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Lavenci

Monsters

Sep 14th, 2014
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  1. Preceded by Isolation at http://pastebin.com/DW5jNTzk
  2.  
  3. Crystal Empire Stories, Part III: Monsters
  4.  
  5. The meadow on the outskirts was always her favorite place.
  6.  
  7. Verdant, lush and warm. That's how she'll remember it. Soft grass underhoof and the sound of laughter in the wind.
  8.  
  9. And how each sun-laden afternoon they'd race through the sprawling cobblestone streets of the city, chasing one another with a joy so simple but fervent. That tiny little abstract they could not quite place, filling them and growing until they knew nothing but the overwhelming feel of it.
  10.  
  11. Love. Happiness, a certain kind of content which would be unfathomable if not for the Princess.
  12.  
  13. In her, they had safety. A guarantee of tomorrow. So long as she stood, the Crystal Empire was protected.
  14.  
  15. But two young foals could not be concerned with matters of such gravity. What they knew was that they were free to do as they wished, so long as they did not stray outside the borders.
  16.  
  17. That day, like so many others before it, the little pegasus filly and her brother made their way to that meadow on the edge of town. Past the outlying farmhouses they ran, breeze warm, inviting, scattering their manes as they took turns flying as high as they could go until their little wings fatigued.
  18.  
  19. "One more?" she asked her brother, who had just touched down from his last flight and was heaving visibly from the effort.
  20.  
  21. "Fine," he said between gulps of air, sweat running wet through his grey, crystalline fur. "Try if you want, but you aren't gonna get better than the run I just pulled."
  22.  
  23. Playfully she grabbed him in a headlock and ruffled his amber mane. "Yeah that's what you think."
  24.  
  25. She nudged him aside and began stretching her wings in preparation.
  26.  
  27. "Watch and learn, big brother," she said, mouth turning upward into a grin.
  28.  
  29. He leaned back, resting on his hindlegs as he waited. "Alright, let's see it then."
  30.  
  31. She loaded into position, tightening her core and hindlegs while flexing her wings in anticipation.
  32.  
  33. Flutters in her stomach. Every time.
  34.  
  35. "What did I tell you? Don't think. Just do it," he said.
  36.  
  37. She nodded absently, face set. Explosively she launched.
  38.  
  39. She surprised herself with how much acceleration she'd achieved, and before she realized it her brother and the sparse few trees nearest him had become tiny specks upon the green carpet of earth below her.
  40.  
  41. The skies had never seemed so blue and tantalizingly closer did they seem to draw, so close she could at times swear she'd tasted heaven. And this, she thought, the feeling of being in the middle of so much nothing, not a thing in the world holding her down, the air rushing past her and blowing her icy blue mane askew, this was freedom.
  42.  
  43. But the higher she climbed, the more she realized that everything wasn't exactly right. That pretty blue, it curiously seemed to wane after a certain point. And higher still, it faded, greyed, and it occurred to her that something was subtly wrong. Like a ringing in her ears, it was a sound she couldn't quite hear but she could feel it.
  44.  
  45. She was beginning to get lightheaded. But it wasn't time to stop yet. She had to see how much further she could push, and so she beat her wings steady and continued to ascend.
  46.  
  47. A flash, off in the corner of her peripheral vision, it startled her. She turned her head to look and see if it would return.
  48.  
  49. Another one, and this time she saw it clearly. An arc of light bristled crookedly through the darkening sky, followed seconds later by a distant rumble.
  50.  
  51. "Lovely," she whispered in awe as she realized that for the first time she was witnessing lightning. Strange, she thought, that something so common everywhere but there could be the object of so much fascination for her. And several more bolts streaked across the sky in rapid succession, booming thunder growing closer each time until it was loud enough that she could feel it rattling her bones.
  52.  
  53. A feeling pervaded her. And it sank in more with each passing second. Something was absolutely wrong. She thought of her brother.
  54.  
  55. She glanced down and realized with alarm so sudden that she could no longer see the ground at all. Fear gripped her, cold and welling up quickly in the pit of her stomach.
  56.  
  57. Wings then folded, she flipped around so that her head was pointed downward, and so began her descent. But as she neared the surface, the sky grew no lighter. In fact, everything seemed to be darker still, the air itself becoming thick, frigid and almost suffocating.
  58.  
  59. The fear began to enter her mind that she'd somehow left the city's protective barrier.
  60.  
  61. She couldn't be sure. But that was the only thing that made sense.
  62.  
