Through the Nether

by StormDancer

Discipline

Minutes ticked by. Minutes she could have been using to discover her whereabouts. Minutes she could have been using to heal. Minutes she could have been using to try and contact ... someone. But instead she lay under a patch of remarkably well maintained leaves, clutching a garden shovel, and waiting for that monstrous abomination of equine nightmares to look away.

It would only take a few seconds. If that thing would go somewhere else, wander to the other side of the balcony, turn its head or even just close its blasted eyes for a few moments, she could scuttle off under the cover of the plants, and make a clean escape. Instead, it remained like some horrible monolith whose unflinching gaze lingered over the garden as some kind of predator waiting for its prey.

Worse yet, the longer she remained hidden in the brush, the more of those strange horse things showed up. It was as if they had suddenly been drawn to the area. She had seen beast people before, of course. Between Kobolds, Murlocs, Owlkin, and countless others, Azeroth was littered with sentient life. Even so, seeing what looked to be little more than small beasts, barely suitable as mounts, donning armor and baring weapons... that was a strange experience. Seeing one of them with such a notably different appearance was actually rather troubling.

Making it worse was the simple fact that she hadn't been able to properly recover yet.

While she was awake and aware, she was nowhere well enough to be slinging around spells. And while she was mobile, dragging one's ribcage around by ones hands was certainly not an ideal mode of transportation. Being armed only with a dull, though well kept, shovel did not exactly fill her with confidence either.

Despite all this though, she knew that she had to escape. Sylvannas had made such instruction absolutely clear: should one of the Forsaken be captured, it was imperative that they find a means to free themselves... Sylvannas could not spare Forsaken to free Forsaken. Her people, while physically fragile, were remarkably resilient, but since the Forsaken were a new race by comparison, there just weren't enough to go around. And while other members of the Horde and Alliance could replenish their numbers, the Forsaken had only recently started to employ some of Arthas' former underlings to make up for their losses.

In short, the Forsaken simply couldn't meet the numbers to rescue every captive... so Sylvannas had reminded them all that they had already conquered oppression, slavery, and even death. If they couldn't free themselves, she had no room for them in her Forsaken.

Licking lips as dry as oiled leather, she carefully slid her fingers over the hilt of the trowel.

If she couldn't find an opening, well, she would have to make one.

-~oOo~-

---

Twilight Sparkle flipped through the eighth edition of Stormshard's Compendium of Arcane Artifice as she continued to search for something to compare to the misshapen lump of stone and metal that sat before her on a lightly lacquered pedestal. The lump had clearly been something of importance prior to its destruction and subsequent implantation within the ribcage of its former owner.

Its surface looked worked, perhaps even etched, and there were clearly portions that had been repaired many times, but for all of its evident durability, the tool had been subjected to simply too much heat. It was a miracle it hadn't simply been reduced to slag and crystalline mineral matrices.

Turning another page, Twilight paused. The image within the book was some kind of heavy maul. One that had been refined to incorporate a reinforced leveraging arm, a series of structural anchor points, a mass, and a grip. More importantly, the caption clearly stated that such weapons where held in high regard amongst clan or tribal factions; they were seen as both an outward expression of power and an overt icon of respect.

Twilight tilted her head as she levitated the remains of the object closer, pulling it from the pedestal upon which it had been resting for her examination. She studied the deformations, counting out ten compression points and the clear imprinting of the hands of the creature prior to its cooling.

Blinking, she considered the order of her memories. She recalled the failing spell, the scream, and then the botched summoning that had resulted in the creature being dropped a number of feet onto the tile. It had been on fire the moment she had seen it, but it hadn't had the tool initially. It had been moments later that the tool had popped into existence and buried itself into the creature.

Picking her memories apart, careful not to focus too much upon the screams or the gasping and writhing creature, she tried to remember if she had seen it ever grasp the tool.

With a bit of pride, a nearby quill started to scratch out yet another note regarding the object: it had been a personal, if not unique, item that had been specifically fitted to conform to the creature's grip. It had most likely been a weapon, though one which was at least partly a status symbol, implying a higher social order. Further, the incorporation of multiple types of material and construction styles implied the prevalence of trade and industry, if not outright commerce. Such a weapon would likely have been carried by an individual of some renown, though what its people held in esteem could not be known from the paltry offerings the tool supplied.

