Rogue

by chaos2012

The Den

The late night breeze rustled the tree tops all across the forest canopy.

Down below the branches, Braeburn, a single pony, trekked onward through the night, only accompanied by the young dog walking by his side. Braeburn had already cried out all the tears that he had back by the water, yet after an hour of silently staring at the river, he realized there was nothing more he could do to help. Getting up from his crumbled position, he had chosen to make his way after the group of ponies that had already fled away from the water.

As he walked, however, the pain inside of his chest had not disappeared. In fact, it felt as if it had gotten worse. He had left his own hat back at the shoreline to wear his fallen family member’s piece of clothing. Braeburn stopped in his tracks, bringing a curious whine from Teddy. Reaching up, the saddened stallion slipped off the Stetson and stared down at it with pain in his gaze. His closest cousin Applejack was taken down into the depths of the river by a cold blooded monster while he was helpless to do anything to save her life. His little escape plan had left her defenseless in the water with no pony to help her while he was on the shore. He blamed himself for not leaving the rock earlier to give him a chance to go and help her swim across to the opposing shoreline.

With everything that had happened, how was he supposed to face the rest of his family now? Granny Smith would have certainly been able to forgive him after time, but how could he go up to Applebloom and tell her that her older sister was never coming home? Everything that had happened in that single day felt like it was going to torment him for every waking moment from then on. Nothing would ever be the same for him, and he was going to have to suffer through it.

Braeburn continued to force his way through the thick forest growth in an attempt to get out of this nightmare he was forced to experience. One thing that did push him on was a promise; the promise he had made Applejack that he would make sure that Applebloom was alright. One to his word, he was determined to find his young cousin and get her out of this place. The only problem for the stallion now though was trying to find the others in the dead of night.

Several times when he thought he was going straight, Braeburn had found himself at the same spot he had passed previously. The darkness mixed in the mass of tangled mangroves were causing him to go in circles over and over. thinking he could still overcome it, he tried to push onward and didn't give up. After several hours however, he realized he was completely lost inside of this dark and gloomy pit.

---

After what seemed like another hour of useless walking, the sky was beginning to shift lighter until it was a soft blue hue. Braeburn could now at least see where he was going, the faint light illuminating all of his surroundings. As he walked, his hooves splashed through the shallow, knee deep water that covered the entire forest floor in all directions. He grunted in frustration as the muddy water splashed up as his leg struggled through. Teddy was semi hoping to get through the mix until he suddenly stopped and started barking.

Braeburn came to a halt and looked over to the dog by his side. Teddy was staring off to the left, his head high in the air and sniffing, as if something had caught his attention. Curious, Braeburn looked into the trees to the distance, looking for anything that it could have been to cause the dog to tense up. "What is it, boy?"

Teddy suddenly sprinted through the muck, barking loudly as he hopped to the trees. Braeburn's eyes went wide as his one companion took off. "Teddy!" Running after him, he tried to whistle, attempting to call him back but with no avail. He grunted as he tried to keep up. "Get back here ya little shit!"

Following the echoing barks through the trees, Braeburn continued on to try and find the now running dog. While it wasn't even his responsibility to take care of this pet, he did feel that leaving it in the forest on its own was guaranteeing its demise. And being alone in this forest was not something that Braeburn was looking forward to deal with as well. Having a dog with him was something to keep him company in his eerie place.

After five minutes of running, Braeburn passed into a large open area between the trees. The water here was almost to his chest, making it hard for him to move fast. At the end if the clearing was a massive tree sticking up into the sky, and at its base below the trunk, was a tunnel leading underground. "What in the hay?" Braeburn whispered to himself as he stepped towards it. Echoing out of the hole was the bark of Teddy.

Standing at the entrance to the hole, he stared at the design of whatever this was; the width of the opening must have been at least seven feet, the sides of the tunnel entrance held up by some of the tree roots that had grown down. Taking off the Stetson, he sat the hat to the side of the tree for safekeeping in case it slipped while looking in. Once it was down, he returned to the strange opening into the ground and sat at its muddy entrance.

With the increasing light in the sky, Braeburn could see the hole was at least ten feet deep into the earth, the steep slope going down into total darkness. Leaning a bit over the edge, he cautiously lowered his head into the hole. "Teddy! Teddy come on!"

Bark bark bark!

Hearing the dog ignoring him, Braeburn gritted his teeth and leaned down again. "Teddy! Get out here or- ahh!"

