Rothbart advanced in direction of where the oasis of pony-panthers was located, arriving there when the night had fallen. As he was expecting, he couldn't see anything, but that would no longer be a problem. Raising the talon where the blood of the pony-panther that Medusa had captured, he accessed to his magic and then he was finally capable of seeing it.
The oasis began to emerge before his eyes. Not only the Lake of pure water and the palm trees around it, but everything else. He could see a fortified valley behind rock cliffs, surrounded by more palm trees, where a small water fall was coming out from an opening, being the source of the lake. There was only one entrance to this valley that was a single slit between two cliffs. The village should be located inside that cliff. Rothebart started moving towards the entrance.
At that moment, several pony-panters who were on guard appeared, surrounding him.
"Halt, intruder!" one of them exclaimed. "We don't know how you managed to get through our protective barrier, but you will not come foward."
Rothbart laughed and asked:
"Do you really think that hoof soldiers like you have a chance against me?"
In a blink of eyes, Rothbart transformed both his hooves in talons and went to his saddlebags to get some clay and then, with an incredible accuracy, launched it against the pony-panthers. The small pieces of clay stuck to them, but nothing happened, leaving them confused.
"Wait for it..." Rothbart said, snapping his claws.
The pieces of clay shone with a dark bright and exploded, throwing the guards against the ground while they let out moans of pain. Some were terribly wounded, while others had not resisted the blast. Knowing that it wasn't going to late for more pony-panthers to appear, Rothbart decided to turn into his other form, then taking flight. By air, he passed through the entry and was able to see the pony-panther village.
It was like any other village in Equestria, with buildings made of stucco, with scattered palm trees and a lake bigger than the one at the exterior in the most distant place from the entrance. There was pony-angels, with many of them in their pony form, strolling the streets, without knowing of what was really happening, heading to their homes. There was a big stone building in its center that Rothbart knew it was where Strongpaw, the leader of the pony-panthers and the Jinchuriki of One-tail, was.
Strongpaw was in his office, sitting in his chair watching the beautiful vision of his village when suddenly he noticed Rothbart flying in the sky. Recognizing him immediately, Strongpaw rose up immediately. It seemed that the villains of the Lord of Chaos had decided to try to capture him once again, but this time with a more direct strategy.
Rothbart approached the main building and landed on its roof, however, when he got there, he faced with Strongpaw, with his bag on his back.
“That’s as far as you go” the leader of the pony-panthers said.
Before Rothbart, Strongpaw started to let some of his sand get out of the bag to surround the villain, who smiled and led one of his talons to one of the saddlebags, something that caught the Jinchuriki’s attention. Rothbart tool flight before Strongpaw’s sand could get him and started to move away, with the sand tailing him. Strongpaw was trying to reach Rothbart, but he was very fast, flying.
The villain started to fly through the streets to outwit the sand, but I continued to tail him. Strongpaw was doing what he could to not lose Rothbart. The latter passed through some warriors who as shocked for seeing the villain being tailed by their chief’s sand.
Rothbart was trying to concentrate on the task of charging his clay with dark energy to turn it explosive, but that made him get distracted for a few seconds, which made the sand of Strongpaw show up suddenly in front of him. This made the villain increase altitude, but not even so the sand stopped chasing after him, adopting the shape of three jets. However, the high became too much for the jets of sand that returned to the edge of their master, surrounding him. Rothbart, watching Strongpaw from the air, said:
"No wonder Adagio failed to capture you’re Tailed Beast. He's pretty good. "
It was then that Strongpaw made a gesture and more sand got out of his bag, joining the one that was already out. After that, the leader of the pony-panthers jumped up to it, which managed to sustain him, and Strongpaw rose in the air, in order to face Strongpaw as an equal.
“I can see that you spotted me before, right?” Rothbart observed.
“There is no flying creature in the Golden Desert” Strongpaw replied. “Furthermore, you’re monster form is quite unique… Rothbart.”
“Is that so?” Rothbart asked.
Down there, the warrior pony-Panthers could observe their leader confronting one of the villains of the Lord of Chaos.
"And I was thinking I could capture you quickly and discreetly" Rothbart said. "Well, at least, I don't have to go looking for you."
It was then that Strongpaw lifted the front hooves and the sand that was in the village simply stood up in the air, creating a sort of sand wave.
“Technically, he does have the advantage” Rothbart admitted, impressed with the amount of sand Strongpaw gathered. “This can get messy.”
