From the Ashes

by Benjamin Lawe

Chapter 10: Snow Goings

From the Ashes

Chapter 10: Snow Goings

In contrast to the chaos that had befallen Appleoosa, the town of Hordimare had calmed down significantly since the morning’s incident. For her heroism, Rainbow Dash was getting the star treatment, which even for an old fashioned small town like Hordimare, was not without its perks.

“If there’s anything else you require...” the gracious servant bowed, “Please, do not hesitate to ask.”

“Well...” Rainbow Dash began, “In that case, how about you-”

“We’re fine, thank you.” Marco interrupted, “Just let us know if someone comes asking for ‘the pegasus’.”

As Rainbow Dash’s newly acquired servant left the room bowing, she and Marco relaxed in the lodging they had been provided with, free of charge since Dash had ‘saved’ the town from the vicious ‘black beast’.

She leaped up onto an oddly fluffy object that was neither bedding nor seating, and exhaled deeply in satisfaction. “Ahh...” she sighed, “That was a good idea back there Marco. These guys really know how to treat a lady.”

“Did you just call yourself a lady?” Marco asked in jest, “Now that’s something to write home about.”

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Dash replied flustered, “I just meant that uh... well, forget it.”

Marco snuffed a laugh. “Will do.” he accepted, “But in the meantime, I wanna hear more about Gilda. If my suspicions are accurate, she’ll be here any time now, and it’d be best if I didn’t jump in blind, so to speak.”

“Hrm, well...” Dash pondered, “Apart from the obvious, my advice would be to play it cool.”

“You must be joking.” Marco chuckled, “That’s your advice?”

“Listen dude.” she replied disapprovingly, “G respects cool. If you get her to respect you, she’ll be more cooperative right?”

Marco tapped his muzzle at that. “So what you’re saying is...” he said, “I ‘play it cool’ and she’s more prone to share her knowledge on Tager?”

“Bingo. But don’t worry...” Dash replied smugly, “You’ve got the master of cool here to help you out!”

Marco copied Dash’s grin. “The self-proclaimed ‘master’ of cool you mean?” he shot back, “I think I’ll manage without your tutelage.”

“You better.” Dash teased, “Because I think we might have company.”

An audible ruckus broke out downstairs. Marco’s ears perked to hear a few muffled voices as someone or something downstairs had their heart evidently set on coming upstairs.

“Sounds like.” he said, “About time too-”

“Yeah.” Rainbow Dash replied reservedly, “About time.”

“Nervous?” Marco asked, “Listen, I know you two didn’t part on the best of terms, but this is important.

Don’t worry, I’ll take the lead.” he continued reassuringly, “But I will need you to jump in if I can’t get her to hear us out.”

Rainbow Dash gave a silent nod, and the two of them slowly turned to face the door, expecting a griffin to come through it any moment now. She’d probably go right ahead and knock it from it hinges if the sounds from downstairs were any indication...

Gilda displayed no hesitation in intruding on Marco and Rainbow Dash. The griffin’s expression snapped from expectancy to surprise at the sight of the dark grey earth pony, and then to full-blown shock at the sight of her old friend; thing was, it wasn’t the one she was expecting.

Marco had prepared himself to talk confidently, but that was proving difficult given that until this very moment, he had never seen, met, or even talked to a griffin before. It was one thing to see a picture and read a book, but in the flesh a griffin in her prime was something a pony should be a little more ready to face.

At first Marco watched Dash and Gilda stare at each other in shock, but he soon shelved his nervousness and quickly regained control. “I’m gonna take a stab in the dark here and say we weren’t what you were expecting.” he said, grabbing the griffin’s attention, “Am I right? Gilda?”

“Who-” Gilda made to ask, but quickly swapped back to Rainbow Dash, “That’s you isn’t it Dash? What are you doing here? Why-”

“You’ve got a few questions it seems.” Marco cut in, “What a coincidence. So do we.”

Gilda didn’t appear to care for interruptions at a moment like this. “And just who the heck are you?” she asked angrily, talking an intimidating step forwards, “Why are you here?”

“What do you mean?” Marco asked, keeping his cool, “This is our room. You’re the one who barged in.”

Gilda stepped back and turned her attention back to Rainbow Dash. “So then, you’re the pegasus everypony’s talking about?” she asked her, looking anywhere but at her eyes, “The one that saved the town?”

Rainbow Dash couldn’t look the griffin in the eye either. “Kind of... I mean, not really.” she struggled, “But I am the one you heard about...”

An awkward silence begun to develop, but Marco was there to make sure it didn’t prosper. “That’s right.” he said, stepping up next to Gilda, “Tager’s not here. Not yet at least...”

