Strength of the Pack is the Wolf
Solaris was a fairly normal unicorn, in a very abnormal world. She was fairly small, even for a filly, but she was lean and well built. Not physically strong, but she could run for miles. Her white fur was streaked with yellow highlights, and her light blue mane shone gently in the daylight. She was only 7, and yet she was already being taught the history of her planet. Soon enough she would be old enough to train with the army. A 12 year old mare, training to go into battle.
Solaris always wondered where the army would place her when her training was over. Would she be put into a scouting squad, or worse, would she be a frontline soldier. Scouts never lasted more than a couple of missions. The front lines had even lower success rates. But should the army need her there, that’s where she would fight.
And for a 7 year old, Solaris understood this, and accepted it, very easily. There was no discussion. No middle ground. It was as simple as take an order, and carry it out.
But for now, Solaris was studying.
She had been taught about the first of her world, Equestria. In the start, there were two sisters. Celestia, princess of the sun, and Luna, princess of the moon. There had been peace for the first 500 years, until one day when Luna snapped. She had seen how the ponies danced in the sun, but slept through her night, shunning the beautifully made stars and sky. So she transformed into Nightmare Moon, a vicious alicorn with only one goal. To bring about an eternal night.
But Celestia fought back. It wasn’t something that she wanted to do, but the situation was so dire she was forced to use the Elements of Harmony, long lost artefacts of great power. Upon harnessing the power of the Elements, Celestia banished Nightmare Moon to the moon. She was kept there for many decades, but once a year, on Nightmare Night, she would return and kill anyone in her way. Back when Nightmare Night was still celebrated, it was made to sound happy, and that Nightmare Moon would “gobble you up” should you not leave out a treat or two.
But from a history point of view, Nightmare Moon never ate her victims, she simply killed them and moved on. But on this day, all ponies would dress up for fun, although the tales said it was to avoid Nightmare Moon’s gaze. But then one day, Celestia harnessed the Elements of Harmony once again, to strike down Nightmare Moon and bring back her beloved sister. And so Luna was restored, and although her magic was drained for now, she was back. And so the cycle of Nightmare Night ended, but was still celebrated for the entertainment of the fillies.
But history has a habit of repeating itself in some way. And so there was a period of peace, held by the 6 guardians of the Elements, and of course Luna and Celestia themselves. This was 7 centuries ago. And of course, being the sole rulers of Equestria, Luna and Celestia were immortal. Or, at least, they could not get older beyond a prime age. But there was a terrible war, of which there were no details, and both sisters were killed in the final battle. Chaos erupted throughout the planet. There was not a single shred of the old Equestria, only a ruined wasteland of death and war. City’s were reduced to rubble as people looted shops and tried to salvage anything that might prove useful when trying to crush a skull, or snap bones.
But of course, there was still some order in certain people. Ponies grouped together for protection, and camps were formed. There were of course some stragglers who could not, or would not, form groups, and people often referred to them as rogues, hunters, or seekers. They lived by themselves, were extremely aggressive, and as Solaris had been taught, would kill anyone without a second thought. This was her most useful piece of knowledge, that a seeker would never hesitate to kill, as it was the only thing that would actually help her when she started field work. Solaris was a member of camp Lupis, one of the more stronger camps. But Lupis was still a small camp, and they were not likely to survive the next winter due to lack of food.
And that was the history of Equestria. There would likely be many more years of pain and suffering, but this was all Solaris had learnt and knew for sure. And now she sat there in her little tent. Her teacher, Sunbeam, started to go over the practical side of the lessons. How to forage for roots and vegetable, how to fish, farm, fight, flee. Sunbeam often taught her that if she ever got lost she could just remember the Five F’s and she would be alright. Soon enough she was going to become a forager and join in the daily trips to the forest. But she was scared. Solaris was always scared that one day she would return and a raiding party would have wiped their whole camp.
“Sunbeam?”
“Yes?”
“Are we in danger?”
