Dimensions of the Elder Gods

Chapters

A Ghoulish Venture
Dungeons and Dagon
Wood Wayfarer
A Serious Sacrifice
Shambler Showdown
Of Mice and Monsters
Everfree Break In
A Very Merry Meet-Up

A Ghoulish Venture

Chapter 1: A Ghoulish Venture

Peter sat in the alleyway, rocking himself, a manic smile on his face. Rain poured down at an almost unearthly rate, the moon sitting high up in its place. The moon, oh the moon, harbinger of death and despair, courier of bad tidings... They’re coming for you... He shook himself. Snap out of it man! This is no time to break down! He looked about, trying to get gist for what had happened. In front of him was a human body. He hoped. He crawled over to it and pulled off the robes covering it. Thank god it’s a man. His chest and stomach were a mess, elder sigils painted on his forehead. Hang on, hadn’t he done that to him? He became dimly aware of a shotgun in his right hand, a small waft of smoke floating up from the barrel. On the floor behind him was a knife, blood still fresh on its edge.

Ah yes, the gods, they needed a sacrifice, that was it, the books said so. And we must do what the gods say- Cthulhu fhtagn! NO! Don’t lose it again! Goddamn those books, he hated finding them. Every time he read another he became ever closer to losing his mind... No, not losing your mind, realising the truth... His mind drifted over the past events... A call from a man... The factory... Those cultists... and, Jake! Where was Jake! He could barely remember his face, but it was slowly coming back to him. He thought through all the happenings of the past few days, trying to get an idea of where he might be. Suddenly a wave of horror swept across his face as he looked at the dead man. I’m so sorry Jake...

The wind carried a scream across the landscape, no, a howl. Oh shit, the ghouls, he had forgotten about the ghouls. He searched Jake’s pockets for his keys, all emotion gone from his face, instead replaced by fear and a craving to survive. There was another howl, this time closer than before. Aha! He turned to run, keys in his hand only to be met with the face of a ghoul, the rain sliding down its rubbery skin giving it a glistening effect in the moonlight.

It was humanoid, yet so alien. It looked like a man at first glance, but the stench given off, of rotting flesh and endless caverns, made it obvious that it was not so. Luckily for him it was only a child. It screamed a warning to its brothers and sisters, but was cut off as he pulled both barrels on the poor beast. He broke into a run towards his car. The alleyway opened up into the street, on both sides parts of the factory looming over. He turned left towards the car which had been positioned at the end of the street, near the gate just in case they had to make a quick getaway. He was going to make it, and in good time. He fiddled with the keys and dropped them. Kneeling down to pick them up he realised something. There was fuel leaking from the car. Crap, it wasn’t moving without petrol.

He turned to see what had followed him, and there, emerging from the alleyway was a pack of ghouls, nine in total. Bugger it, he was going to have to go inside the factory again. He shivered at the thought of going back in there, though he wasn’t sure why since he could barely remember what had happened.

He ran to the nearest door on his left, hoping to find an office to hole up in till day break. Wrenching the door open, he went inside then slammed it shut and carried on running down the dark, musty corridor. More often than not, he passed a number of human bodies, memories of a shoot-out resurfacing as he went on. He took a left randomly and descended some steps into the basement. The basement! What the hell is wrong with you? That’s never a good idea! A loud screech from somewhere behind forced him to carry onwards.

The layout downstairs was pretty much the same, except it was even darker. Pulling out a lighter he had forgotten he had, he flicked it on, barely illuminating his surroundings. Right, left, right, he wasn’t keeping track, he just needed to get away from those things. Something caught his eye. From the caretakers room he thought he saw a flicker of light through the glass. He tried the knob, but it was locked. Looked like he was going to have to settle for good old fashioned force. Kicking the door clean off its fairly new hinges (adrenaline, what can I say?) he went inside.

No this must be a mistake, there was nothing here! Walking around the small room, he stepped onto one floor board and noticed that it was hollow beneath. Further inspection revealed it to be a trap door. Pulling it open, the light from inside temporarily blinded him. It was greenish in nature and seemed to get everywhere, illuminating every crevice and crease in his figure. There might be a bloody shoggoth down there. Wait a minute, what the hell was a shoggoth? More memories resurfacing caused him to gag.

SCREEEEEE!

He descended the ladder into the subterranean tunnel, closing the trap door behind him. Just as it shut, there was a loud thud on the trap door followed by more screeching and some meeps. The wood started to crack. Continuing down the tunnel, he noted that the walls, ceiling and floor had been reinforced with steel. No doubt to keep the ghouls from digging their way in. After what seemed like forever, he made it to a large room, in the shape of an octagon. For some reason the word ‘awesome’ came to mind, but he ignored it focusing on the task at hand.

Directly in front of him on the side of the room was an open doorway which had been bricked up. In the centre of the room was an altar with a man tied down, and on the walls all around were green torches. He had seen this all before, though he couldn’t remember where. He approached him, noting the knife laid on his chest. At first he thought he was dead, but he suddenly awoke and started madly thrashing about, trying to break the bonds but to no avail. A faint smash was heard through the tunnel he had come from. They were coming and there didn’t seem to be a way out. He was going to have to make a stand.

Or you could do what is obvious... nope, no not listening, Just take the knife... lalalala I CAN’T HEAR YOU, don’t worry, I’ll take care of it... he could feel himself losing control of his limbs, a feeling of faintness increasing at a rapid pace. Not again.

Suddenly everything went black. He could still hear the echo of the ghouls meeps and his footsteps, but very faintly. After sitting in the dark for a few minutes, his senses came back to him. He was standing above the man, knife in one hand, heart in the other. He dropped them, horrified at what he had done.

Don’t think your taking credit for this, it was me, all me... he hated agreeing with it but it had a point, one that would keep him sane for at least a little longer. The doorway suddenly crackled, and a white ball of energy appeared in it. It was a portal!

SCREEEE!

The ghouls came running through the other side of the room. Normally he wouldn’t have dared going into a weird portal that could potentially send him someplace worse than hell, but the slathering faces of the ghouls hadn’t looked particularly pleasant. Picking up his shotgun, he turned to the portal and legged it, jumping into it. It felt like his innards were being pulled out of place then being re-arranged in the shape of a goat as his entire body dematerialised. The last thing he saw were the vengeful glares of the ghouls, reluctant to come any closer.

Is he asleep? Good. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Franko Marinko Dragoslav Andro Kovaċ. Eccentric I know, but my parents Grandparents were aristocrats, pretty rich back in the day. The family was originally from Sarajevo, but my thrice-great Grandfather fled to Zagreb as the Ottomans advanced into the Balkans. I didn’t really work much since on the money we had, I didn’t need to. I had a lot of spare time which I spent roaming the city, meeting friends, getting drunk, getting into fights, the usual stuff bored adolescents do.

One night, while searching for a place to hurl my guts out, I stumbled upon a cult. I say stumbled, it was more of a kidnapping. They required sacrifices, and I just happened to be an adequate candidate. When they finally pulled the bag off my head (which was covered in puke might I add), I was lying on a stone altar in some dark cavern tied down with a rather fishy looking priest shouting various words (I assumed they were words). They didn’t sound like any language I knew, and they had a very slippery nature about them, though I do remember the name Dagon being mentioned. I lay their rather bored, wondering when it was going to end, when he plunged a dagger into my chest. That bit I remember very well as the alcohol was replaced by an outburst of adrenaline. Sadly, that burst lasted for about half a second, because the next blow struck my heart.

I never did think about the afterlife, but I never would have expected what happened next. My soul, I suppose you would call it, left my body and I possessed the nearest thing... a book. It was funny, because I swear for a fraction of a second I thought I saw a giant octopus thing laughing, with a few unnameable things standing to his side, all laughing as well. Meh, it doesn’t matter now. Anyway, this particular book, I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, was the Necronomicon. Spooky, eh? Basically some guy called Abdul Al-Hazred wrote it, and I tell you there’s some crazy shit in there, spells, summoning circles, the universal sign of banishment (sticking your middle finger out at someone) and more importantly all manner of beasts, monsters and gods. I was moved about, eventually ending up in another crazy guys basement. I swear to you, all those dog eared pages hurt like a bitch. If I ever get a body, I’m never abusing books like that again.

I was stuck in that book for maybe 400 years or so before some occultist found the book while going through the charred remains of the house as it had become. The idiot opened the first page and read the first line out loud. Why would an occultist do that? Surely he must be learned enough to know that reading what is pretty much a spell book out loud is ridiculously stupid. He could have summoned Yog-Suthoth or a Byakhee. Lucky for him he got me in his head, though he doesn’t seem to be very grateful. That happened about three weeks ago. Two investigations and a shoot out later, we end up here, in the present, hurtling through time and space unsure of our destination. Well, only I am, because somebody fainted. Again. Wuss.

Celestia sat on her throne, waiting for the arrival of her favourite student. Twilight had been investigation a new ‘miracle’ organisation on Celestia’s behalf, and she was coming to give her a personal report on her findings. The organisation seemed to have the ability to heal people whatever the problem, as long as it was to do with health, with no exceptions, none at all. They could cure diseases, fix heart problems, grow limbs back, there seemed to be no limit to the capabilities of these unicorns. A guard pushed the door open, with Twilight right behind, a wide grin on her face.
‘Ah, Twilight, how good to see you. I trust your journey was not too rough?’ Twilight trotted up to her.
‘Princess Celestia, it is an honour.’ Twilight was practically family, she didn’t need to address her so formally.
‘So, what have you found out about our friends?’ She fished around her saddle for some papers, pulling out a few sheets.
‘They seem very nice. The leader, Obed Fishermen was very hospitable. He answered all of my questions and even showed me a session.’ While she had relished the thought of seeing how it was done, the spells had required words, and those words were... very interesting...
‘Oh?’
‘Well it seemed like any magic, first their horns started glowing-’
‘Their?’
‘-multiple ponies participate, apparently because of its difficulty- they say some spells and the ail is cured.’
‘Just like that?’ asked Celestia.
‘Yep. The pony who’s broken wings were being fixed seemed very happy.’ Celestia sat back in her throne.
‘Magic of this power usually has side-effects, are you sur-’ A white flash of light appeared, and an object came flying through a window. The two ponies were at first stunned, but then curious. What was it and why was it here? As they approached the object they realised that it was no object, it was a living being.

Oh great, they’re staring, hey wake up! With a shake, Peter opened his eyes, immediately he felt about for his shotgun which was, thankfully, in his right hand. You could never be too careful with teleportation. Come to think of it, where was he? The floor seems to be of very fine tiles, and- He became aware of the two figures standing above him. Please don’t be ghouls, please don’t be ghouls... What the hell? Ponies? With horns and wings? This must be what it’s like to be crazy... Wasn’t all that bad actually. Don’t worry your not insane, I’d know if you were. Besides, think I’d let that happen to you? Oh great, you again. The two ponies seemed to be conversing about him. Anyone else would have been stunned by this, but he’d seen too much crap to rule anything out. And he really meant anything. The bigger pony, kind of like a mix between a Pegasus and a unicorn addressed him, but he didn’t understand.

Hey, I know that language! Peter blinked. You- you do? Yeah of course. Most inter-dimensional/planetary languages are in the Necronomicon. Oh. Right. Wait, don’t talk to it! Still, he had no idea where the hell he was, and he would need all the help he could get. Damn right. If you want I could infuse the knowledge in your mind. You could? Wow, that would be... great! Right, just a second, it might sting a bit. An immense pain swept over his brain, causing him to fall to his knees, clutching at his head.

‘FUCK!’ he shouted, making the two ponies jump back and causing a stir outside. The two large doors to the throne room were pushed open, the guard from earlier entering.
‘Princess, we heard a- What is that thing?’ he rushed up to Celestia, just in case the creature was hostile. Still clutching his head, he looked up at the guard pony.
‘Yeah, well you’re no work of art eith-’ he had understood what he had said.

Of course you did. Did you not pay attention to our last conversation? Right. Sorry.
‘I am going to ask you one more time, who are you and why are you in my throne room?’ the large one said, stepping closer to him. He looked around himself. It was a very nice throne room, with banners hanging along the sides of the walls, all of them white, blue and gold. ‘Did you hear me? Can you even understand me?’ He stared blankly at her, thinking. The purple one frowned.
‘I don’t think he can princess.’ She walked right up to him and started speaking very slowly while gesturing. ‘I... Twilight. You are?’ Franko mentally slapped him. Say something idiot!
‘Oh right, uh, I’m called Peter. It’s nice to meet you Ms. Twilight.’ She started to blush at how stupid she must have looked treating him like he knew nothing.
‘So you do speak Equestrian.’ Stated the princess, as he now knew, rather seriously.
‘Yeah well only just. So, where am I exactly?’ He asked reaching into his pocket for his blue journal.

It’s a diary. No it’s a journal. Then why does it say diary on the front? Look, just be quiet, I’m trying to have a conversation!
‘You are in my throne room trespasser, and that’s all you need to know. Now why are you here?’ He was trying to figure that out himself, besides from the obvious fact that he had jumped into a portal.
‘Well, funny story really, you see I jumped into a portal and here I am!’ She didn’t seem convinced.
‘You jumped into a portal, just like that?’ He nodded, and shrugged.
‘So why did you just jump into a portal blindly? It could have taken you anywhere!’ Twilight stated rather dramatically.
‘A pack of ghouls were chasing me and I fancied my chances with the portal rather than them so I ended up here and that’s that.’ Twilight smiled reminiscently.
‘That reminds me of my friend Pinkie Pie. She always said giggle at the ghosties. At first I didn’t believe her, but you know what?’
‘What?’ He asked.
‘It actually worked!’
‘I had a friend who giggled at the ghouls once.’ She brightened up.
‘And did it help him?’
‘He painted the walls with his own brains.’ Twilight was silent. More guards came in now, spears, colourful glows around them, suspended in the air with some form of magic and assembled behind him in a semi circle. Peter, realising how vulnerable he was, scrambled to his feet. Now he could tell just how short they all were. The princess herself was a bit bigger than him, though that was including the hair and horn, while the guards were shorter than him, their heads reaching up to his chest.

Oh great, look what you did. Hey, I didn’t do anything!
‘In summary, you are telling me that you jumped into a portal to make your escape and landed here?’
‘That’s right.’ Her eyes squinted.
‘Was the portal open when you got to it?’ Her voice started to take a more authoritative tone now that started to scare him. He held the shotgun tighter.
‘Um, no, I had to open it.’
‘And do you have any natural ability with magic?’ Don’t answer that!
‘Well from what I’ve seen most people have some ability to do magic, but no, I have never done it.’ This was the line she had been waiting for.
‘Guards, subdue him.’ They immediately closed in on him, one of the unicorns using their magic to wrench the gun out of his hands before he could do anything with it. He wouldn’t have used it anyway. He was too shocked to react and didn’t do much to stop the guards from cuffing him. What little resistance he did put up earned him a smack to the head.
‘The prisoner will not resist,’ the guard stated happily before resuming his neutral expression.

What? Are they enjoying this? Well, judging from the smiles they keep giving each other, I’d say yes, they are.
‘What have I done? You have no right!’ Celestia brought her face right up to his.
‘Quite the contrary. You see, of the many universal rules there are in magic, one of them is that there are only two ways to perform magic. The first is through natural ability, and from what you said you’ve never done that, have you?’ Say you have, say it!
‘I haven’t.’ Idiot.
‘Which leads me to believe that you used the other way.’ She put unusually heavy emphasis on the word ‘other’, as though it was something to be shunned. ‘The other way is something which I pride myself on having managed to stamp out of my kingdom, is that of sacrifice. In other words the only other way is to kill somepony.’

Oh. Oooooh. Why the hell didn’t you listen to me? I don’t know. I suppose I just wanted to be my own man rather than a slave to someone in my head. Oh wah, wah, were you too obedient to Majka and Djed as a teenager? Who? Your parents idiot. Well how was I supposed to know that! And stop calling me an idiot. Peter continued with the issue at hand.
‘But-but if I hadn’t killed him they would have killed me!’ She scoffed.
‘That’s your argument? You think your life was better than his, that you were the one that deserved to live?’
‘I...’ Of the many things that Peter was, a quick thinker was not one, and he had no retort or other defence that he could conjure up fast enough to be effective.
‘I thought so. Now hold still, or this could be painful.’ He was about to ask what, then he felt something in his head. It didn’t feel so much as a light headed sensation as it did someone sticking their arm through his head and twirling his brain about.

‘Agh! Fu- sweet LORD that HURTS!’ He twitched and turned in agony as she clawed through his brain, then suddenly she reared, as though slapped across the face causing a few of the guards to rush to her side.

