Chapter 22 “Demise”

As lighting flashed and thunder roared, a dark figure scanned its surroundings, sitting promptly on a cliff face. His horn glowed, showering the area around it in a dim yellow light. Bright blue eyes shifted occasionally, watching for movement. A barely audible whimper directed his attention to the purple pegasus filly lying down beside him. He smirked. “Do not fret, my little pet. Your daddy will be coming soon.” Crescent lifted her head weakly, looking him in the eye. She had a long chain around her neck, acting as a leash. Her wings were literally pinned to her sides, sharp thorns wrapped around her middle to keep them in place. Grassblade turned his head back to its previous position. He chuckled to himself. The whole ordeal had been so… easy.

So he had made a deal with some witches to set the bait in return for ingredients they needed for a potion. Nothing major, just a werewolf heart and brain. While Ember had been distracted with the cage, he had made his way to the cave. That annoying little Scout was nowhere to be seen, so he just waltzed right in. Of course, there had to be a guard outside the entrance, but she was nothing. For a Hunter, she was surprisingly weak. He’d fought with stronger Omegas before. Alas, he did find who he was looking for. Speckle put up quite a fight, as was expected. A quick blast to the wall did her in though. Now here he was, holding Crescent for ransom until her good ol’ pops came over to rescue her. He would have taken the other one too, if he knew where she was. It was a foolproof plan, really, as he knew the Alpha in his rage would come alone, making things much more simple. And if he didn’t make it… well, the unicorn would be left with his daughter to take care of. It wouldn't be wise to let her go anyways, not unless he wanted the rest of the pack to come after him. He snorted, looking down at his hooves. His fate was sealed, he knew that. But it wasn't going to cause him to just stay in the shadows and sulk. This had to end, and soon.

Ember paced back and forth, his tail flicking around aggressively. Collin watched silently, sitting on his haunches. Finally the older stallion stopped, letting out a sigh. “Let me guess. You want to come with?” Collin nodded once. “Well tough luck. I have to do this on my own.”

“But, Sir-”

“I said no, Alpha. Besides, with Nicky currently down, there needs to be a guard.” The pegasus cowered at the sharp tone, making Ember lift his head gently. “Please, Collin. I know you want to help, and I appreciate it. But Grassblade has my daughter. I have to be the one to get her back. I don’t want you getting hurt. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Sir. And… thank you. For being concerned about me.”

Ember's gaze softened briefly, and he simply nodded in response. He turned around without another word, heading towards the item he had his eyes set on: the cage. Upon reaching it, he took ahold of it, ignoring the sudden pain his hooves underwent as the cold metal seared into his flesh. Hoisting the cage onto his back, he changed into his wolf form and headed towards the place where he first saw it.

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The rain was falling harder now, almost to the point where it was blinding. Still the dark brown wolf trudged on, making his way down along the Crevice until he reached the outhouse. Once there, he tossed the cage onto the ground and waited. And waited. And waited some more. It got to the point where he was starting to lose feeling in his paws. Finally he saw a light glowing in the distance, it growing ever brighter as it drew closer. Ember transformed, glaring at the unicorn stallion who appeared with cold eyes. His ears then perked at the sound of a chain rattling. His eyes widened at the state Crescent was in as Grassblade dragged her along, like she was his slave. The earth pony’s eyes, which were already blue, instantly changed to white, and he growled with such a loudness that the anger he felt could quite easily be detected. Grassblade merely smiled at him, not so much as batting an eyelash. “Why, hello again, Ember. It’s been awhile, hasn't it?”

“Cut the crap, Grassblade. Give me my daughter!”

“Such language, dear Alpha. And in front of the one who's supposed to be your successor.”

“She’ll be hearing a lot worse out of you if you don't give her back.”

“Is that so? Then take her. Save her the trouble.” The unicorn shoved the wounded and bound filly towards her father, causing her to fall face first into the mud. She whined, slowly getting up and hobbling over him, the chain around her neck dragging on the ground. Ember gently ushered her behind him, his eyes then snapping back up to meet Grassblade's.

“Don't think I’m done with you.”

“I never would have dreamed of it. You know, I figured my end would be something like this. Dark and dismal, and such pain and agony coursing through me that even my thoughts would be consumed by it. And that your face would the last thing I see, draped in hatred. And now those speculations are about to become a reality.”

Ember looked confused. All this time, he felt nothing but hostile rage against Grassblade, but after hearing the unicorn talk about his death that way, he felt almost… guilty? He didn't have much time to process it though, as the other dropped to his knees, bowing his head like an Omega. This made the earth pony stiffen. This was a trick. A well thought out one, but still a trick. Grassblade was making himself appear to be powerless so he could get the upper hand. Ember wasn't going to let him have that satisfaction, so he quickly came up with an idea. Turning around to face Crescent, he hastily unwound the chain, trying to make as little noise with it as possible. Once it was freed, he ran towards the unicorn, hooking it around his neck and pulling it tight. Grassblade gasped and gurgled, struggling against him to breathe. His horn started to glow, but was cut short when Ember slammed his head against the nearby cage. A pained scream echoed across the field, and the earth pony could smell the burning flesh underneath him. Quickly opening the cage’s door, he threw Grassblade into it, closing it and holding it closed with the chain.

Blood started to soak the damp grass under the cage, as the unicorn had a forced shift, for werewolves in their wolf form had a higher pain tolerance. The effort was fruitless, however, and the caged wolf howled pitifully as more and more bleeding burn marks covered him. Ember took the remainder of chain that was sitting on the ground and picked it up, pulling the cage to the Crevice. Without another word he pushed the cage over the edge, watching it fall and tumble into the dark depths. He breathed heavily for a few moments, thinking over about what he just did. That guilt he had felt before was completely gone now, and it was replaced with a sense of accomplishment. He turned his head at the sound of something hitting the ground. He then panicked, rushing towards his fallen daughter. “Crescent!” She looked up at him, her face etched with a hurt expression. He gently pulled off the thorns that were still around her, watching as she tried moving her wings, only to yelp in pain and keep them where they were. Ember ever so carefully pulled her close to him, looking her over. His heart sank at what he saw on her neck. Her Mark spot had been punctured, even though it was fading quickly, the fact that it had been done at all made his already hot blood boil even more. Listening to her soft whimpers increased the urge to hold her and cradle her to sleep. So that's what he did, rocking his filly back and forth till exhaustion overtook her. He then placed her on his back, walking at a slow pace back home.