of you ate it?!”
One thing I could say about the last three months without a shadow of a doubt was we had all become much quicker to anger. Things that Gale would usually have come at slowly and methodically, such as the current food situation, were now approached with anger and force first. Coupled with the newfound strength we all had, we were fast shaping up into better warriors than we had ever been in our past lives. I doubted that anyone in the old Fitjar could have stood up to me now, and yet I was still considered a runt here. Funny how things like that work out.
“Peace Gale,” Grimskull ordered, walking through the door and carrying a dead sheep on his back, before dropping it in front of us. “And to think, some of the southerners don’t eat meat.”
We all exchanged nervous glances with each other, before eyeing the sheep hungrily. We hadn’t eaten anything other than the thin gruel that we were given here for months, and having fresh meat put in front of us was like a dream come true. Of course, none of us really thought that we would be allowed the meat. This was all just a cruel trick being played on us by Grimskull, and as soon as any of us lunged for the meat it would be taken away and he would send us on yet another exercise for having too much energy.
“Well pups, don’t you want it?” Grimskull sneered. “Clearly you haven’t built up an appetite yet. Maybe another run will…”
I dived forward, grabbing hold of the sheep with my mouth and dragging it away from Grimskull, intent on keeping the prize. The Sergeant laughed, before looking around at all of us.
You’ve performed, well I was going to say well, but that would be lying,” Grimskull sneered. “At the very least, you’re all still alive while the other Hoofs have all lost somepony, which counts for something. This is your reward.”
Grinning, Knell drew his axe while Gale quickly ran towards the fire pit, pushing the empty pot away and starting a fire. The rest of us began to work on skinning the sheep, Grater growling softly as he worked next to me, but he didn’t say anything, not in front of the Sergeant.
“How many of you know how to hunt?” Grimskull asked suddenly, looking around at us.
“I…” Grafter began, before Summit struck him over the head, snarling softly at him. We had long since learnt that admitting to being able to do anything was a bad idea. Grimskull either put us on extra duties for it, or laughed and punished us when we came up under his ridiculously high standards, and we always came in under.
“What, none of you?” Grimskull sneered. “Still, I suppose I’ll have to teach you won’t I? You’re hunting for the other Hoof’s now. It’s the only way any of you are going to get fed anymore.”
The five of us slowly made our way through the blizzard, our axes, or crossbow in Gale’s case, clutched in front of us as we pushed further into the icy canyon beyond where we had been training. We had only ever come this far out once, and even then it was with both Grimskull and Aegis accompanying us.
The Wolf Priest was odd, he came and went seemingly at random, sometimes offering praise, and other times giving Grimskull a run for his money in shouting. I didn’t quite know what to make of him, but I knew that if I had to choose between him and Grimskull, I would choose the Sergeant every time. Grimskull may have been harsh in every respect and at all times, but it was because of that facts that you could count on him being tough. Aegis was the sort of pony you would be able to get close to, and then just when you think you had something going, an understanding of sorts, he’d turn on you. I’d take not having my hopes raised to having my hopes smashed after being raised every day of the week.
Still, there was a bright side to us braving the harsh weather today. This was the first time any of us had been allowed to roam outside of Grimskull’s direct supervision. It was freeing to be given this dubious honour, and was the first time we hadn’t been treated like incompetent children every second of the day.
I looked in front of me, shielding my eyes from the snow with my axe as I made out the form of Grafter. I was watching him very carefully at the moment, knowing that without the presence of Grimskull, and with the presence of sharpened weapons, it would be all too easy for him to arrange a ‘fatal accident’ for me.
His hatred, once nothing more than simple annoyance at my existence, had turned into pure rage, bordering on an unhealthy obsession with trying to get back at me. But even with all his hatred and my apparent failings, Grafter couldn't do shit against me. For all Grafter’s strength though, he lack any sort of skills outside of martial prowess. He couldn’t cook, he could barely skin an animal, and he most certainly couldn’t help us navigate through the wilderness. That made him a liability, and one the rest of the Hoof only tolerated because they had to. The rest of us all brought something to the table, whereas he only had his strength, something that wasn’t even all that impressive anymore, not when compared to ponies like Grimskull. If Grafter tried anything against me, the others would come to my aid, not his.