  63. Shortly she found the ground again. But to her surprise as she neared it, the blanketing night lifted. As if she'd simply flown out of it, the air was warm, sun shining overhead.
  64.  
  65. She spread her wings and glided gently to the ground, landing softly upon the grass.
  66.  
  67. "Brother?" she called.
  68.  
  69. She looked around, turning a full circle before coming to a stop. It was unnervingly quiet.
  70.  
  71. "Brother!?" she said louder, voice cracking, panic beginning to grasp her.
  72.  
  73. "Over here!" he called from the distance. "It's okay, sis. I'm right over here. Come on!"
  74.  
  75. Relief, it bathed her, washing away her worries.
  76.  
  77. "Ugh, thank the Sun you're alright. I was concerned," she said as she ran toward his voice. But after traveling for half a minute she still had not found him. "I can't see you! Where are you!?"
  78.  
  79. Nothing.
  80.  
  81. A breeze struck her, warm and pleasant.
  82.  
  83. "Brother?"
  84.  
  85. "Sis!" he called from even further than before. "You coming?"
  86.  
  87. She shook her head in confusion. It seemed, if anything, he was moving away from her. But it could do nothing to deter her. She began to run again and finally stretched her wings and took flight. Gliding low over the ground, she again became uncomfortably stricken by just how close she must be to the border.
  88.  
  89. She landed at the very limit and stood before a worn signpost which simply read, "TURN BACK NOW".
  90.  
  91. The magenta sheen of the magic which protected the city, it glimmered before her. Beyond it she could see nothing.
  92.  
  93. "Brother!" she yelled, voice wavering. "Did... did you go outside?"
  94.  
  95. Silence.
  96.  
  97. She bit her lip with indecision. Pacing back and forth, eyeing the imposing wall of energy standing before her, she was sure only that she knew not what to do.
  98.  
  99. "Yeah, I got turned around!" he called back at last, causing her heart to leap. "Just come here, you won't believe what I've found!"
  100.  
  101. She knew the implications of venturing outside.
  102.  
  103. "Why don't you come back?"
  104.  
  105. But he sounded like he was fine. Perhaps it would be okay, she thought.
  106.  
  107. "I can't just yet. You HAVE to see this!"
  108.  
  109. That tone in his voice, it was familiar, and she knew she no longer had a choice. He was not going to take 'no' for an answer. She had to go to him.
  110.  
  111. "Everything will be fine," she whispered to herself. "I'll just go get him, return quickly, and everything will be fine."
  112.  
  113. But she still wasn't so sure.
  114.  
  115. She steeled herself, took a deep breath and stepped through.
  116.  
  117. Warmth, humid, like stepping into a sauna, it washed over her, tingling and saturating her flesh. As she emerged on the other side however, it was as if she'd been drenched in freezing water. She was suddenly so cold that she could hardly move. Wildly she looked around to gather her surroundings. Dark, heavy and thick did the clouds hang, blotting out the sun almost entirely. Snow descended in sheets nearly horizontal, driving at her, covering her and chilling her to her core.
  118.  
  119. She'd heard his voice. She knew he was out there. But there was something still, there in the pit of her stomach, something which told her that everything was not alright. And that she had perhaps made a very large mistake.
  120.  
  121. But for him, she'd convinced herself that she could do this. She tried her best to acclimate to the cold. She would find him.
  122.  
  123. "AEGIS!" she screamed. "WHERE ARE YOU!?"
  124.  
  125. She could no longer hear her brother.
  126.  
  127. "Finally," a deep voice said from the inky dark of the snowstorm. "Take her."
  128.  
  129. Claws. Scratching her, gripping her, cutting into her flesh, she could already feel the blood weeping from her nascent wounds as shadowy figures encroached upon her and began to bind her legs together. A sensation, like a sudden dull thump on the back of her head and everything became starry and faded.
  130.  
  131. The last thing she saw before losing consciousness was a cloaked figure looming over her. Nothing about it could be discerned, save for one prominent feature.
  132.  
  133. She noticed with horror as it leaned in closely a razor-sharp beak protruding from beneath its hood.
  134.  
  135. "Sleep, little one," the voice crooned as she drifted off. "Perhaps in dream you may find respite."
  136.  
  137. ----------
  138.  
  139. Her eyes opened. At first she could not remember what had happened, nor where she was. But she was aware that her legs were no longer bound. And for that much she was grateful.
  140.  
  141. Her head hurt. Terribly so.
  142.  
