The Hunger

by That One Pegasus

Rating: mature
Tags: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Anthro, Main 6, Gore, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark
Length: 1449

The walls of the city protect all who do not wish to fall prey to the Shadows, the new masters of the Crimson Age.

100 years ago, the Shadows surfaced.
50 years ago, the Shadows took control.
25 years ago, the Great Walled City became the last refuge from the Shadows.
Now, it will take a heroic team to free humanity from the last dark clutches of evil incarnate.

Twilight Sparkle knows no life beyond the Walled City. She has lived there her whole life, alongside her friends, Pinkie Pie and Truci. She has been told her whole life that to step outside the walls is to embrace death, or worse, become one of the Shadows. Not that she knows what the Shadows are, exactly.

But lately, life in the protected zone has become far too dull to stay for much longer. And she has a plan. A plan to cleanse the world of evil Shadows.

Note: This is an AU story, and as such, the personalities of the Mane Six have been altered a bit.

Published 2017-06-09 16:20:06 UTC
Last updated 2017-06-09 16:20:06 UTC

I. The Walls

“So, Twilight, what did you call me for?” asked Truci. “Obviously, you wouldn’t tell me to come do something without reason.” The light grey mare was crouching beside Twilight, who was sitting on the cobblestone streets fiddling with a locket.

“Let’s wait until--” She was cut off by a familiar pink mare skipping across the street to where the two friends stood. “Speak of the devil,” Twilight muttered under her breath. She waved as Pinkie plopped down next to them.

“So, what’s up?” Truci repeated. She flexed her wings, waiting for the unicorn to answer.

“So you know how I’ve been saying I have a plan?” They nodded. “Well, I do. And it’s to escape The Walls.”

There were several reactions. Pinkie’s mouth stood agape at her, and her pink ears had drooped slightly. Truci was more obnoxious.

“Are you FUCKING MENTAL??!!” she yelled, a bit too loudly. A bird flittered away from the sudden noise, and her sudden outburst was echoing across the street, though luckily no one was around to hear. “Escape The Walls? Why?!”

“Well, the Shadows are closing in, for one thing.” Twilight was certain that any day now, the Great Walled City would no longer be safe from the monsters that lay outside of her boundaries. “Even with the most advanced magical and technological abilities we’ve ever had, the City is not impregnable. The Shadows, though I don’t know exactly what they are, are at least as capable as ponies are. That’s how they got to be top predator. That’s how they forced us to corral here like cattle.”

“But we have the greatest unicorns and alicorns of the age! We have Helios, Prometheus, Sol, and even Selene! How could we lose?”

“Selene was Taken three days ago. Sol is missing. And Prometheus has been protecting the city core, which means only Helios is guarding The Walls. Even the Royal Sisters agree that we will soon fall.” Twilight’s face was grim. Pinkie’s hair had even gone flat, perfectly straight. The colour had leeched out of Truci’s already pale face at this statement. If the Royal Sisters were saying they were doomed...

“Isn’t there anything else we can do? We can’t leave everybody behind, we can’t--” Her voice broke. “I can’t leave Pius here alone...” She broke down, tears forming in the corners of her eyes as she thought about the little brother she so adored. Twilight just shook her head.

“He’s safer here with the Royal Sisters, even if we are doomed to fall shortly. And outside the walls... we at least have a chance, we’ve gone through combat training. But he’s not of age yet, Pius doesn’t know what he’s doing.”

“But--” Twilight held up a hand to stop her.

“I know it’s hard, but try and remember that Pius isn’t completely unprotected. Where we’re going, he would be akin to someone holding up a sign saying ‘Eat me! Eat me!’.” Pinkie shuddered at the memory of her sister, Maud Pie, being taken by the Royal Solar Army to fight against the Shadows. She had gone missing a week later, but resurfaced in the city of Canterlot shortly after. No one noticed any difference at first, but it was realized that the Shadows had converted her. There was a massacre, a literal bloodbath. No one survived, at least not as themselves.

Finally, Truci had to admit defeat. As difficult as it was, she knew that Twilight was very right, Pius would be in much greater danger with the three mares.

