The Mare that eats The Monsters

by Skijarama

Chapter 1 - Setting Off

Author's Note:

If any good, friendly and experienced editors, pre-readers or proof readers feel like lending me a hand with this, feel free to PM me. Id be glad for any help I can get to make sure I handle this story properly going forward.

“Let’s see here… Scarfs, check. Coat, check. Boots, check. Map, check. Food and camping supplies… check and check.” Twilight gave a satisfied hum as she set aside her checklist of essentials she was taking with her on her trip. Rarity had helps with the boots, coat and scarf, Applejack had packed the camping supplies and food (mostly apples) and Twilight had copied down a map of the Crystal Empire and obscure settlements in the area marked on it from an atlas in her library.

“You sure you have to take off now, Twilight?” Spike asked, giving her his best puppy eyes, pleading with her to stay until morning. Twilight rolled her eyes before patting Spike on the head.

“I know you want to show me Ogres and Oubliettes, especially now that Discord can make it all… eh… what did you call it?”

“Immersive.”

“Right. And I’d love to really, but this is important Spike. I shouldn’t be gone for long, though. A couple of days, I would guess, then I’ll be back and you can teach me all about the rules of your game with time to spare.” Twilight said as she set her saddlebags onto her back and made for her castle’s main entrance, Spike following closely behind.

“And you don’t want me or our friends along?”

“No, I want you all to come with me, but Celestia said this is going to be dangerous, and said in that follow-up letter earlier that bringing you all with me would probably be a bad idea.” Twilight sighed dejectedly. “It’s a delicate matter, one that has to be handled with extreme caution and care. Bringing too many ponies along would just throw a wrench into the plan. At least, that’s what the Princess seems to think.”

Spike let out a sad sounding groan of his own before Twilight smiled and drew him into a loving embrace.

“If I need you or the other's help, I’ll send you a letter. I promise.” she said with a tight squeeze.

“Alright. Stay safe Twilight, okay?”

“I will. Take care Spike. I’ll see you soon.” and with that, Twilight opened the doors to her castle and exited the building as she made her way for the train station. She gave a few ponies in Ponyville waves and smiles as she went. For whatever reason, she just felt the need to acknowledge a lot more ponies than normal today. As though she wasn’t expecting to be home again for quite some time.

Finally, the train station came into view, the Friendship Express already parked and, by order of Princess Celestia, was awaiting Twilight to get on board and give the all clear for departure. A warm, happy smile spread on Twilight’s face as she saw her friends on the platform waiting for her. “Hey, girls!”

“Howdy, sugarcube. We jus’ thought we’d come and see y’all off.” Applejack said with a nod and smile of her own.

“I still don’t get why we can’t go with you! I mean, come on! We’re your friends! We’ve kicked plenty of butt before, why do we gotta hang back?” Rainbow exclaimed in frustration, throwing her forelegs wide for emphasis as she shot into the air. Applejack grabbed her tail in her teeth and pulled the prismatic pegasus back to the ground.

“Calm down, Rainbow.” She said sharply. Rainbow merely huffed and crossed her forelegs.

“I don't like it either, darling” Rarity agreed more calmly before looking at Twilight with a warm smile. “Oh, but you will let us know if you need us out there, won’t you Twilight?”

Twilight gave a nod and smile. “I will. Spike will belch out a letter from me if I need you.”

“How long will you be gone Twilight?” Pinkie suddenly asked, getting right up in Twilight’s face. “I can’t wait to start planning out your ‘welcome home’ party! But I need to know how long I have so I can figure out how much I can get done before you get home!”

Twilight simply giggled at her pink friend’s antics. “I’m thinking it will only be a few days. A day or so too and from and maybe a day or two helping out this ‘Drifter’ in between trips on the train.”

“Speakin’ of, Twi; what are y’all even s’posed to be helpin’ this ‘drifter’ mare with, anyhow?” Applejack asked curiously, Fluttershy, who had been silent the whole time, nodding behind her.

“I would like to know, too. That is, um, if it’s not too much trouble…” Fluttershy added weakly.