  143. Dizzy. She looked around, but everything was hazy and hard to comprehend.
  144.  
  145. "Aegis," she whispered, sudden anxiety gripping her gut.
  146.  
  147. It was still very cold. But not nearly so much as before. And there was light.
  148.  
  149. After a moment, she stood. And she began to find that she could interpret what she saw.
  150.  
  151. She was in a large, crudely constructed cage, and beyond its bars she could see numerous tents; some with smoldering firepits built outside of them, columns of smoke gently rising and twisting upward towards the sky.
  152.  
  153. The sky. She glanced upward and realized there was no ceiling. This cage, it was nothing more than a series of long stakes pushed into the ground to surround what was placed inside.
  154.  
  155. She stretched her wings out and then the rest of her muscles in succession. Besides her driving headache, a few trivial lacerations and a painful knot developing beneath her mane, she found that she was uninjured. She glanced around once more then prepared to take off quickly and perhaps find Aegis before anyone could notice her absence.
  156.  
  157. "I wouldn't do that, little one."
  158.  
  159. Her heart leapt into her throat. Slowly she folded her wings back down and looked behind her.
  160.  
  161. "We can fly too. And I assure you," the muscular, tawny-feathered gryphon said as he ambled towards the cage. "We are much faster than you."
  162.  
  163. He flicked his tongue out, running it along the edge of his beak.
  164.  
  165. As she began to back away from him, she tripped over something and only barely regained her balance. She looked down.
  166.  
  167. Bones. They littered the floor of the cage.
  168.  
  169. "Hah! Our little friend awakens!" another voice said, this one much louder. She looked to her side and saw that this one was even bigger, feathers shiny and black and he was wearing a cloak fashioned of some strange material which she couldn't quite place.
  170.  
  171. "Indeed she has," she heard from behind her. She turned to see three more gryphons approaching. They were wearing cloaks as well, some with their hoods still up. And it was then that she could see.
  172.  
  173. Fur tattered beyond ruined, but unmistakeably it was the shape of muzzles, ears, tufts of ragged manes.
  174.  
  175. Their cloaks were the skinned flesh of ponies.
  176.  
  177. "WHERE IS HE!?" she screamed shrilly, causing silence to fall over them.
  178.  
  179. The large black-feathered one, he took a step towards her and leaned down right in front of the cage, bringing his pocked beak mere centimeters from her face.
  180.  
  181. "Worry not, my little pony. He still lives," he said soothingly.
  182.  
  183. "Take me to him now," she growled.
  184.  
  185. "Oh, I don't think we will. Not yet," he said, considering her. "But I do admire the courage, the audacity of you to make such a bold demand. Particularly considering the disadvantageous position in which you've found yourself."
  186.  
  187. "LET ME SEE MY BROTHER!" she said, screaming louder than before and banging her hooves against the cage.
  188.  
  189. He backed away, then turned to the first gryphon who'd spoken to her. He shrugged.
  190.  
  191. "Fine then," he said, addressing her again but briefly, aggravation in his voice ringing clear. "I fail to see the harm in it. We've simply been having some fun with him."
  192.  
  193. "What have you done to him?" she asked quietly, stomach knotted with dread.
  194.  
  195. He laughed heartily. "Nevermind, my love. You'll know soon enough."
  196.  
  197. Turning to the other three, he said something in a language incomprehensible to her. They nodded, and one of them spread his broad, powerful wings and took flight with surprising speed. He landed inside the cage and put his arm around the little white pegasus.
  198.  
  199. "I trust you won't struggle?" he said softly to her as he picked her up, careful not to hurt her with his talons.
  200.  
  201. She said nothing.
  202.  
  203. "She knows better. Just bring her."
  204.  
  205. He nodded, then with a single beat of his wings they launched over the tops of the bars and landed gently outside the cage.
  206.  
  207. "Be good, lass," he said as he set her down.
  208.  
  209. Her glance flitted to the others, their greedy eyes playing across her and she thought again of the bones in her cage.
  210.  
  211. But she had to find him. They'd said he was alive. So she swallowed her fear and followed.
  212.  
  213. Soon it became apparent that it was not just the cage littered with remains. The entire camp was strewn with bits of rotting animals, pieces so mangled that their species could not be identified. Some could be ponies, she thought. But certainty evaded her and she could not bear to look long enough to find an answer.
  214.  