Gilda’s eyes sprung up and met Marco’s. It was clear that his plan to slip that pegasus’ name in had hit home. “How do you know that name?” she asked, looking with confusion back to Rainbow Dash, “Did Dash tell you?”

Marco nodded to Dash, prompting her to intervene. “Hey G. Why don’t you sit down?” she asked, finally looking to her old friend, “We need to talk...”

* * * *

On what could very well be the opposite side of the world, the smoke was finally settling over the chilling Appleoosa evening. The town itself had emerged somewhat from their nightmare, and they mostly had Braeburn to thank. With their oppressors gone, the brave earth pony swept through the town, and with the aid of his buffalo allies, brought back order to the settlement. Emboldened by the prospect of redemption, the once-turned lawponies took charge and spurred the whole town into picking itself back up and repairing the damage.

Silverstar, Ceasler and Slayde were all already under care at the small hospital, and as soon as Braeburn caught onto their condition, he went to see them for himself. The sheriff would be out of action for a while, but would apparently make a full recovery. The two night guards however, were a different story. The young unicorn was in a critical condition, but the doctor was cautiously optimistic that he would turn out okay. His partner on the other hoof was in a much more sorry state. Comatose, and with steadily dropping vitals, it didn’t look good for the aged pegasus. If Ceasler stood a chance of pulling through, it was something he would have to manage on his own. The doctor could do nothing more to improve the odds.

It was well and truly night by the time Braeburn left the hospital. And while he wasn’t easy to leave his uncertainties behind, his town still needed to do much to get over their own hardships, and he knew they wouldn’t be able to manage without his help.

“Well, at least they ain’t in there for nothing.” he said to himself as he reflected upon what the three had given themselves for, “Yer sacrifices weren’t wasted. So just take your time and come out okay. You’ve done your bit, now you just gotta leave the rest to us.”

On that sombre note, he continued out into the night and onto the next task awaiting him. And while he couldn’t know it, there was still one other who had given their all into ensuring the girls made it back safely. And with the coming of night, her own struggle had finally come to and end...

Philomena lay in a heap, her once flaming plumage now flickering weakly with dying embers. Truant stood before her, savouring his victory as he bent down slightly to pick up the object at his hooves.

“Ah, I see...” he spoke, staring at the magical amulet before his eyes, “This object was made to be a beacon. It was what guided you here, and I imagine, would permit the one who crafted it the ability to teleport to the location of its wielder. Very clever.

“It would seem then that I now have in my possession a fragment of the princess’ soul, or more importantly, a font of alicorn energies.” he continued, smiling mirthlessly to the defeated creature sprawled out before him, “Experimenting with such a thing could unlock for me further power. Soon, I won’t even need Terra in order to stand against Canterlot.”

While Truant was preoccupied by his own thoughts, Philomena took the chance to do away with the letter she had come to deliver. Subtly negotiating back onto her talons, she let the tightly sealed scroll drop before flicking a barely burning wing out so as to ignite the missive.

But Truant was not as distracted as Philomena thought. Seeing her move, his black magic whipped out and struck the weakened phoenix, slapping her out of range of her last ditch ploy. “Defiant to the last, hrm?” the unicorn mocked, walking over casually and picking up the letter, “I suppose I should expect no less. Your master would be impressed.”

The beaten figure of Philomena let out an unhealthy and frustrated coo before slumping for the final time. That last blow had put her down for the count. Her beady eyes closed in exhaustion just as Truant’s begun to pore over the letter she had brought.

“Well now, loosing the child and his escort was a small price to pay for this information.” he smiled, “A letter between companions located here, and in the snow village of Hordimare. So the search for hero number one has led them there? Wait. No, that doesn’t seem to be the case...

Truant continued to read the letter in its entirety before commenting further. “Oh, now I understand.” he spoke again, having realized, “They seek a griffin female who they are apparently certain can direct them to the hero. They refer to the griffin as Gilda, but they have not called the hero by name. A pity. Perhaps they do not know it? Or it could be that they have taken precautions for this possibility?

“Unlikely. For if that was the case, there would be no excuse for their more sensitive communiqué to go uncensored.” the unicorn smirked wickedly, eyeing the defeated phoenix, “Perhaps it’s better I don’t question it. After all, I could not be more lucky than to have come across such a fragile secret...”

Truant’s smile developed as the implications of the letter left him feeling unusually enthused. “Canterlot lies defenceless? Its true ruler sealed, its stand-in spirited away, its guard shattered and its citizenship fearful?” he animated his words, energised by the thought of it all, “In all the time that disgusting city has stood, there has never been a better chance to tear it down! Maybe after the city falls they will finally understand what they’re up against!”

