Shingeki no Uma - Attack on Horse

Chapters

Prologue
1 - Apocalypse
2 - Day One

Prologue

In schools, foals are taught about the world we live in. Things have always been that way. We’re taught math, geography, cooking, and the history of our species. We’re taught that ponykind once dominated significant portions of the world. That we were once great in number, peerless in every way and bound only by our ethics. We had great allies - the donkeys, buffalo, gryphons, and even nature itself. We cared for the creatures of the world, raised them, and ruled them like Mother Celestia to her people. We were powerful, but we were also wise, valuing harmony above all else - yet we still had great enemies. There were always impossible tyrants who would stop at nothing to enslave us, nightmarish parasites that ate all they could see, entire species that could steal our forms, and giants who could freeze our lands in an instant. But somehow, we always prevailed. We always endured the oncoming storm and came out stronger from it.

However, nothing could prepare us for our greatest trial yet - not even our wits, magic, strength, and legends gathered from the many millennia passed. We had a new nemesis - more powerful and unexpected than anything we’ve seen before. The Horses came, nopony knows how or why, but they did. They were horrifying ponylike creatures but over ten times our size and with an exceeding strength, matched with an unstoppable desire to devour pony flesh. Yet, although they appear ponylike and share our wings and horns, they are nothing like us. They care not for any other creature, completely absent of remorse, mercy, and harmony. They possess no greed for power or wealth, only the gluttonous destruction of innocent souls.

Ponykind met what could easily become its extinction as a species. We tried everything we could imagine. We tried communicating with them, but they had no apparent leader or understanding of language. We tried our magic, but they were immune to our most powerful spells, even to the Elements of Harmony. We battled with the deadliest of weapons, but they regenerated from even the most fatal of wounds. The Horses had no weakness and we had nothing left to fight them back with. Desperate for help, Mother Celestia pleaded to our allies for aid, but those who didn’t turn away were annihilated. Our greatest of friends perished and all we could do was watch. Soon, we had no allies remaining - they were either traitors to our cause or wiped out. There was nothing we could do. There was no hope remaining. To us, they were the apocalypse. But to them, we were nothing but food.

In only two years from appearing in year 738, the unrivalled, unstoppable beasts obliterated everything we had left. What remained of our number fled to the corners of the globe only to find more Horses in waiting. Led by Mother Celestia, the last half million of our species found a location rich in natural resources. Although with a few unfortunate biomes, there was an abundance of vegetation, minerals, and water - perfect for sustaining pony life. Giving the grim order to lure the Horses away from the area, Mother Celestia prepared a spell alongside Commander Luna. Countless ponies lost their lives following her command, but every Horse was evacuated. Together, the alicorns materialised three distantly layered enormous walls, encompassing a diameter of approximately seven hundred kilometres, each measuring a uniform fifty metres in height and ten metres of solid width. After their magic, ponies have never been able to perform magic or flight, but neither have the Horses.

Mother Celestia was never seen again after casting the spell. Commander Luna reported that Celestia pushed her limits and gave her life to cast the spell, in hopes that someday somepony may find an answer to the Horse phenomenon and be able to save the pony race. It is for their sacrifice that we have been able to live one hundred years of peace, protected from the Horses between these impenetrable walls. In that time, we’ve built towns, roads, and transportation, expanding our population to 1.25 million. We have named our great land Equestria and the three walls Maria, Rose, and Shina, in the order of outermost to in. Although knowledge of the outside world is forbidden, we can indeed live a casual pony life.

Under the command of Luna, ponies have continued to volunteer and struggle against the Horses outside as an effort to reduce their numbers and retake our lands. They join the Military Corps, devoting their entire being to the cause, trained under life-threatening conditions heavy enough to make a grown stallion cry. They’re taught to use gas powered tether rods and hardened steel dual blades, alien to the instinct of a pony but the most effective choice available. Alongside their glorification, they seem to enjoy pretending that they’re helping our species, but progress has never been made and probably never will. There’s no sense in depreciating their sacrifice, but it’s futile. Nothing but the wall has ever been able to stop the Horses.

