Game of Ponies: Frozen Ashes

“Right here” She slammed her hoof down onto the wooden table shaking the figurines placed all around what seemed like a badly disorganized map. Her eyes darted from corner to corner of the map examining all the ridges and hills before pausing and taking a deep breath. A extremely loud crack was heard from the outside of her wooden room, countless shouts drained out by what seemed like rain pounding against the wooden floors, the room tilted slightly sideways causing the figurines to collapse and begin rolling off the table, however, they stopped mid-roll with a faint purple haze around them and they stood back up seemingly by themselves. The mare straightened out the table and map with her magic as well, her stern look slightly strained in the process.

A stallion burst through the decorated wooden door panting loudly, behind him a storm of water was billowing. Several stallions toppled backwards as another wave of the ocean water crashed onto the deck shaking the ship furiously. Incomprehensible shouting was heard, some of the stallions had tear stained eyes concealed under the dark of night and the pouring rain, others, anger in their hearts as they tirelessly worked to switch the direction of the ship or avoiding getting hit by the crashing sprays. A single stallion was barely holding onto the guard railing on the side of the ship, his eyes swollen, his face bludgeoned and bloody, and his mouth open and shouting words of anguish towards the others who were busy avoiding the cold grasp of death in the pitch black water below. His hooves wrapped around the rails slowly slipping as he let out shocked whimpers and gasps as his friends, the swore he swore to stand by and protect were too busy to help him, too caught up in their own lives to save his. With one last feeble kick his right hoof slipped, another colossal wave hit the opposite side of the ship, shaking the wood and splintering the side causing his other hoof to slip as well, the last image he saw stained his mind, however, not for long, his limp body plummeted into the ocean, all hope for survival lost the moment he saw the fleet of oncoming ships before being sucked into yet another wave. The air in his lungs getting sucked out by the manic sea, a few more weak paws at the hull of the next moving ship before his body was completely caught in the ocean, floating lifelessly, forgotten.

“Speak your mind Colonel” the voice of the winged mare cut the incomprehensible din of noises outside like paper, he continued panting madly as he walked over, completely drenched in water and kicked the wooden door closed with his rear hoof, shutting out the sound of torment, anger, and death so it wouldn't bother the princess.

Her mane must be the only dry one on board, her dark purple, streaked mane well taken care of and scented by a hint of lavender, her brighter, more distinguishable purple coat almost illuminated the darkened room, her slender body had folded wings, and a tail with another streak of lighter shades of purple going down it. Her face was stern, yet she bore a visible sense of fatigue as she tried her hardest to prevent herself from collapsing right then.

The panting stallion paused and examined his princess from head to hoof admiring her calm demeanor in this time of great peril. His eyes dashed from the map to her own eyes as he swiftly tried to decipher what she was examining.

“Colonel.” She paused and glanced at the rugged, wet, and panting stallion, his matted dark green mane disheveled and dripping wet, his pale blue coat shimmering in the dimly lit room. “Speak your mind or get the hell out of my chambers.” She said bluntly.

“Princess…” the stallion pants, “we lost three ships already, we need to gain control of this storm not keep proceeding haplessly!” The stallion quickly uttered an apology to his princess under his breath, it getting sapped out by another crash of waves. “Are you questioning your princess, Banner?” she asked. The stallion shook his head, “My princess, moving onward at this pace,” He paused and placed a hoof on the table “We’ll lose at least another three ships.”

“Casualties?” She asked.

“Around 800, atleast.” He replied and turned away from her stone-cold stare. “And our special passenger? How’s she?” The princess asked once more.

“Last I checked…” He began but got interrupted, “And when was that?” The stallion uttered something under his breath and then spoke aloud once more. “When we were about to depart.” He said pensively and looked back at her deep purple eyes.

“Very well… What else?”

“How are we going to proceed once we land? We hardly know the lay of the land.” The stallion motioned to the crudely drawn map.

“That is not the priority, get back out there and make sure my ship doesn't sink,” She stared up at him as he nodded and scurried out of the wooden room, she eyed him unsympathetically and got a brief glance at the chaos outside, but the door shut before she could make out anything coherent.

She turned her head to glance behind her, a shadowy figure was leaning against the wall, the composure she maintained was quickly disintegrating as her hooves buckled under her body and she collapsed onto the reverberating wooden floor. Her breathing was heavy, yet weak, her perfectly shelved wings were now laying limply on the deck. The figure in the shadows came to the light, a light brown-coated stallion emerged in the dim-light room. His eyes a lighter shade of blue, with a short dark brown mane styled so its short strands pointed backwards, he donning an imperial dark blue cloak trimmed with gold, it rested grandly over his body, it’s length getting dragged along behind him, he used a hoof to throw the right side of his cloak over his body as though he wanted to be closer to the princess. She noticed a quick flash of his hourglass-shaped mark on his flank before he knelt down beside her the cloak regaining its previous position.