The whole situation was dangerous, and if I wasn’t careful, we could all be swept away by an avalanche or fall down a crevice without a moment’s notice. The land would kill us, just as surely as Wolves or the weather. Right now though, none of that mattered. Grimskull had decided that if we were going to hunt alone, we needed a leader, and to everypony’s shock, including mine, he had assigned me to lead the Hoof. Grafter had instantly roared in anger, before being put in his place by the Sergeant. Knell had also grumbled, but had the good sense to keep it to himself, while both Gale and Summit seemed to be indifferent about it. It was a lot of pressure, but I would be damned if I was going to fail. For the first time in my life, I had real power, and I wanted to show ponies that I could handle it.
Eventually, we managed to reach a cave, and slipped inside, shivering as we finally got out of the storm.
“Gale, Knell, go check the cave, see if it goes anywhere or has anything we could take back with us,” I ordered, before staring back out at storm and the setting sun behind it.
It would be useless trying to go on in this, wed freeze eventually, and I doubted we’d even make it to the end of the canyon. We could head back, but we had nothing to show for our efforts, and the other Hoof’s were counting on us to bring in food for them. We couldn’t let them down.
“Grafter, get the rations out, we’ll stay here and wait out the storm,” I grunted, looking round at him and glaring at him.
He glared back, and for a moment I thought I saw his axe sliding out of his scabbard, before he turned away, looking in the pack we had brought for any food we could eat without a fire. I let my guard drop as a distant roar echoed around the cave. I turned and looked expectancy at Summit.
“Just wolves Hoarfrost,” Summit assured me, walking up beside me. “Trust me, if it was a hydra, we’d know about it.”
“Doesn’t sound like any wolves I’ve ever heard,” I muttered, before turning as I heard Gale and Knell return. “Anything back there?”
“Nothing but rocks and bones,” Knell shook his head. “Something was here, but they moved on a long time ago.”
“You sure?” Grafter grunted, before finally pulling out one of the containers we had brought with us and opening the lid.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” Knell shot back, wrinkling his nose as the smell of the food. We weren’t going to start complaining about the quality, but we would all be lying if we said that it was the tastiest thing we had ever eaten. Then again, we were out here so we didn’t have to eat mashed up two day old meat gruel.
Once again, the howling wind was pierced by another roar, and we all exchanged nervous glances, slipping our axes out from their scabbards and laying them beside us, all save for Summit, who simply shook his head.
“It’s one creature, and it’s not a hydra,” he assured us, before looking hungrily at the gruel. “Goddess I’m starving.”
“There’s a surprise,” I muttered, before grabbing a ladle and spooning a portion into the waiting bowls of my Hoof. “Eat up, the rest of the Hoof’s are counting on us.”
“Nice thought isn’t it?” Knell scoffed. “But at least we won’t have to eat this crap if we catch something.”
“It will be nice to have proper meat more often,” Gale agreed.
There was another loud roar, and this time I could have sworn it was slightly closer, but I dismissed the thought. If Summit said we had nothing to worry about, then I’d trust him.
“Looks like that thing agrees with you Knell,” Grafter muttered, grabbing his bowl and stalking off towards the back of the cave to be alone once more.
Much later, I sat at the mouth of the cave, the small fire we had managed to build at my back as I stared out into the deadly weather just beyond the mouth of our shelter. The roars were still rolling around the canyon occasionally, but they seemed to be decreasing in frequency, although I was still certain that they were getting closer. Over the roar of the wind however, I wasn’t sure enough of myself to take actions, leaving could kill us, staying could kill us. Why die in the cold?
“Hey,” Knell muttered, sitting down beside me, his axe sheathed and his crossbow ready in case of anything coming out of the storm.
“You’re watch isn’t for another half hour,” I pointed out, checking my own bow was loaded, but leaving it in its holster by my side.
