Knightfallby PlotospexChaptersThe Baltic, 13th CenturyArrivalSetting OutThe Baltic, 13th CenturyGunther woke to the obnoxious sound of trumpets blaring arythmically. Rising from his cot in the barracks alongside the other knights who'd had their sleep interrupted, Gunther opened the barracks door and looked around the fortress in which he was stationed - Oren, an isolated but strategically placed defensive position near the Lithuanian border. It had been under siege for two months, with no reinforcements as of yet. Supplies were still high, so the situation was by no means grim – though time, Gunther knew, can change all things. As he surveyed the fort’s interior, what stood out to the warrior was that today people were running to and fro, obviously in a hurry. A man that Gunther recognized as a watchman, Paul, noticed Gunther, and ran towards him through the crowd. "Sir!", he yelled, "The Lithuanians are approaching! Make sure that everyone in your barracks -". Paul was interrupted as Gunther grabbed him lightly by the shoulder, and asked, "Do we know how many there are?" This question remained a mystery to everyone - the Lithuanian army had been hiding in the trees outside Oren, concealed from view. There were some guesses that they didn't have the numbers to pose any threat, and that the whole siege was a ruse to keep the defenders of Oren locked up inside the fortress. The commander of the fortress, Knight Komtur Josephus, thought it best to play it safe, and not risk sallying the defenders out. "Sir, they've not yet fully deployed. As of now, they look to be around three-thousand. But, Josephus needs you at the walls! Go! The pagans are setting up the siege equipment now, and could be on us in an hour!" Gunther let go of Paul and made back towards the barracks. "Thanks", he yelled to Paul, almost as an afterthought. At least 3,000 Lithuanians incoming in an hour was not good news. The fortress' population was half that, and of those, 800 or so could fight. They would be outnumbered 4:1, or worse. Like Paul said, they would have to hold them at the walls. With any luck, their supplies would last long enough until a reinforcing army arrived. An hour was hardly enough time to prepare for the coming battle, though. It'd take Gunther nearly that long just to get his armor on. After a quick few pieces of rye bread, Gunther's squire Johann-Christoff helped him don his armor - a thick woolen gambeson, a suit of chain, the plate, and finally, a cloth tunic with the symbol of the Teutonic Order upon it. With just a short while left before the Lithuanians' arrival, Gunther rushed to the wall. Armed with a 3-foot longsword, a kite shield, and a heavy mace on his belt, he was a force to be reckoned with. The stone walls were already been crowded by a mass of archers and crossbowmen, with swordsmen and spearmen just behind to defend against any besiegers that would dare to climb up onto the walls via ladder or tower. Messengers were travelling around, delivering what Gunther knew by common sense - this was a siege, and that their instructions were to hold the walls and prevent an incursion into the fortress itself. The Lithuanians began their attack later than expected. After 20 or so minutes of the Germans waiting atop the walls, the first few Lithuanian trebuchets were deployed and loaded. Most of the Lithuanian troops seemed to be levied peasants, the majority of them wearing little armor and wielding spears. Those peasants who had armor seemed limited to helmets and the occasional leather. Other elite units were dressed in chainmail, armed with swords or massive two-handed axes. Despite the fact that the approaching army was still out of missile weapon range, most of the conversations atop the wall had begun to die down as the defenders grew anxious. Some small amount of time later, and the Lithuanian army appeared to have deployed fully. Their cavalry had dismounted to fight on foot, and siege towers had been brought to the front of the army, with a few catapults behind. Komtur Josephus came by to give a speech, but the majority of it was inaudible due to the sheer number of defenders atop the wall. So, Gunther cheered along with the others at the end of the speech, uncertain even of what Josephus had said. Komtur Josephus then moved on to the next wall section, presumably to give the same speech all over again. The first volley of artillery fire landed a hit on the wall just 10 yards from where Gunther was bracing himself. The wall shook beneath him, and he breathed a sigh of relief when it didn't buckle. But the barrage continued, and the fortress wasn't equipped with much artillery with which to give counterfire. A few ballistae fired from the towers, but besides that, the defenders and their weapons were silent. It felt like hours had passed before the Lithuanians gave up the bombardment and began to move up their siege towers. Crossbowmen fired at exposed troops, the ones in the rear systematically loading the bows and passing them forward to those in front, who were better placed to shoot. Archers doused their arrows in pitch and ignited them, hoping to set the siege towers alight before they reached the walls and deposited their cargo. Lithuanian archers advanced behind the towers, firing their own missiles into the crowds atop the walls in hopes of disrupting the defenders. Gunther raised his shield in a defensive posture. Some of the shieldless defenders tried to move behind those soldiers who did have shields, while others ducked to make themselves less of a target. Small panics erupted on the walls whenever a man got hit by an arrow, but Gunther already knew to expect this. He'd just keep waiting on the walls, holding his shield up to block errant arrows, and then engage the enemy when they arrived. Men would fall to the ranged fire, he knew that. So, he preoccupied himself with imagining the soon-coming melee. The attackers would be surrounded as soon as they got off the tower, and they'd be torn apart. Still, it would take one person getting past the defenders to open the gates, and then the rest of the rest of the Lithuanians would spill into the fortress. Then, the Teutonic garrison would be finished. He just had to hope that the defenders would be able to hold out on the other wall sections, and they'd be okay. The Teutonic archers were unsuccessful in igniting any siege towers before they reached the walls. Covered in nonflammable wet animal hides, the towers were well protected against the flaming arrows. With one such tower now directly in front of him, Gunther gripped his sword tightly in anticipation. It was time for a fight. The crossbowmen and archers, who