Friendship's Gate: Tales of the Pony Coast

Chapter One: Ambush

The storm began no sooner than when the last rays of sunlight slipped under the horizon. Twilight Sparkle and her adoptive father Gorion were soon wet, but thankfully not drenched. Even so, every clap of thunder and brilliant flash of lightning made Twilight’s heart skip a beat. The fact that the traveling pair were walking through the forest rather than the main road away from Bridlekeep irked Twilight’s sensibility. Immediately after they had left the sight of Bridlekeep Gorion had ordered Twilight to duck into the forest, Gorion casted aside her own barrage of questions with a few short reassurances that he knew what he was doing.

Not even quoting what she had read in several volumes on the dangers of hazardous weather conditions, that all conclusively stated that one should not stand under a tree during a lightning storm would change Gorion’s mind. “Do not worry; a little lightning is the least of our worries tonight, my dear. Let’s hurry and find shelter soon, the night can only get worse” he reassured Twilight as they picked their way down from the hills surrounding Bridlekeep. The inescapable feeling that whoever was chasing her adoptive father was powerful enough to make him worry continued to gnaw at her insides, though she was determined to protect Gorion, Twilight wanted to know what was going on. Seeming to notice Twilight’s conflicted emotions the older pony gave her a comforting smile.

It did nothing to comfort her. If anything it did the opposite.

“Gorion, you mentioned that Bridlekeep was no longer safe…you had enemies. Who are they?” Twilight asked hesitantly as the pair came to an open clearing in the woods. Gorion did not miss a step as he crossed into the open clearing, which was actually occupied by a series of stones arrayed in interlocking circles, some monument from Equestria’s long forgotten past. Normally, Gorion would have been captivated by anything older then himself; his attraction to artifacts matched the young mage’s own love of books.

Gorion didn’t give the stones a moment’s notice; looking to Twilight instead he spoke reassuringly once again “I’ll explain everything when there is time”. Turning his attention back to his front, Twilight made to ask him one more time, but Gorion suddenly stopped in his tracks, holding a hoof up to signal to Twilight to stop. The older unicorn’s eyes scanned the dark woods on the other side of the clearing, and for a moment Twilight thought that Gorion had found nothing when he relaxed and let out a soft sigh.

“Were in an ambush.”

Those words ran through Twilight’s mind, her veins suddenly freezing over in fear at the importance of her adoptive father’s words. The voice that came next was not Gorion’s and its owner’s words sent a chill up Twilight’s flank as dark figures stepped into view.

“How very perceptive…for an old man”

That voice! It was deep, and was laced with sweet promises of bloodshed…and for a moment Twilight’s head swam with thoughts of unleashing sweet, sweet murder… The group that stepped out from the tree line shocked those thoughts from her, the one who had spoke…he looked like a armored monstrosity of twisted dark iron and he stood not much shorter than the two monsters that stood to either side of him. At least she knew what they were, and Twilight’s textbook mind took some comfort as she recalled everything she knew about ogres…

“This dah git ye want smashed?”

“Dun’t forget smushed! Hahaha!”

Standing close to ten feet tall, their skin was a off color that reminded Twilight of what a pony would throw up if they had baked-bads poisoning. They also stood on two legs! Two! In their upright positions they both were covered in a badly stitched mesh of fur and leather, but besides the twisted facial features and large crooked teeth as they grinned, she worried about the large clubs they smacked into their palms like they were eager for a fight.

“Quiet! You imbeciles!” the Armored Pony growled, looking away from Twilight and Gorion as he focused his bone chilling gaze from one ogre to the other, and both ogres cringed taking a step back and screwing their mouths shut. Snorting his disgust, his anger disappeared as he turned back toward the traveling pair; from under his skull-like helmet Twilight could see an ecstatic grin on his face, especially when he focused on Twilight. The Armored figure spoke again, doing so offer he offered a hoof towards Gorion, but Gorion rebuffed him with a narrowing of his eyes “You know why I’m here. Hand over your ward and no one will be hurt. If you resist it shall be a waste of your life…”

Twilight gasped, the Armored Pony wasn’t after Gorion…he was after HER!! She was so shocked she couldn’t begin to think of what she should ask Gorion or this mysterious monster but she snapped back to attention as Gorion spoke, using his horn to levitate the dagger from his belt as he did so. “You are a fool if you believe I would trust your benevolence! Stand aside and I promise you and your lackeys will be unhurt.”

