He Who Stands On Vigil

It was a third moon of Hawkri’s presence in the blissful land of Equestria. From what he knew of Twilight, it was thirty moons until he could have returned to his own land. The perspective of passing two and a half years trapped – as he put it – was not that much bright, but, after studying the myriad of books both in Ponyville library and the Canterlot Archives, he realized that he could only succumb to this grief fate. Well then, he preferred to keep it chill. But one day the thunder clashed.

It was a rather peaceful night – autumn-way chilly, windy and humid, so Nick was forced to wrap himself into a leather jacket of Manticore’s coat – the remnants of a fight were still sore – and on this night, beheld by the full Moon, our hero was strolling around the outskirts of sleeping Ponyville, around the brim of the Everfree. He was humming a gleeful tune, dragging at his cigarette, and basically, he didn’t gave a single heck – but then came a scream. A muffled one, but surely a distress call.

"Не понял…" - muttered Hawkri under his breath, dashing head-first at the very direction of the scream. Slamming his way through the bushes and stumps, he was fixed on the single idea – to find out, who was there. In the night! At the Everfree Forest! It took to be either a reckless fighter or a suicidal to get there. Anyway, despite acting like an independent jerk most of the time and to most ponies, Nick simply could not turn his back to those, who needed help. That’s what made him whole.

"Hey! Hey!!!" – he cried out, dashing out to the clearing.

The answer came with a scream, from the left of his current position. But now he could hear not just the scream of terror, but also the guttural bellow.

"Это беда."

Another crazy spurt – and Hawkri jumped in, with his blade unsheathed, between the two ponies and some abomination, which looked like a chimera – lion’s head, eagle’s paws, snake for tail… And it was threatening some mare – a petite Earth pony mare with cream-colored coat, flowing amber-colored mane and green eyes, dimmed with utter terror. Hawkri could not see her cutie mark, but that was not of an essence – there was also a filly there. The foal clutched the mare, terrorized and trembling, and closed its eyes shut, desperately trying to dislodge the threat.

"What are you just doing here, ma’am? It’s crazy to go into Everfree at night!" – Hawkri shouted, preparing for fight with a chimera.

"I was here to find my daughter! She was lost!" – the mare stuttered out, her gaze fixed at the beast, who was clawing the soil and drooping spit all around.

"Вот дает!" – mumbled our hero to himself, dragging his jacket off and winding it onto his left arm – just in case, to block off the beast’s bite. However, his chances were ghostly – with a small claw-like curved blade, designed more for skinning, and a traumatized shoulder against the true machine of death. However, he was pretty much determined to win the ponies some time to get away. Disregarding the losses.

The first pounce of the beast was blocked off by Hawkri, who took an opportunity to jab the chimera into the nose. This should have distracted the beast, as he presumed, for the nose was a sensitive area. But instead of going dizzy, the abomination went berserk, roaring and sweeping his paws all around.

Nick narrowly escaped one of the blows by rolling aside, blocking the view of a mare.

"Run! The hay are you waiting for?!" – he yelled behind his shoulder.

"I can’t! I’ve sprained a leg!"

"Блядство!" – Hawkri spat out. The whole situation looked like there was no other option rather than killing that thing or either making it flee. But the latter was not considered – so much desire to kill and determination was in the eyes of this beast.

"Говна наверни, кисуля! Сегодня обеда не будет!" – Hawkri stood up straight, flipping the bird to the chimera and complimenting the insult with a wide, cheeky grin.  The beast mentioned nothing, but the snake hissed sharply, ready to pounce.

And it did.

Hawkri threw his armored arm up to make the snake stuck in the dense leather and to cut it off in one slice – but the target was not him. The vicious bite was aimed into the mare, who just cried out in pain and went unconscious.

This was the last drop. Hawkri felt his blood boil, and his vision blur. This was it. He just went berserk.