He took a meaningful step towards Philomena. “I admit, I was not looking forward to informing Terra that the child slipped by me.” he spoke, regaining his composure as he became utterly deadpan once more, “But with this information... ha! It is of far higher value than denying your desperate friends a practically infant prophet. We will track the griffin as they have, force from her the hero’s location, end Luna’s resistance before it gains any momentum, and raze her city for good measure.”

Truant was before the phoenix, mocking her. “With this, those girls you saved have become worthless, and your efforts for naught.” he spat, “Your sacrifice has meant nothing.”

By way of response, Philomena raised her head once more. Even if she could speak, it would not be necessary. Even if her flames were dying, the fire inside was burning as bright as ever.

“And yet you hope?” Truant questioned, comprehending her tenacity, “You still have faith in the others? Do you think that they can still enlist the first hero? Do you think Canterlot will remain standing? Do you think that they can stop any of this? They haven’t so far, so I wonder how you can be so confident, even now. To my eyes, it makes you nothing but a blindly loyal beast.

“I shall tell you this not through hubris, or because I wish to see your hope die before you yourself do, but because you have earned some level of honesty through challenging me so brazenly.” he said darkly, his voice eerily level, “These friends of yours, the ones searching out the griffin in Hordimare; they do not know it, but they are upon our doorstep. The Lost Valley, thought to be uninhabitable and practically unknown to the world, has served to us as the perfect hideout. As I return there, with the information from this letter and the magic of Luna’s amulet, it will be a simple task to lay their efforts to waste.

“Fate has been, and continues to operate in our favour. Hilariously so.” Truant’s horn glowed a sickly black, “And your part in their workings, my dear Philomena, is over.”

Virtually invisible against the darkened landscape, the unicorn’s black magic flared out, enveloping the entire scene in its malice. A second flash pulsed out, the aftermath of Truant teleporting away back to Lost Valley, the intercepted letter and stolen amulet both in his possession.

* * * *

Though it was hard to see through the swirling clouds above, the sun shining over Lost Valley was at its highest point in the sky, informing the trio surveying the snowy landscape around them that it was somewhere close to noon. The town that had become but a shadow beyond the cold mist would, if Marco’s reasoning had anything to it, only now be starting their day since the chill was beginning to lift.

Such a thing was hard to believe out in Lost Valley however. Marco and Rainbow Dash stood shivering despite the thick woollen coats covering their bodies. They had been provided free of charge, which was only natural since the town now considered Rainbow Dash to be the hero of Hordimare.

The pegasus kept her ears warm under a thick beanie, but the earth pony beside her has simply stuck with his black cowboy hat. Gilda was beside him, but she wore nothing but her own feathers. To be fair, she had been offered a few garments that might fit a griffin, but she declined, claiming that enduring the cold was an element of her own training regime.

A regime that, as it happens, was not entirely unrelated to how the trio were now back in the thick the inhospitable valley. Rainbow Dash however, with her teeth chattering despite the woollen layers covering virtually every inch of her body, still felt the need to ask...

“What the hay are we doing out here again?” she asked, shrugging her coat on tighter, “Marco said that Tager would come to us!”

“Weren’t you listening to Gilda?” Marco shot back, more resistant to the cold than the pegasus, but still shivering, “Tager is out here, and she’s not coming back to Hordimare.”

“Yeah, okay... I remember that much.” Dash replied, turning her attention on Gilda, “But we still haven’t heard why! Or how you know all this stuff!”

“What she means is...” Marco intervened, wary of Dash’s tone, “The whole world’s looking for her right now, but you seem to be the only one who knows where to find her. How were you able to track her down?”

“That’s easy.” Gilda replied simply, “I didn’t.”

“What?!” Dash exclaimed, “But you said-”

Marco cut her off, raising his hoof between the two. “Go on...” he said directly at the griffin.

“Thing is, no one can track Tager. She’s too good.” Gilda shrugged again, “But while we’re hunting her, she’s also hunting somepony. I found her by tracking that somepony. And it turns out he’s here, in Lost Valley. That’s my so-called secret.”

“You? Tracking?” Marco asked, taking the claim with a grain of salt, “Not buying it. Have you ever done something like this before?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Gilda asked defensively, “Fine. No I haven’t. But no matter what you think, it wasn’t hard to find the number one most wanted pony in Equestria. Ponies tend to notice, and he in particular stands out, especially when the only ponies in a hundred miles are all earth ponies.”

“Most Wanted?” Dash repeated, “Didn’t that latest letter from the others mention those guys? Do we know who the number one was?”

“No we don’t.” Marco replied, “We do know that two of them were in Appleoosa.”