1 - Apocalypse

I was never a somepony at school, just an ordinary colt named Shining Armor. My grades were average, most of my friends were normal, and my family always managed to outlast the rainy days - always sheltered by our home composed of timber and stone. My mother’s name is Twilight Velvet, my father is Night Light, and my sister five years junior is Twilght Sparkle. My sister and I were born and raised near the outskirts of the outermost wall in the Shiganshina District, but we never had reason to fear the Horses. Twily was always smarter than me and could always be found burying her muzzle in books, somehow engrossed with learning all she can, regardless of physics or history. She always seemed to ease her way to the top of her classes.

My favourite teacher, Cheerilee, taught us that ponies earned their cutie marks when they found that one thing that makes them special - their unique talent or their calling. I always thought I knew what she meant, yet only recently did I realise what she really meant. It took me a long time, but right after I graduated at age 15 in year 842, I finally gathered the courage to tell Cadance, the beautiful alicorn mare I had my eyes on for years, that I had feelings for her. Just like all our times together, it was an awkward occasion, but we became a couple on that day. It was on our first date a few weeks later that both of our cutie marks appeared. She was given a blue heart and I was given a shield. I used to think it was just a coincidence, but now I know for sure, it was our fated duties to be together and love one another. I’d guard her with my life and she’d eternally love me in return. Time has passed by and we’ve matured together in this world, side by side for a few years. We’ve both come of age and I just can’t hold it in any longer... I’m going to propose. My parents are out, Twily’s downstairs reading, it’s the middle of the afternoon, and I’m ready.

“Cadance, my love.” Nervously gulping down the recited words and gathering the courage, I turn to face her. She chuckles and smiles at me, pulling my chest towards her own for an embrace.

“Oh my sweet Shining Armor, what is it?” She continues to chuckle, but silently.

“Cadance, there... there’s something I need. I need to ask you something.” It’s getting harder to breathe, so hard - but I know I can do this. Teens of angst as we are, I try my best to psyche myself up. Cadance retracts from the embrace and looks at me with a confused, loving smile.

“Cadance...” I somehow pull myself together, kneel to the ground, and carry her right hoof to my face to nuzzle with help from my left.

“I love you so much, more than anything this world could ever offer. You are my life, peerless in every way, unrivalled in beauty and love. Cadance, my love...” This is it, the moment that everything happens. I just need to say these last few words. “Cadance, will you marry me?” Although barely managing to breathe, I somehow manage to speak the words.

... She isn’t saying anything. Mother Celestia, I pray I didn’t do the wrong thing.

“Shining...” She looks nervous, seemingly cautious about what to say next. Time slows down and I can feel my heart beat, ready to explode from suspense.

“Yes, Shining Armor, my love. I will.” She immediately leaps at me with the largest smile I’ve ever seen, her cheeks rosed up brighter than the sun. I didn’t expect her to do that. We topple over and collide with my bedside table. The collision continues into the wall as the weighted portrait of us together falls and the glass smashes, loud enough to hear from a distance. Startled by the sound and impact, I freeze. I then notice Twilight standing alerted in the door frame.
“Big brother, did something-” She then notices Cadance sprawling awkwardly over me on the floor, next to my bed. All our cheeks turn rosy from the awkward moment. “I’ll... I’ll just be leaving you two now.” She awkwardly backs away and closes the door.

Scurrying to get out from under Cadance, I try my best to pursue Twilight. “Twily, it’s not what you think!” Realising the futility of the chase, I desist pursuing once I stand up. Cadance remains flabbergasted on the floor from our moment. “I’ll speak to her. You can come down when you’re ready.” I really don’t want to leave my love alone after such a moment, but I need to stop a potential hazard of our relationship.

I cautiously trot downstairs to where Twilight was reading, leaving Cadance in my room. If I can explain to Twilght what happened, I’m sure she’ll understand. I’m sure she’ll be happy for me. She loves Cadance. As ordered by my parents, she’s been the protégé for most of our dates, but we’ve always enjoyed her company. Easily finding Twilight in her reading chair, I notice she’s trying to overcome what she saw by burying her muzzle in a book.

I decide to approach her calmly. “Twily, nothing happened.”

“Shining Armor, I don’t want to know about it.” Twilight only ever calls by my full name when she’s being serious. “What you do with Cadance is your own business. Don’t worry, I won’t tell mum and dad.”