  215. In some spots there were piles of limbs; in others defiled, unrecognizable corpses laid out in the sparse sunlight. Flies buzzed thickly in clouds, hovering over the deceased and feasting upon the unwanted leftovers of those empty husks. Her disgust was overwhelming, stomach turning and she could not hold back the retch she felt building inside her. She began to feel lightheaded and veered away to the side of the path. Closing her eyes, she tried her hardest to subjugate the sickness and keep walking. But her hoof nudged against something soft, somewhat warm, and when she opened her eyes she saw the glassy, vacant stare of a pony who'd had his belly split open. And suddenly the smell, the sight of him, his innards spilled and the maggots writhing in his exposed viscera; that sad, blank stare of his dead eyes, it pushed her past the brink. She fell to her knees and vomited profusely into the stained grass beside him.
  216.  
  217. "Hold," the black-feathered one said as he held up his claw. "We wait for her to finish."
  218.  
  219. "Hmph," one of the others mumbled irritably, followed by speech in their native tongue just beneath his breath. Deftly did he move, and she only just caught the greenish glimmer of his eyes as he quickly closed on her from behind. To her absolute horror and revulsion, he grasped the back of her neck and pushed her head down, leveraging his other claw beneath her belly and pulling her exposed flank up swiftly towards his eager waiting hips.
  220.  
  221. She screamed.
  222.  
  223. A set of talons lashed out at him with speed blinding and struck him across the neck. The white little filly turned her head to see him slump to the ground next to her, grasping at his throat. Crimson pumped from the wound, running in bursts rhythmic from between his claws and she watched as his eyes widened and locked with hers. He gasped, writhing about as fear pervaded him utterly.
  224.  
  225. And she could see in those eyes, light burning dimmer as he went far away, that he knew he was dying.
  226.  
  227. Strangely she felt her stomach settle somewhat as she watched with a nascent, morbid fascination.
  228.  
  229. "Come along," the tawny gryphon said softly as he wiped his bloodied talons on the tattered cloak of the fallen one.
  230.  
  231. She rose slowly, still staring. He nudged her, ushering her along as the group began moving once more.
  232.  
  233. The mouth of a cave loomed ahead of them and drew steadily nearer, entrance dark save for the light of a few torches which could be seen lining the tunnel.
  234.  
  235. "Why?" she asked as they approached the ominous opening.
  236.  
  237. "Why what?" he replied as he walked ahead of her, not breaking stride nor bothering to look back.
  238.  
  239. "Why did you do that?"
  240.  
  241. "Do... what?" he asked, finally shooting her a glance, incredulous. "You alright, little one?"
  242.  
  243. She looked back. But she could no longer even quite call to mind what had just transpired.
  244.  
  245. "Hmm? Can't you speak now?"
  246.  
  247. "I..." she began, shaking her head in confusion. She found that already she was unsure of what she'd asked him. "N-nothing."
  248.  
  249. "Stay close, and you will be safe." He looked back once more, smiling slightly. His eyes narrowed, as if he knew something. As if he was hiding something. "Not much longer then."
  250.  
  251. Silence fell upon them as they walked onward into the dark.
  252.  
  253. Torchlight flickered, casting shadows wildly against rough-hewn walls of rock. She remained as close as she could to the tawny-feathered gryphon. He was no friend. But for some reason she could no longer entirely place, she felt she could find safety in him.
  254.  
  255. That was what she needed most of all in that moment.
  256.  
  257. But she could not dwell on that for long.
  258.  
  259. She wondered at her surroundings as they seemed to gradually change, marveling at how very much the place began to remind her of something so familiar. The cave floor was no longer so coarse, and in fact as it smoothed, it faded into cobblestones quite pleasant underhoof.
  260.  
  261. The walls, they were different here too. No longer were they the bleak, depressing rock of the cave, but an intricate growth of lattice-woven twigs and roots. Cool green moss adorned the beautiful tunnel, and it did much to soothe her unquiet mind and give her a feeling of peace. The sun leaked through overhead, piercing the ceiling in spots and dappling their path with splotches of light.
  262.  
  263. "Where are we?" she asked as she gazed up at ceilings alive.
  264.  
  265. Tawny, it was simple and plain and utterly boring but she'd decided in her head that it could be his name. He laughed softly, saying simply, "Oh, little love. We've nearly arrived. Soon, soon. All shall become apparent."
  266.  
  267. She admired him, honestly. He'd saved her from... she wasn't sure. But it was surely pain. But why did he care? Did she care? She was sure only that she didn't.
  268.  
  269. His face, it struck her as she looked up adoringly at him. Features austere, beak cracked in places from battles past, but beneath his world-weary appearance he contained... compassion. Maybe just for her.