“The guy’s name is Haywire.” Gilda spoke up, deciding to shed some light, “He’s a pegasus, and a freaky one at that. The posters call him the ‘Mad Doctor’ or something. I’ve heard that he’s nowhere near as strong as the second most wanted, but whatever. He’s got the bigger bounty for a reason I guess.”

“I’m still wondering how you are so certain that Tager is hunting this, uh... doctor.” Marco was still doubtful, “You can’t be basing this on much if you haven’t seen her since you were-”

“Look, you probably know that Tager’s been bumping off baddies everywhere she goes, but it’s not for the reasons ponies say it is.” Gilda cut him off, “The Tager we knew would never change, and she’s always, always been out to prove that she’s number one. And everypony knows that to be the strongest, you’ve got to be beat the strongest.”

Marco had to think on that. He had looked up what information there was on Tager, and he had to admit that Gilda’s description made much more sense than the conflicting reports he had found. If she was only motivated by a desire to prove herself, then it would explain why some thought she was a villain and others a hero. He turned to Dash to see if her own knowledge of Tager said the same. The pegasus just nodded, apparently on the same wavelength as Gilda. It seemed as if this aspect of Tager’s personality truly was certain.

“Suppose you’re right...” Marco conceded, “But that only makes it less likely that she is here. You just said Haywire wasn’t actually the most powerful. If you know this, she would too, so there’s no reason for her to be out here looking for second-best.”

“T’s always been more of a ‘proof-is-in-the-pudding’ type of pony.” Rainbow Dash was the one to cut him off this time, “Half the reason Gilda and her became friends was because she never paid attention to face-value, or rumours and all that stuff.”

“Exactly.” Gilda replied, “And that means the only thing she cares about is that bounty, because that says for certain who’s more dangerous than who.”

The group moved further and further into the valley as they talked. As they continued on into a higher part of the valley, the chilling wind suddenly picked up, almost blowing away Marco’s hat. Even Gilda, who had been braving the weather well so far, shivered slightly as the warm air under her feathers was blown away.

“Here’s an idea!” Dash called, her voice raised so as to speak over the wind, “Tager’s out hunting some Haywire guy; I get it! But she’s gonna come back to Hordimare once she’s done right?! Can’t we just, I don’t know... go back to that warm and cosy lodge and wait for her?!”

“No dice Dash.” Gilda called back, moving ever forwards, “She wouldn’t come. Don’t you guys remember what I was saying about cold-weather flying training? You know, why I wanted to come up here without clothes?”

“Oh yeah!” the pegasus replied, “I thought you were joking!”

“I thought you had lost your mind.” Marco chipped in, “But you did say the ‘cold-weather’ was another reason why Tager’s out here.”

“That’s because it is.” Gilda replied, forcing her voice to cease its shivering, “Out here the air is thin and the wind is cold. It’s the perfect spot for hardcore pegasi to come and train themselves to be able to fly stronger. Heck, it’s hard enough to even breath on the mountains. If you can fly there, you can pretty much fly anywhere.”

“Dash still has a point.” Marco said, increasing his pace somewhat, “Coming out here and looking doesn’t mean we will find her. If we stayed back at town, we stood a good chance of her finding us.”

“Not to mention we could be doing it in the comfort of that awesome lodge!” Dash added, “Beats being out here freezing my flank off!”

“You were the ones who said you couldn’t waste any time!” Gilda snapped back, “Whether Tager is out here hunting Haywire or training herself against the elements, she’s gonna be out here for days!”

“You’re right when you say we can’t waste time, but my point still stands!” Marco replied, “This valley is huge; how in Equestria are we going to find her? The visibility out here has been getting worse and worse the more we move in!”

“When I was in Hordimare asking about Tager, I found this guy who talked to her about training out here.” Gilda replied, “She wanted to know the highest point in the valley, and I’m betting that the answer she got was the same as mine...”

Gilda pointed a talon forwards, indicating a mountaintop clearly visibly even amid the forming mist. “If she’s training, she’ll be on that peak.” the griffin continued, “And no matter how bad visibility is down here, the mist can’t reach very high.”

“But it still gets colder and colder right?” Dash asked, hugging her coat ever closer, “I wish I could just fly up there and check; it wouldn’t even take a second... but I’d be a snowflake if I got too high.”

“And here I thought I’d be slowing you two down.” Marco joked, the only one among them without wings, “But I guess earth ponies like me were made to handle the cold a bit better huh?”

He received no response. He wasn’t expecting a laugh, but even still... the two girls were oddly silent. Dash especially. He turned to ask her what was wrong, but the look on her face said it all. She stared upwards at the mountain top, or rather, the horrendous looking cyclone forming in the clouds above its peak.