I know what she assumed. “Twily, it’s not what you think. I’m being honest. Cadance and I-”

“Shining, please.” She interrupts me and looks up to my face. I can see a strong sense of discomfort and brutal assertiveness in her eyes. It’s true, she really doesn’t want to hear about it. But I need to clear this up and tell her what happened, and right now’s the best time for that.

It’s best to just be out with it. Things usually only get worse if you try reasoning with ponies when they’re like that. “I proposed to Cadance.”

Twilight leaps out of her chair with what I assume to be amazement mixed with shock. “You did what?!”

I was worried she might react like this, but it’s best she knows the truth. Taking a deep breath, I repeat myself. “I proposed to Cadance.”

We remain silent for what feels like a minute. In that time, I could tell by watching Twilight’s face that she slowly regained her cool temper and accepted what I said as the truth. Back to her usual self, Twilight deadpans the question. “What did she say?”

I can’t help grinning at the amazing reality. “She said yes.” Immediately losing her cool again, Twilight starts prancing for joy. To my relief, I was right. She is happy for me. I pull her reading chair closer and rest in it as an attempt to relax my mind and muscles.

“Please, Twily. Let me tell our parents when I’m ready.” I know it won’t be this easy to tell them. They don’t know Cadance like Twilight does.

Twilight slows her prancing to a halt and takes a deep breath. “It’s okay, big brother. I understand.”

I release a big sigh of relief and express a sincere smile. “Thank you, little sis.”

“Any time.” Twilight kindly smiles back at me and proceeds to sit on another nearby chair.

After a short minute of us silently coming to terms with the situation, I hear footsteps from upstairs. It sounds like Cadance is on her way down. Steadily, I get up and meet her halfway on the stairs to explain the situation. Although she starts off with contempt that I don’t want to tell my parents yet, she seems to accept and understand it. I guide her downstairs to the pony who will be her future sister in-law.

As soon as Twilight sees Cadance, she leaps with excitement towards her. “What should I call you now, Cadance? Big sister? Mi. Amore Cadenza?”

Cadance chuckles and smiles at us, so I smile back at her. “Please, just call me Cadance.” The three of us stand there, laughing and exchanging delightful expressions.

Suddenly, there’s a deafening crashing noise, followed by ear-piercing screams. I’ve never heard anything like that before, but it sounds like something extremely heavy just fell. Trotting to the window, I notice some ponies galloping up the street, others just awestruck and staring at the sky. What could it possibly be? Turning to share their vision, I see-

“WHAT IS THAT THING?!” It looks like a Horse! Almost completely barren of any visible skin, it appears to be held together by bone, organs, and muscle alone. I’ve heard of these beasts. I studied them as a foal, but I’ve never even heard of one like that before! It’s impossibly big, over fifty times the size of a full-grown stallion and more than three times the size of the largest Horse on record! There’s no way this could be happening. This just can’t be real. I stare as the beast backs up and starts relentlessly bucking the base of wall Maria. Each buck creates shockwaves, toppling a few close trees and tearing flowers from the earth, but the wall hasn’t even cracked. Taking a deep sigh, I reassure myself of our safety. I’m sure of it, the wall can’t fail. The wall has never failed. Today won’t be any different.

The beast bucks the wall and a crack appears. The beast bucks the wall again and a small portion of it falls off. I collapse to my knees in shock. The impenetrable wall that’s held our city together for so long has broken. The beast bucks the wall again and punctures a hole the size of a large Horse. I watch as the following shockwave rips countless trees and buildings from the earth. Realising what’s going to happen next, I close my eyes from seeing the horrors of innocent pony souls being crushed by their own homes. My ears cringe from their blood splattered screams and cries. I’m thankful to live near the northern gate, away from the beast, but I can’t help shedding tears for those ponies that never stood a chance. Hearing the majority of screams stop, the worst has probably past, so I open my eyes again. Raising my gaze, all I can see are torn buildings, galloping ponies, and severed pony corpses with frozen expressions across the blood-splotched town. It’s the most horrifying thing I’ve ever seen, but I need to know what’s happening. The beast doesn’t seem to be there anymore, but Horses have begun trotting through the wall’s gaping hole and are spreading further into town, towards my location. The town is being invaded. How long have I been staring at this? Suddenly realising the danger, my breathing turns heavy and my eyes feel sore as I turn around to check on Twilight.