Braeburn screamed out as his hooves slipped on the wet mud, forcing his body forward and down the side of the slope. His body slid down the dirty grout and splashed down into the darkness of the pit. After a moment, he tumbled down into a large puddle that filled the bottom below the cave mouth. Spitting out a mouthful of water, he stood up and shook his head to clear his waterlogged ears. Looking around in the narrow tunnel, his eyes took a moment to adjust to the faint light that trickled into the cavern, allowing him to see something floating right by his side.

The brown shape bobbed up and down on the surface, floating along the top of the water towards Braeburn. The farm pony stared in shock when he noticed the torn blue vest on the shape, similar to the same one worn by the brown stallion that was taken by the monstrous crocodile the night before. "F-Filthy?"

Shakingly, he reached a hoof out and nudged the body, causing it to flip over and go belly up. The horrendous sight forced Braeburn to screamed out, jumping back and slamming into the dirt wall behind him. Filthy Riches entire upper body was ripped to shreds, large chunks of flesh hanging off by small pieces of tissue. Several cracked ribs stuck out from his chest, the white bones glistening in the faint light. The worst sight was his face, the entire left half of it crushed, yet still allowing is blank eye to stare outward.

Braeburn felt like he was going to throw up at the horrific image that he beheld, but another feeling was creeping into his mind. Fear started to take over all his senses as he remembered what Wrangler had said about crocodiles storing their kills so that they could return to their hunting. Seeing that Filthy Riches corpse was here signified to the farm pony that he had stumbled upon the worst possible place imaginable.

He was inside of the rogues den.

Braeburn felt like his heart tripled its rate as he sat in the water. Knowing what would happen if he stayed here, he immediately turned to run up the slope to get out, but the sound of Teddy barking caught his attention once again. Flipping around, he stared back at the tunnel that led onto what he assumed was another room. While wanting to just get out before he was discovered, he felt that leaving Teddy down there was abandoning a life, something he wasn't keen on letting happen to him twice.

Forcing himself forward, he walked through the water until he came around the corner. His eyes went wide in surprise when the pathway opened up to a massive underground room at least sixty feet across. Several skylights from above allowed streams of light to come through and illuminate the stone cavern. To his left was a mess of tangled tree roots that came down from the tree above. Running through the center of the room was a pool that nearly covered the entire width, running almost to the other side of the room where a tall stone column rose up to the roof.

And Teddy was standing behind the column.

"Teddy..." Braeburn whispered as loud as possible, "come on boy, lets go!"

Teddy however didn't move. He whined and moved behind the column before returning back to the side of it. Braeburn grunted in frustration. "Teddy! Come on!"

When the dog did not listen once again, Braeburn stomped his hoof in anger. 'What is wrong with that dog? Why is he staying there?' He questioned himself. He looked down to the water that sat beneath him, eying it with caution. Seeing that teddy made it all the way across, he figured the crocodile was not here. Taking a deep breath, he stepped down to the ground by the roots. He trotted over to the side of the pool to the ledge that sat on the edge of the water, making his way with his eyes locked to the dark pool.. While he did assume the rogue was out, he didn't want to take any chances of it sneaking up on him.

After a cautious trek, Braeburn now stood on the end of the room away from the exit. He sighed in relief as he made it, but then growled when he saw the dog still sat by the pillar even with himself there. "Teddy, lets go! Ya don't wanna be here when that thing gets back." He stepped forward to try and coax the dog to come, but when he did he saw something sticking out from behind the stone that caught his eyes immediately.

A straw colored tail with a tie in it.

The blood pressure in Braeburn's body seemingly shot through the roof at the realization of what it was. Sprinting forward, he saw Applejack lying on the ground, her body still as a rock. His breath caught in his throat as he came closer to the corpse of his cousin. Dropping down, he hung over her form and put his hooves on her torn life vest. His eyes became filled with tears as he tried to speak. "Ah'm so sorry AJ. Ah'm sorry." He lowered himself and laid his head on her side."If ah could switch place with ya, ah would right now."

He cried out his emotions inside of that cave, the pain in his heart even greater than it was the night before. Everything that he wished he could have done to save her back then was coming into his guilty conscious, blaming himself that he didn't do more for her while she tried to swim across. His tears rolled down his cheek and fell onto her slowly rising chest and-

"What?"

Lifting his head off of her, he stared at her body to see if he was just imagining to himself. after a moment though, her chest did rise up before going back down. Putting a hoof to her neck, he held it for a few moments before he felt the small pulse. He couldn't believe it; after seeing her get bit and dragged down below the surface, she had not been one to perish in the jaws of the beast.

