• Published 9th Jul 2019
  • 3,402 Views, 570 Comments

Scarlet - Skijarama



Forced to leave her peaceful hometown and flee for her life alongside a mysterious orphan filly named Primrose, New Equestrian war-veteran Scarlet Frost will have to use every resource at her disposal just to stay alive.

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Assault

Sanctuary had already devolved into pandemonium by the time Lens passed through the entrance. Changelings were flying to and fro, shouting to be heard over one another. The drones that served as both soldiers and guards looked around in confusion, although many had already shapeshifted into forms more fit for battle or drawn their weapons.

In the middle of it all, looking around in fear, were Primrose and Sclera. They had been waiting in the entrance chamber for him to return with word about Scarlet. The nymph saw him coming first and broke into a gallop to meet him halfway. “Lens! What’s going on?! Where’s Scarlet?!”

Lens slid to a stop in front of them, fighting off the urge to catch his breath. “Sanctuary’s under attack,” he stated simply, glancing back to the entrance. Drones were already assembling there with weapons drawn. Others escorted the surviving farmers deeper into the hive, vanishing through holes in the walls that sealed up shut behind them.

Sclera gasped. “Under attack?! But… how?! I thought this place was safe!”

Lens looked down, his ears drooping. “...It’s Silent Edge. He’s leading the assault, by the looks of things,” he explained, inwardly cursing himself for not taking such a possibility into consideration. “He’s leading a griffon mercenary band.”

“Silent…?” Primrose choked out, the color draining from her face. She glanced back at Sclera, whimpering.

“And Scarlet?” The mother asked, pulling her daughter close with her hooves to protect her. “Where is she?”

Lens turned back to the entrance, his ears folding back. “...She’s trying to buy us some time to form a proper defense,” he said. He imagined Scarlet trying to fight bravely against a small army, firing off blasts of artillery and swinging her twin blades in great shimmering arcs, only to crumple lifelessly to the ground as swords and spears and claws tore away at her unarmored flesh.

“What?!” Primrose shrieked, her ears snapping back. “She can’t! She’ll die! We have to go help her!”

Lens turned to her, pain in his eyes. “We will, but we have to make sure word gets to Spike and Flurry! If we can’t mount a proper defense fast enough, all of this will have been for nothing!”

“I don’t care!” Primrose snapped, her tattered wings flaring out in defiance. “Let someone else tell Spike! I’m not losing another mom!”

Lens’ counter-argument stalled in his throat. He stared at Primrose, taken aback by the sheer fire burning behind her eyes. Her fangs were bared, posture low and aggressive. She looked like she was ready to pounce on something and tear out its throat. “Does she mean to fight…?”

Before the discussion could continue, the guards at the entrance shouted. A second later, the wall suddenly exploded into the chamber, sending large chunks of stone and rubble flying everywhere. A few changelings were caught in the spray of debris, being pinned to the ground or flung to the side like paper ragdolls. The rest were obscured by a thick cloud of dust that had been kicked up from the unexpected motion.

“Move up!” A gravelly voice yelled.

Lens bared his teeth, igniting his horn with magic when the first of the griffons began to pour through the hole in the wall, weapons brandished. Many changelings by the entrance immediately began to back away, their bravado and confidence immediately wavering in the face of their adversary.

“They’ve probably never been in a situation like this,” Lens snarled, moving to join them and lend them his magic. “They don’t know what to do!”

A pulse of pale blue magic exploded out of his horn, forming into a thick barrier that entirely blocked off the new hole in the wall, preventing any more griffons from advancing. Three had already made it through, though, and one of them was advancing on him. The others spread out to engage the guards, who looked to finally be pulling themselves together.

Lens grit his teeth, a feeling of dread and déjà vu coming over him. “Been a long time since I faced a griffon…”

The griffon’s beak opened wide, letting out a piercing eagle shriek, and he lunged.


“Lens!” Primrose called as the unicorn went galloping off to join the defense. She made to chase after him, but a pair of firm hooves grabbed onto her shoulders and held her back.

“Protea, no!” Sclera said, pulling her away from the conflict and heading for the nearest exit. “We’re not equipped for this! We have to go!”

“Let go!” Primrose shouted, struggling against her mother’s grip. “Let me go, dammit! Lens! LENS!”

She reached out to the stallion, watching with terror as he fell under attack from one of the griffons. His adversary came at him with a series of quick swings with a curved sword, sending the stallion into a retreat. He deflected the attacks as well as he could with his magic, but he didn’t get enough time to formulate any counters before the griffon launched another attack.

For a moment, Primrose’s heart soared when Lens managed to knock aside a strike and went in for a tackle. The griffon staggered back, thrown off balance.

