Digit and Zest were sitting in Sugarcube Corner, waiting for their remaining teammates. It was a common spot for students. After all, they had some of the best pastries in Central Etheria... and most other regions. Digit was sipping on a cup of iced coffee, while Zest chose some tropical-citrus fruit concoction. There was a large plate of cupcakes in front of them, which Zest was wolfing down like he didn't eat last night. Digit was wearing a light blue sleeveless hoodie with dark blue outlines and a gear-like symbol on the back, light beige khaki shorts that reached his shin, and black and blue boots. He also wore a pair of fingerless gloves, a dark blue scarf with light blue lines running through it like a circuit, and his trademark googles. Zest donned a bright orange hoodie with a red lightning bolt across it, gray shorts, and orange, red, and white boots. He wore a fingerless glove on one hand and an armlet on the other and had an orange headband with red lightning bolt. "Dude, slow down. You're gonna get sick, then someone's gonna have to carry you."
"Nope. Won't be a problem," Zest replied, wolfing down another cupcake.
"Leave some for the rest of us, will ya." Amethyst and Sunset walked in. Amethyst wore a bright purple tank top, blue short-shorts, and blue and white high-top sneakers, as well as armbands on each arm and had her hair tied into a long ponytail, reaching the small of her back. Sunset wore a pink tank top, orange capris with red lines going down the side of each leg, and white and orange sneakers. Her hair was also in a ponytail, though shorter than Amethyst's.
"Hi girls. Glad you could make it," Digit said, warmly.
"I see Trixie isn't here yet?"
"She'll be here."
"If you say so."
"Okay, so I didn't want to come initially..." They all looked back to see Nox standing behind them. "... But it's not like I'm doing anything this weekend. So..." He paused when Zest zipped over to hug him. He turned into mist and drifted away, materializing behind Zest.
"Good to see you too, Nox," Digit said in response. "Now, one more..."
It took another five minutes or so for Trixie to arrive. She walked in wearing a white shirt, light blue jacket, lighter blue skirt, and blue and white boots. She had on a hairclip that looked like a star sitting in a moon. "Trixie has arrived."
"Get a new catchphrase," Amethyst said, rolling her eyes.
"Excuse me?"
"Okay!" Digit shot up. "Let's get going."
"Where exactly are we going again?" asked Amethyst.
"It's called the Rainbow Spring Forest. And yes, it's as nice as it sounds."
"So, this is just a hiking trip?" asked Sunset.
"Yep."
"This is gonna be awesome!" Zest was practically ready to shoot through the roof. Nox just sat there, watching. Thinking. Digit saw the look on his and gave a look saying 'I know how you feel. But it's going to be fine.'
The Rainbow Spring Woods had its name for a reason. The streams and springs all had a magic, light-refracting property that caused rainbows to form. Another magical property was that plants could grow there in virtually any season; you could get roses in winter here. But in addition to its rich plant life, a lot of creatures occupied the forest, sentient and otherwise. It was beautiful and colorful... well, most of it anyway. A patch of the forest, about a quarter of the whole area, was dark... like basically pitch black. Nothing that grew there was normal; not the plants, not the animals, even the magic energy was off. Nothing. In this area, there was a cave. In the cave, there were workers. Many workers, garbed in black, all had either black or dark gray skin and razor sharp teeth and claws. They were pulling up a stone statue with the image of their queen: a young woman with purple hair.
"Be careful with that!" They queen now stood at the entrance to the room they were in. "That marble was very difficult to come by."
"Yes, my Queen," they replied in unison.
"My Lady," another came from behind her. He wore a long, black cloak opened and was clad in silver armor on his shoulders, lower arms, lower legs, and torso. "You have a call."
"Ugh, great."
"Whoa!" Amethyst, Zest, and Sunset were awestruck by the sight of the forest. Trees of all colors and varieties sprouted everywhere, Dancing Dahlias swayed in the wind, and rainbows arched in the sky above them, crossing in various patterns. "This is amazing!" Amethyst was completely awestruck. She had done a lot of sightseeing, but she had never had something hold her attention like this.
"Wow, you guys are way too easily impressed," Digit said. "You haven't even seen the magic." Digit tapped a tree with his hand and it began to shake. The branches began to fold and twist until they became a single large branch. Two green holes appeared on the surface of the tree and a larger black gap appeared beneath them from which a groan could be heard.
"Is that... A TREANT!" Sunset had heard of treants. They were strong, wise... and highly territorial. She backed away, as did Amethyst.
