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 Posted: Mon May 19, 2014 11:09 am
Just as her mother had predicted during the earlier planning session - the little herds desire to keep the foals safe would keep them from scattering too far.It had been a near perfect prediction in fact - with the exception of the terrified mare Cass was chasing and the two larger winged Soquili, whom She-ra and her unit were dealing with the remainder of the hostages to be had neatly gathered together in a little group.
They were almost making this too easy and Syphax has a moment of sorrow over this fact - it seemed that she would not get the opportunity to make an example of one of the little miscreants and spill a bit of blood. Then again the day was still young! There was plenty of time for one of the little beasts to grow a backbone and attempt an escape. She consoled herself with that small bit of hope, that tiny chance for a bit of blood on her hooves and turned her attention back to the little herd, she had a job to do and her bloodlust would just have to wait until she had performed her duties. First she was to subdue the herd - which was done... mostly and then she was to identify the leaders and ensure they knew the wisdom of cooperating with her and her mother.
"You had best listen to your elders" She snapped at the strange two tailed filly who was daring to challenge the guards. "Else my mother might take a fancy to your oddities...you'd make a fine pet once your family was dealt with." She threatened with a slight laugh.
"Keep them all together now." She instructed the spiders at her feet and they hissed and drummed their legs, threatening any of the Usdia who might be looking to linger with large fangs and threatening charges.
Circling the gathered herd she eyed them critically even as some of her attention kept an eye on Cas and the mare he was chasing..he would bring her back soon enough she was sure, the mare was terrified and Cass was well trained. She wasn't much worried about the Soquili she-ra was dealing with - no one could escape that mare when she put her mind to catching you. Might as well get on with things then.
"Which of you is the leader of this mongrel herd?" She asked as she paced before them, pitching her voice so that it would carry over the sounds of fighting coming from She-ra's direction and putting an amused sound to her voice as she said the word 'leader' Truly..how could one be a leader of such little creatures..this was no herd..it was merely a mass of Soquili sharing the same space..no discipline, no order...no point.
Pirata and her group worked quickly, she had brought with her many of her strongest...at least in terms of pure brawn. Many of them were near witless as far as she was concerned but smart enough to follow orders and strong enough for the tasks at hand which was all she required.
Under her direction the small pathways and trails leading to the meadow were quickly cut off, logs, thorny brambles and sharpened stakes were planted around the perimeter until only a flying beast could hope to come through without notice from the guards which she posted generously. With each guard she left a condor whose farseeing eyes and swift wings would ensure that the enemy..should they attempt to break through would be seen long before they managed to do so. In the end only one small pathway remained open and it was through that path that Mercy would be forced to arrive. almost laughing at the plight of that dreadful mare Pirata headed back towards the meadow. That dreadful wretched Knight would get what was coming to her.
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Posted: Mon May 19, 2014 11:24 am
In this moment when her winged minions were working at bringing the two winged Soquili from this so called herd to the ground that She-Ra wished she too possessed wings. It was not often she wished for something like that, but it would have brought her an odd joy to be the one to knock those two out of the sky. Instead she moved along the ground, her eyes on the two who were making their feeble attempt at escape and the warriors who were stopping them. "Ground them!" She shouted, though the two had not made it far and already they were being surrounded and closed in on from all sides. It would be only moments before they were forced to land and then she would take great satisfaction in ripping out their flight feathers. She would do so slowly and painfully, simply because she could and because they dared to even think about escaping and bringing help.
Tiny pony! Cas was nearly run down by the one fleeing from the group and he made a sharp turn to chase after her. There was another running too, but after a quick glance at the grey mare he realized she was not running from the chaos but running after the one he was chasing. He likely would not have to worry about that one once he forced the other mare back towards the group. With an almost canine sounding howl he put on a burst of speed. He was fast for someone his size, which was thanks to training with full sized Soquili and it being expected of him to keep up to them. He didn't run directly towards the mare but looped around her, cutting off her escape. Though by now all escapes out of the meadow would be blocked so she really had no where to run.
As he circled in front of her, Cas moved back and forth, she would not be able to get past him this time. Growling he came toward her, constantly weaving so she had no opportunity to make another escape. He would get her over to the others and then he would see what he could do about the tiny kitty pony, if Syphax told him he could, he would not disobey orders just to have some fun.
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Posted: Mon May 19, 2014 1:09 pm
Poe ran as fast as she could, for once not spending to much time trying to be careful - but really how could she worry about a broken leg when real true horror's were chasing her? Unfortunately for Poe her own life had not been nearly as demanding as the stallion who chased her and even her fastest was not fast enough. She had begun to tire even before the hell beast looped around to cut her off and wailing in despair Poe skid to a stop shuddering at the sight of the stallion..no the thing she corrected herself - no stallion could ever have a tail like that and no stallion she had even met growled with such a tone either. It was as though he were half wolf!
The thought of a wolf/stallion crossbreed was enough for Poe to shut-down and shivering she tried to hid behind the mask she clutched in front of her face, as though the frail thing could truly protect her from the horrors going on around her. Carefully, ever so carefully she took a step backwards..and then another. Having been cut off from escape Poe was becoming more and more aware of the fact that she was separated from her family, when in a dangerous situation she knew..just knew..that she ought to stay with the group but in her panic she had forgotten and now she could only hope to find her way back before the monster ate her.
Blossom shivered against her mother's side, she alternated between pressing her face into her mothers side and closing her eyes and taking quick peeks at what was happening around her. She heard fighting from somewhere - but was far to short to see where it was coming from, it sounded a ways off though and so she didn't think she needed to fear it at the moment - besides her mother and father were here with her and they would keep her safe. Blossom might not know much about life yet but she knew that fact without question.