Primrose’s eyes were drawn up by a flicker of silver reflecting off of the griffon’s sword, and her heart dropped like a stone when she saw him bring it down.

“NO!”

The edge of the sword bit into Lens’ shoulder with a spray of blood. Lens cried out, crumpling to the ground with fresh blood running down his chest and leg in thick streams. The griffon pulled the blade free before rearing up on his hind legs and swiping his claws across Lens’ face. There was another spray of blood, and the stallion fell limply to the ground. His glasses clattered to the ground a few feet away before being crushed under the talons of a passing griffon.

Primrose screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice drowned out under the deafening sound of shattering glass as Lens’ barrier came undone, the light fleeing his horn. The griffons began to pour in en masse, carving through the assembling guards and spreading out into the wider chamber, attacking anything and everything that wasn’t one of their own.

Two of the griffons spotted her and Sclera. One of them pointed their way, and they immediately began to advance, weapons held at the ready.

“Protea, run!” Sclera shouted, shoving Primrose roughly for the nearest exit. “Find somewhere safe and hide! I’ll catch up!”

Primrose stumbled from the shove before spinning on her hooves. She made eye contact with her mother just in time to see her being swallowed in a rush of emerald flames. When they parted, the armored grizzly bear had returned, albeit smaller this time. It affixed her with a meaningful glare before turning and bounding angrily for their pursuers.

“MOM!” Primrose cried, her heart withering in her chest. She watched as Sclera pounced on one of the invaders, catching his throat in her jaws. With a single motion, she grasped his hind legs and pulled them off of his torso. The griffon’s agonized scream was short and horrible, sending a chill down Primrose’s back.

And then her eyes fell on Lens. He was trying in vain to pick himself up, but the griffon that had carved into his face was giving him no room, kicking him in the side repeatedly to keep him down while pulling a rope from a pouch at his side.

Primrose’s blood turned to ice in her veins at the sight before her. Sclera was already being ganged up on, furiously swiping out with her claws and teeth at any griffons that dared to try and get past her. However, it was clear that she was sorely out of practice, and the griffons were very well trained. They ducked and weaved around her attacks, only sustaining minor injuries, while delivering a series of shallow slices and cuts of their own, whittling her down bit by bit.

“Protea, run!” Sclera had told her, ordering her to hide and wait for all of this to be over.

For a moment, Primrose genuinely considered obeying that order. Every fiber of her being was screaming at her to turn tail and run the other way, to flee into the depths of the hive and make herself as small as possible in some remote corner. It was the smartest thing she could do. It was the only thing she could do.

Lens was rolled over onto his back, the griffon already setting to work tying him up. Sclera let out an agonized roar as a small gash was made along her shoulder, causing her to stagger back.

“Run… like a coward,” Primrose thought to herself, her heart beating harder and faster in her chest. “It’s all I’ve ever been good for, isn’t it? Running away and letting the ponies I love fight to protect me… die to protect me…”

Lens tried to fire off a bolt of magic from his horn. It was off-target, and the griffon punched him hard in the stomach.

“Every single time. That is all I’ve ever done; run, and watch my families being slaughtered…”

Sclera fell to one side as a well-placed thrust pierced the flesh under one of her hind legs.

Primrose stood stock still, her eyes going distant. She unclasped her saddlebags and let them fall to the floor with a weighty thump. “No.”

Pulling open the right-side pouch, she saw a lone dagger resting in its sheath at the bottom. She reached out and lifted it up to hover before her eyes in her magic. “No more.”

One of the griffons broke away from Sclera to advance on her, his wings flared wide in a display of dominance. Primrose looked up to meet his eyes. She pulled the dagger free of its sheath with an audible scrape. “I’m done running away.”

The griffon’s beak twisted into a sinister smirk. “What? Ya gonna fight me with a puny lil’ poker like that? Get on my level, bug,” he snarled out, lifting his weapon.

With a barely-contained howl of rage, grief, and hatred, Primrose suddenly lunged forward. The griffon blinked in surprise, having not been expecting such an action. He went to defend himself, but he was too late. Primrose plunged the dagger into his throat all the way up to the hilt. Blood spilled freely from his mouth along with a muffled gurgle before he slumped to the floor in a heap.

Had it been any other circumstance, Primrose might have become paralyzed with feelings of horror and revulsion at what she had just done. She had just killed another creature. She had never done that before, and deep down, she knew she should have felt terrible. But in the heat of the moment, spurred on by five years of grief, hatred, and heartache, all she could think was, “how do I kill the next one?”