weren't well-equipped for melee, moved behind the infantry. The crossbowmen had their bows loaded for deadly close-range shots, and the archers continued firing flaming arrows at the tower. By now, it was stuck full of them, yet still failed to ignite. The siege tower's ramp fell to let the attackers onto the wall. The crossbowmen behind Gunther immediately discharged their weapons, killing a few Lithuanians, and the archers fired one more volley - some choosing to fire at the tower, and some at the attackers. One man's clothes caught fire, and, with not enough space to roll (not that it would be a good idea to in the wooden tower, anyway), screamed as he tried desperately to brush the fire off. The other attackers surged forward - the burning man, too panicked to keep himself balanced, fell facefirst onto the wall as he was pushed by his allies from behind. A melee broke out on the wall, the attackers trying to gain ground while the defenders attempted to push them back into the siege tower. Gunther himself surged forward, yelling. Pushing two friendly soldiers aside, he spotted a chainmail-clad Lithuanian armed with an imposing two-handed axe, its shaft nearly five feet tall, directly in front of him. Still yelling, and running at the man, Gunther held his sword in front of him and tried to run the axeman through. The Lithuanian, suddenly turning to face Gunther, managed to knock the blade away with his axe’s handle. As Gunther tried to recover into a fighting stance, the Lithuanian brought his axe down towards Gunther's head. Panicked, Gunther raised his shield. Gunther let a pained grunt escape him. The force of the massive axe reverberated through his left arm, causing it to shift unnaturally in its socket. Still, with the axe halted, it was now Gunther's chance to attack. Thrusting upwards with his sword desperately, he could only hope it would pierce the Lithuanian's armor before he'd have to suffer another axe blow. With a cry of pain of pain from his foe, Gunther knew that it had. Bracing himself against the now-unmoving body with his shield, Gunther pulled his sword out of his dead foe's chest. Quickly scanning his surroundings for a new target, he instead saw the whole world fade around him. ArrivalGunther simply stood still for a quarter of a minute while trying to process what had just happened. He'd just been in the middle of a pitched melee, when, suddenly, everything vanished. Or, he thought, perhaps I vanished? But, magic didn't work like that, did it? Witches, to his knowledge, would simply cast hexes to bring bad luck, or cause sickness, or something along those lines. Could the pagan enemy have simply... removed him from the world? No, he thought, that's stupid. Still, he was alone in a blank white void. He couldn't help but worry. Tentatively, he took a few steps before coming to the conclusion there was nothing more he could do. This wasn't how he imagined things would happen - more likely he'd receive a spear wound bogged down in a melee after cutting a swathe through the enemies of Christendom, and the Order would send a have to send a letter back to his family in Frankfurt detailing his heroic death. A blank white infinity was not how a knight who'd taken a life-vow to the Teutonic Order should leave the world. The pain in his arm starting to lessen, Gunther sat down on the nothingness and looked over his equipment. His shield, bearing his coat of arms - a hand with an eye in the palm, the symbol of faith, holding a set of scales, the symbol of justice. The eye looked up at the scales, as if worried they would tip. It was an undoubtedly surreal image. His sword, forged for Gunther perhaps a decade ago by one of the more expensive blacksmiths, was now bloodied. The blood hadn't yet dried, so Gunther went ahead and wiped it off onto his tunic. It was a relatively heavy sword, weighing four pounds, but very well built. Even the handle was decoratively covered in black leather. His mace was similar in quality, with four sharp flanges on its head and the same leather handle. Bored, Gunther decided to try walking again. He stood up slowly (he found it off-putting to stand up when the ground doesn't look like it exists) and began walking. Eventually, he took off his helmet and broke into a jog. After what felt like ten minutes, the whiteness of his surroundings began to dull somewhat. Encouraged, Gunther kept jogging - and suddenly, his surroundings turned completely black. Surprised, he stumbled. He didn't hit anything, but simply fell through the black void. - Gunther opened his eyes, and saw color again. Was all that a dream? It didn't feel at all like one, though. With a grunt, he pushed himself off of the ground and looked around. His surroundings seemed mostly empty, save the grass beneath him and some trees off to one side. He didn't recognize the area, though. His first priority would be to... find food? Find a settlement? Gunther wasn't certain what to do in a situation like this. And so, with his shield on his back and weapons on his belt, Gunther did what seemed the most reasonable. He set off in the direction opposite the forest. Eventually, he'd come across a road, or some farmland, that he could follow back to a settlement. Hopefully, it'd be a settlement belonging to the Teutonic Order. Running into a Lithuanian settlement would be trouble. But, what if the reason there had been no reinforcing army been because the war had been lost? No, that was another stupid thought. It was by no means unreasonable for an army to take longer than two months to assemble and then arrive at Oren - and, he reminded himself, that'd only be after they found out Oren was under siege. No, he'd have to keep looking for a settlement. Besides, how cowardly would he look if he were to go into hiding if the crusade was still going? And so, shaking his worries from his head, he continued on. It was after he'd been walking a while and his legs were tired that Gunther realized he needed something to eat. So, that'd be something he'd keep an eye out for, in addition to signs of civilization. It was a pity that he had no backpack or anything similar with him. The scenery didn't seem to change much - he was obviously in someplace mostly empty. Maybe he'd ended to the south, in the Hungarian steppe? No, that didn't make sense. That should be a few thousand miles away. Then again, he'd never been there, so it was just a guess. Gunther had walked maybe 15 miles, and the novelty of being able to walk freely instead of being cooped up inside a fortress had already worn off, when the terrain finally began to change. He began to see trees again, perhaps another forest. Near the trees, he