Chapter Nineteen

> You stare at the mass of approaching guards, immobilized by complete shock.
> It can’t be them. It couldn’t be them. How did they find you? You hadn’t even seen another p0ny since…
> A loud voice echoes throughout the tents, snapping you back to attention
> “RAID!!!”
> Instantly, pure chaos breaks out within the market.
> Venders and customers who were just a moment before chatting and bartering jumped each other, desperately snatching as many goods as possible
> No honor among thieves it seems.
> You need to get out of here, if those guards catch you and send you back, you won’t get another chance to escape.
> You take off at a mad sprint into an empty alley, unslinging your bow from your shoulder. It’s a good thing you thought to string it before coming down here.
> You search frantically for a way to escape, maybe hide in a cart, or sneak off into the steppe…
> Wait, what about Gilda? She’s on the other side of the market, you couldn’t possibly get to her before those pegasi arrive.
> You can’t just leave her though, you need her to get into Gryphonia. But if you stuck around, you risked getting caught, and being sent back to Celestia…
> You make your decision, turning west toward the griffon quarter
> Gilda promised to watch your back, you were sure as hell going to watch hers
> The sounds of fighting behind you grow closer as you weave between the tents
> Looking behind you, you see the sky full of pegasi, some of them pulling chariots. As the chariots pass over the tents, magical bolts rain down in a constant barrage.
> It was like some sort of magical carpet bombing!
> You run for cover, diving under an overturned wagon as the chariots pass overhead
> The ground shakes under the impact of the magical mortars, the shockwaves painful in your ears
> As the explosion grow more distant, you emerge from your improvised shelter, coughing through the thick smoke and dust
> The ground around you is littered with small smoking craters, many of the tents engulfed in flames or collapsed. It’s a small miracle you weren’t hit.
> The chariots in the distance break their formation, heading out in search of individual targets or descending to land.
> You continue your run, working through the blistering heat and flaming debris. You occasionally pass a charred body, felled by the aerial bombardment.
> In some the burning tents you hear the haunting wails of the poor souls trapped inside.
> This was just sick, and they called you the monster
> Your progress is slow, there seemed to be little planning in the placement of the tents, creating roads that twisted and turned repeatedly.
> Some paths were blocked by debris, forcing you to backtrack
> Finally, you enter one of the main boulevards, a much wider street than ran the length of the compound
> Unfortunately, that also meant you were exposed out of cover.
> You see one of the chariots in the distance bank, turning parallel to the road and heading towards you
> You could run, make it to the other side of the street far before it reached you. You could easily lose them in the winding alleys.
> But you were tired of that. Ever since you arrived here you have done nothing but run, hide and cower from these p0nies
> It was high time you fought back
> It was time to get dangerous
> The chariot begins a slow dive, heading straight at you. That crazy pegasus intended to ram you!
> You stand your ground, taking a shooting stance and drawing an arrow
> You draw back to your chin, leveling your bow at the pegasus pulling the chariot.
> You had to wait until your aim was sure, the broadhead couldn’t pierce that armor he wore.
> He kept coming at you, intent on playing this deadly game of chicken
> He was nearly level with you now, barreling down the street at incredible speed
> You waited for the perfect moment, the bowstring digging into your fingers
> He was less than ten meters away, you could see the fierce determination in his eyes
> You fire
> The arrow flew forth, striking the pegasus in the neck, just above the breastplate
> His expression turned to complete shock for a moment, before his body went limp in the harness
> You drop to one knee, the now driverless chariot sailing overhead by only a few inches
> The chariot crashed into the earth behind you, carving a small trough several meters long as it plowed to a halt.
> You rise back up, looking back at the mangled wreck behind you
> Your heart drops as two unicorns groggily pull themselves from the twisted remains
> You remember what happened back at Celestia’s castle, the way they effortlessly disarmed you. You needed to put them down fast.