Sclera finally forced herself back to her feet, bodily shoving the three griffons still assaulting her away. She bared her teeth and bit down on one, crushing his skull between her jaws. Blood, bone, and bits of brain fell from her maw as she spun to the next one, raking her claws across his back. He collapsed to the ground several feet away, screaming in agony as his lower body went limp.

The third griffon swore and leaped up into the air to hover over Sclera’s head. He angled his blade down for the back of her neck, the blade glinting ominously in the chamber.

Primrose’s heart pumped liquid rage through her, and with an unrestrained scream, she tore her bloodied dagger free from her victim’s throat and threw it at the griffon that dared to threaten her mother. The throw was unrefined and sloppy, though, and so the pommel thumped against his flank, only causing the griffon to pause and look her way.

That was the only distraction Sclera needed. She rose up onto her hind legs, chomping down on one of his before throwing him to the ground at her feet. He let out a breathless wheeze before she brought one of her legs down on his head, turning it to paste in one fell motion.

Retrieving her dagger in her magic, Primrose ran to her mother’s side. “Mom! Are you okay?!” she asked frantically.

Sclera looked down at her in shock. “Protea? W-what are you- GUH!”

Sclera’s body flickered, and she collapsed to the floor in a swirl of green fire. When they parted, her true form was revealed, covered in a series of horrible cuts and slashes. Blood ran down her body in excessive amounts, and her left hind leg was limp.

Primrose’s eyes widened. ”Mom!”

Sclera grimaced, sucking in a deep breath through tightly clenched teeth. “Guh! Dammit, I’m still too weak!” she noted before looking at Prim again. “What are you doing?! I told you to run!”

“I’m not leaving you again!” Primrose shot back, grabbing her mother by the shoulders. “I’ve done enough running! Every time I ran away before, I lost someone I loved! No more! I am not letting anyone else throw their lives away for me ever again! I’m fighting!”

“Protea…” Sclera choked out, looking down at her daughter with wide, astonished eyes. It was as if the changeling mother was seeing her daughter for the very first time. She stared for a moment before closing her mouth and getting a small smile. “...You’ve grown up… I’m so proud of you.”

Primrose smiled for a second. Her attention was drawn back to the carnage when she heard a griffon battle-cry far closer than she would have liked. Turning, she saw another one advancing on her, weapon held high. “This is the same one that hurt Lens…” she realized, seeing the blood on his claws.

A whole new wave of anger overcame her. Primrose peeled her lips back, her mind flickering through the most frightening creatures she could think of. She settled on one just as her enemy came upon her, and her magic went to work. Her body was enveloped in green, and she became keenly aware of the nauseating feeling of suddenly growing to two or three times her previous size.

When the flames parted, the griffon looked up at her in shock and horror, his jaw dropping open at the sight of what she had become. Gone was the small, skinny, changeling nymph. In its place was a towering scorpion with a pale-blue exoskeleton. Its eyes glowed a deep shade of crimson, along with the many spikes that ran down its segmented back. Serrated pincers and mandibles snapped at the air, while a sharp-tipped tail curled over her back, pointing the barbed end right at the griffon’s throat.

He swallowed heavily.

Primrose lunged.


Lens groaned in pain, squirming in place on the ground. His whole body was throbbing, from the injury in his shoulder to the slash marks across his face and the general aches he had picked up in his barrel from the griffon’s many kicks. His head was pounding, and his heart was hammering against his chest as if it wanted to get out and run free.

Truth be told, he was glad that Scarlet hadn’t been there to see such a pathetic showing on his part. If she had seen how quickly and easily he had gone down, he would never hear the end of it.

The sounds of chaos and battle hadn’t let up once since he had been subdued. If anything, they had gotten louder. Every so often, his resting position was disturbed as another griffon passed by, but he was in no condition to fight back. He was bound, his eyes had been covered by a heavy cloth sack, he was gagged, and his horn had been tightly wrapped in small iron chains, disrupting any attempts he made at using magic. To try with such a disturbance would be far too dangerous.

His side was suddenly bathed in a shower of something warm and wet, and he involuntarily shuddered as he realized he was now covered in fresh blood. He squirmed in place, trying and failing to get away from it, but he didn’t get the chance to get very far before he felt himself lifting into the air in the unmistakable tingle of magic.

Hope sprang to life in his chest. He was set down on the cold stone ground a second later. His gag was pulled out, and he felt his bonds coming undone.

“Lens! Are you okay?!” Primrose’s voice asked him, breathing heavily.

“I th-think so,” he gurgled out before closing his eyes again. “But I don’t think a doctor would agree with me.”

The sack came off of his head, allowing Lens to finally see what was happening. He caught a glimpse of Primrose biting down on his ropes and tearing at them with her sharp fangs. Sclera stood by her side, gasping for breath and covered in open wounds. They had dragged him behind one of the homes a little ways away from the fighting to tend to him. Lens glanced towards Sanctuary’s entrance and grimaced.