That’ll teach her. Doesn’t she know clawing through a person’s mind is rude? Peter could not overstate just how ironic that was. The princess looked dishevelled, obviously not expecting that at all and went back up to him.
‘Hmm, you seem to employ defences around your mind... I suggest you lower them or I’ll be forced to go through them, and trust me, it doesn’t feel very good.’ He shrugged again.
‘I don’t think I know how.’ She sighed.
‘Well in that case, I’m sorry for what is about to happen next. If you have any next of kin, I’ll find the information in there and send your body to them for burial.’ Wait. WHAT.
‘Wait, what do you mean-’ Her horn started to glow much brighter, blinding him as it went.
‘She’s going to snap your mind like a twig,’ commented one of the guards. His heartbeat raced as he looked around for a way out, eyes dashing madly around the room.
‘Hey, he looks like a caged animal!’ The guards laughed, though their voices were getting fainter.
‘Well that’s cause he is an animal.’ He felt a hoof impact with his back, keeling him over. More laughing. He was about to respond when the princess finally entered his mind.

It felt like someone filled his brain with needles, ripped his spine out, then beat him across the head with it. The profanities that followed were so vulgar that Twilight and even a few of the guards turned pale, though he couldn’t see them through the red haze. Once again Celestia reeled to the amazement and horror of the guards, though this time whatever Franko had done seemed to have more of an effect on her; she was clutching (as far as hooves go) at her face and her neck.

I thought she realised the first time not to do that. Whatever it was you did, thanks man, I was fucked there. Don’t mention it. She was asking for it anyway. She gathered herself.
‘That is a strong mind you have there,’ she said slowly. You tend to learn a few things when you’re stuck in the book of the dead for four centuries. ‘Guards, take him to the dungeons, I’ll have to deal with him later.’ They picked him up using their magic and pushed him out of the throne room.
‘The prisoner will remain absolutely quiet!’ Called one guard.
‘The prisoner will also only face down!’ Called another. This was going to be a long day...

Dungeons and Dagon

Chapter 2: Of Dungeons and Dagon

Well I suppose this isn’t so bad. At least we get fed. It’s grass, how am I supposed to eat grass? Point taken. The dungeon had literally one other inhabitant whom he couldn’t see properly because of its inclination to sit in the dark. The dungeon itself wasn’t that bad. It was clean, there was no blood on the walls and for once the floor wasn’t coated in 34 different types of dung. What looked like light bulbs on closer inspection turned out to be balls of pure energy that were suspended in a glass casing. Probably magic.

I’m bored. Hey, let’s talk to that guy over there! I dunno, I doubt he wants to talk to us. What makes you think that? Well he is hiding in the shadows. Pfft, so what. Besides, it’s not really hiding if you know where he is. Go on, say something.

‘Hello? Anyone there?’ He called out in the general direction of the prisoner. There was silence, then an answer.
‘You can speak?’ Were they always going to assume he was an animal?
‘Of course I can speak. Why are you in the shadows?’
‘Well, that way you can’t eat me.’ He couldn’t see the logic in that.
‘Um, beg your pardon but how exactly does that work? I know where you are.’
‘You do? Horseapples, uh turn around for a second.’ He obliged and faced the wall behind him. It was an interesting wall, with ornate designs and some writing which said, ‘FRIENDSHIP IS THE STAPLE OF A GOOD LIFE’.

That doesn’t look like any propaganda I’ve ever seen. Nor I. I suppose if you think about it from a rehabilitative point of view it makes sense. Re- huh? Trying to put the criminals back into society. Where I came from criminals were treated with the respect they deserved. Oh? A pelting at the stocks and some lashes depending on their crime, maybe a hanging. Yes, that was real entertainment... Peter shook his head.

‘Okay, you can look now.’ He tried to spot him but couldn’t see where he had gone. Surprising considering their cells were only 10 square feet.
‘Where’d you go?’
‘That’s for me to know and for you to find out.’

He’s on the ceiling. Of course, he’s- wait, the ceiling? The hell if I know.

‘You’re on the ceiling.’ There was some more soft cursing and a thud as the pony fell to the floor.
‘That’s a very good eye you have there. Well in that case I suppose there’s no point in hiding.’ He stepped out into the light revealing the pony to have a grey coat with what seemed to be a mark of some kind on his flank. It was a bag of gold with a cloak next to it.

That’s interesting. I wonder why he has that tattoo... His mane seemed to have been cut short and he had a scar across his face. Currently, the grey stallion was looking down at the stone work and scratching at it with his hoof nervously. ‘So, you’re not going to eat me?’
‘Oh come o- of course I’m not going to eat you. I’m not french, and besides, how could I get to you from here? There are bars in the way.’ He had to admit that was true, and he sat down looking at Peter.
‘So, uh, what are you in for?’ The occultist thought back to the incident.
‘I’m not sure what, but I think, just maybe that it was murder.’ The stallion reared back into the shadows.
‘M-m-murder!?’
‘Yeah. This is a dungeon, don’t you ever have murderers round here?’
‘No, in fact there’s barely ever anyone down here. Sometimes the guards come by to spit in my food, but that’s it. But murder? How could you do such a thing?’
‘Relax, I didn’t actually do it.’
‘Yeah, and I didn’t steal the crown jewels...’
‘You what? You stole the crown jewels from that princess up there?’ The stallion emerged slowly and nodded. Peter sat back against the wall. ‘No wonder you’re still in here. Girls love their diamonds. I swear to god, if I ever get my hands on that crazy woman...’
‘Don’t speak about the princess like that!’ Shouted the stallion. Peter paused.
‘What do you mean? I thought she was the one that put you here.’
‘She did, but she’s not a bad pony, and she sure as discord isn’t crazy.’
‘Wait, you don’t hate her?’ He went back to pawing at the ground.
‘Well, she isn’t rude, and she always makes sure to visit the prisoners at least twice a day, although it was only me until you showed up.’

Peter started stroking his goatee, mulling over the idea of someone actually liking their captor. Nope, didn’t seem reasonable. A captor is always bad, that’s why he’s doing the capting... I’m pretty sure that isn’t a word... Shut up. Just saying.

‘What are you anyway?’ Peter looked up.
‘Me? I’m a human. Don’t you have humans here?’
‘A hyooman? No, we don’t have any of those. Wait, are you from the, *gulp, forest?’

I can feel his fear. It must be a really bad place if it is this heightened.

‘Forest? No I’m from Arkham city Massachusettes, though you’ve probably never heard of it.’ He noticed that the stallion wasn’t actually paying attention to him anymore, but was staring at his plate of grass. ‘You want it?’ The thief shook his head and looked up in surprise.
‘Sorry?’
‘The grass, if you’re hungry you can have it.’ His eyes lit up in delight.
‘Yes please! Uh, that is if you aren’t having it.’ Peter waved him away.
‘I had a daisy sandwich on my way in, I’ll do fine.’ He had meant it as a joke, but the stallion took it very seriously.
‘I haven’t had a daisy sandwich for three months. Ah well, when I get out of here I’m going to have the finest food bits can buy.’ He shrugged and slid the plate towards the thief who waited for the green strips to reach him, but it impacted with a hoof, placed there at the last second. The thief looked up and saw it was a royal guard, a very mischievous smile on his face.

‘The prisoners do not get second ‘elpings,’ he stated, and picked the plate up with his mouth. He turned ready to-
‘Just what do you think you’re doing guard?’ A feminine voice rang out. It sounded a little like Celestia, but it was , more... formal, no not formal, more... demanding perhaps? Not exactly, but it’ll have to do. He froze and dropped the plate which smashed on the stone.
‘I, uh, was attending to the prisoners your majesty.’
‘Were you? From what I understand that prisoner over there just passed a plate of grass to Slate, and you stopped him.’
‘Um, uh I uh-’
‘I think an apology might be in order.’ Grumbling, he turned from the unseen individual and faced Slate.
‘Sorry prisoner-’
‘His name is Slate.’
‘Sorry Slate.’
‘That’s better.’ The voice seemed more relaxed now. ‘Now go get him some more grass, actually no, make that a... daisy sandwich.’ He went back the way he came, and into view appeared a mare, one that looked a lot like Celestia except her coat was a bluish black and her mane was of the night sky. Who’s that? Slate shot up.
‘Princess Luna!’ She giggled and smiled at him.

Wait, another one? Looks that way. D’ya think it’s her sister? Perhaps.

‘I told you, Luna will suffice. So how are you this fine evening?’
‘Well, considering you’ve been listening to us the entire time, I think you might know.’ She giggled again.
‘Was it really that obvious?’ He rolled his eyes.
‘I taught you all your tricks, of course I knew where you were. Judging by the look on his face however I think you did pretty well.’ She spun on the spot and looked at Peter curiously but cautiously.
‘That was a kind thing you did there.’ He shrugged. You shrug a lot you know. I know.
‘Hey, everyone's got to have a friend.’ She smiled for a few seconds at that, then it subsided and her prior expression returned.
‘So I heard that my sister put you here for... murder.’ Well that answers one question.
‘Yes, though what gets me is that she hasn’t proved that I’m guilty.’ Luna raised her eyebrow.
‘Is that so? Hm... Well did she tell you at all why she thought this.’
‘Oh right, yeah she said something about me only being able to do magic with a sacrifice.’
‘Wait, you sacrificed someone?’ Called out Slate. Peter stopped speaking. He wouldn’t be able to tell them that it was a man living inside his head that took over his body and sacrificed the man for him, they’d think he was crazy. He’s just have to plead the it-was-me-or-both-of-us argument.
‘Well, putting it plainly yes, I sacrificed someone.’ She took a step back from him.
‘What kind of being would do such a thing?’
‘The kind of being getting chased by a a pack of ghouls. It was either him or both of us, and I didn’t see a point in the both of us dying.’

You should have said that upstairs. I didn’t think of that upstairs.

‘I suppose that makes sense,’ she became a little less tense, ‘but it was wrong all the same.’ Luna found the prospect of somepony killing somepony else unreal infact she couldn’t even imagine it. The goddess of the moon turned back to Slate. ‘Well I suppose we should get on with the lesson.’ He nodded and returned to the shadows.
‘I’ve taught you most of the things I know, and I wouldn’t want him to hear any of the advanced ones, so let’s go over the basics. What is the first rule of sneaking?’
‘Silence.’
‘Not silence, total silence is impossible. You can however be very, very quiet. So how does one go about being very quiet, besides the obvious spells and illusions.’
‘Limit breathing to its slowest possible pace, do not wear lose clothing and items, and soft hoof-falls.’
‘Correct. I assume you remember the correct way to test for anything you are wearing that could make a noise?’
‘The jump test.’
‘Correct again.’ Peter knew all this and would even go so far as to say that he was good at it, after all he was a field occultist. His real specialty was hiding. A monster can be scary and all, but if it can’t find you, you’ll have no trouble from it. They continued with their lesson, Peter half listening. He started ruffling though his pockets for anything he could find, though apart from shotgun shells, his wallet and a torch he had nothing. If only he had a hammer, then maybe those shells could be put to good use.

I’ve been thinking of a way to get out of here. You have? Yeah, ‘course. The problem is, it’ll require you to do some spells, and perhaps sacrifice something to Dagon. Are you talking about the same Dagon who is god of the deep ones. ...yes. Nope. Sacrifices got me into this mess, I’m not going to make it any worse. Come on, it doesn’t have to be a human or a pony just a living thing. What if the other animals can also talk? Besides, do you see anything I could sacrifice in here? Well there are those two. Are you insane!? What? You asked.

He sighed loudly which attracted a few glances from the teacher and his student, but they largely ignored him. There is one other way. Oh yeah, and what’s that? It’ll involve me taking over your hands for a few seconds, unless you want to say the spell. Oh god, that doesn’t sound good. It’ll blow the cell door open. Peter thought about it for a second. Fine, I’ll say the spell. Alrighty then. Here’s the spell... His brain burned once more, though this time he merely flinched a few times. ...and here’s the hand movements. His flinching caught the attention of Slate who was giving a small lecture on dealing with the stress of hiding.
‘Is there something wrong?’
‘Huh, wha?’
‘You flinched at my advice. Do you think you have something better to say?’ Slate said in an annoyed fashion.
‘Um, what was it about?’
‘Dealing with stress. Any tips other than mine to think happy thoughts?’ He scoffed at him. That was a hard one.
‘Weeeell, I suppose there is one.’
‘And what’s that?’
‘Pray like hell.’ Slate’s face went blank.
‘Praying...’
‘Yep. Keeps your mind off of it and thinking god’s on your side tends to make you that little bit braver.’

Drinking helps as well.

As Slate continued with his lesson, Peter got ready to blast through the doors. Now remember, it’s pronounced Shayk-mar, not Shaykamar. I know, I know. He stood up and got into position. He started to wave his hands about, which the two ponys found fairly amusing.
‘What ever are you doing?’ Asked Luna, intrigued by his strange behaviour.
‘Maybe he’s lost it. Maybe he’s not cut out for prison life,’ mused Slate. He moved his hands about a few more times then initiated the spell.
‘Ia Dagon, Ia Hydra, stryuoi huyrem trwe.’ It was the second, less well known language of the Earth gods, that which is unspeakable, and the two ponies could barely take it.
‘What is that horrible noise!?’ Shouted Slate trying to drown out the noise in any way possible. Luna didn’t respond. Peter was finding it hard to listen to as well, though he was more used to it.
‘Ystrw optry shaykamar!’ The door to every cell blown off its hinges and the torches went off.

I said it was pronounced shayk-mar! There goes the stealth part of our plan. Sorry, I wasn’t concentrating. Franko mentally face palmed. The dungeon was now pitch black so Peter pulled out the torch and switched it on. Luna seemed to have been knocked out by one of the flying doors while Slate just blinked at the light.
‘How did you do that?’ Slate asked, covering his face with his forelegs, astonished.
‘Elder magic, now are you coming?’ As he got out of the cell he noticed Luna and rushed to her side.
‘Luna, wake up!’ He shook her, but Peter stopped him.
‘Look, I don’t know what exactly you have going on with her, but if you wake her up we’re both going back into those cells.’ The sound of hoofbeats could be heard from up the stairs.
‘But she’s hurt.’
‘Fine, do what you want, but I’m getting out of here.’ Slate looked back and forth between them, then decided to leave with Peter.

They headed further into the dungeons, the stone seeming to be more aged as they advanced more. Eventually it resembled something of the dungeons of old castles that Peter could remember from his visit to Austria; the stone worn and the ceiling crumbling. Still there was no one or nopony in any of the cells, though he doubted anyone would be down here. After what seemed like an eternity, they reached a dead end, the only visible way out a manhole. Pulling it out of place he got ready to jump, though Slate seemed reluctant.
‘Are you coming?’ Asked the occultist as he flexed his legs. Slate nodded quickly and jumped in ahead of Peter. He followed, landing in a torrent of water flowing in a direction he couldn’t see. The torch was hit out of his hands buy what he could only assume was a rock, though after being drenched in this water it probably wouldn’t have worked anyway. He struggled to stay above the water as he was washed down stream. He could see a faint light at the end of the tunnel and eventually he reached it, being catapulted out of the pipe by the force of the water. He landed in a puddle next to Slate who was coughing out water.

‘Well that was something...’ The stallion commented. Sweet Azathoth, that was a close one. Did you think I would drown? No not that, look right. He turned his head and saw that it was indeed a close one. He was lying 3 inches from the edge of a cliff. He peered over the brink. My god, that must be at least 2000 feet. the occultist crawled away from the edge and got up, picking up Slate as he did so.
‘You a’right?’ He asked as the wet pony got up.
‘Yeah, I’m fine.’ He looked around. ‘Where are we anyway?’
‘Well from the looks of things we’re on the side of a mountain,’ he looked up at the castle, ‘and not far away enough from that. Do you know a way down?’
‘Of course I do, I broke into the castle didn’t I?’

(Just finished watching War Horse, and damn that's a good film. Now all someone needs to do is replace Joey with Big Mac and we've got our very own MLP war fic! Also the plan is to release chapter every saturday/sunday from now on, starting from one coming.)

Wood Wayfarer

Chapter 3: Wood Wayfarer

Peter was very tired. He tried remembering whose idea it was to have a midnight investigation, then remembered it was him and stopped thinking about the subject.

‘Just round here...’ Peter followed Slate round the cliff, using jutting pieces of rock as a series of steps round the side that descended in a rather convenient fashion.

‘Back in the day we hired a powerful unicorn to make these steps up. The guards, being the lazy bums they are still haven’t realised that this exists so we should have some time.’ Whoever that unicorn was, they did a good job. Even walking on it, it’s hard to confirm it isn’t natural. Looking down, he could guessed that they were going to end up in a forest, one that seemed nice enough, its trees swaying gently in the midnight breeze.

‘Hey Slate, where exactly are we going?’ He motioned to the forest below, which confirmed his guess.
‘That’s Whitetail Wood. It’s fairly large, so it should provide us with cover from the pegasi until we can reach Ponyville.’