“You made me the only high general earth pony for a reason princess… you trust me.” He paused for a moment and placed his hoof under her chin as he raised it so she could meet his eyes with hers, “You are tired, weak, you need rest.”

She feebly opened her mouth, but closed it and turned away from his gaze, “I don’t know how to command, seven years and what do I have to show? A broken kingdom and failure.” She lowered her head staring at the cracked wooden floorboards. “My princess,” he began, “this is why we are doing this, this will give you, my princess, Twilight… glory, fame, and you will finally get the respect you desire.”

He leaned in closer to her, running his hoof through her mane as he began lifting his body upwards and helping her on her hooves. She gave him a quick glance, almost as a tepid thank you for his words before she glared back at the map resting on the table, a few of the figures rolling about while the others slightly shaking due to the calming storm outside.

“I don’t know what this is… whatever this is… I-I can’t lead the soldiers if I don’t even know what the HELL these things even mean!” With the flick of her head and a glowing horn the table toppled over crashing onto the wooden floor, the figurines pouring onto the deck rolling about uncontrollably. The stallion walked next to her and gently placed his hoof on her cheek and looked at her, a concerned expression enveloped his face.

“Get some rest princess, let me take you to your bed.” He motioned to the smaller wooden door opposite the one leading to the discord outside. “No” she replied, “I’ll lead myself, I leave you to command while I am gone.” She gave a quick nod and began softly walking to that door. He called out to her, saying something about the soldiers not listening to another earth pony like himself, all she could mutter was a quick statement of reassurance before exiting the room leaving him alone, in the princess’s chambers, a single lantern above, and a collapsed table beside him.

“Open the gates!” A gruff shout interrupted the calm, grey, desolate morning, the cold wooden gates towered over the stallion, their intimidating black metal spanning over forty meters high, at the very top of the gate there were spear-like protrusions decorated by disembodied heads of stallions, mares, fillies, anyone whom these ponies could get their hoofs on.

Stories were told about the Clan of Chaos, the savages whom tore up the north pillaging villages, leaving no stone unturned, no house unburnt, and no mare un-violated. The people of the south want to believe them as myth, as lies told to little children to keep them from wandering far away from their homes, to make them behave, yet this clan is far from a myth. They are located in the north east of the continent on what was deemed Wyverncliff also named Cliff of the red wyvern in the myths told. Legend has it that that the last known Wyvern, a great beast with the head of a dragon, the body of a lizard, and skeletal wings was taken down by one hundred adventurers during the second age. The barbarians of the Clan of Chaos claimed this land years afterwards, the immense cliff that it inhabits looks over the ocean and the crashing waves on a piece of land nicknamed Trident, this land juts out into the ocean in the shape of what seemed to be a sea-trident. The members of this clan were known to capture any ships crashed into the land, any survivors were either sold into slavery, or used for ritual sacrifice. This same legend states these brutal savage ponies of the earth were created for the sole purpose of defeating these winged beasts, however, once the wyvern’s died out, the god whom created the barbarians did not destroy them, instead, he gave them life in the north.

The barbarians, nicknamed Emids by the southerners, came together and formed their belief on a new god, no longer the one that supposedly gave them life. Instead, the one that allegedly gave them their lust for blood, the god of chaos. The clan formed, a clan of brutal nomads, thieves, and slayers who destroyed anything in their path. Lead by Gregor Bloodfury, son of Khor Bloodfury, this tribe has found a home on Wyverncliff for the time being.

A resounding clank of metal interrupted the tall stallion’s thoughts as he stared at the gates trembling and slowly opening. Two stallions were on the outside turning two massive wooden levers on either side, making the gate creek and open outwards. A cloud of dust shrouded the lower corners of the gateway with the sound of metal against metal echoing through the day, almost like thunder the stallions stopped turning their leavers and the gate dropped into place, open just wide enough for the stallion to ride through. Three other’s followed him, each one with a different shade of brown for a coat, with strips of leather and other armor-like gear.

The one in front of them was significantly taller than then the rest, his mane pitch black and blowing in the wind as he galloped down the cliffside, his light brown coat decorated with tribal stripes, his ears were pierced multiple times with golden rings thicker than a young tree’s branch. His eyes grey, always angry and never blinking. His plated shoulder guards were scratched and war-torn, he wore them proudly. He had two axes on him, each one sheathed at either side of his body. His battle scarred body glimmered as the sun peeked out of the grey clouds shining upon these descending stallions.