The griffons were gaining ground at a significant rate. The guards, while well trained, were very inexperienced with actual battle. Many were shouting to be heard over each other in a desperate attempt to organize a functional defense, but in all of the panic, every order fell on deaf ears, leading them to fend for themselves. The griffons capitalized on this, carving through their ranks like a knife through butter.

“I thought you were dead,” Primrose mumbled when the last of Lens’ bonds came undone. She stepped in front of him and met his gaze with her own, tears shimmering in her glowing eyes. “When that griffon slashed your face, I… I thought…”

Lens gave her a weak smile. He patted her on the head with a trembling hoof. “Nah. I’m harder to kill than that,” he said before going to stand up. He winced and sucked in a deep breath when he put weight on his injured leg.

“Can you stand?” Sclera asked anxiously.

“Y-yeah, yeah I can,” Lens confirmed, rising back to a standing position. He favored his right side considerably, keeping the weight off the left as much as he could. “I’m gonna be limping, but I’m better suited to long-range anyway. I can still fight.”

“Is that so?” The gravelly voice he had heard earlier questioned. Lens’ heart skipped a beat as he turned to see the speaker. A behemoth of a griffon lumbered into view, covered in flecks of blood, though none of it his own. A hostilely curved blade was held in one of his claws, resting casually against his shoulder. “Such a shame I like things to be intimate.”

Lens was quick to conjure a barrier, putting himself in front of Primrose and Sclera. “Back off, griffon,” he warned through clenched teeth. “There’s nothing for you here!”

The griffon snorted and angled his sword to point it at Lens. “On the contrary, my boy, there is plenty here for me. A hefty paycheck, a decent fight, and a chance to put some changelings in the dirt.”

“We’re not cursed!” Primrose shouted at him in defiance. “We just want to be left alone! Go away!”

The griffon snorted. “Uh-huh. Look, kid, I dunno what you’re going on about, but my job is pretty clear. You and the pony are coming with me, whether you like it or not, and the mare here gets to lose her head.”

“You’re not touching them!” Lens spat. “Either of them!”

The griffon cocked his head to one side, his beak twisting into a smug smirk. “Is that so? Well, if I may offer a rebuttal-!”

He suddenly lunged, and his blade pierced right through Lens’ barrier. The cyan dome shattered with a bassy boom, and a flare of pain danced up and down the unicorn’s horn. The griffon charged forward to punch him square in the face. The slice marks along his muzzle burned like fire, and he screamed as he hit the ground.

The griffon smirked. “You don’t get a say in the matter.”

“Leave him alone!” Primrose shouted, charging forward and leaping at the griffon. He turned to face her and batted her aside with an almost lazy swipe of his wrist. The pommel of his sword clobbered Prim’s jaw, sending her sprawling to the side with a cry of pain.

“Primrose!” Sclera shouted, quickly moving to stand protectively in front of her daughter.

Lens struggled to his hooves as the griffon turned to face her, gasping for breath. “Guh. Son of a bitch,” he muttered between breaths.

The griffon took a threatening step towards Sclera. “How cute. The demon thinks she can fight me.”

“She’s not a demon!” Lens yelled, his horn igniting with magic. He lowered his head and fired off a beam of magic for the griffon’s back, ignoring the fire that raged in his skull. His target turned to face him and lifted his blade, catching the beam on the edge. The stream split into two, blasting into the walls of the homes that boxed them in.

“Stay down, pony!” The griffon snarled once the stream faded. He braced to charge, angling his blade for a fatal thrust.

Sclera leaped at him from behind, pouncing on his back and digging her fangs into her shoulder. He staggered under her weight, growling in anger. Rearing up onto his hind legs and reaching out with his free talon, he grabbed onto Sclera’s horn. With a mighty tug, he pulled her off of his back and threw her down to the ground.

Lens saw him preparing to plunge his sword into her and rushed in, horn sparking with magic. He grunted as he released a pressurized wave point-blank into his target, sending the griffon staggering back.

Primrose took the opportunity to duck down and in, sinking her own fangs into one of his ankles. The griffon roared angrily before flapping his wings and taking to the air.

“Primrose!” Sclera called after her, snapping out her own wings and flying after them.

“Sclera, wait!” Lens shouted after her, but she was undeterred. He watched as she tackled the griffon, the two wrestling mid-air for dominance while Primrose continued to gnaw on his leg.

“Shit,” Lens swore, knowing that there wasn’t anything he could do to help them for the moment. He instead turned his attention back to the rest of the battle. Just in time, too, as two more griffons were advancing on him.