And would you look at that, as soon as he mentions it here they come. A few small black specs were hovering about in the distance scanning their surroundings for the escaped prisoners. They flew off towards a town far off, on the horizon which, he thought, was about 50 kilometers away though his perception of distance was very hazy at this point, and he wasn’t entirely sure.
‘Is that Ponyville over there?’ Motioned Peter to the town.
‘No, Ponyville can only be seen from the castle, it’s beyond the horizon. That, there is Whitetail Town.’ He kicked all his thoughts back into their dark recesses and continued about the task of getting off the bloody mountain. Eventually after an hour and a bit of going down the huge staircase, they got to the bottom, panting very loudly. Well, they didn’t see us. We should be in the-

‘Stop right there criminal scum!’ Motherfu- RUN! Both of the ecapees ran at full speed, desperate not to get locked up again. The cover of the treeline was actually still tens of metres away, so the pegasi had a good chance of getting them before then. It all happened in a few seconds, though to Peter it felt like a good minute.

Ahead of him, a pegasi guard was catching up with Slate, until the thief bucked him straight in the face, sending him flying into another guard. Peter turned his head ever so slightly and could see he was in a similar situation. The pegasi, whom he recognised as the one that had smacked him across the head, had an evil grin on his face and reached his hooves out so as to inflict maximum damage upon impact. Peter ducked , and he went straight over him, slamming into the ground. The occultist got back up and ran forward, giving the guard a kick in the face as he went past him to make sure he didn’t get back up. Now didn’t that feel good? He smiled.

Once in the trees they didn’t stop running until they were sure there weren’t any hoof beats behind. The two sat down, fatigued by the entire ordeal.
‘Well that was something,’ said Slate.
‘Wooh, yeah, I haven’t been in a chase like that since... well a few hours ago.’ He just eyed Peter, most likely wondering what had happened but not caring enough to ask. Getting back up, Slate went over to a patch of grass and started grazing. Not necessarily the best of foods for a pony, but edible.
‘Have some of the grass, it’ll keep your strength up.’
‘Yeeaaaah, ya see, I don’t eat grass.’
‘Well I suppose we could find a daisy round here...’
‘I don’t eat flowers either.’ The grey stallion scrutinized him.
‘But back at the castle you said you’d had a daisy sandwich.’
‘I don’t know what humour is like here, but that was a joke.’
‘Okay then, what do you eat?’ As if on cue, a doe appeared limping out of the brush next to him, its leg bruised from a fall.
‘I eat that.’

She had been having a bad day. First she had found scarcely any berries, then she had been chased by a juvenile Hydra, then she had fallen over. Now she was injured and would most likely die. Sniffing about for any signs of predators, she emerged satisfied. If shelter could be found for the night she might just live.

Pricking her ears up she heard a noise, no, voices. Ponies! They would help her. They were always nice to the wildlife, and all the better if it were that yellow one she had met a long time ago back when she was a fawn in the Everfree Forest. She had been taken here by that kind mare because it was much safer, though the occasional manticore and hydra would wander away from its original forest and into the Whitetail Wood. She could see the grey pony now in a small clearing and she rushed towards him, but in her haste she failed to notice the tall figure to her left...

THUD

Peter brought the rock down on the deers skull.

THUD

Just like back home. To the majority of humans it would not be a particularly noteworthy event; he killed a deer because he needed to eat, so what? But to the pony (And various vegans and vegetarians, but let’s not get into that) witnessing him kill the poor, innocent deer who obviously needed help, it was murder.

‘Dammit, if only I had a knife...’ he mumbled to himself, pulling the rock out of the doe’s head, blood spurting out in angles. I haven’t had venison for over 400 years. Yeah, feels that way doesn’t it? ‘Hey Slate you got a knife or something sharp I could use?’
‘How... could you?’
‘There are a lot of people who’ve been saying that to me today. Oh here’s one. I forgot I had this you know.’
The stallion was becoming more angry, the fact that the hyooman didn’t show any remorse fueling it.
‘That was a living being, and you killed it just so you could eat it!’
‘Um... Yeah, of course..’
‘But you killed it!’
‘I know, that’s what you tend to do to your food.’ Slate couldn’t believe this. How could he not see the magnitude of what he had just done?

‘But you could have had anything else! Granted, you can’t eat grass and flowers, but maybe some berries or something?’
‘There are berries here? Well that changes everything!’’
‘Finally...’ He hoped that he had seen the error of his ways.
‘Now I know that I’ll have to get the berries first, THEN cook the doe. A fruit salad should make for a great side dish don’t you think?’
‘Wha- No, no! Why do you insist on killing animals to eat when you can eat something else?’
‘Well I’m not exactly going to survive on a diet of just berries don’t you think?’
‘We could go to a town and get salad and stuff like that.’ Peter stroked his chin.

‘No, I’m not buying it. I need the meat to live anyway. How else am i going to get my protein?’
‘Can you eat beans?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well then that’s where you’ll get it from!’ Peter laughed at his obvious frustration.
‘Look, it’s not that simple. Sure I could eat veggies, but first of all, we’re escaped convicts. No doubt everyone in the land is going to be looking for us, so going to town is out of the question, second of all see these?’ He lifted his lips to show him his canines. ‘These babies show that I was made to eat meat. Why would I shunt that gift? Lastly, gathering vegetables and the like takes too long. You can eat the grass off the floor, but I have to actively go look for edible greens then cook them. It’s much simpler just to kill one animal and eat it rather than collect ten different potatoes from ten different places.’
‘That may be, but you still... murdered that doe!’ Peter rolled his eyes.

‘Look man, that’s nature, deal with it. ‘Asides, you don’t murder food, that’s not how it works.’
‘But it isn’t food! It was a majestic animal that was probably very happy until you killed it.’ He sighed. This pony wasn’t going to give up.
‘You have predators here, correct?’
‘Well, yes...’
‘And they eat meat correct?’
‘...yeah...’
‘And do you chastise them for eating meat?’
‘Of course not, that’s the way... they... are...’ he could see the point he was getting at now.
‘Exactly. It’s no different for me.’
‘But you can think, and you have an alternative for meat.’
‘Okay, no more arguing, it’s giving me a headache. I am going to cook this meat and I am going to enjoy it, so please, either go or be quiet.’

Slate would have left, but there was something about the hyooman that was very... interesting however he couldn’t quite put his hoof on what it was.
‘Can we at least go? The guards will continue looking for us soon.’
‘Now you’re making sense. I’m not carrying this deer all the way, and I’d rather not get myself too dirty.’ Peter started skinning the animal, much to the absolute disgust of the now queasy Slate, taking a decent area of it then cutting out some of the meat. Using the skin as a bag, he placed the chunks onto it and wrapped it in a bundle. ‘Shall we?’

Celestia was furious. The murderer had escaped with the thief who was the only one that knew about the location of the crown jewels, and on top of that he had knocked out her sister, her sister. He was starting to seem even more dangerous than before. As he walked into the medical wing of the castle she addressed the chief of security.
‘Do you know how they got out?’ Her tone was very serious which scared the guard. She wasn’t usually like this. The last time he remembered her this angry was when Discord got out, and before that when Nightmare Moon returned. This prisoner must have been really something to warrant such a reaction.

‘When we came down to the cells all the doors had been blown open, and it was pitch black. We suspect some form of magic was used. The one thing we do know is that they used the drainage system at the end of the dungeon to get out.’
‘Have the Pegasus teams started searching?’
‘They scour the area as we speak ma’am.’
‘Good. I don’t want the public finding out about the creature, though I fear it won’t be as caring.’

She walked down the large hall and came to the end of it, two steel doors blocking her entrance to the room beyond. This was the Princess Ward, and was the biggest of all the rooms. It had been designed so that any would-be attackers would have a hard time getting in with unicorn guards posted on the other side, magical wards placed to stop fast flying objects from piercing the doors and harming those beyond, and a collapsible ceiling to buy time for those inside. The only entrance was the one she was entering from, at least, the one that everyone knew about.

In truth there was another door, but it was secret, so secret that even Luna didn’t know it was there. She had only found it accidentally, over 1000 years ago when the castle was first built. It had seemed that the designer had a fondness for smuggling and had built secret passage ways throughout, but she had caught on and sealed them all up except for this one.

Inside there was a wall placed directly in front with a small opening for guards to see through so that you would have to go round rather than go straight. As soon as Celestia saw her sister she bolted to her side and sat down. Luna was lying on the bed, her head wrapped in a bandage.

‘Luna are you alright?’ She lifted head rather without any trouble.
‘Of course I’m alright. It’s going to take more than a bump to the head to keep me down,’ she replied smiling.
‘I know you’re still recovering...’
‘I feel fine.’
‘...from the ordeal, but I have a few questions.’ The blue maned princess leaned back in her bed.
‘Sure. Ask away.’
‘How did he get out?’ She furrowed her brow, trying hard to think about this one.
‘I think he did magic, but it wasn’t like any magic I’ve heard before.’
‘Heard?’
‘He had to say spells to get it to work. The words were very twisted in a sense, and I and Slate-’
‘You mean the prisoner.’
‘No he’s called Slate. He has a name you know.’ She crossed her arms and looked quite dejected.

‘Honestly Luna, I don’t know why you continue to associate yourself with him,’ Celestia said, shaking her head.
‘He’s nice to me, and unlike other ponies he sees past this,’ she gestured to her tiara.
‘He’s just manipulating you to his own ends.’
‘No! He’s my friend! He would never do such a thing, and-’

An earth pony clad in the golden armour of the royal guard came running in.
‘Urgent news your highness!’ Celestia stood back up.
‘Has he been caught?’
‘No ma’am, but a patrol found them heading into Whitetail Forest.’
‘Where is the patrol now?’
‘In the room next door.’ She raised her eyebrow.
‘They had trouble?’
‘I’m afraid so.’ Celestia sighed and turned to Luna.
‘We’ll continue this conversation later.’

The monarch teleported out of the room and appeared in the room with the guards, one of them falling off the bed in surprise.
‘Princess Celestia! What a surprise!’ Said one of the attendants.
‘Are these the guards who last had contact with them?’
‘Yes princess.’ She looked at the three of them. One of them simply had a bruised foreleg and was for the most part fine. Another one had the imprint of a hoof in his chest, while the last one was lying in bed, fresh blood streaming down his face and his nose at an angle. He turned his head and smiled, a few of his teeth missing.
‘What happened to him?’
‘Steelback? Oh he was the one who went for the creature. As you can see, it didn’t end very well.’ She nodded and brought the tip of her horn down to his nose. He was confused at first, partly because of the concussion brought about from being kicked in the head and party because the highest power in the land had pointed her horn at him. It shone brightly for a few seconds, and when everyone looked back at the guard his face was fine and he had a fresh set of teeth. Before he had a chance to thank her she teleported out, back to her quarters.

There’s a nice cave over there that we could rest in. There could be bears in it. How do you know there are bears in this dimension? I’m assuming that the existence of deers means the existence of bears. There was a long howling in the distance. And they have wolves as well. Do you see anything better to hide in?

‘Hey Slate, I think we should take shelter in that cave over there.’
‘Hm... I was thinking that too.’ They approached it slowly, their footsteps echoing throughout. When nothing crawled out of it, they came inside and made themselves comfortable. Slate found himself a nice rock to sit on while Peter chose a small crevice that fit his body well enough, acting like a chair. He opened up the bindle and placed the meat on a large rock, ready to be cooked.
‘Right, I’m going to go get some tinder to roast these, I’ll be back in a few minutes.’ The grey stallion simply nodded and resumed staring into the distance. Peter left and started gathering tinder and sticks for the fire.

While sifting through the undergrowth he looked up to see a row of armour clad ponies marching along a path he hadn’t realised was there. Ducking low, he continued to survey them. The platoon was really packing, with all manner of swords and knives, as well as arrows, though he couldn’t see any bows they could fire them with. The grey armour itself was menacing enough, lacking any kind of decorations unlike the palace guards, and chain mail hanging off them completely covering every inch of their body.

This is bad. Tell me about it, how am I supposed to fight those? They’re practically made of metal!

At the back there was a large stallion, one that looked much bigger than the rest, even bigger than him. The horn jutting out of his helmet obviously meant he was a unicorn, and he could see it flashing dimly, every pulse sending shivers down his spine. He wasn’t wearing the chainmail like the rest of them, instead opting for much lighter leather and a bit of plating. His face was half covered by a metal mask of sorts.

Obviously the spellcaster of the group.

Peter waited for them to leave, his breath shallow in fear.

If only I still had my old pistol... Yeah, hehe, if only...

Once they had left he dropped everything and returned to the cave. He wasn’t going to be making any fires tonight for fear of being discovered.

‘Hey, where’s the tinder?’ Asked Slate as he walked in.
‘There’s been a complication.’
‘Complication?’
‘They have men in the woods.’ Slate stood up.
‘Are they dressed in grey armour?’ He said quickly, moving to the entrance to get a look.
‘Yeah. And they have chain mail that goes down to their-’
‘Hooves.’
‘Yeah, how did you know?’ The grey earth pony seemed quite absent minded and paced back and forth.
‘This isn’t good. They’ve sent the army after us.’ Peter felt relief wash over himself.
‘Is that it? The army? Oh that isn’t so bad. I expected some specially trained unit or something...’ Slate looked at him with wide eyed amazement.
‘Don’t you understand just how bad the situation is? Equestria is not even supposed to have an army. We haven’t fought a battle in over 900 years!’ 900 years? A bunch of pacifists then?
‘Wait so, what you’re telling me is that they are the specially trained unit?’ He nodded, twitching at every single noise. ‘Well then that is bad.’ They were both silent, Slate listening for the soldiers and Peter thinking about what to do next.
‘I suggest we get a move on,’ said the thief, ‘if Tyral is with them it’s only a matter of time before we get caught.’
‘Tyral?’
‘He’s their unicorn Captain, and the stallion that gave me this scar.’ Peter nodded, remembering the dark figure from before.
‘One more question.’
‘Yes?’
‘Just how long were you in that prison?’ He sighed as he walked out of the cave.
‘Just a little over two years.’

The sun rose high over the hilltops, illuminating the landscape. The sun rise only made Equestria even more beautiful, and he found himself gazing into the distance despite his lack of sleep and longing to be able to close his eyes.
‘We can stop here,’ Slate declared, dropping to the ground. ‘I think we’ve all deserved a rest...’ He nodded off, not making a sound. A nice change from your snoring. He thought he could catch a glimpse of a few clouds behind the far off hills in the otherwise perfectly clear sky, but his drowsy vision blurred. Peter lay down, resting his head on an especially comfortable patch of grass and was soon fast asleep, loud snoring scaring a few of the animals away.

What the- Where am I? Peter looked around, trying to get a bearing, but there was nothing to show his location, only the desert, stretching all around him. Oh this a dream, isn’t it.
‘That depends.’ He froze. That was the voice of Franko. The voice of Franko. Turning round he saw a man wearing wide black slacks and a white shirt with a decorative vest over it and a small hat. His face was fairly young, with black hair and eyes as well as a trimmed moustache.
‘Franko?’ The man nodded.
‘Hey Peter.’ They stood staring at each other, taking in the new experience. ‘So, uh, am I in my mind or something?’
‘Sort of. This is a dream, though not in the same way you think of them.’
‘Huh? What do you mean?’ Franko leaned on a walking stick he didn’t remember him holding prior.
‘Well, what is a dream?’
‘It’s your mind wandering in its sleep or something like that.’
‘That is right, but wandering in what?’
‘In your itself of course.’
‘Wrong.’

Peter frowned. Where else could it be wandering?

‘You see, when you sleep your, soul I think you might call it, is free from its physical bounds and goes off into the metaphysical world.’
‘Sooo, what you’re saying is none of this is real?’ Franko shook his head.
‘No, far from it. Right now you’re safe. This is your realm, a kind of... sphere of influence if you like.’
‘Is that why if I think about something in a dream it happens?’
‘Very good, you’re catching on I see. But you see those steps?’ Peter turned round and saw stairs that hadn’t been there before, descending straight into the earth, completely unlit. ‘If you go down those steps you’ll come out into the world beyond. There is a world fantastical by our standards but just as dangerous if not more.’ Peter stared down it, not blinking at all.

‘Have you ever been down there?’
‘Unfortunately no. I’ve read about it though. I would go myself but I am stuck with you.’
‘Does that mean that if I descend, you descend as well?’ He gestured openly.
‘I am bound to you, am I not?’ Peter walked towards it and looked into it. He took one step down and immediately felt something, he wasn’t sure what, but something neither painful nor pleasurable. He withdrew.
‘I can’t go yet. There are things that still need to be done.’
‘That is true.’ Peter moved away from the stairs and they disappeared as quickly as they had come.