> You quickly draw and fire, catching the first of the unicorns in the side of the head
> The second stares in shock as his comrade slumps unceremoniously to the ground
> You fire off another snap shot, desperate to end this before he can recover.
> Your hastily aimed arrow strikes the unicorn’s breastplate, deflecting harmlessly of to the side
> Your attack breaks him from his daze. He glares at you, his horn glowing in a faint blue aura
> With a crack of ionized air, a magical bolt of energy fires forth, aimed directly at our chest
> Well, you suppose death by lightening was a pretty badass way to go
> You cringe, bringing your arms up to shield yourself from the incoming blast
> Surprisingly, it fizzles half a foot away from you, the magical energy dissipating into the air
> You and the unicorn stare at each other, neither knowing exactly what just happened.
> You recover first, snatching another arrow from your quiver and quickly nocking it to the string
> The unicorn guard lowers his horn again, firing anther bolt straight at you
> Like the first, it dissipates into the air just before hitting you
> You don’t know why his attacks aren’t working, but you’re not going to look a gift horse in the mouth
> Your next shot is more aimed than your last, piercing through the guard’s eye
> The unicorns stumbles awkwardly for a bit, before falling sideways into the dirt
> You lower your bow, feeling the tension of the last few moments fade away
> You suppress a small shudder. You’ve never killed a sentient creature before. You knew what you did wasn’t wrong, they intended to kill you as well.
> You loathed these p0nies, you hated what they did to you, but it still left a foul taste in your mouth. You didn’t like it.
> No time to wallow though, you need to get to Gilda
> You reenter the alleys, resuming your sprint
> That fight with the unicorn puzzled you. Why didn’t his attacks work?
> Did he make a mistake? No, he looked genuinely confused when the spell dissipated, something caused it to fail.
> You felt like you knew the answer, what was it…
> Wait, what did that zebra say?
> “As long as your person it adorns”
> “You will be shielded from those with horns”
> It was the meteorite! ‘Those with horns’ meant unicorns! The stone must shield you from magic! So that’s why the unicorn’s attacks failed.
> This revelation filled you with newfound confidence. Magic was always the one thing you couldn’t fight against, your total weakness since arriving here, but now you had a way to resist it.
> As you enter the griffon quarter, you notice there are far less craters and burning tents around. In the streets, you notice several wrecked chariots, as well as many fallen pegasi guards.
> It seems the griffons were actually making a fight of it.
> You follow the sounds of fighting, leading you deeper into the network of tents.
> Finally you find the battle, a massive swarm of pegasi and griffons churned overhead in an intense dogfight.
> The griffons were outnumbered at least two to one, but they were bigger, and their claws were proving far more effective than hooves in the melee.
> Still, the weight of numbers was beginning to weigh on them. You see a griffon crash into a collapsed tent, two pegasi clinging to his back
> It was a close fight, the slightest nudge could mean victory for either side
> You skid to a halt and pick your targets. You rapidly loose three arrows into the sky, and three pegasi fall to the ground.
> Now the momentum was fully with the griffons. The battle quickly turned into a complete rout as the pegasi scattered in every direction.
> Some griffons chase the fleeing guards, while most land in the streets around you
> “Anon!” Gilda shouts, gliding to the ground in front of you. Her white coat and talons were stained with blood, her feathers slightly disheveled.
> “What are you doing here?” she asks, “When I saw the explosions I…”
“I’m fine,” you interrupt, “but we can’t stay here, we need to get moving”
> Gilda looks back at the group of griffons, shaking her head
> “No, I can’t.” she says, her voice firm, “Griffons don’t abandon each other in a fight, it isn’t honorable.”
> “You’ve already done more than enough today Gilda Swiftbeak.” A gruff voice replies.
> A large griffon steps toward the two of you. He was massive, almost as tall as you and heavily built. His coat was a dark charcoal grey , with a white head similar to Gilda’s
> The feather crown on his head was shorter though, the tips colored a faint crimson and splayed out at a wider angle
> “This is our home, it is our duty to fight for it.” He continues, “You’ve already represented the Swiftbeaks well, there is no shame in leaving now.”