“Give it up, pony,” one of them snarled. “You’re going down either way. Make it easy on yourself.”

Lens held his head high, his horn flaring brightly. “I don’t think so. I’m not going down that easily again!”

The griffons growled in unison before charging forward.


Primrose was terrified.

The world around her had blurred into a mindless cacophony of noise, sounds, and movement. The only thing that was properly in focus was the griffon she and her mother were now struggling to overcome in the air. He was strong, and his thick muscles almost acted as an extra layer of protective armor against her teeth. Even piercing his skin was difficult and made her jaw hurt.

She briefly considered making use of her scorpion form again, but the drain on her magic was far more severe than she had been expecting. She’d only had enough left to reach Lens and save him before having to snap back to normal and catch her breath. To break it out now would be more than she could handle for more than a few seconds. It would be best to wait until she had a good opening.

She bit down again, this time on his thigh, drawing yet more blood. The coppery taste tickled her taste buds, and her deep-seated carnivore instincts made her swallow. Her stomach churned at the sensation, but she forced herself to ignore it for now.

“Gah! Stupid brat!” The griffon roared, causing her to whimper. Her eyes widened when she saw his other leg lift up and one of his claws reaching down for her. She unclenched her jaw only a second too late to get away. The claws ensnared her throat in a vice grip, cutting off her airflow. She kicked and squirmed, but it was to no avail.

The griffon held her up in front of him, his anger depicted perfectly on his face. With a swift motion, he threw her down while lifting up one of his paws. Prim barely had time to gasp before the clawed foot slammed into her chin. The world exploded into stars and colors, and even the griffon fell out of focus. She was vaguely aware of the sensation of vertigo, and of falling before more pain flared across her side and she continued to roll just a few times.

Primrose curled up into a tiny ball, forcing herself to shove down tears. Stay focused! With a groan of pain, she rose up to her hooves. Her whole body was shaking, and her lungs burned in desperation for air. She wasn’t doing any good like this.

Movement. Primrose spun around and looked up, preparing to shapeshift into her scorpion form again. She didn’t get a chance. The griffon’s claws flashed into view. She just had time to suck in a breath before it grabbed her throat yet again. She opened her mouth in a silent scream as the griffon lifted her into the air and slammed her forcefully into the ground. If her throat hadn’t been constricted, the impact would have driven the air from her lungs.

“Primrose!” Sclera’s voice rang in Primrose’s ears. “Leave my baby ALONE!”

The griffon turned just in time for a blast of green flames to explode across his chest. He staggered back a few paces, grunting in pain. Sclera chased after him, howling in anger and her horn spitting putrid flames.

Primrose watched, breathless as her mother launched an all-out assault against the griffon; she bit, she kicked, she punched, and she fired off spells despite her atrophy. The agony of driving herself so far beyond her limits was plainly visible.

The griffon shouted as Sclera managed to sink her fangs into his sword arm, causing him to drop the weapon to the ground with a clatter. He howled in rage before opening his beak and darting in to clamp down on Sclera’s horn.

“Mom!” Primrose screamed.

Sclera released the griffon’s leg to howl in indescribable agony. A series of bloody cracks ran down the chitin of her head, all of them originating from where the griffon’s beak had broken her horn off. She staggered back, a hoof flying up to try and stop the blood that was now bubbling freely down her face.

The griffon spat the horn out of his mouth as if it were bile. He reached down and picked up his sword, wings ruffling at his sides. “I’ve had enough,” he snarled.

Sclera lifted her eyes to glare at him through the blood cascading down her face. She bared her fangs. “I won’t let you hurt my daughter…”

The griffon hummed quietly, pointing the blade at her. “...For what it’s worth, your devotion is impressive. You have my respect, changeling,” he declared before lunging forward.

Sclera hissed and charged to meet him. There was a spray of blood.

Primrose screamed, her heart feeling as if it had just been torn out of her chest.

The griffon’s sword was embedded up to the hilt in Sclera’s chest. Her eyes had flown wide as blood dribbled out of her mouth. The wings on her back twitched a few times as the last of the energy left her body.

The griffon closed his eyes and ripped the blade free. For a moment, one agonizing moment, it felt as if time stood still. Sclera stood in place, her eyes slowly drifting over to look at Primrose. For a second, just a second… she smiled.

And then she fell to the ground in a limp heap.

“MOM!” Primrose shrieked, tears spilling down her cheeks. She rose on shaking legs and sprinted to the mare’s side, placing her hooves over the fallen changeling and shaking her. “N-no, no no! Mom! Mom, get up! You have to get up! MOM!”

