An Earthly Portal

by Nightmare Darkness

Skyward towards Trouble

I sat up as Spike mentioned the name Bray. Gilda seemed to shake her head of the scene she witnessed when Feather Beak was operated on. I quaffed the cup of water that the nurse had poured and finished a second. A feeling of refreshment and clarity came with it as I put the glass down as Spike continued.

"We don't have much on this mule but he always talked to the group while robed in a crimson cloak with a skull embroidered on the hood." Spike said with a shake of his head. I flexed my claws as I removed my blanket and stood on the ground. The world spun slightly but I steadied myself by holding the beds rails. Spike moved to support me but I waved him off.

"So what do we do?" I asked and Spike looked at me confused.

"Nothing, our job is done here and the guard can handle it from her on out." Spike said evenly as if it was obvious.

"Nothing?" I asked with a frown and looked at him then to Gilda who simply shrugged.

"We are going back to Ponyville. The last letter from Twilight was...clear on that regard." He said with a grimace. I looked to Gilda hoping that she was going to disagree with the action to just pack up and leave.

"Listen...Feather I am happy you saved me but I have responsibilities back at Griffinstone." She said reservedly. Anger flared up in my chest but I stamped it down as I looked forward.

"I guess were needed back in Ponyville." I said simply and walked out of the door to leave the hospital.

The city began to get smaller behind the group as we had joined the contingent of Luna's guard. Vin was bound and gagged in a barred chariot a lot worse for wear. It looked like that the interrogation was rough and brutal. Lt. Stride came to my side and flew beside me and was quiet for a moment before speaking.

"I think you are angry." He stated simply and I flashed him a glare.

"You think?" I said angrily and truth be told I don't know why I was angry I was just....bubbling with a constant source of fury that had no reason to be there. What that source was I had no idea. Spike and Gilda had both given me a wide birth since the hospital room.

"Why are you angry?" he asked pointedly and I looked forward and shifted my bow so it was more comfortable.

"I...don't know." I relented which Lt. Stride gave a fanged smile which caused me to scour in anger.

"You think were leaving the other ponies to their fates by not going after this Bray?" He offered.

"Yes! We should be out looking for him and saving the others!" I chastised him and several of the other guards looked back at me with concern and Stride gave a wave of his hoof to show he had it under control.

"I understand your anger. Look at it from my perspective, we have little information and Vin has been tight lipped. It was only after ten hours of interrogation did we get a name and description. We need mind mages." He said simply.

"Mind mages?" I asked feeling my anger deflate some.

"Unicorns adept in...extracting knowledge that others would have hidden from us." He said with some trepidation.

"You make it sound like its painful." I noticed and he simply said nothing at my observation.

"Its not pleasant." He admitted and my mind retrieved memories of Han solo being tortured for information in the Empire Strikes Back, particularly when all you hear is him screaming, at this, I involuntarily shivered.

"Sounds...." I couldn't think of a word to explain my uncomfortably feeling.

"Well, what do you think this Bray would want with train loads of ponies?" I continued past the dark ramifications of tearing into one mind for secrets. Stride gave a moment of thought.

"Truthfully I don't know but it seems something of cult. Who that cult worships and their goals are a complete mystery." He said simply.

"Your very laid back for a guard." I said simply and he chuckled at that.

"I have to be nice to civilians." he said jokingly. Before i knew it my anger and rage had subsided and I simply was just tired. I looked forward and the sun was just about to go down when I saw four shadows against the skyline.

"Are those regular pegasus?" I asked and Stride looked ahead where i indicated.

"Jumpwing, Surefire, Go ahead and clear the sky's of civilians." Stride ordered and the two leading bat-ponies both gave a crisp 'Sir!' before speeding toward the four pegasus. Gilda banked toward me on my other side with Spike on her back.

"Whats up?" she asked and I looked at her.

"There are some pegasus up ahead and they are clearing the sky's." I said before Stride was able to.

"Oh that makes sense." Spike offered before we all lulled into an awkward silence.

"I'm sorry." I said after a minute. Gilda scoffed and I looked up at her surprised.

"You just needed some space all griffins have a temper, hell look at me." she said with a smile I couldn't help but give a small laugh as Spike laughed out-loud.

"I get why you were frustrated Feather, I was too when they told me what I told you. But realistically we don't have any leads." he said factually and I could only agree with both him and Strides points, no need for me to walk around with this anger and rage in me.

"SIR!" Came a loud exclamation from the new lead bat-ponies. Stride's face hardened instantly.

"What is it?" He demanded flying forward.

"Jumpwing and Surefire are completing combat Arial maneuvers." He notified and I turned my gaze to the pegasus group. It simply looked like they were chasing one another.

"It looks like they are just flying." I said simply as I looked at Gilda who's features were hard as she looked at the far off group.

"Gilda?" Spike asked.

"They are under attack." She said calmly. Stride stopped suddenly holding up his hoof as the group stopped to a hover. I was slow on the uptake and slower to come to a hover as Stride began to give orders.

"Kite, Violet, Marko, Cloudy, Duskray, and Hightop. Stay with the prisoner and civilians. Rest of you Crackling Raze formation!" He ordered and the rest of the group seemed to fan out and change elevation. It was for lack of a better word organized chaos. I un-slung my bow and removed and arrow.

"Please stay here." A light brown bat-pony mare said as she placed an armored hoof on my shoulder. I remember Stride calling her Kite.

"But." I began and she shook her head cutting me off.

"We have trained for this and I think you have never fought another in arial combat. It's different then ground combat." She said calmly.

"What can we do?" I asked looking after Strides group as they sped to help their comrades.

