Knights and Nightmares

“The three of you crawl out from the wreckage,” says Trixie. “Scanning your surroundings for any signs of survivors, but your efforts are pointless as very soldier that was on board with you has perished.” The fillies all gasp and tremble at the thought. “Now, you have two options.”

“What?” The fillies ask.

“You can either locate the other carriage and try to see if any of them survived, or you can press onward towards The Snowcap Mountains.”

“Umm. . .” Apple Bloom ponders.

“Remember, the princess did say time was of the essence. Perhaps it would be best to assume the worst and continue on your journey.”

“No, we should go an’ see if anypony else made it.”

“I don’t know Apple Bloom,” says Scootaloo.

“Whaddya mean?”

“We don’t have a lot of time to waste. What if they’re all gone like the others?”

“Well, we survived! It wouldn’t feel right to just leave them.”

“I still don’t agree with this.”

“Ugh, Sweetie Belle, help me out. You’ll be the tie breaker.”

“I . . . I don’t like being the tie breaker,” says Sweetie Belle nervously.

“Well, you gotta,” Scootaloo demands. Sweetie Belle brims with anxiety as she glances between Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, then finds Trixie also has her eyes on her.

“So, what will it be?” Trixie asks.

“I . . . I agree with Apple Bloom!” Sweetie Belle caves in. Apple Bloom celebrates by pumping her hoof, while Scootaloo rolls her eyes.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” says Scootaloo.

“I’m sorry! I couldn’t handle the pressure!”

“Not to worry,” Trixie assures. “Perhaps it’ll be worth the trip.”

The three knights leave behind the destroyed carriage and into the woods towards where they believe the other carriage must’ve crashed. They trudge through the thick branches and masses of fallen leaves until they do in fact discover the wreckage of the other carriage. “There it is! Let’s go!” Redwood urges as she darts towards the unrecognizable mass of gold plates and wheels.

“You! Stay back!” an unfamiliar voice commands from afar. Redwood halts to find the command coming from a strange creature crouched behind a pile of the wreckage. This creature is known in this land, as an orin.

“Wait,” says Scootaloo. “A what?”

“An orin,” Trixie explains. “A creature that walks on two legs, and is just as intelligent as any pony. They can speak, and have a conscience like the rest of us; but are known to be violent in nature. They originate from a distant land, and are few in numbers. Unlike a unicorn or a pegasus, they have no magical properties about them, and must instead resort to crude weaponry to defend themselves. Coming into contact with one of these creatures is rare, as they tend to keep with their own kind.”

“Wow,” says Apple Bloom. “Did you just think of that?”

“Not at all. That’s what this booklet says.”

“Oh. . . Well, what does it look like?”

“See for yourselves. There’s a picture of it right here.” Trixie shows them the orin depicted in the booklet, and they all look in confusion at the peculiar design.

“Freaky,” says Scootaloo.

“Is this thing real?” Sweetie Belle asks.

“Of course not, this is only something the creator of the game thought of. Just like the rest of the creatures in this book.”

“What’s that thing it’s holding?” Apple Bloom asks.

“It’s. . .” Trixie skims the paragraph written about the creature. “A six shot weapon that fires off lightning-fast projectiles like a miniature cannon. The ammunition used in this weapon can pierce just about any material, and anypony faced with this deadly weapon is sure to meet a quick, grisly fate.”

“Woah, nice,” says Scootaloo.

“Now that all of you understand more about it, let’s continue.”

Redwood gawks as the orin holds its hand out to her as some kind of warning. It’s unlike anything she’s ever seen in her life. With bald skin aside from the hair on its head, and dressed in a brown jacket and eye-catching, maroon pants with its silver weapon gripped in its other hand. For one reason or another, it appears to be extremely frightened. “Redwood!” She turns and sees the guard in crimson armor from before cowering behind a tree trunk. “You need to get to cover!”

“What?” Redwood asks, and a long, silver arrow pierces the soil near her hooves forcing her to reel back in terror.

“Redwood!” Marigold and Aloe Vera shout as they pull her back to safety behind the dying brush.

“You three stay there until we come up with a plan!” The guard orders.

“There must be something we can do!” says the orin.

“Like hay we’re stayin’ back here,” says Redwood. “Now’s the time to show ‘em what we’re made of. Right girls?”

“Oh yeah, let’s do it,” says Marigold.