spotted what looked like a sleeping horse. It was small, and evidently not yet fully grown. Oddly, it looked purple, but he figured that was likely just a trick of the light now that the sun was setting. His stomach growling, Gunther remembered what he'd once heard. The invading Mongols moved so quickly because some warbands wouldn't even carry food or any real supply trains. Instead, their warriors would ride mares that had recently foaled - so that they could drink their milk, or, failing that, they would simply cut into their horses and drink their blood. Not enough to kill the horse, as that would simply leave them down a horse, but enough to sate their hunger. Figuring that he didn't know how long it had been since he'd eaten, and that a people who'd conquered the majority of the Rus Principalities must know what they were doing, Gunther told himself it would not be a bad idea to do likewise. Quietly, he advanced on the sleeping horse with his sword drawn. As he got closer, he lightly gripped the blade of his sword with his second, leather-gloved, hand. He'd need the extra control if he were to make just the smallest cut. It struck Gunther as very odd that the young horse appeared purple, even when he was just 10 feet away from it. Oddly, it had some sort of arcane-looking star drawn onto its flank. And then, he noticed something even more shocking. This little pony had a horn. It was a unicorn. Not to say Gunther was ignorant - he'd heard stories, and knew unicorns existed - but never expected to actually find one. Their horns were said to be able to undo poisoning, and cure sickness. A unicorn horn would be a great thing to have, or to give as a gift to some person in a high position, such as the Teutonic Order's Grandmaster. A ruler's life would be considerably easier if they didn't have to worry about poisoning, after all. And, to his amazing luck, this helpless unicorn was asleep. Sadly, he didn't know very well what to do in a situation like this. Could he simply snap the horn off? Should he knock it off with the mace? Could the unicorn defend itself in any way? After a few seconds of thought, Gunther took a deep breath, sheathed his sword, and withdrew his mace. Holding it with two hands to make sure he'd get the best strike, he brought the mace down directly perpendicular to the horn. With a sound like the snapping of a bone, it broke free (albeit, not as cleanly as Gunther hoped), the unicorn opened its eyes with a cry of pain that sounded much more human than it did equine. Taking his right hand off the mace, he wrapped the leather-gloved hand around the unicorn's muzzle to silence its cries. Realizing he still hadn't eaten, as was his original intent, Gunther moved the mace over the unicorn's body with his left hand and dug one of the flanges into its side. Still forcing the unicorn's mouth closed and muffling its cries of pain, he put his mouth to the wound. Having taken blows to the face that had left him with blood in his mouth before, the taste of blood was by no means new to Gunther. It certainly wasn't the sort of thing that seemed pleasant to subsist on, but he figured it would be adequate. A minute later, feeling satisfied, he'd noticed that the unicorn had passed out from the pain. Lifting himself from the wound, he checked its pulse - it was still alive, and the wound was barely bleeding. Since unicorns were wild animals, it didn't really matter whether he left it alive or not. Still, it was somehow majestic even without its horn. Gunther felt good about leaving it alive. A few loose shards of horn were laying near the unicorn's head. Not bothering to pick up the tiny pieces, Gunther decided it was getting too late to continue travelling. He'd go into the forest, and see if he could find anything with which to build a temporary shelter. Perhaps, in the morning, he'd try to sharpen some branches into a set of javelins, and see if he couldn't catch himself something for breakfast. Shifting his mace into his right hand and keeping the small horn safe in his left, he ventured into the Everfree Forest. A distance away, a blue pony laughed triumphantly as she saw that one of her plans to become a more powerful unicorn than Twilight Sparkle had finally worked. Setting OutPonyville Hospital had never seen anything quite like this before, and so the nurses, the Elements of Harmony, and a small dragon waited fretfully as the injured Twilight Sparkle began to stir. Except, of course, for Pinkie Pie, who'd taken then first sign of a movement as a signal meaning it was time to leap upon Twilight and give her a hug. When Twilight had been found at late at night with her horn severed, a small gash in her side, and partially drained of blood, the more superstitious inhabitants of Ponyville immediately explained it as a vampire pony attack. The resulting air of paranoia had even the less superstitious ponies feeling uneasy. As Twilight regained consciousness, she felt a painful throbbing on her forehead. She remembered that something can taken her horn off, and squirmed restlessly at the thought. Opening her eyes, she saw only a pink mass before her. As her vision came into focus, she understood what she saw to be Pinkie Pie's smiling face. "Twilight! You're awake! We were all so worried and Rainbow Dash found you when we saw that it was really late and you weren't at home yet and then you were near the Everfree Forest and you were hurt and your horn was broken and she took you here and then we all showed up and then everypony started talking about vampire ponies so I was really scared so I sang my song really loud so I couldn't hear them and then -" Twilight forced a smile. "Thanks, Pinkie." She pushed Pinkie Pie lightly, and the pink pony took the hint and climbed off of Twilight's hospital bed. "What happened?" "Well, sugarcube", said Applejack, "We were hoping ya could tell us that." Twilight had to think about it. "Well", she said, struggling to remember, "herbology is my weak point when it comes to magic, so I went to the Everfree Forest to gather some herbs. I figured that if I could bring some back to the library to study, I'd get better. Anyway, I was tired after the walk to the forest, since I was studying a little late last night." Spike shot an accusatory glance at her for staying up as late as she had the past few weeks. She glared back at him, obviously in no mood to have that argument again – her studies came before sleep, naturally. "So, I decided to lie down on the ground a little bit, but I guess I fell asleep. Then something broke off my horn" - Twilight shuddered at the thought, but it should grow back in a few months - "and I woke up. I think it had