‘So how do I wake up?’ Franko looked about the desert.
‘You have to wait for that to happen.’
‘Right.’ They sat in awkward silence. Finally Franko broke it.
‘Hey you remember Celestia said how the only ways to do magic are through natural talent and sacrifice?’
‘Yeah?’
‘You know the spell you did?’ Peter clenched his fist.
‘Yeah?’ He said more deliberately this time.
‘Well I looked into it, and it turns out you sacrificed something after all.’ Stay calm Peter, stay calm. ‘You sacrificed a day of your life.’
‘I WHAT!?’ He flinched a little.
‘You gave away a day of your life in exchange for getting out.’ Peter paused. Now that he thought more about it that didn’t seem too bad. If he hadn’t done it he would have lost that day all the same, cooped up in that cell.
‘Could you at least warn me next time?’ The sudden mood swing confused Franko quite a bit.
‘Uh... sure, yeah.’

‘Hey monster, wake up,’ said Slate poking him.
‘Five more minutes Dad...’ groaned Peter.
‘We don’t have five minutes. I have no doubts that they have our tracks, hell they’re probably right behind us, now come on, we’ve got a lot of walking to do.’ Peter shot up when he remembered where he was.
‘Yes, right. Let’s do this.’ They started walking down the path back, out of the clearing and back into the forest. They walked for sometime, barely stopping except for water now and again from a stream or two that they came across. Neither made a noise, taking in the ambiance of the forest; birds chirping, brooks running, the soft sound of hoofbeats in the distance... Wait, hoofbeats?

‘Hide!’ he called, diving into a nearby bush. Slate was behind a tree and watching the direction of the noise. After waiting a minute or two, three ponies came into view, not a single one wearing the chainmail of the army. Slate walked out to meet them but Peter knew to stay behind. They greeted him like a friend, though he doubted they knew him, and the group started conversing. From what he could gather they were talking about how the pegasi had made the day clear by order of the princess despite there having been rain scheduled for today and directions to Ponyville. After some waiting, Slate waved to them and returned to Peter.
‘Well, good news.’ Peter got out of his hiding place. ‘Looks like all that walking paid off. We’re only a days ride away from Ponyville.’
‘Oh that’s good. Is there a particular reason you want us to go to Ponyville?’
‘Well, there’s someone there I know. She’ll help me, and maybe you if you ask nicely enough,’ he grinned.
‘Yeah right, a “monster” like me? How do I know she won’t just run?’
‘Oh she’s more of the understanding type if you catch my meaning.’ He turned and resumed walking, Peter following his lead.

After a couple hours of walking and idle talk they stopped to rest. Peter’s stomach rumbled loudly. Slate looked at him questioningly.
‘Oh right, uh I must be hungrier than I thought.’ In his haste he had left the meat back at the cave.
‘Well it’s your lucky day. There’s a berry bush right there.’
‘So there is...’ He scampered over to it and pulled a few off it, stuffing them in his mouth. ‘Not bad, not bad.’
‘See, now wasn’t that better than meat?’ Peter laughed.
‘Don’t push your luck.’ He finished them off then sat down to rest his legs. He had blisters all over his feet, though he tried not to think about them. They continued after a few minutes at a slower pace than before.

‘So where do you come from originally Slate?’
‘Coltorado. It’s very far away from here, in fact it would probably take me the better part of a month to get there. What about you?’
‘Me? I already told you, Arkham City in Massachusetts.’
‘Massachusetts is the country?’
‘No, it’s an area. The United States of America is the country.’
‘But it’s not where you’re actually from is it?’ Peter smiled.
‘How did you know?’
‘Most people very far away from home talk about it like a precious thing they’ve lost. You mentioned this Arkham like it was somewhere you had just past through.’

Very receptive.

‘Well I actually come from England, though I moved there when I was 23. I needed the work.’ He nudged him.
‘I know what that’s like. It’s the same reason I came here, even if that reason was a little less... legitimate. So how far away are these places?’
‘I’m not actually sure... though I do know it’s probably further away then I can get to.’ After that they didn’t make a sound, thinking of home and all its wonders.

She had hated to do it, but the creature was dangerous, and it would take more than just a few guards to take him down. The army was usually her last resort, but this was different. Although she couldn’t get in, she had felt the power emanating from his brain as she tried to break it. If he wasn’t stopped there was no telling what could happen. She readied her ink and quill and started writing next to an open window.

To my faithful student,

You will probably still be on the flight back before you receive this, so don’t worry, I do not expect you to reply. The creature that we witnessed teleport into the throne room has escaped taking another prisoner with him. Recent evidence has come to light suggesting that they are heading in the direction of Ponyville, so if you see anything, send me a scroll straight away. I will be there as soon as possible, oh and please be careful. He injured Princess Luna and a guard in his escape so he is as you can imagine quite dangerous.

Yours sincerely,

Princess Celestia

With a puff of green smoke, it was gone, dissipating into the wind. She just hoped that Tyral would be more gentle than he usually was. She and Luna had wanted to study the creature more closely, and she doubted her sister would ever forgive her if anything happened to Slate. She worried about that unicorn sometimes, he was very secretive and the soldiers had become more cryptic. The army now seemed more like a esoteric order rather than an instrument of the state. She dismissed the thought and left for the dining hall. It was better she got some rest rather than think about matters of the state 24/7.

A Serious Sacrifice

Chapter 4: A Serious Sacrifice

‘Is that Ponyville there?’ Peter pointed.
‘Yeah, that’s Ponyville.’
‘Huh. Seems like a nice place.’
‘Oh it is, though for some reason many of the disturbances in the last few years seem to have been centered around this town.’
‘I thought you were in the cell for two and a half years?’ He shrugged.
‘Princess Luna was kind enough to tell me about it.’ They walked along the treeline, staying away from main roads. He noticed that it would be pretty hard to approach the town without being seen since it was built on grassy plains.

‘How are we going to get inside to see your friend? I suppose if we go at night I might not be spotted but still...’
‘We’re not going into town.’ Peter looked back at the ornately designed houses and country ponies.
‘We’re not?’
‘No, my friend lives outside Ponyville.’ That will be helpful, no visitors, no problems. They continued on round the (currently) quiet town towards the friend. As they went round he could see that there was a long line along the west side of Ponyville, and all the ponies seemed to be either sick or injured.

‘Did something happen here?’ Slate glanced right.
‘Oh no, they’re here for the treatment. There’s this organisation here that heals any ailment, from a cold to a missing limb.’

That sounds impressive. And dangerous. I agree.

The sun moved across the sky quite visibly and he started staring at it, though stopped when his eyes started burning. They moved very slowly, stopping whenever anypony looked their way, then resuming when they thought no-one was watching.

After some time, how long he wasn’t sure, though long enough for the sun to start setting, they reached a small path that led up to a cottage he could see on a hill. There was enough shrubbery to mask them well enough though the town could still be seen. It was serene, animals roaming freely all about unafraid of the two visitors despite his size. He heard soft singing from behind the cottage and he noticed a few of the animals eyes’ drooping. Slate stopped Peter.

‘Okay listen, she’s easily scared so I think you should hang back for a bit until I introduce her to you. Just no sudden movements, okay?’ He nodded and sat down on a rock looking around at the scenery. There was a stream next to him that a few of the animals drank from, and he remembered just how thirsty he was. Taking a scoop of water he poured it into his mouth and let out a deep, satisfied sigh. This place was very relaxing, in fact he could see himself living here had they all been humans.

That reminds me, I should probably move to Sweden. Sweden? Why Sweden? Because nothing bad ever happens there. I don’t remember the last time any swedes got involved in anything, not the antarctic expeditions, nor the cults, hell I’d go so far as to say it’s the safest country on earth. I see your point.

He could hear shouts of joy around the corner followed by what was probably hugging. Someone sounds happy. Slate came first.

‘Now there’s someone I’d like you to meet. He’s not exactly... your average animal, so promise you won’t scream.’
‘I promise,’ a soft feminine voice replied. He walked towards him, obstructing his view of the other pony. When he was close enough to Peter he stepped aside to allow them to see each other. The mare was a yellow pegasus with a pink mane hanging over her blue eyes and a mark on her flank of three butterfly’s. She stared wide eyed at him but, true to her word, did not scream. She did however let out a little ‘eep’.

‘Hi there.’ He nodded, thinking it best not to outstretch his hand. He was afraid she would run.
‘H-h-h-el...’ She trailed off and mumbled something he couldn’t quite understand.
‘It’s nice to meet you too miss...’
‘Her name is Fluttershy,’ intervened Slate when it looked like she wasn’t going to answer.
‘Fluttershy, that’s a nice name,’ he offered, unsure of whether that was how you were supposed to talk to a scared pony. ‘My name is Peter.’
‘It’s... nice to meet you Peter...’ She stared directly into his eyes which he found a little disconcerting.
‘Fluttershy, we need a place to stay, him and I.’
‘O-of course Uncle Slate, but where could... Peter sleep? I don’t have a bed big enough for him.’
‘That’s perfectly alright, I’m content as long as I’m indoors. The floor will do.’
‘Oh, okay, if you don’t mind...’ Peter smiled.
‘Well, that’s a load of my mind, eh Slate?’ Slate wasn’t paying attention, he was staring in the direction of the town. He took a look and saw the military column from earlier entering the town.
‘We need to get inside, now.’

Rainbow Dash stroked Tank's shell affectionately as she trotted to Fluttershy’s house. He was feeling a little sick and she didn’t know what was wrong. Fluttershy would definitely know what to do.

‘Don’t worry Tank, she’ll help you. You’ll be better in no time at all.’ As she got closer she could barely keep herself and dashed for the front door. As she was getting ready to knock she thought she heard speaking. It sounded like a male. She smiled coyly and peeked in through the glass. She noticed a grey stallion standing near her, and he didn’t seem to bad. He had a scar across his face, no doubt from some heroic deed, fighting monsters and the like. Oh Fluttershy you sly devil, you, not visiting town for days, now she could see why.

Then she saw Peter. His size in comparison to the rest of the them was huge and he looked just about ready to eat them all. Thinking back to Twilight’s words, she remembered her mentioning a monster travelling with an escaped convict and she realised what was going on. Fluttershy had obviously been held hostage here for the past few days by those criminals, but now that she had found out there was going to be hell to pay.
‘Don’t worry Fluttershy, I’ll get help,' She mumbled to herself as she flew back to town.

‘What was that?’ Peter perked his head up.
‘What was what?’ Asked Fluttershy who had warmed up to him. He looked like monster, but really he was nice on the inside.
‘I thought I heard a whooshing sound.’
‘Probably the wind,’ commented Slate who was chewing on a sandwich Fluttershy had given to him. He shrugged.
‘Yeah, you’re probably right.’

They were close, he could feel it in his horn. The only problem now was finding where they were hiding. Tyral barked orders to his lackeys and they followed them to the letter. He had trained them well, better than any other force in the land. The princess had seen fit to only grant him 70 soldiers, and at the time he had been very unhappy, though now he couldn’t ask for any better. Slowly he had weeded out all the weaklings until only the very strong were left; 20 individuals, a mixture of mares and stallions advanced through the town, their armour clinking with every step.

Ponies all over ran inside as soon as they saw them, though others simply stayed where they were. Looking up he saw a cyan pegasus fly overhead towards what seemed to be a tree not too far from him, and she looked like she was in an unsual hurry. The soldiers had seen it too and were heading straight for her destination. He smiled. That was why they were the best of the best.

Mildia led the way, her velvety-blue mane flowing out of her helmet. She had been one of the weak ones when she had come to him and he had snapped her just like everyone else, however instead of the nervous breakdown he had expected she became strong. Stronger than everyone else. She didn’t show her emotions at all and was completely heartless, making no distinction between foal and fully grown pony, and for that reason he had promoted her to lieutenant. Now she was his right hand mare, doing what ever he told her to, be it kill, steal, cheat or fraud.

They formed a circle round the tree that seemed to be a library and approached it stealthily. Bringing himself right up to the door, he listened.
‘...I’m telling you she’s being held hostage!’
‘Oh come on, you said you saw a stallion in her house, and I’ll admit that to be surprising, but so what?’
‘No not just a stallion, a monster! It was like a, uh... I don’t know what it was, but it was something big. Get the others, we have to help Fluttershy!’
‘I suppose there’s no harm in checking...’ That beast was with their friend, and they would lead him right to them. Signalling with his hoof, they all withdrew back into the town’s alleyways and side streets.

‘So where are you going to go from here?’ Asked Peter, sitting on the floor.
‘Probably to Stalliongrad, then from there I’ll try and get back to Coltorado. What about you?’
‘Me? I would like to get home as soon as possible. Are you sure your friend can help me?’ Fluttershy nodded very enthusiastically.
‘Oh yes, she’s very nice and understanding, there’s no way she would think you were a monster.’ Peter went back to rubbing his feet.

‘That walking did a number on me you know, can barely get up now.’ Slate chuckled.
‘Yeah me too.’
‘I could get you a few soothing lotions if you like, offered Fluttershy from near her cupboard.
‘You could? That would be great, thanks.’

Do you really think we’re going to be safe here? We should be going home soon, so yeah, we’ll be fine for now.

‘Could someone please remind me wah we’re here again?’ Applejack sauntered along the footpath, her four other friends with her.
‘I told you, there’s this stallion at her cottage!’ Rarity and Applejack blushed.
‘Now Rainbow Dash, I don’t think we should impede on her... personal life like this. When she’s ready she’ll introduce us to him.’ Rainbow Dash shook her head.

‘No, he’s a criminal, and he’s got a monster with him. They’re holding her hostage!’ Pinkie Pie popped out of a bush.
‘Monster!? Where? Ooh, my hooves are shaking, I think we’re being followed. They glanced round nervously. The plains were clear and there didn’t seem to be anything in sight.
‘Shoot, there’s nothin’ there.’
‘No I’m telling you, I can feel it in my hooves!’ They just shrugged and kept walking down the path towards Fluttershy’s cottage.
‘Whatever it is, we’ll soon find out,’ said Twilight, hoping that would be the end of it.

Fluttershy had given Peter a grass sandwich, and upon turning her head he had tossed the grass on Slate’s plate who shrugged and ate it. The bread was something, but he needed more, he needed meat. You do know that vegetables are a suitable substitute for- Do I care? Right, sorry. Hang on a minute is that *sniff meat I smell? He looked about the room and saw Fluttershy stacking a few cooked steaks on a table in the other room.

‘Hey Fluttershy?’
‘Yes?’
‘What are those steaks for?’
‘Oh, you must be horrified by these, don’t worry I don’t eat meat. They’re for the wolves that sometimes pass by here.’
‘I see.’ Slate looked between them.
‘Fluttershy, I think I heard a wolf outside, would you mind if Peter went outside to feed them?’
‘I didn’t hear any-’
‘I’’m pretty sure there was one.’ She picked one steak up with her mouth and dropped it in his eagerly waiting hands.
‘Just be careful they don’t bite you. I wouldn’t want to have you getting hurt.’
‘I think I’ll be fine.’

As he left through the front door he mouthed a thank you to Slate. Once outside he started ripping it to pieces and shovelling it down his mouth.

‘Damn that’s good!’ I would have preferred the venison, but this is fine.

Half way through his umpteenth bite he noticed that there were five ponies in front of him, tears forming on their cheeks.
‘Um...’
‘Murderer!’ The blue one hurled herself at him sending them rolling into the stream. As he struggled to keep her from repeatedly bashing his face with her hooves, he noticed grey figures coming up the path. Armoured figures. Looking up to the cottage then back at the troops he stared into the pegasus’s eyes, causing her to hesitate for a second.
‘Sorry about this.’ He reared his head and brought it down on hers, knocking her off him. When she looked up he was gone, a hole in the brush where he had forced his way through.

‘I think I’ll go see if Peter’s alright.’ Fluttershy nodded and resumed feeding a few injured birds. Slate went to the door, and as he opened it two mares jumped on him, one of them growling.
‘Where’s Fluttershy!?’ Shouted the pink one. His expression was best described as ‘what the fuck is happening’. Fluttershy appeared, wondering what was happening.
‘What’s going on...’
‘Fluttershy, thank goodness yer alright, we thought they’d done somethin’ horrible to ya.’ Slate made a move to get up but Applejack hooved him in the shoulder. ‘Don’t move ya vermin.’

‘Um, Applejack I think there’s been a misunderstanding, you see he’s my uncle...’
‘What now?’
‘He’s my uncle...’ Applejack looked back at Slate and got off of him apologetically, brushing a bit of dust off him.
‘Sorry about that, heh, Rainbow Dash said there was an escaped convict in here.’
‘How did she know I’m an escaped convict?’ Applejack furrowed her eyebrows. So Fluttershy had a criminal as an uncle?
‘Fluttershy, darlin’, what is he doin’ here?’ He got up, holding his shoulder and went to sit down on a chair.
‘Oh well he’s here for help. He is after all being chased by-’ A large armoured stallion charged through the door, sending Applejack and Pinkie Pie sprawling. Slate jumped up and made a break for the back door, but he was cut off, another grey stallion appearing at the doorway. He turned left and through himself against the window falling out onto the grass and got back up running for the safety of the tree line. Just as he made it, a red glow appeared around him and he was levitated into the air.