Twilight’s curled up in the middle of the floor, crying and muttering the same words over and over again. “No... Please Mother Celestia no... This can’t be... Please...” I’ve never seen her like this before. She’s frightened for her life, but she seems to know what might be happening. “This is impossible... They’ve never been that big before...”

That confirms it for me. It was a gargantuan Horse. I turn to see Cadance, but she’s not there. “Cadance? CADANCE! Where are you?!” I desperately race upstairs before checking outside.

Glancing first in my room, I find her kneeling and sobbing above our broken portrait. “It’s all over... I’m sorry, my love.” It hurts to see her like this. I wish there was just something I could do - something I could say. There’s not much time.
Then it clicks. That’s it. I know what I must do. I need to save her. I need to save Twilight. That’s all I can do. “CADANCE!” She doesn’t react, so I shove her with my hoof and shout again. She still doesn’t react, so I shove and shout at her, harder, and harder, and harder, and it hurts so much to do this to her, but I must do this! She finally turns her drenched face towards mine, and I cry with the pain. “Cadance, we need to leave! NOW!”

She heard what I said and slowly nods. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“We’ll survive. We’ll have time for that later. For now, we need to leave! If we hoof it, we may just be able to reach the ferries in time!” The ferry dock isn’t too far away - only a half hour of trotting towards the north, if memory serves me right. If we reach them, we should have a safe and fast journey all the way to wall Rose.

Cadance picks up the portrait with her mouth and we rush downstairs. Twilight is still crying on the floor and muttering the same words. She’s limp, so there’s no way I could convince her to move. “I’m sorry, sis.” As careful as I can, I pick her up with my teeth, the way a cat does to her young - but Twilight is not young. Drops of blood trail down my lips and into my mouth, mixing with my fallen tears. She continues muttering the same words over and over again, un-phased by what’s going on. In a way, I’m happy. She won’t remember the pain I caused her.

I turn to Cadance and we nod, sharing an instant conversation. We both know that we must survive, no matter what the cost. The three of us exit my house together, with only an invisible emotional bond to keep us from splitting up. I know that I shouldn’t look back, there’s too much pain and suffering. Screams of horror and desperation fill the air, but I can only focus on the road ahead and the family I must save - my own family. Death surrounds us as Horses fell buildings and devour ponies, but there are countless ponies from the Corps trying to combat them. I have yet to see even one Horse fall. There is no sign that we’ll be able to hold off their invasion and take back our homes, let alone save every pony in town. I try to look away and ignore the incident, but watch as one of my old acquaintances are devoured. He begs for the Horse to spare his life and for a Corps member to save him, but there is no aid. The Horse bites him in half. There was no Corps member to save him, no sense of mercy from the Horse, and no hope for his life. Without enough time to mourn the stallion, I continue galloping with Cadance. I must try as hard as I can to prevent the same from happening to Twilight, but it’s difficult to keep spirited with all that’s happening. I’m trying so hard to keep my legs moving, through the muscular pains that are present all over my body, through the blood and tears that are trailing off my throat. I can only glance at Cadance, who’s still carrying the portrait and is struggling even more than I am. She has a sweet and fragile soul, she was never meant to experience anything like this. I would do anything to make sure she never experiences it again. I would give my life so that neither would experience it again.

We’ve finally arrived at the ferries, after what has felt like days of running a marathon without a chance to breathe. I’ve never seen so many ponies in one place before. It looks like every pony between wall Maria and wall Rose, every pony between our wall and the next, had the same desperate idea. There’s no way these ferries could save so many ponies. I overhear the conductors shouting that they’ll only allow foals to board the ferries because of loading limitations. I almost forgot that I’m carrying Twilight in my mouth.

“Cadance, I know they won’t allow us on the ferries. Please, leave me to put Twilight on board and I’ll catch up to you later.” Although they were muffled words mixed with blood, sweat, and tears, I’m sure she understood. Even if they won’t take Twilight, I know that I can’t run much further with her in my mouth. I’d sooner die than abandon her, so either she boards a ferry or we’re both dead. This is the only way to keep us both alive.