“Shit...” Marco gasped, “How is there a cyclone out here?! That doesn’t even make sense! The conditions are all wrong!”

“That’s because it isn’t a cyclone...” Gilda said forebodingly, watching as the swirling mass of clouds focused to a point and dipped down, on a collision course for the ground beneath her talons, “We should probably bail.”

“It’s too late!” Dash hunkered down, bracing herself to be blown away. Gilda and Marco did the same.

“Try and stick together!” Marco yelled as it neared, his voice blocked out as the roar of the wind intensified, “If we’re separated, try to-”

He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence. The storm was upon them, and in a blur of wind and ice, the great spiral sent the trio bailing off in random directions. The air shaking as the clash of earth and sky concluded, rocks, stumps, mist and snow were sent flying as one, the land below redesigned through sheer force.

A minute later, one would be forgiven for regarding the event as never happening. Now that the storm had passed, the air was still and a flat blanket of snow had settled over the landscape. Which, funnily enough, left this part of the valley looking less arduous than it did before. And while the settled snow had the odd dislodged rock and dirt mound sticking out, the more noticeable disruption was the jet-black cowboy hat laying owner-less right in the middle of a newly-created clearing.

Suddenly, the snow beneath the hat erupted and Marco’s head popped out, reclaiming his treasured possession and gulping in air in one motion. He quickly proceeded to unearth himself and look about, noticing almost instantly that he seemed to be alone.

Worried that the others may have been buried too, Marco took unsteady steps through the snow and onto higher ground, looking for a sign of someone else. It didn’t take him long to find one...

Just beside a mound of clumpy earth and snow, the surface quaked somewhat, whoever was under it obviously struggling to get out...

“Hold on!” Marco called, moving over and digging at the snow, “I’ve got ya!”

Just as he begun to wonder how deep down they had been buried, the ground underneath him quaked more intensely for a moment, before it unexpectedly exploded outward as the pegasus below finally won over the pressure bearing down on her, sending Marco and the ground below him flying backwards in the process.

“You alright?” Marco called, picking himself up and moving over to the newly created pit so that he could confirm who was in it, “Is that you Dash?”

He was about half right. The figure that emerged was a pegasus, but she wasn’t of the rainbow-maned variety. Nor was she wearing a woollen coat or beanie either...

“Oh shit.” Marco gasped, recognising the maroon coat and khaki mane, “Y...you’re-”

“EURGAH!” Tager roared, blasting her way out from the snow in a rage, “Fuck that’s cold!”

Marco tumbled backwards from the combined burst of force and surprise. He recovered quickly, but by the time he was back on his hooves, Tager was up and out of her hole and had placed her shivering self directly in front of his vulnerable position.

“Well, that was a damn failure.” the fearsome vigilante said to herself through chattering teeth, “I guess that move doesn’t hold together in the cold...”

Marco was frozen in his own right, stunned into silence by the appearance of the pegasus before him. Like the posters, her mane was stuck up in a mean mohawk, but what was new to him were the girl’s apparent accessories. There was a thick ceramic bracer at the tip of her tail, and on her flank was what looked like thick and hard leather hides. They seemed to be exceptionally heavy, and much to Marco’s chagrin, they covered her cutie-mark.

“And just what the hell are you looking at?!” Tager questioned, her threat undermined somewhat by her shivering voice, “What’s a chump like you doing out here in the valley?”

As she finished her blunt question and finally turned to acknowledge his presence, her vicious eyes seemed to look him over one more time. The realization she came to was not lost on Marco...

“Oh god.” he backed up in vain, “No, no... no no no! Wait!”

* * * *

“You alright Dash?” Gilda asked, having pulled the frosty pegasus out of the snow by the tail, “Yo, Dash? Hello?”

“Erguh... thanks G.” Dash managed, still being held up by her tail, “What the heck happened?”

“Dunno.” the griffin replied complacently as she looked about, releasing her hold on the pegasus as she did so, “I heard that the weather around here got pretty nuts, but that was unreal.”

Unassisted, Dash fell face first back into the snow. Pulling herself up and shaking the snow loose from her mane, she moved in beside Gilda and joined her in looking around. “Yeah, no kidding.” Dash agreed to the previous observation, “Hey, can you see Marco anywhere?”

“Hrm...” Gilda hummed as she finished surveying the immediate area, “Nope. He must have been-”

“ARGH!” a desperate cry echoed out, cutting the griffin’s sentence short and directing her head westward...

“That’s Marco’s voice!” Dash exclaimed, also pointing herself in the direction of the shriek, “Something must’ve happened!”

“Come on then!” Gilda moved first, taking wing and keeping low, “Let’s go find out what.”

