Just Blink

Just BlinkDigital_HexChapter Seven

“Now son, don't go past the last flag at the edge of town. Past there are the feral griffons. They aren't like us, they don't like ponies. Can you promise me you won't go past the last flag?”

        I wish I'd listened to my dad.

        I was in another of my lucid dreams, my memories. For a pony who wanted to forget them as much as I did, I sure remembered my past pretty well.

        And there I was, passing the last flag of the town. Anville was small, built on the side of a mountain, and there were warning flags surrounding the town, in three circles. The first, smallest circle of red flags was actually still inside the town, and the flags had torches on them for airships to find the docks that were at the termination of the town.

        The second ring was the green flags, which ringed the actual town limits. They were pretty self-explanatory.

        The third ring, though, were the blue flags that marked the furthest possible expansion point of the city, defense-wise and structure-wise. The town defense couldn't see anything past the blue flags, especially the woodlands to the west of the town. It was a thick forest that swept down the west side of the mountain. Many said there was a gang of feral griffons and other beasts that lived in there, waiting to each little children that wandered in. I figured this was just a little fairy tail meant to scare the foals from venturing in.

        This was true, to an extent. If only I'd known that the feral griffons weren't so... feral.

        There was a small path in the northern part of the town, hidden behind some of the buildings pressed up against the mountains that actually went under part of the town, making for a hidden secret passageway. I was the only one to know it existed, as I was the only colt small enough yet adventurous to follow it.

        I watched my small, immature form squeeze in, sliding down the gravelly path until I popped out on the other side of the large cliff in the northwest corner of the town. The forest stretched before me. I cast one look back, and off I went.

        If I could have screamed at myself, I would have.

        The dream opened up before me, almost like a horror movie that you've seen before. I knew every step that I was taking, as I'd taken them before. On and on, through the forest I marched, until I was outside of the den to Hell.

        Inside, I could hear the sounds of cackling griffons, one of the bands that made residence inside of the woodlands. In that moment, I realized that the stories were true.

        This wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't heard them talking with somepony. It was a deep, feminine voice.

“Yes, I saw a young filly in town, surely she would be a great catalyst. Her body would be... perfect for the spell.”

“And you expect us to just go in, nab the bitch, and not have any fun?!” An older griffon barked.

“Don't worry, you may take her as a reward- and yes, I mean it. Do what you wish, but she must be breathing by the time you bring her to me.”

“Got it, boss. So, when do we head out?”

“Now.”

        Instantly, dozens upon dozens of griffons burst from the top of the den, spilling into the sky. They swooped back down, hugging the tops of the trees so they wouldn't be spotted as easily from town.

        I was frozen in place, but what followed was what frightened me to this day.

“So what's she look like, anyways? How will I know which one to nab?”

“She's a young filly, no cutie mark. Her coat is a dark shade of purple, with a snow-white mane.”

        My heart, beating at hyper-speed a split second early, stopped. Just, stopped.

“She answers to Dream.”

        The next second, it was dark outside. In reality, I'd blacked out, but this was a dream so I couldn't really black-out then, could I?

        I watched myself teleport back, making short rapid-fire blinks forward. As I got closer to town, I heard the screams of ponies, the crackling of flames. Something bad had happened, something very bad.

        I followed the secret tunnel back up, not wanting to be caught. As soon as I returned to the surface, I saw what I'd been hearing.

        Dead ponies and griffons littered the ground, slung across the road and spiked on rocks jutting from the ground. A few houses were on fire, but were being put out by some of the survivor ponies. There were still screams, but they were from further in town. I rushed towards my house, which was the closest to the western wall bordering the woodlands.

        I was stopped before I got there by a guard I recognized that worked with my dad.

“Aural Blink, where were you!” he cried, eyes wide in fear.

“I was... hiding,” I lied, not understanding quite what was going on. Hey, the lie made sense to me at the time; surely, anypony would be hiding from whatever was going on.

“What happened?” I asked him.

“Your dad was stationed at the west wall, standing guard. I guess your mother sent him out to find you. Then-”

        Suddenly, a huge explosion rocked the entire mountainside, a huge pillar of flame rocketing up. I knew where it was coming from. My house.

        I teleported towards my house, charging forward. The griffons had demolished the western wall, tearing a giant hole in the wooden palisades. They'd rearranged them as a barrier blocking access to my home, which was half alight with flames. Guards were fighting griffons one-on-one on both sides of the palisades, but we weren't making any progress towards the house.