Weeping hysterically, Primrose bodily shoved her mother over onto her back. The changeling’s eyes were still open, looking back up at her. “...Prim…” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

“M-mommy,” Primrose whimpered, shaking her head as more agonized sobs racked her body.

Sclera slowly lifted one of her hooves, resting it on the back of Prim’s head. Her frantic cries died in her throat for a second, and she met Sclera’s gaze. Her mother’s smile grew. “I’m… I’m proud of you, Primrose…” she whispered. “So… so proud… I... love you…”

“Stop it!” Primrose shouted at her. “Stop t-talking like t-this is t-the end! It’s n-not! We’re g-gonna find F-flurry, a-and she’s gonna heal you! Y-you’re going to be fine! P-please be f-fine, mom!”

Sclera didn’t say a word. Slowly, her eyes closed, and her hoof began to go limp.

“MOM!” Prim screamed, grabbing the hoof. “Mom, please! Open your eyes! Don’t go! Don’t go! Not like this!”

“She’s dead, girl,” The griffon’s voice came from behind her, surprisingly low. “She gave her life to protect you.”

“NO!” Primrose shouted, burying her face in Sclera’s chest. She convulsed sporadically as her weeping continued. “Mom… mommy, please… I don’t want you to go… I don’t wanna be alone again… come back… p-please come back…”

“What kind of sick joke is this?” Primrose wondered. She had gone for so long without her family that she had almost been willing to let them go and forget just how much she missed them. Then she finally got one of them back, only to have her stolen away forever just a few days later.

It wasn’t fair. It was horrible. Everything about it made Primrose want to scream, to throw herself at the world and tear it down for everything it had done to her. It made her want to curl up into a ball and cry until the life left her body. It made her want to scream and beat her head against the wall, as if it might wake her up from a morbid nightmare.

But this was no nightmare. This was real… no matter how much it hurt, no matter how hard she cried or how loud she screamed, she couldn’t change it.

Her mother was dead… and she was never going to get her back.

“Primrose!” Lens’ voice cut through the air.

Primrose lifted her head to see the stallion galloping towards her. He had one of the griffon’s swords clutched tightly in his magic. He glanced past her to the griffon that had stolen her mother away, and his lips peeled back into a hateful scowl. “You bastard!” he screamed at the top of his lungs, his throat going raw from the volume.

The griffon stepped back, raising his sword to catch Lens’ swing. Metal clashed against metal as the two dueled, sending sparks flying from the force of their swings.

“Lens…” Prim croaked, her voice losing most of its strength. She watched with wide eyes as he advanced on his enemy, striking over and over again and actually driving him back.

“I’ll kill you!” Lens went on in a blind rage, starting to add small bolts of magic to his offensive. “Do you hear me?! You’re going to pay for what you’ve done! They’ve suffered enough!”

The griffon growled as Lens got in a strike to his unarmed talon. With a precise counter, he knocked Lens’ blade up high before lunging in and slicing him across the front of his chest. Lens gasped, falling back to the ground.

“LENS!” Primrose shrieked, her entire world coming apart at the seams. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening.

“Gah! We need them alive,” The griffon grumbled before lifting his head. “Hey! Someone get over here and bandage this pony up before he bleeds out!”

Primrose sucked in another quivering breath before screwing her eyes shut and burying her face in her mother’s lifeless chest. “Momma… p-please…”

“Time’s up, nymph,” the griffon stated plainly. “Don’t make this any harder on yourself… come quietly.”

Primrose opened her eyes and looked up at him, showing him her teeth. “No! You killed my mom, you monster! I’m not going anywhere with you!”

“Do you want her sacrifice to be for nothing?” The griffon countered. “She died so that you would live. Are you going to honor that, or are you going to make a liar out of her by forcing me to kill you?”

“SCREW YOU!” Primrose shrieked at him. She jumped at him, ready to plunge her fangs into his throat and end his life.

Instead, it was her throat being grasped by his claws. She let out a choking wheeze, kicking at the air as he held her up. The griffon sighed. “Well… can’t say I blame you,” he mumbled before throwing her back down to the ground.

Primrose squeaked from the impact. She didn’t bother getting back up. She just lay there, crying into the cold, hard ground as the griffon knelt over her. There was nothing else she could do. It was over… she’d lost. All around her, the sounds of battle had devolved into little more than panicked cries as what few changelings there were in the chamber tried in vain to get away. Those that managed to flee into another chamber only succeeded in opening the way for griffons to follow after them.

The griffon leader hesitated over her, almost as if he actually felt sorry for her. She heard him give off a quiet sigh before his claws set to work. He rolled her onto her back, rope in his claws, and bent down to tier her up.

Suddenly, a deafening roar echoed throughout the entirety of the mountains. The griffon went rigid, his eyes widening. He looked up, his eyes narrowing. “...The dragon,” he mumbled before standing upright and hefting his blade back up.