"Mama...papa...what do they want?" She asked in a breathless voice, craning her head to see one of the monsters who started speaking. "Why does she want great grand father?" Why had they come here at all? was the question she didn't ask - Blossom couldn't fathom why these horrors had come, what had brought them here - the herd was happy and peaceful and rarely if ever spoke to those outside of it..how could they have angered these monsters? What could they possibly have they the monsters might want? For a foal as young as she was these thoughts were far to complex for her to work through and she went silent without giving voice to them.
Perhaps if she stayed silent and closed her eyes, they would take whatever supplies they had come for and leave. Perhaps this was just some sort of nightmare and she would wake up with a happy day still ahead of her. Blossom knew these thoughts were unlikely ones - surely if this were a nightmare she would have woken up by now..but it was all she had to comfort herself and she would take whatever comfort she could. Scrunching her eyes shut as tightly as she could and pinning her ears flat against her head Blossom hunkered down and did her very best to block out what was happening around her, to forget about it and imagine herself in a happier place , a place where she was running with her siblings and cousins, jumping and racing and leaping in the high meadow grass on a sunny blue skied day.
No matter how hard she tried however Blossom couldn't entirely drown out the sounds of reality around her and visions of the monsters would inevitably creep in on her. Hiding from reality never worked for long it seemed and it felt like she had been trying for hours - even though in reality she knew it had only been a few minutes at best. She caught sight of her Great Grand Father making his way through the group, and she trembled slightly as he gave her an encouraging nudge in passing. He was going to face the monsters call and Blossom greatly feared what might happen to him when he did.
Synder wasn't sure if it was Willow, her father, her uncle or the wicked pink maned mare and her chilling words that made her rethink her idea to stand up to those threatening her family. It wasn't that she didn't want to - quite the contrary Synder wanted nothing more then to go after these intruders, to rip and tear into them for destroying a fine family day, for making her cousins afraid and terrorizing the herd the way that they were.
But she was not a stupid foal..she knew that driving these creatures from her lands was a feat well beyond her right now - no matter how much she hated to admit it. She wasn't old enough..she wasn't big enough, two traits that seemed to haunt her now matter what she wanted to do and made even more bitter when it was such a serious matter. Giving the pink maned mare and her really creepy spiders an ugly look Synder did as she was told and retreated back towards her father, ignoring his grateful nuzzle so that she could keep an eye on what was happening around her.
"why have they come here? Why did they have to ruin everything!" She snapped quietly to her father. A part of her wanted to snarl at him for being a coward, to yell at him because he stood here with her instead of trying to save everyone - but she knew in her heart of hearts that such anger was misguided. Her father and most of the herd stood as little chance against these creatures as she herself did and fighting them would likely only get them all killed.
Still...
It was a galling fact that she couldn't help but be bitter about, why did she have to be born so small? Why couldn't she be big and strong like Jarita or Eversong? Or Mercy even who was off training to be a Knight and fight the very evils that had come to plague them...Mercy! That was it..that would be the herds salvation! Mercy was coming to visit and wouldn't these heathens be surprised when she showed up and they found themselves facing a trained Knight! Synder wasn't entirely sure just how strong one Knight was bu she was sure it was strong enough to save the herd. Mercy would be their salvation and she would send these vicious creatures running back to whatever holes they had crawled out of.
Synder took hold of this hope deep within her heart and clung to it silently, she didn't dare mention the mares name out loud for fear of the enemy over hearing it and giving away Mercy's element of surprise..but it was hope and it did a great deal to bolster the fillies spirits and ease the bitterness in her heart over not being able to do this herself. Snorting slightly she glared at the intruders..even as she leaned against her father at the same time
Syrrin found himself silently thanking whatever gods there were in this world that Synder had decided to listen when it meant the most and back off. "I don't know. But I'm sure we will find out." He soothed his daughter, giving her another grateful nudge as one of the intruders called out for their leader and Cheveyo made his way forward. Syrrin felt his heart clench a little as his grandfather walked forward , whatever that mare wanted Syrrin was sure that it was no good - but he was just as sure that his grandfather was clever and brave and somehow he would find a way out of this.
Information was power Chev had always taught him and perhaps the older stallion could ferret out the reason these intruders had come, perhaps even reason with them? It was a lofty thought but it was..something.
Eversong beat his wings in an attempt to gain altitude and escape the chaos below but the stallion barely got off the ground before the condors and flying soquili in Pirata's army were upon him, the birds clawed at him viciously aiming for the eyes and face even as the soquili bore down upon him from above, using their weight to force him ever lower.
Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Jarita struggling under an onslaught of her own. "Jarita!" He screamed just as the mare was struck viciously in the wing and sent spiraling downwards out of control. Forgetting about escaping for fear of loosing Jarita Eversong shook off his attackers and tried to get to her in time to slow her fall. In his rush to help her however he failed to look after himself and a blow from one of Pirata's minions knocked him unconscious and sent him plummeting to the ground as well.
Jarita was not a fighter and the plunging whirling mass that surrounded her almost as soon as she left the ground was far to much for her to handle. Although she tried, straining to gain some ground and rise above those attacking her it was all in vain. No matter how hard to tried the numbers were against her and the battering of claws and hooves and wings against her were slowly forcing her to the ground.
This descent turned out to be a hidden blessing however when an unfortunate strike crippled her wing and sent her spiraling out of control. Hearing her name and knowing without even looking that Eversong was coming for her Jarita tried to warn him away even as she tried in vain to control her fall. "Eversong no! Get away! Get help!" She yelled at the stallion ..and then she was on the ground and an awful sickening thud somewhere behind her made her fear that Eversong had not made it away either and she struggled to rise, eyes watering at the pain.