“I’m in!” Aloe Vera agrees. Together, they sneak through the bushes and work their way around the destroyed carriage, careful not to make too much noise to be detected. From a different angle, they make eye-contact with the guard who told them to stay put as he is stunned to see they have left their spot.

“Don’t worry!” Redwood whispers to him. “We’ve got this under control!”

“Are you nuts?!” The guard whispers.

“Captain!” the orin calls. “We can’t just sit here forever! Who knows how long she’ll wait until we move!”

“Just give me a moment!” Suddenly, a moth lands in the guard’s snout. Within seconds, another flutters nearby. They all watch as more moths gather around the guard in an unnatural swarm. He frantically escapes the cloud of moths as they all come together to form one giant mass. The guard watches in horror as they all then disperse to reveal a mare dressed in brown boots, and a brown, pointed cap with a vibrant, red feather attached to it. She smiles to the guard as she moves her long, brick-red mane away from her piercing, yellow eyes.

“Unfortunately,” she begins. “I’ve grown a bit impatient. I suppose I’ll have to cut our fun short.” The mare lifts up her leg, and shows the wooden device strapped to it. A long bow, fitted with an adjustable magnifier and primed to fire as she grips the end of a fresh arrow with her teeth.

“Don’t move!” the orin orders as he stands with his silver weapon pointed directly at the mare’s head. “It was foolish to show yourself.”

“On the contrary, you’re the fool.” The mare whips around and fires off an arrow that knocks the weapon right out of the orin’s hand, causing him to raise his hands in fear. “Precisely what I expected. Compared to me, you’re just a weak, spineless animal. I’ll get to you in a moment. For now, I think I’ll have some fun with your little friend here.” The mare turns back to the guard as she primes another arrow, causing him to whimper. “I want to savor every precious second of this.”

“We gotta do somethin’!” Apple Bloom panics.

“Yeah, how do we attack her?” Scootaloo asks.

“It’s very simple,” says Trixie as she levitates the multiple-sided dice with her magic. “Each of you will take turns to attack, as will the enemy. Whoever’s turn it is will have a roll of these dice, and if it adds up to or higher than thirteen, then it will count as a hit on your opponent. If it’s less, then it will count as a miss. Now, let’s say you rolled a thirteen. You take that number plus whatever number you have chosen as your main statistic for battle, and that will add up to the amount of damage you do to your opponent’s health points. Easy, right?”

“I guess.”

“Good. Now, who will be the first to attack?”

“Alright girls, I’m goin’ for it,” says Redwood.

“Be careful,” says Aloe Vera.

“Oh, this is gonna be good,” says Marigold. Redwood’s body dissolves into a shadowy puddle that whisks through the grass. From behind the mare, Redwood reforms with a dagger clenched in her mouth. The mare smirks as Redwood swings her dagger, and sidesteps from the attack with ease. Redwood continues to swing desperately trying to land a hit, but fails each time as the mare continues to smile.

“Nice try,” the mare comments as she hops backward to gain some distance. Redwood fumes as she twirls her body sending three daggers flying towards the mare. Two of which pierce the soil, and the third just barely misses the mare’s face as it instead pins itself against a tree trunk behind her. “Close, but not close enough.” The mare fires off two successive arrows that pin Redwood to a tree by her long, black cloak.

“Alright, I’m jumping in,” says Marigold as she leaps out from the brush and summersaults along the grass. She tries to kick the mare with her hind legs, but the mare hops back in anticipation of her attack.

“So, there’s more of you,” says the mare. “Perfect. All of you will become the newest additions to my collection.”

“As if!” Marigold spreads her large, bronze, mechanical wings from the device strapped to her back as the mare looks on in surprise. Marigold swings one of her wings at the mare, but she uses her bow to deflect the attack. In quick succession, Marigold swings her other wing as a few of the razor-sharp, metal feathers slice across the mare’s chest. The mare grunts and presses her hoof against her wounds as a small trial of blood trickles down her white coat of fur, but they aren’t deep enough to be at all fatal.