“Shining, I will not do that. I cannot do that. I mustn’t leave you in our most dire of times.” Although I certainly didn’t believe her at first, I have come to realise how correct she is. She can barely even stand. It’s my role in life to protect her, my destiny. If something happened to her while I was gone, I could never forgive myself.

I take a deep breath. “I’ll respect your choice, Cadance. But please take this moment to rest.” This is why I love her though, isn’t it? She’s stubborn when she’s right. I split up from Cadance into the crowd of ponies desperately trying to get their foals on board.

With what feels like the last of my energy, I’ve managed to struggle and make it to the front of the crowd, ready to give a farewell to my dear sister Twilight. I know that she probably won’t remember the words because of the trauma, but I’ll say them anyway. “Please, take good care of yourself and live a happy life. I’ll never stop searching for you. I promise, we will meet again.” I drop her on the ferry and as I’m pushed aside by the next parent. Trotting away, I take my last look at Twilight’s drenched, horrified face. If I can convince her that we will reunite, maybe I can convince myself of that, and maybe it will happen.

2 - Day One

It was difficult to say goodbye to Twilight, my sister. I’ve had her by my side for most of my life, and we’ve been the best of friends since childhood. But now that she’s left on a ferry directly to wall Rose, I don’t know if I’ll ever see her again. All I can do is pray that we’ll meet again someday, but even if we don’t, I have no regrets. She’s safe and that’s all that matters. For now, I need to escape from the Horses with Cadance. In the very least, because the gargantuan Horse seems to have vanished, we should be safe past wall Rose. But we must be swift, and the journey will be long.

After taking a few seconds to breathe and leave the crowd, I find Cadance and we immediately increase pace towards the north, in the direction of wall Rose. We’re trotting as fast as we can manage, but she keeps glancing at the item we both care for. Because we’re far enough from the Horses, I can finally ask her. “Cadance, do you plan on taking that portrait with us?”

“Shining, it’s the only thing we have. It’s the most valuable thing we’ve ever had.” Cadance is being defensive about it. Despite the screams and bloodshed - despite all that’s happening, she’s still really attached to it. But considering what it is, it makes sense.

“Please, if we’re planning on travelling the entire 100 kilometres by hoof, it’s really going to slow us down. We have three days’ worth of galloping ahead of us.” It’s a sad truth, but I need to convince her to let it go. Her life means so much more to me than any piece of art. “Any unnecessary baggage could mean our deaths.”

“Do you really call this unnecessary?! Have you forgotten what it means?” She’s still exhausted, but she’s wasting valuable energy on our fight. This is bad. I don’t want to start our long journey with an argument, and we need that energy to keep galloping, but we really need to lose it.

“Please, my love. I remember it. We had it made on our first anniversary. The first night we started talking about our future together. The night we had our first kiss. I remember.” Remembering these things, it’s getting harder to persuade her to leave it. We had it moved to my room because she spent so much time at my house. It’s hard to keep convincing myself that it’s worthless. I don’t want to lose such a valuable item.

“Then how can you just throw it away?!” She’s wasting more energy. This is taking up too much time and energy, too much out of us both.

“I care about you. We don’t need it as long as we have each other.” I slow our trot and turn towards her for an embrace, but she pushes me away. This must be a serious thing for her if she won’t even accept that.

We continue trotting and stay silent for a few valuable seconds to think. This is going nowhere. If I destroyed it on the spot, I’d only repel her more and waste time. If I let her take it, it would slow us down too much. There is no correct answer here. I can’t protect her either way.

“You two had better get a move on if you want to live. Time’s running out.” With us both focusing so much on the argument and the road ahead of us, neither of us noticed the brown earth stallion catch up to us. He has a charismatic face, witty expression, and a cutie mark of a time glass. Trotting next to him is a strange looking blonde and grey pegasus mare with a bubble cutie mark and a nearly identical unicorn filly perched behind her neck. “Pardon my interruption, but if we travel together and share the burden, we won’t be slowed down and our chances of survival will increase.”

I could barely believe it. I could only thank Mother Celestia for granting me such an option. “Cadance, would you be okay with that?” It’s a bitter thought, but even if they ended up stealing or destroying it and leaving us, we wouldn’t have the burden and she wouldn’t blame me for it. There was no way this could turn out badly.