She was alive.

Braeburn could not believe this. He almost squealed in excitement at discovering that she was still alive. Teddy must have smelt her scent and somehow figured that she was alive, following her smell until he found her here. Braeburn silently thanked the determined dog. As he Looked down at the life vest, he saw that was the massive holes lining all along the entire length of the foam material. Braeburn realized that the crocodile must have seized her on the outside of the life suit, biting down on the soft vest instead of actually crushing her own body. Her need of having to wear the life vest actually saved her life.

Alive was perhaps the only possible thing to be said about her condition though, since the holes in the vest were leaking blood at an alarming rate. While the vest had cushioned the impact of the bite, the enormous teeth still punctured through and pierced her body in multiple locations. Her back right leg was also severely injured with a massive tear trough her thigh. Determined to get her help, Braeburn bent down to pick her up, but was caught off guard as Teddy took off towards the entrance to the tunnel.

Bark! Bark bark! Bark!

Caught off guard by the dogs sudden aggression, Braeburn stood back up and watched the dog run up the exit. "Teddy! Teddy!" He called out but upon deaf ears. The barking continued as Teddy disappeared out of sight, running back towards the mouth of the cave.

Bark bark bar-

SNAP!

Arr! Arr!

The loud snap of something and the immediate yelp from Teddy was followed by an eerie silence that rang through Braeburn's ears. His entire body tensed up as he stared up at the tunnel leading out of the den, trying to see of Teddy was going to come back. Then, the light that streamed down from that pathway was obstructed by a large shadow that began making its way downward. The sound of a large form sliding down into the water patch above sent a cold chill down Braeburn, for he knew what it was.

Quickly scooping up Applejack, he threw her onto his back and ran towards the small batch of tree roots that were jutting out from a portion of the wall to his left. Climbing behind the small mass of plant bedding, he pushed both himself and his cousin as far back Against the wall as he possibly could. His heart pounded in his chest as he stared up at the opening to the den, staring with pure terror for the owner of this burrow. After several more antagonizing moments, he saw it.

The massive head of the rogue came into view, carrying the mangled body of Teddy in its jaws. Sliding effortlessly down the mudbank, the predator quietly entered the large pool beneath itself, submerging everything except the top several inches of itself. Casually swimming along, it came up to the other side of the den, stopping directly in front of the hidden ponies. That however went unnoticed for the beast as it eyed its destination ahead.

Braeburn didn't even want to breath with his nerves this insane. No more than a dozen feet from him was the monster that had been hunting him and the others for the last day and night. What made him even more terrified was really seeing how big this creature was. Now that it wasn't moving so fast, he could see that the crocodile must have been over thirty feet long, even larger than he had figured before. As its head raised up onto the stone ledge beneath the pillar, it's rows of four inch teeth clamped down on the corpse of Teddy, which seemed tiny inside of the gargantuan head.

Snapping open, the rogue clamped down on the body in its mouth, the sickening sound of snapping bones echoing against the walls. The crocodile opened up again and repeated the action several more times before adjusting the body right. Opening up one more time, the rogue completely engulfed the dog, swallowing it whole down its gullet. Finished with its meal, it pushed its clawed feet against the rock bedding beneath itself, pulling its enormous body out of the water and to the back of the stone column. Circling around the four foot wide rock outing, the crocodile now had its tail hanging down from the right side of the rock and its head on the left, staring out to the water before shutting its eyes and going to sleep.

The air itself sat still as the silence overtook the cavern. Braeburn's body trembled with fear as he sat behind the entanglement of roots, the only thing that kept him from being seen. Sweat began pouring down his body, dampening the fur that had almost dried while hiding. His breath came in small raspy intakes while he attempted to remain as inconspicuous as possible. As time slowly ticked by, he finally gathered the nerve to move his head a little forward in order to see out from his spot.

Still idle was the rogue, it's small eyes clamped shut as it was completely still. Judging from how idle it was for this amount of time, Braeburn figured that it must have definitely fallen asleep by now. Looking up, he noted how the light coming from the skylight was getting even brighter, illuminating the cave interior more. His eyes then drifted up to the exit, causing his body to shift in anticipation. To get out, he had to move when he had this small window of opportunity. Applejack would not last much longer unless he was able to get her medical attention: It was now or never to escape.