Chev saw Jarita and Eversong fall and with that knew that very little hope remained..still..for the sake of the herd he could not let such feelings show and so when the wicked mare called out for him he raised his head and marched forward, he nudged the foals as he went, giving what encouragement he could and kept his head high and proud. They were beaten yes..but not broken and the enemy would do well to remember that.
"I am Cheveyo, Leader of the Little Mountain Herd..by what greivence have you dared to do this to us?" he demanded of the mare when he reached her, eyeing her with contempt and disdain.
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2014 7:07 am
Syn could see quickly that her daughter wouldn't escape, and it was both heartbreaking and such a great relief. Part of her had hoped her shy daughter would make it out so she could get help, but a larger part of her knew that if Poe did escape she would likely be hunted down or panic once she realized that she so far away from her family and the place she knew so well. Her pace slowed as she watched the small oddly tailed stallion loop around Poe and bring her to a stop. Thankfully Poe did stop and started retreating, very slowly, back towards the herd.
"Poe." She said softly at first not wanting to frighten her daughter anymore beyond what she already was. "Poe," this time it was said louder, "come on back, we'll be safe together." It was not completely true, Syn did not feel safe with so many violent strangers about, but at least having everyone together would make them feel safe. She moved along side her daughter and gave her a soft nuzzle of reassurance. "Come on, I'm right here." Showing that she trusted the strange stallion Syn turned her back to him and began to walk slowly back towards the herd, putting herself between the stallion and Poe so that her daughter would not need to see his frightening features any more.
Much like Blossom, Pembroke was sticking as close to their mother as he could. He could not understand what was happening. Life was quiet and happy here, he had never known fear, except occasionally when some of the older foals played a bit too rough with them but that was not true fear. What he felt now was that true fear and he did not know how to handle it. His parents closely, soft words and touches did give him a small sense of security but even a small glance out at what encircled the herd reminded him of the horrors that were going on right now and his fear would come rushing back.
He heard Blossom's question and wanted to know the answer as well, but he couldn't seem to find his voice at the moment. He moved closer to his sister, seeking both to comfort her and himself at the same time, as well as keeping in contact with their mother. Finally he found his voice, he wanted to ask what was happening, why the strangers were doing this, so many other things that he wanted to say but instead the words that came out of his mouth were what he didn't want to say. "I'm scared." His voice was so small that only those very close to him would have heard it. He didn't want the scary ones to hear him admit that, what would they do to him if they knew he was scared.
A great shiver ran through him when he heard Eversong and Jarita cry out. And then there was a thud, and that was the worst part. He didn't dare look to see what was happening to them. It was all too much for him. Closing his eyes Pembroke tried to stop the shaking that was slowly taking over his body. He was afraid, his parents tried to sooth him but it was hard to break through the fear when all around them there were monsters lurking and no one knew why. He wanted to cry. He wanted to find a hole and hide in it. But most of all he wanted things to go back to the way they were before this day happened.
Just when he thought it couldn't get any worse one of the big ones asked for the leader. No, not great grandfather! He didn't want to look, but his body had other things in mind. The small colt opened his eyes and turned his head to see his great grandfather moving towards the large mare. He received a reassuring nuzzle from the older stallion and Pembroke truly wanted to cry, for he feared what would happen when Chev stood before the scary mare.
The best thing she could do was be here for her children and keep an eye on Syrrin's kids as well. She used her nose to make sure her three precious foals were nice and close and that her small body protected them from what was outside the gathered herd. It was no easy feat, as her own body was small, smaller than most Usdia, but she would not let that stop her from protecting her children. At Blossoms questions the mare lowered her head to her daughter and nuzzled her again. "I don't know what they want." He eyes looked up to see Chev and then she looked at her daughter once more. "Perhaps they simply with to talk to your great grandfather dear." Her voice was soft and calming, just what she knew her children needed to hear right now.
Her gaze moved to Synder, the foal who moments before had stood between Whisper, then children and the invaders. Now though the foal seemed to have realized that she could not face these larger more aggressive Soquili like she had originally though and Whisper blew a sigh of relief with that. How easy would it be for one of them to kick Synder out of the way? Something liek that could severely injure or kill the foal. Whisper gave her head a small shake, no that would not happen. They didn't seem interesting in hurting them, just gathering them up. But it still didn't tell them why they were here and why they were doing this.
She almost didn't hear Pembroke over the murmur of the herd and the outsiders voices. She gave her son a long loving nuzzle. "I know you are scared." She whispered to the colt. "It is a scary situation, but do not fear, I will protect you, as will the rest of the herd." She wished that she could promise them that no harm would come to them, but just looking at the gathered monstrous Soquili ringing around the meadow she could not bring herself to utter those words. It was bad enough that her children were subjected to this horror, but she would not instill them with false hope. False hope is what often cause stupid actions and thus injuries or death. No, she would simply keep them close and protect them as best she could.
Whisper looked up as the one mare asked for the leader. She watched Chev walk tall and proud towards the mare, showing no signs of fear and reassuring each member as he walked by. She was so proud of him and was glad to be a part of his herd and family even during this crisis. Though her children needed her the most now she did turn some of her attention to the conversation that Chev was about to have with this mare. Perhaps they will find out just why this was happening.
Olo's focus was torn in a number of directions, his younger sister and mother had broken free of the herd and while he wanted to help bring Poe back he knew he could not and should not leave Whisper and thier children's side. He tried to help reassure his children, giving them nuzzles and soft words but he knew deep down that that would not take their fear away. Only when these larger strangers had left would they feel safe again and likely not for some time either. Their quiet safe life had been shattered and it would take time to rebuilt it. But first they needed to get through this.