“I’ll accept your help but please try your best to not damage it.” As expected, she wants to protect it above all else.
The two ponies nod to each other and answer in unison. “We promise.”

The stallion continues to speak. “So you wouldn’t mind keeping an eye on our little one on occasion? She enjoys wandering off and it could be dangerous out there.” Suddenly his offer of assistance made sense. His companion looks like a clumsy mare and the filly could only make things harder.

I optimistically look at Cadance. “We can consider this training for the future.” I didn’t really mean it, but I’m sure she knows that. She looks back towards me and nods. “We’d better be going now. The Horses are probably right behind us.” I take the portrait from Cadance and the four of us start galloping together with the strength formed from newfound hope. Somehow, even amidst all the chaos, things don’t seem as bad as they did before. Twilight should be safe on the ferry, we’re slowly outrunning the Horses, and we’ve found some needed assistance. The thought of getting used to such a dangerous environment begins to scare me just as much as the environment itself.

Snapping back to reality, I notice that the stallion is galloping ahead of us. Following him around an unexpected corner, he begins to shout. “Our home is in this direction, just a bit to the north west. If you follow me, we can stop at it for supplies.”
“Yes, of course we’ll follow you.” Surprised again by his generosity, I can’t help but question it. “You’re willing to share with us?”

“We don’t mind eating a bit less if it means we won’t lose Dinky.” I assume he was referring to the filly perched behind his companion’s neck.

Cadance replies in my stead. “Thank you for your kindness. It’s great to know there are ponies in Equestria who care about others in times like this.” She sounds extremely sincere. Perhaps she’s also aware that our argument might have ended up escalating with us wasting more time, or maybe she’s just really grateful for their offer of help.

We get a hoof on it and arrive at their house after ten uneventful minutes of galloping. The stallion rushes inside and throws a tablecloth off the floor, revealing two double-sided saddlebags, already completely packed. I quickly slip the broken portrait from my mouth into the emptiest saddlebag as fast as I can, but glimpse at what looks like a 15 inch landscape family portrait, the same size as ours. It seems to show the three in addition to a unicorn stallion. I shouldn’t pry, not at a time like this. Not when we’re galloping for our lives. I’ll ask about it later. I notice that the stallion looks less exhausted than me, so we agree he should carry the now heavier saddlebag. I strap the lighter saddlebag to myself, knowing that the mares outside are probably too exhausted from their own burdens - both emotional and physical. Trying to keep ahead of the Horses, we rush outside to our loved ones and continue galloping north.

Seeing their family picture forces some thoughts into my head. Just like our portrait, I’m sure that the image is worthless, but the memories it carries are priceless. It’s not just a reminder of the event or the ponies on it, it’s a reminder of the memories and feelings those ponies shared. It’s a reminder of the two of us, spending great times together and enjoying our youth. Our first date, our first anniversary, our first kiss, and now my proposal. It’s even become a reminder of my promise to Twilight. I understand why Cadance cared so greatly for it.

“Cadance, I’m sorry I tried to force you to give up the portrait.” She has never rejected a sincere apology from me before.
Cadance faces so lovingly towards me. The same face I’d fallen in love with over the years. “You’re forgiven. But as you said, we need to get out of here. There’s time for that later.” I could look past her facial expression and gaze into her horrified soul. Even with all that’s happening, she’s trying to comfort me. But she’s right. I look forward to resting and bleeding my thoughts. This entire experience has been taxing, but it could only get worse. Sundown is a few hours away. As soon as night time arrives, we should be able to rest. There’s no sense galloping if we can’t see what’s in front of us, and any lighting would attract the Horses.

We continue galloping as hard as we can, out of town and into the increasingly dense bushland, each of us breaking well past our second winds and known limits, even as it turns dark. In that time, the stallion introduced himself as Time Turner and his companion as Ditzy Doo. Likewise, I introduced myself and Cadance. Although Turner has been rather helpful and vocal, Ditzy has been distancing herself from us and focusing on Dinky. As we reach a heavily forested area, I realise the situation. “We should stop.” I steady what’s left of my pace, hoping they’ll do the same.

With a strong breath, Turner slows down to match. “He’s right. It’s too dark to see. We could bump into a Horse and not realise until it’s too late.”