“That’s what I call luck, my prize. In the end, luck always runs out.” The mare holds out her hoof as a swarm of moths fly out and smother Marigold, disorienting her as she tries to swipe them away. She then primes and fires off an arrow that cuts right through Marigold’s mane as pieces of her hair fall to the ground. She fires off another arrow, but now that the moths have dispersed, Marigold is able to use her wings as a shield to block the incoming arrow as it pings off the metal. Once she lowers her wings, she finds the mare is dashing straight towards her. With little time to react, the mare uses her bow to smack Marigold across her face with a loud whack. She flies back and falls to the ground with a thud as the mare looks down at her with pity. “Normally, I don’t prefer to resort to such barbaric methods, but you made this all too difficult for yourself.” The mare primes another arrow as she lines up Marigold’s body by looking through her magnifier. “Nonetheless, those wings will look perfect on my mantel.” Just before she can release the arrow, she can feel the ground beneath her hooves begin to rumble. Three long, root-like tendrils sprout up from the soil as they flail about wildly. They whip the mare as their thorns create gashes in her skin. Infuriated, she uses her bow to attack and severe the tendrils in half as they fall to the ground lifelessly.

“You won’t lay one hoof on my friends,” says Aloe as she emerges from the brush.

“Well, that was a neat trick. Surely, witchcraft is serving you well, wouldn’t you say? This fight isn’t between us.”

“It gives me the opportunity to do what needs to be done, and that is to make sure wicked things such as you fall.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way. Just remember: you’re the one betraying your own kind.”

“I don’t side with murderers.”

“A hunter, dear. Murdering is for those with poor taste, I’m only interested in the sport.”

“You’re sick.”

“And you’re dead.” The mare quickly primes an arrow, and Aloe spills a few seeds from her bag onto the ground as she turns and pours water from canteen down onto them. The mare fires off several arrows, and just before they can reach Aloe, a wall of roots explodes from the ground to block all of them. They form a dome that completely shields Aloe’s body, causing the mare to grow impatient. “Pfft, cowardly.” The mare readies another arrow with her eyes glued to the fortress of roots. “You think you can prolong the inevitable?”

“Can you?” Aloe calls from above. The mare glances up to see Aloe standing along a tree branch high above ground. The dome of roots collapses, shattering into dust to reveal some kind of plant has sprouted up from the soil with a large bud at the tip of its stem.

“Cute, but a weed won’t be enough to stop me.” The bud then pops open as a golden cloud of smoke fills the air around her. She coughs incessantly as her vision becomes skewed and blurry. Aloe then waters and drops a few seeds downward to the mare as they grow to be about the same size as a walnut. Upon coming into contact with the ground, they explode with a loud snap as the mare falls flat on her back covered in a brownish powder expelled by the seeds.

“Maybe not, but together, all of us sure will be!” The mare struggles to get to her hooves whilst trying to wipe her eyes from the disorienting pollen that’s clouded her vision. Once she’s finally able to see clearly, she’s met with Marigold charging towards her at full speed. Before she can react, Marigold swipes the mare with the entire surface of her wing. Like a ragdoll, her body flies and slams against a tree trunk before flopping to the ground. Still retaining some of her strength, she barely manages to get back up. However, she is immediately entangled by a lasso coated in a blueish hue of light that tightens around her legs. Losing balance, she falls onto her stomach kicking up a cloud of dirt. She lifts up her head to see Redwood with the other end of the lasso gripped in her mouth. Beside her is the orin with the arrows used to pin Redwood to the tree in his hand, and he tosses them to the ground as he points his weapon right toward the mare’s head. Marigold walks up beside them with her glimmering wings outstretched as she looks down upon her. She lifts one of her forelegs, and two metal prongs fold out and snap into place as electricity flows from the device strapped to her leg and along the prongs. The guard in crimson armor then joins with the handle of his sword gripped and ready for battle as a gust of wind and leaves brings forth Aloe Vera. All of which are glaring down harshly on the incapacitated mare.

The mare chuckles. “So, you think you’ve won?”

“Kinda looks like it, doesn’t it?” Marigold asks.

“Well, maybe next time, I’ll be better equipped now that I know what I’m up against.”

“I’m not so sure there’ll be a next time,” Redwood sneers.

“Oh, but there will be. All of you are too precious to let go, and I will not stop until each and every one of you become my trophies. Besides, I have never been defeated by my own prey, and I can assure you this little mishap with not happen again. You’ve proven to be the most challenging prey I’ve come across in quite some time, and I will whole-heartedly relish this hunt. There has never been prey too big or too strong for the great Red Feather to hunt down, and all of you are no exception. Little do you know that in the end, one way or another, you will all be mine.” The mare giggles. “Farewell for now, my prize.” The mare then poofs into a swarm of moths that flutter and scatter throughout the woods, leaving the five of them to simply hopelessly watch the mare make her escape.

