Blight of The War Horse (Reforged)

What was she doing again?

The warrior stood motionless, trying not to sway- to show weakness.

Pain, where did this come from?

Oh, right, she was fighting; of course, she was- what else would she be doing, sleeping?

Anger, why was she so angry?

Looking down, she spotted the dead scaly monster under her, then went back to staring at the nervous-looking crowd. Monster, yeah, that’s right, monsters were attacking her, or was it the other way? But what were unicorns and pegasi doing here; there’s even some of her kind too.

Wait, aside from her not-so-clear vision: the warrior could make out the faces of the pegasi and unicorns, who moved closer to her than the earth ponies and were indeed nervous- scared, even.

Oh, she knew why they were frightened, the same reason any pony not of the earth pony race was when in her presence, especially with her fellow kin in attendance. They foalnapped them! Yes, that’s the only reasonable conclusion. She must’ve black-out to her rage in a fight again and just woke up in their…weirdly large town-like base. Why was her memory so fuzzy, though? Never mind, The monsters were likely protection- who knows what messed-up mind spell the horn-heads had? Too bad, these fuckers messed with the wrong pony, taking her kind, and were going to pay!

Gritting her teeth, the warrior jumped off the Hydra onto the surface below. Unfortunately, her landing failed, as her fractured limbs gave out and caused her to fall flat, making her snarling grunts turn to whines of pain. How did cowardly horseflies and hornheads hurt her this bad?! It felt like an elder dragon ate her body and threw her up.

No matter; she was in worse messes than this!

With another grunt, the warrior attempted to push herself up, but a jolt of fiery-hot pain sent her back to the snow. “Storm Breaker!” An annoying, shrill voice called out, followed by approaching hoofsteps.

Shit! A unicorn was closing in on her.

Looking frantically around for anything to use, she found a golden spear- likely once belonging to a hornhead or pegasi -resting next to her, a bit of monster flesh stuck on its tip. Quickly biting the long shaft, the injured warrior threw it at the old, foolish unicorn. Crap, she only managed to graze his cheek, drawing a thin line of blood. Actually, how did that unicorn know her name- she felt the answer on the tail end of her tongue. Drawing blanks, the warrior resorted to showing her teeth and growling, hopefully, to scare him off. Worse yet, she felt BAD when seeing his hurt expression.

Trying again, the warrior was more or less successful in standing this time at the cost of nearly unimaginable pain wrecking her insides. “D-Don’t you FUCKING dare!” She roared, “Give me my kin back, and your d-death’s wi-will-” She couldn’t finish her sentence as a torrent of blood exploded from her mouth as she hacked and wheezed.

Ignoring what had happened, the warrior stepped forward, startling the armored pegasi and unicorns into blocking the orange and pink earth ponies from view. At this, her bloody eye widened in momentary fear, then narrowed.

No, she couldn’t let it happen again like last time! She’d lost a friend due to her recklessness once before.

Suddenly, the horn of the elder unicorn glowed softly as a grimace crossed his face. Prepared for an attack, the warrior ready herself to dodge or tough it through the pain; instead, a light sensation filled her mind. It was foreign and familiar, something she might have felt in the past, but her disorganized mind was too heated and groggy to make sense of anything else than the current fight. However, a mysterious presence filled every thought, the warrior pawing at her head weakly with a hoof.

“It’s okay now, darling.” The voice of the elder unicorn echoed in her mind, “You can rest easy now; there ain’t no more reasons to fight- let yourself fall, just this once.” It said.

How dare it say that!! Who was he to tell her, a great warrior, to lay down and die?!

Shockingly enough to the enraged warrior, the echoing words bouncing off the walls of her skull had a strangely soothing effect, one that the warrior fought against. But no matter how fierce, her feeble swipes at thin air proved worthless as darkness began to surround her vision. It was the spell! The warrior needs to damage that prick's stubby horn to break it. Taking additional steps closer to the steadfast unicorn with a hoof stretched out, she inched ever so near to ending his life, but so was the darkness in its mission to take hold of her consciousness.

In the end, the warrior’s hoof stopped less than a few centimeters from his muzzle as the foreign sensation and grip on reality slipped away. And as she took her final fall, the image of a saddened unicorn was left as she entered the realm of dreams. The last thought going through her mind?

His name was Olive Branch, right?

“Hey, uh, Storm Breaker, was it?”