He watched now as his mother and sister slowly made their way back towards the group as that odd tailed stallion corralled them forward. He saw the spiders, which the one large mare has commanded, circle around them threateningly. He couldn't tell if they were poisonous or not but he would not chance getting too close to him. Olo watched as Jarita and Eversong were brought down none too gently from the sky and their hopes of help with them. He gazed around at all those of the family and herd gathered here counting heads and making sure none were injured and that's when he realized something that he had missed before. Lapin wasn't here. She hadn't been here when these Soquili had come in. They didn't know she was part of the herd. He hoped that she would stay away, and yet they needed her to return, to come back and see what was happening so she could go get help. But would she be able to do that unseen? He could only hope so.
He watched as his grandfather approached the mare who had asked for the leader. If anyone could find out what was going on it was Chev.
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2014 9:42 am
Syphax eyed the small stallion who approached her - how amusing it was to think of this .. this tiny creature leading a herd! I was positively hilarious! Why would anyone in their right minds put their hope and trust in such a physically inferior stallion? The herd even had full sized Soquili in it which made the entire thing even more preposterous. Imagine .. full sized Soquili following around an Usdia! Her mother was right - the world was basically falling apart.
She couldn't help but let out the slightest laugh as the little beast puffed himself up and tried to sound important. It was just so funny to hear such a tone out of such a little mouth, like watching a foal attempt to command an army, she almost had to remind herself that she had a job to do, a job that was a little bit more important then laughing at the absurdity of this herd. Noticing Cass and the two mares he had been chasing returning to the herd she gave her small companion a nod of approval. He had done well - she would reward him later with something but for now she returned her attention to the herd in front of her.
"As unbelievable as that is our intelligence agrees with your claims." She told the little stallion, peering down at him with her glowing eyes.
"I will take it from here Syphax." Pirata spoke up from behind the two as she strolled across the meadow. The spiders upon seeing her drummed their legs in excitement and rushed to clamber upon her. Pausing the mare cooed gently at her arachnids. "You have done a wonderful job my sweets." She told them in a sweet voice "A wonderful job."
Turnign her attention back to the gathered herd and the stallion who claimed to be their leader Pirata gave them a disdainful look before speaking, ignoring the stallions question and giving her own speech "I am Pirata Noctis, Spider Queen of the Wailing Mountain and I hereby claim this territory and all within is as my own." Turning her attention to the little leader she batted her eyes at him in an almost coy expression. "Do you wish to argue my claim little stallion?" She asked sweetly
Cheveyo's ears flattened slightly as the so called 'Spider Queen' made her proclamation. Inwardly he did indeed argue her claims - but he was not stupid and knew full well that to say such things out loud would only get them all killed. The mare and her minions had the size and the numbers to enforce their will. Still... it rubbed him the wrong way and it was only with great effort that he was able to grind out an answer, his tone frustrated and angry. "...No."
"Grandfather!" Syrrin objected, his voice unbeliving, How could his grandfather merely give up like this?!?
Already angry over the situation Chev was in no mood to deal with his troublesome grandson and yet he was innerly proud at the stallion's willingness to question him. Knowing that the Spider Queens eyes were upon him Chev rounded on the herd. "Quiet!" He snapped at Syrrin but let his tone soften slightly a hint of sadness filling his tone as he spoke the remainder "We will do as our new Queen demands." He felt like a traitor as he uttered the words and inwardly begged the forgiveness of his herd. They had to know..had to..that he did this only for their best interests...that his words were merely to placate this intruder until a better option could be found. An option that would not lead to death and the destruction of all he held most dear.
"Excellent." Pirata all but purred at the herd. "It is good to see that we are all on the same path here." Her voice almost cheerful at this statement, a tone made somewhat creepy when compared to the coldness of her eyes as she looked upon them. "Syphax will go over the rules as well as the consequences for breaking them. I trust that you are all reasonably intelligent and shall be able to follow simple commands and wisdom." She concluded before looking to her daughter once more and turning away to see how She-ra fared with the larger herd members. They were on the ground she saw and that pleasing.
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2014 10:08 am
The satisfying thud of the two winged Soquili crashing to the ground was like sweet, sweet music to She-Ra's ears. Those under her charge had done well and had stopped the two before they had gotten too far. Now came the best part. She walked over tot he stallion first. "Such foolish ideas to try and run." She said in an almost sweet yet condescending voice. "Did you truly think you could run away from this?" There was a small echo of laughter from the mare before she continued. "Had you not run I might have left those pretty wings of yours alone, but now..." She glanced at two of the guards who quickly put their weight on the stallion to make sur ehe didn't thrash. "Now...I clip your wings." With a wicked smile She-Ra bend down and after a moment of moving the wing found those precious and much needed flight feathers. Oh they would grow back, eventually, but it would take too long and they would not be able to fly away for some time. She pulled the first set out quickly enough before moving on to the second wing. These she pulled out more slowly, making sure it was as painful as possibly, a reminder that they had done something stupid and were being punished for it.
"And now for your pretty little mate." She told the stallion once she was done. "Shall I be gentle on her? Or do you think she would prefer the pain?" She didn't wait to see if he replied, already she was moving towards the mare as two more guards placed their weight upon the winged Soquili. "As foolish as her mate this one. What made you think something as dainty as you could have gotten help?" She-Ra didn't always enjoy the mockery thats he dished out, she preferred to go right to the physical aspect of things. But in this case, mockery seemed appropriate. She bend her head down and began to search out the flight feathers on the mare. She pulled out a few before speaking again. "Oops, those were the wrong ones. Ah here's what I am looking for." This time she pulled out the right feathers, only she did so one at a time and as slowly as she could manage. This mare would not soon forget what had happened her. It took some time to get all the flight feathers out this way but eventually the task was done. With the last feather now floating to the ground to land amid the pile She-Ra glanced up to see Pirata approach. She gave her mistress a nod. "They will not be going anywhere. Flight is impossible and I think they are not stupid enough to try to run this time either."