The pair was upon the scene in moments, able to fly the short distance despite the cold. As they circled around the snow mound blocking the way, Dash saw fit to call out and see if her companion was near...

“Marco!” she yelled, not sure of where exactly his cry had come from, “What’s wrong-”

Her next words froze in her throat. If Gilda was about to say something, she never got a chance to...

Marco lay head over hooves, eyes spinning and his only clothing being the black hat on his head. He was firmly entrenched in his own mound of snow not far behind the victorious figure of Tager, the pegasus having claimed Marco’s woollen clothing as her own.

“Ahh...” Tager smiled a relived and warm smile despite the violence she had just committed, “That’s so much better! Thanks a bunch pal-”

Her heartfelt appreciation was cut short as she noticed two familiar faces staring back at her with varying levels of surprise. The griffin had eyes only for her, but the pegasus beside her seemed indecisive in her gaze, occasionally shifting between concern for Marco and surprise at Tager.

“Holy... crap.” Tager drawled, having put names to faces, “Maybe I’m a popsicle after all, ‘cause there’s no way I ain’t dreaming...”

She rubbed at her glassy eyes, trying to dispel any possibility of delusion. “Urgh, I still don’t believe it.” she droned, all but forgetting the coldness of her body now that she was thawing out, thanks primarily due to Marco’s ‘donation’ of clothes, “Dash? Gilda? If this is the afterlife, someone must be fucking with me.”

“Yes! I knew it!” Gilda smiled wide, her long hunt finally over, “I’d recognise that attitude anywhere! I’ve been looking everywhere for you Tags!”

“Oh my gosh...” Dash also gasped, “It really is you! Are... are you okay T? You look half-frozen!”

Marco groaned pointedly in the background, but it went unheard. Considering the icicles formed on the pegasus’ coat and muzzle, her seizure of his clothing bordered on justified.

“I don’t know many girls who would dare call me by those names...” Tager replied, accepting the truth of the reunion, “I guess I really am alive! You guys! It’s been forever! How you doing?”

“Forget us!” Dash stepped in, “Look at you, you sure you’re alright?”

“Tsk, could be worse.” Tager shrugged of the concern of her old friend, “The wind currents up there could turn a buffalo into an ice cube.”

“Whoa, wait...” Dash’s eyes went wide, “That huge typhoon, that was you?!”

“Well, yeah.” Tager raised an icy eyebrow, “If the frigging air wasn’t so dense you would’ve seen something much cooler than that.”

“It’s so awesome seeing you again Tags!” Gilda practically swooned, “I really have been lookin’ forward to this!”

“Well it’s good to see you too G.” Tager replied honestly, able to tell the griffin’s behaviour was different than usual despite having not seen her since she was a kid, “You too Dash. It’d be great to catch up, but you gotta let me ask something before I forget.”

“Yeah?” Gilda replied enthusiastically, “What’s that Tags?”

“Oh, it’s nothing really...” Tager moved in closer, “But I was just wondering, what the hell possessed you two to play around in the middle of Lost Valley?”

“Well, uh...” Dash mumbled, not quite sure how to put it, “We came here looking for you. We need your help T.”

“Not me though.” Gilda cut in, “I would’ve come here anyway!”

“Wait, what?” Tager cocked her head, “If G ain’t in on it, who’s ‘we’?”

“We? You know... we-” Dash stopped short and her face fell, “Oh no. I totally forgot... Marco!”

“He’s been laying there the whole time.” Gilda pointed her claw complacently at Marco’s naked figure, “I know you’re fast Dash, but... well, you can be kinda ‘slow’ sometimes.”

As if in response to the delayed recognition, Marco rose up from his pitiful state all on his own, the snow clinging to his exposed body.

“Are you alright?” Dash asked sheepishly, embarrassed that he’d gone neglected all this time, “What happened to you?”

“Oh, was he a friend of yours?” Tager smirked, “Oops.”

Realizing, Gilda couldn’t help but chuckle. “Looks like Tager happened.” she remarked facetiously, “Classic Tags.”

“Oh, just shut up and help him.” Dash ordered, her authority strong, “Unlike someone, he didn’t volunteer to come out here without clothes.”

“Haha, wow.” Tager said in surprise, “Since when were you so bossy Dash?”

“Urgh, give me a break.” Gilda moaned as she sheltered the freezing Marco from the wind under her wing, “Nopony’s the boss of me.”

Offended somewhat by the gesture, Marco slapped Gilda’s wing away. He may have been tempted to tell her off, but there was some one here that deserved his full attention.

I’m just gonna take a wild guess here...” he begun, stepping up to the vigilante before him, “But you wouldn’t by any chance be Tager would you?”