"Ha! You scare too easily," taunted Trixie. "It's just a little treant."
"Little? Are you blind?" asked Amethyst. "If that's the baby, I don't know if I want to meet the mother."
"Don't worry," Digit said, leaning against the living tree, "It's fine. Unless any of you have tried to cut him down?"
"Nope," they all replied in unison.
"Good. Then we're safe." They saw a number of creatures, from breezies and parasrpites to golems and manticores... nice ones, luckily.
Amethyst ran up to meet Digit. "So, what do you intend to gain from this little hiking trip?"
"Not sure. Just hoping something'll happen and help the team bond."
"Those're some pretty high expectations."
"I like being optimistic." Soon, they came to a clearing.
"Hey, can we take a break for a few minutes?" Sunset asked. She wasn't exactly built for physical... well, anything. And neither was Trixie. The difference was that Trixie had too much pride to admit it.
"HA! Tired already?" She was clearly strained, but tried to hide it, rather unsuccessfully due to her, visibly, heavy breathing.
"Trixie, we've been walking for over almost an hour and a half straight!"
"She's right," said Digit. "We should probably take a break.
"Now you're making sense," Zest said, collapsing floating down to the ground.
"And now I'm eating snacks," Amethyst added as she pulled a snack bar from her backpack.
"Hey there, big sis." The queen sat on her large crystal throne and spoke to the image in the large crystal pillar in front of her. "How've you been?"
"What do you think? And don't call me 'big sis'. I am not your sister," the other replied in a sour tone.
"Sorry. Yeesh. Just trying to be nice."
"This is not the time for niceties. We have a schedule to keep and I am not in the mood for anything else. You're just barely keeping up."
"Wow. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the cocoon today."
"LISTEN BRAT!" The other figure had gone from sour to spicy. "This is not a game. You know your part. You know what to do. You know how to do it. SO DO IT!"
"DON'T YOU DARE YELL AT ME!" The young queen had now lost her calm, sweet voice and replaced it with one of burning anger. "You aren't my mom or my master or my boss! I don't care if you're in charge of running this whole fiasco on this end! So don't think for one second that you can raise your damn voice at me!" She paused in though. Her anger disappeared and she smiled once again. "Come to think of it, I should be the one running things, not you," she said with a smile.
"Excuse me?" the other replied in shock. "How old are you again."
"Sixteen physically and biologically, twenty-four mentally, and over a hundred based on my achievements."
"I have roamed this world for over a hundred and fifty years... A HUNDRED AND FIFTY! What makes you even close to being as qualified as me?"
"How about the fact that I've actually accomplished more than you in a shorter period of time?"
"What?"
"You have tried three times to conquer a single region. The first time, about a hundred and twenty years ago, you tried and got pushed back by a rebellion. Five years later, you returned with dark magic... and still failed. You returned recently for another attempt. Tell me, did you succeed?" Silence. "Thought so. I, on the other hand, have claimed many magic hotspots located in forests all over Etheria. Do you know how long it took me to claim this forest? Three days. It took me three days to claim this entire corner of the forest and bind it to my magic. In addition, I do have a reputation for being able to manipulate people... without the use of magic. So tell me, who is still the younger one?"
"IMPUDENT FOOL! If the boss didn't have such a soft spot for you and didn't think you were absolutely vital to our cause, I would kill you where you sit."
"Would you? Or would you send your minions to distract me and then take a cheap shot."
"I would drive my blade through your heart and rip your head off myself! And as if you have never taken any cheap shots yourself."
"Touché. But at least I got somewhere with it. Backstabbing below the belt only got you blasted halfway across Etheria... which, I guess, would explain your sour mood?"
"DO YOUR DAMN JOB! And don't push me, otherwise, I do not care how valuable he thinks you are, I will hang your head on my wall!" The other woman smashed the communicator on her end, causing static to appear on the young queen's crystal, at which she threw a rock using her magic.
"Ugh! That damn wretched old bitch! Who the hell does she think she is?"
"My Lady,-"
"WHAT!"
"Apologies." The man in the armored cloak that called her earlier was standing at the entrance to her throne room.
On seeing him, she calmed down. "Oh, Blackbane. Sorry. Come in. What is it?"
"Some of the watchers have detected odd life signatures in the vicinity."
She looked at him in shock. "What? How? I would have felt a new presence if it entered the forest. Are you sure it isn't just a bunch of newborn cragodiles or something?"
"No. They seem to be, from their description... mages."