She had been laying on the ground for the last little while. In all the chaos of Pirata making her move and the small herd being gatherer up Kalioky had made the decision to remain where she had lain. Not because she no longer wished to be a part of this coup but because she was still recovering from what that bird had done to her and the army knew where she was, so it was the safest option. Now though she had had several moment to recover her strength and while her wounds still stung greatly they no longer bled so the small mare picked herself up and walked towards the army. She still had work to do, her loyalty was still with Pirata - at least until she found something better. Kalioky couldn't help but smile a bit at the sight of the gathered herd, the fear in their eyes and of course the two larger Soquili being taken care of by She-Ra. Oh yes, this had been a fun little thing to do.
At first he had been annoyed when the small grey mare had interrupted his herding of the tiny mare with the things out of her head. But in a moment of clear thinking he realized that she was making his job easy. Not that he wanted his job to be easy, no he wanted to prove himself to Pirata and Syphax, for this was his first true test. But he continued to herd the two mares, moving closer to the grey one and snapping at her legs now and then to prove to them that he was still in charge. Once they were returned to the others he looked around to make sure the Pirata and Syphax has seen him. When he saw that small nod that Syphax gave him he couldn't help but smile. It was an awkward smile, with his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth, but seeing her small sign of approval meant the world to him. He listened as Pirata addressed the herd and then moved beside Sypahx as she took over once more. He couldn't help but stand proudly beside her, his eyes scanning the tiny ponies, his tail panting as hard as he was.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 8:17 am
The sound of her mothers voice was a welcome reprieve for Poe, it was something she could cling to, something that was safe and normal and not monstrous. Although she did not want to turn her back on the fearful beast before her the desire to be safety at her mothers side overwhelmed all other things and sobbing in relief she spun around and plastered herself to her mother. Never again Poe decided..never again would she run off alone!
Staring at the ground Poe let her mother lead he back towards the herd. She refused to look at anything or anyone for fear of seeing another monster lurking in the background. Plus she needed to watch where she was going, she had forgotten that during her previous flight and mentally chastised herself for doing so. What if she had fallen and broken a leg? There would be no escape from the monsters then!
She felt safer once they reached the group, despite the intruders pacing about and the sounds in the background. Safety in numbers! If only those numbers had listened to her when she tried to tell them that something terrible was coming! They could have all run away and hidden. They would listen to her next time she was sure...if there was a next time.
Blossom was reassured by her mothers answers, perhaps the mare was right, perhaps all these strangers wanted was to talk - although they had asked to do so quite rudely and deserved a talking to from their parents if they did. Blossom was young but she knew very well that the strangers had exhibited no small amount of bad manners. Still her did not seem all that scared, thought she kept them close and if her mother was no longer frightened then perhaps she didn't need to be frightened either.
Slowly her trembling drew to a stop and after a few moments she was brave enough to crack an eye open and looked towards the conversation taking place. Blossom was confused and glanced up at her mother, whispering quietly "Whats a Queen?" She asked, she had already gathered that it was some sort of authority but had never heard the word before..Queens were not something that they had in the Little Meadow Herd. "And why is Great Grandfather telling us to listen to her when she is so mean?" She asked after a seconds pause. It didn't seem right to Blossom that they would be told to listen to someone who was obviously so rude and disobedient themselves.
Upon seeing her fathers outrage at the situation Synder puffed herself up to display the anger herself. How dare Cheveyo do this to them? Cast them at the mercy of this vicious mare! She heard BLossom ask what a queen was and turned to look at the little foal. "They are obviously bad and evil." She told the filly before looking back to her father. "Right father? Right?" She was sure that she was right - otherwise her father wouldn't be so angry about being told to listen to her.
Of course Synder ... while old enough to grasp that something bad was indeed happening and old enough to think she knew what was going on was still to young to grasp the entire situation, she, in her youth, could not see that what Cheveyo did he did to protect them. Perhaps she would see this in the future..but for now the filly was simply angry. Angry that the day had been ruined, angry that ..well she was just angry and there was really no sense in stating why.
"Synder!" Syrrin hissed quietly at his daughter when she turned to speak with Blossom. He didn't entirely disagree with the filly's deduction but there was no need to scare the foals any further. "Don't frighten them." He told her in a softer tone before looking back at his Grandfather. He still could not believe that this was happening and he did not agree at all with his Grandfather's decree, a fact he let the stallion know by a brief flattening of his ears.
"For now we will do as we are told." He stated quietly to his daughter. For now..until a better opportunity presented itself. Syrrin, unlike his Grandfather and apparently a great majority of the rest of the herd, was not going to just roll over and take this. Especially now that the hope of Jarita and Eversong bringing help had been dashed.
Eversong was still groggy from the fall he had suffered, and the fact that he had regained consciousness at all was something he was coming to regret when the intentions of the mare before him started to become clear. The loss of his flight feathers would be painful..but the physical pain was nothing compared to the knowledge that without flight there was little hope that he could gain help for the herd even if he did escape.
He did his best to ignore the mare's taunts, and grit his teeth while he stared at her with steely eyes. He thought that he was doing a pretty good job of putting on a brave front..until she mentioned Jarita. In the back of his head he had known of course that she would be given the same treatment..but knowing and seeing were two different things and when faced with the sight of his tormentor walking towards his love Eversong was filled with a rush of anger and hatred the likes he had never felt before. He began to thrash against his captors, ignoring the pain this thrashing caused him as they kept him restrained.
"Leave her alone!" He screamed at the mare, though he knew his plea was useless, mares like that had no soul..no heart through which to hear his pleas.
Jarita couldn't help but tremble slightly as she witness Eversongs treatment, knowing full well that the very same lurked in her own future. She was proud of her mate for being as brave as he was..until the golden mare came towards her and he began to thrash and scream.
