My Little Warcraft - New Friends

by Shin Guyviroth

Chapter 37 - Extreme Woodcutting

"… And that's pretty much it," finished Twilight.

But Fiona and her troupe were still dumbfounded with what had happened and where they were -- a world ruled and governed by talking animals both magical and mythical.

"So, we're all on a different world," Tarenar began to retell, "in a land called "Equestria"? And this place is ruled by two Princesses?" He shook his head before turning to Gidwin with a smirk. "Hey, Giddy, are you --"

"Not now, Tarenar," snapped Gidwin. To everyone's surprise, he was dancing on the spot, squatting low and kicking a leg up one at a time like a Cossack dance. "Can't ye see I'm busy showin' this wee pony how it's done?"

Pinkie Pie, however, was showing no sign of fatigue or slowing down, keeping up with the dwarf pace by pace. "Hey," she called out with a scowl, "it's now like you're beating me, buddy! Besides, I can do this!" Dipping a hoof into her mane, she pulled out a teapot and balanced it on her head, all the while keeping the rhythm.

"Ye two loafs short o' a bread basket, lass, but ye got skill! Now, try an' beat this!" Taking a page from Pinkie Pie, Gidwin took the rifle from the straps of his backpack and carefully placed the butt of it on the tip of his nose, balancing it. "Hah! Now what do ye think o' that, eh?"

Chuckling, Tarenar chook his head again and returned his focus on the others. "Well, I guess getting his opinion is a bit out of the question for the moment. So… exactly where are we right now?"

"We're all in the Everfree Forest," spoke up Fluttershy, a lot more confident than she was before. "It's a pretty dangerous place, so… a lot of pony folk try to keep away unless it is absolutely necessary to come through here."

"Nothing you can't handle, Tarenar," complimented Gai'vahros. "After all, you've been stationed in the Plaguelands for a long while, and you helped us in Mount Hyjal. I'm sure simple large beasts are nothing compared to the mass Scourge and Fireland invaders you've dealt with."

"You praise me too much, my Lord."

A low yet audible hum came from Applejack. She held her head low and with a hoof on her chin. "But you said somethin' before about weird thunderstorms, right?" she asked.

"That is true," replied Fiona. "A few nights ago we began having these very strange thunderstorms in the eves; crackling lightning of vivid pink and purple colours."

"Pink and purple?" repeated Twilight, also befuddled. "That sounds like some sort of magical anomaly -- here, at least."

"A few nights ago…" muttered Gai'vahros. "That's around the same time I tried stepping through the portal to the Isle of Thunder and ended up here. Fiona, what do you last recall before you were sent here?"

The worgen paused for a moment, her hand on her hips. Her fingers tapped against her dress. "Well, me, Tarenar, and Gidwin were at the riverside that bordered the eastern and western Plaguelands. Instead of making our way back normally, we decided to use Tarenar's hearthstone to get back to Light's Hope Chapel quicker. And then… well, we "landed" here."

"Yes… it all makes much more sense, now."

"Have you figured out what's going on, Gai'vahros?" asked Twilight.

"I'm not entirely sure, but…" Gai'vahros paused, taking the moment to make sure that what he was hypothesizing was accurate. "I believe that this weird storm is somehow interfering with translocation magics."

"But what's the connection? Surely a storm can't do that to powerful magics, right?"

"Unless the storm itself is magical," intervened Tarenar. "You see, translocation magic is created by opening two arcane anomalies that connect to each other through a tear in space via the Twisting Nether, creating a sort of tunnel. Although the distance is so far apart in terms of space, the journey from one point, through the Twisting Nether, to the second point is near instantaneous."

As he explained, the whole group -- especially his fellow companions -- gazed at him, jaw-dropped. Gidwin had stopped dancing altogether, with the rifle falling backwards onto his face.

"What in the blue 'ell did ye just say?" groaned Gidwin, rubbing his face.

"You had me all the way up to "you see"," added Gai'vahros, scratching his head.

"My sister bores me to death with her explanations of anything arcane," replied Tarenar. "It's hard not to have some of it embedded into your brain when she goes off on an hour tangent."

"Hey, guys," spoke Applejack, "I dun wanna be a downer or nothin', but shouldn't we discuss this somewhere a bit safer? Like Ponyville?"

"Yeah, sounds like a plan," agreed Gai'vahros. "What do you guys plan to do with your caravan? You just going to leave it here?"