She froze. Then smiled. "Really?" She leaned back in her chair in thought. "Send a few dozen scouts. Test them. If they resist, send the shock troops. If, by some miracle, they can't handle it, send the reavers."
"The reavers? I doubt that will be necessary. From the reports, they appear to be adolescents."
"Never underestimate your opponent, Bane. But fine. Although you should probably tag along, just in case. And take a visual crystal. I wanna watch."
"As you wish." He bowed and disappeared into his shadow.
"This day just got better," she said as she leaned back into her large throne. "A plus-one for my resume."
"Um, is... is this s-s-safe?" Sunset asked, trying as hard as possible no to act terrified out of her mind.
"Sure it is," Digit replied. "I've done it at least a dozen times."
"And?"
"It was fun." They were standing at the edge of a cliff, across a waterfall, looking at the lake at least 500meters below.
"What? Are you afraid?" Trixie asked Sunset.
"Aren't you?"
"HA! Trixie is scared of nothing! I've beaten an Ursa Major single-handedly!"
"Okay, one, I'm pretty sure it was an Ursa Minor," Amethyst interjected. "And second, are you sure that's the real story and not the one you remember while you were curled up like a ball, hiding in a hollow tree?" Trixie glared.
"Trixie runs from nothing and hides from nothing."
"Oh yeah, you're right. 'Cause you can't run when you're cowering in paralyzing fear and you'd just scream in the face of... 'danger'. Even better." Amethyst joined Sunset in giggling as they remembered the issue with the kangarat.
"It could've bitten me." They kept laughing as Trixie pouted, trying to plead her case.
Sunset snapped back to the present. "Can we get back to the real issue?" she said.
"I should've packed a swimsuit... or at least a change of clothes," said Amethyst, looking back down. "Why would you not tell us about this?"
"It was a surprise." Digit looked around and realized something was missing. "Hey, were are Nox and Zest?"
"UP HERE!" Nox and Zest were floating an extra hundred meters above them.
"I'm not involved in this," Nox said, forming a cloud from mist and laying down on it.
"Okay," Digit said as he wrapped himself and the three girls in a bubble shield. "On three. One...two..." Three never came before he rolled them off the cliff.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" It was quite a long way down.
As they dropped, Zest shot passed them. He stopped moments before he reached the surface and a shockwave followed. The surface of the water shimmered. A few moments later, they hit the water and the bubble popped, soaking everyone in it. The water splashed viciously, engulfing even Zest as the wave crashed down. Sunset was the first to emerge.
"That... was... INSANE!" She gasped for air, as did Amethyst when she emerged with Digit.
"Let's never do that again," said Amethyst.
"Let's do that again," Zest cried, "This time, I wanna be in the bubble!"
"Did you not just here me?"
"Hey," Digit said, looking around, "where's Trixie?" No answer. "Can she swim?" No answer. Digit dived back down into the water. He emerged about eight seconds later, carrying Trixie on his back. She coughed and gagged and gasped for air. They all swam back to the shore and settled on the grassy ground.
"Omigosh, Trixie! Are you okay?" Sunset said, genuinely worried. Amethyst ran to her side.
"Don't... touch me! I'm... fine," she replied as she struggled to breath.
"Sheesh. Sorry for caring," Amethyst replied as she backed away. "So the 'Great and Powerful Trixie can't swim, huh?" Amethyst mocked. Trixie would have responded had her lungs not been clogged with magic water. Zest floated down, soaked, as did Nox, who was the only one dry. "So," Amethyst started as she turned to face Digit, "What the heck was THAT?!"
"It's called the Resonance Lake. The water has a special magic property of adapting and taking on the properties of the magic around it or in contact with it. When Zest flew down, he was building up a lot of wind energy, which hit the water when he stopped, which made it softer and lighter."
"So it takes properties of the magic energy that hit it? So if you threw a fireball...?"
"We would've been boiled alive in seconds. Lightning's better. It's more of a tingle, kinda like a massage. But it really depends on the quantity of energy."
"Why didn't you just fire a wind blast at it?" asked Amethyst.
"If the energy hits the water at an angle, the effects are a lot more... unpredictable; spontaneous combustion, flooding, freezing-"
"Wait, spontaneous combustion?" Sunset asked, imagining the horror of being roasted alive above a body of water; the horrible irony.
"Yep. The nature of the magic no longer counts as a factor. It just becomes random." He looked back at Trixie, who had finally caught her breath. "How're you holding up?"
"Fine, of course," she replied. "So now what? We walk around in wet clothes?"