Sunbeam furrowed his brow in confusion. “What the hell do you mean by that?”
Solaris looked down at her feet. She shouldn't have asked, should have just kept her silly little worries to herself. Sunbeam only responded to questions that had a definite answer. But to her surprise, he pressed on.
“Solaris? What do you mean?”
“I mean, it’s just.” She sighed. “I’m going to have to go on foraging trips soon right? Like, proper ones, once a day. Not just the odd tag-along. And I don’t want to come back to a flattened camp full of dead bodies, or worse, not come back at all.”
Even more to her surprise, Sunbeam had an answer. “Of course we’re in danger. Do you not pay attention during classes? Our world as we know it now is nothing but death and ruin no matter how you look at it. Something will die, something will be burnt. Think about it this way. If you go out on a foraging trip, you risk getting killed by a neighbouring gang or even dehydration. But if you don't go, we die of starvation. And while you’re out there, the camp could potentially be attacked and flattened. So no matter how you look at it, we’re always in some sort of danger.”
“Oh.” Was all Solaris could say. Sunbeam usually wasn't an optimist, but this was dark even for him.
“I think this is the answer you hoped for. Yes we’re in danger, but everyone in this camp will do the best to protect each other, and that’s surprisingly well.” Solaris perked up a bit, smiling at the elder unicorn. “Now run along. Your next forage party starts soon.”
She nodded curtly and slipped out the door. Her group were standing on the far edge of camp, talking amongst themselves and mapping out their route. Solaris scanned the crowd for any familiar faces, and she found one. “Mom! Over here!” She scurried along the dirt towards her mother, who had now caught sight of her sweet little filly.
“Shh not too loud. You’ll disturb them.” Her mother, Solar Flare, gestured over to the leaders of the group. Solaris loved her mother, a very pretty pegasus with lavender fur and a regal mane of sky blue. She was tall, and much like Solaris she was a runner. But Solaris had never met her father. He died in a battle with three other camps, and Flare was left to bring Solaris up all by herself.
“You’re late.” Solaris whirled around, keeping her head down.
“Sorry Dancer.”
“Sorry isn't good enough.” He growled. Gravel Dancer, or just Dancer, was the leader of camp Lupis. His voice was deep, but it sounded like he was gargling shards of glass. He was a nasty earth Pony with thighs as big as his ego, and a personality like the stench of a rotting ostrich. Ever since Solaris was old enough to do tasks, he had forced her to work her hardest and treated her like a fully grown mare when it came to helping around the camp. She never got a break, and even when Solaris was knee deep in work Dancer would push her harder and give her more and more work to do.
“Shove off Dancer. She’s been studying with Sunbeam, and this is the first time she’s missed a forage briefing.” Flare stood between Dancer and Solaris, despite all her fear of this stallion. Solaris felt stronger, and squeezed her mothers hand to give her strength.
“And I damn well hope it’s the last. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re living in a shit-hole of a world and we need every last pony to work their asses off.”
“Then why do you get to sit in your tent all day long? Why is this the first forage party you’ve been on for a year?” Solaris sneered from behind her mother.
“Because someone needs to tend to the mares in heat.” Dancer grinned a disgusting mass of teeth and gum at Solaris. Flare’s cheeks went red and her eyes narrowed to mere slits.
“You take that filthy language away from my daughter, or so help me I will make your life miserable.”
“Oh really? I am the leader of this camp, and therefore I am the leader of you. You step out of line and I’ll have you stumbling along the desert within minutes. Remember that I was kind enough to take you in when you came begging on your knees for safety.”
“I didn’t come to you. I came to Lupis when there was order here.” Dancer scowled and stepped closer to Flare. She stepped back. He studied her up and down, narrowing his eyes.
“That’s what I thought. Do not get in my way again today.”
Flare’s ears drooped, and her shoulders slacked. That was it. They had lost, and once again Dancer walked away victorious. Solaris hugged her mother, but Flare did not return the embrace. She was spent. Exhausted, more mentally than physically.
