Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Thorns and tree branches tore away pieces of Garren's clothing and cut small scratches in the exposed skin. The cuts burned, but he could do nothing for them right now. He was already trying his hardest to keep up his pace and the rough terrain wasn't making it easy. Gnarled roots, old tree stumps and uneven ground were making him lose his balance and slow him down. He had to keep moving while he checked the ground in front of him, but couldn't lose track of the pony he was following after.
Time fire was still ahead of him, but now Garren could hardly see him. The moon was especially bright that tonight, but the thick canopy of tree branches prevented most of the light from reaching the floor. Garren turned and looked back, far behind him the Castle was still visible and closer to him were a mass of ponies chasing after them.
The Earth and unicorn ponies were having as hard a time as Garren was running through the forest. It was harder for them because if any one of their four hooves were to tripped on something, the pony would go down. Garren could see winged shadows quickly moving over the forest floor. He looked up and could make out dozens of pegasi soaring above, they were looking for an opening in the barrier that the branches made. For now they had an advantage for the pegasi were stuck in the sky, as long he didn't stop, he would surely lose the ponies behind him.
But Garren was not so lucky. One particular root that stretched out horizontally across his path caused him to trip. He fell and slide on stomach, which caused the whole front side of his body to become covered in scrapes and bruises. He picked himself up and clutched his stomach, there was a long, thin cut running from his lower abdomen to the middle of his chest. He stood up and frantically looked around, he had lost sight of Time Fire.
"Time Fire, where are- Oomph!! Garren was stopped mid sentence as he was tackled from behind. It was an blue earth pony. The two went tumbling forward in a heap, but it ending up with Garren stomach down in a push up position with the pony standing over him. His front hooves were pressed against his back, holding him down.
"I've got him! I've got- Uungh! It was Garren's turn to cut the pony off. He brought his right elbow up and it struck the pony on the bottom of his mouth, this made the pony step back off his back. Garren took the opportunity and twisted around so that he was on his back. He swung a fist and it connected with the side of the ponies jaw. He pulled his knees up to his chest and when the pony came back to restrain him, he pushed out. His kick impacted right between the ponies two front legs, it wasn't the strongest kick in the world, but it sent the pony flying back into a tree.
He stood back up and saw a pony emerge from behind a tree. He crouched and brought out his knife, he was ready to attack. Then a fiery horn lit up the darkness around the pony.
"Time Fire? Is that you? Garren whispered, not bring down his knife.
"Yeah it's me. Now put that away and let's move" With that the pony took off again.
Time Fire's horn stayed ablaze and it helped Garren keep track of where he was going, but it had a downside. His horn wasn't lit extremely bright, but a pegasus in the air could still see it and follow them. However most of the pegasi had already gone back to the entrance of the forest to search for them by hoof.
The two kept moving for maybe 20 more minutes. They were both getting tired and had dropped their speed to little more than a slow jog. At this pace it was easier to find his way over things that he could have possibly trip over. Very rarely he would see the shadow of a pegasus, but they never seemed to take notice of them.
"I think we lost them. lets just keep going for a little whi-" Time Fire had stopped talking and the fire of his horn had suddenly disappeared. Garren kept running towards where he had last seen his light. He thought he might have run into trouble and he was about to bring out his knife when he lost his footing.
His left foot touched ground but his right foot went down past where his left had went and landed on a downward slope. His speed and loss of footing caused him to tumble head first down a steep hill. He rolled continued to roll down the hill for a good 8 seconds, his gun smashing against his back with each rotation. When the ground started to level out, Garren slowly rolled to a stop on his back. He tried to keep his eyes open, but all the running, his fight with the pony and finally his fall down the hill had taken his energy and despite his efforts, his eyes slowly went shut.
************
Twilight walked around the courtyard as she waited for her friends. The sun had risen and and they're were now many ponies sitting around and more were coming. Tired pegasi flew down from above and earth and unicorn ponies came out of the forest. Two unicorns emerged from the forest with an earth pony between them, he looked badly bruised. The unicorns set the injured pony in the shade against the castle wall and Twilight went over to him.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but can I talk to you for a moment?"
"Uhh yeah sure?" He pulled himself into a more comfortable seated position.
"What exactly happened to you?"
"I tackled him, I thought I had him, but something happened."
"What?"
"That human...he's stronger than he appears. He is built very odd too. Where his front hooves should be, he has these five little things that look like twigs. They're small, but when he clumps them together they really pack a punch." The pony rubbed a mark on the side of his face.
"I'm so sorry. Is there anypony else still in there?"
"Yeah I know two unicorns sent help for me then continued after them at a slower pace.
"Do you have any idea where the human and the pony were headed?"