Murmuring a usual insult and swatting the voice's owner, a young stallion, away, the warrior flipped over in her bear hide sleeping bag. Sleep wouldn’t return to the poor, exhausted mare as a newly introduced sensation irritated her nerves. A hoof was poking her bandaged back, which took damage from the bear hide’s original owner a few days ago. After a couple more seconds of poking, the warrior bit back the urge to clock whoever woke her up in the face and sat up, opening her eyes.

“I swear you damn brat. It’s a surprise I haven’t kicked your flank already.” She grumbled, pushing the messy mane out of her face and turning to the pony beside her.

The young earth pony stallion tapped his hooves tips together and looked down, “S-Sorry, ma’am, but I need your help.” He said anxiously. He looked no older than twenty with a foal-like complexion, his light-brown fur not sporting a single blemish, and his dark-brown mane/tail somewhat brushed.

If she remembered correctly, the little squirt's name was Sky Slicer, the name given to him by the group's leader for his quickness that could rival a pegasus. Although the swift fucker can eliminate an entire battalion of unicorn guards with a single rusted knife, his timid green eyes, and antsy demeanor contrasted with the grim environment the vanguard group set. The young stallion joined a hoof-full of moons ago and was reliable when he wasn’t pissing himself in fear before every fight. Besides that, the warrior was fond of him, being one of the more well-rounded, enjoyable ponies to be around.

Raising an eyebrow, the warrior threw the top half of her sleeping bag away. “Me being of help? Is there something you’re too afraid to kill?” She asked in an incredulous, joking tone, shocking the young stallion.

“W-What? No! Well, sorta, I guess.” He verbally fumbled. “The others had me go out to get food from the forest- even though I said I didn’t want to -and I got two boars a bit ago.” He explained, a subtle look of disgust and guilt crossing his features. The short stack of a stallion’s courage to kill things was as small as he was- Sky Slicer always preferred recon and scouting, using violence as a last resort, a true pacifist among killers.

“Shocker.” Storm Breaker replied in a flat, sarcastic tone.

Sky Slicer groaned softly, “Ugh, look, this is the first time I’ve hunted something, and I don’t know how to…skin it.” He revealed as his mood dampened. “My… parents used to do both.” Oh, so that’s why he woke her up. The only reason he joined the Vanguard- at least what he told the group -is because his folks died from some disease.

He came across one of the group members on one of their contracts and just…tagged along- only recently becoming a knight after proving himself in a nasty fight, saving the warrior and her comrades.

A small mischievous grin grew onto her muzzle, proceeding an unreadable expression, and the towering mare stood over the small stallion, her head almost touching the roof of her tent. “Is that so? Fine, you’re already stealing me from my sleep. Just make it quick.” She said, receiving a bright, thankful smile in return.

Following a rushing Sky Slicer out of the tent into the temporary camp her group set up, the warrior glanced at others mulling about.

Sitting near the roaring campfire was a pair of twins, a mare, and a stallion, the former throwing twigs and dried plants into the flames. They shared a coat of snow white with an unusual coloration of blue ending on their hooves, the stallion having a wild mane/tail of black while his sister’s kempt style sported a light pink. They were coined as the snowfall twins. The brother was known as Roaring Blizzard for his erratic nature compared to his sister’s, Flowing Flurry’s, grace, both pale white siblings dangerous during a battle in their own right.

Sitting in front of a tent larger than the warriors near the fire was another pair of ponies- unrelated -partaking in a casual conversation. Dressed in armor too big for her was an old mare far more aged than the thirty-year-old Storm Breaker- opposite of the elder was a large stallion the same age as the warrior.

For starters, the gray-spotted, black elder mare with white hair was called Gran by the group and was the ‘commanding officer,’ sort to speak. She handled client contracts and gave everypony orders on what to do for a contract to go smoothly. What she lacked in the physical department, Gran made up for in intelligence, being a retired war chief for a lord long ago.

There was no situation she couldn’t get everypony out of, and Storm Breaker refused to think about the stuff she deals with in fear of her brain exploding.

Sitting next to Gran, sipping from a water bag, was the tallest stallion she’d ever met. His coat was a brownish red, and his mane/tail a dirty tan. Valley Carver was BIG; even though Storm Breaker stood taller than average for most ponies, he stood close to a full head over the hulking warrior. But due to his high metabolism, his scrawny but muscular, hard-earned frame was like a twig at first glance, proving a good surprise to the enemy when he came barreling through. Unlike Gran’s warm personality, Valley Carver was, ironically enough, in Storm Breaker’s eyes, a stick up the ass.

