Chapter VII
Wally burst from the water beneath the stream with an unconscious Candy on his back.
"H-hold on sis!" He gasped as he swam towards the bank. "I got ya! I got ya!"
He collapsed on the muddy bank in a pant. He rolled Candy off of his back and pressed his ear to her chest.
"She's breathing!" He gasped in relief. "You're breathing! Thank Celestia!"
He looked around him in desperation. He wasn't sure where he was. The blast had thrown him into a forest and it looked like a bomb had gone off. Trees were uprooted and thrown about, broken branches stuck from the ground like jagged teeth and the water in the stream was brown from the upset earth. Wally grimaced and looked down at his back right leg. There was a nasty gash and blood was flowing freely.
"Oh no!" He gasped. "Oh no!"
He rose to his hooves and grimaced in pain. He lifted his leg to keep his weight off of the wound.
"Somepony!" He called. "Anypony! Help!"
Suddenly, across the stream, Wally spotted a shadowy figure clad in a brown cloak.
"Hey!" He called. "We need help!"
The figure turned its back and disappeared into the trees.
"Hey! Wait!" Wally called.
Wally looked down at his unconscious sister. He looked back at the place the figure had been and groaned.
"Don't go nowhere!" He yelled running to the stream.
With a grunt of effort he jumped onto a log and began to make his way across the stream. He made it to the other side and looked around for any sign of the mysterious figure.
"Hey!" He yelled. "Are you there? Are you hurt?"
He saw a shadow move through the trees.
"Hey!" He called after it.
He ran into the trees and followed the cloaked figure through the trees. Every time he felt like he was beginning to feel lost the figure would appear again but Wally never managed to get closer than a few yards. He went deeper and deeper into the forest until he began to hear voices. Wally broke into a gallop, running through the trees and ignoring the throbbing pain in his leg. He came to a clearing and gasped at what he saw. Dozens of figures that walked on two legs were walking around. There was a bang and the pony fell backwards over a log.
"Lielle!" A feminine voice cried. "Thank the nine! Are you injured?"
"No. No I'm fine Esmeralda." Another feminine voice replied.
"Where is your aunt? I thought she was right behind you?"
"She was, she… she told me that she was staying and then shoved me into the portal herself."
"Gods."
"Is everyone alright?" Lielle asked.
"Yes we're fine. Where's-"
Another bang. Wally looked up over the log and saw a large green skinned figure with oil black hair and sharp tusks. He stumbled on the spot and two more armored figures helped him stay on his feet.
"Shahk! Are you alright?"
"Yeah." He grunted. "Yeah I'm fine get off of me."
He jerked his arms away from the armored figures and popped his neck.
"Gods that was truly an awful feeling. Like I'd been submerged in liquid lightning."
There were more bangs and flashes of light as more and more of those figures began to appear. Many wore heavy armor and all of them wore clothes. Soon there were so many that Wally stopped counting. The forest clearing was now full of two legged creatures of all shapes, sizes and colors. A few looked like bipedal cats and lizards.
"Sweet sisters of the sun and moon." Wally whispered to himself. "They're ALIENS!"
The figure that was identified as Lielle looked around in a panic.
"Where is Bastian and Bartleby?" She asked.
"I don't know." The green one said. "They were right behind me."
As if on cue there was another bang and another one of those things appeared in a burst of light.
"DARE!" He yelled as he fell to the ground.
A bag appeared out of thin are and landed on his head. Bastian growled in anger and rubbed his head as his eyes watered from pain.
"Bastian!" Lielle gasped. "Are you okay?"
"Damn you Bartleby!" Bastian roared.
"Bastian! What happened?" Shahk asked.
Bastian looked around them and took quick note of his surroundings.
"Bartleby stayed behind. He threw me through the portal to stand guard along with Savos and Mirabelle."
The group was quiet. A shadow fell over the green one's face and he sighed.
"An honorable end as any. This is awful news. We need to do a head count. How many made it through the portal?"
"I have all of the sick and injured from the Inn with me." An orange robed alien said.
"How many Blades are here?" The green one said. "Sound off!"
Figures dressed in large suits of armor raised their shields and there were several cries of "Aye."
"All of the students made it through." Lielle said.
"Two hundred and nineteen in total." Bastian sighed looking at their numbers. "I scolded my brother for bringing more people to our camp and we arrived with less than we started out with."
"We're lucky to have made it all." A blue skinned alien with pointy ears said. "It could have been a lot worse."
"That only leaves us one question." Shahk said. "Where in oblivion are we?"
They were silent for a moment. Bastian looked around and his eyes fell on the spot were Wally was hiding. Wally's eyes widened and he ducked down.
"I saw something!" Bastian said.
"Crap crap crap!" Wally thought.
There was the sound of scrapping metal as everyone with a weapon drew it. Wally cursed again and clamped his hooves over his mouth.
"What was it?!"
"A monster?!"
"A dragon?!"
"No." Bastian said. "Not a dragon. Something else. Something… new."
"I'll have a look." Shahk grunted.