  270.  
  271. "Look alive," he whispered. "For we've found it.
  272.  
  273. Finally the tunnel ended. As they stepped outside, she found she was in a meadow much similar the one she and her brother had been playing in for years.
  274.  
  275. Verdant, lush and warm. Just how she remembered it. Soft grass underhoof and the sound of laughter in the wind.
  276.  
  277. "Sister!"
  278.  
  279. Her heart leaped as she looked around, searching desperately, frantically for the source of his voice.
  280.  
  281. "Aegis?" she called. "Where are you?"
  282.  
  283. Trees, she could then see, they surrounded the entirety of this place, encompassing it, encapsulating it in a living wall.
  284.  
  285. "Right here," he whispered in her ear.
  286.  
  287. She looked beside her, and suddenly all her worries were gone. Fears washed away into nothing as she laid eyes on him. For he was there with her, happy and whole.
  288.  
  289. "Brother..." she gasped as she threw her forelegs around him.
  290.  
  291. "I'm so happy you could come," he said breathlessly as he returned her embrace. "Let me show you this."
  292.  
  293. She glanced back at the gryphons hesitantly.
  294.  
  295. "Don't worry," he said, noticing her apprehension. "They brought you here for me."
  296.  
  297. He led her deeper into the field so green, grass climbing past her knees in the thick of it. And there in the middle of the clearing was a tree quite unlike anything she had ever seen before.
  298.  
  299. It was beautiful beyond words.
  300.  
  301. Branches wide, splayed and so full. White petals adorned them, delicate, pure and seemingly soft as snow.
  302.  
  303. The sun was hanging bright and low overhead, casting shadows deep across them as they approached.
  304.  
  305. Heartstopping. The most perfect painting could not compare.
  306.  
  307. Perfection, epitomized.
  308.  
  309. They sat down on the grass beneath the shade it offered, facing one another.
  310.  
  311. "Brother, I was so, so scared," she said to him, eyes tearing up as she leaned back on her hindlegs, pulling him toward her.
  312.  
  313. "You still have me," he said as he wrapped his forelegs around her neck. "If only for moments more."
  314.  
  315. Whispers. In her head, in her heart. She could feel it, something she could not quite place.
  316.  
  317. "What do you mean?"
  318.  
  319. It occurred to her that she felt the same uneasiness as she did when she'd flown up to the limits of the city's barrier. When she'd seen the lightning, the darkness in the sky. Like something had spoken to her, called out to her but wordlessly. But that felt like such a long time ago.
  320.  
  321. "Shh, just watch this with me. Please," he implored her as he lifted a grey, crystalline hoof to point towards the gryphons slowly nearing.
  322.  
  323. The lot of them, it seemed to have grown. For though there remained only four in her escort, there were now at least a dozen marching toward them.
  324.  
  325. "Aegis," she murmured in his ear. "What's happening? What will they do?"
  326.  
  327. "All in time," he replied. His voice was becoming strange, she thought. It seemed deeper then, almost unfamiliar. "Just watch."
  328.  
  329. And that glow in his eyes, that green sheen reflecting on his lenses, it did nothing to settle her at all.
  330.  
  331. She shifted her gaze reluctantly toward them. The gryphons on the outside of the group split off first. Wings spreading to their fullest width, they left the ground with shocking speed in directions opposing. They stopped, hovering, waiting some several meters up in the sky.
  332.  
  333. Next, the several on either side nearest the middle departed from the soft, grassy earth at speeds equaling the first. They spread out, each maintaining distance from the other and formed an arc, an array of hovering talons and sheer voluminous muscle.
  334.  
  335. Lastly, Tawny and the black-feathered one departed from the very center. Rising slowly, they completed the semi-circle and for some moments, they all remained suspended there.
  336.  
  337. A shadow coursed over them, briefly flitting past.
  338.  
  339. One by one, bursts of bright green aether began to pour from their eyes as they moved.
  340.  
  341. Faster and faster did they travel, from one side of the clearing to the other, rapidly and with an ease unparelleled by anything she'd ever seen.
  342.  
  343. Like flickering lights they danced to music unheard. Speed, grace exemplified and so deftly did they change step and move in a rhythm dynamic. She could do nothing but marvel at the sight of their silent show as she held Aegis, clinging tightly to him in the midst of it all.
  344.  
  345. Gliding past one another, they began to close little by little until she could see they were touching wingtips with each pass.
  346.  
