That Which Crawls Below

Books and Eisenhorn’s description couldn’t have prepared Twilight for the reality of the Devourers. Even with most of its legs on the ground, the one before her easily topped twelve feet. Its body was coloured a sort of off-white contrasting with its darkly coloured legs. What attracted her attention the most was the rows of glistening, blood-stained teeth. She also noticed that it seemed to have no eyes, ears, or any other type of sensory organ. All the same, it turned towards her, and she felt certain that it knew where and WHO she was. It had been slamming itself against a shield put up by the last member of Twilight’s bodyguard, whose complexion suggested that her strength was nearing its end. It charged, and Twilight panicked. Doing the only thing she could think of, she encased it in a magic bubble. It bashed against its newfound prison, attempted to bore through it, and doused it in acid. Twilight could feel the slight drain of holding the spell against its onslaught, but for some reason, it didn’t seem to drain her magic the way her studies suggested it should.

She snapped out of her musings when she heard Bullhead let out a warcry. She watched as he charged a Devourer that was busy dodging rocks. It had clearly not been too successful as its shell was broken open in a number of places, green blood oozing from one particularly large hole near the thing’s head. She watched as he leaped, turned around, and delivered an impressive double kick to the already horrific wound. There was a snap followed by an unholy screech of pain. The beast toppled, blood spewing from its neck, its upper spine bent at a sharp angle.

A particularly vicious hit to her shield brought her attention back to her captive, who seemed to have become enraged, lashing out viciously at the thin, largely translucent bubble preventing it from ripping its intended victim apart. She spotted several large crates nearby, picked them up, and hurtled them towards the beast before releasing it from its prison. The creature let out a mighty roar, thinking it had finally defeated its magical tormentor. The cry turned to one of anger as the heavy crates slammed into it, knocking it off balance, and pinning several of its legs. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, Twilight picked up several nearby tent poles and threw them towards the monster. The poles that had held up the war tent were heavy and made of iron; they were also quite sharp. Three of them found their mark, and the beast was slain. Twilight had taken a life. At that moment she wanted to do nothing more than sit there and ponder what it was she felt, this curious mixture of sadness and relief, but she knew that she would not have that luxury in a battle. She steeled herself, resolving not to cry, not until it had ended.

Elsewhere in the camp, things were not going so well. The army was comprised largely of non-unicorns, which meant that against such a physically fearsome foe, they had little chance. Many had simply fled when the fighting began, many more had been cut down before they had a chance to react. The hospital, supply wagons, and kitchen were all on side of the camp furthest from the action. It was because of this, that Twilight’s friends were able to get many of the wounded ponies away from the camp, taking with them anyone who could not fight. Were it not for the elements of harmony, the number of casualties likely would have been even higher.

About half an hour after the fight began, Twilight and the other generals were beginning to see that the battle was going poorly. Twilight, Eisenhorn, and Ploddington worked together to cover themselves, Starbright, Scrubbrush, and about a dozen other ponies who happened to be nearby with a large shield. Bullhead was nowhere to be seen.

“The battle is lost. We have to retreat!” shouted Ploddington.

Eisenhorn nodded. “You should take whoever you can find and meet up with the reinforcements. They should only be a couple hours away. After that, head for Fillydelphia. I see three of my best soldiers in here with us. I’ll take them and Twilight to find Celestia.”

“Um, everypony, we need to hurry. They’re starting to take notice of us.” Twilight allowed a twinge of fear into her voice as she said that.

Eisenhorn cleared his throat before shouting, “Blaze! Nightbreeze! Rustle! To me! We’ve got a mission, so let’s get the buck out of here.” He turned to Twilight before adding “We run for the trees on the count of three. Everypony else, follow Ploddington’s orders, unless you want to be a snack for those oversized worms.”

Everyone tensed as he counted down. When he reached one, all hell broke loose. As the shield popped out of existence, the Devourers rushed forward only to be met by a series of explosive blasts. As Twilight ran, she thought she saw Bullhead, covered in gashes and wounds that should have stopped him long before, bearing down on one of the abominations that had been caught by the brunt of the explosion. His face was battered and bruised, but the fury in his eyes told Twilight that he would not stop until his heart did, and she began to cry. Even as they ran for their lives, Twilight cried for those who had died. She cried for all those she could not save. She felt helpless, unable to save anyone. In that moment, she wished for nothing more than the power to save those who were suffering.

They ran for what seemed like hours, stopping only when they reached a forest. Eisenhorn called a halt so that they could proceed carefully through the forest. Twilight obeyed his orders, recognizing that his experience was far more important than court formalities out in the middle of the forest. They continued on into the forest despite the fact that it was pitch black by that point. There was no moon that night, which only made navigating the thick underbrush that much harder. Eventually, they were exhausted and had to rest. Eisenhorn called a brief meeting to explain what was happening to the other three unicorns. He also informed them that they would likely reach their destination shortly after leaving in the morning. They set up several detection spells to warn them of intruders and went to sleep, all of them huddled together to keep warm. They were still hungry, but at least they wouldn’t freeze.

They set out again around mid morning. By sheer luck they managed to find some edible berries about an hour later. With food in their bellies, they set out with renewed vigor. Suddenly, the dense underbrush gave way to reveal a massive pit. In the middle of the massive pit, which must have stretched out at least a kilometer in each direction, was a mound. It wasn’t just a mound, however; despite being a massive hunk of rock, there were clearly identifiable features. The whole thing seemed to be shaped like a massive head, eager to swallow anyone foolish enough to enter. Fortunately, there was an easy path leading to it, though Twilight wondered if that just meant they would be sealing their fate sooner. The general didn’t leave them long to ponder the scale of things, instead urging them onwards. They would be out in the open until they got inside, and that worried him.

They walked in silence, despite the fact that the time for stealth had passed, but then, what was there to say? They were walking into what ought to be the most dangerous place in the world. They were there to kill the leader of an entire race of horrifying monsters. Twilight knew it was utterly mad. It was so mad, she let out a laugh. Before long, she was laughing hysterically. Though the fit passed momentarily, her eyes kept a wild look about them. The others made no comment about her outburst, but they made sure to distance themselves a bit. An involuntary shudder passed through the group as they passed under the opening.

It was dark inside, but they simply conjured some magical light. As they descended into the depths they began to wonder why they met no resistance at all. When they got a bit further down, the cavern suddenly opened up. What they saw struck them with awe. There was an entire city, carved from the earth below the surface. The architecture was strangely alien. Where pony architecture was defined by straight lines and distinct geometric figures, the Devourer city seemed more like a hive. Though there were clearly identifiable structures, the whole thing seemed to be connected with everything leading to the center. It was there at the very center of the city that the ponies could see what they had come so far to find. Two figures were locked in battle with a massive creature in the midst of what might have once been a mighty stronghold, now reduced to rubble along with much of its surroundings. Their flowing manes identified them as the missing princesses, though Twilight could not even begin to comprehend how it was possible to fight for over a day without rest. For the first time since fleeing the chaos at the camp, they broke into a gallop.