Chase of the Blood Toll

Rarity walked up to the center of town square. Dusk was approaching, and so the shops and stands were closing for the day, and the ponies were heading home. The street was not completely diserted, though, because at the center, her friends were smiling and waving.

"So sorry for being late, dears. I was just packing the basket," she said, as she presented the small picnic basket, held by her magic.

"Oh don't be silly, Rarity, the sun hasn't set yet, and we agreed to meet at sunset, so you are more like, least early!" Pinkie Pie reassured her.

"Well, since we're all here,"  Applejack cut in, "Let's get goin'. Where was the place again, sugarcube?" she continued, looking towards Twilight.

"The hills north of Everfree. That should be the best view," she stated. "Should be about an hours trot."

And so they were off, Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy, talking and chatting on the way, none of them bringing up the topic that was on their left the entire trip, its treetops on the horizon more ominous during nightfall. Now was not the time, and none was in the mood to talk about Everfree.

Tonight they were heading to the grass hills past Sweet Apple Acres, to observe a meteor shower. Normally they would, for such occasions, move to the hill overlooking Ponyville, but badly timed weather ruined the view from there. Twilight had no intention of missing it, and she was sure that her friends too, needed a chance to clear their heads about the whole Everfree-situation.

Time flies with good company, and after what only seemed like fifteen minutes, grassland stretched out before them.

The rolling hills with tall grass caught in a light breeze under the clear sky in the sunset, was a breathtaking sight on its own, but the purpose of this trip would not show before another few hours or so.

Rainbow Dash made a quick round of the scenery, to point out the tallest hill, and guided the others to it.

Rarity opened her basket, and spread the sheet, while the others fetched the rest out of the basket and their saddlebags: biscuits, teacups, the pot wrapped in a cloth to keep the content warm. Applejack had brought, well, apples, while Pinkie Pie fished out more baked goods from her saddlebag than should be able to fit in there, and more than anypony but herself could ever hope to eat in one evening.

The sun was fast setting, and soon its light disappeared in west as the moon slowly began taking its place. The silver light caught by the grass, made the entire grassland shine in waves of white.They ate, talked, and laughed, while Twilight would check her telescope every now and then, waiting for the first signs of the shower starting.

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He had been staying at the edge of the forrest, moving along it, north. It was late afternoon when he caught sight of the unicorn and the pegasus from before, though now accompanied by others. They moved past the red-painted farmhouse, straying from the road, heading northwest.

"Where are you going?" he asked himself. Curiosity had gotten the better of him,  and he had followed...

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"This is it, everpony!" Twilight sat up, looking at her friends, who perked their heads, "It begins..."

They all looked up just in time to see the first trail of light race across the sky, followed by many more. The night sky was soon dotted with bright streaks of silvery light. Where one died, another appeared, each meteor watched and awed by the six ponies on the hill.

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Through the bushes on the forrest edge, he sat and wondered. This was quite far off, and quite late for a picnic. After some time he got his answer, in form of a shower of bright shooting stars.

"Hmm. No reason staying," he thought to himself, as he withdrew from the bushes, heading into the forrest. "I guess we could both use a meal after a long day, huh?" he regarded his mount, who started panting with anticipation, its big tonge lolling from its fanged mouth.

He moved over to the saddled wolf, gave it a scratch behind the ear, and the beast leaned into it. The black wolf was, besides saddle and saddlebags, clad in armor; Plates of redcolored and polished steel protected its head and greater portions of its neck.

Such a plate of polished metal caught the rider's attention for a moment, as the clear surface reflected the light of the meteors visible through a hole between the treetops.

The rider gave a toothy grin, and gave his wolf another scratch, and then froze, as a green line of light was drawn across the reflecting surface of the armor. He looked up, and another green light appeared, joining the regular meteors, but he knew it was no such thing. His blood turned to ice, and then began racing through his veins again as it started to boil with rage.

He knew what he had to do; Warn the others. But his gaze fell upon a hill, about a hundred yards north of the forrest, where six forms were still visible.

"That is also what I have to do." he said firmly, as he turned to his mount. It had not seen what its rider saw, but it felt his change of mood, growing uneasy. He went to the saddlebag, fetched out his signal horn, secured it in his belt, and then knelt by the wolf, getting on eye-level.

"Get to camp," he said, knowing his friend would understand. "Lead them here."

The large wolf gave of a few whimpers, not moving, not wanting to.

"GO!" he barked at the beast, its pleading eyes changing to determined, as it ran into the forrest and vanished between the foliage.