At that moment, the sand wave became a version of one of the front legs of Shukaku, the One-Tail, which began to try to capture Rothbart. He dodged as much as he could, throwing some of his explosive clay, although exploding with any of the sand was a futile attempt as the sand would only rejoin itself. While he was dodging, Rothbart prepared more explosive clay, molding it this time in the form of small birds. He tried to get close of Strongpaw, but Shukaku’s sand arm acted as defense, prevented him from approaching. Both opponents looked at each other carefully, as if waiting for the next move of the other.
“The real fun is about to begin” Rothbart said to Strongpaw.
And he advanced. The sand arm tried to catch him, but Rothbart dodged. Then, he launched the small birds made of clay that came to life and began to fly over the sand arm, blowing as soon as they came in contact with it and with the sand. Rothbart released more birds of clay that tried to approach Strongpaw, trying to pass through the sand arm, but a smaller arm came out of the larger one, trying to catch and smash the birds of clay.
Strongpaw knew that Rothbart was an earth pony who got dark magic when he joined the Lord of Chaos. Although typically he used his magic to turn into his monster form, it looked like he could use it for other things. Observing Rothbart, Strongpaw managed to understand the form of combat that he was using against him, using explosive devices made of clay that he could drive remotely to his targets. He should charge the clay with dark magic in order to be able to manipulate it and then explode it.
Rothbart started preparing more clay, while Strongpaw kept trying to catch him with his sand arm. The villain had just prepared more explosive clay, molding it to form birds that were different from the previous ones, with a longer neck and four wings. He released them and they started flying in the direction of Strongpaw, passing by the arm.
Watching it, the leader of the pony-panther made the sand around him to try to catch the explosives that were approaching, but these were faster than the previous ones and were able to get close. When they were close enough, Rothbart activated them and they exploded, creating an immense smoke screen.
The pony-angels that watched down there, worried with their chief because of that blast. Rothbart, in his turn, watched with a smile, but not because he had managed to reach Strongpaw, but for the latter’s expertise. It happened that Strongpaw had managed to defend himself from the explosion and that became evident when a sand ball emerged from the smoke screen when it had dispersed.
“It’s like he incased himself inside that cocoon” Rothbart said to himself.
Next to that sand ball there was an eyeball which seemed to be made of sand that was watching Rothbart. He knew that Strongpaw was seeing him through that eye. However, Rothbart's attention was so focused on the cocoon and in the eye that he didn’t noticed the sand arm coming from behind him, ready to grab him. When he noticed it, the hand was already closing on him.
“Well, this certainly isn’t good” Rothbart said.
He tried to get out of hand, but he couldn't get out of its reach and he was caught by the sand that started to involve him, forming another cocoon. Strongpaw, in his cocoon, watched what was happening, having connected the eye sight he was covering with one of his hooves to the sand eye that was out there. The pony-panthers down there were satisfied, thinking that their leader had managed to defeat Rothbart, but Stronpaw didn't share their opinion.
Then, suddenly, the sand cocoon where Rothbart was exploded in a part and the villain took the opportunity to escape, while the sand tried to rejoin again. But the explosion made him return to his pony form and Rothbart started to fall. However, a sand tentacle coming from Strongpaw’s cocoon began to follow him, managing to grab him in one of the hind legs, and then threw him against the cocoon where he was before, which opened, ready to swallow him again.
Acting quickly, Rothbart returned again to his monstrous form, using an explosive clay to escape through the smoke screen. Having started to move away a little, the sand that threw him began to follow him, leaving a hole in Strongpaw’s cocoon, who now watched with his own eyes. The sand of the cocoon that had imprisoned Rothbart also started following him.
“That sand is a real pain” Rothbart commented, watching from the corner of his eye the sand that was tailing him.
The villain continued to dodge the sand swiftly, but he didn't know how long he would be able to keep something like that. Then a tentacle managed to grab one of Rothbart’s talons. Watching it, Strongpaw began to raise one of the hooves slowly and the sand tentacle that had caught Rothbart’s talon started to go along his foreleg, managing to get to the shoulder.
Before that, Rothbart released more explosive clay that he threw like a rope and it adopted the form of a giant centipede which involved the tentacle of sand and then he made it explode, but this had no effect. Realizing that Rothbart wouldn't stop moving to free himself, Strongpaw decided to attack and twisted the hoof, making the sand crush Rothbart’s foreleg. Noticing that, the pony-panthers who were watching began to cheer their leader.
