Saga of the Great Kingdom

Chapter 7: Taking a Bite out of an Apple

Lokidota hid in the forest close to Ponyville, secretly watching them from the shadows.

"Well," she mused, "perhaps it's about time to see what these ponies are made of. I think it's about time they were tested to see if any of them are truly warriors."

She reared up on her hind 4 legs, and commanded, "WOLF SUMMON!" Her horns glowed brightly as nearly two dozen wolves emerged from the surrounding forest. They tried to circle around Lokidota. She dropped down on her eight legs and looked at the wolves with contempt.

"You dare challenge my might?" she laughed. One wolf lunged at her, trying to bite one of her forelegs. Lokidota easily danced out of the way.

"I COMMAND YOUR OBEDIENCE!" Her eyes glowed red, causing the wolves eyes to glow red as well. They all sat on their haunches and awaited the orders of Lokidota.

"Go forth and attack Ponyville!"

The wolves turned away, and loped off in the direction of town.

"Now, to make sure a certain magical unicorn doesn't get in my way." The Sleipnir vanished in a flash of light.

…

Twilight was getting pretty close to tossing her cookies when Spike finally finished eating his "special" muffins.

"Can we go home now?" she asked.

Spike belched a small green cloud that Twilight managed to duck under before it floated up to the ceiling.

"As soon as I get some more water to wash these great muffins down with."

She started towards the door when it suddenly opened, and she was looking right into the face of a Sleipnir. Before she could even utter a syllable, the eight-legged pony cast a couple of spells one after the other. "MUZZLE!" and "HOBBLE!". Some sort of leather sheath appeared over her muzzle going all the way back to her ears, locking her mouth closed. She felt thick leather shackles around her ankles with short leather straps joining the forelegs close together, and the hind legs close together as well. Now her movement was badly restricted, and anything more than an awkward walk impossible.

She tried to teleport away, but found that something was blocking her magic.

Twilight tried calling Spike for help, but only made incomprehensible mumbling noises.

Just then, Spike leaped at the Sleipnir and grabbed one of its forelegs. She just lifted the foreleg and stared into Spike's eyes.

"So little dragon, you think you're any kind of threat to me? Come back in a hundred years or so, and then we'll talk."

She flicked Spike off her foreleg, sending him flying into the kitchen like a stone fired from a sling. Twilight heard the crashing and the banging and the clattering, and was truly worried about Spike's safety.

The Sleipnir crossed the room and looked directly into Twilight's eyes.

"Know that you've been beaten by Lokidota, descended from a long line of Sleipnir from Loki himself. Your puny magics are nothing compared to mine."

She raised her head, and said, "Ah, I think the wolves I summoned are about to attack Ponyville. I doubt you have even a single true warrior to defeat them. If you're lucky, you can flee before the wolves tear you to pieces! Oh wait, you're hobbled. So much for running away."

The laughter of Lokidota echoed through the room as she vanished in a flash of light.

Twilight stood shaking by the door. She then turned and slowly made her way back to the kitchen area.

...

Rainbow Dash flew furiously around Ponyville as soon as she saw the first few of them at the edge. "Wolf attack!" she cried "Wolf attack! Everyone get indoors and lock yourselves in!"

The ponies cleared the streets as fast as they could, ducking into the closest house or business that hadn't already locked and barred its doors and windows. Some ponies had to pound doors and beg to be let in before the door was unlocked and they were quickly ushered inside.

Unfortunately, Dash was flying around the outskirts of Ponyville first, and Applejack, Apple Storm and the others were closer to the center of town by now. The wolves ran into town fast, looking for prey out in the open. By the time they were noticed, the wolves were coming at them from all sides.

Apple Bloom started screaming and crying, and hid underneath Big Macintosh.

Applejack and Apple Storm barely had time to unhook themselves from the wagons before the wolves were leaping to attack.

One wolf lunged at Big Macintosh's hind quarters, sinking his teeth into one of his gaskins. He bucked and sent the wolf flying.

Applejack and Apple Storm were all too busy lashing out at the wolves circling to attack them.

