The Fire and Embers

by Tamara Bloodhoof

Chapter 7: Allons-y

Author's Note:

Whenever you see writing in red that means it is a thought that Ember specifically voiced in her head rather than just stray thoughts and ideas that she had.

Chapter 7
Allons-y

‘What are you going to do now?’

‘Shut up.’

‘This isn’t the time to be wallowing in self-pity and you know it. You can’t stay here! What if that griffin comes back and kills you in revenge for his friend’s wounds?’

‘Fine, who cares anymore?’

‘EMBER!’

I didn’t bother responding again, I simply curled myself even tighter. I didn’t know how long it had been, and I didn’t care. What was the point? I didn’t have any plans to get out of here, I didn’t have any friends who would help me, and I had just lost the only person who had given me a damn. If everything was going to end for me anyways, why run?

Coalhearts head was resting against me and I hugged it, eyes screwed tight as I tried to block out the world around me. The falling rain, the horrid smell of iron and something sour, the sound of rustling plants as creatures ran for cover, all of it was pointless.

‘You can’t just die! What would you say to Coalheart?’

‘I don’t know and it doesn’t matter.’

As time slowly crept on I felt the ground turn to mud beneath me, the slick muck covering me, my body blending into the ground. It was perfect, I would die looking like the ground I would be absorbed by. After all, I would be far better as fertilizer than the fuck up that I was.

‘For once in your life, listen!’

I wanted to yell at myself, to shout at my brain to shut up for once, but the shriek died in my throat as I heard the flapping of wings. It was the same sound that had been here only a short while ago. My body froze, limbs locked in terror as I heard death winging in from above, and with a giant splat it landed in front of me, only a dozen feet away. It was the griffin, a look of incredulity on his face as he stared at Coalheart’s body. He began to laugh, slowly rising from a disbelieving chuckle to a maniacal shriek of mirth, his fore-claw slapped against his head. He whooped again and again, looking like a little kid on the last day of school. I was staring at him and I could see death in every one of his claws. It didn’t matter if he was insane or not, he could kill me and I knew it, and I waited for him to come for me.

‘I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die!’ I thought, no more tears to shed. But something had happened, something that it didn’t like. The griffin had a look of alarm on his face, eyes wide in surprise, and with a lurch I realized that he must have seen me. But he didn’t turn to look at me. Instead he spun around to look at the foliage, his whole face twisted in rage.

“Who’s there!” he shouted but he didn’t wait for a reply. With a quick skip he had shifted to the left and the second he moved a giant net flew from the undergrowth, inches away from catching him. That set him off and he ran towards where I lay, veering off at the last moment in order to reach Coalhearts arm, his claws scrabbling over his scales. After a few seconds of fruitless scratching he plucked a scale free from his arm and I felt something that I hadn’t expected; rage. He wasn’t satisfied with killing him, he had to defile his body as well!?

“Show yourselves!” he shouted, holding the scale like a shield as he turned back to the forest. “Come out you mutts! You’ll make a fine rug for my cave!” the forest began to shake like mad at his taunt, and a second net came flying at him but he cut it with the stolen scale. Whatever was shaking the trees finally came out, what looked like four giant dogs screaming battle cries as they charged from their cover.

They all looked like overgrown pugs who were standing on their hind legs, two of them wielding massive chunks of rock that had been cut into the rough shape of a sword while the others wielded spears of the same style, and they all advanced upon the griffin, one of the sword dogs having made it to the front first. I only just caught the sword stroke that decapitated him, his body flopping onto the ground with a sickening thud, blood spilling out from his detached head as it flew through the air. The other dogs immediately stopped advancing, looking completely amazed at the sight, but a quick bark from the trees caused them to close together, the two spear users standing behind the remaining sword hound.

With a cry of his own the griffin charged them, the scale pointed like a lance as he ran, and the dogs split apart, one of them diving to the left, split off from his allies. It was the opening the griffin had been looking for and his claws found purchase in the hound’s eyes, ripping through the soft jelly. The dog screamed in agony, and I saw horrid visions of my own eyes being plucked out of my head by the apparition of death that was the griffin. Another slash left another dead, a second head rolling along the ground, the body suddenly unable to keep itself standing as it crumpled like a marionette whose stings had been cut. The two remaining dogs looked petrified by now, unable to move as they stared at the bodies of their fallen comrades.