“The one and only.” she replied, taking a step forwards herself, “You come for my bounty?”

“Do I really seem capable to you?” Marco questioned.

Dash and Gilda exchanged a quick look as the discussion changed pace. They silently decided that they should stay out of it for the time being and simply listen.

“I make a point of not judging anypony ‘til I’ve seen what they’re made of for myself.” Tager replied nonchalantly, “Anyway, tell me why you an’ Dash were out lookin’ for me. It’s not my job to guess what you want.”

“Hrm? What’s the matter?” Marco asked, “You’re not in a hurry are you?”

“Not really. It’s just that guys who talk in questions often aim to waste my time.” Tager replied evenly, “Now tell me what you’ve got to do with me, unless you’re trying to test my patience. Because that won’t go well.”

Marco gulped nervously. If he had thought that Celestia was wrong in believing Tager to be the one mentioned in the prophecy, then such doubts had just been put to rest. It wasn’t just because she matched up to the description either. Feeling her cold gaze and no-games attitude combined with an overwhelming aura of strength, there wasn’t any way for Marco to think that she was anything but the first hero. To be able to talk with her like this went to show just how unassumingly she wielded her might.

“My business will have to wait.” he finally said, levelling with her, “Believe it or not, Rainbow Dash and myself are here on a mission given to us by Princess Luna. To put it plainly, we’re trying to save Equestria, and that goal has led us to you.”

“Save what now?” Tager cocked her head, “Granted, I’ve been out of the world for spell, but the last time I checked, it didn’t need saving.”

“This time around it really came out of the blue T.” Dash jumped in, “There’s this guy called Terra trying to rule the world, and we figured out that you’re the one who’s meat to take him down! It’s like your destiny or something!”

Tager was incredulous, and so she turned to Gilda. “Are these two fucking with me or something?” she asked the silent griffin, “What’s going on here G?”

“They’re telling the truth Tags.” Gilda replied, “Turns out the world outside’s in real deep this time. You’re supposed to be one of the few who can fix it.”

“That’s still a shitty explanation.” Tager puffed, “You lot better start from the beginning. What have I got to do with this crap?”

“I guess there was no avoiding it.” Marco shrugged, “Open up your ears. This may take a minute...”

“Whatever, just don’t sugar-coat it.” Tager snapped back, “I haven’t got all day...”

* * * *

Elsewhere, in one of the many hidden nooks of the Lost Valley, a deep cave spiralled deep into the earth and far out of the reach of any degree of weather.

Truant sat alone in the illuminated tunnel, toying with the amulet he had taken from the aftermath of his battle with Philomena. His black magic cast away the decorative components, its socket, it’s housing, until only the raw fragment of Luna’s soul remained. Fixated by the concept of such a thing, he failed to notice a shadowy pony emerge from behind, each and every feature of his being hidden beneath a tattered and sickly-green coloured cloak. If there was one thing that was certain, it was that he was an earth pony. Not only because he lacked the horn of a unicorn and the wings of a pegasus, but because he was known to Truant practically as Terra’s ambassador. This pony was the one who brought together the most wanted and organized them in anticipation of his return. Which in turn made him the only one other than the princess and the prophet that had access to such knowledge prior to his release.

As Truant became aware of the pony’s presence, he couldn’t help but wonder why anonymity was so important at this juncture. The only conclusion he could draw was that he still had a role to play outside of relaying directions from Terra to the coalition of criminals he preferred not to associate with.

“How’s it coming along?” the anonymous figure asked as he approached, dispelling Truant’s thoughts, “Is it what you were expecting?”

“And more.” Truant replied, barely looking up from his work as he shelved his own queries, “It is not so much raw power, but potential. The potential of an alicorn. If I can unlock its secrets, I will definitely be of more use to Terra.”

“You needn’t try to justify it.” came the reply, “In gathering up the most wanted, I was fully aware that you would all have your own agendas. If you’re just trying obtain further strength, you are free to do so.”

At this, Truant chuckled ever so softly.

“Hm?” the cloaked pony turned to the unicorn, “What is it?”

“It’s just interesting is all.” Truant replied, “You speak as if the words are your own, but the one for whom you speak has yet to show himself at this cave. You organized and planned for this well before he returned, so I find it hard to believe Terra truly is the one dictating how we have been operating so far.”

“I wish to see Terra succeed just as much as he himself.” the shadowy pony replied, “But his attention is better directed where it is more suited. Besides, his tolerance for a some of you is limited, rightly so.”

“I never thought you would say it so plainly.” Truant admitted, still tinkering with the gemstone before him, “So he truly does regard us as nothing but a means to an end?”