Realising she’s pushed her limits, Cadance falls to an immediate halt and I trot over to help her up, but Ditzy keeps galloping with Dinky perched behind her neck. Without even a word or glance to either of us, Turner chases her. Hearing a nearby thud, I assume they’re relatively close, but I can’t quite understand what either of them are saying. All I can overhear is repeated emphasis of the words “he”, “care”, “Horses”, “Corps”, and “safety”. Cadance and I trot past the concealing forestry and find that Turner’s heavily pinning Ditzy with all four legs on a pile of damp rocks. She looks like she’s trying her best to not cry, but just can’t manage to stop herself. I know she needed to stop, and although it’s for her own good, it’s such a brutal course of action. I’ve only known him for a few hours, but he’s made certain impressions. I’m surprised that Turner, who seems so wise and sympathetic, could do such a thing. Glancing at Cadance, I don’t know if I’d be able to do that to my love, even if her safety depended on it. Maybe I just need to stallion up.

Ditzy looks like she’s calmed down a bit after realising the futility of her efforts. With another deep breath, Turner releases her with a shameful expression. “I’m sorry I did that to you. I went too far.” She slowly manages to stand up while staring at him, but doesn’t say a word. I think she understands that he was only trying to protect her, but she doesn’t want to forgive him for what he did.

Ditzy turns to Dinky, who looks extremely frightened and puzzled by the incident. “I’m sorry you needed to see that, my little muffin. But mommy’s alright now, see?” She cheerfully brushes herself off, trots over to Dinky, picks her up, and gives the biggest smile she can. Dinky cutely responds in kind, the lovable way that only a foal can. We all seem to calm down after that. The power of a smile really is an amazing thing, sometimes. It can make a pony feel safe, but at the same time it can make the worst of actions seem justified. Taking advantage of the events, I turn to embrace Cadance.

The four of us agree on searching for an enclosed location to spend the night, ideally somewhere easy to hide in but easy to scout from. While searching for the spot, I manage to survey the general area. It’s hard to tell in the dark, but the trees appear endlessly tall and are blocking out the moonlight. The air is bitter, cold, and humid, but has a welcomed revitalising effect. The rocks are damp and mossy, and there are no signs of edible vegetation. Judging by the completely un-trampled earth, we may be the only ones to have made it this far. I can barely accept the grim reality that they may have all been devoured by the Horses. Keeping that frightening thought to myself, I simply judge the area as vacant of ever having witnessed pony life and impossible to support it. After a few minutes of finding nothing useful but two large pieces of bark and an abundance of hanging vines, we find two thin hollow trunks, each a tight fit for two adult ponies but great for our purpose. Turner retrieves the two large pieces of bark we found earlier and says there’s some food and water for us in my saddlebag, so Cadance and I bid a good night to the three. We bar the hollows with the bark like a hinge-less door and lie down together, Cadance on my left and us both facing towards the entrance. We should be safe in here until morning.

I open the right side of my saddlebag and find two canteens, each filled with two litres of water. The left side contains another two litre canteen, eight oranges, a pear, three apples, and a few small items, probably with significant personal value to Turner and Ditzy. As expected, the contents are very inefficiently organised, so they were probably packed in a hurry. Realising the large portions of food in the saddlebag, I’m forced to remember that Turner’s had no food in it, something I noticed while placing our portrait in their saddlebag. But I only had a look in one side, so there may be food in the other. I sincerely hope they have something decent to eat for tonight - they’ll need their strength tomorrow.

Cadance agrees to share two oranges and half a canteen. We both understand that we need to ration the food, especially if this is all the five of us have. The moment I begin drinking I’m instantly reminded of Twilight by the taste of her moistening blood, spilled from the moment I carried her. It starts off disgusting, metallic and dense in flavour, but I gradually get used to the taste and it starts leaving my mouth. I give Cadance the canteen and begin peeling the first orange. We’re mostly silent while eating it, but I’ve begun questioning myself. Peeling the second orange with my hoofs, I quietly share my thoughts. “Have you thought about your parents yet? Do you think they’re safe?”

“I’m sure they are. They can handle themselves.” Cadance optimistically takes the last slice of the first orange and smiles at me. “They’re smart.” She hungrily slips it into her mouth, giving me another turn to speak.