With an unintelligible war cry, that was more like a bear’s roar, he leapt up to the beast and shoved his left, wrapped arm as deep as he could into its maw. The beast began choking and trying to snap off an arm with its dagger-like fangs, but of no avail: Hawkri was stabbing it wildly in the neck, in the eyes, wherever he could just reach. With the left hand Nick was tearing the insides of the beast’s throat, making it claw the soil convulsively and the snake tail pounce erratically all around.

This was a massacre. Blood was flowing in torrents, making the very soil marshy - the blood marsh, they say, and it was true. Tired with the repeating, frantic stabs, Hawkri pulled his arm away from the throat, making the beast vomit its own gore, and jumped up for the last blow.

The landing of heavy trekking boots shattered the beast’s spine and sent it into vicious agony. Squirming in the puddle of its own blood, it was throwing his limbs erratically to the assailant, clawing and tearing him, but the last stab into the neck from Hawkri put an end to this brutal showdown.

All blooded, torn and wounded, he turned to the startled filly:

"Are you okay, little one?"

No answer. The foal just shuddered, tears glistening in her eyes.

Hawkri crouched to feel the pulse of the mare:

"We need to go, now! We need to put your mommy to hospital! You hear me?" – he shook the filly at the shoulder. She relieved from her entranced state and nodded.

"Good! Can you walk? We have simply no time to waste!"

The filly nodded again.

"Let’s get going then!" – Nick put the wounded mare to his shoulders and dashed back to where Ponyville was. He knew that the smell of blood would attract more predators, and he was in no position to fight every single creep in here. He had a pony in need, and a filly to take care of.

So, dashing towards the lights of the hospital, he was trickling blood – his own and the mare’s, with a tiny unicorn filly galloping by his side.

Forcing the door open with his boot, he bellowed out to the nurse on duty:

"She needs medical attention! Now!"

The nurse seemed just startled with the view – and she had the right to be such. Imagine a six feet two inches brute, who just barges in, all blooded, trickling blood and carrying a mare over his shoulder! I’d have shit bricks.

"Да шевелись ты, овца! Ей помощь нужна!!" – Nick outraged, seeing the nurse’s reaction. This helped, as she dashed to him, bringing a carrier:

"I will call the doctor this instant!"

"You better move it, she was attacked by the chimera!"

"Did it bit her?"

"Yes. The snake tail did." – those words were like a hammer blow.

"How long from this time?"

"Quarter of hour, maybe more. I do not recall. Shit, you better put her to the ambulance!! God damnit, am I supposed to teach you?!"

The doctor appeared. With a brief look, he commanded the nurse to get the operation ready. Once he was ready to trot away, he was caught by Hawkri:

"Doc, be honest. Chances?"

"I cannot state anything."

"You better put your best shot into it. The filly must not be left orphan!"

"We are not gods. We will do all we can." – The doctor let loose a heavy sigh.

"Do more, than just that, if need be."

Hours passed. Hawkri’s wounds were tend, covered and binded, and the filly dozed off to sleep at the couch. The dawn was breaking, and Nick had merely poisoned himself with nicotine on the porch, when nurse came out.

"How is…" - the grief on her face said it all.

"We tried all we could. But it was just too late."

"Да ты нахуй, все они попробовали!!! Как могло быть поздно?? А переливание крови?? А… а… Да как?!!" – the very walls trembled in fear of Nick’s rage, as he just slammed his fist into the column. A big chunk of brick flew away, hitting the trash can with a clink.

"Now you go and tell that little filly over there, that her mother has, Gods forgive, passed away!"

"I am so sorry…" - the tears in the nurse’s voice soothed Hawkri’s anger. He just sat onto the porch, lit another cigarette and dragged deep.

"I know. Sorry. I was just…"

"Have you known her?"

"No. I was just walking out when heard a scream and… Found them, and…"

"Have you fought chimeras before?"

"Nay. I was… I just couldn’t do fucking anything…"  - Hawkri spat hard, his gaze dull and fixed somewhere else.

"I just… killed that one. But this would not help." – our hero dropped his head to his crossed hands and sobbed spasmodically.