Fiona sighed heavily, turning to the overturned wreckage. She made her way over before stopping by the roof, sweeping away some of the debris with her foot. "There's not much to do with it now," she said, her heart almost broken. "It's had a good life, but… there's not much we can do about it. Most of the equipment's been wrecked, anyway."

Gidwin softly treaded to her, wrapping his huge fingers gently around her hand. "It'll be okay, lass," comforted Gidwin. "We've all got each other, at least. That's what's most important, right?"

Tarenar joined her on her other side, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Giddy's right, you know," he agreed. "Even if it's all gone, we still have everything right here..."

"… Thank you. Both of you…"

Twilight smiled as she nudged Gai'vahros. "I guess there is some friendship in your world, huh?" she said. "Even though Tarenar is a blood elf -- a Horde race -- he is still able to mingle with two others that are part of the Alliance."

Gai'vahros pondered for a moment. Twilight was right in some respect. "If only it was that clean cut," he responded. "When you join the Argent Crusade, it's like giving up most of your loyalty to your own faction. As a neutral party, the Argent Crusade cannot side with either the Alliance or Horde."

"I think I get it. But still, even before then, didn't they mention how they were great friends even before the wars started?"

"That's true."

A low growl cut them from their conversation as Fiona slowly shifted her eyes, scanning the area in front of her. Her lips began to peel bag, revealing her sharp, cream teeth, baring them with a ferocious snarl. "Do you smell that?" she spoke as she sniffed the air. "That stench…"

But no matter how hard the rest of them tried to pick up anything that wasn't the smell of flora, they couldn't grasp anything that was foul.

"Are you sure you're not… miss-smelling?" asked Gai'vahros.

"I guess my nose is just more sensitive," Fiona replied, still taking strong whiffs of the air around her.

"Can ya describe what it's like?" asked Applejack.

"It… reminds me of the Plaguelands. Foul. Rotting. Like dead trees infested with mould, maggots, and the stench of decay."

"Wait," spoke Twilight, "foul stench? I wonder if… Oh, no…!"

But it was too late for twilight to warn them. From all around them, within the thick foliage around the clearing, heavy footsteps, the rustling of bushes, and the snapping of twigs and branches surrounded them from all sides. Before long, it wasn't just Fiona that could smell the foul odour that she had described. Echoes of low snarls could be heard, followed by that rotting stench of decaying fungi and sulphuric soil.

"Gidwin," Fiona called out, "chuck me my gun!"

"But what about what Gai'vahros said?" he responded.

"I don't care what he says, just get me my gun!"

Gidwin turned to Gai'vahros, looking for some sort of reply. The elf merely nodded. "R-right," he stammered, turning around and picking the rifle off the ground before passing it to the worgen.

"Twilight," uttered Gai'vahros, "what exactly are we up against?"

"Timberwolves," she replied, her voice shaky. "They're vicious predators that feed on smaller creatures, but they will attack anything in packs."

"And how big do these packs get?"

"Three. Five… Sometimes ten…"

"… Huh. I thought there'd be a lot. Tarenar, you think you can handle a few?"

The elf chuckled. "Please, this will just be like the Ghostlands all over again. No big deal, right?"

Several glowing spheres of verdant hue pierces the foliage like powerful lights. The smell became ever more present as their heads honed into view, followed by the rest of their unimaginable form. Their entire body was composed of logs, twigs, branches, vines, and leaves, all in the shape of a large canine. With no lips to call their own, their teeth were forever revealed in the forms of sharp, pointed wood.

But the group found themselves surrounded from all sides, caught in a pincer as more and more stepped out from the darkness. Fiona, Tarenar, and Gidwin huddled to each other, their backs together as they tried to cover each other's blind spots. Gai'vahros, however, felt the pressure of trying to keep his new friends safe from such numbers. Gritting his teeth, he held his shield in front of him and his sword poised to strike.

"So much for "sometimes ten", eh?" scoffed Gai'vahros. His eyes scanned the clearing as more timberwolves poured from the shrubbery.

"I-I don't understand," stammered Twilight, the fear in her voice making itself clearly audible. He legs jittered from under her. She began to count them, "Five, seven, ten… fourteen… eighteen…! W-why would there be so many?"

"Pack tactics," replied Fiona, holding her rifle at eye level and keeping watch of two in front of her. "They must have sensed all of us, so packs join together in order to outnumber their prey. More than likely they're made of three or more packs joined together for their hunt…"

"Don't worry 'bout protectin' us, Gai," assured Applejack. "We've had our own share of experiences with these beasts! We can handle ourselves!"

