Scars of the Past

by The F8ful 1

First published July 14th, 2012 23:14

While trying to escape a gang of griffins, the lone vigilante Dusk Scar goes into Everfree forest in an attempt to escape. Held by a vow to his sister, he may not let the mare he met in the woods come to any harm, regardless of what it might cost him. When Fluttershy is captured by the griffins, how far will Dusk Scar go to save her?

Chapters

Before Dusk Falls
Though the Sun Rises
Luna's Night
The Mask, The Lie

Before Dusk Falls
View Online

Scars of the Past

Before Dusk Falls

I stumbled through the night, unable to be seen. All I could do was run, but there was nowhere to run to. The heavy footsteps of my pursuer were very audible, despite the fact that I couldn't hear in one ear. I turned to see a giant dragon, dwarfing me. The dragon let loose a roar that shook the earth. I unsteadily took a few steps back. The dragon released a hearty chuckle, then drew closer. I began to gather magic to teleport away, but a voice stopped me.
"Brother, help me." The voice pleeded. I turned around to see Dawn Star backed up against a tree in the very same situation. A swipe hit me, throwing me many feet away. The wind was blown out of me, making it impossible to breath.

I awoke with a start, my heart pounding in my chest. I nearly fell out of the tree I was sleeping in, my rope keeping me in place. I found the forest peaceful and loved no place more, but I stayed here more for survival than for enjoyment. I undid my loose knot that kept me from falling out and with a flap of my mechanic wings flew to the ground. I landed on all four hooves, attempting to keep my weight off of the bad one but failing horribly. I winced from the pain, but I knew that I must get out of here before they found me again. After stealing back a stolen fortune and giving it to the original owner, I was found by the original thieves, a group of griffins. Now I was nothing but an animal getting hunted down in the forest. If I left the forest, the griffins would be able to fly faster than me and I would have no place to hide, no source of food and no water. The only hope I had was to wait for help, help I would not accept. No matter how small, I deserved no kindness and would never be able to fix that.
Packing the rope inside of my bag that rested on my side. The bag was made by my sister Dawn Star when we were young. That and the stub where my horn used to be are the only memories of the time long forgotten. I began to bound through the forest on 3 hooves, keeping off my back right leg to avoid the misery of being caught and skinned alive. He didn’t mind the fact that if he used it there would be pain shooting through his body, but he didn’t want to try using it and risk slowing down.
I dodged between the dark trees of Everfree Forest, overgrown by the lack of care in the past. I flapped my wings to increase my speed, though I never risked opening the machines to their full ten foot length. If the delicate machine made full contact with a tree, the complex device would be destroyed and he would never be able to get it repaired.
I could feel my silver mane shimmering in the wind, refracting the light. It was annoying to say the least. It reflected any and all light that fell on it, giving his position away on many missions. They were hardly missions though, due to the vigilante nature of them and the fact that he had no back up, no intel and no help in general. They better fit into the category of quests, but those didn’t have the same appeal to me. It made me feel like I was in the olden days and he was essentially half machine, so it made me feel more out of place than normal.
My flight/run came to a screeching halt when I collided with a sturdy house. I could feel something was broken, but I was too dazed to tell. My impact must have made a large noise because before too long, a butter-colored pegasus came out and regarded me with a near-silent hello.
“Sorry to drop in like this, I’ll leave now.” I said.
“No, you can’t do that. You must be hurt after that.” She said, a bit louder this time. Her pink hair hid her face.
"No, I can't trouble you. You would be in too much danger for me to accept." I looked around worried at the forests surrounding. I saw movement of animals. They were not small, but the shadows covered them. I had no idea if it were my pursuers or not. "No excuse me, I have to get a-"
Her eyes peaked out from the pink cloak of hair and changed somehow. Instead of seeming gentle and leniant, they were now authoritative and commanding, sending jitters down my spine. "No, you are staying to get patched up." She commanded me.
As much as I wanted to say no and run away, the look stopped me like a wall. I could only ablige to the quiet mare.
"We will take you into town and put you in Nurse Redheart's care."
"No, we can't go into town." I said, not willing to put the townsfolk in danger. She glared back at me, but i shut my eyes tightly, not letting anything get in the way of their safety.
Her voice went soft once more. "Why not?"
I still refused to open my eyes, but I responded with a clear answer "I can't let them get hurt."
"Why would they get hurt?" Her voice now got worried, though I still could not see her facial expression so I had no idea how she was reacting.
"I might have made a few enemies. Please, let me go. I can't let you get hurt. I'll be okay, I always am." I begged her, my eyes still closed. I tried to keep my face calm, but there was probably worry all over it.
Nobody spoke for a moment, then a roar came from behind us. She gave a squeak. The thought of this shy mare getting hurt brought a tear to my eye. The tears welled up until I was forced to open my eyes. It reminded me far too much of the past for me to keep the tears from flowing, so they began to fall down my muzzle and drip onto the floor. "Please, let me go. I can make the monsters go away."
"You may go, but please come back." She said, admitting me to leave. I felt the lock barring me from leaving release, a weight lifted off my chest.
"Thank you." I said, jogging away. I went fast enough where it would be hard to catch me, but not so fast I would lose them. If I lost them, they may return to the cabin. I had never known anyone lived here, but now I knew that though it was not the ideal living condition, some must enjoy to be out here.
I couldn't hear anything behind me, so I slowed down. Still not hearing anything, I turned around and heard one word.
"HEELLP ME!"
Something overcame me. I could feel intense anger. They must have heard my desperation to escape and used it to draw me back.
I flapped my wings to rise above the trees. I saw the clearing and the cottage about a hundred feet away. I was suprised her quiet voice could break through the dense forest.
"Dawn, I'm coming."