"You afraid you'll catch a cold?" asked Amethyst.
"I was asking in case your fragile body count handle it."
"Fragile?!"
"Okay, everyone, chill... pun not intended. Remember what I said about the water taking on the property of the magic that hit it? Zest used wind magic. Zest, the second part."
Zest placed his hands on the ground. "You might feel a nice relaxing tingle," he warned. He sent currents of bright red electricity arching across the ground and to each of his soaked companions.
"Aaaaaaah! Ah... aaaaaah!" Sunset went from pain to pleasure in less than two seconds. "Whoa. It's like all my worries just melted and vanished."
"Same here," said Amethyst. Trixie just collapsed in relaxation.
"So that's the effect of lightning? Nice." Sunset looked down. "Hey, my clothes are dry!"
"Mine too," said Amethyst.
"Was that the effect of wind?" asked Trixie.
"Yep. That's why Zest had to do the dive. We needed enough wind energy to make sure it all dried up and fast. I usually do this when I come here with my sister. I use it to get rid of tension."
"Cool," said Amethyst. "Wait, you have tension?"
Suddenly, they heard a rustling in the bush. "Did anyone else hear that?" asked Zest. There was another rustle. They each got into a fighting stance, magic charged in their fists, wings, and magic items. "Whose there?"
The rustling shifted to neighboring bushes until it traveled around all the bushes in front of them. "I think the 'who' is more than one person," Digit stated.
They stood, ready to react. But Trixie got tired of waiting. "Show yourself!" She fired a bolt from her wand into the bush in front of them. As it hit, a rather big, brown figure jumped out and dashed towards them. It reached them before anyone could get a shot in. It crashed into Digit, revealing it to be a massive, beastly hyena with brown fur with dark brown marks and a rough, dark brown mane.
Digit stared at the hungry green eyes as it smiled evilly at him. Then he knew. "Really? This same trick since elementary school?" The creature smile turned from hungry to happy. The creature stepped off him. "Relax guys," Digit said when he saw everyone aiming at the fearless creature, "She goes to our school."
"WHAT?!" was the unanimous reply.
"What? Don't recognize me?" said the beastly hyena. It began to morph, losing about two feet in height and two feet in width. Its brown fur turned to dark tanned skin and its mane was now long brown hair... but still wild and spiked forward. She was wearing a light brown t-shirt, dark brown shorts, and light brown flip-flops. She wore a necklace of what looked like five wolf teeth and beaded bracelets around her wrists. She had dark brown marks on her arms and legs, one on each cheek, and one below each eye. "Hey guys."
"Savannah?! What the actual hell?!" Amethyst was still recovering from the revelation. "We could've blasted you."
"Nah," Savannah replied, smiling, "You would've missed." Savannah followed the group on their hike. She explained that she lived close to the entrance of the forest and usually came there to relax.
"I thought your home was close to the Everfree Forest," Amethyst inquired.
"Yeah. But I'm staying in this one now, just to see which is better. So far, so good."
"Isn't it kinda dangerous?" asked Sunset.
"Yeah, well, I've kinda learned how to deal with most of the problems. There are the usual problems like manticores, whomping willows, parasrpites, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera." Suddenly, she stomped the ground. The quake caused everyone to fall.
"What was that for?"
"The unusual problems." She pointed at a tree, in which there were black figures pinned to trees. As they pulled off they revealed themselves. They were about three to four feet tall, had razor sharp claws and teeth, and were pitch black with glowing pale blue eyes.
"Changelings!" From what Sunset had heard from Twilight, Changelings aren't that big a deal. "There's only three of them. We can handle them." At that moment, odd green bolts fell from the sky above; at least a few dozen. Then Sunset remembered. 'Changelings aren't that big a deal... on their own. When fighting a group, things can get a bit... rough.' "Oh boy."
"Stay together," said Digit. Immediately, everyone formed a circle. Digit felt Zest tap his shoulder. It wasn't Zest. As he turned, a black fist flew across his face, sending him to the ground. He turned to see the Changeling as Sunset hit it with a fireball.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. Where's Zest?"
"YAAAAHOOOOO!" At that instant, Digit covered the group with a bubble as Zest hit the ground with incredible speed, sending out a shockwave that wiped out a good dozen of the Changelings... which were replaced by another two dozen.
"Okay," Digit said, charging up magic in his fists, Sunset, Amethyst, and Savannah doing the same, Trixie lit up her wand, Zest brandished his whips, and Nox a pair of ornamental daggers, "let's have some fun."