Primrose’s eyes widened. “SPIKE!” She screamed at the top of her lungs. “SPIKE, HELP ME!”

The griffon’s eyes widened. “Wait, what?!” he demanded, glaring down at her. “Spike?!”

Primrose didn’t have time to answer. The earth shook before another roar filled the chamber, this one loud enough to cause Primrose’s hearing to cut out for a second. She screwed her eyes shut as the earth trembled beneath her, and rocks fell from the ceiling to batter her small, quivering body.

The griffon’s expression became even more shocked. “...Holy shit… it’s an alicorn,” he breathed.

Suddenly, Primrose’s vision was filled with a blinding white light. She could feel scorching heat just over her where the griffon had been, and a frightened cry fled her lungs. The heat ended as quickly as it had come, and the light faded. When it did, the griffon that had slaughtered her mother was gone. Only a small cloud of thinly distributed ashes remained, drifting down to the floor in an unfittingly peaceful manner.

She gasped as Spike flew overhead, his body a shadowy silhouette against the green light at the top of the chamber. Only his emerald eyes pierced the darkness, as did the similarly-colored flames that licked at the edges of his maw. For a moment, the entire chamber went still in awe and anticipation of the enormous creature.

Spike dove, unleashing a torrent of flames down onto the largest group of griffons. Primrose gasped as all of them were incinerated in an instant. Those that remained quickly went to engage him, only for that beam of golden heat to lance through the air yet again, sniping them down in rapid succession and leaving naught but ash in its wake.

“W-we can’t!’ One of the griffons cried in a panic. “We are outmatched! The captain’s dead! RETREAT-”

Spike’s claw snapped out and plucked the griffon right out of the air. He held the panicking creature up to his face before rearing up and slamming him down into the ground hard enough to reduce him to a fine red mist. There was only a hoofful left, and he turned to glare at them with a low, ominous growl. “There will be no escape…”

The griffons were unsure of who to focus on; the towering dragon, or the steadily advancing alicorn with the less-than-pleased glare on her face.

“Whose jurisdiction do you fall under?” Flurry demanded as she approached, her horn flickering with golden light. The rope keeping Prim bound came undone, allowing her to roll onto her belly and watch the events unfold right-side-up.

One griffon swallowed nervously. “W-we’re mercenaries, ah, y-your godliness…”

“Oh, good,” Spike grinned. “That means no one is going to miss you.”

The griffon’s eyes widened. “W-wait! NO-”

Spike reared up on and bathed the remaining griffons in flames, reducing them all to ashes in mere moments. Their screams roared in the air for an instant before fading into silence, lasting only as long as the flash from a bolt of lightning. When the flames parted, the griffons had vanished.

A heavy silence fell over the chamber. The remaining changelings looked on from the shadows with wide, frightened eyes. Spike turned to shout at the soldiers in the room, his wings flaring out. “There are still some griffons deeper in the city! They will not be able to open the ways between chambers! Seal them off! I’ll hunt them down personally!”

The changelings immediately sprang into motion, many of them vanishing into the walls without a second of hesitation. A particularly large hole opened in one of the walls to allow Spike to charge through before it sealed up shut behind him with a deafening crack. Just like that, the battle came to an end, and the chaos fell into blissful silence. Primrose looked around, her tiny heart hammering like mad against her chest.

Flurry sprinted over to her, eyes wide. “Primrose! Oh, thank goodness you’re okay. Are you hurt?”

“A… a l-little,” Primrose replied in a quivering voice. Her eyes fell on Sclera’s body as Flurry dropped down to cast a healing spell on her. “But… m-mom…”

Flurry turned to look. Her ears drooped. “Oh… Oh, no…”

“Can you save her?” Primrose asked, desperate for even a small chance of hope. The collection of bruises and cuts she had accumulated swiftly vanished, although that did nothing for the pain in her chest, or the exhaustion in her muscles.

Flurry slowly trotted to the drone’s side, scanning her with her magic several times. After the fourth scan, she sighed and shook her head. “I’m sorry… she’s dead. There’s nothing I can do for her.”

Primrose looked down at the ground. She slowly dragged herself over to the body and sat down beside it, her heart feeling cold and dead in her chest. She let out a quiet choking sound and, once more, rested her head against Sclera’s chest. “...Goodnight, Mommy,” she whispered, screwing her eyes shut. “I love you, too…”

Flurry looked down at them for a few seconds, her ears folding back. “I am so sorry for your loss… truly, I am,” she whispered before turning. “But there are still those I can save.”

Primrose lifted her head, blinking away yet more tears. She sniffled. “H-huh?”

