The Marrow of the Spirit Book One: Ashes Against the Grain

His fingers were the warmest part of his body, at the moment. He twitched them gently, rubbing the fur of the little filly he held in his arms. He nudged his cloak closer against the two of them, trying to fight off the harsh cold from their makeshift shelter. I knew we had to leave soon, but during a fucking blizzard? Goddess, what was I thinking? I could get Cherry and myself killed! He stared down at his little sister, a filly with bright red fur and a green mane; he remembered how they would play in the back fields of his house back in Arkon, along with his older brother Birch Black (or BB as he's called...or was called) and older sister, Summer Isle. Those were good days, then. Before the war, before the Massacre at Snowhoof, before all the shit that happened over the past couple of years. And especially before freezing to fucking death in the worst snowstorm Equestria has seen in centuries.

He missed the warmth of the sun in the fields outside of Snowhoof after a day of training with Dad, or the smell of the treats that arose in splendor over the rooftops. Hell, he even missed the bad things-the harsh summers, the harsher winters, the stares he would receive from outsiders to the village, even though he well known throughout the kingdom of Arkon (no one forgets the bipedal adopted son of Bright Steel, current Grand Master of the Wilder-Land Rangers). He missed them all, friends and assholes alike, who perished in the war, no, the SLAUGHTER that the Minotauri unleashed on his home. They were all gone, His Family, His friends, especially Gryden, the griffin, whose been his closest friend since he was a child, a proud future Ranger, and practically his brother...he was gone, too.

He drew his sword from its sheath and observed the reflection that stared back at him from the blade. He saw himself, Agalloch, apparently the only one of his species, and probably the only one left of his village and family besides Cherry. He observed his sharp features, from the black crop of raggedy hair that adorned his head, to the many scars that he received recently from battles with the Minotauri, to is flat face, small lips, and sharp nose. There many creatures that adorned this world, some beautiful like the Princess of the Sun herself, some like the ugly Hydras that stalk the Wild, and some just straight out strange, like Prince Discord and his bodily patchwork. Yet his face, his hairless, bipedal body was neither ugly, nor beautiful. Strange, maybe, but not totally strange. It was...unique. Some fur would have been nice, though. It would really help in his current situation, what with freezing to death and all that.

Standing up carefully, extending to his full height of 6'5, he shuffled the filly deeper under his cloak, sheathing his sword and continued walking on. Agalloch knew he was in a forest of ill reputation, and the less time he spent there, the better. If there was a path to follow, it was buried under layers of snow. The howling winds nipped at his bare ears and chapped lips, but his need to see the two them through this ordeal steeled his resolve, and he trudged forward into the hellish fray. He could barely make out the timberline ahead of him. Hopefully a town would be up ahead, so that he could get himself and Cherry out of this fucking storm and some where warm, dry, and hopefully, safe.

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Mayor Mare slunked her head onto the desk. The current snowstorm had stuck in her office, a place that she longed with all her might to leave and go home, brew up so warm tea, and read the latest edition the Big Apple magazine. She didn't know why, but she really got a kick out of those political cartoons.

She rose from her desk, and was soon trotting around the empty building of town hall. It occurred to her that she has been Mayor of her beloved town for years now, but has never seen this building this...empty before. All of her staff were requested to leave before the storm hit their area, by her orders no less, yet she remained behind to finish some last minute paper work, hoping to finish it before the Storm of the bucking Century hit. She was so, so wrong. Now, she was stuck here until the worst of it was over, which could take Goddess knows how long! The Things I do for tax breaks sighed Mayor Mare. After this, she was taking a long needed vacation somewhere, preferably somewhere extremely warm, where she wouldn't have to worry about getting frostbite from accidentally leaving the window open...BUCK!

No wonder it was so cold in here! Mayor Mare dashed to the second level of the building, following the sound of the whistling wind, to the one of the targets of her current misery. She followed the sound until she heard the pinnacle of it's unholy shrieks from the window coming from the break room.

"Stupid interns," Mayor Mare muttered to herself, "always messing something up, and now, are attempting to turn me into a pony Popsicle!"

She slammed the window shut in her irritation, allowing the room to slowly heat up. Glancing outside, she noticed that the gusting torrents of snow were beginning to slack.