Though the Sun Rises
View Online

Scars of the Past

Though the Sun Rises

I flapped the mechanical wings, gathering as much speed as I could, closing the distance in seconds. The pink maned pegasus struggled to get out of their claws, but to no avail. Using the momentum I got from the flight, I tackled one of the four griffons, sending him to the ground. All of the griffins but the one with the grip on the mare's neck turned their attention to me. The griffon holding the defenseless mare took flight. I tried to give pursuit, but was stopped by the two standing griffons while the remaining one got to his feet.
I looked around for an advantage over these towering, powerful monsters. I could see none in the environment, but their cocky attitude showed many. They outnumbered me, but in past experience I found that the arrogance that the superior strength granted them usually outweighed the advantage of superior strength. Nevertheless, all three were easily twice his size, far stronger than me and had less to worry about. If I got hurt, I wouldn't be able to catch up to the captor.
The three circled me, probably analyzing the situation just as I was. All three stopped, the largest in front of me and the two smaller ones at my sides only about ten feet away. The smaller, identical ones jumped at me while the bigger one tackled me from the front. I raised my wings as shields to protect my sides and ducked my head in a futile attempt to evade the biggest threat. Only one assault failed, glancing off my left wing as the right wing was caught at a different angle, putting strain on the avian machine apparent by its metallic whine. The large one landed on top of my. I struggled to hold up his weight and tried to move him off. He realized that these were my best attempts at getting him off, so he went for my hind hooves, grabbing onto them. My legs instinctively bucked him as the talons poked into the nerve bundles in my foot.
"Gahh" He cried in pain. His disorientation gave me the chance I needed to roll him off and did so. He fell with a thunk on top of the right wing. Because it was mechanical, I felt no pain but I still winced, not sure if the right wing would work anymore. It alone bore the entire force of the battle, something that a delicate machine would probably not be able to handle. The other two made an attempt at my splayed left wing, but I pulled it in allowing the two to collide into each other. The biggest one got up, rubbing his head. I saw the chance I had to escape, so I bucked one of the dazed griffins in the head. The sound of suprise and agony distracted the big griffon so I could escape.
I stretched my right wing out as I ran away, it bellowing a metallic groan. I was suprised it still worked. I charged in the direction I saw the yellow mare go, flapping my wings to go faster. The wing only gave the occasional groan or shrill screech. I would have thought that the wing would be unusable giving what it endured, but the quality craftsmanship proved resilient once more.
Before too long, I was tired. I looked up to see that the sun was on its descent. Despite being tired, I continued until I found the same place I stole from, planted in the mountains. I heard her crying inside. She wasn't doing okay, but she was alive. At least I could be thankful for that. Climbing into a tree roughly 50 feet away, I tied myself in and prepared to sleep.