Taking a deep breath, Braeburn slowly leaned down from his position, pulling Applejack down onto his back and stepping out of hiding. His legs shook as he stared at the sleeping rogue, almost taunting him with getting out of this place. Carefully, he stepped into the water, not making a ripple as lowered himself until he was off of the ledge. Still watching the crocodile, he carefully swam, making sure Applejacks head stayed up above the surface. Being a strong swimmer meant he was able to carry the extra weight, but it did slow him down from getting there at the speed he wanted. Every kick he did caused his heart to beat faster, his mind tormenting him with depictions of being assaulted this instant.

He wasn't thinking of that though the moment his hooves pulled himself out of the water and onto the opposite side of the den. Looking back again, he sighed in content as the croc still slept in its spot. Turning about face, he couldn't help but smile seeing the pathway to escape just in front of him now. But the sudden sound of disturbed water rang against the walls, making him turn around to the thing he had feared the most.

The rogue was gone.

In an instant, the crocodile burst out of the muddy water, jaws wide and ready to kill. Braeburn screamed out in terror as he quickly jumped backwards, barely dodging the massive mouth by only inches while he and his cousin dropped down on the dirt. Crawling off the dirt, Brae heart rate had now skyrocketed as the croc began crawling towards him. Panicking, he reached over and bit down on Applejacks tail, dragging her back and wedging themselves behind the large tree roots that came down. Pushing his cousin all the way to the back, he turned back to the monster coming.

The gargantuan predator came up to the mass of wood that stood in its way from the creatures that were inside of its home. Swinging its massive head like a battering ram, the rogue slammed into the thick roots, cracking several in an instant. Being solid bone, the head of the crocodile could hardly even feel the impact of smashing into the Braeburn stepped back as the only thing that was protecting him and his family. "No! Get outta here!" He screamed out despite knowing it was in vain.

The croc moved back to allow its head to go forward, biting down on the wood and ripping out one of the thick pieces and tossing it out of the way. Braeburn felt his heart racing as he sat helpless as the crocodile continued tearing the small barrier apart. He knew at the rate it was going, only a few minutes were left until it would reach both himself and Applejack. Hyperventilating, he shot his eyes to anything that could help save them. What did catch his eyes was a thick branch that was back by the stone column across the room.

Seeing his only option, Braeburn made his way to the right through the mass of roots, getting to the side of the distracted crocodile. Squeezing out from the wood, he ran past the crocodile as it continued to assault the area towards Applejack, but the large tail swung up and smacked Braeburn like a rag doll into the side wall. Bouncing off the dirt, he tumbled down and splashed into the dark pool, gasping for air after the powerful impact. As he panically thrashed around, the large rogue stopped its attempt when sensing the movement in its water.

Flipping around, the yellow eyes of the cold blooded predator locked onto the pony swimming across the water and crawling out to its usual sleeping spot. Seeing this creature as a threat to its territory, it dug its sharp claws into the ground beneath itself and pushed to slip into the water. Floating along the surface, the rogue slowly came towards Braeburn, which at this point had grabbed the eight foot piece of wood and clutched it under his right foreleg. Gripping it like a spear, the pony stood his ground against the monster. He knew he had pretty much no chance at living through this, but Braeburn was not going to let his cousin be eaten alive while he was still breathing.

"Come on ya fuck! Come on!" He screamed out in anger and adrenaline at the creature.

Without hesitation, the rogue leapt forward and bit down on the end of the wood, breaking off the end two feet as if it was a toothpick. Before Braeburn had time to even act shocked at the event, the croc slit out the piece and lunged forward again, biting on the branch once again. Attempting take out the annoying wood in its way, the rogue tried throwing its head up in the air while holding the branch. Braeburn however refused to let go, and was effortlessly hoisted off the ground as well.

Hooves wrapped around the staff like weapon he had as he was suspended in the air. The croc began shaking him like crazy until it threw him into the wall on the left. His. Body slumped down onto the stone beneath him, feeling like he cracked a rib or two in that impact. His thinking of his injury would have to stop as the croc began crawling up the ground towards him, it throat emoting a deep growl that would rival even the largest of dragons. Forcing himself back up, Braeburn backpedaled his way into a small opening between two large rocks, the area no more than five feet in diameter in all ways.

The rogue tried to go into the opening straight on, but its head was too wide to fit into the small area Braeburn was stuck in. While rolling over, it discovered that its head sideways would be narrow enough to fit into the space. Lifting its body up, the croc dropped down, forcing its snapping jaws into the compressed zone. The farm pony tried to get back, but his escape was cut off by the wall while the top of the rogues head began slamming him into the stone as the deadly jaws snapped open and close. Forced onto his hind legs, Braeburn tried to put his hooves on the snout of the beast and tried shoving it at hard as he could to keep it away from him. His strength however was nothing compared to the thrashing head that battered him over and over.