“. . . Woo!” Marigold cheers. “That was awesome!”

“I know!” Redwood agrees. “We took her down like it was nothin’! Aloe, you sure showed her what you’re made of!”

“It was nothing, really,” says Aloe timidly.

“Come on, Trixie, is that all you’ve got? We barely broke a sweat!” Marigold Taunts to the sky as the crimson guard and the orin look to each other confusedly with a shrug.

“Excuse me,” says the crimson guard. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but—”

“Yeah, yeah, what?” Marigold groans. “I don’t suppose you’ve got anything nice to say.”

“As a matter of fact, I’d like to apologize.”

“Say what?”

“I’m sorry I misjudged you three. It’s clear the princess made to right choice assigning you to this mission, and after what I’ve seen, I think you three truly deserve to be recognized as knights.” The guard stabs his sword into the ground, and kneels before them.

“Oh, I like where this is going.”

“Shut it!” Redwood elbows Marigold.

“In turn, I—Captain Copper Ridge—solemnly swear my allegiance to you.”

“Gee, thanks captain!”

“But of course, knights; and you,” Copper turns to the orin. “You pulled me free from the wreckage. I cannot express how grateful I am other than with a sincere thank you.”

“Hey, we weren’t just going to leave you there,” says the orin.

“Say, what’s your name anyhow?” Redwood asks.

“Oh, well, you can just call me Orin; but we really must be going.”

“Who’s we?”

“My partner. I told him to hide as soon as we discovered the wreck in case there was any danger. Kip! Kip, come on out!” At his command, an animal about the size of a raccoon pokes its head out from a bush. It darts its big, pink eyes left to right to scan for any threats. As soon as it spots the orin and the rest, it hops out from the bush. The three mares look to the small animal in awe. Its fur is a sky-blue color aside from its stomach, and the tip of its long and fluffy tail which is white. At the sight of them, it raises its long, rabbit-like ears and twitches its pink, rabbit nose and silver whiskers. It darts through the grass and excitedly greets the three mares as it sniffs and crawls all around them. “Well, looks like he’s taken a liking to you three.” The mares all giggle with delight as they adore the lovable creature.

“What is he?” Apple Bloom asks.

“He’s a kiplin. They live in the treetops of the Horizon Pines.” Aloe Vera feeds Kip some kind of seed as he rubs his cheek against one of her legs.

“He’s so precious!” says Aloe Vera.

“Yeah, he’s quite the little puff ball. Come on, Kip. We really should get moving.” Disappointedly, Kip droops his ears as he walks over to the orin.

“Where y’all goin’ in such a hurry?” Redwood asks.

“Well, we’re just travelers looking for a new home. Away from all the horror that we once called home. From the looks of things, I don’t think this is where we want to be.”

“You two should travel with us,” Aloe Vera suggests.

“Woah, hold on,” says Marigold.

“We’re just gonna invite these two, who we know nothing about, to come with us one our journey?” Scootaloo asks.

“. . . Yes?” Sweetie Belle says unsure of herself.

“Ugh,” Scootaloo presses her hoof against her face. “I hope we don’t keep making stupid decisions throughout this story.”

“. . . It’s not stupid.”

“Well,” Trixie begins. “If you three would like them to join you, then you will have to make a ‘persuasion roll’.

“What’s that?” Apple Bloom asks.

“It’s similar to how you rolled for your attacks. The only difference being instead of a hit or a miss, it’ll determine whether or not you can convince them or not.”

“Oh, okay.”

“That, and instead of adding on your main statistic, it works only off of your knowledge stat. After all three of you roll, and your numbers add up to at least twenty, then your persuasion will be successful.”

“Oh . . . that’s not good.”

“Why?” Sweetie Belle asks.

“Because knowledge is my lowest statistic!”

“Ha, your character’s dumb,” Scootaloo mocks.

“At least she’s not as dumb as you in real life.”

“Hey!”

“Now girls,” says Trixie. “As much as Trixie enjoys your childish squabbling, the game must proceed. So, Sweet Bell—”

“Sweetie Belle,” Sweetie Belle corrects.

“That’s what Trixie said. Now, will you be the first to roll?” Sweetie Belle uses her magic to grab the dice, and tosses them onto the game board.