“Swiftbeak?” you ask, confused
> “It’s my clan name.” Gilda explains
> The large griffon turns toward you, bowing his head slightly
> “My thanks to you as well. You are not a griffon, nor a member of any of our clans, yet you fought along side us.”
“It was no problem.” you reply, holding out your hand, “Name’s Anon, by the way.”
> He grasps it in a firm shake, smiling
> “I am Bengta, of the clan BloodEagle. You fight with great skill Anon, I hope we meet on the field of battle again in the future.”
“Uh, okay. Same to you.” You reply awkwardly, “But what are you going to do now?”
> “We’ll salvage what we can here.” He answers, “Then head out and rejoin whoever else made their escape.”
“Good luck to you then.” You say, bowing slightly
> You and Gilda turn and head out, leaving the scene of battle behind you.
> “By the way dweeb,” Gild began, “I got five.”
“Six.” You reply with a grin.

> Once you left the city of tents, the two of you broke off into a sprint, hoping to get away before you were spotted
> Luckily, the guards seemed too preoccupied within the camp to notice your escape. You could see the individual pegasi and chariots dart back and forth, dealing with what little resistance remained.
> You don’t stop running until the sun has begun to set, casting the prairie in an orange, golden light.
> Finally, exhaustion forces you to stop at a small watering hole.
> As you pant for breath, hands on your knees, you see Gilda walking toward you.
> Her expression is serious, almost angry
> “Alright Anon, I need an explanation.” She demands
“About what?” you ask
> “About you. You told me you’re not from here, and that Celestia wanted you dead, but I need the whole story.”
 “I told you I don’t want to talk about it.” You answer sternly
> “Well that’s too bucking bad!” she snaps.
> “If we’re going to go through that,” she says, pointing back toward the market, now only a dark cloud of smoke in the distance, “I need to know why, I need to trust you.”
> You remain silent. You don’t know why, but that last part hurt.
> “I want to trust you.” Gild clarifies, her anger subsiding, “But you need to help me.”
> You sigh in defeat. She was right, she deserved to hear the story
“Alright, I’ll tell you. You better sit down, this will take a while.”

> By the time you finished recounting the events that transpired since you arrived in Equestria, the sun had long since set and the moon had risen high into the sky
> The steppe grows quiet as you finish your tale, only the faint chirping of crickets and the soft wind the grass breaking the silence
> Gilda didn’t say anything during your entire story, she simply listened as you spoke.
> Neither of you had started a fire, the only light came from the stars and moon above you
> You both sat there in silence as your words sank it
> “I had no idea.” Gilda finally said, sounding remorseful
> It hadn’t been easy to talk about what Twilight did, you had to stop several times to steady your breath.
“So you believe me then?”
> Gilda nods, her silhouette barely visible in the dim light
> “It sounds crazy, being from another world, but yes, I believe you. I know you weren’t lying about Rainbow Dash, that was just what she’d have done.”
“Did you know Rainbow Dash?” You ask.
> “Yeah, we were friends for a long time.” She answers, her voice heavy, “We went to flight camp together.”
> You had no idea what a flight camp was, but you let her continue her story
> “No one knew about my diet, I would only hunt on the weekends. But Dash got suspicious, one week she followed me out and discovered what I had been doing.”
> “I expected her to run, or scream, or tell the others. But she didn’t, she stayed. She didn’t understand, but she wanted to. She didn’t give up on me.”
> Gilda chuckled to herself, “She was always loyal like that.”
“I owe a lot to her. I wouldn’t have gotten out of there if she hadn’t helped.”
> You both sat there in silence, listening to the gentle noises of the night.
> “I think I’m going to call it a night anon,” Gilda said, standing up, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, me too. Goodnight Gilda.”