Wolves and the Shepard

by Chemtest

All Out

Wrex batters shrubbery out of the way, stamping down any vine stupid enough to get in the way. He grunts in annoyance as a branch whips him in the face, forcing him to kick the entire tree down. As it falls down, Wrex growls, “Stupid forests. Only good thing about the war is that we got rid of them.”

Fluttershy trots up next to him, “Now, did you really need to do that? You might have hurt a bird! Do you know how many animals make their nests in those trees?!”

Wrex merely blinks at her shout, “Bit louder, and maybe I will listen.” Wrex punches a branch off a tree before it hits him, “And if a few birds get knocked down, that’s their own fault. Shouldn’t have built their house in my way.”

Fluttershy responds, but Wrex stops paying attention. He looks all around, and draws his shotgun. He holds up his hand, and Fluttershy quiets instantly.

He points it towards a random bush, and gets his finger on the trigger, “Show yourself or I will kill you.”

Two hands come up from behind the bush, and a huge creature emerges from within. Blue fur is covered by a camouflage vest, with bows and various hunting weapons all over his body. On his head is a brown hat, with a blue feather going through part of it, and two horns rising out the middle. The minotaur smiles, “Well, you managed to spot me! Honestly, congratulations, that’s very rare. Name’s Leon, Leon Greateye. Premier minotaur hunter, renown through the entire Everfree!”

Wrex squints, “Yeah, yeah, I don’t care. Look, you can either help us, or you can become the hunted.”

Leon gains a nervous twitch to his smile, “Uh, hunted? Well, we wouldn’t want that, would we?” He throws it aside, and adopts a cocky pose, leaning forward and placing his arm across his knee, “Tell me, how could I help you out?”

Wrex grins, “I saw a bright flash from somewhere in these woods. Take me to whatever did that so I can kill it.” He looks back at Fluttershy, and sighs, “Or tell it why it needs to be more careful.”

Leon claps his hands twice, “Oh, I know what you’re talking about! Nasty bugger earlier today woke me up, and I went to hash out some base rules with him. Turns out, it was actually a rather fine fellow by the name of Morad Brighthorn!” He looks at them, pleading in a way, “Don’t mess with him.”

Wrex lowers his gun, “Where is he?”

Leon sighs, “He was walking towards the town, preparing his magic.”

Wrex looks at Fluttershy, and nods, “Sounds like trouble to me.” He looks back at Leon, “Take me to him.”

———

Garrus takes a sip of tea as Rarity describes the first time her friends used the Elements of Harmony. He nods along, “Eternal night is a really bad idea, so I’m glad you put a stop to it.”

Rarity nods, “Oh yes, I’m also so glad to be rid of that brute and instead have our own Princess Luna. She is the one who rescued you and your friends, after all.”

Garrus smiles, “Wrex might take issue with that statement.”

Rarity smiles, “Oh, of corse, Wrex did pull you out of the fire, but Princess Luna got you to the hospital.”

Garrus is about to speak, and he raises the tea. But as he is about to take a sip, he finds it impossible to see anything.

Rarity shreks as everything goes dark, and Garrus rushes over to the window, “Miss Rarity, get down!”

She jumps into her table in an attempt to get under it. She shouts, “What happened?!”

Garrus takes out his sniper rifle, and looks out the window. He sees the problem instantly, “Miss Rarity, the sun is gone.”

Rarity looks from the table, “What?”

Garrus puts on night vison, and nods, “The sun has just disappeared out of the sky.” He looks all around the outside, until he notices something, “Hold up, I see a light. Miss Rarity, I need you to stay calm, and listen to what I tell you.”

Rarity walks up beside him, “Okay, I’ll listen Mister Vakarian.”

He vaults out the window, and reaches in to pull Rarity out as well. He gets on his knee, and looks into her shining eyes in the darkness, his own glowing armor lighting her up, “You are going to get Miss Sweetie Belle, and you are going to run as fast as you can.”

Rarity nods shakily, “Shouldn’t I help you?”

He shakes his head, “No. You and your friends are the most powerful weapon we may have against any threat, so I need you all to survive just in case.”

Rarity shakes her head, “You don’t know what caused this. I cannot just let you go off alone.”

Garrus stands up, “You are going to, Miss Rarity. In a time of emergency, a C-Sec Officer can order civilians on the best action to take, so that is what I will do. I have my gun, and my training, I will be fine.” He smiles at her, steadying her nerves, “Besides, this is what I signed up for.” He pats her shoulder, “Now go get your sister, Miss Rarity, I’ll cover you.”

Garrus then turns to a nearby building, and climbs his way up it. Rarity starts to move through the streets below, and Garrus decides to take the period of safety to scout a little bit.

He takes out his binoculars, and zooms in on the town hall, where there is a bright source of light. Garrus sees the outline of a huge pony, one with both wings and horn. She wears blue armor, and glows a bright purple that serves as the only source of light. She seems to be mid laugh, and Garrus turns back to watch Rarity.

———

Leon rushes between the forest, “Quickly, you haven’t much time!”

Wrex bowls down the forest, making anything in his way move. He moves at the same pace as Leon, and the rush towards a bright red glow at the end of the forest.

They emerge, and see another minotaur there. He stands much taller than Leon, at least nine feet tall. He wears simple brown robes, and carries a complicated staff. He glows bright red, and his staff glows even brighter.

Wrex stops, and looks beyond him. Where Ponyville one was, is nothing but a crater. The farm, Fluttershy’s cottage, everything is now just gone.

Wrex fires a shot at the minotaur, only to have a red force field deflect it as the wizard turns to face him.

“So, a challenger comes to face the might of Morad Brighthorn? Allow me to teach you the meaning of magic.”