Flurry trotted over to Lens, who was still lying motionless on the ground. She lit up her horn and settled onto her haunches, sending out wave after wave of healing magic over the body. Primrose’s heart leaped into her throat when she saw his chest rise and fall more noticeably, and the various injuries he had accumulated began to close up.

“Lens…!” she whimpered, reluctantly stepping away from Sclera’s corpse to approach one of the only loved ones she had left.

Several seconds passed in silence before Flurry pulled back. As she did so, Lens’ eyes snapped open. He shot up to a sitting position, gasping for breath and coughing some residual blood out of his mouth.

“Lens!” Primrose squealed, relief overflowing her system. She couldn’t keep herself from smiling as she threw herself against him in a tight hug, drawing a pained grunt from him. “Oh, Lens! I was so worried about you! I… I thought…” her hooves curled tightly around his neck, hooking into the collar of his now-tattered shirt as tears welled up in her eyes once more. “I thought you were dead, too…”

“Prim…” Lens answered, sounding a little confused. He returned the hug a second later, though, and buried his muzzle into her mane. “It’s okay. I’m okay. I’ve got you. I’m right here…”

Primrose sniffled, barely able to get the words out. “H-he... h-he killed m-mom…”

“I know, kiddo,” Lens whispered, pulling her closer as if to protect her from the cruel world with his body. “I know. I’m so, so sorry. I’ve got you…”

Primrose didn’t say anything else. She just wept into Lens’ chest, glad that at least one pony she cared about was still alive.

“Spike and the warrior drones are hunting down the remaining griffons as we speak,” Flurry said after a few seconds. “With any luck, this whole morbid affair will be over and done with in no time.”

Lens looked up to Flurry while squeezing Primrose. “I take it I have you to thank for healing my wounds?”

Flurry nodded.

Lens smiled at her and held out a hoof. “You have my thanks, Princess.”

Flurry shook her head with a kind smile of her own. “It’s just Flurry, and I’m just doing my part like everypony else,” she said before looking around. Her brow furrowed, a small amount of concern working its way onto her face like a dark storm front. “Wait… where is Scarlet? I don’t think I’ve seen her since I came out here. Was she not with you when the battle started?”

Primrose’s relief was immediately diced into pieces. She inhaled sharply through her nostrils, her pupils shrinking to the size of pinpricks. In all of the pain and chaos, she had almost forgotten about the red-maned mare, and considering the distinct lack of a certain pegasus in this cave as well…

“...She’s outside,” Lens said slowly, his every word dripping with dread. “Fighting Silent Edge.”

Primrose leaned back to look up at Lens. “We have to go help her!” she shouted, her voice still quivering. She grabbed onto the front of his scarf and shook him for emphasis. “We have to help her right now! She’s gonna die if we don’t, and I can’t lose another mom!”

“We will, we will, don’t worry,” Lens said before looking to Flurry. “Will you come with us? We might need the help…”

Flurry frowned for a moment before looking off to the side. “...I’m sorry, but my top priority is making sure my changelings are alright,” she said, rising to her hooves. “There are still a lot of wounded drones that need healing, not to mention the straggling griffons running loose in the hive. I have to take care of things inside.”

Primrose, for a moment, felt nothing but indignation and anger towards the allegedly divine being. Deep down, she knew it was irrational, and that Flurry was just trying to look after her people, but that didn’t stop the disapproving glare from crossing her face.

Lens was far more understanding, though. He nodded his head before standing up. “I understand.”

Flurry stood as well and backed away. “Spike and I will come and give you what assistance we can as soon as things are cleared up inside. Good luck.”

And with that, the alicorn turned and galloped for a far corner of the room, where a collection of injured changelings were coming together to await treatment. Lens and Primrose stared after her for a moment before looking into each other’s eyes.

“Are you coming, too?” Lens asked slowly. “You’ve been through enough, and this is going to be dangerous…”

Primrose nodded. “I’m done running…” she said, briefly looking over to Sclera’s body. “And I am not letting Silent take away anypony else I love… It ends tonight, one way or another.”

Lens slowly nodded his head before turning for the exit. “Alright, then… come on.”

Primrose went to follow him but briefly paused after a second. She looked back at Sclera’s body one more time, her ears drooping. “I swear, mom… He won’t get away with this,” she thought as green embers began to drift off of her body.

She turned away from the corpse and closed her eyes, allowing the green flames to swallow her whole. “Mom… dad… Thistle… Gaudium… Dandelion…”

The flames parted, and Primrose the filly had returned to the world. She opened her eyes and set off after Lens, subtly scooping up the dagger Scarlet had purchased for her in her magic as she went.

“He will pay for what he did to you.”