"Be patient." she said with a disarming fanged smile and I simply nodded keeping my bow ready but remaining beside Kite, Spike, and Gilda who looked worried.

"What is it Gilda?" I asked and she cast a glance at me and then looked back at the attackers.

"Why four?" She asked simply.

"What do you mean?" I questioned unsure the reason why the number of attackers was important.

"We have 15 of Luna's guard. If you wanted to attack them why so few?" she asked again and my stomach fell after a long minute as it dawned on me. 'they wanted to divide us' I said almost a whisper and I looked down towards the forest scanning for anything, Hoping I was just paranoid. I looked at them with wide eyed fear.

"What is it?" Spike said with concern as I felt a rush of air pass right by my head from the ground and suddenly the trees below us burst with life as seven crimson robbed pegasus charging us.

"Break up!" Kite screamed in surprise and the Guards banked away. Cloudy who was hooked up to Vin's Prisoner chariot banked hard as four beams of magic whizzed past her.

"Unicorns!" Gilda called out as she just dodged another bolt of magic from the ground.

"Fall back towards the city!" Kite ordered as she hit her forehooves together and a set of long bladed talons slammed into place as she turned herself lashing out with the blade slicing the left wing off at the joint.

"That four hours away!" Gilda interjected.

"You got a better idea!" she screamed back as adrenaline broke through in her voice.

"Gilda!" I called out in alarm as hooded pegasus sped towards her and in a fluid motion drew my bow string back and released the arrow that sailed straight. It found purchase in the darkness of the hood with a sickening thud causing the pegasus to stop flying entirely and plummet towards the ground. Spike clung to Gilda's back holding on for dear life giving out a shrill cry as Gilda banked hard to follow after Cloudy and the prisoner chariot.

"Feather!" I heard and whipped my head around jut to see a crimson robbed pegasus slam into my side clutching me in a deadly hug. My lungs seized and I felt like I was a rock plummeting towards the earth. With my bow clutched in my claw I punched the pegasus in the side of the head and the flying creature was unfazed by my bludgeoning attack. I extended my right hand and sunk my claws into the ponies neck feeling little resistance and I tore it free ripping the hood back in the process.

The world froze for a split moment as I looked upon the face of a decaying corpse whos milky white eyes stared at me emotionless.

"What the fuck!" I screamed out as I looked up to see Violet, a black coated dark pink maned streak of a Bat pony dive after me and sinking her battle talons into the back wings of the zombie pegasus. Its grip loosened as she pulled back severing the wings, I twisted feeling a flare of pain in my ribs as I hovered for a moment and moved to join the rest of the group. Violet looked at me with a look of concern. She had seen the zombie as well.

"Lets move." She ordered and I did not argue and followed after her. We stayed closer to the treetops and soon we were out of the range of the unicorns, but with a glance back we were being pursued by several hooded flyers.

"Sound-off!" Kite ordered. Several of the group stated their names. We were down Marko, Hightop, and Duskray. Violet visibly clenched her teeth as her eyes welled up with tears.

"Kite!" I yelled and she looked back at me.

"They are Zombies!" I yelled out and she faltered in flight.

"Are you sure!" she asked unbelieving.

"Hes right I saw it." Violet confirmed as she wiped her eyes and hardened herself. I heard Kite curse loudly as she looked out ahead and then banked to her left and we followed her.

The mountains rose up high as spindly fingers and atop on of them was a massive skull with a singular hole for what would have been a massive eye. Kite aimed for the base of that mountain and we followed after her hoping that she was not taking us to a place that we would most likely die. I thought my little pony was suppose to be all sunshine and rainbows....what I am getting is far from that experience. My ribs felt like they had been cracked my wings hurt from the constant movement. I spared a glance back and saw our pursuers were closer now. I guess that was a con being alive, you had finite stamina.

"Where are....we...going?" I said through gasps.

"Fort....Skull." Violet said just as exhausted. We rounded a cliff and a small sturdy fortification at the base of the cliff. What was a fort doing way out here, was my first question but I really didn't care. We approached the walls but they seemed fairly empty which caused me to be concerned. Seven pegasus burst from the fort rocketing toward them. Suddenly a voice boomed from the fort.

"Unknown ponies you are nearing a military complex please turn around and go back the way you came or we will be forced to persuade you to go on your way." the feminine voice said in a stoic and solid tone. The Pegasus from the fort were close enough and Kite yelled out.

"Protocol: Broken wing designation Luna is the moon!" she called out as the lead pegasus slowed looking confused.

"Situation to much for Luna's elite?" he said in a mocking tone witch irked me.

"Being pursued by undead." she said ignoring the barb and the pegasus's demeanor changed.

"Bound. Relay this to Commander Granite." He said to a light blue coated stallion who turned to sped back to the fort and he looked at us with a look of sympathy.

"We got you." He said as He looked towards the sky that had several undead closing he smiled, as our group passed him and I looked behind me to see six pegasus hovering looking at 16 robed undead approaching them.

"Wing blades!" He ordered and suddenly the six pegasi flexed their wings and just under their wings were sheaths that they, with practiced grace, equipped blades onto their wings that glittered in the dusk.

"For Celestia and Equestria banish these creatures back to Tartarus!" he ordered and they attacked.

Comments

[Texus]

I noticed I went a bit to quickly trought the chapter again, it could be because it was a bit to random or something. I didn't exactly needed another fight, I hope this story isn't from chapter to chapter, chaos and chaos. I'm also meaning not the chaos, break chaos formular.

It isn'T exactly uninteressting at the moment, but like I said, it seems I already feel the need to only look roughly at what I get there at least as soon as the fight start. I honestly only remember fights so far.

[falconstrings]

good chapter