Body growing numb, Braeburn began bringing his right hoof back and punching the crocodile on the top of its head. His entire leg began losing feeling as he punched the rock hard skull, causing no pain to the rogue whatsoever. When he did one more punch, the rogue suddenly shifted down, and his hoof slipped into the now closing mouth.

"AHHH!"

Screaming out in pain as the teeth pierced his leg just above the hoof, Braeburn felt the croc begin thrashing even harder. His body was whipped around as the rogue attempted to pull back and claim its kill. Braeburn dug his back hooves into the rock below, skidding across the top as it started pulling him out. Using his free hoof to grip his captured foreleg, he tried to pull it out of the crocs mouth. He started pulling harder and harder as saw he was nearly into the open now. Using all the strength he had left, he pulled one more time, followed by a loud pop.

Falling back onto ground, Braeburn realized his hoof had been completely ripped off in his attempt to escape. Blood gushed out of the large opening on his leg, causing his face to go pale at the horrendous sight. After only a moment though, the rogue slipped its head back through to try and grab him once again. Crawling backwards, Braeburn felt a sharp bone lying on the ground beneath him. Seeing a chance, he gripped it in his teeth and stood up on the side of the crocs once again biting head. Spitting it into his one hoof, he slammed it down and buried it into the rogues left eyeball.

The rogue growled out in pain from feeling its eye stabbed completely through. Thrashing about, it wriggled its way out from the small crevice and slipped back into the water. Swimming back to the other side by the tree roots, the crocodile stared at the pony that crawled out of the space it was just inside. It's mind was cautious of this pony now; not only was this creature in its personal territory, but it was actually attempting to hold its ground instead of running away like every other creature in the swamp. It knew it had to kill this threat and clear out its den.

Slumping onto the ground, Braeburn gasped out in pain from the many injuries over his battered body. Nearly every inch of his back and sides were covered in bruises from being smacked into the stone so many times. His breathing had become difficult from the cracked ribs that pushed against his lungs. The worst pain however was from the bloody stump that was left of his right foreleg; blood continued to leak out of it like a running faucet, and the torn flesh made it excruciatingly painful to step on. His mind was becoming hazy from the overload of nerves rushing across his body. But with all of this, he refused to allow his cousin to die.

Even if it meant losing his own life.

Grabbing the rest of the long branch from earlier, he pulled himself until he was below the tall stone column and directly in front of the water. Sitting up, he laid his back against the rock and wedged the end of the wood at the bottom of the rock, sticking out with the sharper end pointed at the rogue. Braeburn glared down at the slowly approaching crocodile, his determination stronger than the stone at his back. "Come on..." He taunted the croc. "Come on ya fuckin' bastard!"

Swinging its massive tail, the rogue launched out of the water, turning its head sideways and engulfing Braeburn and the rock behind him. While he looked down the gullet of the crocodile, Braeburn no longer felt fear in his heart. He almost had a sense of peace as the monstrous mouth encircled him completely. He then smiled as he stared at the tip of his spear heading towards the roof of the crocodiles mouth, knowing his cousin would have a chance at living on.

'Goodbye AJ.' He whispered to himself as the jaws clamped down, teeth digging into the sides of the stone column.

The crocodile's good eye went wide in shock as it felt the branch skewer through its head internally, exiting out the back of its skull behind the eyes. Panicking, the rogue attempted to get back, but its jaws were locked onto the rock from its last attack. Off of pure instinct, the rogue tried biting down over and over to break through the rock holding its teeth, but the stone stayed steady. After several seconds, the injury to the crocs brain was now taking effect, causing the croc to shake as its motor skills began shutting down. Slumping down, the rogue went still with its jaws still locked around the stone column, blood leaking down the end of the branch protruding its head. It's single good eye went blank as its soul left its body, ending the rogues life.

The once chaotic den was now a dead silence as the croc lay still on the rock. It's body slumped down into the water below which started turning a crimson red from the blood leaking from its head. The only sound that was made now was from the labored breathing of Applejack, unaware of the events that both nearly took, and saved her life.

Comments

[Dirty Bit]

I feel horrible...While reading the parts with the Rogue, I thought of Fluttershy saying "Nature is so fascinating" in the comic

[Dainn]

Hopefully Aj wakes up before she bleeds out.

[Godiswithus3]

My heart leaped in joy that Applejack was alive, but at a heavy cost. RIP brave hero.