        I blinked past the combat, reaching the house unnoticed. The windows were all boarded up from the inside, the thatched roof on fire with an ethereal flame I knew to be magic.

        Blinking inside, I slipped as soon as my hoof touched the floor. I came crashing to the wooden flooring. I groaned, rubbing my hoof on my head. It left a slick smear on my head. I pulled it away to see it was blood.

        I shrieked, stumbling backwards into something soft and warm.

        I craned my head slowly to the side, locking eye-to-eye with the stallion I was leaning into.

“D-dad...” I choked.

        He was dying, almost dead. His chest was torn apart. My mom was crumpled behind him, either unconscious or a corpse.

“Blink... where were you...” he asked slowly, breathing hard for him. He was going to slip any second.

“I- I was in the woods! What happened!”

“I told you not to do that, son. I went to... look for you. Your mother was worried. I must have left the wall unwatched too long, they must have... saw it. I-”

        His eyes suddenly bugged out, and he went still. I was still waiting for him to finish his sentence when he passed. It took me almost a full minute to realize he was never going to speak to me again.

“Dad... DAD!” I cried, rubbing my face into his dirty, sooty mane.

“What was that?” I heard the raspy growl of a griffon down the hall, in the kitchen.

        I gulped before teleporting up, into the room I shared with my sister.

        I shouldn't have.

        I saw her, white mane pulled up by a griffon's claws, her back legs pulled apart so they could violate her that much easier. Her purple coat was covered in many bleeding nicks and bruises.

“D-Dream...”

        It took the griffons in the room a split second to look away from their perverted act and seize me.

“DREAM!” I screamed, punching and squirming as they grabbed me. I tried to teleport away, but my rapid teleporting from early meant I was too low on magic. I was never very good at storing a lot of magic, or keeping a lot on me.

“Look at this, the little guy knows the bitch!” The bigger griffon, the one mashing his hips into my sister's, croaked in glee. I locked eyes with my sister. I saw the fear, the pain, the torment she was going through. I could even see the life starting to drain from her eyes.

“It's going to be okay, Dream! We'll get out!” I shouted, still struggling. This elicited a laugh from the griffons. The one who was holding me slashed down, trying to silence me. All he managed to do was slice a clean rip in my leg.

        I knew that without magic, I was powerless. I had to act.

        My mind went on auto-pilot. I remembered a spell my dad had taught me when I was younger, about siphoning magic from others. I cast out a net, looking for any magic in the area. Surprisingly enough, my sister hadn't used any magic at all. I then saw why.

        They'd broken her horn.

        I cringed before plunging my aura into the weeping appendage, linking my mana pool with hers. A stream of magic strung itself between our horns. A moment later, I had enough energy to perform a single spell.

        A single spell was all I needed.

        I closed my eyes, and we disappeared from the room, the both of us.

        We popped back on the far side of town, on a narrow strip of land that nopony had built on and had no road attached to it, near the north-east of the town.

        I walloped in joy. We were safe! We'd made it! We were free! We both flopped onto the dirt of the ground, laying there for a few moments. I was steadily beginning to feel better, much better in fact.

        “We're free, Dream! We made it!”

        I turned to see Dream looking at me with a sense of relief. We were alive. She opened her mouth to say something, but her eyes suddenly darted to pinpricks. Something was still wrong.

        I hadn't dropped the spell. I lifted my leg to my eyes to see as my body began using the magic to heal myself. The hide and flesh on my leg slowly began stitching itself together until it was gone completely.,

        I looked back to Dream. She looked like she was going to be sick. She still was trying to say something.

        “Y-you said you were going to s-save me,” she whispered as she collapsed to one hoof.

        “S-so why do I-”

        That's when her horn imploded into her face, severing the connection between us. I was showered in a torrent of her blood as her body keeled forward.

“Dream!”

        Hours passed before anypony turned away from the battle raging along the house to see us, and all of the griffons in the house and defending it were slaughtered. All of them.

        I spent the entire time weeping over the body of the sister I'd never see again.

. . . . . . . . . .

        “That is... tragic, we must say.”

        I looked up. Blackness surrounded me, and I seemed to be floating.

        “I'm still in my dream, aren't I?” I said, hanging my head in defeat.

        “Yes, we are... apologetic to what you have been through.”

        I looked around.

        “Who's talking to me? Who are you?”

        “Ah, my apologies,” said the voice, and suddenly I was sitting in a small pool of light. Another pool of light appeared a few paces away from me, and I was rather surprised by who I saw.

        It was fragging Princess Luna.