The school grounds were always open, mostly because the staff held their meetings there on weekends. This weekend was no exception... except for the fact that only five members of staff were present, four of whom were waiting in the staff room. Princess Celestia and her sister, Luna, had called Zecora and Professor Creed for a private meeting. The last guessed was known only to the royal sisters. "So, who is this mystery guest of ours?" asked Creed.
"You'll see," replied Celestia. "He should be hear any minute from now."
Low and behold, at that moment, a shadow appeared on the ground next to them. From it came a shadowy figure, whose image was cleared up as it came to full view. He had long, platinum blond hair combed back, deep green eyes, and wore a long white cloak with gold trimmings over a light brown suit, white shirt and white shoes. "Apologies," he said, "I would have been here eight point three seconds earlier, but I had a little... problem with some associates."
"And you are...?" asked Creed.
"Professor Spellbinder," she said, shaking his hand. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Professor Creed, Professor Zecora."
"Ah, yes, I remember you. You assisted with the summer training regimen last year."
"Quite an impressive success, though I should expect no less."
"Thank you."
"Professor Spellbinder is a member of my advisory council," added Celestia. "He helps around the school from time to time." She got up and walked to the center table. "Now that we're all here, we can proceed." The center table glowed and a bright light shone from it.
"Professor Creed, designation: Law."
"Professor Zecora, designation: Flora Fauna."
"Professor Spellbinder, designation: Pentagram."
"Principal Celestia, designation: Sun Keeper."
"Principal Luna, designation: Moon Keeper."
"... Processing... processing... Confirmed. Welcome." The table began to disappear in sparks of light, revealing a secret passage. At the bottom was a large dark room, lit only by the round, glowing crystal table in the center, along with the ten glowing crystal chairs that surrounded it. They each took a seat on one side.
"Begin transmission," said Celestia. Instantly, five figures appeared in the five chairs opposite them: one pale pink, one blue and white, one dark purple, one pale mauve, and one brown, designations: Love, Shield, Quill, Cheer, and... a smiley face? Celestia shook her head while Luna face-palmed.
"He always has to open with a joke," said Creed, smiling.
"See, he gets it," replied the brown figure, cheerfully.
"How old are you again?" asked the pink figure.
"Oh, just a few millennia. Don't worry, I won't be going away any time soon."
"I don't think that's the problem."
"No, but this is." Celestia used the table to bring up a 3-D picture of a book from which three pages were removed and magnified. Each page had the picture of an item: a sphere, a cube, and a pyramid.
"You must be joking," said the brown figure.
"I wish I was. And anyway, that would be a very expensive joke, one even I cannot afford."
"But I hid those things away centuries ago after you-know-who tried to use them. I was so proud of his progress... until it involved enslavement and destruction."
"I didn't know you cared," said the blue and white figure.
"Sure, I made the place a little chaotic, but that was for fun. You alter gravity for fun. You distort space for fun. You don't suck up the world's life energy and use it to enslave people for fun... or do you?"
"Really?" Celestia asked with disapproval.
"Just kidding. OF COURSE YOU DON'T!"
"So," the mauve figure finally spoke up, "Why am I in this meeting? I don't deal with magical items."
"No, but you do deal with information and detail," Celestia replied.
"Well, when you have to mark a grade-schooler's assignment that looks like a cockatrice trying to write cursive, you’ll need to learn to read the extra-fine print." Then she figured it out. "Let me guess. You want me to go through the archives and find out if there are any loopholes or notes that could give anyone access to these items?"
"Yes."
"I'll need a name," she brought out a pen and paper. "I have no idea what I'm looking at right now."
"The Trinity Jewels."
The mauve figure's pen broke in her hand. "WHAT?! Nononononononono and NO! I am not getting involved in that mess! Are you kidding? It's cursed." She regained her calm and added, "With all due respect, Princess, do you know how many people have done research on this topic and lived? Zero. You know how we know? Because there's no record of anyone who did!"
"Relax, Cherilee. But I wouldn't come to you if it weren't absolutely necessary and I had any other choice."
The one called Cherilee thought for a while. "F-F-Fine," she said, hesitantly.
"Thank you. Now, no one person knows the location of the three items."
"I though he scattered them across Etheria," said the pink figure, gesturing to the brown one to her left.
"That doesn't mean I know where I sent them," he replied. "Sure, I have an idea, but not an exact location."
"Good," said Creed. "That means none of us is in any immediate danger."
"Magic hotspots have been popping up unusually lately," said the dark purple figure. "But they only seem to appear for a fraction of a second before disappearing."