The sand tentacle began to destabilize Rothbart’s balance, causing him to lose altitude rapidly. He had to let go no matter what, so he had no choice but to push and let the tentacle tore his foreleg. When he got freed, Rothbart returned to gain altitude. Looking for the place where before his foreleg was, Rothbart said:
"Looks like I underestimated him."
He looked at the sand that had ripped out his foreleg and noticed that it was faster and more powerful than the common sand of the desert. Then he looked at him, keeping in mind the fact that Strongpaw usually had a sandbag whenever he is not near the village or when facing a strong opponent, what made him conclude that the sand that was there was different, probably because it was infused with One-Tail’s energy. It was for this reason that his defense was apparently perfect and his attacks were extremely fast and lethal.
The sand that had crushed Rothbart’s foreleg tried to attack him again, but Rothbart dodged, while saying:
“I see, so this is your famous Ultimate Defense. Let’s see if I can pass through it.”
Rothbart, observing the hole that now existed on Stronpaw’s cocoon, concluded that the last missing piece of it was the sand that had crushed his foreleg. He consulted his saddlebags and saw that he had only a little clay. He should have brought more, but he never thought that Strongpaw was so strong and skillful. Rothbart started to think about the type of explosive that he should use with the clay he had left.
Down there, it wasn't just the warriors who were watching the battle, as more pony-panthers came out of their houses to watch the fight, including mares and foals, both in their pony form. Noticing it, Rothbart had a malicious idea. Using a big chunk of clay, he molded with his magic a spooky-looking figure, while continuing to dodge from the sand that was still trying to catch him.
Seeing their leader fighting for them, the pony-panthers realized that they also had to act. So, the warriors began to organize themselves, some began to close roads and watching all the sectors of the village in case of existing more hidden enemies, while others positioned themselves on rooftops to help their leader if necessary. Others also began to prepare first-aid kits in case of any residents get injured in the crossfire. Observing all that movement, Rothbart said to Strongpaw, while holding his next explosive:
“I think your friends are about to get in the party. And besides… I’m tired of that look that you’re giving to me.”
He then launched the explosive that, in an instant, got an immense size. The figure opened its arms, preparing for its mission. Repairing the size of that explosive and guessing its destructive power, Strongpaw could predict what would be Rothbart’s move. As he had guessed, the explosive began to descend in the direction of the village.
“That is a more powerful version of all the detonative clay I have been using against you” Rothbart said to Strongpaw. “It has a great amount of dark energy, being that the reason why it expanded, capable of great destruction.”
When the explosive clay was at sufficient distance, Rothbart detonated it and it exploded. The people covered their eyes due to the intensity of the blast, but when the blast and smoke dissipated, it was revealed that the village was protected by an immense wall of sand that protected the area of the explosion. When the ponies, who realized what had happened, acclaimed Strongpaw with great intensity. However, the effort weakened Strongpaw reasonably, making him start to gasp. Rothbart, however, displayed a smile and said:
“Now, you’re in range.”
It was then that Strongpaw noticed a bird of clay that was right by his side. Rothbart should have prepared it and released it while he was defending the village. The villain made the bird explode and an explosion happened, leaving the pony-panthers quite worried. The smoke dissipated, revealing the cocoon was still intact, with the sand that had been attacking Rothbart in its place. It just meant that Strongpaw had managed to defend himself, to the great relief of his people.
Down there, the pony-panthers had prepared catapults with arrows and tried to point them to Rothbart. But he didn't pay attention to them, continuing to look for the cocoon of sand that protected Strongpaw.
“I expected as much. That special sand of his makes such a tight defense” Rothbart said.
Inside the cocoon, Strongpaw tried to catch his breath. That last attack of Rothbart had almost caught him. After all, the attack on the village was just a distraction for him to let his guard down and allow the other explosive to approach. Fortunately, the sand was fast enough to protect him.
Outside, Rothbart smiled and continued, looking for the place where the sand that attacked him was:
“However… that’s exactly what I was counting on.”
Inside the cocoon, Strongpaw began to feel something strange. It looked like something was drilling his cocoon. So he got to see small holes forming and small figures of clay with the shape of ants started to enter inside the cocoon.
“My left foreleg might have been crushed, but I used the opportunity to mix your sand with some of my detonative clay” Rothbart continued. “You doomed yourself from the moment you used that sand to make your defense. And the best part is I planned that way all along.”
“No…” Strongpaw said, not believing in what just happened.