‘Slate, it’s good to see you again.’ Slate sighed heavily.
‘The feeling isn’t mutual Tyral.’ He was turned towards the oncoming captain.
‘Now that isn’t a way to treat old friends is it?’
‘Friends? Is that what you call this? You’ve chased me all the way from-’ His mouth zipped shut.
‘Well of course we’re friends, why else would we be playing this game?’ Slate just glared at him. ‘What’s that? You don’t think this is a game? Of course it is, that’s all any of this is. The ponies play farmers, you play prisoner, I play soldiers and as for the princess, she has the most delusional role of all. She pretends to be in charge.’ He hovered the thief towards an open metal cage resting on a cart just outside the cottage. ‘Now I trust you’ll be good.’ He placed him inside and a waiting soldier shut it. He surveyed the trees. ‘Looks like there’s only one player left.’

Peter was still running, who knew how close behind they could be. Every time he stopped to rest he thought he could hear hoof beats behind him, though whenever he glanced backwards there was never anything there. Finally, after much debate with “I, myself and me” he stopped to breath for a bit. I think we’re clear. I think we were clear half an hour ago. He stopped to look about the forest and realised just how different it was to before. Instead of your average tree, these looked twisted and monstrous with vines wrapped around them. One of them had a face carved into it, and for a few seconds it looked like it was coming closer. He started walking, anxious to find somewhere covered to stay.

He could hear howling from behind him, and it sounded like it was coming closer, so he quickened his pace to a brisk walk. Soon a ruin came within his sights though the bridge to it had broken. He peered over the edge. That’s a pretty large drop. Goddamn, my feet hurt. Spurred on by the increasing intensity of the howls, he doubled his efforts to find a way across. Over there, a fallen log! He ran to it, his aching feet forgotten and clambered across all the while praying to anything that would accept them to let him live.

Once on the other side, a wolf lept out of the bushes and onto the trunk. What in Azathoth’s name is that? It was made of wood and had eyes that glowed green. Taking no time to sit and gaze he kicked the trunk repeatedly, the wolf trying to find a footing, until the tree tumbled over the side, root and all. The stick thing howled all the way until a splintering was heard from the bottom. Wiping his brow, he half limped towards the ruined structure.

Why are you going in there? It has a roof and it has walls. I see no other alternative. Fine, but be careful, I’m detecting a strong magical residue. You can do that? Of course I can’t, I was kidding. Just don’t get yourself killed is what I mean. Oh.

One of the two great doors was open, and he went inside. The hall was big, though not as big as the one he had been in back at Camelot or whatever it was called. The ceiling had caved in in some places though the overall structure was fine. There were six pedestals towards the back of the hall, and they looked like they had been recently touched. The decorations of ponies and so on he ignored, their faded pictures not catching his eye, instead it was lit torch that held his attention. It was in front of a fairly new wooden, red door, and it was being opened. He dived behind a pile of rubble, making himself as small as possible.

‘...otherwise I don’t think so Obed.’
‘Right. We’ll have to get some more. Take the worst injured ones and bring them here, they always like them best.’ He watched as two ponies, one black and one the exact same colour as Slate walked right past him towards the exit. The grey one wore brown robes, and as they left he pulled the hood over his head.

Time to do what I do best. Run and hide? Investigate. Because that always goes so well.

He got up, ignoring his statement and went through the door, closing it behind him. The walls were plastered and cracking, with dirty cobblestone underfoot. The torches were spread far enough so that there would be a small gap in the light, dark enough for something to hide in if seen from the wrong angle. As he kept going, he couldn’t help but feel as though he was being watched from all angles despite the apparent lack of inhabitants. The hallway went down into a room, possibly sub-terranean.

There wasn’t much in the way of furniture, and it wasn’t exactly a nice looking room, scratches and claw marks on the floor leading down another hallway to his right. To his left was a metal door with a grate to see through. It was pitch black in there, and he didn’t have his torch. Then he remembered the matches. Pulling them out, he realised they were wet from his escape from Canterlot and threw them to the floor. Then he picked it up and put it back in his pocket. Couldn’t leave any evidence of snooping.

He decided that going down the well lit place was probably a better way, so he went right, following the scratches. There were more twists and turns and he past a few cells and doors, though they were always locked. Had it not been for the lit torches, he would have assumed the place had been abandoned a long time ago. Eventually he reached a cross in the tunnels. He now had a choice to got left, right or carry on forward.

I say right, it’s better lit. Yeah, but there’s a trail of blood there. Well the left is pitch black, and straight ahead there’s a door. Unless you want to check if it isn’t locked, I say right.

He took the right and kept walking.

This way we’ll know where the exit is by following the lit paths. Oh I see, like Perseus did in the labyrinth. Perseus? Who’s that? Never mind.

The tunnel opened up into a cavern with an altar directly in the middle of the room. It was the only lit part, so he couldn’t see whether there was anything in there. He decided to wait and see what happened. Moving behind a stalagmite he watched with increasing boredom the void alter. Suddenly a pony in brown robes stepped forward into the light, giving him a jolt. Along with the pony there came two more dragging an old pony. He seemed to be unconscious as he wasn’t putting up any kind of resistance, verbal or otherwise.

They laid him on the altar and tied him down to it, in an eerily similar fashion to back in the factory. One of them stuck an object too small for him to see from the distance he was at under his nose and he awoke.

‘W... what’s going on...’ He said sleepily. ‘Where am I?’ The other pony stepped forward.
‘Mr. Shakes, do you remember what you had cured a few weeks ago?’ Her voice was sharp and to the point.
‘Yes, it was arthritis, but I don’t see what that has to do with-’
‘And you remember saying part of the spell do you not?’
‘Y-yes. I didn’t know what it meant, but they told me it was to ensure it worked. Why am I tied up? Please let me-’
‘Well it is time to pay the debt.’ He started tugging at the ropes but to no avail.
‘What debt? What do you mean?’
‘Come now, you remember saying the words, but somehow not the oath?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

A knife glowing purple appeared out of the shadows and hovered behind her back.
‘No matter, whether you know or not doesn’t matter.’ It started rising above her and unseen ponies started to chant in the unspeakable tongue, the language of the gods. He could barely make it out though he did catch the chorus.
‘Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wagh’nagl fhtagn... Ia! Ia! Cthulhu fhtagn!’

Oh... Shit.

The old pony was very scared, unsure of what was going on and tried breaking his bonds.

‘Please, don’t struggle. It’ll only make things messier.’ The knife lifted into the air above the pony and after a few more chants descended, piercing his chest, straight into his heart. He went limp, his death quite apparent.

It’s like my death all over again.

The chants increased in fervor and a white light appeared yet further into the cavern. A portal! Something started to emerge, a claw, no a hand. Along with it came an arm, then a leg, then finally the whole body. It was a man, a real life man in the flesh. That only meant one thing.

Whoa, slow down there. Do you see how many of them there are? I only count three. Exactly. You can’t see the rest. For all we know the cave’s full of ‘em. Do not go for that portal.

The man was wearing a trench coat and a hat similar to his. The priestess approached him and said something he couldn’t hear. The man nodded and said something back. As he was about to walk into the shadows, another hand appeared through the portal. At first it seemed quite normal, but from the wrist up it was oddly... grotesque.

The skin seemed paler than usual and its joints were all wrong. When its leg came through the portal it could be seen that it wasn’t wearing any clothes. He could also see that its leg was at an awkward angle and that its knee was facing right. With the last push, it came through, its horribly disfigured body silhouetted against the white portal.

What is that?

Franko didn’t answer, and for a second the entire cavern seemed deathly silent. Then from somewhere to his right...
‘Dimensional shambler!’

Peter, run. Don’t ask questions, just run!

The area was filled with sound of hooves thundering towards him, he didn’t have to be told twice. Turning, he broke into a desperate sprint. Try as he might, fully grown ponies are faster than humans, big or not, and he soon found them catching up with him.

They didn’t really care too much though, too afraid of the dimensional shambler coming there way. He heard a few gargling screams from behind and some sickening crunches followed. The ponies all turned in different directions taking turnings he had been to afraid to use and he was foolish enough to follow one of them. Pretty soon, he was alone and lost, a roar pulsing through the tunnels. He heard it answered by another.

Ah crap, there are two now.

He started walking slowly down the hall feeling quite giddy. There was a low moan from further down, so he took a left, hoping that it wouldn’t find him. Every door he tried was locked or blocked from the other side so he soon stopped checking. It was extremely dark, with a few scattered lights the only things keeping him from losing his sense of direction. He felt his way along the walls and came into another cavern with a visible doorway at the end. He walked through it, an increasing feeling apprehension running through him.

There were statues along the sides with burning embers at the bases of their feet. They seemed to be what he presumed were the ponies who used to inhabit the palace, and one of them looked suspiciously like Luna. He carried on doing his best to ignore what he thought were foot behind him. Once through the next doorway he found that it turned into a fairly well lit corridor with a few torches blown out. The whole place seemed to get more sinister by the second, and he started jogging as quietly as he could. There was the sound of hoof beats behind and another scream.

Oh god, I’m going to die here... No your not, just keep going. I can feel something ahead. Not a dimensional shambler is it? ...it might be.

After yet more twists and turns he found himself in a large prism shaped room. At the end of it was an open portal, and judging by the dust it looked like it hadn’t been disturbed in centuries. I’m not sure you should go in there. There was a low moan from behind him though when he turned round there was nothing there. His sanity wasn’t all that high, so he decided that the only chance he had would be to jump into the portal.

Why does it seem that whenever we encounter danger the only way out is to jump into a portal that gets us in yet more danger? I have no clue.

Another moan. The hallway was only as wide as two men so there wasn’t much to look at. Just as he was about to step inside there was an audible thud behind him followed by a quick succession of thuds coming closer. He jumped inside, turning as he did to see one of the shamblers charging at him.

(Wrote this one to the sound of Skyrim and Amnesia. D'ya think it worked? Also, many thanks to Pyros and Wildfire for proof reading the last few chapters and those to come.)

Shambler Showdown

Chapter 5: Shambler Showdown

Fluttershy galloped after the cage in a manner braver than she would usually adopt, though when one of the soldiers stepped in front of her she stopped and became timid once more.
‘Um, excuse me but that’s my friend you’re taking away there...’
‘All prisoners of the Princess are to be brought back to the castle!’ He stated in a be-all-end-all tone.
‘But he isn’t a bad pony, maybe there’s some arrangement or something...’
‘The prisoner is to be brought to the princess, no exceptions.’ She tried to walk past him but he forced her back with his body, the yellow mare falling to the ground. As soon as that happened a blur of orange slammed into him and stumbled backwards, a dent in his helmet. Standing over him, Appplejack looked him straight in the eyes.
‘No one treats mah friend like that!’ He seemed genuinely scared as all his attempts to get up were met with a hoof to the gut. Another blur, this time grey sent Applejack flying and she landed next to Fluttershy who still hadn’t gotten up. Another guard had come and was helping his friend up.

‘Thanks, though I had it under control,’ he said to his comrade. The soldier smirked.
‘Yeah sure you did...’ They turned to face the two mares, whom cowered slightly. Tyral’s head popped above the heads of both the guards.
‘What’s going on here?’ He asked calmly, indifferent to the situation.
‘These mares thought it fit to assault one of our officers sir.’
‘Is that so?’

He slinked up to Applejack and Fluttershy, absorbing every detail.
‘I do believe that assaulting military officials is a crime, soldier.’
‘It is sir.’ Wrenching Fluttershy’s face up, he angled it to check her teeth.
‘And what does this prisoner mean to you?’ She hesitated.
‘He-he’s my uncle...’ The captain smiled.
‘Family, eh?’
‘We-well not exactly, he’s more of a, um, close f-f-family friend.’ His smile dropped.
‘Well, good enough I suppose.’ He turned to the soldier. ‘Get her into the cage, he’ll like this one.’

The two officers bore down on her. Applejack tried to defend her, but last time she had been lucky more than anything else, catching him off guard. Now they were ready, their armour covering most of their bodies. Every hit made her hooves ache, and when the larger one bucked her aside, she found it hard to get up. Fluttershy couldn’t stand seeing her friend get hurt, and her sadness turned into anger.

‘How... DARE you!’ She stared at the two of them, the soldiers suddenly stopping and advanced. ‘How would you like it if someone came to your home and hurt your friends huh? It’s a good thing your mothers aren’t here, otherwise I’m sure they would be very disappointed in you two, now what do have to say for yourselves?’ She shouted, the two stumbling over in fear. Their helmets obscured their expressions, making it hard for her to discern whether they were going to apologize. One of them started to move their lips...

...then everything went black.

Peter reappeared in a small room that he didn’t recognise, and it was completely bare save for a lit candle on the floor. He made for the only door and shut it behind him as the dimensional shambler appeared. This place looked like a workshop or lab, perhaps a mix with all manner of tools and chemicals lying around on tables and shelves, and, the final thing which told him where he probably was, his shotgun.

He ran up to it and embraced it like a mother hugs her child then turned to the door. The shambler quite literally ran into it, smashing it to bits. Seeing him, it roared in anger then charged. He fired the first barrel at him and side stepped to allow it to run into a wall in a similar fashion to matadors. It shook itself in frustration and roared again, holes where the shrapnel had penetrated its hide.

Round about this time Princess Luna opened the door on his left and the shambler noticed, readying itself to charge her. She saw him first, and was about to call the guards when the shambler slammed into her. She is one unlucky pony. He ran out the door and came out into what seemed to be a bedroom.

Luna had been sent flying across the whole room and the shambler bore down on her, claws bared. She tried to concentrate on doing magic, but it slammed its fists across her head on her old wound and threw her again. Now she was too disorientated to do anything and the monster would have its prize. She looked up at its face - a twisted version of a human- and trembled.

‘Please, don’t do this,’ she whimpered. Unfortunately for her, dimensional shamblers had never been ones for talking, and so he readied himself to gut her.

Unfortunately for him Peter was too nice a guy to let this happen, and he put himself in its way, stuck the shotgun straight into its mouth and pulled the trigger sending bits of brain and skin flying everywhere, staining the windows and walls. He lowered his aim and turned to help the princess up only to find she was limping towards the doors.

Stop her, she’ll call the guards!

He dashed for the doors and pulled her back as she started opening one.
‘Not so fast miss, wouldn’t want you alerting the others would we?’ She tried to do some magic but her horn sparked and fizzed out. She was simply too beat to do anything. He hoisted her up onto the bed then got behind a bookcase and pushed it in the way of the doors, all the time, Luna watching with a sense of dread. He pushed a few more items of furniture in the way then reloaded both barrels with his remaining shells.

I wonder why there haven’t been any guards knocking on the door by now? Surely theren should be someone waiting outside. Don’t know, don’t care as long as no one is trying to kill me.

Luna wondered what to do in the situation. She thought back to the countless fiction novels she had read where the hero or heroin meets their arch nemesis, but “we meet again” sounded a bit too cliched.
‘So I assume you are here to kill me.’ She stated plainly, trying to hide the fear she felt.
‘Kill you?’ He snorted, ‘why would I want to kill you?’
‘Tia told me everything, she told me that last time you tried to the guards stopped you, so you ran!’

I think she means the prison. Oh that?

‘I wasn’t trying to kill you, a spell of mine just fu-,’ she raised an eyebrow, ‘messed up. Sorry about that bump.’ He took one of the pillows and wiped the blood off the windows.
‘Hey! Those are my pillows, and you’re getting the blood of that- that- that...’ She looked at it properly for the first time, taking in its twisted form.

You should stop her before she goes insa- On it.

‘Hey, hey don’t look at it.’ He ran in front of her dropping his gun to the floor and moved her head, staring into her eyes. ‘Look at me, don’t look at it. It’s bad enough you’re hurt, it’ll be worse if you lose you mind.’ Pulling a handkerchief off of the table next to them, he wiped the blood from her forehead, adding doubt to her original assumptions of him being dangerous, though not enough to dispel all of them from her head.

She flinched but otherwise didn’t move.
‘So if you’re not here to kill me, why are you here?’ He reached into his pocket, then remembered he didn’t have his flask with him.
‘Same as last time, running.’ Picking his gun back up, he walked over to an overturned chair, righted it and sat down on it. ‘Say, you have anything to drink round here?’ She pointed to a jug of water on the other side of the room, which he went to, still watching him. His behaviour was very odd. He acted for the most part as though nothing had happened and seemed relaxed yet extremely tense at the same time, as though everything was out to get him. He also disregarded the body in the middle of the room, though he was a murderer, that probably came with the occupation.

After taking a swig of the jug, not bothering to pour himself a glass he wiped his mouth with his sleeve and looked at her.
‘Is there any other way out of this place?’ She shook her head.
‘Not unless you go back through that portal, which I must say was pretty clever of you. How did you know to go to my old castle?’
‘...what now?’
‘Those ruins, how did you know that I had a portal there? Bribed a few guards, maybe?’ Peter scratched his head in thought.