hands, but it wasn't a dragon or a Diamond Dog. It used some sort of club. Then I started screaming, and it forced my mouth closed. The hand was completely black and smelled terrible - Celestia, I think it was leather! And then it cut me with something, so I tried to scream more. And then I think it starting sucking on the cut, and then I guess I passed out." "See!", yelled Rainbow Dash at Applejack. "It was a cut, not some kind of bite! I told you vampire ponies don't really exist!" "Well, maybe it ain't a vampire pony, but you heard what Twilight said! Leather, and bloodsucking! How else can ya explain that without it being some kinda monster?" "Darling!" hissed Rarity at Rainbow Dash, before shooting an evil look at Applejack. "Now isn't the time to argue. Look at Twilight!" Twilight looked over at the three ponies, all of whom fell silent. Fluttershy, who hadn't yet spoken, whispered something to Pinkie Pie, who in turn asked a nurse how long Twilight would have to stay at the hospital. Apparently, she was already free to go. The cut had mostly healed, but she'd need to keep what was left of her horn bandaged until it could grow back. Twilight thought her quick recovery fortunate; she wouldn't miss any studying time. She could just stay up later to make up for the time she'd been passed out, too. "So", asked Applejack, "are we just going ta sit here? Even if it ain't no vampire pony, y'all know that thing could still be out there! Who knows who it'll go after next? An' maybe this time, it won't go as easy!" "But Applejack", Fluttershy responded, "We still don't know what it is. Or how dangerous it is! Or... or we know it's dangerous, but it could be even more dangerous than we think!" "Now, that's even more reason ta go after it. 'f it's dangerous, and it shows up at somepony's house, what are they gonna do?" "Umm... I don't know." Rainbow Dash butted in between the two ponies, a forehoof on each of their backs. "I agree with Applejack! Let's show this... whatever it is, some Dash!" "Girls", warned Twilight, "I'm not sure that's such a good -" "Ooh!", squealed Pinkie Pie. "I love adventures with you guys! But we haven't even had a party for Twilight getting better yet! So we have to do that first! But then we can go on an adventure, just like before!" "So then it's settled", said Rainbow Dash authoritatively. "Let's go look for whatever did this to Twilight!" "Dash!" screamed Twilight. "That's not a good idea! At all!" "Well, Twilight, ah'm going." "Ooh! Me too!", added Pinkie Pie. "And if the others are going, what sort of friend would I be if I let them go without me?", Rarity asked. Twilight sighed. "Fine, girls. If you're all going, then I will too. But you know I won't be much help without my magic. On top of that, we barely know what this thing looks like!" In the corner of the hospital room, Fluttershy squeaked. - At the lean-to shelter he'd built in the Everfree, Gunther cooked his catch of the day. He'd seen a wild boar in the forest, but let it go. It wasn't as if he'd be able to eat the whole thing or carry it around, and he didn't want all the extra meat to go to waste. So, instead, he'd kept lurking in the forest and ended up catching himself a rabbit. It made an excellent breakfast, and Gunther was ready to set out once again. With a set of four sharp wooden javelins on his belt, he left the forest and set off across the fields. Now that he had a full stomach, his situation didn't seem as outlandish. He'd come across a settlement eventually, he had to. - After a particularly restful sleep, The Great and Powerful Trixie visited a local Manehattenite cafe and ordered herself a small plate of grass and strawberries. She was in an excellent mood, and seeing Twilight's horn severed a second time in her dream that night only cheered her up further. After her meal, she tipped the barista a few coins (needing to tip was one disadvantage of her fame; they'd surely remember if she didn't) and returned home. For the second time, The Great and Powerful Trixie conjured up a window through which she could scry the progress of the newly arrived creature. Looking at its face, Trixie noted that it seemed to have no muzzle, all its facial features placed at the same depth. The nose was atypically small, and the face had very little hair excluding a mustache and set of thick brows. Trixie realized that the mustache meant it was male, so she knew at least little bit about the creature. That is, unless both its species' genders grew mustaches - Trixie giggled as she imagined herself with facial hair. She watched in a sort of perverse amusement as the creature devoured the corpse of a rabbit, figuring it a carnivore. After the ferocity with which it had attacked Twilight, that came as no major surprise to her. She'd love to watch how Twilight was dealing with life sans a horn, but her scrying spell was sadly tied to the rite with which she'd brought her guest into this world. The ritual was she used to bring the being into Equestria was an hour-long thing that had the power to bring things in from different realities - Trixie, of course, had to lie about what she was using it for. The foolish zebra who had instructed Trixie in how to perform the rite had believed that Trixie was trying to get her hooves on a plant that had long since gone extinct in Equestria. Adding her own modifications to the spell, Trixie made sure she brought in something that would be both powerful, and wouldn't react kindly to seeing Twilight Sparkle. Trixie's smile only widened as she once again replayed what had happened to Twilight once again in her mind’s eye. Now, however, Trixie had another thought as she realized the creature was walking roughly in the direction of Ponyville. There, Trixie thought, it would likely end up captured. She would not let that happen. Having grown even more ambitious after seeing what the creature had done, the thought of having such a ruthless minion overjoyed her. She would try to get on its good side, or, failing that, she would go ahead and vanquish it with her magic, and be lauded as a heroine for being able to fight against that which Twilight Sparkle could not. Either way, Trixie would come out ahead. Complimenting herself on her genius, Trixie quickly packed her things and set out towards what could very well become her loyal servant. - In a clubhouse away from the hospital, three fillies put on their capes. They'd just finished packing supplies into their backpacks: food for a few days, and some wooden stakes. Each filly then ceremoniously donned a necklace with garlic attached to it. "Are you all ready?", asked Scootaloo expectantly. "Yeah!", the other two yelled. "Cutie Mark Crusader Vampire Hunters!"