Giving a nod, Gai'vahros bashed the pummel of the elven blade upon his shield. "Then grab your coats, girls, because we've just pulled."

Gidwin, in turn, released a loud roar, raising his hammer into the sky. "Then come at us, beasts! Go, go, Paladin Pals!"

---

"… And then I was all like, "Get your hands off her, you snitch!"" exclaimed Gilda before giving off a chuckle.

Above Ponyville, Rainbow Dash and Gilda didn't even begin to falter in rekindling what friendship they had lost before. The two were all open-mouthed, sharing their stories with one another, laughing with one another. Whatever ashes were left in the wake of their break-up rose into a phoenix of something much more. A friendship so beautiful that it brought them closer together than ever before.

"Yeah, well, she deserved it," agreed Rainbow Dash. "She did try to take your position, after all."

"Chyeah, ain't that right. Still, all done and dusted."

The two swooped lower, passing through the clouds as they headed back to Sweet Apple Acres. But there didn't seem to be anyone around. Landing within the farm yard, just shy of the barn house, the two of them glanced around.

"Where'd everyone go?" said Rainbow Dash. She called out to them, "Twilight? Applejack? You guys here?"

"Huh," huffed Gilda, rolling her eyes, "good to see them ditch the place and still leave it a dump."

"M-maybe something came up?" Quickly Rainbow Dash headed into the barn house, only to see Big Macintosh hauling several bales of hay. "Hey, Big Mac, have ya seen Applejack and everyone else?"

Gripping the strong that wrapped around the hay, Big Macintosh effortlessly tossed it onto the pile in front of him before turning his attention to her. "Eeyup," he replied with a nod.

"Did she tell ya where they all went?"

"… Nnope."

"Gah! Where did everyone go?"

"Hey, Dashie!" Gilda called from outside. "Rarity's here!"

Hurrying outside, Rainbow Dash met with the unicorn, who was carrying a handbag with several sheets of cloth hanging out, some fastened with small gems of sapphire and ruby.

"Rainbow Dash," spoke Rarity with concern, "where is everyone? I didn't think I was gone for too long for everyone to get impatient…"

"You've a better clue than we have," she responded. "We only just got back ourselves. So, you dunno where they've gone, either?"

"Not a clue, darling. Me and Spikey were out gem gathering."

"Wait, where's Spike now?"

"He said he needed to go back home and find a couple of books at Princess Celestia's request."

"Books? For the Princess?"

"Yes, well, I didn't think it would --"

Another loud bang erupted from the distance, interrupting the two of them. The noise echoed a few times, coming from the Everfree Forest.

"Was that… cannon fire?" wondered Gilda.

Rarity felt her face turn pale. Well, more pale than it usually was. "You… you don't think…?"

"Well we can't stand around and work it out," exclaimed Rainbow Dash. "Let's get moving!" Both her and Gilda bolted into the skies, headed towards the Everfree Forest.

"W-wait!" called out Rarity. "I can't move that fast! Somepony carry me!"

---

A silver bullet pierced one of the timberwolves square in the forehead, piercing all the way through and splintering the back of its cranium as it exited, flinging small shards of wood into the bushes behind it. Although put down, its eyes remained ever filled with life, still glowing within the dimness.

"Boom, headshot," sneered Fiona with a toothy grin.

Her rifle was powerful, but it wasn't as satisfying to Gidwin as a strong blow to the skull with a warhammer. Another timberwolf lunged at the dwarf, its claws extended from its wooden paws, but only met with the flat steel of his shield before receiving a face full of mace.

"Take that, ye bastard!" he cried out as the beast tumbled to the side. A second wolf leaped over its fallen kin, ready to chomp down on Gidwin's swinging arm. Clamping its maw around the dwarf's arm, it crunched down with great force, but it was nothing compared to the thick dwarven iron. Gidwin raised his shield arm and bashed the wolf in the side of the head, cracking and chipping away at the wood. A second strike created a small crater in the side of the beast's head and dislodging its mouth from his arm, leaving behind several wooden teeth in the plating. Finally, a third, powerful swipe with the edge of his shield shattered the beast's skull entirely. "And ye can eat that, ye smelly twat!"

Canine whimpering could be heard from under Gai'vahros' boot, having managed to pinned down one of them by the throat. A single, loud yelp flooded the clearing as the elf's blade pierced through its body where its heart would have been, if indeed they had one.