"It's okay!" She tried to call to Eversong, tried to keep her voice from shaking with fear. Jarita was scared..scared of what was about to happen and scared that Eversong would fight so hard that he would hurt himself..or their captors would decide that things would be easier if he wasn't around, either scenario was terrible to think about! "It's going to be okay!" She tried to tell her love one more time.
Except it likely wouldn't be and there was nothing she could do about it. She tried to ignore the vicious things said to her by the mare, tried to ignore the pain of her feathers being pulled out but Jarita had a low tolerance for pain of any sort and couldn't help but call out and flinch throughout the process. When it was over the mare sagged limply where she lie attempting to recover.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 8:54 am
When Poe glued herself to Syn's side the mare couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief. She was safe, well as safe as she could be given the situation, and she knew that Poe would take comfort in the closeness. She gave her shy daughter a love nuzzle and mumbled encouraging words as they made their way back to the herd. Even the growls and snapping teeth of that monstrous little stallion behind her didn't distract Syn from taking care of her daughter. When they finally made it back to the group Syn whispered to Poe. "Good girl, I'll keep you safe." And it was a mothers promise, she would do anything to keep her children safe.
Pembroke took comfort in his mothers words and touches, and knowing that father was standing there as well made the colt relax a bit more. He was still afraid, it was hard to understand what was going on, especially since even his parents weren't entirely sure why the monsters had come. Hearing his sister speak Pembroke opened his eyes once more. He still didn't want to look at the monsters but seeing and hearing that his sister was less scared now gave Pembroke the needed courage to open hs eyes as well as face as much of the truth as he was willing to see in this moment - which pretty much equated to staring at his mother. She was a safe thing and that's what he needed.
He was going to say something as well and then he heard his cousin Synder speak and the fear returned once more. The monsters would surely kill his cousin for saying such things and the colt couldn't help but close his eyes once more, laying his head across his sisters back while keeping part of his body touching his mother as well. His family would keep him safe, somehow. When he finally opened his eyes again he felt that safe feeling wash over him again. He was scared, he didn't know what was going on, but his mother, father and whole family were here and they would protect him.
Then he heard Eversong call out, followed by the pain cries of Jarita. "Why are they hurting them mama?" Pembroke asked in a voice so quiet it was barely a whisper.
Whisper had to remain calm for her children. She knew they would feed off whatever emotions she was putting out, so she took a deep breath, nuzzled Olo for strength and then relaxed her body. Blossom's question made her lower her head to the fillies. She spoke in a quiet and calm voice, but loud enough that all her children could hear the answer. "A queen is a type of herd leader, one who is female. Sometimes a queen is born from royal blood, they are beautiful and graceful and they are kind." It was obvious that this Spider Queen did not fit into that category, but she did not want her children to associate all queens with this one. "Some," she continued after a moment, "are the opposite of that. They can be cruel and ugly but that is rare among queens." She paused to let that sink in before answering her daughters next question. "They control our herd now Blossom, so we must listen to them like we used to list to Cheveyo." She didn't like the idea of taking order from these creatures, but what choice do they have.
She almost didn't hear Pembroke over Jarita's cries of pain but with a mothers hearing she managed to catch those quiet words. "They don't want them to fly, so they are removing their flight feathers. It causes them pain but the feathers will grow back. They will be alright soon enough." She took a moment to nuzzle her children again before casting a glance at Synder and Syrrin. That filly, while brave, was also foolish and she wanted to say something, but it appeared that in this time of crisis Syrrin was truly taking care of his fathering duties.
Olo continued to stand guard over his mate and children. Yes, the herd was forced to stand together and therefore any of them could protect the foals, but Olo felt it was his duty as a father to do what he could. One could never know when one of these evil beasts would take a kick or bite at them. They were safe for now in a manner of speaking but how long would that last. His gaze continued to move between those who surrounded his family and his mate and children. It pained him so much to hear his grandfather accept that the herd was now until the spider mares control, but what could they do? Obviously fighting was out of the question so for now they had to obey.
He looked at his children as Whispered answered their questions. "It is only temporary." He assured them when it was explained why they had to listen to the mare. "I am sure they will leave soon enough. We have little to offer them." But that still didn't explain why they had come to such a secluded area and so thoroughly planned out this capture on their herd. There was obviously a piece of the puzzle that hadn't been revealed yet.
It had been a busy morning of collecting herbs. Her stores had gotten low over the last few months and now that everything was growing strong and flowering it was the ideal time to go and pick some. Lapin hadn't expected to be gone quite as long as this but it seemed that every time he finished collecting one plant she would see another than needed to be gathered. Before she knew it she and Lightfoot had traveled a great distance from the herd. She knew they would start to wonder where she had gotten to if she took much longer, but as the herds healer she wanted to make sure she had what they would need for when the colder months arrived later in the year, so she went about collecting and gathering as much as she could.
With such an abundance of plants Lapin and Lightfoot had taken time to hide stores of herbs in various trees so they would be free to continue collecting. She planned to start bringing some of them back today and then rest she could come back and retrieve over the coming days and weeks. When she finally decided to head back home Lightfoot asked if he could go and play with some rabbit friends of his, and considering how much work they had just done Lapin agreed.
On her way home she followed a well worn trail, a bunch of herbs carried in her mouth. However when she got close to the herd lands she found the trail was blocked. Which struck her as odd. But since trees occasionally fell and blocked paths it wasn't a huge deal. She made a note to mention it to er grandfather and backtracked to another trail. When she came across the blockage on this trail though she knew something was wrong. Dropping the herbs Lapin raced through the forest. Though the trees were relatively dense she was small enough that she could weave her way through. As she approached the main meadow her hooves slowed and on instinct she walked slowing and quietly. Standing a few feet back from the edge Lapin got her first look at what was happening and her heart sank.