"May the winds make you swift, Charhowl." he said to the silent woods as he turned north, and started running.

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"Look!" Rainbow Dash shouted, indicating with her hoof a large green meteor standing out from the others. "They come in green too?"

"Not as far as I know," Twilight responded while staring at the anormaly. The six ponies watched the green streak in the sky with curiosity, as it kept on going across it untill...

There was a bright light from the other side of a hill on the horizon, where the green meteor had disappeared, swiftly followed by a faint boom.

"What in tarnation!?" Applejack got on her hooves and looked at her friends. "Twilight, what happened?"

"I... think it crashed." said Twilight slightly dumbstruck.

"Oh! Oh! Above, look!" Pinkie Pie bounced and pointed. The five others looked up and saw that there were no white meteors in sight anymore. thick dark clouds covered the sky, turning the once silver-lighted plain to pitch black. Cascades of green falling rocks punched through the cloud cover and raced towards the ground, often close enough for the ponies on the tall hill to spot the crash and feel the tremors.

"What do we do!?" Fluttershy was laying on the ground, broght down by the violent shaking.

"We get out of here!" said Rainbow Dash, as she helped Fluttershy back on her hooves.

As one they started hastily packing their things, when Pinkie shouted over the ever more frequent booms.

"TWITCHY TAIL! TWITCHY TAIL!"

They all leaped from the center of their picnic, and were then tossed back several feet as a stone in green fire smashed into that exact spot, obliterating everything but Twilight's telescope, which she had managed to tug to her with her magic at the last moment. It was a gift from Princess Celestia after all.

"Is everypony ok?" Twilight called over the hill she was now at the foot of - or what was left of the hill, anyway. After receiving five positives, they all began moving up the hill, for a better view of the crater.

"Did it suddenly get very quiet?" asked Rarity as she reached the edge of the crater, looking at her friends.

"Ah think it stopped, thank Celestia," Applejack called from the other side of the crater. "But what in the hay was this all about?"

They all moved closer to the edge and peeked down for a look at the cause of this insanity. Down in the center of the crater, filling most of it, were a boulder, still blazed in sickly green fire, its light illuminating the inside of the crater and the faces of the six ponies.

Suddenly, the burning rock shook and came apart. The cluster of separate rocks then started moving as one, shifting, turning and still burning. The six mares gasped and stumpled back as the rocks rose from the crater, now in a visible shape rather than a pile of moving stone.

It stood about five meters tall, on two legs of stone. It had a large boulder chest accompanied by two arms, and in a hollow bowl at the top of the "torso" rested a relatively small head, with small bright burning eyes. From every crack of the stone behemoth's body sprouted green tongues of fire.

It turned its head, the small eyes of fire glaring at the small colorful ponies, who looking in disbelief.

"Hi!" said Pinkie, breaking the silence. "I'm Pink-"

She was cut off as the giant of stone fixed its gaze on her, and let out an earshattering roar. All over the hills, similar roars could be heard in response. The thing raised its right arm and brought it town, aiming straight for the pink pony, who disappeared just before impact and reappeared next to Twilight.

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash shouted at the living mountain. "What do you think you're doing!"

"Umm, girls..." Rarity started, her voice shaking.

They all looked around and saw similar beings of rocks on fire crawl out of each crater, and with heavy stomps and speed betraying their stone bodies, they moved towards the small group of ponies.

Twilight quickly sent a burst of magic square in the chest of the one towering above them, sending it tumbling back in the crater.

"Run!" she yelled, and Twilight and her friend sprinted across the plains, with large fiery beings of stone in pursuit.

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The roars echoed through the trees, making him pick up his pace. The fact that they had something to roar at meant that the natives were alive - at least for now.

He unslung the heavy axe strapped to his back, and looked past the trees.

He saw his enemies as green torches moving east. With a grunt, he changed his course, running through thick underbrush in the process.

The distinct sound of hooves, so far overshadowed by the booming steps of stone, finally reached his ear. They were on his left, within shouting distance.

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"We are getting away," said Rainbow Dash, flying low by her friends. "But only just. Keep it up!"

Twilight wished they did not have to run, that they could be back in Ponyville and warn the Regal Sisters. But the telescope was heavy, teleportation of all six was risky, she had already used some effort to save Pinkie Pie, and the running and the adrenalin made her unable to focus.

That left running the only option, and even that was a bad solution. Even though the living meteors were not gaining on them now, they did not seem to tire either. Just as they started running, the one she had pushed climbed back up like nothing happened.