As they reached the bottom, gazing at the Trident, the report of a beached ship was true, along with waves crashing against the rock there was a large wooden ship with half its body on land. The other half was almost torn completely off, only the left half of it was still intact while the right was lost at sea. The barbarians exchanged glances, as one of the three, one with a slightly curly dirty blonde mane and a dark brown coat galloped onwards toward the ship.

The largest of the stallion said something about the other two taking a scout of the land, however, he quickly changed his mind once he approached the large ship and told them to go inside to search for anything left behind while he takes a look at the top deck.

Disembodied limbs were scattered around the lower deck, ravens pecked at the bodies of the stallions and mares on board the deck, the pungent sent of death and decay emanated from the ship. There was hardly any blood, all of it washed off by the sea, just the bodies of the blood drained stallions spread around. He stepped carefully onto the half-broken staircase leading onto the top of the deck, with his mouth he unsheathed his large axe from his side and began walking slowly up the creaking staircase. As he walked through the collapsed doorway onto the main deck he was greeted with more death, he counted seven stallions, each one with severed hooves, parasite infested wounds, and perhaps broken skulls. He walked over to one in particular, this one’s body was seemed to be the least destroyed. His light blue eyes faded and half shut, his mouth open with just a hint of dark crimson blood at the corners of it. His slightly darker blonde mane was wet and ragged and several deep wounds decorated his white coat.

The armor he wore was still in mint condition, the golden chest plate only slightly dented, in the center there was a dark purple star imprinted directly on the metal. Each side of the star had a word next to it, the stallion dug his axe into the wooden floor next to him and eyed the words on the star.

“Honesty, kindness, loyalty” He read in his mind, he peered to the lower side of the mark, “generosity, magic, and… laughter” He gave a smirk as he read this symbol. His eyes moved around the chest plate until they rested on what seemed to be a badge, something golden attached to the top right of the golden plate, it read, Commander Blueblood, and below that badge there were several torn red strings hanging loosely off it.

While that stallion was exploring the top deck the other two were rapidly searching throughout the cupboards and shelves of the lowest one, the only sound in the air was guttural grunts, and the dropping of wood or the distinct clatter of something metal. The third stallion was at the very lowest level of the ship, scanning what seemed to be the place of food for the soldiers, the entire room was almost completely collapsed. What used to be a massive table was completely shattered, while the aroma of death infested this lower area even more so than the others. This stallion peeked around the collapsed area, seeing what he thought was a soldier, his body was torn in half with only his upper torso attached, his neck was torn open and half of the skin covering his face was peeling right off. The barbarian gave a slight smile at the gruesome sight and walked past that soldier but not before kicking his head in with his hind hoof causing his torn neck to completely get detached, his head rolled down the slightly tilted ship hitting the one of the chair legs.

There was a single door at the end of this dining room, the door was what the brute guessed was supposed to be decorative, he paced forward lightly pushing this still intact door open, it glided inwards as he was greeted with a water soaked bed, a collapsed shelf, and nothing else. He began walking in, kicking the door closed with his hind hoof when a sudden whimper emanated from the back of the room, he jolted forward unsheathing his war hammer and rotated around rapidly ready to take on whatever the foe may be. However, he wasn’t greeted by a rival, instead a soaked mare was curled up in the corner of the room, visibly shaking and whimpering. He put his war hammer back into its sheath and trudged over nealing down beside the mare, her pink mane flowed majestically along the wet floor, her shivering yellow body still resonated warmth.

He called out to the stallions above him, saying that he found something. He grabbed the mare roughly and threw her over his back and began walking out of the room. The others peered down the dining room, laughing in their barbaric way as they saw their compatriot carrying the warm yellow mare over his back. He only grunted at them as he walked past and made his way outside the ship, the larger stallion still on the top deck.

The brute threw the mare onto the rock floor of the island, right next to the ship, she spread curled up and was blinking repeatedly trying to get accustomed to the gloomy yet bright day. She was greeted with the sound of the ocean crashing against the rock a few hundred meters in front of her. She peered out into the wide open ocean, quickly realizing that she was no longer under the protection of her friends.

“Looks like you found a pretty little bitch din’tcha?” One of the stallions said while following the other one coming out of the ship.