Unfortunately, the stern bastard was the group's agreed-upon leader, always giving out orders from Gran when the group went on a joint contract. She’d been on the receiving end of his long-winded lectures when she got too carried away at battle more times than she’d like to admit.

It wasn’t much, but it was the closest thing to a family she had after…

“Hey, ma’am, are you okay?” Sky Slicer said, thankfully, snapping the warrior back to reality.

Shaking her head free of the depressing thoughts, the warrior huffed, “Yeah, whatever, let’s just get this shit over with.” She spat harshly, leaving the small stallion to flinch and begin walking to where she presumed his kills were.

Following a minute of treading past trees, the duo found themselves at the nearby frozen lake. Immediately, the warrior took notice of the two unmoving boars strung up on a single tree’s branch closest to the icy body of water, trickles of crimson staining the snow under them. Sky Slicer took a seat on a fallen log by the boar’s, watching patiently as the warrior walked over and sat on the snow across from him as he equipped his dagger.

“A-Aren’t you going to sit on something?” He asked, concerned, blushing as he motioned to her rump.

Reaching over and taking the short blade in her teeth, Storm Breaker chuckled, “Nah, it becomes natural the more you have to sit outside.” She replied, muffled slightly. “Nevermind that, kid, it’s time for lesson one on dressing food. And before we start, what is the first thing we prepare for before skinning?” She questioned.

The young stallion squirmed in place, “Um, we…build up a pile of snow?” He said.

“Right, I see Carver’s taught you something between beating you hard in training, at least.” The warrior used a hind leg to push snow into a small mound next to her, “We have it on hoof so the mess made by the process gets covered up in case we have ponies chasing our flanks. Fewer clues to use against us. The rest: we’ll break a hole in the ice and throw it into the lake.”

Shifting closer to the closet boar, the warrior put the dagger up to its back left leg, just above the hooves. After a bit of fiddling, a green-faced Sky Slicer watched the warrior begin the first cuts, where she sliced around the ankles on both legs, then made a vertical line down the animal's inner thighs. Continuing her near-surgical operation, the warrior joined the two cuts at the crotch and started another incision down its stomach, pulling back its skin as she went along. Then she copied what she did to the back legs to the front and, in one fell swoop, chopped the boar’s head off, letting it hit the ground with a thud.

“How did I get roped into this?” The young stallion whimpered.

The warrior snorted in amusement, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.” She said.

Just as he was about to question her, the warrior drew back her head and brought the blade down the middle of the boar’s naked corpse. At the sight of greenish, steaming innards spilling out and landing on the severed head shortly after, Sky Slicer quickly turned and emptied his stomach’s contents, much to the amusement of the warrior.

He whipped back around at the sound of her laughter, scowling, “What the hay?!” He shouted. “You could’ve at least warned me, ma’am!”

“Oh, shut up,” She waved a hoof, “Saw an opportunity and couldn’t hold back- I’m just messing with you.” With a flick of her neck, the warrior tossed the now-bloody dagger to the young stallion, which he caught by its handle. “Look on the bright side: your cowardly flank knows how to skin a boar!” She said.

“I’m not a coward.” He mumbled before reluctantly closing in on the second wild hog.

As opposed to the warrior’s attempt, his time to shine was slow and arduous, constantly interrupted by his gagging and whiny complaints. By the time he finished, the already low sun had disappeared into the horizon, and the duo now resided in moonlit darkness and carved the meat into manageable-sized slabs. They stayed silent for the longest time, mostly because Sky Slicer was mad at his peer and gave her the silent treatment, which she ignored for the most part. Even so, he couldn’t pass off the smile on the warrior’s face.

“What’s so funny?” He asked in a curious tone, placing the dagger on his pile of meat.

The warrior turned to him and grabbed the dagger, “Oh, nothing, just that look on your face.” She said, making her first cut into the boar’s flesh. “You look like you wanted to ask something- your eyes always dart around and back when you do.”

His eyes widened a bit, “Y-You can see that?”

“Eeyup.”

Looking down nervously, failing in not doing so to prove the warrior wrong, Sky Slicer didn’t speak for a good few seconds before he switched back to her.