The herd had been captured. Voices drifted through the air and while she couldn't catch every word of it what she got out of it was that a herd had come in and captured her family, her grandfather agreed to that they would do as this so called Spider Queen said and the she watched and listened to the horror of Eversong and Jarita had their flight feathers ripped out. Though she wanted to run in and help or at least tell her family that she was okay Lapin knew that would only get her caught. She might just be the herds last chance. She stood silently, wanting to stick around for another minute or so, she had to gather as much info as she could without being seen and then she could go for help.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 10:00 am
"Excellent." Pirata responded to She-ra, her gaze roving over the two pitiful winged Soquili, they were indeed a sad looking lot - not even worthy of keeping as slaves really..what with that stallions willful nature and the mares weak nature. "See them to the remainder of the herd and ensure the guards keep a good watch upon the perimeter. Ensure that the herd is kept together, no water" She instructed She-ra, without water the herd would quickly grow weak and be easier to manage, a pity that the meadow did not allow her to deny them food as well..but it was lush enough that such a thing would be to bothersome to enforce. "Water will be provided on the basis of good behavior."
It was absolutely delightful the way this plan had come together, a little information here a little information there and suddenly Pirata found herself within grasp of the ultimate revenge. It was a taste more satisfying then anything she had ever eaten.
"We will need to dispatch condors farther down the trails." She added after a few moments thought. "That wretched whelp of Ironforges will be arriving shortly if our information is correct and I would like some forewarning."
As her mother walked off Syphax turned her attention back to the herd, a few of them seemed to be a bit on the troublesome side but they were small and she had no doubt that they would be able to keep everything well in hand.
"As my mother has commanded you are now a part of her domain." She told the herd. "As such you will conduct yourselves in a suitable manner - do not speak unless spoken to, obey the guards and cause no trouble and you might just see this experience through. Troublemakers will be dealt with harshly, the consequences of ill behavior are dire and exceedingly painful. There will be no yelling, no running, no wandering beyond the boundaries set for you by the guards. If we detect or hear any signs of plotting the foals will be thrown to the Condors Are we clear?"
Syphax was pretty sure that that last threat if nothing else would keep the herd in line. No herd in these soft lands would be willing to see their foals consumed before their eyes.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 10:19 am
She-Ra gave Pirata a nod. At Pirata's instructions she turned to the guards under her command. "Get them to their feet and put them with the others. Watch them good, they may just be stupid enough to try something. You hear even a whisper of planning from them or any others deal with it immediately. If these two give you any trouble," she paused to look at Jarita and Eversong to make sure they were listening and listening well, "break their wings." That would certainly put an end to everything, including thier ability to fly for the rest of their live. But She-Ra doubted that she would need to see to such extreme measures, yet it was always good to have a threat like that in the back of their minds.
With that taken care of She-Ra turned her attention back to Pirata. Yes, they likely wouldn't have much time to prepare for Mercy's arrival. "I'll see to it immediately, that will free you to finish up last minute preparations here." With a nod She-Ra turned and trotted towards the edge of the clearing. "Condors to me!" She called out. It did not take long for the birds to arrive and she began instructing them to fly further down the paths, to keep a look out but also remain out of sight so as to not tip off Mercy before she arrived.
Cassava was excited. He had done a good job, he had helped gather the tiny ponies and now they were all standing where they needed to be and other than one of two small outbursts of words all was going to plan. Of course part of him was annoyed. Part of him wanted to chase the tiny kitty pony, but he couldn't, not yet at least. He had to do his duty and keep the tiny ponies together, which so far beyond that one mare running off, was far too simple. In fact he was annoyed as well that this was so easy. Couldn't they make it a bit challenging? Give him a reason to bite a leg or chase one down?
He listened to the tiny ponies speak amongst themselves. Overall it was a bunch of boring stuff, the bigger ones telling the littler ones that everything would be okay. He couldn't help but smile at that. It was silly for them to say such things. What truly caught his attention is when one of them spoke the words 'They are obviously bad and evil'. He liked hearing that, even if it was in response to the other fillies question about what a queen is. In Cassava's mind the tiny pony was talking about the group that captured them. But most important of all it had been the tiny kitty pony that spoke those words. He liked the tiny kitty pony, she wasn't afraid like the others were. He lifted his head so he could get a better look at the tiny kitty pony. Ah, there she was. If only he could cut her out of the group and chase her around and ask her about her tail. His gaze drifted up to Syphax. Perhaps, if he sat here and did his job as ordered she would let him play with the tiny kitty pony when this was all done. And with that thought in mind his circled about the gathered herd, making sure they were staying put before coming to a stop again a few feet away from Syphax. She would see that he was good at following orders.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 10:36 am
Poe listened carefully to the rules laid out by the strange mare - although she couldn't quite bring herself to actually look at the creepy mare..she could listen and listen she would. Poe was not going to be responsible for breaking a rule and getting someone hurt. Especially one of the foals and he trembled slightly at the thought of that threat.
At least the rules would be relatively easy to follow, it could have been much worse she told herself ... they could have told them to climb trees or remain underwater or some other impossible task. Stay here and behave seemed quite simple in comparison and maybe..maybe they would get out of this. "we..we can do that..." She whispered to her mother "..right..?"
Blossom's eyes widened slightly as Synder told her that queens were evil and cruel, the thought of being under the command of once was enough to make her lip wobble slightly. Thankfully her mother responded with a much better description..most queens were nice, it was only a few who were not..the entire world wasn't filled with terrible beasts like this then. That was a relief.