  347. "Dance with me, sister," he said to her as he stood.
  348.  
  349. Aegis looked into her eyes and smiled, tears forming as they moved to the thump of the gryphons' beating hearts resounding louder in their ears as ever smaller did their formation become. From one soul to another in their intricately beautiful exchange she could feel their energy, their geist as they flew patterns crisscrossing endlessly above, beneath and around that lush, gorgeous tree so full of life.
  350.  
  351. "You went through so much to find me. Weren't you afraid of dying?" Aegis spoke into her ear.
  352.  
  353. "Maybe," she said, forelegs still wrapped around his neck, in step with his slow dance as he led. "But I think we all are. My greatest fear, it isn't that though. It's losing you."
  354.  
  355. He held her tight beneath that tree as their pretty spiral dance drew near its inevitable conclusion.
  356.  
  357. But there she found a sensation peculiar, a kind of wetness nagging her and tickling her chest and her belly. A glance downward made her heart twist.
  358.  
  359. She was covered in her brother's blood, her pretty fur so white then stained crimson.
  360.  
  361. His eyes widened. "Sister..."
  362.  
  363. She ran her hoof delicately along his stomach, and then she could feel it. His abdomen had been split open and his intestines were beginning to bulge through.
  364.  
  365. "I'm-" he shuddered, suddenly and violently. "I-I'm so, so s-sorry."
  366.  
  367. Terror saturated her.
  368.  
  369. "Aegis!?" she screamed and her breath came out thick, burning, a white wisp upon the sudden freezing cold air.
  370.  
  371. The sky thinned, darkened, those snow-soft petals gone away. And they were then plunged into chaos.
  372.  
  373. Spinning, slashing, talons a flurry, they leaped upon one another, tearing each other to pieces. She watched, so numb, dead as they spilled each others' blood just as far and wide as they could.
  374.  
  375. Bowels bursting as talons and razor-beaks found purchase upon the soft flesh of bellies, arteries severed and painting the cave walls red. It was, in every fashion, the quintessence of a nightmare.
  376.  
  377. She huddled down close to Aegis, holding him with eyes shut tight while she waited, wishing for it to just be over.
  378.  
  379. Whispers, indiscernible, filling her head, they turned her about until she was no longer even sure what was happening.
  380.  
  381. A loud thump, very near them, and she dared to look.
  382.  
  383. Tawny had fallen to the ground beside her, chest split open. Eyes glassy, blank and unblinking.
  384.  
  385. And finally there stood only one.
  386.  
  387. He turned around slowly, blood dripping from his talons, his beak, smeared all over his black feathers. His bright, glowing green eyes widened as he looked upon her.
  388.  
  389. "He took him away from you," she heard ringing clear through the miasma of hatred welling in her.
  390.  
  391. Gently she let go of her brother and stood.
  392.  
  393. Her head ached with a pressure incredible, but still she approached him. As she leaned up to him, placing her forehooves around him, she could see only that meadow growing ever smaller beneath her.
  394.  
  395. And she could almost feel the sky.
  396.  
  397. "Freedom," she whispered.
  398.  
  399. Mane tousling in the breeze as she flew ever higher.
  400.  
  401. "You took that from me."
  402.  
  403. She leaned up and softly she pressed her lips against his neck.
  404.  
  405. "My brother," she said just slightly louder as her mouth left him and she laid her muzzle against his shoulder. He expected she would be warm against his body. But she felt like ice.
  406.  
  407. And laughter, Aegis' laughter on the warm, everlasting summer wind, it resounded sweetly in her.
  408.  
  409. "You took him from me too."
  410.  
  411. Simply he stood there as a peculiar, wet heat spread down his thigh. He realized as it grew frigid, feathers stiff, that he had urinated on himself. Fear, stark and utter, it dawned on him at last and he found it impossible to move. A tear trickled through the feathers of his downy cheek, freezing as it fell.
  412.  
  413. He at last glanced upward towards that ugly, crooked broken tree.
  414.  
  415. "Dream now," a strange, deep voice echoed deafeningly as shadows descended quickly upon him. "In thineself, find solace."
  416.  
  417. ----------
  418.  
  419. "There," he said as he picked his way over the rocky terrain. "Up on the hill. Do you see the columns of smoke?"
  420.  
  421. Her face reflected a twinge of worry. "Finally. I was beginning to wonder if we'd ever find it. Let's go, everyone."
  422.  
  423. "Ma'am?"
  424.  
  425. "That would be the camp. We expect it to be... no longer occupied, but be on your guard nonetheless."