The things were approaching from the side too, slowly ensnaring the bearers of harmony between stone and green fire, and the Everfree forest. Of all the times to leave the elements of harmony at the library...

"Ahead of us!" Applejack stopped as another giant came into view over a hill, blocking their path. They backed away, to stay at safe distance from its arms.

The stomps behind them were getting closer, and the one in front of them was advancing on them with slow steps.

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The six were getting cornered, one lumbering pile of rocks blocking their escape. He had to act now...

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The ponies and the living boulder froze, as a loud shout was heard from the edge of forest. A figure, barely visible in the dark, emerged from the forest, and charged the being of rock.

The creature slammed into the giant's side, knocking it off balance. In an instant, the attacker moved behind the minor mountain and, from the other side, swung an object at its right leg; the only thing still keeping the moving statue standing. The body of stone fell backwards, landing with a crash, and the thing from the forest brought the same object down on the giant's head, producing a sound similar to crunching gravel, and just like that, the rest of the body crumbled into a lifeless pile of pebbles.

The dying fires of the lumbering tower, and an ice-cold light emitting from the stranger's weapon, gave Twilight and her friends a good look at their savior:

Before them stood a creature, seven feet tall, also on two legs. It had broad shoulders, thick arms ending in big hands that were clutching an axe, the blade adorned by strange runes, shining bright blue. The creature had a barrel chest, and strong hind legs, though they seemed to be lacking a joint, compared to the hind legs of ponies. The creature had a thick head, with a heavy brow, and a strong lower jaw, sporting large canines that looked like small tusks. It was clad in big boots with steel cap, armored skin trousers, a heavy metal belt, and a harness on its chest. With much of the torso and arms left bare, the creature seemed to be virtually without any fur, revealing its thick muscles and green skin, littered with scars.

"This way," it yelled in a deep gruff voice, gesturing towards Everfree with a toss of the head. "Follow!" It continued, and turned back to the trees.

Twilight stood frozen in place. What to do? The path had been cleared, so they could continue for Ponyville - at least for now. The green stranger could fight the stones, but following it might just be going from the frying pan into the fire, and-

"Twalaght, come on!" Applejack called, bringing the purple alicorn back to reality, which involved some really loud stomps, now very close behind her.

Follow the axe-wielding green-skin it was!

Twilight caught up with her friends, all running behind the fur-less thing. Inside the forest, the cloud cover began to clear, allowing enough light to reach the seven escapees to let them make out obstacles ahead.

"Excuse me," Rarity began between breaths. "You wouldn't happen to know what is going on, would you?"

"Not now, talk later." it grunted as he pulled something from his belt.

It caught a sliver of moonlight, which revealed it to by a horn. As grotesque as that might seem to the six ponies, the white bone horn was beautifully carved, ending in what looked like the head of a howling wolf.

Their guide put the horn to his lips and blew, and a deep tune vibrated between the trees, into the night. A few seconds later they all heard a similar sound, coming further to their right.

"Keep up!" their companion said, as it put back the horn, and turned in the direction of the response.

The pursuers were gaining on them. While the ponies and the green thing had to struggle against the underbrush, it proved little resistance for the giants of stone, who trampled bushes, and knocked over small trees without any effort.

They ran into a rather large clearing on a hillside, them at the bottom of the slope. At the top stood a large brown wolf, and on its back sat a figure, similar to the one immediately in front of the ponies. As the six, plus one, ran uphill, the one on the wolf raised its arm, and in an instant the hilltop was covered by the green-skins, spanning the width of the clearing, shoulder to shoulder.

Among the line there were some, while still clearly of the same species were smaller and slimmer. Twilight quickly concluded that their green-skin, and the one astride the wolf were stallions.

The living stones burst into the clearing, and the wolf rider drew a sword from his side, the blade catching the moonlight.

"Lok'tar ogar!" he yelled as the wolf was set into movement down the hillside. "Collect the Toll!"

"COLLECT THE TOLL!" the others echoed as one, and charged down the slope at the giants of rock, who gave a slight pause before they let out a roar and rushed uphill with heavy stomps.

The warriors surged past Twilight and her friends, and only once she and her friends had made it halfway to the hilltop, did they realize that they were missing the seventh. They all looked back at the spectacle below, still not quite sure which side to root for.

The giants were many, but the green-skins were more. The giants were large, but the green-skins were faster. Armed with shields, swords, hammers, spears and axes, they worked together to bring down the fiery rocks.