"Ah, that's the temporal flux spell I placed on them. Much harder to find an artifact that moves, especially if it docks in sub-space."
"Impossible to find using any locator spells if it doesn't exist in that dimension," Luna said.
"Precisely!"
"Hmmm. Zecora, do you know anything about these items?"
"Individually, not much; but collectively, a bunch," she replied. "I heard the stories as a child, of a power so great and wild. One that could warp space and bring an end to a race; that could warp reality and distort causality."
"Those... are not very good bedtime stories," said Cherilee.
"Nope," said Creed, "That's some grade-A nightmare fuel right there. How does a child sleep after hearing a story like that?"
"Cautiously," Zecora replied.
"Okay then, we'll keep an eye out for any abnormal abnormalities," said the purple figure.
"We'll watch for any dark magic spurts," said the pink figure.
"I'll have a rapid response team ready," said the blue and white figure.
"I'll watch out for any chaos magic," said the brown figure, as the holographic pages turned to paper planes and flew in complex aerobatic maneuvers. "This doesn't count."
"Well, I'll get searching," said Cherilee. "Oh, sweet Faust, I know I'm going to regret this 'cause it's going to come back and bite me in the-" She cut the transmission. The other's followed suit.
"Well then," said Celestia, "let's get to work."
"This is not work, THIS IS CRAZY!" Amethyst had had enough of fighting the annoying little ones that attacked them. But now, the group was neck deep in five to six foot tall versions of the little scouts. These ones had actual hand-to-hand combat skills. But so did Amethyst. One lunged at her. She caught it by its arm and slammed it against the ground before throwing it against its companions. As another attempted to kick her, she caught its leg and threw it to Savannah, who greeted it by hammering its head into the ground with her fist.
"Fun, right?" Savannah asked, smiling.
"Not really," said Sunset, firing a large fireball and using a bolt of teal energy to amplify the explosion.
Zest ran past a group of them, grabbing about four in each whip. He swung across, clearing a bunch of pitch black figures, then hammered them into a crowd of Changelings. As they struggled to untangle themselves and get up, he flicked both whips, sending a trail of red lightning across them. On reaching the tip, they emitted a massive explosion that obliterated the pile. "BOOM BABY!"
"You enjoy this too much." Nox was effortlessly dodging the claws and kicks from a group of five at once. He caught the first one and stabbed it in the heart... if it had one. He spun and cut across the torso of the second. He ducked under the claws of the next two and slashed across each of them as well. He simply jumped over the last one. It stared at him, then attempted to attack as it moved, it saw the knife in the ground in front of it glowing, which then exploded in a cloud of purple, electrified smoke.
"Nice! Cool dudes don't look at explosions," said Zest as he crushed a group of Changelings with a rock using his whip.
Trixie had no problem blasting the creatures from afar. "Feel the wrath of the Great and Powerful Trixie!" She charged a large magic bolt and sent it to a group the orb floated in the air in front of the group before it was detonated by a follow-up blast from her wand. She levitated a rock and crushed it with an invisible force before sending the pieces pelleting at the swarm in front of her like machine gun bullets.
Digit ran through groups of Changelings, pummeling them with his energy-coated fists. Grabbing one by the face, he used his free hand to burn a rune into its chest before throwing it at a group. The rune glowed and emitted a massive explosion. "Okay, it's been fun," he said, "But all good things must come to an end."
"How is this a good thing?" Amethyst cried as she and Savannah delivered a double lariat to about three Changelings at once, beheading them all.
Digit charged up a massive amount of energy in his hands and gripped them, turning them into massive swords which grew at least a hundred meters. "So long..."
"Hit the deck!" Every heeded Zest's warning and hit the floor.
"... And thanks for all the fish!" He swung the two swords in semi-circles, forming a large circle that cut through everything in the vicinity: Changelings, rocks, Changelings, trees, more Changelings, and more everything else.
"Wow," said Sunset as she got up.
"Maybe try opening with that one next time, hun," said Amethyst.
"Where's the fun in that?" Digit asked as his constructs dissipated into pixel-like sparks.
"So who’s next?" asked Trixie.
"Never say dumbass stuff like that out loud," said Amethyst. "Do you want them to send an angry dragon at us next?"
"We don't have dragons, sorry to disappoint," said a voice, which was followed by clapping. They turned to see a figure garbed in a black hood with armor in his lower legs and arms, shoulder, and torso. On his left shoulder was a symbol of a purple heart with a crack down the middle. "I am impressed that you survived the scouts and the shock troopers simultaneously. I trained them myself."