The Baltic, 13th CenturyGunther woke to the obnoxious sound of trumpets blaring arythmically. Rising from his cot in the barracks alongside the other knights who'd had their sleep interrupted, Gunther opened the barracks door and looked around the fortress in which he was stationed - Oren, an isolated but strategically placed defensive position near the Lithuanian border. It had been under siege for two months, with no reinforcements as of yet. Supplies were still high, so the situation was by no means grim – though time, Gunther knew, can change all things. As he surveyed the fort’s interior, what stood out to the warrior was that today people were running to and fro, obviously in a hurry. A man that Gunther recognized as a watchman, Paul, noticed Gunther, and ran towards him through the crowd. "Sir!", he yelled, "The Lithuanians are approaching! Make sure that everyone in your barracks -". Paul was interrupted as Gunther grabbed him lightly by the shoulder, and asked, "Do we know how many there are?" This question remained a mystery to everyone - the Lithuanian army had been hiding in the trees outside Oren, concealed from view. There were some guesses that they didn't have the numbers to pose any threat, and that the whole siege was a ruse to keep the defenders of Oren locked up inside the fortress. The commander of the fortress, Knight Komtur Josephus, thought it best to play it safe, and not risk sallying the defenders out. "Sir, they've not yet fully deployed. As of now, they look to be around three-thousand. But, Josephus needs you at the walls! Go! The pagans are setting up the siege equipment now, and could be on us in an hour!" Gunther let go of Paul and made back towards the barracks. "Thanks", he yelled to Paul, almost as an afterthought. At least 3,000 Lithuanians incoming in an hour was not good news. The fortress' population was half that, and of those, 800 or so could fight. They would be outnumbered 4:1, or worse. Like Paul said, they would have to hold them at the walls. With any luck, their supplies would last long enough until a reinforcing army arrived. An hour was hardly enough time to prepare for the coming battle, though. It'd take Gunther nearly that long just to get his armor on. After a quick few pieces of rye bread, Gunther's squire Johann-Christoff helped him don his armor - a thick woolen gambeson, a suit of chain, the plate, and finally, a cloth tunic with the symbol of the Teutonic Order upon it. With just a short while left before the Lithuanians' arrival, Gunther rushed to the wall. Armed with a 3-foot longsword, a kite shield, and a heavy mace on his belt, he was a force to be reckoned with. The stone walls were already been crowded by a mass of archers and crossbowmen, with swordsmen and spearmen just behind to defend against any besiegers that would dare to climb up onto the walls via ladder or tower. Messengers were travelling around, delivering what Gunther knew by common sense - this was a siege, and that their instructions were to hold the walls and prevent an incursion into the fortress itself. The Lithuanians began their attack later than expected. After 20 or so minutes of the Germans waiting atop the walls, the first few Lithuanian trebuchets were deployed and loaded. Most of the Lithuanian troops seemed to be levied peasants, the majority of them wearing little armor and wielding spears. Those peasants who had armor seemed limited to helmets and the occasional leather. Other elite units were dressed in chainmail, armed with swords or massive two-handed axes. Despite the fact that the approaching army was still out of missile weapon range, most of the conversations atop the wall had begun to die down as the defenders grew anxious. Some small amount of time later, and the Lithuanian army appeared to have deployed fully. Their cavalry had dismounted to fight on foot, and siege towers had been brought to the front of the army, with a few catapults behind. Komtur Josephus came by to give a speech, but the majority of it was inaudible due to the sheer number of defenders atop the wall. So, Gunther cheered along with the others at the end of the speech, uncertain even of what Josephus had said. Komtur Josephus then moved on to the next wall section, presumably to give the same speech all over again. The first volley of artillery fire landed a hit on the wall just 10 yards from where Gunther was bracing himself. The wall shook beneath him, and he breathed a sigh of relief when it didn't buckle. But the barrage continued, and the fortress wasn't equipped with much artillery with which to give counterfire. A few ballistae fired from the towers, but besides that, the defenders and their weapons were silent. It felt like hours had passed before the Lithuanians gave up the bombardment and began to move up their siege towers. Crossbowmen fired at exposed troops, the ones in the rear systematically loading the bows and passing them forward to those in front, who were better placed to shoot. Archers doused their arrows in pitch and ignited them, hoping to set the siege towers alight before they reached the walls and deposited their cargo. Lithuanian archers advanced behind the towers, firing their own missiles into the crowds atop the walls in hopes of disrupting the defenders. Gunther raised his shield in a defensive posture. Some of the shieldless defenders tried to move behind those soldiers who did have shields, while others ducked to make themselves less of a target. Small panics erupted on the walls whenever a man got hit by an arrow, but Gunther already knew to expect this. He'd just keep waiting on the walls, holding his shield up to block errant arrows, and then engage the enemy when they arrived. Men would fall to the ranged fire, he knew that. So, he preoccupied himself with imagining the soon-coming melee. The attackers would be surrounded as soon as they got off the tower, and they'd be torn apart. Still, it would take one person getting past the defenders to open the gates, and then the rest of the rest of the Lithuanians would spill into the fortress. Then, the Teutonic garrison would be finished. He just had to hope that the defenders would be able to hold out on the other wall sections, and they'd be okay. The Teutonic archers were unsuccessful in igniting any siege towers before they reached the walls. Covered in nonflammable wet animal hides, the towers were well protected against the flaming arrows. With one such tower now directly in front of him, Gunther gripped his sword tightly in anticipation. It was time for a fight. The crossbowmen and archers, who weren't well-equipped for melee, moved