Luna's Night
View Online

Scars of the Past

Luna's Night

I watched the stars attempt to break through the tops of the trees. Only a few, the brightest, managed to get through. It gave the forest a mystical feeling, even enchanting my heart with a beauty I never knew. I was lost in the stars and leaves, the wind making my dark coat shimmering with the light from the stellar objects. I heard a heavy door slam, ruining the moment.
"So then John goes 'you mean this situation?'" A loud voice said, another voice breaking into laughter.
"Are you serious, John is not the guy to do that" the laughing voice said
"That was a different time, before all of this" the first voice said, putting emphasis on 'this' to help make his point.
it went silent, with an occasional cough from one of the guards. I eventually let my breathing become more relaxed, more convinced that they wouldn't find me. I allowed my mind to wander, thinking about whatever came to mind.
When am I going to die? I'm not excited about it, but I want to know what its like. I need to know. I shook my head, not wanting to continue that path of mind. Who was that mare in the woods? She was kind, but her power to controlnwith nothing but a look was incredible. Why did she live in the woods? Does she have any friends? What does she do all day? eventually, I slept. I was glad I didn't snore, because I wouldn't be able to get away with sleeping this close.
I finallynwoke up when I heard the door open and close. I untied the rope and flew to the ground. Stuffing the rope into the bag, I paced around trying to figure out how to get in. Going in the same way would be suicide and every other entry would be just as bad, if not worse. The front door would be so obvious, no one would no what was happening. I figured that the front door would work. Confusion was the best option of the two.
I walked towards the tree line, instantly seeing the guards and the rusty steel door. It was astonishing that it didn't creek on its hinges.
the gaurds didn't see me walking towards them until I was only a few feet away from the door.
One of the voices from the night before came from a griffon. He laughed as he said "is this the guy? He's just walking up like we are going to let him through."
I tried the door, but it was locked. The same griffon jangled a large ring that had hundreds of keys on it. "Dude, you need one of these."
"Could I have the key to unlock this door? I'm kind of in a rush." I said clearly.
They both laughed and one said "I'll do you one better. I'll just take you in."
"Sounds good to me. You guys got a new hostage last night, can you take me to her?" I said. One of them shoved a key into the door while the other one shackled all of my appendages. The joking one took me into the secure facility. "So, who's John?" I said calmly
"Don't you understand? We're going to kill you."
"Yeah, but if I fear the inevitable then I won't get anywhere." I said. He thought about it for a minute as we walked in silence.

The Mask, The Lie
View Online

Scars of the Past

The Mask, The Lie

"Why would you just walk in?" Asked the griffin as we walked through the dark tunnels. The tunnels looked much like what I thought a mine would look like. Wooden boards kept the walls from collapsing and dirt occasionally fell from the drilling.
"There was no other way to get in" I said.
"You are the Dusk Scar, right? You have the same silvery body and jet black mane." He said, trying to confirm his suspicions.
"Yeah." I said. It was true, but I never knew I had made a name for myself. I always tried to remain covert, but apparently that failed.
"Why would you come back, we were hunting you down." He said, flabbergasted. We continued to walk, but his steps began to get more and more hesitant as the tunnels got darker.
"I had to save her."
"You didn't owe her anything."
"I owe every honest mare, stallion and foal my life." I said angrily, but I knew he was right. They hadn't done anything for me.
"Why?"
I breathed heavily for a moment and we both stopped walking. "Because I see too much of her in everypony." I finally said
"Oh, this is about your marefriend."
"No, this is about me failing my sister. I swore I would always protect her... and I failed." We started walking again and the only sound was an occasional drip of water and our hoofsteps. I guess he doesn't have hooves, but his claws made a similiar noise, though it was sharper.
I imagined him licking his beak, preparing to say his next sentence. "I can get you out. I can hide you away until they forget about this."
"No, I don't need help. Take me to where they are holding the yellow Pegasus and make it easier for us to get out."
"Sure thing." He said. He took an immediate left turn, pulling my chain. I could feel the pressure raise, warping my hearing.
We came to a stop where a dim light came on. The light revealed multiple jail cells, all dirty from the grime, dried blood and other unidentifiable substances.
"I put her in the cleanest of cells, so you will get the one next to it. You need to dig you way underneath the bars to get into her cell. I'll turn on and off the light 4 times as a signal. I don't know when I will be able to get you out, but don't give up, that will make escape harder. If you have a level-head, the path out is easy, but if you don't, it becomes a maze. I'm not exaggerating, this tunnel is... ancient. I'm Damian by the way." He said, opening a cell door.
I gulped and walked into the cell. I feared for his life, the mare's life and my own. "See ya Damian." I said as the door was locked and the light turned out.