“Now, be a good Jinchuriki… and explode!” Rothbart exclaimed.
And he detonated the clay and it was possible to see the explosion happening inside the sand cocoon. It made everyone down there starting to whisper among themselves about what could have happened to their leader. The cocoon started falling apart, making the sand that was forming it to fall. Rothbart watched with a smile the cocoon crumbling, glad his plan to make Strongpaw use the sand with the explosive clay in his defense have work, endangering the village to make his guard down and allow his hidden explosive to approach.
The cocoon had broken almost completely. Strongpaw appeared, apparently unconscious on his pony form, still surrounded by sand that was keeping him on the air. His own body was full of cracks that was the layer of sand that the involved his body.
“Time to get the prize” Rothbart said. “The Lord of Chaos will get so happy for having the first piece he needs to his great plan.”
The villain began approaching Strongpaw, but, to his shock, the Jinchuriki opened his eyes and began trying to move his hoof. Fearing that he was going to attack, Rothbart retreated to a safe distance. So Strongpaw started moving the hoof, making one-way gestures. By doing so, he began to move the sand that was above the village. That made Rothbart to smile and say:
“Ah, yes of course. You’re using all your remaining power to remove safely the sand to the outside of the village. Such a noble leader. Fighting when it was so much easy to drop it on their heads.”
“You… don’t know… anything… about being… a leader” Strongpaw said, while he struggled to remove the sand.
The pony-angels, not wanting to disappoint their leader who was using the rest of his forces to save them, prepared the catapults and started firing a rain of arrows against Rothbart, who simply smiled and dodged.
“Why do you even bother” Rothbart said to them, in a mocking tone. “Your arrows won’t work.”
But it was then that one of the arrows exploded after Rothbart dodged it. He realized they were using some kind of explosives on the tips of the arrows. That became much more difficult to dodge easily, what also prevented Rothbart from getting close to Strongpaw, who continued to move the sand to the exterior of the valley, while his people was giving him encouragement. The sand started to get out over the village and Strongpaw relaxed gradually his hoof, making the sand starting to fell in the desert. The villagers got very relieved for not being in danger anymore.
However, the effort made Strongpaw to lose his senses and pass out, while the rest of the sand around him fell. The leader of the pony-panthers began to fall. Watching that, the pony-panthers prepared to catch him. However, Rothbart was also trying to do the same, starting to go towards him, while arrows were still being fired against him.
“Taking him down without killing him was much harder than I thought.”
It was then that Rothbart managed to grab Strongpaw through his bag with his remaining talon. Looking at him, Rothbart said:
“My mission is clear.”
And he started heading for the outside of the village. The pony-panthers wanted to continue shooting at Rothbart, but they could not do that as they could hit on your leader. This allowed Rothbart to leave the village and move away.
Rothbart flew to the place where Medusa was waiting, along with the statue of the pony-panther that she had captured for Rothbart.
"Well, well, well, it looks like you did it" she said, seeing Rothbart landing and putting the unconscious body of Strongpaw on the floor.
"Yes, but with a heavy price" he replied, referring to his crushed limb while he returned to his pony from. "I really should had prepared better. But this is nothing I can't deal with. Dispetrify the pony-panther."
"And ruin a masterpiece?" Medusa asked. "You're kidding, right? Sorry, Rothbart, but as much as I like you, I won’t dispetrify him just because you ask."
"In a matter of minutes we will have an army of pony-panthers behind us and we are in position to fight them" Rothbart said. "So, if you don’t want to see me angrier, hurry up and do what I say."
Medusa sighed and then said:
"Whatever. But you could had asked nicely"
She did what Rothbart told her to do and the petrified pony-panther returned to his original state. He was very shocked when he saw his leader unconscious but Rothbart didn't give him time to react to that, because he grabbed his left foreleg and simply ripped it apart, making him scream in pain. After that, he put the ripped limb in the place where the missing limb was and, through his dark magic, made it attach to the rest of the body.
"That's better" Rothbart said, watching his new limb and turning it briefly into a talon. "And the best part is that I also get the strength of a pony-panther."
"You know, you don't stop to impress me" Medusa said, petrifying the pony-panther again.
"You haven't seen anything that I'm capable of doing" Rothbart said. "I learned a lot of new tricks after the Lord of Chaos freed me from the prison-book. But it’s for the best to let the talk for later. We have to take this Jinchuriki to our master quickly.”
And the two, along with Strongpaw, disappeared.