"And you are?" Digit asked.
"The guardian of the one who has laid claim to this section of the forest." The man materialized a large scythe with a skull head from which the blade protruded. "And the one who will end your lives a bit earlier than you may have expected."
"HA!" Trixie stepped forward. "Come and try me."
"Um, Trixie," Amethyst said, "That guy has a big-ass, scary-ass, deadly-ass scythe."
"And this wand took down an Ursa Major! It's more than a match for him."
"Did you now? You know, I've slain a few beasts myself." He kept his scythe to his side.
"Then let us see how you do against the Great and Powerfu-" She was cut off when the man's fist slammed into her stomach, knocking the air out of her lungs, also causing her to cough up quite a lot of blood. He turned and delivered a roundhouse that sent her flying into a rock, smashing it on impact.
"TRIXIE!" Amethyst ran to her side. The neck of Trixie's shirt was stained with blood. She didn't respond to Amethyst's cries. "Dammit Trixie, answer!"
"Oh hell." Sunset turned to see the man leaning against his scythe.
"I wonder how you beat an Ursa Major if you can't even take a simple punch. Unless you're telling me you avoided all its attacks?"
Savannah looked at the man with intense fury. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" She charged at him.
"No, WAIT!" She couldn't hear Sunset cry out to her.
Savannah tried several times to land a blow, but the man dodged all her attempts. Finally, she tried to knock him off his feet with a sweep kick. He jumped over her leg, but saw Zest darting towards him. "Gotcha," said Zest, smirking. His smile vanished as the man's smile appeared. Just before impact, the man brought both fists down on Zest's back like a hammer. He crashed into Savannah, who was below him, and the momentum from his earlier movement carried them forward. The man returned to leaning on his scythe, still smiling.
"Nox, Sunset," Digit said, "Cover me." Nox took to the sky and let loose a knife storm. The blades were coated with purple lightning, streaking towards the man. The shadowy figure ducked, dodged, and deflected the incoming blades with uncanny precision. Once the rain of knives ended, he looked up to see a purple spark in Nox's hand. He threw it to one of the knives and the lightning arced through them and linking to the knife in the middle of the array... right in front of the man. All the knives detonated in a pillar of purple light and black smoke. Nox scanned for signs of the man, but saw nothing but the scythe as the smoke cleared.
'It's never that easy,' he thought. He was right. He felt the presence behind him and brought his arms up to his face just in time to block the savage kick that set him plummeting to the ground. Sunset telekinetically caught him and set him down next to her. She felt a gust of wind behind her and ducked under the man's leg. The air pressure generated from the kick carved a small arc into the ground in front of them. Sunset teleported away as Nox readied his blades. He slashed at the man viciously, but fully in control. As the man stepped back, Nox stretched his leg so his foot was behind the man's. 'Now.' He had him right where he wanted... or so he thought. As the blades made contact, something stopped him, as if his whole body suddenly refused to move. He looked down and saw the man's hand at his right shoulder, his finger just touching the joint.
"Nerve cluster," he said. "Can't move there's foreign magic in you." He leaned back. Nox braced himself for impact, but was saved when a teal bolt of energy hit the man, knocking him away from Nox. Sunset readied another shot, but the man was too fast. He appeared in front of her and swept her legs off the ground. His spin built up momentum, which he used to hammer Sunset's head into the ground while in mid-air.
"HEY!" The man turned to meet Savannah's foot cross his face. He recovered quickly and looked at her. He lunged forward and caught her before she could move, delivering a barrage of blows to her stomach.
Nox regained his movement and lunged at the man. "Hey, step off!" The man turned to see him and side-stepped out of the way. As Nox turned, the man's powerful fist slammed into his chest, sending him crashing into an already groggy Savannah.
"Huh. Maybe I should up the training difficulty," the man said. "They must be getting soft if they can't handle you six... wait, six?"
"HEY!" The man turned to see Digit, a highly condensed ball of blue energy in his hand with streams of light spiraling around it. "Suck on this!" He flung the bolt at the man, who caught it, just before it exploded in a brilliant display of fire and sparks. He ran to Sunset and helped her up. "You okay?"
"My face hurts," she replied, "and I'm not sure, but I think I just ate grass."
Digit smiled. The others began gathering themselves. Amethyst was trying to heal Trixie, her hands glowing bright purple as the healing spell began healing fractures and bruises. "Come on you idiot," she said as she pumped magic energy into her body. "You can't go down like this. What was all that talk back at school, huh?"