“I know, but I couldn’t sleep. Might as well keep you company,” he shrugged.
“Do you ever think about home?” I sighed, transferring my gaze back to the bleak landscape.
“Home?” Knell asked in surprise. “Home is gone Hoarfrost. Haell was hit first remember? We managed to kill three wolves, and in return they wiped us out.”
“Well at least you got three,” I sighed. “I don’t think we got any when they came for us.”
“Don’t let it get to you,” Knell shook his head. “If you think about it, the weakest of them were killed in Haell, when they came to Fitjar…well, you didn’t really have much of a chance did you?”
“No, I guess not,” I nodded slowly. “Still, do you ever…”
“Just drop it Hoarfrost,” Knell said slowly. “I think about it as much as you do.”
“I still don’t know if being found by the Arctic Wolves was a good thing or not,” I muttered, slowly swinging my axe in front of me.
“I know what you mean,” Knell agreed. “If we weren’t found by the Legion, I would have spent eternity at the feasting tables of my ancestors. Now even that may have been taken from me.”
“Is that what you Haellers believe happens when you die?” I asked in surprise. “We were always told that death would be a reflection of our life, of our contribution to the village and those around us.”
“Yeah, I heard about Fitjar’s beliefs,” Knell nodded. “Seems like a good way to inspire loyalty if you ask me.”
“Maybe that was all it was for,” I chuckled, before standing up from and glancing out into the snow one last time. “I’m going to get some sleep then. Are you OK on what on your own?”
“Yeah, sure,” Knell nodded, before peering out into the blizzard. “Wait, Hoarfrost, come look at this.”
Nodding, I turned back around, following his gaze and trying to see what he was looking at. “I don’t see anything,” I shook my head.
“There, right there,” Knell hissed, pointing with his hoof. “Can you see it now?”
I concentrated hard, and eventually managed to make out a slightly darker patch on the horizon. It was big, slightly larger than even the largest wolves, but there was something else about it. The top of it seemed to be writhing slowly, and I finally made out three separate shadows through the storm. My blood suddenly ran even colder as I realised what this thing was deadly, and it was heading straight for us.
“HYDRA!” I bellowed, drawing my crossbow and pointing it towards the shadow.
Beside me, Knell did something similar, readying his axe while snapping off a blind shot at the looming shadow. Behind the pair of us, the others were scrambling to get ready, grabbing weapons as they stood beside us, staring out into the snow.
“I don’t see anything!” Summit roared, scanning the area. “Not big enough for a hydra anyway.”
“It’s there,” Knell assured Summit, reloading his crossbow and taking a step forward. “Trust…”
A massive fanged head shot forward, its sharp teeth clamping onto Knell’s front leg, ripping the limb from him. For a moment, time stood still as Knell looked at the stump where his leg had been, the bloody rip pumping blood onto the cave floor, before he let out an ear-splitting scream of pain, letting his axe and crossbow fall to the floor. A split second later, another head shot into the cave, grabbing hold of him and hauling backwards, dragging the screaming pony out into the snow.
I could see the shadows moving, the three heads tearing at the smaller shadow of Knell, before they finally moved apart, Knell’s screams stopping abruptly and being snatched away by the howling wind.
I couldn’t quite believe what had just happened. One moment Knell had been there, and the next he was gone. It had all happened so fast that none of us had moved an inch, to stunned by what had happened. I wouldn’t go as far as saying I was friends with Knell, but now he was gone, I felt an ominous pit open up inside me at his loss.
“Get back!” I roared, grabbing hold of Knell’s fallen weapons and diving back as another head shot into the cave, hitting the ground where I had been standing moments before.
Nodding, the others followed my lead, turning and sprinting past the fire, further into the cave. It was not a perfect plan, but in the absence of anything better, it was all we had. Behind us, the heavy footfalls of the hydra echoed around the cave as it began to force itself after us.
“You said it wasn’t a hydra!” I roared at Summit as we turned a corner.
“To small!” Summit roared back. “I’ve never seen one this small!”