They did just like the ponies had seen it done before. Knocking them over, and smashing the head. The numbers among the giants dwindled slowly, but steadily. The giants fought back, but only to have their target dodge out of the way of their attacks, or having their heavy fists get parried by a weapon, or caught by a thick shield.

The ponies gasped, as one of the green-skins were hit square in the chest, by an uppercut. He flew back almost fifteen meters, and landed behind the line, up the hillside. Another was swiftly at his side, helping him out of the, now, bent breastplate. This one was clad, not in armor, but the skin of a wolf. The wolf's head was formed into a hood, hiding the face of the wearer.

Suddenly, a blue glow among the fighters caught Rainbow's attention.

"Over there!" she yelled over the sound of the battle. The ponies on the hill all spotted that one familiar warrior, and watched slack-jawed as he jumped onto the stone remains of a fallen giant and, having won a few extra feet of height, leaped at one of the last ones standing. His axe drew a blue line in the dark night as he lifted it over his head. As he was at level with the burning green rock, he arched his back before bringing down his weapon, the metal head cleaving the stone head clean in two.

With a screech, the last giant was brought down at the other end of the field, and cheers filled the air.

"Lok'tar, brothers and sisters!" the booming voice of the unnamed leader, on his wolf, brought the others to silence. "Looks like we arrived just in time," he continued, causing a few scattered cheers. "But now to a matter I am disappointed, having to address. Stone Guard?" he implied, and the six ponies perked their ears as the one who saved their lives a few minutes earlier, walked up to him.

"Chieftain?" he asked, his gruff voice showing curiosity.

"What is the rule in regards to confiscating local livestock?" he asked in an annoyed tone, his gaze switching between the addressed, and the ponies approaching from the hill, well within earshot.

"Chieftain, -" the "Stone Guard" began, but was cut off by his superior.

"You know that we do-"

"Chieftain!" the accused cut off, his voice a bit louder than before.

"What!?" he spat, sitting a bit more straight in his saddle, and taking off his helmet, revealing the scowling face underneath. The onlookers held their breath, tension going high.

"They are not livestock!" he pointed a thick finger at the ponies, cautiously moving closer to the beings in question. "They are the locals!"

The large crowd of "whatever-they-are"'s stared at the small colorful things with both curiosity and skepticism.

"Is that so?" the chieftain began, his anger replaced with doubt. He then turned his head to the equines, giving them a better look at his face.

From what Twilight could gather, the face was young. Or at least as young as the one they already, sort of, knew. But it was much more weathered. His right "tusk" was chipped and an eye-patch covered his left socket, a jagged scar visible on both sides of the patch, the line going from upper left of his face, to the middle of his upper lip, lining up perfectly with the chipped tooth.

"Who is your leader?" he asked, addressing them.

They were just about to speak up, when Rainbow took a half-step in front of her friends, and glared the chieftain straight in the eye.

"We aren't telling you anything until we're told just what the hay is going on!" the pegasus, even in the face of a much larger, armored, and armed warrior, still tried to keep her ground, and stomped at the ground with a hoof to prove just that.

The chieftain blinked at the fact that the little one talked, and blinked again, at it's bravery. A toothy grin spread across his face. He then threw back his head and gave a barking laughter. After a moment, he settled down and readdressed the locals.

"My sincere apologies for my rather unprofessional first impression," he began, with a short bow towards the six natives, who positively looked even more confused than before. He then turned his head to his Stone Guard, and his voice turned a bit more friendly. "And to you as well, old friend. I-"

"Long forgotten." he assured with a nod, happy to leave it be.

"Very well then," the chieftain straightened his posture, and raised his voice, as he addressed his kin. "It's time to get a move on! Scouts!"

A number of individuals within the group of green-skins stepped closer to the chieftain, and tapped the left side of their chest two times with their right hand, which they had curled into a fist.

"Fan out in eight directions," he ordered, looking at each of them intensely. "Be back at camp within the hour."

"Dabu!" they shouted as one, ran to different parts of the clearing, and disappeared between the trees.

"The rest!" the chieftain's loud voice rang through the ranks of soldiers. "Pick up the wounded, let's head to camp!"

The mass of bulky bodies began marching south, up the hill, past the ponies. As they passed, the closest sent nods and toothy grins their way. The ponies looked at the one who helped them, and the one who now had stopped in front of them, his axe secured on his back once more.

"You are right to be scared," he spoke, the hardened demeanor from before, replaced with a calm one. "And you have right to answers. Come with us, and I will give you the answers I can."