Finally she thought maybe I could make it ho...what the ...Her musings were cut short when she noticed a figure shambling towards the town hall. Right off the bat, she noticed that this was no pony. She could clearly see that it walked upon two legs, but could not make out the species of creature, due to the long black and tattered cloak it adorned itself with. Her next thought was what would any creature be doing out in a storm like this? Only a mad stallion would be out during literal shit storm. She observed it as it came closer and closer to town hall, until it was literally at her doorstep. Loud and frantic thumps her heard against the door, downstairs. The faint echoes of screams could be heard coming from outside, but was badly muffled by the wind outside.  Whatever it is, it was desperately trying to get in. Though she was afraid, Mayor Mare knew she couldn't leave what ever it was down stairs to die in the cold. Steeling her nerves, she took a deep breath and dashed down the stairs to he front entrance and slowly opened the door.

"Please...help...her..."

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Agalloch could feel not only the effects of hypothermia settling in, but the tell tale signs of frostbite. And if he were faring ill, than Cherry would also be in serious danger of freezing to death. The timberline was close, only a few hundred feet or so away, allowing a small amount of hope to build in his chest. Agalloch was a tough guy, but even he bent to the will of Mother Nature, and boy, was Mother Nature really taking her PMS out on him. He tried to crack a smile at his little musing, but the thought of his and Cherry's death was ever present in his mind, a harsh reminder to his current situation. And so he picked up the pace, praying to whichever Goddess would listen that the storm would abate, or at the most, calm for just awhile.

He breached the timberline, huffing and taking deep breaths. Taking a knee, he knelt to catch his breath, exhaustion and fatigue begging his body to stop, to take a break, to die, even, just to stop. He heard a small whimper from his cloak and shifted his head to look at Cherry. She was shivering nonstop, with frost beginning to form at the tip of her developing wings. Cherry is just filly, she won't last much longer Agalloch thought. Cherry was only a few years old, and though no longer a foal, was still developing, and considerably weaker than her elder sibling.

"A....Ag....Aggie...I...I'm so...c...ccc...cold....." Cherry shivered out.

"Don't.worry...Ch...Ch...Cherry...I...I'm…gonna....g..get us...somewhere..W...w.... warm" Agalloch stuttered out.

With that, he wrapped her up once more, got up, and trudged onward.

A slight break in the weather was graced upon the two, allowing Agalloch to survey his surroundings. Up ahead, sure as shit, was a town. He made out several houses and cottages, and what appeared to be a mansion in the clouds (though how it stayed afloat in this storm was beyond his comprehension), but what garnered his attention was the large building in what appeared to be the center of the town. Agalloch had questions, questions that needed answering. If that building was what he thought it was, it was his destination and by the Gods would he make it there. Feeling a sudden burst of adrenaline, Agalloch Dashed off as fast as the snow would let him in the direction of the village.

Reaching what he though was the center of the town, the last rush of the adrenaline in him slowly diminished, and Agalloch felt the very real feeling of total exhaustion fall over him like a blanket. His vision began to fade in and out, and he felt queasy and disorientated, but ,most of all, numb. He could barely feel his limbs anymore, which is never a good sign. With the last of his strength, Agalloch shambled towards the doors of the large building before him. Reaching the door, he attempted to open it and burst in, but found that it was locked. His consciousness was fading quickly, and his fear for Cherry's life was growing into a full-scale panic. He tore off his cloak, wrapping Cherry in a cocoon of rags, placed by the doorstep and frantically began pounding on the door, his desperation to save his last family member becoming his duty.

"PLEASE!! OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!!!" he yelled, while the wind carried his voice to the heavens. He fell to his knees again, grabbing the bundle from floor and holding it close to his chest. He could make out Cherry's breathing, but could tell it was very labored. She would die soon. Agalloch felt the tears begin to form. Beside his sword and his cloak, she was all he had, the last reminder of home, of family, of any good remaining in the world. And he was going to lose her...

No

NO!!!

"NOOOOO!! NOT YOU TWO!!!!!!!"

The last spark in Agalloch's chest ignited, and a fire of resolve burned strong him in. He lost his friends, his family, his home, his fucking country, but he will not lose her!!!

He rose to feet, ready to break the door down and save his sister's life and damn the consequences, when the door creaked open, and was greeted by the sight of a tan mare with a gray mane. She looked at Agalloch with mixture of confusion, awe and fear. Down to his knees he went, meeting her eye to eye. His eyes began to water, as tears of gratitude began to fill them. He thanked the Gods, his ancestors, everything and anything, for this one small mercy. He opened his arms to the mare, revealing the filly shivering and freezing under them.

"Please.................help.....her.............."