"Does he always get this fired up?" asked Gai'vahros as he pulled the sword from the beast's limp body.

Tarenar gave a soft chuckle as he swung his greatsword to one side, flinging away a timberwolf that had the misfortune of leaping towards the blade. "When things get this interesting, he does," he responded, reading his sword once more. "Says it helps him get into the fight more."

"A good way of taunting, I guess. How're you holding up, girls?"

The three of the four ponies huddles together much like how Fiona and her companions were, with their backs to one another. A small shield enveloped the three of them with thanks of Twilight's magic, but it was attracting the attention of more of the beasts with its bright, purple glow.

"I think it's going well," replied Twilight, watching as the timberwolves tried their best to paw and gnaw their way through it with little luck. "How're things on your end, Applejack?"

Another yelp came from a wolf as its jaw was splinted and dislocated, having been on the receiving end of Applejack's powerful hind legs. "As easy as buckin' an apple tree," the replied with a smirk. "I got plenty o' strength in these bad gals to buck a wagon over a hill!"

Fluttershy, however, was less than proactive. She could only watch and gaze at the wolves who tried to get through the bubble, their faces smeared on its glowing walls like they were pressed against glass. "Um, mister timberwolves," she spoke, "could you please not eat us anymore? That would be really nice of you…"

But no matter how many they slew, another would come to take their place. The wolves became more aggressive, attacking in pairs and trios. Gai'vahros barely found any space to manoeuvre, surrounded by three of them as they attacked from all sides. A swipe of his shield managed to bat away two of them, but the last had grabbed his cloak and dragged him down to the ground with a hard thud. Spinning on his side, he drove his foot into the beast, knocking it away. With no chance to stand back up, he resorted to fighting prone, holding his shield up as the other two wolves pounced on top of him, threatening to maul his face. "This is impossible," he grunted. Raising his sword up, he drove the blade through one of the wolves' stomachs. "And where the hell is Pinkie Pie?"

"Weeee!" her voice cried out. Gripping a hold of the branches a top of its head, Pinkie Pie was riding one like a bucking bull, much to the chagrin of the wolf. Frantically it kept swinging its head from side to side, doing the best it could to toss the pony off of it. Another two wolves kept chasing after it, trying to knock Pinkie Pie off, but all their struggles only met with getting unwillingly hit by their frantic friend. "Hey, you guys should really try this out!"

"… That's Pinkie Pie for you…"

Soon the group was overwhelmed by their sheer numbers. Fiona sat on the ground, her back against the caravan wreckage, holding away a duo of timberwolves with the length of her rifle as it held them away from between their mouths. Gidwin fought as much as he could, but with his weapon knocked away from him he could only hold the two back with his shield in front of his face. Tarenar had no such luck, using only his hands to hold back one of them while continuously trying to avoid a second one that tried to maul at his neck, all the while complaining about his hair.

Even Pinkie Pie couldn't keep her grip on the wolf. With a great swing of its head, Pinkie Pie was flung towards the others before barrelling into the purple shield, passing through it. "Oh, I'm back!" she exclaimed. "Twilight, you feeling okay?"

"I… I don't think I can keep this up much longer," grunted Twilight, her face strained as she tried all her might, all her magic, to keep the shield going.

Applejack couldn't find the time to catch her breath as she kept knocking them away time and time again. "I'm startin'… to run out of steam here," he panted, gasping for air between every few words. Her legs shook, causing her to stumble a little.

"W… what are we gonna do," quivered Fluttershy, folding her wings in front of her body. "This is terrible…"

Gai'vahros' face planted the earth as he stumbled forwards, the sword sliding along the ground as his grip faltered. "I never thought," he mumbled, "that after all of this… I would be taken down by damn wooden dogs…!"

"G-Gai'vahros!" yelled Twilight. "This is… hopeless…!"

As the timberwolves closed in for the kill, the light that shone into the clearing began to dull quickly. A giant shadow cast over them, drawing the beasts' attention. Before the others could react, a loud, eardrum-bursting screech shot down towards them. Too much for anyone, Gai'vahros and the others tried all they could to cover their ears, while the wolves could only recoil away.

The shadow grew smaller as the object drew closer to the earth. A series of quick taps sounded as the object touched the ground on all fours. "Glad we got here in time," her voice spoke.