"What are you waiting for? Go get him! He is a male, and he is strong! He will haul many gems, and we can breed more slaves!" came a whiny, high pitched voice from the trees. I couldn’t see the source, but it was probably another Diamond Dog, one who was able to make orders and send subordinates to die for him. Why didn’t he just order for them to retreat already before any more died?

A rattle of popped joints resounded along the clearing as the griffin cracked his bones. It was a sickening sound and I could see the dogs flinch in surprise, but they looked at each other, obvious fear in their eyes. They knew what would likely happen if they attacked the griffin, but still they nodded at one another before charging at him, crying out desperate war-cries as they rushed him. They both thrust their spears at the griffin’s sides in unison, but the griffin simply stepped forward, dodging both of their blows as he shoved his claws into their shoulders. The dogs began to howl, but they were quickly cut off as he drew his claws across their throats. They both fell to the ground, gasping for air before going still, eyes glazing over in death. I wanted to puke by now, to scream in shock and horror at this massacre, but my sense of self-perseverance was to strong and my mouth stayed shut. The griffin turned to the forest, dropping the scale and rushing whoever was hiding there.

"It was supposed to be easy! It's just a griffin! We've caught plenty of them! How did this happen?" came the voice again, but it quickly turned to screams of terror, the griffin flying out of the trees. What happened next was a small explosion, the forest suddenly illuminated as something spontaneously combusted. It was most likely the dog, his voice now silent under the quiet gaze of the moon.

The griffin was laughing as he began to walk towards Coalhearts body yet again. I felt my heart seize up as I tried to stay perfectly still, but it didn’t matter as he never saw me. The corpse shook for a while as I heard nauseous sounds of ripping and tearing, a sickening pop echoing throughout the clearing. It felt like an eternity before the monster finally left. Tens of minutes crept by before I had enough courage to stand up and look at Coalhearts body.

It wasn’t pretty.

The griffin had pulled out a few of his scales, but he had done much more beneath it. Muscles and sinew had been hacked at and pulled free, a fair chunk of meat simply missing, and beneath that was what should have been his wrist. Chunks of it were missing and multiple bones had been pulled free. What they had been taken for I didn’t know and I didn’t want to know, all I knew was that I was going to vomit again. With an almighty heave I puked on the grass, my hand covering my eyes as I stumbled to the side, only removing my hand when I was sure I couldn’t see the sight.

‘Ember, you know what you need to do.’

I took a deep breath, then nodded, still shivering at what I’d seen.

‘I need to get ready to go don’t I.’

It was a statement rather than a question, and I didn’t want to hear a reply, instead setting off for the lake and the cave. I didn’t know how I was going to prepare, but I was. I didn’t want to die yet and there was nothing more tying me here. Before I left I stopped one last time and looked back at Coalhearts body, memorizing every inch of him. Once I had finished I turned, tears flowing down my cheeks as I walked away.

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I was dead tired when I arrived at the cave, my feet barely even supporting me, but it wasn’t time to rest just yet. I stumbled in and looked around for what I needed. I needed food and I wanted something to hold them in, but I’d never seen any non-expendable items in the cave before. Where would he keep that stuff even if he did have it?

‘Dragons are notorious for sleeping upon their hordes.’

A weak smile crossed my lips at the stray thought. The nest that we had slept on for the last two weeks, it was larger than either of us and could hide an unbelievable amount of stuff. It was probably my only chance, and if that didn’t work then I guess I was dragging everything. I struggled to the leaves and began to wade through the massive pile, slowly inching my way to Coalhearts spot. I wouldn’t be able to move it all so I had to rely on my feet to find everything.

Thousands of leaves pressed against my legs as I slowly and methodically pushed through the pile, pulling anything out that didn’t feel like greenery. I found dozens of items, but most of them were just bones and litter from previous meals that had yet to decompose. What was more than just forgotten trash was a shoulder bag, a massive book, and something that he would have never needed; a rapier.

The bag was built similarly to a horse’s saddle-bag except it also had a strap for bipedal creatures. It had probably been made for a travelling pony, yet it was the material it was composed of that confused me. When I rubbed it between my fingers it felt hard and scaly, and it didn’t stretch what-so-ever and even my claws didn’t tear the bag when I poked it. I didn’t know if I was right or just insane, but it seemed to be a bag made out of blue dragon hide. At this point I didn’t care, I just knew I could use it to carry everything I needed.