  426.  
  427. The trail was difficult. Steep, and littered with boulders, roots and all manner of other obstacles. It obviously had not been used in years. And their armor and equipment was certainly not getting any lighter.
  428.  
  429. But they were motivated greatly by the thought that they'd get to return home soon. So climb they did.
  430.  
  431. Upon cresting the final rise, they were greeted by a sight gruesome.
  432.  
  433. Bodies littered the ground. Remnants of gryphons scattered everywhere. Some torn limb from limb, disemboweled, a few with their heads severed completely. And so much blood painting the ground red.
  434.  
  435. "Looks like the last camp we found," her lieutenant said quietly. "Delightful."
  436.  
  437. She shook her head in disgust. Walking deeper in, the amount of perversion and depravity reflected in the deaths became a bit much to take. Some gutted, disemboweled, some with their flesh flayed off only to find another lying nearby wearing it.
  438.  
  439. She felt sick.
  440.  
  441. "All dead," he reported.
  442.  
  443. "Obviously," she responded dryly. "We shall report back to Princess Cadence then. We can glean nothing more from being here."
  444.  
  445. And then she noticed it. Soft, barely audible. Her ears perked up as she turned her head towards the source.
  446.  
  447. He looked at her expectantly. "Well? You heard that too?"
  448.  
  449. "It's likely nothing," she began. "Order the others to take a moment to get their fill of water and rations. We'll be heading out soon."
  450.  
  451. "Yes ma'am," he said. He turned around and started walking back toward the rest of their detachment, but not before shooting her a questioning glance.
  452.  
  453. She met his eyes. Ever so slightly, she shook her head.
  454.  
  455. Focus. She found she could still hear it if she tried.
  456.  
  457. Distant, faint, but it was there. Crying. Moaning, ever so slight. She strode towards the mouth of the cave.
  458.  
  459. Once inside, she could hear it better, more clearly. She continued on, lighting her horn to serve as a torch along the way. But there was nothing much at all to see. Just meter after meter of more cave.
  460.  
  461. She'd walked for some time, and began in earnest to wonder if she should turn back. But just when the thought would occur to her that there was nothing there, she would hear it again.
  462.  
  463. At last she found an opening to a larger cavern, and there was light emanating from it steadily. She extinguished her illumination spell and proceeded cautiously.
  464.  
  465. Gore adorned the walls, the ceilings, blood pooled everywhere across the floor.
  466.  
  467. It looked like hell.
  468.  
  469. In the cavern's center there stood an ugly, crooked, broken tree.
  470.  
  471. Beneath it sat a white little pegasus, mane so icy blue. Blood covered her in splotches vast, and cradled in her forelegs was a colt of about the same age.
  472.  
  473. He was limp, face pale, blood no longer pumping from his wounds.
  474.  
  475. Crumpled before them was a large, black-feathered gryphon, lying on his back with his throat torn out.
  476.  
  477. The filly looked up at her with eyes glassy. Vacant.
  478.  
  479. "I'm here to help, little love. Please come with me."
  480.  
  481. She stared back, simply.
  482.  
  483. Her heart ached for this child. She'd lost her brother, and now couldn't cope.
  484.  
  485. "Leave him, dear. He's gone now."
  486.  
  487. The filly looked back at her brother, and there her gaze rested.
  488.  
  489. "Hello?" the unicorn asked finally. "Are you listening to me?"
  490.  
  491. Nothing.
  492.  
  493. "Are those teeth marks?" a masculine voice whispered from close behind her.
  494.  
  495. She jumped, startled and whipped around defensively with horn flaring bright before she realized it was her subordinate officer.
  496.  
  497. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
  498.  
  499. He backed away, but maintained his calm. "It's alright," he said briefly. "What have you found?"
  500.  
  501. She gestured towards the white pegasus. "It seems a filly remains."
  502.  
  503. He moved towards her, never once looking up at the tree. "Hmph. Are you certain of that?"
  504.  
  505. Her eyes widened. She was slightly taken aback by his response. "I'm bringing her with us," she said slowly. "I shan't suffer the thought that she be left here."
  506.  
  507. He looked her over once more. "Suit yourself. Waste of effort, though."
  508.  
  509. "Bite your tongue," she said loudly. "Leaving her here is as good as murder."
  510.  
  511. "Look into her eyes," he replied carefully. "Do you really think that keeping her alive is going to save her from anything?"
  512.  
  513. "I don't see how you can even say such a thing."