"Really? Because she seemed to go down fairly easily to me." The six, still conscious members turned to see the man. Soot covered the armored plates and the right sleeve of his cloak had been shredded by the blast, revealing a series of marks and symbols.
"What..."
"The..."
"Hell?"
They looked as the man dusted the soot and ash from his outfit. "Great. Do you have any idea how tough it is the wash black? It's tough finding which part is dirt and which part is cloth." He looked up at them. "It was fun evaluating you, and although you don't seem to be constituting any kind of threat, I still have to kill you."
"I-I'll ask again, who are you?"
"Well, it's only common courtesy to know who killed you. I am know by many names, many, if not all, of which you are clearly not worthy of knowing, let alone saying. But for your efforts, you may call me Blackbane."
"Digit, what now?" Sunset was expecting an answer. But Digit just stood, but he wasn't analyzing his opponent, he already had... and he was paralyzed with fear. The strong killing intent mixed with high-level dark magic was a pungent smell to any mage, one that many feared for the shear destruction it could cause. "DIGIT!"
"Y-You don't own this forest," Digit said.
"Well, not all of it," Blackbane replied. "In case you haven't noticed, this entire area is coated with the queen's essence. She has infused the very soil at your feet with her magic, giving her technical claim over the land."
"What are you doing here? What makes this area so important that that she would need to link herself to it and keep watch?"
"She just likes the scenery and hates being disturbed, especially if the disturbance damages the forest's natural beauty."
"Who is she?"
"Like I would tell you," Blackbane replied with more venom in his voice. "You are barely even worthy to know my own name."
"Why did you attack us?" Sunset asked. "We didn't damage anything."
"It was an order. I do not disobey. I do not ask questions that are irrelevant to the task."
"But there must be something she needs from here. You don't just bind yourself to a place because of its beauty."
"Perhaps."
"Do you know what it could be?"
"I do not. So far as I know, this forest is only known for its rare beauty," he said. "But I wonder why you would ask such questions," he said as he raised his scythe. "Such information is of no use to the dead." A mass of black energy covered the blade. "What was it you said? 'So long... and thanks for all the fish'." He swung the scythe, sending a blast of dark energy at them.
"Oh Faust!" Sunset turned to see Digit, his hands glowing and sparking wildly.
"GET DOWN!" As the wave approached, they were engulfed in a wave of blue light, which brightened with time. As the wave hit, the light engulfed them.
"Oh?" Blackbane looked up to see the scorched earth, trees, and grass in front of him. "They must have escaped."
"What do you mean they escaped?"
Blackbane turned around to see the silvery-white visual crystal floating next to him with the image of his queen. "My Lady, the intruders have been repelled."
"I told you to bring them to me!"
"My apologies, My Lady. One of them knows a long distance teleportation spell, which I foolishly did not plan for."
The young girl thought. "Don't worry about it. Get back home. Did you get any of their names?"
"Sunset, a curious one; Trixie, either brave or foolish, I'm not entirely sure; and Digit, quite resourceful."
"Digit, huh," the queen thought. "Why does that name sound so familiar? Anyway, head back. That will be all.
"Yes, My Lady."
The group reappeared at the entrance to the forest. "Holy cow!" Sunset was shocked. "That's a lot of magic."
"Worth it," Digit grunted.
"You okay?"
"Kinda... not really." He held a black blade with a red liquid glistening on the tip.
"Holy shi-"
"Ssshhhhh!" Digit held raised his shirt, revealing a faint scar on his stomach where the wound had been. "How's Trixie?"
"Unconscious," replied Amethyst, "but I managed to heal her cracked ribs and restore most of her magic. Whatever that guy hit her with was hard."
"I don't know about you guys," Zest said, floating lazily, "but I'm done adventuring... for the next three weeks. SLEEPOVER AT DIGIT'S!"
“Is anyone not curious about what the hell just went down in there?” asked Amethyst.
“We can talk about that when we get to Digit’s.”
They all looked at Zest, then to Digit. Digit shrugged. "Why not. Sun's already going down."
"Um, hello? Girls in the vicinity," Amethyst mentioned, gesturing to her fellow girls.
"My sister'll take care of that."
Amethyst thought for a while and looked to Sunset for a second opinion. Sunset shrugged. "I don't have a problem."
"Okay, fine."
"WOOHOO!"
Nox was the only one that had no enthusiasm for this. Digit came up next to him and held his shoulder. "Dude, we need to talk."