“Um, what was life like when you first joined the Vanguard?” He asked, the warrior's expression becoming that of surprise. “Uh, I-I didn’t mean to offend you in any way, ma’am. It’s just a stupid question to pass the time! You don’t have to-”

Sky Slicer’s apology was interrupted by the warrior’s hearty laugh, lasting a moment before dying out. “You’re a riot kid. That’s why I somewhat enjoy your presence. It’s not a surprise the scouter likes gathering intel instead of throwing things to the wall until it works out.” She said, making him blush in embarrassment. “It’s alright, though. I don’t mind you asking me those sorts of things. To tell you the truth, nothing special. I did enough jobs here and there until it became natural, that’s all. Funny, huh; Not what you were expecting?” Her eyes lowered along with her smile.

“I-... you don’t need to talk if it’s a sore subject, ma’am.” The young stallion worriedly said, noticing her expression.

The warrior’s dark visage disappeared with a scoff. “Christ, you worry too much, kid!” She said, “Learn to take life by the balls and make it do what you want, not run around like a chicken without its head when something bad happens. You’re a knight, for goddess sake!” Finishing up another chunk of pork, the warrior hesitated, then gazed at the lake silently. Taking a deep breath, she blew the hot air out of her mouth and lowered her head. “Y’know, kid, you remind me of myself when I was younger.” She said, shocking him.

“Ma’am?” Sky Slicer leaned to the side to better look at the warrior.

The warrior refocused her sight on the young stallion with a soft smile. “I never told anypony about this, but I’ll make an exception.” She said.

Confusion riddled the poor colt’s features, “About what?” He asked.

“I was a slave once; my bastard of a grandpa sold me off to pay a debt.” She said with a subtle tinge of venom in her tone, causing Sky Slicer to gasp. “I don’t like talking about him. But Gran was the one who bought me- the kind soul she is, saw a filly in need and came in to bring me back to a safe place. Unfortunately, her misguided kindness allowed a fucked-up filly to join a mercenary guild. The years of countless killings sure made me worse, huh? I used to be scared of everything- now everything is scared of me.“ Her longing suddenly transformed into bitterness. “As much as I respect and thank Gran for freeing me, her gesture put me into another, slightly less, hell. I don’t regret all the things I’ve done; our enemies deserve it, it’s no lie, but I had so many opportunities to leave this group, to live a better life, and I didn’t, even if none of this was what I wanted.”

The young stallion leaned back into his upright sitting position, “Then…why did you stay?” He said.

“When you ask me that, you forget I had nothing then. No parent’s, no loving companion, or even a proper home. I slept in my grandpa's run-down tool shack and ate rats between the rare meals he gave me.” She retorted, cutting the meat a second time. “At my lowest point, the vanguard gave me clothes, food, safety, and ponies I could trust- the last one took some time to come to terms with.” She chuckled, “This killing lifestyle was an ugly bonus to take revenge on my enemies. At least I wasn’t sold to a slaver.” Sky Slicer stood up, the warrior following with her eyes as he approached the lake’s edge.

“Is it possible…I can be a proper knight?” He asked, “I know I’m not as brave as you or Carver or as confident as Blizzard. But I want to make something of myself! Look at you, everything was pitted against you, and still, you’ve become something I can only dream of becoming! That’s it, then! I won’t be the scaredy-cat Sky Slicer any longer. My dream is to be just like- OW!” He cried out, rubbing the back of his head. Turning around and looking at the ground, he saw a small stone.

Finally cutting all the meat, the warrior furrowed her brow, “Don’t you dare finish that sentence!’ She shouted, startling the young stallion as she covered the boars’ blood under the pile of snow. “My hate for those horn-headed vermin and their rat-winged counterparts is the main reason out of many I stick around- you mistake that hatred for some inspirational bravery. Don’t try to follow in my bloodstained hoofsteps just because I spilled my guts out to you, kid. Form your own path as a Vanguard Kight!” She said.

Rising from the snow, the warrior used a bag Sky Slicer had stored under the log before their skinning play date to store her portion of cut meat. “Y-Yes, Ma’-”

“And only call me Storm Breaker, or Storm, enough of this stupid Ma’am crap.” She cut off the young stallion.

A meek Sky Slicer simply nodded before returning and bagging his meat portion. He was too foolish, naive, and as sure as Hades Bright-eyed to be in the same job position as Storm Breaker. However, the warrior could deny that, if this was the future of the Earth pony race, she wouldn’t mind dying, knowing there was nothing to worry about. For all his puny flaws, Sky Slicer was a kind and daring soul, always ready to step up to the occasion when need be. And as highly as she saw the death of non-earth ponies, she secretly wished for him to stay far away from stuff like that- either for his safety or that she was greedy.