“Now, since Helios is alone in guarding the walls, it’ll be easy for us to escape,” Twilight said, after a moment’s silence. “So, we’ll simply sneak out the Eastern Gate. If I open it and distract Helios, then I can teleport out once you’re through.”

“I thought it was impossible to teleport in or out of the City Walls,” Truci said, still slightly defeated.

“It is, unless you use a Level Three Arcane circle,” replied the purple unicorn. “And even then, you can only teleport out, not in.”

“Will you have enough time to draw a circle?”

“No, that’s why I carry one with me.” She pulled out a small piece of paper from her pocket, and unfolded it. Drawn on it was a series of lines and curves that formed an elegantly decorated circle with a six pointed star in the center. A small rune was marked in the center, drawn not in ink, but in a special type of magical essence. It glowed a slight pink colour, the same shade as its maker’s magic.

Twilight leapt out of bed, her mane flying out behind her. The clock tower had just chimed midnight, the designated time the three mares were to meet. She grabbed her pre-packed backpack, threw on her tall black boots, and set off. She met Truci and Pinkie by the gate, which was a short five minute walk from her house.

Truci and Pinkie were already there by the time the lavender unicorn trotted up to the gate. Beads of sweat were matting her fur, but a cool breeze had kicked up, thank Celestia. As she approached, she pulled out her Arcane circle, making sure to have it ready for a last-minute transfer and teleportation.

“So, you two,” Twilight pointed at the two mares in turn. “will run through the gate as I open it. Got it?” They nodded, and prepared to make a quick dash for freedom. Twilight scouted out the tower in which Helios stood, eyeing them warily. He had bags under his eyes, obviously having not slept for a while. She didn’t want to knock him out, as it would be difficult to open and close the gate while he, the Gatekeeper, was incapacitated. Only Gatekeepers could open any of the entrances to the City, as they were enchanted to only respond to their magic.

“Hello, Helios,” she said, walking up to him. If she couldn’t get him to open the gate through charm alone, she would have to use a spell on him. That was a last resort, however, as she was sure there were all sorts of protective charms on the powerful mage. “Will you open the gate for me?” A very direct approach, sure, but she was not well-learned in the art of bewitching.

“I’m not allowed to open the gate for anyone unless the Royal Sisters order it, miss. Shouldn’t you be in bed now, anyways?” He had a very deep voice, deeper than Twilight had imagined. The stallion was well-toned beneath his brilliant white coat. He wore the armor customary of a warrior, but with one minor difference. On his breastplate and shoulders was a Level Ten Arcane circle, far more advanced than Twilight’s Level Three. On his hornguard was a protective rune, obviously to ward against mental intrusions. However, he was likely supplying the power for the protection, and he didn’t have very much left, based on his exhausted state.

“Very well,” she said as she cast the spell. It was not a blatant mind-controlling charm, but it made him more susceptible to suggestions by the caster. “Now will you open the gate, Helios?”

“I- I will- open the gate, yes.” He had a glazed look on his face now, his senses and sense of self dulled by the magic working through his mind. With a audible grunt, he lit his horn in a golden aura and opened the stone doors. The runes engraved on them glowed gold as well, and swung outwards. At this, Truci took flight and Pinkie began sprinting towards the crack. The glow of Helios’ magic was fading, however. As soon as Pinkie’s bushy mane was clear, he released his hold on them, and they automatically swung shut. He collapsed, his head hitting the wall with a sick crunch.

Twilight hurriedly removed the spell from him, and then placed her circle on the ground. With a yell and a surge of power, the paper expanded and sunk into the cobblestones, leaving a massive glowing pink circle on them. She stepped into it, and cast her spell. Already she could hear the hoofsteps of guards running to see why the gate was opened. Then, as they reached her, she dissolved slowly, and the scene faded away.

Author's Note

So, let me know what you think. I know I tagged the Mane Six, but most of them will appear later (I just didn’t want to have to re-do the tags, lol).

Until the next chapter/story/thing,
-TOP

P.S-- most of the capitalization “errors” are intentional.

”Selene was Taken three days ago. [...]”

This will be explained later on, in future chapters.