"I did not managed to save her." – he stated soberly, between the quiet sobs.

"Easy, easy…" - the crying nurse tried to comfort him, but of no avail.

"Okay. Screw it." – man stood up, wiped the tears off his face and strode inside.

The filly was sound asleep, and Hawkri stood, admiring the view. She was so innocent and young. The feeling long lost to the man, despite his quite early ages – just two months ago he turned twenty-two. But his youth was long ago.

"Hey there, little one…" - he crouched near the sleeping filly.

"Where’s my mommy?" – she demanded sleepily.

"Mommy is…"

"…dead?" – tears began to well up in her eyes.

Hawkri found no strength to say and just nodded his head in approval.

"Mommy! Mommy!!" – cried out the tiny unicorn, throwing herself onto Hawkri. He embraced the child, trying to comfort her, but of no avail. He was just a stranger, who never managed to protect her mother.

Days passed and funeral was held. Green Fields was her name, and she was a mare of great beauty and smarts, as they said above the grave. Tiny Sunrise Glitter, the filly, was standing there in some sort of trance, her eyes flushed red, and Hawkri was there with her.

After the funeral they went for dinner, and Hawkri asked the filly:

"Hey… Mind if I ask?"

She just nodded, absentmindedly.

"Do you have a father or any other relatives who could pick you to stay?"

She waved her head in denial, the same absent way as before.

"Then, I guess, they would put you to the orphanage?"

No answer. Hawkri grabbed his head with both hands, ruffling himself in a deep thought. He was responsible for this. He was the one who tried to save them – and succeeded only partly.

The loud slam on the table startled the little Glitter, who stared in shock at Nick, who just pummeled the table with his fist.

"Listen there, little one. I know that what I am going to say would seem terrible, but I simply cannot see the other way out. I will become your guardian. I will not let you become an orphan. And I will not let anything happen to you. For the sake of your mother – Gods keep her soul – I, Nick Hawkri, from now on promise I will be your protector!"

Sunset Glitter sat with the confused look on her face. She was bemused to hear that from a complete stranger – even if he risked his own life for her mother and her. That was brave and noble – but stupid.

"Take your time, Little Glitter."

Without saying a word, the filly embraced Hawkri and cried into his shoulder.

"I take that as ‘yes’."

Week passed since the funeral, and the formalities were being processed. Standing at the city hall with little Glitter beside him, Hawkri was arguing with the secretary mare:

"I say I do not consider orphanage as an option, miss…"

"Amethyst. Amethyst Star."

"Great, miss Amethyst. I am to carry full responsibility of this here filly, and I am done with that!"

"But there is no such legal procedure that could possibly allow humans, who are, basically, of another, alien species to raise a pony foal!" – Amethyst Star scanned through the bunch of paper at her desk and shrugged tiredly.

"Listen, miss. I understand that. I sure do. But that was because of me! You know…"

"I know the story of what you have done back at the Everfree forest, and I grief for miss Green Fields. But it is just not enough to adopt a foal! We do not even know your name!"

"Nick Hawkri."

"Er, yes, sir, but…"

"Just state what I should do. I will get my custody over this little filly. One way or another."

Amethyst sighed in defeat. She could not help but smile to the determination of this human. She saw how the filly trusted him. And she just gave it up.

"Alright, sir Hawkri. Just you drop by in a week, I will sort it out." – she winked to the Sunrise, who beamed this instant.

"Thank you really much, miss Star. You have truly relieved me." – Hawkri bowed to kiss her hoof.

"This here is for you." – our hero produced a bouquet from seemingly nowhere.

"Thank you!"

"Much obliged. See you in a week." – he smiled to Sunrise and took off, with a foal trotting by his side.

"He might have been a great father." – a blue and white unicorn with hourglass cutie mark stated out, coming closer.

"Romena, take it easy. We’ll see." – Amethyst was smiling gleefully, beholding the way Hawkri was looking at the little filly and how he just scooped her into his arms and gave her a warm embrace before coming away.

"He will. He will try."