behind the infantry. The crossbowmen had their bows loaded for deadly close-range shots, and the archers continued firing flaming arrows at the tower. By now, it was stuck full of them, yet still failed to ignite. The siege tower's ramp fell to let the attackers onto the wall. The crossbowmen behind Gunther immediately discharged their weapons, killing a few Lithuanians, and the archers fired one more volley - some choosing to fire at the tower, and some at the attackers. One man's clothes caught fire, and, with not enough space to roll (not that it would be a good idea to in the wooden tower, anyway), screamed as he tried desperately to brush the fire off. The other attackers surged forward - the burning man, too panicked to keep himself balanced, fell facefirst onto the wall as he was pushed by his allies from behind. A melee broke out on the wall, the attackers trying to gain ground while the defenders attempted to push them back into the siege tower. Gunther himself surged forward, yelling. Pushing two friendly soldiers aside, he spotted a chainmail-clad Lithuanian armed with an imposing two-handed axe, its shaft nearly five feet tall, directly in front of him. Still yelling, and running at the man, Gunther held his sword in front of him and tried to run the axeman through. The Lithuanian, suddenly turning to face Gunther, managed to knock the blade away with his axe’s handle. As Gunther tried to recover into a fighting stance, the Lithuanian brought his axe down towards Gunther's head. Panicked, Gunther raised his shield. Gunther let a pained grunt escape him. The force of the massive axe reverberated through his left arm, causing it to shift unnaturally in its socket. Still, with the axe halted, it was now Gunther's chance to attack. Thrusting upwards with his sword desperately, he could only hope it would pierce the Lithuanian's armor before he'd have to suffer another axe blow. With a cry of pain of pain from his foe, Gunther knew that it had. Bracing himself against the now-unmoving body with his shield, Gunther pulled his sword out of his dead foe's chest. Quickly scanning his surroundings for a new target, he instead saw the whole world fade around him.
ArrivalGunther simply stood still for a quarter of a minute while trying to process what had just happened. He'd just been in the middle of a pitched melee, when, suddenly, everything vanished. Or, he thought, perhaps I vanished? But, magic didn't work like that, did it? Witches, to his knowledge, would simply cast hexes to bring bad luck, or cause sickness, or something along those lines. Could the pagan enemy have simply... removed him from the world? No, he thought, that's stupid. Still, he was alone in a blank white void. He couldn't help but worry. Tentatively, he took a few steps before coming to the conclusion there was nothing more he could do. This wasn't how he imagined things would happen - more likely he'd receive a spear wound bogged down in a melee after cutting a swathe through the enemies of Christendom, and the Order would send a have to send a letter back to his family in Frankfurt detailing his heroic death. A blank white infinity was not how a knight who'd taken a life-vow to the Teutonic Order should leave the world. The pain in his arm starting to lessen, Gunther sat down on the nothingness and looked over his equipment. His shield, bearing his coat of arms - a hand with an eye in the palm, the symbol of faith, holding a set of scales, the symbol of justice. The eye looked up at the scales, as if worried they would tip. It was an undoubtedly surreal image. His sword, forged for Gunther perhaps a decade ago by one of the more expensive blacksmiths, was now bloodied. The blood hadn't yet dried, so Gunther went ahead and wiped it off onto his tunic. It was a relatively heavy sword, weighing four pounds, but very well built. Even the handle was decoratively covered in black leather. His mace was similar in quality, with four sharp flanges on its head and the same leather handle. Bored, Gunther decided to try walking again. He stood up slowly (he found it off-putting to stand up when the ground doesn't look like it exists) and began walking. Eventually, he took off his helmet and broke into a jog. After what felt like ten minutes, the whiteness of his surroundings began to dull somewhat. Encouraged, Gunther kept jogging - and suddenly, his surroundings turned completely black. Surprised, he stumbled. He didn't hit anything, but simply fell through the black void. - Gunther opened his eyes, and saw color again. Was all that a dream? It didn't feel at all like one, though. With a grunt, he pushed himself off of the ground and looked around. His surroundings seemed mostly empty, save the grass beneath him and some trees off to one side. He didn't recognize the area, though. His first priority would be to... find food? Find a settlement? Gunther wasn't certain what to do in a situation like this. And so, with his shield on his back and weapons on his belt, Gunther did what seemed the most reasonable. He set off in the direction opposite the forest. Eventually, he'd come across a road, or some farmland, that he could follow back to a settlement. Hopefully, it'd be a settlement belonging to the Teutonic Order. Running into a Lithuanian settlement would be trouble. But, what if the reason there had been no reinforcing army been because the war had been lost? No, that was another stupid thought. It was by no means unreasonable for an army to take longer than two months to assemble and then arrive at Oren - and, he reminded himself, that'd only be after they found out Oren was under siege. No, he'd have to keep looking for a settlement. Besides, how cowardly would he look if he were to go into hiding if the crusade was still going? And so, shaking his worries from his head, he continued on. It was after he'd been walking a while and his legs were tired that Gunther realized he needed something to eat. So, that'd be something he'd keep an eye out for, in addition to signs of civilization. It was a pity that he had no backpack or anything similar with him. The scenery didn't seem to change much - he was obviously in someplace mostly empty. Maybe he'd ended to the south, in the Hungarian steppe? No, that didn't make sense. That should be a few thousand miles away. Then again, he'd never been there, so it was just a guess. Gunther had walked maybe 15 miles, and the novelty of being able to walk freely instead of being cooped up inside a fortress had already worn off, when the terrain finally began to change. He began to see trees again, perhaps another forest. Near the trees, he spotted what looked like a sleeping