Disharmony

by ItchyStomach

Chapter three: Chase

“…but I’m sure I have seen something like that before, maybe in a luggage, or… in a shop at the station? When we arrive back, I’ll check the shops. I might be wrong, but if I find another one like this, that’ll mean we are…”

They ears perked up in unison, as they heard a loud growl behind them. The unicorn abandoned his speculations. He looked questioningly at Coal, who shrugged.

“Are there any dangerous animals around here?” Coal asked.

“Well, there are bears and I heard some folks say that there is a manticor in the forest, but as far as I know...”

Another growl, this time closer, hit their ears. There were sounds of a running creature as well. The thuds indicated a heavy entity, which was probably limping hard judging by the unevenness of the impacts.

The chariot didn't have any back windows. Coal leaned out the left side window to glance back, but they were in a curve and the trees concealed the pursuer from view. He leaned forward to address the puller pony, while Silver watched their back from the right window.

“Hey there, can you go a little faster? It seems that something is chasing us.”

The stallion looked back with wide eyes.

“What? Where? Chasing us?”

“Yes. It's probably some angry animal, but I hope you can outrun it.”

The chariot jerked as the pony increased speed. Coal replayed the day's events in his mind, but he found nothing that could upset an animal, or at least he thought they didn't do anything like that. He sat back, and peered behind them again. There was a big, dark figure on the road. It was too far away to make out what it was, but it had the shape of a giant wolf, and Coal could have sworn he saw green eyes glowing.

“Hey, do you see anything back there?” The puller pony asked. “Is it close? Will it hurt us? Wait, you didn't take any important stuff from that village, did you?”

Coal shared a glance with the unicorn. He felt a weight forming in his stomach, as he thought about the content of his saddlebag. The other must have had similar thoughts, but didn't say anything either. Their silence caused the puller's voice to break in fear.

“You morons don't tell me you actually fetched something! Oh dear, I should have left both of you there. They told me that a trip to that town was a bad idea, but I need the money, and now I have to race a... I don't even know what!”

Another growl, this time closer than ever cut further complaining off. The thing seemed to catch up with them, despite their increased speed.

The unicorn poked Coal in the side, still leaning out the window. "I think ... I think it's a timberwolf."

The name was familiar, but Coal couldn't place it. "Right. Is it dangerous?"

"Yes, they are rather dangerous, but I might able to immobilize it from here."

Coal nodded, and leaned forward again.

"You keep up the pace, and we'll take care of that thing."

"Why? What is it? Is it gonna hurt us?"

"Don't worry. It's just a... timberwolf. We know what to do. Just concentrate on the road."

"A timber-what?"

"You'll get double money at the end."

The pony gulped, and remained silent. Coal sat back and thought about that word. It reminded him some tales from his foalhood, but he dismissed the idea. There was no way an imaginary character was chasing them. He hoped the unicorn knew what he was doing. He leaned closer to him.

"How do you plan to stop it?"

The unicorn grinned, as if enjoying the thrill of the situation. "Aim for the head."

There was another loud growl, accompanied with uneven, heavy footsteps. The unicorn leaned out the window, and aimed his horn at the creature.

"Are you sure you can hit the head?" Coal had to raise his voice to be heard over the combined noise of the wheels and the animal’s gallop.

"I have to. Otherwise, it'll just reassemble itself really quick."

Coal only blinked at that. The unicorn concentrated, and shot a magic beam at their pursuer. Coal quickly leaned out his window to watch.

The creature was in plain sight now. It resembled a wolf, but it was bigger than any Coal had ever seen. The body was made of branches, leaves and other big pieces of wood, held together by invisible magic. The legs ended in sharp, dangerous-looking talons. The eyes were two glowing, green spots, beneath them was a big mouth, full of giant teeth. It seemed that those foalhood tales had more truth to them than he had imagined.

The unicorn missed his first strike. He shot two more beams, but each time the creature jumped away. The rattling of the cart didn't help him either.

They entered another curve. The wolf could barely follow the turn, but managed to avoid colliding with any tree. Coal saw that the front left leg, unlike the others consisted of only a couple of branches. That had to be the reason for the limping. The wolf must have had an accident, but Coal remembered the words "reassemble itself". He didn't have time to speculate though. He jerked back as the timberwolf leapt forward, right foreleg outstretched but the leg, instead of grasping the chariot met a glow of magic. The talons dissolved in an instant, causing the wolf to cry out in anger.

“Good shot!” Coal said to the unicorn, who looked back at him looking a little tired, but with a smile.

“Did you hit it? Is it gone?” The puller pony had hope in his voice.

“It's still there, “Silver said, ”but I hit it. I hope at least it slows it down.”