Twilight had no choice but to release her spell, having caused great fatigue in her. As her head relaxed and slumped down, she used whatever effort she could to gaze up at their saviour. "G… Gilda…?"

"Sorry we took so long," the griffon replied. A gentle breeze rushed through the area as Rainbow Dash swooped down, carrying Rarity in her forelegs. "Seriously, Rarity," she huffed, "you gotta lay off those iced muffins."

"How rude!" she exclaimed, turning her head away. "I've not put on any weight in the last week! My scales say so."

"That's because your fat broke the readings the last time you got on them!"

"Hey, gals," yelled Applejack from the distance, "could ya stop fightin' for a few minutes? We've got company!"

The wolves began to stalk towards them again, showing no signs of backing away from them. Low, rumbling growls flooded their ears from all sides as they drew closer, ever slowly, and ever weary.

"Heh, right," replied Gilda. "Just cover your ears." Arching her back and rearing her head, Gilda took in a deep, heavy breath. Lunging forwards, she let out another loud, piercing screech. This time the wolves straddled backwards hurriedly, whimpering and barking in fear before turning away, rushing back into the forests as fast as they could.

"Oh yeah!" cried out Rainbow Dash, throwing a hoof into the air. "And that's how it's done!"

With the wolves scared off, the group struggled to get to their feet. Fiona, Tarenar, and Gidwin stood up, collecting their armaments.

"Well that was sure a pain in me arse," muttered Gidwin, straightening his beard and plucking bits of wood from it.

"How am I ever going to wash this stench out?" bawled Tarenar, trying his hardest to wipe all the drool from his armor. "I smell almost as bad as your breath, Fiona."

"Don't toy with an angry wolf, Tarenar," she warned, "especially one with a gun."

Twilight and her exhausted friends made their way to the others, still breathing heavily. "You… you saved us," she responded with a smile, though a weak one. "Thank you, Gilda."

"Ah, it was nothin'," she replied with a wave of her paw. "That's what…" she gave a small smile " that's what friends do, right?"

"Well, you certainly returned the favour for me, at least," spoke Gai'vahros as he limped over to the rest. "And now… and now…" The elf lurched forwards, groaning audibly as he tucked his hand to his side.

"Gai, what's wrong?" exclaimed Applejack, hurrying to him and looking down to where his hand was placed. "Are you hurt?"

"I…" slowly he removed his hand. The chest plate had several deep tears in it, but around them was a dark stain of dark red that dripped down onto the cloth. The same stains made their way onto the palms of his gauntlets and fingers. "I was… careless…"

"B… Blood!" gasped Rarity. "W-we've got to get him back to Ponyville!"

"No," intervened twilight, "it's too far! We'd better take him to Zecora."

"But we can heal him," Tarenar replied. "me and Gidwin can do what we can to heal his wound!"

"No," Gai'vahros responded, his voice raspy and weak. "This is beyond our capabilities… I feel… so tired… so… drained…" His eyes rolled to the back of his head, his lungs gave out what air it had inside, and his legs gave out from under him as he tumbled forwards.

"G-Gai'vahros!" cried Twilight as she and Rarity used what magic they had to keep him steady.

"I've got him," said Tarenar, placing the fallen elf's arm around his shoulder, holding him up the best he could despite his own fatigue. "It's okay. He's just unconscious."

"It's worse than I feared," quivered Twilight. "He's been infected with Oakblight. We'd better hurry to Zecora's before he gets any worse…!"

Comments

[WeasselK]

Cool, we gonna see Zecora.

[GeodesicDragon]

I wish I could write such an intense action sequence as this! Gotta feel bad for Gai, though.

Oh, and good luck not going insane when trying to come up with dialogue for Zecora.

[Shin Guyviroth]

3861340 I think action sequences are the only thing I'm somewhat competent at.

And Zecora's speech doesn't bother me. I did fairly well in Poison Joke-Laced Journal.

[Bazing]

"And ye can eat that, ye smelly twat!"

That made me fucking laugh xD

[The Ohvist]

3861340 you forget, this guy penned http://www.fimfiction.net/story/97311/hero-class-poison-jokelaced-journal, starring Zecora

[LE_MALEM]

3878308

In short, this guy is a Zecoramaster!

[Shin Guyviroth]

3879729 I wouldn't go that far. But thanks anyway

[dusk flame]

As happy as I am to see Zecora, a (probably max level) paladin says that there's healing beyond their abilities? :applejack unsure: now that's some sketchy shit.