horse. It was small, and evidently not yet fully grown. Oddly, it looked purple, but he figured that was likely just a trick of the light now that the sun was setting. His stomach growling, Gunther remembered what he'd once heard. The invading Mongols moved so quickly because some warbands wouldn't even carry food or any real supply trains. Instead, their warriors would ride mares that had recently foaled - so that they could drink their milk, or, failing that, they would simply cut into their horses and drink their blood. Not enough to kill the horse, as that would simply leave them down a horse, but enough to sate their hunger. Figuring that he didn't know how long it had been since he'd eaten, and that a people who'd conquered the majority of the Rus Principalities must know what they were doing, Gunther told himself it would not be a bad idea to do likewise. Quietly, he advanced on the sleeping horse with his sword drawn. As he got closer, he lightly gripped the blade of his sword with his second, leather-gloved, hand. He'd need the extra control if he were to make just the smallest cut. It struck Gunther as very odd that the young horse appeared purple, even when he was just 10 feet away from it. Oddly, it had some sort of arcane-looking star drawn onto its flank. And then, he noticed something even more shocking. This little pony had a horn. It was a unicorn. Not to say Gunther was ignorant - he'd heard stories, and knew unicorns existed - but never expected to actually find one. Their horns were said to be able to undo poisoning, and cure sickness. A unicorn horn would be a great thing to have, or to give as a gift to some person in a high position, such as the Teutonic Order's Grandmaster. A ruler's life would be considerably easier if they didn't have to worry about poisoning, after all. And, to his amazing luck, this helpless unicorn was asleep. Sadly, he didn't know very well what to do in a situation like this. Could he simply snap the horn off? Should he knock it off with the mace? Could the unicorn defend itself in any way? After a few seconds of thought, Gunther took a deep breath, sheathed his sword, and withdrew his mace. Holding it with two hands to make sure he'd get the best strike, he brought the mace down directly perpendicular to the horn. With a sound like the snapping of a bone, it broke free (albeit, not as cleanly as Gunther hoped), the unicorn opened its eyes with a cry of pain that sounded much more human than it did equine. Taking his right hand off the mace, he wrapped the leather-gloved hand around the unicorn's muzzle to silence its cries. Realizing he still hadn't eaten, as was his original intent, Gunther moved the mace over the unicorn's body with his left hand and dug one of the flanges into its side. Still forcing the unicorn's mouth closed and muffling its cries of pain, he put his mouth to the wound. Having taken blows to the face that had left him with blood in his mouth before, the taste of blood was by no means new to Gunther. It certainly wasn't the sort of thing that seemed pleasant to subsist on, but he figured it would be adequate. A minute later, feeling satisfied, he'd noticed that the unicorn had passed out from the pain. Lifting himself from the wound, he checked its pulse - it was still alive, and the wound was barely bleeding. Since unicorns were wild animals, it didn't really matter whether he left it alive or not. Still, it was somehow majestic even without its horn. Gunther felt good about leaving it alive. A few loose shards of horn were laying near the unicorn's head. Not bothering to pick up the tiny pieces, Gunther decided it was getting too late to continue travelling. He'd go into the forest, and see if he could find anything with which to build a temporary shelter. Perhaps, in the morning, he'd try to sharpen some branches into a set of javelins, and see if he couldn't catch himself something for breakfast. Shifting his mace into his right hand and keeping the small horn safe in his left, he ventured into the Everfree Forest. A distance away, a blue pony laughed triumphantly as she saw that one of her plans to become a more powerful unicorn than Twilight Sparkle had finally worked.
Setting OutPonyville Hospital had never seen anything quite like this before, and so the nurses, the Elements of Harmony, and a small dragon waited fretfully as the injured Twilight Sparkle began to stir. Except, of course, for Pinkie Pie, who'd taken then first sign of a movement as a signal meaning it was time to leap upon Twilight and give her a hug. When Twilight had been found at late at night with her horn severed, a small gash in her side, and partially drained of blood, the more superstitious inhabitants of Ponyville immediately explained it as a vampire pony attack. The resulting air of paranoia had even the less superstitious ponies feeling uneasy. As Twilight regained consciousness, she felt a painful throbbing on her forehead. She remembered that something can taken her horn off, and squirmed restlessly at the thought. Opening her eyes, she saw only a pink mass before her. As her vision came into focus, she understood what she saw to be Pinkie Pie's smiling face. "Twilight! You're awake! We were all so worried and Rainbow Dash found you when we saw that it was really late and you weren't at home yet and then you were near the Everfree Forest and you were hurt and your horn was broken and she took you here and then we all showed up and then everypony started talking about vampire ponies so I was really scared so I sang my song really loud so I couldn't hear them and then -" Twilight forced a smile. "Thanks, Pinkie." She pushed Pinkie Pie lightly, and the pink pony took the hint and climbed off of Twilight's hospital bed. "What happened?" "Well, sugarcube", said Applejack, "We were hoping ya could tell us that." Twilight had to think about it. "Well", she said, struggling to remember, "herbology is my weak point when it comes to magic, so I went to the Everfree Forest to gather some herbs. I figured that if I could bring some back to the library to study, I'd get better. Anyway, I was tired after the walk to the forest, since I was studying a little late last night." Spike shot an accusatory glance at her for staying up as late as she had the past few weeks. She glared back at him, obviously in no mood to have that argument again – her studies came before sleep, naturally. "So, I decided to lie down on the ground a little bit, but I guess I fell asleep. Then something broke off my horn" - Twilight shuddered at the thought, but it should grow back in a few months - "and I woke up. I think it had hands, but it wasn't a dragon or a