Nevertheless, the two soon arrived back at the camp, only to become stunned, seeing the rest of the group gleefully and hungrily huddled around the fire. Sky Slicer was visibly uncomfortable with the loud noise of their conversations but calmed when the warrior laid a foreleg on his shoulder, shooting him a smirk as they walked closer to the group.

She was glad to have him around.

Although she can’t worry about keeping an eye on him forever, it was annoying when Gran and Carver did that when she was young. Sentiments weren’t her strong suit anyway. He was going to grow someday, for better or worse. Whichever, she’d be there every step of the way.

Hades, is this what having an ankle biter feel’s like?

… it's not too bad.

The only thing she could see…was a bloody and torn boar skin dagger sheath laid among the discarded pile of chard bones and half-eaten flesh. Not even the hoof of the mighty Vally Carver could shake away the darkness eating away at her vision’s corners, focusing on the torn item. Standing around them: the smoldering ruins of the unicorn savage's camp, filling the sunny sky with smoke.

“He was a brave stallion, Storm Breaker.” He said, voice solemn and heavy.

Her lips quivered, breathing on the verge of sucking every bit of air from her rapidly pumping lungs. “S-S-S-”

“SKY!!!” The warrior loudly cried out the young stallion’s name, shooting up instantly, regretting her action as agonizing pain burned her body.

It didn’t amount to anything, however, as she felt hooves trying to push her down, but in the heat of her panic, the pain was masked by adrenaline as she swatted them away and stood up, backing away into a defensive stance. Nearing a hyperventilating state, her rapid breathing and pounding heartbeat fueled her fear as she noticed her other eye was covered, leaving her in darkness. She couldn’t think straight, everything was dark and swimming, she wasn’t breathing, loud noises all around, trapping her!

What in Hades was happening?!?

“Darling!” A familiar voice shouted to her left, smashing her panic like a stone hitting glass. “Calm yourself! Your wounds will open up if you keep moving like that; it’s alright now!” He begged.

Upon hearing the voice, Storm Breaker’s breathing slowed as she faced his direction. “O-Olive…Branch?” She hesitantly asked in an uncharacteristically weak tone. Suddenly, a hoof touched her left foreleg, but her fear vanished when she heard him whispering reassuring words. Collapsing to the ground to her pain, she held back a grunt while donning her mask of sternness. “Where *huff* am I?” She questioned.

Olive Branch snaked under her limb and helped her up, “Town Hall. It’s been an hour since you…killed the Hydra; I’m surprised you woke up so fast.” He chuckled, walking a short distance before stopping.

“I hear a lot of guards walking around.” She said, pointing out the sound of clanking armor.

Olive Branch sighed in exhaustion, “Reinforcement came earlier and cleaned up the rest of the beasts, I don’t know how Twilight’s doing, but her other teams returned not long ago too. It should mean her plan is working.” He explained as he slowly set the warrior onto a soft surface. “I’m just glad we got you patched up. Whatever that stuff you ate was, it kept you alive long enough for the doctors to help you.”

A groan escaped the warrior’s throat, “It’s called Goddess Locks.” She replied, using a hoof to remove whatever was covering her good eye, to no success. “Dammit! Can you get this thing off?!” She said.

“Can’t,” He simply replied, “Your eye was flooded with blood, and the spell the docs used to fix it required no sunlight to prevent further damage to the sensitive pupil as it heals.” He said, a shiver running down the warrior's spine at the mention of unicorn magic. “On another matter, what was that back there- before you blacked out? You certainly weren’t the Storm Breaker I’ve known. And, who is Sky?” Hearing that last question, she flinched.

“...It was nopony.”

“Huh?”

The warrior grunted, “Just…let me rest right now. My body is whiney, and my brain is screaming.” She said.

A chuckle came from the old stallion’s direction, “I’d imagine. The docs said you had a cart-load of broken bones and torn muscles- said it was a miracle you were still alive.” There was a pause. “You’re right, though; interrogation time can come later. Although, if you don’t mind, there is somepony who’d like a quick word with you.” He said.

She raised an eyebrow, “Who?”

“Me.” Another voice said, accompanied by hoofsteps that stopped a bit away.

Celestia had arrived.