One wolf tried to come in low and attack Apple Bloom, but Big Macintosh stomped down on that wolf very hard. Another wolf came in high from the front, trying to sink his teeth in Big Macintosh's throat, but a rainbow streaked in and head butted the wolf away in mid leap.

"Rainbow Dash!" cried Applejack.

"That's my name," she said cockily, "don't wear it out."

"Where's Twilight? She should have called for help from the Princess by now."

"I haven't seen her, I've been busy warning everyone about the wolf attack!"

"We left her back at the Sugarcube Corner just a little while ago! She was there with Spike!"

"I'm on it!" said Dash as she disappeared in a rainbow blur.

"Cousin Macintosh," yelled Apple Storm, "Are you okay?"

"Don't worry," he said grimly, "The only way they'll get at Apple Bloom is over my dead body!"

Just then, a wolf leaped onto his back, sinking his fangs into his back, and his claws into his hide. He would not scream or cry, but just winced a little in pain. Another wolf attacked from behind, partly climbing onto his rump and sinking his teeth into his croup. He staggered under their assault, but would not let them touch one hair on Apple Bloom.

"Big brother!" cried Applejack.

"I – HAVE - HAD - IT!" screamed Apple Storm, who now frothed at the mouth with fury. She bucked a wolf into a stone wall so hard, the stones cracked from the impact. Then she stomped down on a wolf hard enough to crack the rocks beneath it. She ran up to Big Macintosh and sank her teeth into the throat of the wolf, ripping it off his back. Slamming the wolf into the ground, she stomped it with both front feet. Big Macintosh backed up, ramming the wolf on his hindquarters into a tree, causing the wolf to fall off him.

Apple Storm reared up and cut loose with a blood curdling scream that chilled everyone that heard it to the bone.

The remaining wolves turned and fled back towards the forest. She bit one of the fleeing wolves by the tail, she raised up, and then slammed the wolf down into the ground at her feet.

Rising up on her hind legs, she turned and advanced on Big Macintosh. Her mouth was still frothing from her berserk fury. Apple Bloom was still cowering behind him, but not because of the fleeing wolves. She was terrified of Apple Storm.

"STOP IT!" screamed Applejack as she body checked Apple Storm. They both fell to the ground and tumbled several feet. Applejack lay on top of Apple Storm, but neither moved.

Big Macintosh staggered and fell to his knees. His bandaged torso was now crimson with blood, and it flowed from the wounds in his hindquarters. "Someone, anyone!" he called out, "SAVE APPLE BLOOM!"

"Someone get the doctor!" "Get the nurse!" "Get help!" were the things the ponies were yelling as a few ventured towards the scene of the battle.

Chapter 8: The Blood of the Berserker

Applejack slowly opened her eyes, and noticed that a concerned white earth pony was looking at her. She had pink hair and mane, and a red cross on a yellow square as both her cutie mark and the symbol on her white hat. "Nurse Redheart?" she asked.

"Applejack?" she replied, "Are you in pain?"

Applejack could both see and feel the bandages that covered her scrapes and bruises.

"Just a little bumped and bruised. That's all, I think. How's Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom doing?"

"Big Macintosh is beat up, and we had to give him some blood plasma to make up for what bled out. Apple Bloom is also doing well."

She could see Big Macintosh on a bed across the way from her. He was still hooked up to the tubes that ran the blood plasma from the clear plastic bag down to his body. Bandages ran the length of his body now, running from his shoulders down his body all the way down to the hocks of his back legs. Apple Bloom sitting by his side, her head laying on his bed. They both appeared to be asleep.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Apple Tricks wandering around outside the medical tent.

"Whar's Apple Storm?" asked Applejack.

"She wouldn't let us do anything more than clean up her scrapes and bruises, and then she left stating that she had to get back to work. It's odd, but she said she wasn't worthy of any more treatment than that. She even refused our offer of aspirin or any other pain medicine. More than once, she apologized to both me and nurse Tenderheart for being such a 'bother'."

"That sounds like her," mused Applejack.

She then changed tracks as she asked, "What about Ponyville?"