Diamond Dog. It used some sort of club. Then I started screaming, and it forced my mouth closed. The hand was completely black and smelled terrible - Celestia, I think it was leather! And then it cut me with something, so I tried to scream more. And then I think it starting sucking on the cut, and then I guess I passed out." "See!", yelled Rainbow Dash at Applejack. "It was a cut, not some kind of bite! I told you vampire ponies don't really exist!" "Well, maybe it ain't a vampire pony, but you heard what Twilight said! Leather, and bloodsucking! How else can ya explain that without it being some kinda monster?" "Darling!" hissed Rarity at Rainbow Dash, before shooting an evil look at Applejack. "Now isn't the time to argue. Look at Twilight!" Twilight looked over at the three ponies, all of whom fell silent. Fluttershy, who hadn't yet spoken, whispered something to Pinkie Pie, who in turn asked a nurse how long Twilight would have to stay at the hospital. Apparently, she was already free to go. The cut had mostly healed, but she'd need to keep what was left of her horn bandaged until it could grow back. Twilight thought her quick recovery fortunate; she wouldn't miss any studying time. She could just stay up later to make up for the time she'd been passed out, too. "So", asked Applejack, "are we just going ta sit here? Even if it ain't no vampire pony, y'all know that thing could still be out there! Who knows who it'll go after next? An' maybe this time, it won't go as easy!" "But Applejack", Fluttershy responded, "We still don't know what it is. Or how dangerous it is! Or... or we know it's dangerous, but it could be even more dangerous than we think!" "Now, that's even more reason ta go after it. 'f it's dangerous, and it shows up at somepony's house, what are they gonna do?" "Umm... I don't know." Rainbow Dash butted in between the two ponies, a forehoof on each of their backs. "I agree with Applejack! Let's show this... whatever it is, some Dash!" "Girls", warned Twilight, "I'm not sure that's such a good -" "Ooh!", squealed Pinkie Pie. "I love adventures with you guys! But we haven't even had a party for Twilight getting better yet! So we have to do that first! But then we can go on an adventure, just like before!" "So then it's settled", said Rainbow Dash authoritatively. "Let's go look for whatever did this to Twilight!" "Dash!" screamed Twilight. "That's not a good idea! At all!" "Well, Twilight, ah'm going." "Ooh! Me too!", added Pinkie Pie. "And if the others are going, what sort of friend would I be if I let them go without me?", Rarity asked. Twilight sighed. "Fine, girls. If you're all going, then I will too. But you know I won't be much help without my magic. On top of that, we barely know what this thing looks like!" In the corner of the hospital room, Fluttershy squeaked. - At the lean-to shelter he'd built in the Everfree, Gunther cooked his catch of the day. He'd seen a wild boar in the forest, but let it go. It wasn't as if he'd be able to eat the whole thing or carry it around, and he didn't want all the extra meat to go to waste. So, instead, he'd kept lurking in the forest and ended up catching himself a rabbit. It made an excellent breakfast, and Gunther was ready to set out once again. With a set of four sharp wooden javelins on his belt, he left the forest and set off across the fields. Now that he had a full stomach, his situation didn't seem as outlandish. He'd come across a settlement eventually, he had to. - After a particularly restful sleep, The Great and Powerful Trixie visited a local Manehattenite cafe and ordered herself a small plate of grass and strawberries. She was in an excellent mood, and seeing Twilight's horn severed a second time in her dream that night only cheered her up further. After her meal, she tipped the barista a few coins (needing to tip was one disadvantage of her fame; they'd surely remember if she didn't) and returned home. For the second time, The Great and Powerful Trixie conjured up a window through which she could scry the progress of the newly arrived creature. Looking at its face, Trixie noted that it seemed to have no muzzle, all its facial features placed at the same depth. The nose was atypically small, and the face had very little hair excluding a mustache and set of thick brows. Trixie realized that the mustache meant it was male, so she knew at least little bit about the creature. That is, unless both its species' genders grew mustaches - Trixie giggled as she imagined herself with facial hair. She watched in a sort of perverse amusement as the creature devoured the corpse of a rabbit, figuring it a carnivore. After the ferocity with which it had attacked Twilight, that came as no major surprise to her. She'd love to watch how Twilight was dealing with life sans a horn, but her scrying spell was sadly tied to the rite with which she'd brought her guest into this world. The ritual was she used to bring the being into Equestria was an hour-long thing that had the power to bring things in from different realities - Trixie, of course, had to lie about what she was using it for. The foolish zebra who had instructed Trixie in how to perform the rite had believed that Trixie was trying to get her hooves on a plant that had long since gone extinct in Equestria. Adding her own modifications to the spell, Trixie made sure she brought in something that would be both powerful, and wouldn't react kindly to seeing Twilight Sparkle. Trixie's smile only widened as she once again replayed what had happened to Twilight once again in her mind’s eye. Now, however, Trixie had another thought as she realized the creature was walking roughly in the direction of Ponyville. There, Trixie thought, it would likely end up captured. She would not let that happen. Having grown even more ambitious after seeing what the creature had done, the thought of having such a ruthless minion overjoyed her. She would try to get on its good side, or, failing that, she would go ahead and vanquish it with her magic, and be lauded as a heroine for being able to fight against that which Twilight Sparkle could not. Either way, Trixie would come out ahead. Complimenting herself on her genius, Trixie quickly packed her things and set out towards what could very well become her loyal servant. - In a clubhouse away from the hospital, three fillies put on their capes. They'd just finished packing supplies into their backpacks: food for a few days, and some wooden stakes. Each filly then ceremoniously donned a necklace with garlic attached to it. "Are you all ready?", asked Scootaloo expectantly. "Yeah!", the other two yelled. "Cutie Mark Crusader Vampire Hunters!"