Twilight smiled ruefully. At least she could reasonably assume that the creature they had tried to save had not been a villain.

-~oOo~-

---

Combing through the Royal Canterlot Gardens was not exactly what he had had in mind when being told that he was needed due to a 'breach of security'. Throwing his armor on, charging to the armory, retrieving his spear, and racing to attention on the parade grounds expecting an imminent conflict and/or possible invasion only to be told to get a lantern and start looking for 'somepony with no morals' in the garden... well... he was mentally making notes on how to avoid this in today's entry in the letter home.

Seriously... the castle has ponies specifically for this kind of thing! Ponies who... look for....and find... things.

Silent Sentinel sighed as he rounded a patch of particularly diabolical looking daisies ('imported!' the sign read) and proceeded to dutifully shine his lantern over the small watershed at their base.

Nothing.

Not that he had expected anything to be hiding in a patch of flowers really, but really? Searching the garden? What, exactly, did the commander really think they were going to find in a garden? Angry moles? Uppity rabbits? He paused to consider that thought; wrathful rabbits.... the idea sounded ludicrous. Who ever heard of an angry bunny?

As if to answer his unasked question, a low growl caught his attention, sending his lantern skittering across the lawn as he spun his spear into his mouth. Dropping low in anticipation of a lunge, he snapped his tail as he instinctively rooted himself to the ground and checked his balance and footing.

How had something snuck up on him? He'd looked over the entire east quarter and there'd been nothing!

Must be a pegasus then. His head flicked sideways, quickly scanning the skies for any hint of a contrail... any clouds that his assailant might have been using... anything that the blasted, lazy, Cumulus Guard had missed.

Still nothing.

How the heck? No clouds. Ok... no clouds, no contrail, no hint that the pegassi guard had been alerted.... must be a unicorn. Glancing around to check his immediate area, he straightened up and turned slowly, scanning the walls and foliage for anything that was large enough to have hidden a pony capable of teleporting. Sure, magic tended to make a distinctive sound when cast, teleporting moreso with its weird pop-sproing sound, but he hadn't heard a thing before the growl. It was almost as if -

And there it was again! He leapt into the air, flipping his spear down hoping to catch the invader by surprise, only to see empty ground at his feet. Spinning his head quickly as he landed a few feet away, he glared a challenge to the empty lawn.

And then he felt it touch his stomach right as the growling came again.

"Definitely not putting this in the letter... can't let Mom know I freaked out because I missed dinner last night playing Ogres and Oubliettes with the guys."

Clearing his throat, Silent Sentinel, brave member of the Canterlot Royal Guard, charged with protecting the citizenry from harm and carrying out the whim and will of his multiple princesses, calmly holstered his spear and, totally not acting the least bit embarrassed about his growling stomach, trotted over to fetch his lantern.

"Glad the guys didn't see that," he thought, "I'd never hear the end of it."

With a small smile and a shake of his head, he looked back over his shoulder to where Princess Luna was still visible upon her balcony.

"Thank Celestia she was looking over near Argent's group... I'd hate to have her thinking I was goofing off," he thought as the Princess of the Night's gaze swept silently across the grounds again.

Despite his embarrassment though, he was secretly relieved that the princess was watching over them. Whoever it was that had broken in was apparently skilled enough to evade the entire guardstaff, not to mention the guards actively on duty in the vicinity. Somepony with those kind of skills was a real, if uncommon, threat. That he'd been told it was a graverobber.... that just turned his stomach. What kind of pony dug up the dead?

A growl from his stomach arrested his musings as he glanced first down to his stomach, and then up at the gaze of Princess Luna, who seemed to be staring directly at him for the briefest of moments.

He swallowed.

"Horseapples," he thought, "now I really look like an idiot."

The moment the princess looked away, he swallowed and turned back towards the search.

"If the tromping of the guards didn't give us away, my stomach will," he muttered angrily as he swept the golden glow of his lantern across the flowerbeds once more.

After a moment, the pool of light slowly swept back over the flowers, coming to rest on the patch that read Daisies... the imported ones.

"Can't have the intruder alerted by my gut..." he glanced back towards the balcony, Princess Luna once more looking off to the south west as she swept the garden. "And they're only daisies after all...."

Swallowing his pride and stifling the months of training that drilled in discipline and beat out even the notion of 'snacking' on the property of the Princesses, he bent his neck and took a quick bite of the flowers... and came face to face with a pair of bright yellow glow flies.