The book was half as thick as my head and was nearly as tall as the inside of the bag, but one look at its cover told me that I should take it. It was written in some language I didn’t understand, but the cover was again made out of something resembling dragon hide and was embossed with a face that looked strikingly like Coalhearts. I didn’t know what it contained and what I would learn from it when I finally figured out how to read it, but if it was about Coalheart then I would drag it to the ends of the earth.

The penultimate item was a majestic blade, the hand guard swirling around the handle like some kind of snake. It was built in a way that obviously hindered use, and every part of the fine leather scabbard was emblazoned with gold and silver, as was the hilt. It was beautiful and most likely ceremonial in origin, but when I pulled the blade free from the scabbard a huge amount of rust fell out. With I sigh I put it back into the nest. I didn’t truly need it and if I could leave something behind then I would.

Finally there was the coin. If I could calculate the odds of me finding that proverbial needle in a haystack then I had probably beat the one in a million chance. It was beautiful, the entire thing made from some sort of gold alloy. The only reason I could tell was that it didn’t bend under the pressure of my fingers. The head sign of the coin held a visage of a pony, what looked like a unicorn with a coat nearly as dark as my scales. The back side held the visage of another equine, this time a unicorn with a white coat. They both seemed suspiciously familiar, as if I’d seen them before somehow. I couldn’t tell if this was important or not, and I decided to take it with me, slipping it into the bag.

I looked at the nest and sighed, knowing that this could very easily be the last time I was ever here. It felt like home now, a home that I actually enjoyed being in. But now it hurt to look at, its walls simply holding a trove of painful memories and all the blissful could-have-beens. I fought against the urge to cry as I scooped up the gems that I had dug out myself, slipping them into my bag as I forced myself to keep walking and not look back.

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My head hung low as I kept walking, my mind full of images of me and Coalheart, of him dying, the vision of death that was the griffin, of everything that had happened as I lay beside him. I wasn’t sure if all that had truly happened, but the images seemed too vivid for me to simply write it off as a hallucination. What I was sure of was that I couldn’t meet him again, not as I was now. Black dragon scales or not, he would kill me, and he would probably laugh as he did so. I sighed gently, shivering softly as I looked up only to realize that I had subconsciously walked near the clearing where Coalheart had…perished.

I felt like hurling when I realized that his body was so nearby, and despite telling myself not to look my eyes found his corpse just beyond the line of trees. Yet the sight I saw was a far cry from the sight I remembered and even further from what I had expected.

His body was covered in vegetation. Blankets of moss, strands of ivy, carpets of leaves, and much more were draped over his body like he was a giant flower pot. Animals were scurrying up and down his body dropping off small bits of plants, some of them simply sleeping or resting on him as if he were yet another tree in the forest.

It was beautiful, like an ancient ruin that was built into the forest itself, and I felt tears dripping down my cheek yet again. Despite its beauty I couldn’t tell who or what had gone out of its way to organize such a thing. I wasn’t even sure if anything in the forest could possibly be smart enough to do it if they wanted to until I saw something step from behind a tree, its ears flicking up as it turned to me, its gaze meeting mine.

It was the stag, the same one that I had spared days ago. Just like last time it gave me a small bow before returning to what seemed like a patrol. I cupped my mouth as I realized that it was guarding his body, protecting it for me, repaying my mercy with this un-repayable act of kindness. I wanted to hug him, to thank him for what he had done, but the second I stepped close he glared at me. I slowly pulled my foot back and nodded, walking away from the clearing with more hope than I’d had that entire night.

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I was standing at the crest of a hill, finally clearing the mountain and now able to see the world beyond. Trees, rivers, and even town were before me. There wasn’t anything else to do but to explore them, to try and find out more about this world I was in and hopefully discover a way to return back home.

A section of my life had just ended, and it felt like I was suddenly stuck on a path that I wasn’t prepared for. I gave a small chuckle as I looked at sun rising in the distant horizon, spreading its soft glow upon the world. Nothing had been simple since I had gone here, and I didn’t really expect that anything was going to be easy from here on out. All the same I had to be ready to face it.

‘You have a long journey ahead of you.’

“I guess so.” I whispered, taking the first step on my journey. “But you know what they say. Allons-y!”

Comments

[BlackWing]

im enjoying the look at the other side of the coin

[ramseymac]

I feel like the voice should have said
"Just keep your head down! ... There's two of us in here now, remember."
At some point, though you might not have played the game that's from...

[KamLong]

“I guess so.” I whispered, taking the first step on my journey. “But you know what they say. Allons-y!”

[CyberDragon89ponies]

The way you write is so beautiful. It’s a shame the story died.