The cart suddenly jumped, as the wheels hit a rock on the road. Coal looked forward, and saw that the road was scattered with rocks. He grabbed the bottom of the window frame for support, and looked back again.

The missing foot threw the creature back a few meters, but they weren’t safe from it yet. The limping was harder than ever, but it slowly closed the distance. It occurred to Coal that if it was as a magical creature as it looked, it probably didn't feel pain or exhaustion, which made their situation worse. Luckily they had an almost tireless earth pony in front of their chariot and a daring unicorn on board.

Coal's ears perked up. He could feel tension building up in the air and he looked at the unicorn. His horn was getting brighter and a low hum filled the air, as Silver prepared a big blast. Coal looked back at the raging wolf and hoped the cart's rocking won't throw off Solver's aim too bad.

The right wheel hit another big rock slightly before the unicorn discharged. The bright, thick beam hit the air above the wolf's head as the whole cast jumped in the air, then the beam waggled to the left, snapping every tree clean in half in its way. Before the unicorn could recoil, the chariot slumped down on the road hard, and Silver fell back from the window onto the seat. His head turned upward, and the magic beam tore an opening in the top of the cart. Then, as turned his head the beam travelled down, slicing the back side and barely avoiding Coal. Silver finally ended the spell with a grunt.

The beam nearly cut the cart in half, which was now noticeably more instable. Through the gap they could see the wolf, in almost reaching range from them, and untouched by the magic. Coal helped Silver to sit back at the seat. He frowned when he saw the destruction.

“At least your saddlebag wasn't damaged...”

The sounds and the instable cart made the puller pony look back over his shoulder.

“What's happening back there? Did you...” His eyes went wide, when he saw the damage. “What the heck are you doing back there? You were supposed to kill that thing, not to destroy my cart! You'll have to pay for-”

"Look ahead!” Coal shouted at him, but it was too late.

Before them, a boulder sat next on the ground. The road took a sharp curve to the left before it, but the harnessed pony didn't notice it in time. He quickly turned his head forward at Coal's warning and started to steer left when he saw the obstruction, but couldn't avoid the collision.

The horizontal rod of the harness snapped in two as his body hit the rock and turned sideways.

Coal and Silver saw the rock in their way a moment sooner. They didn't have enough time to open the doors and jump out, so they hoped for the best. They flew over the rock when the cart hit it, just touching the top with their hooves. Coal directed his weight on one of his forelimb and rolled over several times before coming to a halt in a little clearing between the trees. Silver apparently wasn't that skilled. The unicorn landed on his side and slid three or four meters before stopping. Coal intended to crawl to his hooves but then saw movement from the corner of his eye, and remembered their original problem.

The wolf finally caught up on them. It went straight for Coal's throat, mouth wide open, the growl never stopping. Coal instinctively held his forelimbs before himself in a defensive manner. A cry of pain and fright escaped his mouth as the jaw closed on his leg, penetrating his skin and going deep in his flesh.

The beast caught him on his back, which left him a possible way to strike back. He summoned all of his strength he could into his hind legs, and kicked hard. His hooves went straight through the timberwolf's stomach area, sending branches and shrapnel into the air. He quickly retracted, and kicked again and again with alternating hooves.

The wolf roared in anger and perhaps pain through the leg in its mouth. It shook its head, nearly ripping its victim's leg off. Coal tried to punch the face with his left hoof, but the pain and the movement made it impossible to do any damage. His hind legs were kicking now almost aimlessly at its back legs.

The wolf released the grip on Coal's leg, stood tall and held up its taloned front leg, aimed at Coal's chest. Coal tried to take advantage from the short pause, but the agony on his limb made it difficult. He started rolling to his left to avoid the talons but feared he was too late.

A bright, thin beam of magic shot through the air. It blasted through the wolf's head and then went downward, slicing the body in half almost entirely before vanishing. The growl was cut off in an instant. The body fidgeted a little and then collapsed on the ground, just before Coal's hind legs. He quickly pulled back but his attacker was gone, only a pile of branches lay on the road, completely lifeless and harmless.

Coal stared at the pile for long seconds before his mind registered the sudden lack of danger. The pain from his leg made his vision blurry and his thoughts haphazard. Sound of hoofsteps came from his left, and a white glow enclosed the injured limb. He barely registered it, his mind circled around in fear, agony and the sudden change of events.

When things came into focus again the bleeding had stopped, and the pain eased a little. He looked at his limb, and it was still glowing in Silver's magic. He looked for the unicorn. He was sitting beside Coal, eyes closed. His right side was striped with bloody scars and he looked tired, but otherwise all right. He sensed Coal's movement, and opened his eyes.