Of course it didn't help them right at this moment as Blossom was fairly certain that the queen who held them now was of the evil variety and she tried very hard to listen to the rules and commit them to memory as the mare stated them. "Whats a condor?" She asked her mother after a few moments wondering what this mare was threatening to throw her and her siblings to if they misbehaved.
"Fine." She told her father, although her tone made it clear that she was not pleased with the decision. Her desire to cause trouble somewhat faltered however as the mare before started to lay out the rules and stated that last threat.
How could she put the foals in danger? Certainly her father would reconsider his idea now..there was no way he would consider testing the mettle of this mare before them Synder was quite sure that the mare would follow through with her threats. That was it then. All hope was lost. Her previous posture seemed to deflate slightly at this realization and Synder did not feel nearly half as brave as she had before.
If Syrrin had been angry before then he was enraged now and yet...there was nothing he could or would be able to do about it. Not with the threat against the foals lingering in the air. The stallion cast a look of despair at his daughter and the rest of the herd. It seemed that they were well and truly trapped.
Their only hope lay in outside help now.
Jarita helped to support Eversong as the guards escorted them back to the herd, the stallion had admitted to his head hurting and while her wing throbbed at least the pain of having her feathers removed had been brief, only lingering for a few moments after the deed itself. Still the mare was worried about her mate. Even more so as they arrived in time to hear the rules being laid out.
"it will be alright" She told Eversong "You just rest and things will work out." She went on, helping the stallion to lay down before standing watch over him on the fringes of the herd where the guards had left them.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 11:03 am
This was not the most ideal situation they were in, but it could be far worse. Really all they had to do was stay together, do what they were told and they would be okay. At least she hoped the large mares words were true. At Poe's words Syn gave her daughter a soft nuzzle. "Of course we can do that Poe." They were lucky that that was all that this mare required of them. No water would be bad, but hopefully help would arrive soon enough. Though that thought was also followed by worry for Mercy, now that the spider mare had spoken once more it seemed that for some reason the mare was waiting for Mercy to arrive. Now things were starting to make sense.
He listened closed to his parents words. His mother explained that not all queens were evil, and that brought him great relief, of course knowing that even one evil queen existed made the word made a bad taste in his mouth. If only queens could be nice, all of them, then this day would be fun instead of frightening. He heard the explanation of what happened to Jarita and Eversong and nodded his head. He wanted to asked what flight feathers were, but he sort of figured that one out on his own. Plus Pembroke was worried now that if he spoke too much the pink colored mare would do something bad...and apparently she had threatened to throw him and the other foals to the condors.
His ears pulled back at that and he waited to see what his mother would say about that, as well as explain what condors were. Though he didn't know the answer yet he didn't think it would be good, especially after looking out at all the Soquili that were standing guard around them. Maybe one of those was the condor.
Whisper stood quietly as the rules were laid out for the herd. It wasn't all that bad. Overall the herd was well behaved and they could endure standing here under guard. Really the major downside was the rule about no water. They were exposed to the sun in the middle of this meadow, and while they days didn't get overly hot yet, being out in the sun for extended periods of time would make their need for water grow. If they had shade they wouldn't need water so quickly. "Children, lay down, make sure you are in the shade of the herd." She instructed her children. If she could keep them cooler then they wouldn't be in dire need of water. She made sure that they complied before answering Blossom's question.
"Condors are very large birds. If you look up, you may see some flying above us." She didn't like her foals, or the others in the herd, being threatened like that. She was lucky to have children that would listen and were generally quiet. This would keep them out of trouble. She just hoped the same could be said about Synder. At that thought she looked over at the filly and then to Syrrin, once she caught his eye she gave him a look that essentially said 'Please keep your daughter in line for the herds sake'.
No water. That was something that would be hard but they could endure it. He couldn't help but smile at his mate as she instructed their children to lay in the shadows of the others. Good, that would keep them cooler. He moved slightly to make sure he blocked out as much sun as he could. "Eat some grass if you get hungry, but only eat as much as needed." He wasn't sure how long they would need to stand here, so they had to be mindful of how much of the grass they ate, if they went through too much he doubted Pirata would be kind and move them to a new spot.
So far things were looking as good as they could be. No one appeared to be injured, which was good since she wasn't there to help and wouldn't expose herself now. She caught snippets of the instructions to the herd. They could do that, they had to do that.
What truly caught Lapin's attention was mention of Ironforge. Ironforge was Mercy's teacher, Mercy was expected home soon for a small break from training...oh god, this mare was after Mercy for some reason. That was all that Lapin needed to hear. Luckily though she had caught the part about the Condors being placed further down the trails. Obviously they would act as lookouts, which meant she needed to be extra careful on her way out. Hold on everyone, she thought as she turned and slipped further into the trees. She had to find Mercy and warn her, she had to avoid the Condors, she was the last hope of the herd getting rescued and Mercy knowing what she was walking into.
Lapin just hoped that she had enough time to make it to where Mercy was, which at this point could be anywhere along the journey home. Luckily Lapin was fast for her size and the thoughts of her captured family would drive her to run faster and longer than she ever had before.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 11:23 am
Cheveyo listened to the mare lay out the rules without so much as a flinch, to flinch would mean that she got under his skin - something he was sure the mare wanted badly to do. Chev had no doubt that she was all but waiting for someone to act up so that she could enact some sort of punishment...she seemed the type to enjoy such things.
"We understand." He told the mare with a slight nod of his head. He would make sure the rules were followed, he had too - for the herd to survive they would have to. Chev was wise enough to understand the 'Live to fight another day" sentiment and while it was a bitter plant to swallow, it could be done.
Turning back to the herd he found himself thankful that they were - for the most part - a relatively well behaved herd. This would be hard on them all, especially the young but it was something they could survive. At least until some opportunity to change their fate presented itself. Finished!
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