  514.  
  515. He disregarded her and instead looked around in silence for a few moments.
  516.  
  517. "Sweet Celestia, the amount of all the bloodlust," he said, awestruck. "What in this world must have happened to cause a slaughter of this magnitude?"
  518.  
  519. She looked up. "There's something which bothers me more. This," she said, pointing a hoof upward and behind her. "This tree. Can't you hear it?"
  520.  
  521. He glanced, if only briefly. His gaze returned to her, eyes narrowed. "Ma'am?"
  522.  
  523. "The tree. That incessant singing."
  524.  
  525. Silence could be his only response. Brow arched, he waited for her to explain.
  526.  
  527. "Oh, just get out," she snarled. "Now's not the time for this. You'll take point, we'll follow."
  528.  
  529. He shook his head as he looked away but obeyed nonetheless.
  530.  
  531. "Come along, dear." she whispered. She pried her brother's body away from her and laid him aside, then ushered her to climb upon her back.
  532.  
  533. The filly sat there motionless, expressionless. Just that same blank stare.
  534.  
  535. She sighed heavily, frustrated at her lack of cooperation. "Do you have a name, at least?"
  536.  
  537. The little pegasus stared back, empty.
  538.  
  539. "Very well then. You'll do without one for now. Just please come with me. I cannot leave you here."
  540.  
  541. Finally she seemed to have a spark within her. She moved to her hooves and clambered up onto the unicorn's back.
  542.  
  543. "Good girl. Just hang on tight, and we'll be out of here soon."
  544.  
  545. She took off, establishing a steady trot. But no sooner than she'd reentered the tunnel, the filly spoke at last.
  546.  
  547. "Polaris."
  548.  
  549. "What was that?" she asked, stopping in her tracks.
  550.  
  551. "Polaris Sprint. That's my name."
  552.  
  553. "That will do," she said as she started again, achieving a full gallop with haste. A feeling began to sink into her, and suddenly she was stricken with an inexplicable anxiety. "Let's go meet the Princess, shall we little one?"
  554.  
  555. "Very well," Polaris said. "But you should know, he has returned."
  556.  
  557. She said nothing in response. Because she found that she could not.
  558.  
  559. The filly leaned in closely, tightening her forelegs around the unicorn's neck. Softly she whispered in her ear, "All roads lead to him."
  560.  
  561. A shiver ran up her spine.
  562.  
  563. The disappearances.
  564.  
  565. Gryphons murdering each other in their own camps.
  566.  
  567. The mad sorceress.
  568.  
  569. That ugly, crooked, broken tree.
  570.  
  571. Something of significance occurred to her.
  572.  
  573. As they saw daylight at last she breathed a sigh of relief. She slid to a halt right outside the cave and nudged the filly off of her back.
  574.  
  575. "BIND HER," she ordered. "She must be delivered to Princess Cadence at once and at all costs. This is a matter of direst urgency."
  576.  
  577. Quickly the guardsmen obeyed. Polaris Sprint was seized and tied up then prepared for transport in short order.
  578.  
  579. "Bind me?" she laughed eerily. "In life, we are all bound by the fear of death. And as such, we are all bound to him for as long as we shall draw breath."
  580.  
  581. "GAG HER AS WELL AND GO NOW! WASTE NOT ANOTHER MOMENT!" the unicorn bellowed.
  582.  
  583. They did as she commanded and carried Polaris away quickly.
  584.  
  585. He looked his captain in the eyes. Her face seemed haggard, more worried than he'd ever seen it. "You don't really think..."
  586.  
  587. "I don't know what to think. But one thing I know," she began, "Is that we can take no chances. And when that child spoke to me, it was not to me. It was into me."
  588.  
  589. "Can't blame you for being cautious," he said, considering her. "That visiting sorceress adept from Canterlot, the one who recently succumbed to some sort of mind poisoning? That could be you now."
  590.  
  591. Cold sweat poured from her, soaking her fur.
  592.  
  593. "Things are happening now, things nobody can explain," he said carefully. "It doesn't bode well for any of us."
  594.  
  595. "I know," she said quietly. She watched her guards haul Polaris down the hill until they were out of sight. "Trust me, I know."
  596.  
  597. He glanced briefly at the sky, tracking the position of the falling sun. "It'll be dark soon," he said as he shouldered his rucksack and adjusted his armor, letting it settle against his fur. "Let's return home."
  598.  
  599. ----------
  600.  
  601. To be continued in Part IV: Title not yet decided
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