"I stopped the bleeding, I hope.” His voice was calm. “I'm not entirely familiar with giving first aid to timberwolf victims, but it will do for the time you get to a hospital. Also, we should get going as soon as we can. The wolf will be back with time."

Coal looked at the branches at his hooves, then at the rock with the cart’s wreck behind it. The unicorn followed his gaze.

"Our friend is dead, I suppose. He got the rock head on, and didn't move since then."

"We should check him. He... he is an earth po- AAAGH!"

Coal cried in pain as he unconsciously moved his injured leg to stand up. Silver pushed him down.

"You just lay still, I'll check him if you insist."

He stood up and walked to the cart, not stopping his spell. He observed the unmoving body between the rock and the wreck, and shook his head.

"No, we can't help him." He fished the saddlebag from the wreck and slid it on.

Coal carefully turned to his side, holding his limb to his chest. Silver stepped closer.

"Coal, you shouldn't stand up. We have to get out of here, but let me carry you, okay?"

Coal wanted to protest, but the branches twitched on their own, making a rattling sound. Coal jumped on three hooves to get away from them. The magic left his limb, the pain returned and with the blood loss, it caused him to collapse on the ground, unconscious.

* * *

He was flying. His leg was in pain. He had to flee before the timberwolf reassembled itself and attacked them again. His body twitched to move. But... Wait a second... No, he was not flying. He wasn't moving his limbs, he still had no wings. He was floating in water. But... He was able to breathe, and he was breathing air. He opened his eyes a little. The world was blindingly bright, just like a magic beam. His pupils slowly adjusted to the brightness, and he could make out trees before him. He was floating above a dirt road, moving forward. Sound of hooves on dirt hit his ears and he glanced in that direction. Silver Beam was trotting next to him. His horn was glowing, and Coal finally put the parts together.

He was in the unicorn's levitation field, held in a comfortable position. His saddlebag was still on the unicorn's back. Coal turned his head to look at his injured leg. It still looked terrifying, but it didn't hurt as much as before: perhaps Silver did something about it. When he tried to move it, sharp pain shot through his entire torso, but he suppressed the cry into a loud hiss. Silver's ears twitched at the sound and he looked at Coal, who was now watching him. The unicorn smiled a little.

"Finally, you woke up," he said, not slowing in his trot. "I was worried a little when you collapsed back there, but you are relatively fine. You lost a lot of blood but I was able to stop the bleeding, and I also numbed your nerves a bit some to help with the pain. We should reach the station soon, and you'll get proper treatment."

Coal blinked several times before answering. He was still dizzy, but he managed to comprehend what he just heard.

"Uhm... Thanks for saving me. How…" The wolf. He jerked his head back where they came from. "Are we safe from the wolf?"

"Not entirely, but I think I’ve managed to put enough distance between us."

That was a relief. Coal smiled. "You hit it pretty hard. I think now I know why your name is Silver Beam."

The unicorn chuckled. "Thanks, Coal. I'd have gotten it sooner, but the road was too bumpy for a proper aim."

Coal's brows furrowed as he thought about the bumpy road, the chariot, and finally the third pony.

"What happened to...uhm..." He realized he forgot the name.

"He is dead." Silver said casually. "He hit the rock head on at a swift pace just like I said, and the harness and the cart finished the work."

Coal felt sorry for the innocent pony, and was slightly disturbed by the unicorn’s casual tone. "You left him there? Just like that?"

"I had no choice," Silver said with slight annoyance. "I can't carry two ponies while trotting away from potential danger and one of them is knocked out and needs to be given a painkiller spell."

"I... Okay." Coal's ears dropped. "I understand, and I'm grateful for your help."

"No problem. I couldn't let you die there. You still got to pay me.”

They reached the chariot station without further talking. Silver was dripping with sweat, and he had to give up his painkiller spell to be able to safely levitate his injured companion. Coal was trying to stay silent, but the throbbing pain in his limb squeezed an occasional cry or a hiss out of him. The pain lengthened the trip to eternity.

The station consisted of several one-story buildings, standing next to each other without recognizable order, much like a small village put together in a hurry. Silver headed straight to the local hospital, or more like a first aid station. Wide-eyed ponies stared at the sweaty unicorn and the levitating, bloody earth pony. Some of them offered help, but Silver ignored them.

He trotted through the doors of the medical building, exchanged some words with the nurses and then carefully seated Coal on a hospital bed.

As the levitation field ceased, Coal felt as his body was being pulled down by at least twice as much gravity than normal, but before he could make a sound his vision went dark, and he quickly slipped into magically induced coma.