“I know they’re smart, but... I’m starting to worry about my own parents. I’m starting to worry about Twilight, if we did the right thing by leaving her there.” It’s going to be hard to say this, but I need to get it off my chest. “I’ve already seen an old friend devoured.”

Cadance swallows her slice of orange and looks at me with a shocked and sad expression, passing her right hoof through my mane, attempting to comfort me. “I’m sorry, Shining. I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay. We haven’t spoken to each other for over six years and we already said our goodbyes when he left school. He was smart and kind, a generous pony. But even though he was always just an acquaintance when I knew him, watching him die in such a horrible way-” The memory of watching him die, watching him beg for his life, forces my hoofs to stop and a small tear to fall from my right eye. He was one of the noblest ponies I’ve known, I just never realised it, and now that I have it’s too late to tell him. The thought of so many other ponies, no less important than myself, dying in such a way that can even make a pony like him beg for their life makes me want to give into despair.

“You don’t need to say any more.” Cadance kisses my cheek and takes the half-peeled orange from me, continuing to peel it as an obvious effort to soothe me. “Yes, I worry about my parents. But we’ve made it out here. We’re alive. Their home was further north, away from the gate, so they’re probably even safer than us.”

Looking in her eyes, I can tell this conversation is taking its toll on her emotional state. But for both of our sakes, we need to get this off our chest. Keeping it all bottled up won’t help later on. “Have you stopped to think? What if they tried to reach us before leaving?”

“If they tried to reach us, then we can only hope they noticed we were already gone. I’m sure we’ll meet them once we reach wall Rose.” Her hands are slowing down and she’s losing her gentle smile. I can tell she’s losing faith in her words the more she says them.

I force out a deep sigh of relief, at least to convince her that I believe her. “Yes, you’re probably right. I’m sorry for how I’ve treated you today.”

Cadance gently pushes a thick slice of orange into my mouth. “Shining, my love. I more than forgive you. You saved Twilight the only way you knew how. It’s because of you that I’m alive right now.” I had almost completely forgotten that I snapped her back to reality when the gargantuan Horse appeared. Chewing on the orange and unable to speak, I let her continue. “I had fallen into despair, but you picked me up. You gave me the strength to gallop for kilometres. It’s because of you that we can enjoy these sweet oranges and the company of those three ponies. You’ve done nothing but your best for both of our sakes. You always know what to do, my love.” I’m delighted Cadance chose her words so well, but I couldn’t help disagreeing a bit with some of them. She’s grown into such a mature, beautiful, and loving mare - my new fiancé and future wife. She happily puts another thick slice of orange into her mouth as I swallow mine.

“I promise you, my love. I promise to you by all that I believe in. If we get out of this and reach wall Rose, I’ll protect you with my life. You’ll never need to experience such horrors again.” It’s as much of a promise to her as it is to me. I won’t let anything happen to her. I’ll never let her be in danger again. “Without you, my life has no meaning. You are my life - my love, my only love, my eternal love. I would do anything for you.” I unstrap my saddlebag and carefully shift it to the side of the hollow, towards my right. “I love you so much, Cadance.” A small tear of joy falls from her face as she memorises the words. “I’ll keep this promise, no matter what it takes.”

Cadance shoves what’s left of the orange into my mouth. “Oh you sweet thing, Shining Armor. I’m sure you will.” She kisses me gently and endearingly watches as I awkwardly chew the orange. We quietly laugh as I swallow the last of what’s in my mouth, trying our best to not alert any potential Horses outside. “Come here, you.” Cadance drags me across what little room there is between us and embraces me with her forelegs. “This will be our first night together, you know.”

I chuckle a bit at the idea. “Yes, it will be.” I bury my head into her neck and relax on my side. “Tomorrow’s going to be a hard day. We need to rest now.” Warmed by her body and using her soft mane as a pillow, I start drifting off to sleep. We were lucky today. We made some friends and escaped the Horses, for now. But I can’t help wondering if our luck will change. The Horses will almost certainly spread far beyond our location when we wake up, but we still have a few days of running ahead of us. There’s no guarantee that we’ll make it to wall Rose, and there’s no way of knowing if we’ll find as good a hiding spot tomorrow.