“Listen,” Aloe Vera begins. “We could really use your company. We lost many of our soldiers in the crash, and we would be grateful if you and your friend would join us in our fight.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” says Orin. “I truly am; but we really can’t. You wouldn’t want us to come with you. We’d just slow you, and whatever you’re doing, down.”

“Well, we’re headed for the Snowcaps in search of a lost treasure.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, and we need to get to it before any of these witches get their hooves on it.”

“Well, all the more reason we should keep going. The Snowcaps are down that way, and we’re headed this way. Away from all this madness.”

“Do you know what’ll happen if they do?” Redwood asks. “This kingdom an’ everypony in it, including you, will be destroyed. An’ you’re just gonna walk away an’ pretend like none of it’s happenin’?”

Orin sighs. “Look, it’s not like we don’t want to help you. If we could, we would; but we’re not heroes. We’re just a couple of noponies looking for our place in the world. We’re not brave, strong—or anything like that.”

“But ya are! You saved the captain, an’ helped us defeat Red Feather!”

“Sure, I pulled him out of the wreckage, but she wouldn’t laid waste to us if you three hadn’t shown up. We would’ve stood no chance against her. She could’ve killed me right as soon as I lost my weapon. Trust me, I’m no use to you.” Redwood and Aloe Vera look to each other hopelessly as they feel their attempts at persuading him are failing. “Now, I’m sorry, but we need to go.” Orin turns his back and walks further into the forest.

“Marigold, do somethin’!” Redwood urges as she shakes Marigold.

“Yeah! You’ve got more knowledge than us!” Aloe Vera adds. “You’ll convince them!”

“Do I really have to?” Marigold begrudgingly asks. “He’s probably right, you know. What good are they to us? Like he said, they just might slow us—”

“Just do it!” They scream.

“Ah!” Marigold jolts as her ears ring. “Alright, alright I’ll do it.”

“Yes!” Redwood and Aloe Vera bump hooves.

“Hey!” She shouts, causing Orin and Kip to stop and turn back around. “You sure you don’t want to reconsider?”

“Why do you ask?” Orin asks.

“Well, if my memory serves me correctly, Red Feather said she’d be hunting down all of us. Which, in case you forgot, means you as well. So, do you really think it’s a good idea to go off by yourself while there’s a hunter out there looking for you?” Orin ponders to himself, then looks down to Kip who’s tugging at one of his pant legs. He kneels down as he whispers something to Kip that Captain Copper and the three mares are unable to hear. He appears to be arguing while Kip is making all sorts of gestures with his paws. After a couple rolls of his eyes and frustrated motions, he stands and walks back over to the three mares.

“Very well, we’ll join you,” says Orin as he slots his weapon into a brown holster attached to his waist.

“Yee-haw! Alrighty then!” Redwood Celebrates along with Aloe Vera who excitedly stomps her hooves. Kip jumps and climbs all over the three of them as they laugh, and Captain Copper approaches Orin.

“We truly appreciate this,” says Captain Copper. “Sure, you’re a freak, but it’s for the best that we stick together.”

“Thanks for the warm welcome, captain.”

“Well, what’re we waitin’ for? Let’s get a move on!” Redwood cheerfully demands.

“Hey, and by the way, who’s Trixie?”

“What do you mean? She’s. . .” Redwood looks to Marigold in frustration.

“What did I do. . ?” Marigold asks as Redwood continues to stare. “. . . Oh.” Redwood sighs as Marigold shrugs. “You see, Trixie is a powerful unicorn said to only be nothing more than a legend.”

“What legend?” Orin asks.

“The legend . . . of. . .” Marigold struggles to form a cohesive thought. “The Ursas!”

“Ursas?”

“Yes! Legend says that a number of Cosmic Ursas threatened Equestria many years ago, and one mare was able to defeat them and send them back from once they came. She was very powerful, but Princess Twilight defeated her in a showdown, forcing her to vanish and—”

“Alright,” Trixie interrupts. “Trixie has heard just about enough of that story.”

“Aw, but I wanted to hear the rest,” says Apple Bloom.

“Yeah, I wanna know what happened to!” says Sweetie Belle.

“Come on, Trixie,” says Scootaloo. “I was just about to get to the good part.”

“Ugh,” Trixie rolls her eyes. “Fine.”

“Alright. . . Ah, I forgot where I left off. Looks like I’ll have to start over.” Trixie groans as she pulls her cap over her eyes in embarrassment.