‘I wasn’t looking for that portal back there.’
‘Nonsense, no pony would go to an abandoned castle for fun, you must have been there so you could get back here.’ He walked back to the door he had come from and peeked inside. He hadn’t missed anything, it was exactly the same as last time. She followed him, worried he might touch something.
‘No, I was looking for somewhere to hide and it just so happened that your portal was a handy way out.’

The entrance to her room started to open but was barred by the furniture. Peter frowned.
‘Is there any other way out of here?’ She shook her head.

Well isn’t that just crap. Looks like we’re going back through the portal. You have a gun, you could easily get through any guards! Yeah, but it’s that princess I’m worried about. No doubt she’ll be a problem.

‘I’ll be off then.’ He walked to where the portal was and was about to step back into it when she stopped him.

‘Where are you going!?’
‘I’m going back to those ruins seeing as it’s my only way out.’
‘But you can’t go back through this way, it’s too dangerous!’ He held the shotgun up.
‘I’ll be fine.’ She shook her head.
‘No, you don’t understand, the portal is, broken, you’ll be teleported to a completely random location!’

All Peter could could think was, ‘...again?’

‘How exactly is it... broken?’
‘Well, I made this portal when I was a filly, over a 1000 years ago...’

Wait, what?

‘Woah, woah, scroll back, what was that? A thousand years ago?’ She looked as though he had asked a stupid question.
‘Yeah, 1000 years.’ He was going to ask more, but decided against it. Understanding how the arcane worked wasn’t always a good idea, especially if there just so happened to be elder gods involved...

‘Uh, right, so you were saying?’
‘Oh yes, well I made this portal when I was a filly, so that I could go between palaces whenever I wanted. Unfortunately, being a filly, I sort of, messed it up.’
‘So when did you know something was wrong?’
‘I went through it.’
‘And where did you end up?’ She didn’t respond.
‘Let’s just say it was dark, kind of like a... nightmare.’

Somepony started attempting to kick the door down.
‘Okay, uh, is there any other way out of here?’
‘No, besides I wouldn’t tell you, you’re a criminal and you must be stopped,’ she put it rather matter-of-factly.
‘Fine I’ll find my own way out-’ A flash of white light appeared and in its stead was Princess Celestia, her face turning to confusion, then anger when she saw him.

Instinctively, driven by fear, he jumped into the portal (again) and everything went black (again).

Fluttershy was gone, and Twilight had no idea what to do. This was the army, the left hoove of Celestia, they did things that nopony would dream of doing. They were supposed to do it for the good of Equestria, providing safety for the inhabitants and so on, as her lessons as a filly had taught her, but she could see no reason for what was essentially the kidnap of one of her best friends.

‘Spike, take a letter.’ The baby dragon pulled a quill and notepad off of the desk next to him, and got ready. She started pacing around the room, as she tried to think of what to say. ‘Dear Princess Celestia...’ She paused. If Celestia had ordered it, there must have been a reason. Of course it wasn’t on purpose, it must be a mistake. ‘...I am writing to you regarding-’

An explosion of blue propelled her back, slamming her into a bookshelf. When she poked her head out of the pile of books now covering her, she noticed something there that hadn’t been there before. The monster was standing in the middle of the room, scorched marks around him, looking very surprised.

He looked about for any signs of life.

Isn’t that the purple pony from earlier? I didn’t have much time to get a good look. Well it is. She has that sparkly cutie mark.

‘Um, hello,’ his voice echoed off the walls of the giant tree he appeared to be in. After a few moments of wide eyed terror, she realised that he probably wasn’t going to harm her, at least not yet. ‘Are you, uh, okay?’

It took a few moments for her to realise she was trembling.
‘Oh, you’re in my library in Ponyville.’ Her voice was fairly shaky. Who knew what it would do to her, or why it was here?

Ponyville again?

‘Is Slate okay?’ He asked quickly, striding to the window next to the door to take a look outside.
‘Who?’
‘Fluttershy’s uncle.’ She sagged.

‘Oh, you just missed him... The army took them both.’ He paused.
‘Did you see which way they went?’
‘Into the forest and- hey why am I telling him anything?’ She said to herself angrily. Spike emerged from his hiding place behind the desk.

‘Is that the monster you were telling me about Twilight?’ He asked, moving to her side in a manner less fearful than that of the purple spell caster. Peter smiled. It was better than animal.
‘Nothing bad I hope,’ he said jokingly.
‘Bad? You hurt Rainbow Dash, you’re evil!’ It didn’t take him long to make the connection.

‘Ah crap, yeah sorry about that. I was in a bit of a rush, so...’
‘You hit her?’ He said reproachfully. Peter shrugged.
‘Shit happens.’ Spike was taken aback by that response. Most ponies would have just given in by now, their conscience getting the better of them, but he seemed completely unfazed. Well he had apologised at least... sort of...

‘I’d probably better go save them then...’ Twilight cocked her head.
‘You what?’
‘I said I’m going to save them. I doubt the army is going to be very hospitable, and your yellow friend doesn’t seem like the brave type.’
‘Yes...’ She was surprised. She hadn’t expected it to be willing to save her friend. Maybe they could even work together? No, of course they couldn’t, he was a monster. Then again, looks aren’t everything...

‘Why are you, uh, why are you going to save them?’
‘Ms. Fluttershy was hospitable enough to me, unlike a certain princess, and I don’t like the look of that Tyral guy, seems a bit shifty.’ He sat down on a large chest that Twilight kept various bits of experiment equipment in. ‘You mind if I stay here for a while? I need a place to lay low, and this seems perfect.’ He rested his back against the wall, mumbling phrases expressing his pleasure.

‘Uhm, yes, sure why not...’ she laughed nervously while trotting backwards to the door. ‘I’ll just go down to the store we seem to be fresh out of groceries, um, Spike d’ya think you could come with me?’ He hobbled over obediently.

She shut the door softly, then sighed in relief. ‘Come on Spike, we’ve got to get the others over here, and take a scroll and quill, we’ve got to alert the princess that the beast is here.’
‘Twilight I left the scrolls inside.’
‘You, WHAT!?’ She started pacing back and forth in front of the tree library. ‘Think Twilight, think, hm... Well I suppose we’ll just have to get one from one of the girls, though I’m not really sure if they’ll have any since they don’t tend to write-’

‘You know I can hear you!’ A faint voice cried from the library.

She froze.
‘Ah, uh, hehe, I was just, uh, I was just...’ She disappeared in a cloud of dust, Spike not too far behind.

Inside, Peter just rolled his eyes and set about the important task of finding a toilet of some kind. There were only a few doors at ground level, and none of them resembled any kind of bowl, or even hole in the ground. He continued his search upstairs. This room was similar to downstairs, except it had a bed, and was of course smaller.

That door looks promising. It’s that last door left, so unless there’s an outhouse or something it had better be the one.

It was.

After relieving himself, his first step out the door was greeted by hushed whispers from down the stairs and a squeak followed by a ‘sorry’.

Are we getting out of here or... No, I'm staying. It will probably be better for everyone if I just try and explain my side of the story. When has that ever worked? Well mother always said it was best to be honest. You're referencing to your mother now? When did you start doing that? When I realised that there is a good chance I'll never see my home, or even mum ever again. ...um, okay... I'll have to become a hermit, probably live in the Everfree Forest since no one seems to go there, though those god damn stick wolf things-

There was a creak from the stairs.

(Sorry about this late chapter. Exam season is upon me, and I've been busy revising in my spare time. Not much free time left, so although I'll try to release chapters on Saturday/Sundays, they will be coming out when they are done.

On another note, although none of you give two bucks, I had two dreams about ponies the other day. The first one was a conversion bureau scenario, nothing special, but the second, that one was weird. Fluttershy was a con artist and was tricking people into giving her their clothes for free. Hmm...)

Of Mice and Monsters

Chapter 6: Of Men and Monsters

Celestia watched as the monster threw himself into the portal and disappeared into thin air. There was nothing she could do now, and no way she could track him without a possession of his.

The first thought she had was of Luna’s safety, and when she saw that she was bruised and battered, she worked herself up into a rage.

‘That thing thought it could come into MY castle and hurt MY family!?’ She exclaimed, catching Luna completely by surprise.

‘Oh, hey sister, you’re here...’ Celestia embraced her, squeezing the life out of her.

‘What did it do to you? It didn’t break anything did it?’ When she relinquished her grip, Luna stumbled backwards, panting. ‘Your leg! It hurt your leg didn’t it?’

‘No, no he didn’t hurt me, that, that thing did.’ She jabbed a hoof at the dimensional shambler’s corpse that had gone previously unnoticed by the white princess.

‘Oh.’ She furrowed her eyebrows. ‘That.’ Luna limped round her to get a better look at her face. Judging by her expression she seemed to recognise what it was. ‘I’ve told you many times to have that portal shut down Luna, and now you known why.’

‘You know that that thing is?’
‘Yes, I’ve had a few encounters with them. None as messy as this though... I didn’t know you could cast such violent spells.’ She turned, looking at her questioningly.

‘Oh that wasn’t me, that was the other monster.’
‘The other one? Why would he help you?’
‘I think it might have been less about me, and more about himself.’ She nodded understandingly.

‘I know what that’s like.’
‘You do? How?’ Celestia waved her away.
‘That story is for another time sister, we’ve got a monster to catch."

She removed all the furniture barring the doors, and they swung open, half a dozen guards falling into the room. They shot up, ready to fight whatever it was that was threatening their princess, but the sight of the body told them that whatever had happened, it was probably over.

‘Guards, take the body to the...’ What were you supposed to do with the body of a monster? She remembered something about cremation from her experiences centuries ago. ‘...furnaces. Burn it.’

The guards dragged it away looking rather pale, the sight of blood and brains oozing a bit too much for them, Celestia watching them as they did so. Hopefully there wouldn’t be any more cases of monsters. The poor ponies wouldn’t be able to handle much more violence.

The yellow ponies eyes slowly opened, though at first she wasn’t sure that they had opened. It was still just as pitch black, though after feeling the sting of her eyes slowly drying out, she was sure that they were open.

‘H-hello?’ Her voice seemed to be absorbed by the walls, whatever they were made of.

‘Fluttershy, yer awerk!’ Slate answered groggily.
‘Is that y-you uncle Slate?’ She heard some shuffling and felt a dull thud next to her.
‘Ish me a’right,’ his voice answered, closer to the floor this time. ‘You okey?’
‘Yes, I think so,’ she said, rubbing her now throbbing head.
‘Thash good...’

‘Uncle Slate?’
‘Yesh, mah deer?’
‘Why do you sound so... drunk?’ He shuffled around some more and a sharp clinking followed.
‘They put sum thin’ in the water... can’t tell what but it tayshts damn good.’
‘Oh.’

She fell silent, listening to the sounds that made it through from the outside. The hoof beats of the guards were quite faint, the only other sound being their muffled idle chatter. After a good few minutes or so there was another thud followed by snoring.

Once she had worked up the courage to touch the sides of the cage, she realised that a large, heavy woollen sheet had been draped over it. Pushing forward, a shaft of light penetrated the darkness of the inside revealing a bowl and cup set for her as well as Slate’s twitching body on the other side of the cage. Her hoof was smacked away by a guard outside.

She was now faced with a dilemma. She could either eat the food, or go hungry. Eating the food may have some questionable side effects, but Uncle Slate had only said there was something in the water, and even then he seemed to be unconscious rather than dead. Going hungry would mean, well that she went hungry.

She pulled the bowl closer to herself. It’s for the best that you eat something, after all how are you going to get out of here if you don’t build up your strength? she thought. Slowly, she lowered her face to the bowl and took a bite. Mashed potatoes. She had another and another, until soon the bowl was empty, licked clean of its contents.

She was shocked, she hadn’t realised just how hungry she was. She felt her forehead. Her temperature seemed the same. There was no difference other than no longer being hungry. Maybe the food was safe to eat after a-

Tyral peeled back the sheet ever so slightly and peeked in. Both ponies were sound asleep, Slate snoring loudly.
‘That’s what I like to see, compliant prisoners.’ He set the sheet edge back and returned to his position sitting at the front of the carriage that carried the cage. The trip was going to take five times as long thanks to the cage, because they had to find a way through the brush and go around obstacle on the road. He would have much preferred to carry the prisoners on their backs, though if that monster turned up there was no doubt they would need it to hold him in.

Come to think of it, the monster would probably try to break its friends out, and it was currently the middle of the night, the perfect time for such an attempt. Probably try and lay a trap along the road or try and reroute them to a more favourable ambush position. He chuckled to himself. This monster obviously wasn’t smart if it thought it could ambush him and his troop.

‘Mildia.’
‘Yes sir?’ She responded, coming closer to the officer.
‘I think we should stop for the night don’t you?’ She hesitated. They never got rests. Was it a test of some kind?
‘Uh, sir we’re perfectly fine, we can continue on.’
‘No, I can see you’re all tired out!’ He said louder this time, attracting the attention of everyone. ‘I’ve decided we’re going to stop for the night soldiers. You’ve all been marching for six days straight, it only makes sense that you’d be aching for a rest.’

They all looked at each other.
‘Uh, yes sir.’ They all responded in unison. They immediately set to work pitching tents and preparing food.

He probed the surrounding area for any sign of the beast, but his spell came up with nothing. It wasn’t around.

‘Soldier!’
‘Yes sir?’
‘Get a fire going, and make it quick, it’s getting cold.’
‘Yes sir.’

Hopefully the smoke would attract it to their position where they could capture it, maybe kill it if they had too. Until then, he would occupy his mind with something to hide his restlessness. He needed that monster.

Peter had debated what cool position he should be standing in when the ponies showed up until Franko had scolded him for acting like such a child, so he had settled for sitting on one of Twilight’s (small) chairs and shining his shotgun with a strip of cloth.

CREE-AAAA-KKK

The ponies were almost to the top of the stairs.

‘So much fer surprsin’ it...’ He thought he heard one say.

There were more creaks, and what sounded like someone complaining until they reached the top of the stairs. First came the pink pony that had been at the cottage. She came bouncing up somehow silently, which confused him substantially and stopped smack bang in front of him.

‘Fooooouuunndd hiiiiiim!’ She shouted out. He glanced at her nonchalantly.

Don’t act like an idiot.

The rest of them spewed into the room, carrying an assortment of household items in less than menacing fashions. They circled him, obviously afraid of him to some degree, though the pink one was still quite oblivious to anything that was going on.

‘So do you have a name?’ She asked, suddenly standing still, staring at him expectantly. He wiped his forehead. There were five of them and one of him. With his shotgun he could theoretically them all, though truth be told, he wasn’t sure whether that would work out in practice.

‘It’s Peter.’
‘Hi Peter! What brings you to Ponyville? Are you just passing through or-’
‘Pinkie Pie!’ Called the purple one. ‘Get over here! Don’t make friends with it, it’s dangerous!’ Pinkie Pie looked conflicted. There was a potential new friend sitting right in front of her, but she wasn’t allowed to talk to him. It didn’t make any sense. Her tail hadn’t been twitching, her hooves tingling, nothing. He couldn’t be dangerous, but Twilight seemed to know more about the subject, so she complied.

‘Peter, I’m placing you under citizens arrest!’ She announced. Peter looked up at her.
‘You can do that?’
‘Yes, I can.’ He folded his legs.
‘Well do you mind telling me what for?’
‘W-well your dangerous.’
‘Dangerous? I’m not dangerous, I’m harmless, like a... a mouse.’

‘Ya sher don’t look like no mouse,’ commented the orange one.

I should hope not. We’ve already got enough problems as it is.

He checked how many bullets he had in his inside coat pocket.

Huh. What? I thought there would be less, I mean, not that I’m complaining or anything...

He looked back at the ponies and noticed that the cyan one had a bloody nose and, despite what seemed to be a little anger, was shying away from him just a little.
‘Hey uh, sorry about that. The kick of adrenaline got me a little... excited I suppose.’ She nodded slowly, but didn’t seem any calmer than before. It was probably going to be a bit of time before she would even think about beginning to trust him.

He stretched his arms, the mares all taking a few steps backwards which he took notice of. He got up and started moving slowly towards the white, purple maned one who backed away.

That’s a nice change. What is? Usually I’m the one backing away from the big bad monster. That’s because you are the monster. Exactly.

The mares weren’t moving, just focusing on him.
‘Are you all just gonna stand there or...’ Twilight roused herself.
‘Uh, yes, I don’t actually want you around, so would you please, uh, leave now?’
‘Or what?’
‘Sorry?’
‘Or you’ll what?’

Twilight hadn’t thought that far, which was odd considering there wasn’t much to think about.
‘We’ll remove you.’ She said firmly.

How politely put.