“Great, so Knell was killed by a baby!” I snapped. “I’m sure that makes him feel better in the afterlife!”
“Don’t blame Summit!” Gale roared as we sprinted into a large open cavern at the back of the cave system. The floor was littered with age old bones, and I scowled before turning to face the entrance, backing away from it with my weapons held high.
“Fills you with courage doesn’t it,” Grafter snarled with a smirk, looking at me in an odd moment of acceptance. I was taken aback by this, before I realised that he knew the magnitude of the situation. We had already lost one pony, and if we were going to get out of this, grudges had to be set aside, at least for now.
“Ideas?” Gale asked, standing beside us, her crossbow readied.
“We need to cut off the middle head,” Summit growled, taking up a low stance as the hydra drew closer, not yet in sight around the corner of the cave system. “If you get the others, two more grow back unless we seal it with fire.”
“And we don’t have any fire,” I finished. “You heard him, supress it until you can get a clean cut on its middle head.”
“And if we can’t get to it?” Gale asked.
“Then the other Hoof’s won’t be getting meat will they?” Grafter snapped. “Here it comes!”
The first thing I saw of the hydra as it rounded the corner was its foot, the large clawed appendage being the size of a sheep, and a million times more deadly. The rest of its body gave off the same powerful aura, from its powerful chest and tail to the three snapping heads on the long thin necks. Blood was already dripping from its maw, and bits of Knell still hung from its teeth.
With a roar, Graft, Summit and I charged forward, our axes held in front of us as Gale launched a shot at the hydra, hitting it in the chest and causing it to roar in pain. It didn’t stop though, and lashed out at Summit with its tail, intent on skewering him on one of the spines that lined its body. Summit dodged nimbly, before bringing his axe down, cutting deep into the tail, before ripping his weapon free.
“Gale!” I roared, slashing at the creature, before throwing her my crossbow. It was useless for me to have it, but she could do some damage with them from her rear position.
The others quickly got the idea, throwing Gale their crossbows and leaving the Pegasus with all five of our weapons. Grinning, she quickly loaded them, before sending a flurry of arrows at one of the hydras head. The bolts slammed home, ripping through its skin, but more importantly piercing its eyes, destroying the vulnerable orbs and blinding the creature.
Once more it screamed in rage and pain, and it lashed out, smashing Summit and me aside as it bore down on Gale, intent on killing the pony who had wounded it. Gale got off one more volley, hitting it in the chest five more times, before taking flight, heading towards the roof and avoiding its snapping jaws.
“Come on!” I roared, getting back to me hooves and charging at the creatures back.
Beside me, Summit charged to, while Grafter leapt at the creature, digging his axe into its back and grabbing the handle with his teeth, keeping him anchored to the creature as it tried to throw him off. Following his lead, Summit and I leapt up, forcing our axes to stick into its flesh and holding on tightly.
“We need to get to its head,” Summit mumbled around the axe handle.
“On it,” Grafter nodded, before grabbing Knell’s axe from me and smirking. “Watch how it’s done runt.”
Throwing the axe, Grafter leapt after it, before grabbing his own axe and repeating the movement, slowly climbing up the creatures back. Shaking my head and snarling, I looked across at Summit, the pony nodding, before pulling his own axe and leaping up after Grafter. Pushing him further, I allowed him to sink his axe in.
Grafter almost reached the creatures neck, before he slipped, his teeth sliding alone the axe, before coming lose as one of the cracked pieces of enamel came lose. He roared in pain as he began to fall.
“No!” I roared, concentrating On Grafter and willing him upwards with my headsets horn.
He was a long way away, and I wasn’t sure if I had the range, but he was the closest to killing the hydra. Gale was still managing to dodge the hydra’s attacks, but she must have run out of ammo, the weapons discarded as she dodged, ducked, dipped and dived. Grafter’s roar stopped as he found himself being suspended in mid-air. Looking around, he snarled as he saw me straining to hold him up and hatred flared in his eyes. Me saving him was just another nail in my coffin, but I didn’t care at the moment.