Even as Gorion’s horn flared with crackling, magical energies the Armored Pony threw back his head to the sky and laughed, stamping one hoof into the ground before turning back to Gorion, an eager grin on his face. “I’m sorry you feel that way, Old Man. Kill them!”

The Armored Pony pulled a MASSIVE looking broadsword from his belt, Twilight was amazing he could lift it like it was a toothpick in his mouth, but she soon had other things on her mind as the two ogres were eager to carry out their master’s orders. Clubs raised they roared their bloodlust as they charged toward Twilight and Gorion, but Gorion was not about to let them get any closer to his ward. Raising his horn and shouting a string of archaic syllables, magical energy wrapped around Gorion’s horn for a moment before exploding outward as the spell took form!

The first ogre was flung backward as dozens of small, red magical missiles shot out from Gorion’s horn to impact all over the ogre’s body, burning its skin and opening wounds all over its massive frame. “Raaarrrggh” it shouted in pain, impacting on the ground several feet away with an earthshaking thud as its face sizzled and melted from a magic missile’s direct impact. The second ogee did not fare much better, almost in hoof’s reach of Gorion it was stopped by a blasting thunderbolt that struck it directly in the chest. This close Twilight could see the electrical energy flood through the ogre’s body and the smoke of its burnt, meager body hair but instead of falling backward this ogre simple slumped to its knees-still quite dead.

“Twilight! Look out! Run child and don’t look back!” Gorion suddenly shouted before preparing another spell. Twilight had been so distracted by the ogres that she had failed to see that the Armored Pony had another companion or minion in his group: a short, filly, unicorn bedecked in what looked like black silk and chainmail armor. She had been standing in the shadows of the ogres all along, and she had been casting her own spell. A spell that conjured a flaming arrow that flew through the air to hit Twilight square in her left shoulder. Twilight gasped and screamed in pain as the arrow stuck with its red hot, metallic tip sinking into her as it burned her robes and flesh. “Go, Twilight! Go now and do not look back!” she heard her mentor’s voice shout again as his spell flew across the open glade, a golden orb exploding in the air at the mysterious unicorn’s head, causing the enemy magic caster to drop dead asleep to the ground.

What could she do? Twilight took a hesitant step backward, the movement causing the wound to flare up and send waves of pain coursing through her skull. Tears filled the young mage’s eyes as she saw her mentor meet the Armored Pony’s sudden charge towards them, sending wave after wave of magical missiles at the monster who just seemed to shrug it off and laugh in bloodlust as he swung his gigantic sword. What could Twilight Sparkle do?

No matter how fast Twilight Sparkle’s mind scrambled to think of what she could do, there was only one option and she did it.

She obeyed her adoptive father’s wishes and ran into the forest, the stream of tears from her eyes mixed with the droplets of rain that fell from the dark sky. As the darkness of the night swallowed her, Twilight heard a loud yell of pain from far behind her only for it to be drowned out by thunder.

Twilight Sparkle was drowning in blood and darkness, it was pulling her in. The forest floor had given way to this pit of blood and death, covering her in the spilt life energy of those who had died in the forest. It flowed from the animals, those killed recently by bandits, those killed in conflicts lost to history, and from Twilight’s adoptive father. She screamed out Gorion’s name as she tried to climb up the side of the pit, but her hooves kept slipping on the red soaked walls.

“Twilight Sparkle.”

The young unicorn’s hopes suddenly flared as she heard that familiar voice! Gorion! He was alive and he was coming to save her! To take her back to Bridlekeep, give her a bath, make a nice dinner, tell her of his adventures through Equestria as she slowly fell to sleep. The wound in her shoulder suddenly burst from under skin as she used every muscle in her body to push up the side of the pit. She cried happy tears as she saw a familiar outline appear above the lip of the pit.

“Twilight Sparkle…” said the voice

“Gorion!” Twilight cried out, reaching a hoof towards the outline.

“Twilight Sparkle…your just like your mother.”

The outline of Gorion’s twisted and changed, first becoming the outline of the bloodthirsty Armored Pony then changing again to a mysterious and dark shape of a female alicorn, and finally a long and mismatched body shape that looked to be a mesh of different animals. It was absolutely chaotic, reforming constantly between this last shape and a shapeless mass. All she could see from the outline were its eyes; yellow with red pupils-one the size of a small saucer the other the size of a pinprick. The outline seemed to grin and reach toward Twilight, but she screamed, pushing away from the not-Gorion and falling backward into the blood pit, its words echoing over and over.

“Your Mother. Your Mother. Your Mother. Your Mother. Your Mother.”

Then Twilight heard her name and woke up.