“I’m not totally sure, but Princess Celestia seems to believe I’ll be able to handle it just fine.” Twilight replied with uncertainty, a hint of trepidation slipping into her voice.

“Well, just don’t forget about us!” Rainbow proclaimed, marching up to Twilight and play-punching her in the shoulder.

“Yeah, keep in touch and write us when you can, even if just to talk about how much fun you're having!” Pinkie added cheerfully, her forelegs quickly gathering everypony together into a massive group-hug.

“I will, don’t worry.” Twilight said, basking in the warmth and comfort of her friends hugging her before slowly slipping out of the clustered pile of pony limbs. “At any rate, I should get going. See you later, everypony!” Twilight said as she made her way onto the train, smiling back at them as they began waving and calling out after her in farewell until the doors all closed and the train began to speed away.

It would be night, soon. The sun was already touching the horizon, casting an orange, slowly fading light over the foothills leading into the Crystal Mountains, sinisterly contrasted by dark snowstorm clouds that loomed over them. The train would be passing under those clouds and blotting out the sun soon enough. Already, mounds and sheets of snow could be occasionally seen blanketing sections of land as the train gradually climbed in elevation.

Twilight was making sure all of her things were in order before it was time for her to lay down for some sleep. The train would arrive in the Crystal Empire in the morning, meaning Twilight had plenty of time to get in her rest. The train had plenty of ponies on board, though most of them were in other carts, this one having been reserved for Twilight so she could think and keep her thoughts together without distraction.

She had been spending the last hour going over a list of spells she might have need of on this trip in her head. As she was finally satisfying herself with her completed mental list, her ears twitched as one of the cart’s doors opened. She glanced up and saw a scrawny looking stallion hiding behind the door at the front of the cart, one of his eyes looking at her nervously. “P-princess T-twilight? Uh, is now a good time?”

Twilight simply gave a warm smile. “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna bite you or anything. Do you need something?”

The stallion entered with an uneasy look on his face as he glanced over his shoulder. “Um… well, it’s... I dunno how to describe it…” he prodded at the floor uneasily with the tip of a hoof, looking around as though worried something was about to ambush him.

“Take your time. I’m listening.” Twilight said gently, standing from her seat and moving to the center of the cart to stand in front of the stallion. He was sweating and looked horribly confused, putting a concerned frown on Twilight’s face.

“It’s my wife… she isn’t waking up from her nap.” The stallion finally managed, looking over his shoulder fearfully. “That isn’t normal. She naps like this constantly on our way to and from the Empire, but she always wakes up when I shake her… but, now she isn’t… I’m worried something bad’s happened to her… can you take a look?”

Twilight frowned, looking at him quizzically. “I’d love to, but why didn’t you ask one of the train’s medical staff?”

“I uh… it’s silly, I know, but… I didn’t want to cause any alarm for the other passengers.” the stallion mumbled uncomfortably. Twilight sighed softly but nodded.

“Alright, lead the way-”

She didn’t get to finish the sentence. The train suddenly shook violently, the wheels screeching loudly as the emergency brakes were put into effect. The sudden force of the stop sent Twilight and the Stallion sprawling to the ground and sliding to the front wall of the train cart, bumping and slamming into the rows of seats along the way.

Twilight could hear alarmed and frightened shouts and cries from the cart ahead of hers as she started to get to her hooves, the train having finally stopped. “What in the wide, wide world of Equestria is going on?!” she asked in a trembling voice as he got to her hooves.

The stallion didn’t reply. He was out cold on the floor, his head having hit the wall when he finally reached it. With a dizzy groan, Twilight picked him up in her magic before throwing the door to the next cart open. She froze at what she saw.

Everypony in the passenger cart was in a blind panic, stampeding and crowding in an effort to escape the train cart. The fresh corpse of a young mare was on the ground, a chunk of flesh having bit ripped away from her neck, allowing blood to pool onto the floor from her lifeless body. Twilight could feel her stomach churning and she had to make an active effort to keep from throwing up.