“Go get it!” I roared, throwing him up at the hydra’s neck, before slipping from the creature, landing heavily on the floor.
Grafter roared as he flew through the air, grabbing hold of both the axes that he had sunk into the creature and bringing them whipping through the air. They both slammed into opposite sides of the hydra’s central neck, passing through it with little trouble, the neck and head falling to the floor.
The hydra wobbled ominously, before toppling over, crashing to the floor as its blood began to leak out across the cave. Slowly, the four of us moved together, grabbing weapons and readying ourselves in case the creature wasn’t dead yet. After two minutes of tense silence however, I decided that we might as well move, and began to take charge once again.
“Cut it up, we’ve got our meat.”
“Hydra meat?” Grimskull asked, grabbing a piece of the Hydra and inspecting it closely. “And no sign of Knell? Did you get his weapons?”
“A pony’s dead, and all you care about is his fucking weapons!” I roared, bracing myself against the strike that followed my statement. It hurt like hell, but Grimskull was pissing me off with his callous attitude to pony life.
“Weapons!” Grimskull roared.
“Take the fucking things,” Summit snapped, dropping the axe and crossbow in front of Grimskull, before turning and stalking off towards the barracks, grabbing hold of a piece of meat as he went. Gale and Grafter followed after him, and I Suddenly got a feeling of emptiness, my anger dissipating almost instantly. Turning, I began to follow the others.
“Hoarfrost,” Grimskull called out, and I turned to look at the Sergeant.
“Yes Sergeant?” I asked wearily.
“It’s not easy to lose ponies,” he said, and for the first time I saw something that could almost be called compassion on his face. “You did well. Now get out of my sight pup.”
And like that, the moment was gone, Grimskull turning and grabbing the remaining meat, heading towards the other Hoof’s longhouses to distribute the food that Knell had died for.
“Another one is dead?”
“Yes Wolf Lord,” Grimskull nodded. “Hoarfrost lead a hunting party into the wilds. They were set upon by a baby hydra. They killed it but Knell didn’t make it.”
“They killed a hydra? Five of them?” the Wolf Lord asked in surprise.
“Technically it was only four of them, Knell was killed to quickly to be much help,” Aegis muttered, looking at the Wolf Lord and Grimskull.
“Either way, it is proof that they have learnt a lot,” Grimskull insisted. “They’re ready.”
“No, one victory doesn't make them ready,” Aegis shook his head. “We throw them out there now and they will all die. This whole batch will be a waste of time.”
“Grimskull,” the Wolf Lord asked, turning to face the Sergeant. “You vouch for their readiness?”
“I do my lord,” Grimskull nodded.
“Very well, you are in charge of training,” the Wolf Lord sighed. “Aegis, make preparations with the Rune Priests. Tomorrow, their final test is at hoof.”
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Even though i could see the fate of Knell from the moment he was introduced, i was still shocked by the suddeness of it.
Well done.
Death by hydra... unpleasant
Still, nice chapter, although I am confused why unicorns would have the headsets, since they already have magic
4267517 the headsets are for the non-unicorns, unicorns are only given the axe and crossbow.
4267774 I know, I just thought I saw something that said that a unicorn had a headset
4267876 oh, ok. This is still a great story, right?
4267901 Of course
4267913
Thanks.
Oh, and I didn't think that I gave a unicorn a headset. All of Hoarfrosts Hoof had them because they were either Earth Ponies or a Pegasus.
This is what caught me up. Are you talking about the unicorn that died, or someone else that bought it?
4268287
Ah, yeah, that's my fuck up.
One down, four left
4# dan dan dan
Excellent chapter.
He's probably just an ass, but I would say that Grafter is on a straight path to fall for chaos.
4272548 Although, Chaos being what it is, the Dark Gods will probably also target Gale just to try and screw over Hoarfrost, if they have started to show their presence at this point
4273212 true, but for now I would say that she's too strong minded and loyal for that too work. They might tease and harass her, but in the end, all they'll achieve is big "buck off".
4273345 Slaanesh might like that