Everfree Meltdown

Chapter 3: Depredation

After an hour or so, everypony in the wagon was asleep. Everypony, except Fluttershy. She was far too shaken up to sleep. Her thoughts turned to her cottage, and to all of the woodland creatures who depended on her. A small tear dripped from her eye. “Angel...”, she whispered to herself.

Meanwhile, there was a large storm quickly approaching. Distant strikes of lightning lit up the evening sky, always to be followed by deep menacing booms.

“Oh horse apples.”, muttered one of the guards pulling the carriage. “Looks like Cloudsdale wants to make us miserable."

"So it would seem.", replied his Captain.

Just then, a large pair of yellow eyes peeked out from behind a tree. Their dilated pupils followed the wagon with great curiosity.

“Hey! Did you guys see that!?”, asked one of the stallions.

“What?”, another replied.

“Meh. Nevermind.", he returned.

“Oooh! Royal ponies.”, whispered a raspy voice. “They must be carrying something valuable in that wagon.”

A group no less than a dozen Diamond Dogs were panting behind a hill at the thought of the fictional treasures within the stallions' wagon. The gang had made a terrible habit of pouncing unsuspecting travelers walking through the forest.

"Let's go get some gems!", one of them softly barked.

The Lead Dog looked at his subordinates with a sneer on his face. "Tonight... Ponies die!"

The guards were completely unaware of the massacre they were about to face. They were far too busy worrying about the incoming weather to notice the cold blooded mutts making their way through the thick brush. It was then that the rain began to sprinkle.

There was a sudden and unnatural crack, as one of the rear stallions fell lifeless onto the dirt road. The other three soldiers turned their heads to the fallen comrade. They quickly drew their swords.

“Heads up!”, said the Captain to his diminished squad.

The three of them noticed a large rock resting by the fallen soldier’s head. It was splattered with blood. There was then an ominous howl, as the stallions were overwhelmed by a wave of growling canines.

After the attack was over, the two lower ranking soldiers were dead in a pool of their own blood. The Captain, however, had made it through the brutal slaughter. He was on the ground, life seeping out of him.

“Stop!”, he begged. “You know not what you do!”

The Lead Dog stepped towards the downed stallion. “Quiet pony!”, he barked, as he stabbed the Captain with his own blade. The rain began to fall heavily.

By this time, Fluttershy had finally managed to get herself to sleep. All worries of her animals had left her. However, this much needed peace would be interrupted by the sound of crowbars prying open a steel door.

“Whazzat?!”, Fluttershy squeaked. She knew that something was wrong. “G...g.... GIRRRLS!!”, she squealed.

Everypony in the wagon awoke with a jolt. “Fluttershy! What is it darling?!”, asked Rarity frantically.

"Somepony's breaking in!!", Fluttershy wailed.

“Put your backs into it!!”, commanded the Lead Dog. The mutts pulled back on their tools with all of their might. Suddenly the bolts on the door began to lose integrity. A terrible grinding noise was heard, as the door began to reluctantly open. CRACK! The ponies were exposed.

“YOU!”, Rarity exclaimed with rage.

The dogs were surprised to see that instead of jewels, the carriage contained nothing but mares and a baby dragon.

“Oh nooo!! It’s that whining pony!”, groaned one of the canines.

“I. DO. NOT. WHINE!!”, yelled Rarity.

“Enough!! Get a muzzle on her!!”, the Lead Dog commanded.

The thieves creeped towards the white unicorn, paws ready to grab her. As they backed her into a corner, she made a sharp cry for help. It was then that Spike darted in between Rarity and her attackers.

“Back off the lady!”, the little dragon shouted.

The dogs began to laugh manically. Spike put up his claws as if to fight off all of the mutts by himself. Then came a large furry fist from the crowd, striking Spike in the face like a Sonic Rainboom. He slammed against the wall with a large thud.

“SPIKE!!”, screamed Twilight.

Rarity was now laying in tears over her young defender. "Spikey Wikey!!"

“Is.... is he...”, Fluttershy stuttered.

“He’s alive!”, barked one of the dogs. “He’s still breathing!”

A large feeling of relief fell upon everypony. That is until the reality of the situation began to sink in. They weren’t going to make it to the camp, and they certainly weren't going to get any treatment.

The Elements were all harnessed up into two rows of three. Spike laid unconscious on top of Rarity’s back. Tears began to flow from her eyes.