“Merciful Celestia…” Twilight breathed before her eyes shot from the corpse to the crowd ahead of her. The ponies were scattering away from two others in the middle of the cart, looking like they were struggling. Twilight felt her eyes widen and her pupils shrink as one of the ponies, looking far more like an animal, dug his teeth into the shoulder of the stallion he grappled with, drawing an agonized scream with the stallion before pinning him down.

Claws grew out of the cannibalistic ponies forehoof, slicing across the stallion’s face and instantly silencing his cries and screams, blood splattering across the floor and onto the panicking faces of nearby ponies.

Twilight was frozen in shock, wide eyed and filled with horror as the monster turned its hungry eyes slowly to her. A sadistic, sharp-toothed smile spread across his bloody face before a long, slithering tongue licked his teeth and lips. “The Princess shows herself…” he growled hungrily before lunging.

Twilight, acting purely on reflex, slammed the train car door shut in her attacker’s face, backing away quickly. The ravenous pony slammed into the door and swiftly tore it off it’s hinges with blade-like claws and impossible strength, maniacal howls of glee ripping from it’s throat as it stormed after Twilight without pause.

“GET AWAY!” Twilight screamed as she fired a beam of magic at the creature. The creature wasn’t even slowed down as the magic seemed to merely slide right off of it, as though it couldn’t touch it at all, so it went around.

Twilight let out a panicked shriek as the creature jumped for her. She ducked just in time for it to sail over her head. Her eyes widened as the stallion on her back was pulled off of her as the creature shot past her. She turned just in time to see it plunge it’s claws into the unknowing pony’s chest, ending his life instantly.

Thinking fast, Twilight shot a small, focused beam of magic at the floor beneath the monster. It leapt back, avoiding falling into the hole Twilight made in the floor of the train. As it did that, Twilight took the chance to charge her horn and teleport out of the cart and onto the roof of the train.

She turned around to look at the front of the train, another gasp escaping her as she realized that there were several breaches in the side of the train, ponies scrambling to get away as more of these things pounced and practically frolicked through the screaming crowd, slicing, biting shredding and tearing through it with those ever present smirks.

Then they all looked at her. Twilight quickly backed away fearfully, her eyes looking for something that could help her and the other passengers here. Nothing was immediately visible, the creatures beginning to bound and sprint for her specifically, forgetting everypony else and charging.

This is bad! Twilight mentally stated the obvious before taking to the air with a powerful flap of her wings. The creatures let out angry howls as she got out of their range. Glaring at her, their eyes began to turn sadistic once more as they looked back at the crowds of fleeing ponies. “If we can’t have the main course, we’ll make a meal of the appetizers…!” one of the beasts shouted at her before they began to jump into the crowds of running ponies again, outrunning them effortlessly.

What do I do, what do I do?! Twilight thought to herself helplessly as more ponies were brought to swift and terrible ends by these monsters. Her magic was seemingly useless against these things, and she had no chance in trying to tackle them without it. These ponies were dying quickly and she was powerless to help them!

From the front of the train, there was suddenly a bright orange flash. Twilight looked over and squinted as a large explosion went off, fire and shrapnel spreading everywhere as the force of the blast sent the front of the train flying through the air. Twilight yelped as she realized the train cart was flying right at her. She lowered her altitude and prepared a teleportation spell to get out of the way in time. A scream of pain flew from her lungs however, as one of the beasts below had seen her descent and leapt for her, sinking it’s impossibly sharp teeth into her right hind leg.

Twilight’s teleportation spell discharged improperly, a high-pressure blast of unfocused, raw magic exploding from the tip of her horn and kicking her into the ground below from the recoil. The train section had a hole blown in it’s side from the force of the spell as it fell down upon the Princess of Friendship.

Comments

[Skijarama]

8064006 (Continued)

[tom117z]

I'm starting to think Celestia should have told Twilight at least a little bit of what she was getting in to...

[Amos Anon]

And princess Twilight died. The end.

Just once I'd like to see a story where that actually happens. Would make my day to see how many people would be royally ticked about it.

[One of Nine]

8100442
Never go into a battle blind