‘If you say boss, but uh, who’s going to help you get your friend back then?’
‘My friend...’ Twilight mentally berated herself for forgetting that one of her best friends, Fluttershy, had been kidnapped. ‘Why, we will, of course.’
He scoffed.
‘You? Are you sure?’
‘Now wait just a minute,’ the white one interrupted, ‘We’re the elements of harmony, we’ve saved Equestria from disaster three times now. I think we now what we’re doing.’ He shook his head.
‘Do you? Well what’s you’re plan?’ She stuttered. ‘Exactly.’
‘That’s not fair. If yer so confident, why don’t you tell us yours?’ Asked the orange one.
‘Mine? I was gonna try intimidate them with my shotgun.’

They all looked blank. ‘This thing,’ he said shaking his gun about.
‘That? What can that do?’ Asked Pinkie Pie enthusiastically. He looked about.
‘Uh, well I’ll show you later. So, miss, uh...’
‘Sparkle,’ Twilight responded quickly.
‘Miss Sparkle, when were you going to go save her?’
‘Tonight. They’ll be stoppi-’
‘Wrong.’ Twilight looked quite annoyed at being interrupted. ‘The night is the worst time to be sneaking about.’

All the ponies looked at him in disbelief. ‘I know that goes against all popular belief, but when you’ve seen what I’ve seen, you’ll know what I’m taking about.’
‘Right...’ They stood in silence.
‘So do we have a deal?’
‘I suppose so...’
‘Good.’ He walked right past them and down the stairs leaving them confused.

‘Is there anything to eat round here?’ He called out. The girls looked at each other and shrugged.

Downstairs he noticed that Twilight’s dragon, what was his name... Spike was in what seemed to be the kitchen eating a gem of some kind..
‘Hey there.’ He jumped. ‘Any food in here?’ The dragon pointed at bowl of fruit salad. ‘More vegetables...’ He grabbed the bowl and started chowing down. He was taking all the food he could get right now.

Spike was backing away fearfully from him, trying to get to the door. Peter looked up and motioned at him to come sit next to him. Spike looked about hopelessly before resigning himself to his fate, falling onto the chair with a dull thud.
‘So, tell me something interesting about Ponyville.’ Spike raised his eyebrows.

Well you’re acting rather forward. I’m happy. Why? ...I don’t know.

‘It’s the disaster capital of Equestria, I suppose.’
‘It is?’
‘Yep.’
‘It can’t be that bad.’
‘Oh it is. Something happens at least once every week here, whether it’s an infestation or a uh, heh, rampaging dragon...’

A rampaging dragon. On second thoughts maybe I’m not so happy.

Peter finished off the last of the apple slices and wiped his fingers across the sleeve of his coat.
‘That was quick,’ said Spike.
‘Tell me about it...’ Spike looked at him blankly then shrugged. He noticed that the five mares were all peering inside the room at him trying to be inconspicuous.
‘Yes?’ They quickly retreated out of sight. He sighed. He instinctively reached for his flask again, then remembered, again, that he didn’t have it.

Do you think they have any alcohol? I doubt it.

His next move was to reach for his pistol, which he once again remembered that he didn’t have.

What happened to my pistol? You, uh, lost it don’t you remember? Just after that shoggoth turned up. Lost it? Yeah, um, lost it, yeah that’s it.

He stood up and took a few steps away from the table. Suddenly, he felt extremely fatigued, dropping his shotgun. He fell to his knees trying to keep his eyes open. He looked up and saw the white one coming towards him, her horn glowing.
‘Sleep now...’ He voice drifted off into his mind and he fainted.

When he awoke the first thing that hit him, was a hoof. A cyan hoof.
‘Wake up!’ She shouted.

Someone’s still sore about the incident.

He looked down and saw that he was tied to a chair, a small chair that was very uncomfortable to be sitting on. He didn’t recognise where he was, the room around him quite bare. There was a bed to his right with a table and a stack of books on top of it. The walls had a bluish tint to them and when he looked out the window he could see clouds rolling by. At the exact same altitude as him.

Just where in the hell are we? Dunno, maybe a mountain?

The other four mares were there as well.
‘Are ya sure you’ll be okay Rainbow Dash?’ Asked Applejack
‘Yeah I’ll be fine. Besides, it’s not like he’s going anywhere,’ she laughed.
‘The spell’s going to wear off soon, we’d better go.’ Said Twilight. They all walked out the door saying their goodbyes to Rainbow Dash. The pegasus turned to him.

‘Looks like it’s just you and me alone, Peter.’
‘Look if it’s about the head butt, I told you I’m sorry,’ he pleaded. She trotted up to him.
‘Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me.’ She hoofed him square in the nose, the cartilage breaking with a crack. ‘Now we’re even.’ The blood ran down his nose, getting caught in his scrawny goatee and in his teeth. She walked over to a doorway on his left. ‘I’m gonna go eat something. You’d better not try and get out. I’d hate for you to get hurt.’ He spat out the blood and clenched his teeth.
‘Is that supposed to be a threat?’ She smiled.
‘Nope.’ And she was gone.

He started moving his hands about trying to get a feel for the knot. It was masterfully done, and for a moment he thought it would be better if he just gave up.

He shifted his weight forward until he was standing on his own two, tied feet and started hopping around the room. There seemed to be an absence of anything sharp in it.

What about the kitchen? She’s in there. It’s your only chance.

He heard her hoof steps coming back, so he hobbled over to behind a pillar.

This’ll never work.

He couldn’t see her expression because he was too busy trying not to get seen, but he did hear a gasp followed by plates shattering. He looked round just in time to see her fly out the door.

That was easy.

He hopped through the doorway and came into a smaller room, one with a kitchen counter on its left side and a dining table for two on his right. To his relief there was a knife laid out on the table next to a loaf of bread and some apples. He promptly grabbed it and cut his bindings.

Next was his shotgun. He went back into the bedroom/mainroom and started souring for his gun. He went from room to room, trying to keep them as untouched as possible checking draws and closets but he couldn’t find it. Oh god not again...

He left through the front door. The first thing he noticed was just how misty it was. The second thing was that he was, in fact, falling through then air, hundreds of metres above the ground.

(Sorry for the delay, I had serious writers block, and my exams are threatening to drag me into a dark whole of all work and no play. I cannot wait for them to be over (although as soon as they're over there'll be more after, so... yeah) so that I can get back to the usual write something everyday. Now, back to hitting the books...)

Everfree Break In

Chapter 8: Everfree Break In

As soon as Peter set foot on the other side of the bridge he could tell something was wrong. The forest seemed dark, darker than usual, despite the sun being fairly high in the sky, and was it him or did it suddenly become colder? Some of the trees on the on the other side had been cleared, probably for easier access, and hoofprints were visible in the dirt. They seemed to be all going alongside a carriage or cart that had been pulled through the middle.

‘Sorry, but could you tell me again why you think they’re here?’ Asked Rarity, lagging slightly behind as she tried to avoid some of the mud filled potholes, and the smell of Peter himself, who hadn’t showered or bathed himself for some time now.
‘Because I came here not too long ago. There’s a group of cultists that have set up base here, at least I think they’re cultists. Magic seems to be so common here that I can’t tell the difference.’ Twilight raised an eyebrow.

‘Cultists? What do you mean cultists?’ She looked concerned. ‘Did they mention who they were?’ He thought back.
‘Yeah, one was called Obed or something. Looked rather fishy if you ask me.’ Twilight sighed.
‘That makes a little more sense then.’ Peter looked at her.
‘What makes more sense?’
‘Well he’s the founder of this organisation that-’
‘-can fix a perso- pony, whatever their problem,’ he interrupted. She looked slightly taken aback.
‘Well, yeah how did you know?’ He shrugged.
‘Slate told me something similar. I just had to put the pieces together.’

As they approached the castle, he motioned to them to get down. After he was satisfied that nothing was coming, he motioned to them again to get up. The doors he had encountered last time were missing, and there were a few claw marks on the ground, but he tried to ignore that and pretend ‘a dog or something’ had done it. The door he had entered last time was still there (as if he was expecting it to go anywhere) and was ajar. Odd. Cultists were usually more vigilant. He was about to step inside when he noticed a wire along the base of the door, and a few more ahead of it.

Booby traps. We should have known.

He stepped backwards.
‘We might have to find another way in-’ Before he could fully explain himself Pinkie Pie stepped onto the first tripwire. A comically sized axe swung down from the ceiling, narrowly missing Pinkie’s scalp, but cutting through her hair causing it to deflate. The pink mare continued, unperturbed, stepping on tripwire after tripwire, setting off trap after trap until finally she had reached the end of the hallway. The only thing that had been affected was her hair-do, and that almost instantly sprang back to life. She had somehow managed to dodge the poison darts, flamethrowers and who knows what else, and it left him pondering whether he was really altogether sane. The girls looked on in wide eyed amazement/horror. Pinkie turned around and bounced back to the group.
‘Well are you coming?’ She asked enthusiastically.

Looks like it was made for someone a little taller. He shuddered at the thought.

Stepping forward, the group continued, but this time with a bit more caution. He took the lead, remembering his last excursion. The corridors were just as bleak and old as before, but this time he thought he noticed more scratches on the walls than last time. There was substantially more lighting now, and the sounds of distant ponies echoed through the hallways. It didn’t seem that abandoned anymore. Which was a bad thing. The sound of hooves other than his companions own hitting the stonework drew near and they scrambled for hiding places.

The hall was pretty bare, so there wasn’t anywhere to hide, but there was one door, which he remembered as being locked last time that was wide open, so naturally everyone quietly ran inside.

The approaching ponies past by, one of them obviously whimpering. He peeked outside when they had passed to see a very familiar looking yellow pegasus being dragged along by a few guards, all of which had hoods over their heads.

‘Good news, we’ve found Fluttershy.’
‘What? Let me see,’ said Rainbow Dash pushing past him. Her face became an ‘O’ for a second before she could process what had happened. ‘They’ve broken her wing!’ she exclaimed, perhaps a little too loud.
‘That was the bad news.’ He pulled Rainbow Dash back before she could dart off and before one the robed figures turned round. Luckily for them he was called back by one of the others.

‘Try to keep a low profile would you?’ he whispered to her, but she didn’t care. They’d hurt her friend, and now they’d pay for it.
‘Let me go! I thought you wanted to help Fluttershy!’ She writhed in his arms, and he was finding it increasingly difficult to hold her. He turned to the others.
‘A little help maybe?’ The remaining five rushed to calm her.

‘Don’t worry darling, I’m sure this good, uh, fellow here has a plan.’ She looked at him. ‘You do have a plan right?’ He shrugged.
‘Sort of. But I’ll need you to stay back because it’s not going to be pretty.’ Pinkie Pie chimed in.
‘Pretty? What isn’t pretty? You know that it isn’t very nice to say other ponies aren’t pretty, mm-mm,’ she shook her head, in agreement with herself. ‘Also, why do you have that metal thing strapped to your belt mister?’

Metal thing? He looked to his belt. There was nothing there.

What do I say to that? N-nothing, just focus. Also, it might actually help to have them included in your plan. More man, uh, mare power never hurt anyone.

‘Okay I’ve changed my mind. You can actually help me.’ Pinkie saluted.
‘Just tell us what to do mister Peter sir!’
‘...sure. All of you follow me.’ They obliged, as he exited the room and followed the wounds of a whimpering Fluttershy. Goddamn if that wasn’t the saddest sound he had ever heard, it made his heart break just to know that she was in pain, and he was supposed to be used to this. He just hoped he’d get there in time.

Fluttershy was dragged into a large chamber and dumped onto the ground in front of an altar. Tyral stood directly in front of her.
‘We brought you the prisoner like you asked sir.’ He looked at her.
‘Do you know who this is?’ The two guards glanced at each other very anxiously.
‘Uh, F-Fluttershy. We picked her up just before we came,’ said the second one. Tyral looked up at him. He moved closer.
‘That she is. But do you know what she IS, you fool?’ He started sweating.
‘She’s, uh, she’s, um, uh, I, uh...’ Tyral sighed.
‘She is an Element of Harmony. And do you know what that means?’ Was it just him or was Tyral getting angrier by the second.
‘I did bad sir?’ he responded, terrified. Tyral smiled, and started laughing. The guards all started laughing nervously with him.

‘Ha, you think you did badly? Badly? No you did excellently!’

So it was just him then. Everypony breathed a sigh of relief. ‘We’re sure to get a lot more favour from the gods with this offering, at least a hundred sacrifices worth, and we’ll be killing off one of Celestia’s assets, that ignorant snob. Without her, Celestia won’t have anything left to stop us with! You’re a genius soldier, killing two birds with one stone. What’s your rank?’

He was incredibly happy that he hadn’t done badly.
‘Corporal sir.’ Tyral nodded.
‘Well done corporal. Keep up the good work and we might just have a place for you among the CO’s.’ He smiled.
‘Yes sir, I will sir.’ Tyral abruptly stopped smiling.
‘You shouldn’t be trying to out do your superiors soldier. Someone might get paranoid.’ The soldier also stopped smiling. Tyral turned and walked behind the altar away from them. The soldier followed him.
‘Sir I’m sorry I didn’t-’ His sentence was cut short as he fell through a trap door, a thud as he landed. Soon his groans could be heard until they were replaced with shouts.
‘I’m sorry sir! I’m sorry! please let me out!’ Tyral closed the door with his magic. Muffled screams resonated from the pit, and the sound of flesh and bones being ripped and splintered could still be heard through the stone floor.

Tyral turned again, picking up a knife that had been laid down on the altar.

‘Come on Obed, let’s start the ritual. I’m getting giddy just thinking about it.’ From his seat and desk in the corner of the hall the priest looked up.
‘Coming Tyral, keep your horse shoes on.’ He got up and trotted over to the altar, looking down on her weeping form.

‘What exactly is an element of harmony?’ Tyral grunted.
‘You mean you don’t know?’ He shook his head.
‘You forget I am not of this world.’ The captain rolled his eyes.
‘She’s one of only six ponies who can use these magic artifacts. This one is kindness, I think.’ Obed looked at him questioningly.
‘Kindness? What’s that got to do with magic?’ He shrugged.
‘I don’t know, but it’s defeated monsters throughout the ages so obviously something big.’
‘If that’s correct, well then I think she will be our last sacrifice.’ Tyral’s eyes widened.
‘Then get on with it. I’ve been waiting for this for some time now, and I don’t want to wait anymore.’ Obed nodded and called to the other robed ponies to join him. It was time to start.

This is bad. It looks like the ritual we saw before. I know. Everything’s the same, location, the set up, the chants, we’ve got to stop it.

‘Twilight, you can do magic, can you do anything here?’ he whispered.
‘Like what?’ she asked. Decisions, decisions.
‘Okay, how about this. I’ll distract them somehow, and you get Fluttershy.’
‘Sounds good, now can we get a move on?’ Rainbow Dash butted in, raring to go. He nodded

The occultist snuck his way round the badly lit cavern to get away from the mares, staying low.

Any plans? Just this.

‘Hey dipshit!’ he shouted very loudly. All the ponies lost their concentration and turned to see who had said that. ‘Yeah, I’m talking to you,’ he said to no one in particular.

This is the worst plan I’ve ever seen. I know.

‘Fuck you, fuck you all!’ Tyral simply face hoofed, then ordered a couple of the guards to chase after him. Peter sprinted out of the room, his pursuers hot on his trail.

‘Get on with it,’ snapped Tyral. Obed, slightly confused, finished off the sentence he was on. Miraculously the wing started to heal, though Fluttershy had long since passed out.

‘Why are they helping Fluttershy? I thought they wanted to hurt her,’ stated Twilight. Obed raised the knife above her chest. Ah.

Rainbow Dash torpedoed into him while Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Rainbow Dash rushed the remaining guards. Tyral immediately assumed a battle stance and started to use a simple force spell to push them around and away from the priests. Then Twilight joined in.

This is the end then. I’ll see you in... whatever comes after death. Right.

He was cornered by the ponies, all earth ponies except one who was a unicorn.

He chuckled slightly. What’s so funny? I was just imagining how different this would be with my Webley.

The ponies were moving in.

Um Peter, I’ve been meaning to tell you something. What’s that? Well, I haven’t been entirely honest with you... Oh god, lemme guess that spell back at the prison cost more than a day? No, no, it’s something else. About your pistol. What about it? You didn’t actually lose it.

Peter was confused.

What do you mean I didn’t lose it? Well, you know how you tried to kill yourself? I’m not particularly proud, but yes? I kind of, made you... blind to the gun. You know, to stop you shooting yourself. What does that mean? You know how Pinkie commented on the L shaped object? Ye-e-es? And you didn’t see it? Yes? That’s because I’m not letting you see it. You wah. How? I blocked it out of your mind. You can do that? Yes. I see. So the object. It’s my gun isn’t it? ...yes. Well hurry up and let me see it already.

He looked down and sure enough, there the gun was, holstered where it had sat for the last fortnight.

I didn’t take it off for a full two weeks? It’s not my fault you don’t wash often enough.

He whipped it out and put a bullet in between the unicorn’s eyes. At first the ponies were confused, but when he shot another one they got the picture and ran as fast as they could.