Wally heard footsteps approaching him. He tried to run but his leg had gone numb. He cowered down and tried to make himself as flat as possible and covered his eyes with his front hooves. A shadow crossed over him and he slowly uncovered his eyes with his hoof. Standing above him was a massive green creature with black eyes and wicked looking teeth. Every inch of him save for his face was covered in armor and he was holding a huge looking hammer made from a metal the same color as his skin. The creature's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.
"Uh…"
He looked back at his party. He looked down at Wally.
"It… uh…"
He turned around and walked back to his group, a dazed look on his face.
"Shahk? What is it? Speak!"
"It uh… It's… a green horse."
"THEY KNOW OUR KIND!" Wally gasped in terror.
"What?!" A voice chuckled.
"Shahk are you sure that you aren't seeing things?" Lielle asked. "You must have hit your head at some point."
"I didn't hit my head!" Shahk grumbled indignantly.
"You have blood on your brow!"
"It's not my blood!"
Bastian walked past his friends and went to the fallen tree. He looked down and Wally Melon and Bastian Bellrend laid eyes on each other for the first time. They stared at each other for a few minutes, both unable to speak either from shock or fear.
"Huh." The alien said looking down at Wally. "That's… interesting."
He walked back to his friends.
"Bastian?" Lielle asked. "What is it?"
"Go on then! Tell them! Green horse! Real as you like!" Shahk insisted.
"Technically it's a pony." Bastian said quietly. "It's too small to be a horse and too muscular and developed to be a colt."
"What?!"
There were stampeding footsteps and soon Wally was surrounded by the aliens.
"It really is green!" A figure said through its helmet. "How about that!"
"And it's hair! Look at its hair!"
"Why is it wearing clothes?"
"Is that a saddle? Maybe there's a rider nearby?"
"If there is he may not have survived. The surge of energy from the gate way devastated this place." Bastian said looking around.
"Oh it's hurt." The orange robed figure said. "Poor thing."
It knelt down next to him and Wally jerked away in fear, silently hoping that probing was just a rumor. The creature shushed him and gently stroked his neck.
"Esmeralda." A voice said cautiously.
"It's fine." She said. "What harm could it do? Poor thing looks scared to death."
"It's okay my little pony." Esmeralda said. "Don't be afraid."
Esmeralda's hand glowed with a golden light. Her hand hovered over Wally's wound and she said something in a language he couldn't understand. He gasped and closed his eyes as the pain and fatigue left his body. He looked down and saw the wound on his leg close and the blood vanished from his coat leaving only a small scar behind.
"There you go." She said.
Wally slowly rose to his feet and flexed his leg.
"Wow thanks." He said.
Everyone gasped and horrified looks crossed over the alien's faces. Esmeralda screamed and fell backwards. Bastian's eye widened in mild surprise. A heavily armored knight fainted, falling backwards with a clatter.
"It talks! It talked!" Several people screamed.
"By the nine!" Shahk roared. "A talking green pony!"
"It really talked Ma!" A little girl said excitedly. "Did you hear it?"
Bastian took a cautious step forward and cleared his throat.
"D-Did you say…"
"Yeah I said thanks buddy." Wally said.
"You… you can talk?" Bastian asked.
"Yep. Leg feels good. I appreciate it."
"N-no problem." Esmeralda said trembling.
"Do you have a master?" Bastian asked. "Someone who can help us?"
"No one tells me what to do but my momma." Wally said.
"Your-" Bastian scoffed. "You're wearing a saddle. Who rode you?"
"Oh this? This was just for my cart." Wally said. "Don't suppose I'll need it now though."
"Look." Bastian said. "My name is Bastian Bellrend. We don't wish to cause and harm. We just need help. We have sick and wounded here. Is there somewhere you can take us to find help?"
"The name's Wally Melon. There's a town nearby but how do I know this isn't some kind of alien trick?" Wally said suspiciously.
"I assure you, we are not Daedra. This isn't a trick." Bastian said.
"What-dra?" Wally asked.
"D-Daedra?" Bastian said. "Immortal beings of Oblivion? They… torment mortals?"
"Hm." Wally said.
He walked around Bastian and inspected him and his group. They didn't look dangerous. Sure, they were armed to the teeth with weapons but they looked more scared and confused than anything.
"Promise?" He asked.
"I promise."
"Shake on it." Wally said extending a hoof.
Bastian clasped the hoof in his and shook it, surprised that had been so easy.
"Great. Well if you'd like I can take you guys into town."
"We can't move everyone at once. We have too many injured. The other healers and I can keep them stabilized until you can send help." Esmeralda said.
"I'll come with you." Lielle said.
"That isn't necessary." Bastian said. "You stay here and make sure these people are looked after. Shahk, you're acting Captain of the Blades as of now. Maintain a perimeter around the party at all times until I return with help." Bastian said.
"You can count on us." Shahk said. "But are you sure you want to go alone?"
"These people need you more than I do. I can handle myself. Besides, I don't think that… pony has ever seen anything like us before. There's no telling what inhabitants dwell on this world and seeing a small army of alien creatures with weapons might send the wrong idea." Bastian replied.
"Look, I have a sister I need to check on. In hindsight leaving her alone on the bank of the river might not have been the best move." Wally said. "If you're ready I'd like to get going."
"Yes I'm ready." Bastian said adjusting his bag. "Lead on."