"Half a dozen ponies where scratched and bitten by Wolves before they could be rescued," replied the Nurse quietly, "and then there were two ponies... who didn't make it."

"Is Twilight Sparkle alright?"

Nurse Redheart went over to a curtain and pulled it back. Laying on a bed was Twilight, still both muzzled and hobbled. Spike stood at the end of the bed looking on nervously. He was fairly heavily bandaged himself.

"We've tried everything we could think of, but we can't cut or remove these restraints. Spike summoned the Princess, and she's our only hope for removing these accursed things that are blocking Twilight's magic and keeping her voice stilled."

Suddenly, a voice announced, "Hail Princess Celestia! Make way for the Princess!"

Applejack looked outside, and noticed that Apple Tricks was no where to be seen, but she could see the Princess leaving her carriage as three Royal Guards lined up on each side of the red runway that was unrolled from the underside of the Royal Carriage.

She stopped by the families of the two deceased ponies standing at the makeshift morgue. The dead ponies were each covered with a clean white sheet from nose to tail, and the Princess offered her condolences to the families. They all bowed respectfully to her, and seemed to be rather grateful for her kind words to them.

After that, the Princess came into the tent and quietly spoke with both Nurse Redheart and Nurse Tenderheart. Applejack could barely hear the Princess asking them about whatever supplies they needed to tend to the victims of the Wolf Attack. The Nurses replied, causing the Princess to send a couple of her Guards to list the items, and run back to the Royal Carriage so that the list could be sent back to the Royal Suppliers back in Canterlot. The Nurses were assured that the supplies they requested would be there by the next morning at the latest.

The Princess then came into the tent, and examined Twilight Sparkle after giving a friendly nod to Spike. She shook her head as she looked.

"What's wrong, Princess?" asked Spike.

"This is definitely the magic of Asgard and the Sleipnir," she replied, "It's going to take even the likes of myself at least a few hours to undo it. I better begin now."

She looked down at Twilight, and her horn began to glow. The glow spread over the Princess' body, and then spread across the gap over to Twilight's body.

The Royal Guards positioned themselves around the Princess to look out for any threat that might approach from any direction.

"I gotta get back to work too," said Applejack to Nurse Redheart, "Take good care of Big Mac and Apple Bloom, please?"

"Of course," she replied, "We'll look after them as long as they're here."

"Many many thanks," she answered as she angled for the opening in the medical tent.

"Just fulfilling out Hippocratic Oath, Applejack."

Once out of the tent, she angled for the center of Ponyville, wondering if she would find a wagon waiting for her there.

"So, you've seem Apple Storm's Berserker Blood?" asked a voice from behind.

Applejack jumped around to find she was being followed by Apple Tricks.

"The what?" she replied.

"The Berserker Blood. Didn't she tell you that she's descended from a line of Berserkers?"

"No."

"I'm not surprised. They lose control in battle, mainly by the sight and/or scent of blood, and they have been know to kill allies, comrades, and even family when the fury possesses them during battle."

"She... she... the wolves... after they fled, she was ready to attack Big Macintosh!"

"Are you terrified of Apple Storm now? Any reasonable pony would..."

"But..." stammered Applejack, "She's kinfolk..."

"A 6th Cousin. Not that much of kin if you ask me. You'd be smart to keep anyone you cared about away from her."

"Have you seen her?"

"Yes, she towed both wagons and finished selling the apples to the open market vendors, and then she towed them both home herself."

"What about you?"

"There's not much going on other than recovering from the Wolf Attack, so I might just ask the Princess to let me come with her to Canterlot now. I think I've already learned everything I can about Ponyville."

"I better gets home and straighten things up with Apple Storm."

"Ignore my warning at your own risk, Cousin Applejack."

"I'll looks after m'self, thanks..."

"I hope I haven't made any allusions that would indicate otherwise, Cousin."

Applejack turned and headed off for Sweet Apple Acres.

"My sweet half sister will never be trusted or welcomed ever again," muttered Apple Tricks under her breath, "so she'll never have to worry about becoming attached to these... lesser creatures..."