Blinking at the unexpected brightness hidden under the flowers, Silent Sentinel swallowed and shook his head, trying to regain his night vision, only to hear the growl again.

"Great, not even eating shuts you up," he grumbled before realizing that his stomach wasn't rumbling at all and the growling hadn't stopped.

Months of guard training was the only thing that saved him as he yanked his muzzle back just as a glinting piece of metal thunked into the ground where his nose had been a split second before. Launching himself back while tossing the lantern, he swung his head to grab his spear right as the thing in the flowers scuttled towards him with inequine speed, the glint of metal flashing from one of its limbs.

Silent Sentinel planted his hooves, digging in with his hinds as he spun his neck around in a slashing arc of laminated wood and polished steel, hoping to catch the thing off guard and give him a chance to raise the alarm. Instead, the whistling spear tip met only fragrant green sod as the black thing scuttled right underneath the weapon. His eyes widened as he realized his attacker was far too close now to have the spear be effective.

He was in the process of shifting his weight backwards when he felt the thing touch his forelegs, hauling its remarkably light body up with disproportionate strength. Flicking his head backwards to toss his spear airborne, he rocked back further, using the attacker's momentum to aide the maneuver. It's grip caught upon the lip of his chest plate right as he tumbled onto his back, letting out a shout as he cocked his hindquarters and fired the pair of steel shod horseshoes into the black thing upon his chest.

There was a distressing sound, much like a bundle of sticks being broken, as the thing was launched into the air, followed a moment later with the metallic ping of his falling spear.

Silent Sentinel got to his hooves as quickly as he could, looking for any sign of his attacker. A muffled thump behind him caused a reflexive buck than sent Night Whimsy into a nearby bench with a flinch-worthy crunch.

Three more thumps alerted Silent Sentinel to the arrival of a set of pegassi guards who quickly shouted "Stand Down!"

Panting and glancing around in the sudden brightness of their hanging lanterns, Silent Sentinel looked for any sign of the thing from the flowerbed.

A groan caused him to flick his head, ready to stomp the thing into the ground, only to falter as he saw the wincing Night Whimsy struggling to her hooves with a heavily dented breastplate.

"Now!" barked one of the pegassi guards as he approached, "What the heck was that all about?"

"The invader," Sentinel panted, "it's here! It attacked me!"

The guards instantly spun their lanterns on the garden, pausing momentarily on the slashed sod and the multiple small pits from where Silent Sentinel had dug in for combat.

"And you attacked Whimsy why?" came back the no-nonsense demand.

"I-" he gasped, "I was still in combat sir.... didn't know it was her."

The guard stared at him for a moment before tilting his head and leaning in close.

Silent Sentinel swallowed hard as he felt the other guard's breath on his neck.

A firm tug nearly caused him to fall forward before a popping sound suddenly let him fall back.

Confused, Silent sentinel blinked back up at the pegasus who now held a... garden trowel in his mouth.

The pegasus paused a moment, as if considering, before carefully placing the small shovel on his back. Glancing over to the still shaking Night Whimsy, he took a deep breath before turning a stern, though no longer angry, look back upon the earth pony.

"Seems reasonable." He flicked his head, to which one of the guards quickly flitted off. "Pull yourself together son... you've got a report to make to the Princess, a trip to medical, and then a debriefing before you get that next meal."

Groaning internally, Silent Sentinel nodded and made to salute, only to pause.

"Something wrong there son?"

"Um... yes sir."

An uncomfortable pause seemed to fill the air.

"Aaaaand.... that would be?"

"The invader sir.... it's armed and... armed."

"No... I'm pretty sure your chest plate took care of that."

"Sorry sir, no. I mean, it has arms... and now my spear sir."

The Pegasus frowned deeply. "Son, look. We don't know much right now, but what you have to understand is that this pony broke in, dug up a grave, took on the guard, and got away with only one pony seeing it. I don't care about some stupid spear when the only one on top of their game enough to spot the monster might get taken out before he shares what he knows. As far as I'm concerned, you're a hero.... even if you did buck my special somepony."

Comments

[Cadmium]

I think the idea of the Royal guard being outwitted and at least on surprise overwhelmed by what is in essence a meatbag full of partly broken bones without any form of locomotion beyond crawling, even if its animated by dark magics, is really funny.