"Not really, but I don't think they did either."
"Alright thank you." The pony nodded and Twilight walked away. Her short conversation with the pony calmed her head. Every since Rarity had gotten hurt she had felt something different. It was something in her head that she had never experienced before, but it made her angry at the human for hurting her friend. It was something past anger though, she thought as if the human should injured for his crime, but that she would be the one to do it. Twilight wondered if her other friends thought the same way.
Twilight then saw Applejack coming down the castle steps and temporarily put her thoughts aside. Applejack had saddlebags on and it reminded Twilight to find her own. She went to where she had left them and magically levitated them to her sides. She was about to turn around when a pegasus landed in front of her.
"Come on Twilight! Are you ready to leave yet? Rainbow Dash was impatient and had wanted to go the previous night.
"Just about. Lets go get AJ."
Applejack was already headed towards the two and Twilight and Rainbow Dash met her in the middle.
"Hey Twi, Rainbow." Ya'll ready t'leave yet?"
"Finally, I think we are." Rainbow Dash exaggerated, it had only been a few hours.
The three ponies stood outside the entrance to the forest as Twilight gave orders.
"Rainbow, you will fly overhead, but stay close. If you see the human you tell use where they are and we've him on together. There is also a unicorn with him, I will handle him while you two try to control the human. Applejack, once we get both of them under control, you can lasso them up and we take them back to the castle."
Applejack nodded and Rainbow Dash saluted at the orders and all three ponies went off after the fugitives.
*************
"Wake up. Wake up!"
Garren's ears were ringing and he couldn't tell who the voice belonged to, for now he would assume it was Time Fire. He now felt hooves pushing on his right arm.
"Wake. Up."
Garren slowly blinked his eyes open, but still didn't move.
"Ah, there he is. Come on we got to get going." Time Fire started walking.
Garren tried to sit up, but cried out in pain.Every bone in his body ached, his cuts stung now more than ever. Time Fire came back and helped him up into a seated position. He now had his first look at himself. He looked fucked up, his jacket and pants were covered in dirt and torn in many places. Through the tears he had many thin cuts, the one on his stomach being the longest one. He rolled back his sleeves and found many more cuts and bruises. His face felt crusty and he rubbed it with his sleeve, it was dried blood from his nose and cuts on his face. Seeing himself like this made him feel weaker and he laid on his back again.
"I'm so sorry about that drop. It wasn't here a couple hundred years ago."
"Wh..what?" Garren asked, interested at what the pony had just said.
"Nothing. Come on thought we really do have to keep moving." Time Fire's horn lit up and surrounded Garren's torso and legs. He helped him on his feet and he took a few wobbly steps and nodded to Time Fire to say he was ok.
The two walked slowly with the pony in the lead. They walked for only about 1o minutes before Garren needed a break. He slumped against a tree and took out his water bottle. There was only about 1/4th left.
"Damn, I'm injured, tired, getting chased by ponies and only have a little water left. Things cant possible get any wo-"
"STOP!" Time Fire quickly shouted. " Don't say that!"
"Say what?" Garren didn't noticed what could have been a costly mistake.
"What you were about finish saying."
"Oh that things can't get any w-"
"YES THAT!"
"Well why not?"
"Because if you say that then it will either start to rain or ponies will jump us from out of nowhere." Time fire sighed as if that was common knowledge.
"But it's a sunny day! That doesn't make any sense!"
"Welcome to Equestria, now finish off that water and give that bottle to me. I'll go find some more water."
Garren quickly downed the last of the water and tossed it to the pony who surrounded it in mid air with magic. Time Fire started going again and after a couple twists and turns he was out of sight.
Garren didn't know how long he was going to be gone so he decided to move to a less exposed area. The trees around him had low branches and could easily be climbed. They also had lots of leaves that would provide more cover.
Climbing up the tree in his current condition was hell for him, but eventually he made it to a considerable height. His back rested against the trunk of the tree and and his legs were on a branch. There were plenty of leaves around him and he was dirty enough that he would blend right in. He held is rifle in his hands and feeling well protected, his eyes being to feel heavy. Garren was used to staying up for very long periods of time, but after the physical punishment he had suffered, it was nearly impossible for him to keep his eyes open.
After a while Garren couldn't take it anymore and decided he would take a look around and see if anything was around him. He detached his night sight from the rail and balanced it on a branch next to him, just in case he had to use it. He looked in the direction that Time Fire had gone and saw nothing of interest, but when he looked back where they had walked he saw something else.
He could see the slightest bit of movement. He pulled up his scope and saw two unicorns ponies slowly walking next to each other down the hill about 130 yards away.
Oh shit He thought as he pulled up his gun. He took aim at the one on the left. He pulled the trigger and sent a bullet through the top of its head.