“Alright people let’s get moving! We’ve got about 3 hours till we lose the sun, and I don’t want to be out there once we do. We move in a grid, grab anything that wont make your liver slide out your ass and we’ll make sure things are safe once we get back.”
Solaris and Flare trudged through the sand at the back of the group, far left. Dancer carved his path straight through the middle of the grid they were following. The grid was, quite simply, the space that Lupis could run through with the minimum risk of the party being wiped by a rival camp, and the maximum chance to find food. Already Solaris was holding a small bush of withered, but edible, berries. Her mother was burdened by roots and plants, a large bunch of potatoes and what seemed to be onions held by their roots hanging from her hands.
Suddenly there was a commotion in the middle of the pack. Ponies were shouting and jumping around, then Dancer shoved some of them around and the crowd dispersed. “Piss off! All of you! Go on, scram you mongrels.” Dancer cracked his knuckles and laughed.
There was a large family of lizards, which seemed to be monitors, in a small hole in the ground. Two of the larger ones came out, mouths open in warning. Dancer kicked one of them hard, sending the thing flying towards Solaris. She yelped and jumped to the side, and the lizard spat at her. Dancer came running over. “You boys sort out that bunch.”
Dancer kicked the lizard again, this time into the sand. He then picked it up by the neck, and with one quick snap, broke it’s spine. Solaris winced, and her mother stepped back. The main group had gone through the nest, and most of Dancers clique held limp lizards in their hands.
5 grown lizards, and about 8 babies was the final count. “What a catch. This’ll be good protein for tonight.” Dancer looked around at the group, and gestured to a random bunch of ponies. “Take these back to camp, and we’ll carry on. It’s not that far, so you come back afterwards yeah?”
The small bunch went trotting off towards camp, and the main group carried on. Dancer and his boys were laughing and already telling the story of the lizard raid or whatever stupid thing they had decided to call it. Solaris looked at them all, dancing and kicking the sand, Dancer miming choking a lizard.
Then something caught her eye. A small silhouette on the far right of the grid. Solaris took a deep breath, thinking that a neighbouring party was coming. But then she realised it was alone. And moving fast.
“Dancer! Seeker!” Solaris shrieked and pointed at the speeding figure, and the fighters whirled around, daggers and spears already out. They were remarkably quick to react to danger. And this was definitely dangerous. The Seeker sped along the shifting sand, a dark cloak covering its head and flowing down its back to its feet. Solaris caught a glint in its hands, and realised it was armed.
Damn it was fast. The Seeker rammed into Dancer first, sending him flying back into a spear. It grazed his arm, staining the sands underneath with a crimson hue. He swore, and got back up. The Seeker weaved through the armed group, kicking their legs out from under them. He kicked another in the stomach, obviously winding him.
And then i turned. And looked at Solaris. There was no slow-motion here. No pause for dramatic effect. The Seeker knew what he was doing, and within seconds she was hoisted on it’s shoulders, her belly pushing against its hard muscles. Its legs pumped her further and further away from the group, and Solaris called out.
“Mom! Mommy please!” The Seeker stumbled briefly. Slowed down.
“Mom help!” Solaris didn't know what she wanted her mother to do. If Dancer and his group couldn't do anything, what could Flare? But she was too scared to just be snatched away that simply. A Seeker! Solaris wouldn't last one night.
The Seeker shook its head, and continued, with renewed speed, across the wastelands. Solaris was bumping uncomfortably on her chest, but she knew that she had no other options. She couldn't just simply ask him to slow down. Or put her in a more comfortable position.
Solaris knew what would happen. She learnt about Seekers all the time. They killed and maimed and raped and feasted on their victims. It was that simple. If a Seeker didn't kill you outright, it’s because he was looking for someone more important.
And, as Solaris had found out, the important ones were saved for later. Have fun with them. Toy with them. Crush them from the inside. Solaris knew all this, she knew that was the last time she would see her mother. So she cried herself, for the last time, to sleep.