"I'm so sorry.", she whispered.

Suddenly, a cold voice rang out, “Move it ponies!!”

Rainbow’s flank was kissed with the sharp sting of a leather whip. She squealed in pain, as she charged forward with all of her might. Her speed was far faster than the other five ponies could maintain. Poor Fluttershy, not being the athletic type, stumbled many times. This earned her many lashes from the uncaring whip. Tears were pouring from her sky blue eyes.

They walked for several miles, until they came upon a clearing. “This should do for a nice camp site!”, declared the Lead Dog. “Get a fire going!!”

The canines quickly began to scavenge for sticks to start a fire. The six friends saw this as a much needed break, thoughts of escape racing through their minds. With the sun disappearing over the horizon, it became obvious that the dogs were staying for the night. The dogs unloaded several kegs of what appeared to be alcohol of some sort. This sent worry into the minds of the six ponies.

As time went on, one of the dogs approached the group, who had decided that it was in their best interest to rest. For Applejack, this would prove to be a bad idea. A large grey paw made its way onto the orange mare's bare flank.

"What the HAY!?", Applejack hollered, as she bucked the invasive mutt in the gonads.

He howled in pain, rolling on the ground. This attracted some undesirable attention from the other dogs. Applejack quickly began to regret what she had done.

"Behave pony!!", barked a short brown mutt, as he smacked the cowmare's face with the back of his paw.

Applejack dared not fight back, as she was not only tied down, but massively outnumbered as well. All that she and the others could do was to lay back onto the ground and try to fall asleep once again. This time, there would be no intrusions.

It was damp and chilly the next morning. The fire had diminished, leaving just a few glowing embers to sizzle under the charred wood. Every dog lay passed out over one another in their tents. Their ravenous minds were all at ease. There was a thick smell of alcohol that loomed in the air, making breathing a chore.

“Twilight.”, whispered Fluttershy. The unicorn did not answer. “Twilight.”, she said again, this time poking gently with her hoof.

Twilight gasped, as if she had awoken from a terrible nightmare. “What?”, she returned. The memories of the past night quickly returned to her.

“So... uh... are we gonna escape?”, asked Fluttershy.

“Of course we are.”, Twilight said in a comforting voice. I just haven’t figured it out yet.

Rarity hadn’t slept but an hour that night. She had been far too concerned with keeping Spike warm and comfortable. She felt entirely responsible for what had happened to him the previous night.

“My brave little dragon.”, she whispered, as she kissed his bruised forehead. “Please forgive me.” Tears began to well up in her sapphire eyes.

Seeing that almost all of the dogs were asleep, Twilight began to think of ways to escape. She had to be careful. If she was caught, there's no telling what they would do to her. After a few discarded plans, her eyes lit up with an idea.

“Girls, listen to me.", she began. "I’m going to use a teleportation spell to get myself out of this harness. Once I’m out, I’ll figure out how to release you all." It was a simple plan, but there weren’t many other options.

ZAP! She was free.

“What was that?!”, one of the hungover dogs barked. The alcohol in his system had severely dulled his senses.

“It was... a squirrel.”, Fluttershy innocently squeaked.

Being as simple-minded as he was, the dog accepted this answer. He then collapsed back down onto the ground where he had previously been laying. The group felt relieved.

Twilight, who was behind a tree at this point, was trying to create a distraction. “What to do? What to do?”, she whispered to herself.

She looked around the camp. The fire!, she thought. Yes, she could use it to set one of the tents ablaze. It was risky, but she saw no other way of freeing her friends. Twilight focused all of her thoughts on the crackling pit of ash. The embers began to float through the air, like clouds over the rising sun. The seeds of flame disappeared into the largest tent.

After a brief and eerie silence, the tent was engulfed in a monstrous fireball. The ash had met with several kegs of pure alcohol. Sweet Celestia!, Twilight thought to herself in horror, as she witnessed seven or so dogs stagger out of the inferno. They all let out blood curdling howls, as the flame began to eat the flesh right off of their bones. The distraction had been a success. However, Twilight felt a burning feeling of guilt for what she had just done.

Quickly, Twilight shot a spell at the leather straps holding her friends in place. SNAP! The five other ponies ran quickly in the direction of their savior.

“We have to go!”, Twilight snapped. “We have to go NOW!!”

The six of them took off like bats out of Tartarus, leaving the burning hounds behind them.