"AHH FFF!" The recoil of the gun knocked a sensitive bruise on his shoulder that he hadn't realized he had.
The other unicorn looked at his friend who was now sliding down the hill. He frantically looked around and and started running back up the hill. He had made it to the top when Garren was finally back on him. He managed to get two shots on him as he cleared the top of the hill, one on the middle of his back and the other on his left hind leg. The pony screamed loudly for a second then went silent.
Despite his pain, Garren quickly climbed down from the tree and put his slung his rifle on his back again. He moved towards where Time Fire had left. He didn't have to go very far because he ran into him as he was coming back.
"What Happened?" he asked
"Two unicorns coming down the hill. I know I got one, but I'm not sure about the other"
"Are you good to go?"
"Yeah, but did you get some water?"
Time Fire levitated the now full bottle to Garren who drank most of it down quickly. He nodded a thanks to Time Fire and continued to follow him. Now that he was hydrated, he felt a little more energy in his body. He would still need food but for now he would be alright.
**************
Twilight grabbed another piece of cloth off a tree branch. This was one of many that she and Applejack had found in a clear path through the forest. Twilight knew that they were from the human as she had seen him wearing it earlier. Some of the pieces they'd found would have small amounts of dried blood on them.
"There's another one over here, Twi!" Applejack shouted looking over a bush. Twilight nodded and went over to her.
"With all these, I reckon we'll find 'em in no time."
This piece was bigger and had more blood on it. Twilight looked down and noticed odd marks and imprints in the dirt.They were signs of a scuffle.
"Look at this." She called to Applejack. "I talked to a guard who said he tackled the human, but he eventually got the best of him." Twilight studied the marks for moment. They weren't spread over a wide area, but they were long and continued for a very short while past a tree,
"They must have rolled over here." Twilight said as she moved past the tree. "Ah there we are, this must be where be where he laid." she pointed to a deep rectangular mark that matched the humans size. She also could see two hoof marks on either side of the mark. "He must have had his hooves pressing on his back. I'm not sure how he could have bested the pony while he had him like this."
"Maybe it wa-"
There was a loud horrible scream for a couple seconds, then it stopped. The two ponies looked at each other terrified. A few moment later they heard the beating of wings over the canopy.
"Twilight, Applejack?"
"We're down here." they said in unison.
"You have to come see this. I'm coming throughhh!" Rainbow Dash went up and flew down with such force that she managed to push through the tree tops and land in front of them.
"I thought the guard pegasi couldn't make it through." Twilight said
"Yeah, that's because they're not me. Now come on, quickly." Rainbow said, confident.
Twilight managed a small smile as she and Applejack followed her. They both seemed like themselves, if they felt at all how she did they must have been suppressing it really hard.
Rainbow Dash filled them in on the way.
"I was up looking for the human, but I saw two guard unicorns instead. I was going to go down and ask them if they had anything on him or not, but then I saw one of them just drop."
"Just drop?"
"Yeah, I heard the faintest noise and then he just dropped to the ground. The other one looked at him and then started running, but then he went down too! That's where the scream came from."
After a few more minutes of walking, Rainbow Dash finally pointed out where it happened. Just at the top of the hill was a unicorn. His back was turned towards them, so they couldn't see his face.
"Um hello? Are you ok?" Twilight started to go over to him, but Applejack put and hoof on her shoulder. She pointied to a large bloody hole on his lower back and shook her head.
"There's one down here too." Rainbow pointed to the bottom of the hill where the other pony had fallen.
"This is terrible, but it does tell us something." Twilight started
"What?" the two ponies said, looking at her.
"This happened a few minutes ago, so this tells us they're close. They have to be somewhere nearby, we're getting close. All we have to do know is slow them down and I have just the solution. Rainbow, fly back as fast as you can and tell the princess that we have 2 more down. Also request permission for off schedule rain. Have it ready by midday tomorrow. No thunder, no light, just rain. Ask for it to be constant. I think that should slow him a lot more than us."
Rainbow nodded and shot her fastest back to the castle. Twilight and Applejack walked slowly down the hill, careful not to get anywhere near the body at the bottom.
***********
After Garren had given his body water, he hoped that his other needs could go a little while longer without being taken care of. He walked slow and steady behind Time Fire. It wouldn't get them very far, but at least he was still moving. Tiredness still hung around him like a cloak and hunger made its presence known with an occasional stomach growl.
It seemed to him as if they'd been walking for hours without making any progress. Garren had no exact way to tell the time, but he guessed it was about 6 or 7 in the evening. He could still tell where the sun was, even though thick white clouds made a blanket across the sky.