The stallion who found her looked at the other one and said, “Oh look at her! She’s scared shitless,” He turned his gaze towards the mare, “Ya scared bitch?” She refused to look at him, she curled up tighter and whimpered quietly into her hoof. “Look at me when I talk to ya,” the stallion spoke, in a slightly raised voice. He paused for a few moments looking at the curled up ball of fur and mane in front of him and then he repeated his statement, “Look at me when I talk to ya!” He paced over to her and put his hoof on her shoulder pushing her onto her back as he looked right into her almost shut eyes. “Are you blind bitch?” He uttered angrily.

A small tear quickly glided down her cheek as she opened her eyes a little more, quivering at the sight of the scarred stallion. “I…” she began, “please… water,” is all she could utter before going back to lightly sobbing.
The stallion glanced at the two behind him, he signaled the pale brown one, a prominent scar being hidden by his leather covered chest, “You heard her, get some fuckin’ water Dragel.”

The stallion whom he just called Dragel muttered something and reached into his left satchel pulling out a canteen, he walked over to the mare and opened it, he took a sip of what must have been water before biting down on the side of it and beginning to pour it out next to her. She watched, still sobbing, as the water she needed was emptied onto the wet ground. Dragel made his way to the nearby ocean, just a few meters in front of her, and leaned down beginning to fill up his canteen with the salt water.

A few faint chuckles resonated from the other two as Dragel lifted his muzzle out of the water and made his way to the mare. “Open her mouth, Tolak” the stallion whom found her pushed her weak hooves aside as he placed one of his hooves on her chest and the other on her chin, he pushed downwards as she gasped and lightly kicked her body, yet unable to do anything past that. She cried out a little and seemed to try and say something, yet it came out as incomprehensible.

“Water, for the royal bitch.” Tolak said as Dragel shoved the canteen into her mouth, she tried to yell out but couldn’t as the salt water poured down her throat, the stallion behind them laughing as Dragel pushed it further into her mouth, she gagged and choked up some of the water before crying out once more lightly kicking her hooves against the rock floor.

“What are you fuckers doing down there?” A shout from atop the ship pierced their eardrums as they glanced up, Dragel removed the canteen from her mouth as she heaved heavily and kept choking and hacking, spitting up water and whatever remnants of food she had left in her body. The large stallion galloped down the stairs and briskly came over, without saying a word he grabbed Tolak by the hind hooves and backed up a few meters dragging him, then swung his body around before letting go making Tolak tumble a few meters on the hard rock before regaining his position and attempting to stand up.

“Gregor, I…” Dragel didn’t finish his sentence, the stallion named Gregor ran up threw a hard punch impacting Dragel’s muzzle, there was a loud crack emanating from Dragel as he collapsed onto the rock floor with crimson liquid flowing out of his mouth. The third stallion began unsheathing what seemed like a scimitar but Gregor shot him a glance and roared, “Go ahead! Give me a reason to geld you alive!”

The third stallion’s eyes widened as the Gregor’s unblinking eyes dug into his, he slowly moved backwards and put his half-unsheathed sword back into its place and stood still breathing heavily in fear.

Gregor glanced at the mare, she was weeping and still choking up a little salt water, and then made his way to the frightened stallion, “Now, run up and prepare a nice bed for our guest near my hut, like, a good, little, bitch.”

The stallion nodded and turned around and began galloping as fast as he could up the hill from where they came from. Gregor turned around and walked over to the mare, towering his enormous body over hers. “What’s your name foreigner?” He asked, speaking in a slightly calmer tone. The two other stallions watching from a far, one standing up holding a hoof to his shattered muzzle, and the other bending down staring at the mare.

“Fl-…” She gave a light cough and hid her face in her hoof.

“I’m going to take you up that there cliff,” Gregor began and pointed a hoof at where they arrived from, “You are going to get a nice warm sleep, and hopefully, the day after you’ll be sold for a good little mark, got it?”

The mare nodded opening her eye so she could see him from the corner of it. He leaned down and picked her up, a little bit more gently than the other stallion did, and placed her on his her laying down on her back, as he signaled the other two to follow him.

“What is your name?” He asked again, slightly softer. She rested her head against his upper back, her wet mane drooping over his shoulder, she whispered quietly, just loud enough so he could hear. “Fluttershy.”

Gregor paused for a bit, “That’s a really dumb name you have there, fluttershy.” He said while beginning his ascent up the Cliffside. “Those fuckin’ dogs will be after you tonight, and where we are sending you…” He paused for a moment, “you wouldn’t want their dirty pricks in your cunt. You’re sleepin’ with me tonight Fluttershy.”

Her breathing calmed a bit as she shut her eyes thinking thoughts of home, of her home in Equestria, of her old life, and of her friends. “Thank you.” She weakly responded, before drifting off to a dreamless sleep.