Oh boy. Grab the tissues boys and girls, this one's gonna be a bit of a tear-jerker. Also, I'm a little fuzzy on where the plot is going to go after this, since I hadn't planned on going this far. xD Any help would be appreciated in the review.
A deep, reverberating boom shook the ground sometime during the wee hours of the night. A second, quieter one followed it. Nala stirred slightly; Loki paid it little attention. They drifted back to sleep.
The morning dawned cool and crisp. A layer of dew scuttled down the sides of Nala's sleeping bag as she sat up, blearily rubbing her eyes. "Wake up, loser." she grumbled groggily, kicking the other sleeping bag, which grunted. "Oi. Louie." she nudged the bag, stretching her arms to the sky as she did so.
Loki growled and sat up, running his hands through his sleep-mussed hair. He chanced a glance at Nala to see her sitting still, eyes locked on his, confusion and pain on her features for a split second before she masked it with cool indifference. "Let's get the hell out of here, I miss my ponies." she smiled slightly.
Confused, Loki packed his sleeping bag, rolling it into a tight wad. The campfire had gone out during the night, the charred remains were all that was left. The grass was damp underfoot as they started home, leaves sticking to the bottoms of their shoes and damp dirt clinging to the hems of their pants. Squirrels chattered in the trees and a warm east wind brought refreshing breaks from the moist shade of the overhanging trees.
Nala scampered through the woods as if she was a creature of the forest herself. She took delight in pausing to tell him a species of tree or pick a flower and tuck it behind her ear. She always replaced it when she found a more beautiful flower, but she finally settled on a sprig of bluebells.
Stopping in the middle of the trail, she scrutinized Loki's face, her eyes flickering from him to a snowdrop. Nala walked forward, and despite his protests, managed to stuff the flower behind the shell of his ear.
"You look gorgeous Loki." she laughed. He scowled, brushing past her.
The smell hit them before the sight did. "Maybe I left the stove on." Nala bit her lip.
Emerging from the clearing, they met with the smoking ruins of the farm.
Nala stopped, shock the only emotion registering on her face. Her jaw dropped, the sleeping bag fell from under her arm and rolled away. As if pulled there by a magnet, Nala's eyes drew over to a truck. Lumped on the bed of the truck was a mass of something covered by a blue tarp. She walked over in what looked like a trance, her expression changing slowly from blank to horror, her footsteps becoming minced and irregular as she finally tumbled to her knees, tears blurring her vision, her hands cupping the black and white muzzle that peeked through the tarp, a single drop of bright scarlet blood trickling from the nostril.
The keening lament would have moved a rock to weep.
Loki awkwardly followed, no emotion registering on his face, except perhaps mild concern. "Nala…" he began unsteadily, surveying the blackened pits where the barn and house used to be, littered with beams of wood, shattered glass, and smoking cloth. The twisted remains of the stove and other metal appliances were heaped in the original design of the kitchen, a few supports still standing but precariously leaning. He swallowed hard. "Nala…"
"You did this…" she growled, low under her breath, in a tone Loki had never heard before; laced with so much venom and malice he thought it would fry his ears. "YOU DID THIS!" she whirled around, mane of curly hair appearing more like the golden snakes that adorned Medusa's head, her eyes of a similar hue, burning with a hatred unseen before. "IF YOU HADN'T COME HERE, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED!" she screamed advancing menacingly, teeth bared. Still somewhat in shock, Loki backed up, tripping on an exposed cement foundation and landing on his back. "Just leave!" Nala ended lamely, sadness once again clouding her features, tears welling up into her eyes. She heaved a sob, sinking to her knees as grief anew washed over her.
"Nala…" Loki tried to reach out a comforting hand, but she swept him aside like a troublesome gnat, scrambling to her knees, fury again returning.
"LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" she gestured angrily towards the crumbling remains of her family house. "DID YOU WANT THIS TO HAPPEN?"
Loki tried to shake his head no, but all he could manage was a choked "no…" She looked at him almost pleadingly, as if to make him explain why it happened. He had to look away.
"We could've stayed, we could've fought, we could've…" she trailed off, gazing longingly at the single beam of wood that used to be the back door. A layer of black crumbled off as she touched it gingerly with a finger. She barely noticed the crunch of gravel as four black SUVs pulled into her driveway. She didn't pay any attention to the slamming of car doors as their occupants exited the vehicles, handguns warily drawn and pointed at them. It wasn't until they crushed a plate beneath their shoes that her head snapped to attention, and by then they had grabbed her upper arms and were attempting to lead her away.
"Wait, no…" she protested weakly, trying to wrench her arms away, but their grips were strong and secure. "No!" she jerked, thrashing like a hooked fish before they shoved her to her knees, slapping handcuffs on her wrists. Loki had a similar fight in him, resisting just enough to get specially-engraved handcuffs on his wrists and a silver muzzle strapped over his mouth. He gave Nala one last sad, pathetic look before being dragged away.
The men yanked Nala up, popping her shoulders in odd places, and shoving her forward. She stopped briefly by the truck, already the stench of decaying flesh drawing hordes of flies, which congregated around Loki's muzzle. She hated that her last memory of her horse was one in which he was covered in scavengers. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to imagine how he galloped in his pasture, tail held high like a pirate flag, long black legs flashing faster than lightning, but the memories were already fading.
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