After about another hour of walking, Garren sat down against a tree and shook his head. He could go no further, at least not with some rest. The clouds had blocked the sun and that had made that temperature drop significantly. He shivered and looked up. He doubted that clouds blocking the sun would cause such an extreme drop and suspected something else was at play.
Time Fire seemed perfectly fine in the coldness, but when he saw Garren shaking he offered to make a small fire. Him accepted, but only until he warmed up. A fire would definitely make their position known. The pony agreed and left to find fire wood.
He returned with a thick log only about 1ft long. His horn lit up flames and he touched his hoof down to the log. Fire spread out from it and engulfed the log. He held it there for a moment before pulling his hoof away.
Garren watched him do this and decided now was a good time to ask about his ability.
"Is it normal for ponies to do that?"
"What the fire?" Time Fire laughed "No, not at all." He said smiling.
"How do you know how to do it"
"Observing dragons and phoenixes. It was something that took a lot of patience and waiting, but luckily I have lots of time on my hooves."
"What you said eariler, something about a couple hundred years ago. What was that about?"
Time Fire sighed and looked down. "I told you when you first got here that I was Celestia's first student. That was a long time ago, in fact it was a little over 1000 years ago."
"So you must be immortal like her."
"That's right. And I have absolute no idea how it happened. It was an accident, but its effects were favorable to me. However Celestia didn't really like that I had acquired this power. So she banished me far beyond the Everfree Forest, but I eventually came back and shared some of my secret to any who were willing to find them. So yeah a few hundred years later her new student, Twilight Sparkle finds them and I already told you the rest."
"You said her and her two friends would come looking for me. Why is it so personal for them?"
"You shot their friends leg off, remember? They're not too happy about that." Time Fire said plainly.
"That was an accident. Do you think if I tried to explain myself that they would understand?"
"Its possible that they might, but if we see them the first thing they will try to do is subdue us. If they manage to do that then we'll be on our way back to Celestia and it won't matter whether it was an accident or not. If you can get them just to hold off and listen for a minute then you might have a shot. I warn you though, all their feeling are going to come out when they see you. Now get some rest, if we get far enough tomorrow I can safely open a portal." Time Fire put his hoof back onto the log and the flames absorbed into it. When the fire was gone he laid down and turned his back to him. Garren found a softer area of dirt and finally granted his body its much needed rest.
*************
Time Fire had been up for while when Garren woke up. The water bottle next to him had been filled again and Garren took a drink at it. He saw Time Fire staring above at the sky and walked over to him. He continued to look up, but knew Garren was there.
"Pegasi." He pointed to the now dark, heavy clouds all around them. "They've been at this since yesterday afternoon. I hoped it was just on the schedule, but this is too much, they've been filling these clouds all night. We need to move."
Garren was ready, he now had the strength to jog. After a few minutes they got to what looked like the end of the forest, but it was actually just a large field. They had just started to cross when drops of rain started to hit them. Those drops became heavier and it became a downpour.
"We'll, here's the rain, so I guess things can't get any worse right now." Garren had to raise his voice over the rain.
Time Fire turned to him with a "what have you done?" look on his face.
"I SEE THEM! DOWN THERE!" The voice came from somewhere in the clouds.
Garren heard a noise behind him and jerked his head around. The two ponies, Applejack and Twilight Sparkle were standing about 15 yards behind them. He looked up and saw the pegasus, Rainbow Dash was now visible.
Oh Fuck me. He thought as the light blue pegasus sped down from the clouds. She was coming straight for him.
End Chapter 5
Longest chapter I've written on this site. If you favorite, please go ahead and give it a thumbs up too. That is all.
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Aim for the wings. Hit one and she can't stay in the air. However, you must hit the flat part, not the joint, or else the entire wing comes off.
Please update it soon.
944298 Will do.
FUCKING GENIUS!!!
Dis gon b good
DUN DUN DUN!
944378. Thanks.
944378 Really soon.dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/sillyfilly_Rainbow_Dash.png
949453 I'll try
i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/219/485/what_have_you_done_face_by_peteypiranha128-d3pbwit.jpg
958849 Whats up?
959069 It was for when he said "Well it can't get any worse now."
961968 lol
MOAR I SAY. MOOOOOOAAAAAR.
You better have the next chapter up very soon. Or you will make Fluttershy cry.
Um just saying i like how Garren is trying to possibly explain himself to everypony even after he has killed around 10 ponies and maimed rarity. I really do not think there is much to explain.
"Don't finish that sentence!"
"Why?"
"Welcome to Equestria."
Ohh the irony I love it.
One thing I've noticed is that the ponies are not at all understanding, twilight opened a portal a shot went through he got caught up with it... This is all twilight fault/ time fire's fault