He looked down at the two bodies and blew on the end of the barrel. Damn that feels good.

Author's Note

Oh hey, didn't see you there. Sorry for being so damn late with this one. It's the same problem I have with my other fic, life gets in the way, and I need to write for two different fics at the same time. As you can see it has really hit the pan here so expect action next chapter! Just thought I'd let you know in advance, also I'm thinking of adding a few alternate endings. What do you think? Do you like the idea of having a few alternate endings? Credit to iFiredone for pre-reading and correcting mistakes.

A Very Merry Meet-Up

Chapter 7: A Very Merry Meet-Up

Plummeting to his death was the worst experience he had ever had in his life. Okay maybe the second worst. The worst was when a cultist attempted to bring Nyarlathotep into the world through his stomach, but we won’t get into that right now.

Most people would have given up by now, resigning themselves to their fate, but Peter, Peter had...

Oh, who am I kidding. Peter thought he was going to die, and was bawling his eyes out while Franko was deathly silent. He had no idea what to do, no spells to help them, no last minute advice, and the only perso- pony that could help them had left in a random direction in an attempt to find him. He should have taken her advice and stayed tied to the chair.

As the ground came closer and closer, fear made his mental capacity smaller and smaller until the only thing he could think about was wiggling his arms about and screaming.

You know if I was a book this wouldn’t kill me... I think. Peter responded with screaming. What, nothing to say? No last words? Peter’s answer was the same. I guess this is goodbye then.

It did well and truly seem like the final goodbye, but through an extraordinary stroke of luck, a courier pegasus called Primo Class was speeding along, on his way to deliver his mail load to the inhabitants of Ponyville. This job was simple enough, certainly no trek through Diamond Dog country which would almost always result in his shorts being ripped to shreds. His badge on his shirt said ‘Through rain, snow, sleet and hale, we always get Ponies their mail.’

It should be noted that after this night he made a formal complaint regarding his employment contract and whether or not the fine print stated anything about falling ape-fiends.

Peter’s collision with him certainly wasn’t enough to slow him down substantially, and the ponies flapping was to no avail, but as his streak of luck continued, they hit another... and another... and another, until finally they hit the ground at a reasonably safe speed.

That was a bit of a deus ex machina if you ask me. Something up there must like you. Yeah, or saving me for themself...

Limping away from the tangled heap of ponies, he took a moment to gather himself. He was no longer in Ponyville he knew that much. The field they had landed in was full of apple trees, each one bristling with fruit, though some of them had been painted, why he didn’t know. He had fallen from...

There was nothing there. Just a few clouds, though he didn’t pay much attention to that. He sat down on the grass staring up at the sky in disbelief until shaking himself and proceeding with his next task of finding the Everfree Forest. Fluttershy was the only one who could get him home. She knew the pony who was supposed to help him, not to mention he felt a little guilty for leading Tyral to her.

He could see a barn not too far away on a hill overlooking the entire area, and a house right next to it.

Probably the owner’s place. I think we should steer clear of it. I’m not so sure... It’s the best vantage point for miles. I think I should at least get a look. You’re the boss.

‘Okay girls, the princess should be here-’ There was a bright flash of light and a whooshing sound. ‘-soon.’ Princess Celestia trotted up to the Mane-6-currently-turned-Mane-4 all the while looking around cautiously. She nodded to them.

‘How nice to see you girls. I got your scroll, is everything okay?’ Twilight stepped forward.
‘Yes princess everything is fine. We have the monster you told us about in custody at Rainbow Dash’s house.’ For a split second the princess’s face showed exactly what she was feeling; overwhelming relief at finally stopping it and making her job that much easier, then her brain kicked into gear and she reverted to a calm, happy smile.
‘That is a relief to hear Twilight. Was there anything else?’

Twilight shifted her gaze left and right. She had left out the part about Fluttershy being kidnapped because she wasn’t sure who to trust other than the princess. The army had done it, leading her to believe that there was some kind of conspiracy going on, and if any personnel at the castle saw it, maybe she would be inadvertently giving away the fact that they were onto them?

‘Well, Fluttershy was taken into custody by the army...’ Her expression froze.
‘Sorry Twilight, could you repeat that?’
‘The soldiers arrested Fluttershy for assaulting an officer.’ The white alicorn would have laughed herself to death if she didn’t think Twilight was serious. Fluttershy was the epitome of kindness, there was zero to really, really, really slim of her having done something like that.
‘I will look into it Twilight, I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding. Now, regarding the monster...’

‘Uh, Twilight...’ Rainbow Dash appeared from around the barn.
‘Rainbow Dash, nice of you to join us. I take it you will lead us to the monster?’ She looked at her expectantly. She smiled gingerly.
‘Uh, yeah, monster, heh, about that...’ Applejack sighed.
‘What’s wrong this time Dash...’
‘Well you see I just went to- and then I- and he fell- and I tried, but-’ She covered her face frustratedly, while the mares tried to work out what exactly she had said.

‘Did you say he fell darling?’ Asked Rarity, a concerned tone overtaking her voice. She nodded. ‘Ah.’ Their faces turned rather pale as they all turned to the Princess, and Pinkie Pie’s hair looked dangerously close to bursting.

Celestia was at a loss. She wasn’t quite sure if it would be possible to tell them that this had technically made her job easier without them thinking that she was some sort of heartless monster. Not that she’d wanted it to pan out this way. She’d much preferred if he had been alive, but hey, you can’t have everything.

‘That is rather... unfortunate to hear Rainbow Dash. Is there any particular reason?’ She shook her head.
‘I just went to get some food, and when I came back he was gone. He must have jumped out or something...’
‘I see.’ Celestia sighed. ‘I suppose we’ll have to find the body then.’

Everyone was quiet.

As he got closer he could see that there had been someone there recently. There were fresh hoof-prints and a strand of multi-coloured hair

What was her name, Rainbow Dash that was it. She’s been here then? Looks that way. Hopefully they aren’t coming back anytime soon.

He trekked onwards, his injured foot slowing him down. His first action was to go inside the barn, before closing the doors behind himself to not attract attention. Next, he climbed the (rather small) stairs leading up to the first floor. The large barn window provided a good vantage point, and he could see Ponyville off in the distance. Most of the shutters were closed, but there were a few that had light shining through them, and they acted as his landmark, aside from the towers of Canterlot looming over in the distance.

The Everfree forest seemed to be a few kilometers away, close enough to do it in a day, but not close enough that he would do it right now. It was the middle of the night and therefore (contrary to popular belief) the worst time for sneaking about.

Look at the moon, it’s flickering. Flickering? That can’t be right. Just look. At first it was hard to spot, but after looking at it for long enough he could see that it was indeed flickering. He suddenly got the feeling that he was being watched, yet again. It felt like back at the factory, those few nights ago. He moved away from the window. It didn’t feel right being under the moon.His next task was to find a bale of hay that would hide him adequately from anyone who carelessly wondered in. After taking his pick, he settled down, taking off his coat and covering himself with it.

As Celestia had asked, Luna was scouring the land for the monster. She had initially been watching it through a number of complicated spells, one including the moon, but after that had failed, she decided to undertake the less taxing task of ‘feeling’ the land for hi- it. So far nothing. She groaned in frustration and levitated a glass of water to herself, taking small sips. The night was unusually calm, calmer than normal. Even the crickets were silent, and, she didn’t know why, that scared her. It was like what many ponies had referred to as the ‘calm before the storm’. Maybe it had something to do with the monster, but maybe it didn't, she didn’t know, and that was what she didn’t like. Another one of the many qualities she shared with her sister; they both hated feeling helpless, clueless and unable to control the situation.

She got back to work. Tia would be asking for any news in a few minutes.

Peter sat up, his body aching from the stiffness the cold had brought on.
‘What another glorious day,’ he mumbled to himself. After a few minutes of making sure everything was where it was supposed to be, he gazed out the window. It looked like it was almost noon. ‘Shit, I overslept!’ He hurried down the ladder, and pushed the barn doors open. He was about to leave for the barn when he noticed the five mares from yesterday standing in a semicircle a few metres away from him.

This is the second time...

Luckily for him they weren’t focused on him. He quickly scrambled behind a few barrels of what smelled like cider. In between the barrels he watched them. They seemed to be discussing something, and they all seemed a little grim. Maybe something had happened to Fluttershy? He continued to survey them, but they didn’t seem to be saying much. When they did, they spoke in hushed tones, so he could barely hear them. After a few minutes he decided to move on, and things would have gone a lot smoother if he hadn’t turned around to find a small red maned, yellow filly staring at him. After a few seconds of mutual shock, she screamed.

From behind him he heard somepony, probably the orange one, say, ‘That must be Applebloom!’ He immediately sprinted off towards the forest. As soon as he put weight on his injured leg , he fell over swearing. Gathering himself, he limped away as fast as he could, not looking back. The unmistakable sound of hoof steps came from behind him, and he increased his speed, panicking. If they got to him, they could easily overpower him despite his height advantage. His only chance was the forest.

Fortunately for him, the girls didn’t actually know which way he went, otherwise they would have been upon him much sooner. It was this respite that allowed him to slip unnoticed from the field. At least, so he thought. Behind him a pegasus soared into the air, breaking to a stop several metres above the ground then searching the land around her.

After some time he came to the forest stepping into the foliage. The forest was alive with animals, chitters and all, the sounds of bird songs soothing to the ears. Behind him there was a light purple flash and some coughs.

I thought that had been too easy.

Once more he limped as fast as he could. This time however he didn’t have the same advantage as last time and, while the undergrowth hindered them, it wasn’t enough to save him. Soon a bridge came in sight, and it looked like it had been recently repaired. A few symbols had been etched into a stone tablet that had been set next to it, symbols he seemed to remember...

‘Hol’ it right there!’ The orange pony jumped in front of him, blocking his path. He tried to slip past her but she bucked him in the stomach sending him flying backwards. He started to retch as his nerves kicked in. The ponies formed a circle around him, and when it was obvious he wasn’t getting out he sat down, rubbing his leg. It throbbed now, most of the pain having subsided into numbness.

‘How did you survive?’ Asked Rainbow Dash, still slightly dumbstruck by the turn of events.
‘What, the fall? I got lucky,’ he responded without looking up at her. She took it, deciding that was the best answer he was going to give her on the subject.
‘So are you ponies going to do something, or just stare at me?’ He looked around at them. They were tired from having to chase him so far, though the orange one and Rainbow Dash didn’t look as exhausted as the rest of them. His adrenaline hadn’t quite subsided yet, though, as he tried to formulating a plan to get out. Nothing came to mind.

Twilight stepped forward.
‘You’re coming with us Peter.’ He threw his hands up.
‘We’ve already been over this, I can’t. I’ve got a perso- pony to save, and a home to go to.’
‘But Princess Celestia sai-’
‘Look, never mind what the princess said. If you were dropped into a strange land full of creatures you’ve only heard of in myths and had one chance to go home, wouldn’t you take it?’
‘Wait, we only exist in myth?’ She questioned him, surprised. he rolled his eyes.
‘Yes, I can tell you more later if you want, but right now I have to go save that friend of yours. She isn’t exactly the type of pers- pony to be in a prison cell.’

Twilight faltered. He genuinely wanted to save her, it wasn’t a ruse.
‘Stand down girls.’ Rainbow Dash turned to her.
‘What? He’s an enemy of the state, we have to take him in!’ The purple unicorn sighed.
‘I know Rainbow Dash, but... he’s... he’s just trying to get home. It’s better than having him imprisoned isn’t it?’ She was about to say something, but the pegasus couldn’t think of a better argument. Not at that moment anyway. ‘Besides he’s willing to help save Fluttershy, so why not let him?’ She just shrugged and gave up.

He stood back up and started crossing the bridge.
‘Hey, where’re you going?’ Asked Twilight, who chased after him.
‘There are these ruins up ahead. The cultists are using it as their headquarters, and something tells me that she’s there.’
‘And, uh, what is this something, exactly?’ Asked Rarity who trotted up beside him.
‘A hunch.’
‘Yer goin’ on a hunch.’ Stated Applejack, slightly mortified.
‘Yep. I’ve found that they tend to be right.’

‘So what’s the plan!’ Pinkie Pie started looking under rocks and in bushes as though looking for something.
‘Go inside, get Fluttershy, get out.’ Twilight raised her eyebrow.
‘So what you’re saying is, no plan.’
‘Yep.’ They continued on in silence.

I wonder who that friend of Fluttershy’s is. Which one? The one who’s supposed to help us get home. Oh yeah. Do you think we should ask... these mares? It can wait. It’s only going to make you less focused. You’re right.

They trudged on. As they went further, Peter realised something. The birds had stopped singing.

‘Fluttershy, look at me. It’s going to be fine. They don’t want to do anything to you, they can’t. You’re an element of harmony. The princess will- will punish them if you do.’

Tears streamed down her eyes as the colt in the next cell wailed in pain, every so often the sound of bones snapping interrupting his unending screams. The soldiers were talking about a ‘chamber’ and some ‘ritual’, then when the crying had reduced to a whimper, Slate saw through the door bars that somepony brought a scroll into the other cell. They both listened promptly, Fluttershy suppressing her crying to quiet sobs, as the soldier read something muffled out to the prisoner.

‘Yes! I’ll do it!’ He managed to rasp out. As they dragged his body out, Slate covered Fluttershy’s eyes and grimaced at the colt. The soldiers had broken everything with the exception of his head, probably to allow him to talk unhindered. When they disappeared round the corner, he removed his hooves. She had stopped crying now, but the tears were fresh on her cheeks. He wiped her face dry with a rag they had left in the cell.

‘You’ve got to be brave Fluttershy. I know it’s a lot to take in, but there are worse things that could happen.’
‘L-l-like what?’ She stammered, shaking slightly as a draft rolled in from... somewhere.
‘Well, it could be-’ Wait a minute. A draft! He pressed himself right up against the back of the cell wall and started to tap. Maybe there was a secret passage behind the wall... No, nothing. It wasn’t hollow. The draft must have come from somewhere else.
‘Uncle Slate?’
‘Huh? Oh yeah, uh, well you could be alone. That wouldn’t be very nice would it?’
‘I guess not,’ she replied quietly. He sat down and stared at the wall. There wasn’t a lot to do in a prison cell, and Fluttershy probably didn’t feel like talking.
‘How about we play a game?’ She looked up at him.
‘A game?’
‘Yeah a game. Y’know, to raise the spirits.’
‘Oh, okay. What did you have in mind?’ That was a good question. What could they play locked in a small room?
‘How about eye-spy? It’s as good as any.’ She nodded, even smiling a little. ‘Okay, now, I spy...’

Tyral had asked for another prisoner, and he wanted it now, so apparently the soldiers were supposed to lay off on the long beatings. The soldiers walked side by side down the dark corridors, past a few robed ponies who were cleaning up the remains of a monster that had accidentally come through the portal. They took a few turns, then walked some more until they came upon the holding cells. The first guard looked around. Empty. All except one. They approached it, and as the second guard opened it, the first one entered. Now he had a choice. The colt or the mare...

In the end he decided the mare. The captain had asked for another pony quickly, so they weren’t going to do much to whoever was picked. At least this way she wouldn’t suffer as much.

‘You.’ He pointed to her. ‘Get up.’ The colt immediately sprang up, sending the guard into a combat stance.
‘No, please leave her. Take me instead!’ He loosened up and smiled under his helmet. He’d heard that line hundreds of times in the last two weeks, and while at first it might have seemed heroic, it was felt pretty tacky now. The second guard used his horn to sit him down and keep his mouth shut. The first returned his attention to the mare.
‘I said, up.’

She didn’t move, frozen in abject fear. He rolled his eyes. He trotted over to her to pick her up, but when he came close she suddenly opened her wings and flew to the top corner of the cell. He started chasing her around as the second guard watched in amusement until he finally decided to stop the chase with a magical smack to her head. She hit the ground with a thud and a cry.

Unfortunately for the guards, this meant that Slate was momentarily free of his invisible shackles, and as the first guard turned to meet him, a hoof slammed square into his chest, breaking a few ribs. The second guard once more incapacitated the grey colt, but this time rendered him unconscious so that he wouldn’t cause any more problems. The first guard got up and kicked his body.

‘I was going to show some... restraint, but now, well you've pissed me off.’ As he came closer, she whimpered, too weak to move.
‘Hey, careful, she might try to fly off again,’ the second one said. The first smiled.
‘Well, we’re just going to have to fix that aren’t we...’ She made herself smaller as she cowered in a corner. He reached with both his hooves, clasping her wings with them.

‘Don’t hurt me...’ She pleaded almost silently.
‘Too late.’

‘CRRRRACK.’

(Sorry for the long wait, but writers block has hit me hard. For the last month I sat in front of the screen unable to write anything. Hopefully the next one will arrive sooner. As always, comments are nice as they encourage me to write a lot more, a lot faster.)