“And you truly regard him as a means to your end, no?” the mystery pony responded, “Among those I painstakingly gathered to form this small fighting force, few have pledged allegiance for the reasons Terra desires. You may be better off never meeting him, for you are essentially riding on his coattails to satisfy your own vendetta.”

“That is somewhat true, but it only makes me more curious as to why you decided to amass us bounty heads.” Truant placed the gemstone down and faced the anonymous pony, “Wanted ponies are not traditionally the most trustworthy nor dependable of individuals. You acknowledge that we all have our own agenda, yet aim to have us work in concert for the sake of a different agenda? You do not strike me as a fool, so I cannot help but wonder what it is you hope to achieve with such inoperable tools.”

“True, I am dealing with outlaws motivated by a great variety of things. Be they possessed by hatred, a lust for power, the fulfilment of some duty, madness, jealousy, or lust, bringing such ponies together under one banner would be nothing short of chaotic.” the shadowy pony counted off the themes, “But our fortune is that you all seek the same thing. You all desire to see Canterlot fall.”

“That is true, but it does not settle my concern.” Truant stood tall, glaring down with intent, “Canterlot falls as we speak. What would you have of your ‘fighting force’ once it has fulfilled its purpose? A betrayal would come as no surprise...”

As he said those bold words, the air in the cave seemed to lurch, and at the centre of the distortion, a familiar black smoke heralded the appearance of a unexpected visitor.

“Betrayal?” Terra repeated, “Is that the appropriate expectation? How troubling...”

“Welcome back King.” the cloaked pony bowed, “I trust it went well?”

Truant found himself staring. he had heard that Terra’s eyes were similar to his own, that they were smoky green orbs devoid of pupil and iris. But the pony before him had no such quality. In white eyes sat hardened and intense emerald irises, wasting no movements as he quickly surveyed the cave and the two stallions within. He could only guess that this was how they normally were, and that they glowed only when his odd powers were being used.

“Yes, the seal on Celestia has been bolstered, and is now fit to contain her sister as well.” Terra spoke, satisfied with his surroundings, “What is the situation here? Have they been sent to Canterlot yet?”

“Yes.” the bowing pony replied, “Truant here teleported the twins as instructed, but it seems as though Atlas decided to make his own way. He left a day ago, and I suspect he does not even know that the city’s defences are down. Nevertheless, the three of them should soon have Canterlot under their control.”

“Very good.” Terra nodded, “So then, this must be the Truant. A pleasure to meet you at last.”

“Likewise.” Truant replied, not sure of what to expect. His posture stiffened ever so slightly, fearing that conflict might yet ensue.

Terra noticed. “You may relax unicorn.” he said easily, “You have been instrumental thus far, and despite what you may think, I do not simply discard of those to whom I find myself owing. And while it may be fair for you to expect such a thing from our mutual enemy, I am not she. I, like you, wish to see that crown fall.”

“I do not aim to be disrespectful, but why then was I told to remain here while the others have been tasked with bringing down the city?” Truant asked boldly, “With my power, surely I could be of better service with the others?”

Terra paced for a moment, foreign thoughts moving about his mind. “It is my aim to raise my own kind up to their rightful place.” he begun, “For that to happen, the world needs to see what the earth pony are capable of. Atlas and the sisters should not have a unicorn beside them when they make that proclamation, when they spit that throne in two. And while your own strength is daunting, the gift I have bestowed upon the twins will be enough to ensure their success. Your abilities are better suited here.”

“I was meaning to ask what that gift of yours truly was.” Truant changed topic, “I was quite thoroughly surprised to see what had become of them after I returned from Appleoosa. I asked them myself, but they were in no fit state to explain.”

“As I said, this is to show the world the potential of my kind.” Terra replied mysteriously, “My ‘gift’, will leave no doubt of what we are capable of.”

A silence developed as Truant recognised how particular the king was with his words. At least for now, the nature of his ‘gift’ would remain a mystery.

“What now my king?” the anonymous pony spoke up, ending the moment of quiet, “How should we proceed from here?”

“The way I see it, our foe’s objective is obvious. So too then is our method of thwarting them.” Terra replied, “Truant, travel to the town of Hordimare. Seek out the griffin Gilda, and force from her the location of the first hero. As it was with that other town, utilize the townsfolk as necessary, but try to avoid fatalities. It is an earth pony town, and I would like to see if they can be turned after we have found the first hero.

“If you do find a pegasus you believe to be the hero, slay her and any company she keeps.” he continued, “Now I must go once more. I have further preparations to make.”

Certain that his meaning was understood, Terra whisked himself away to whatever unknown place awaited, his telltale black smoke wafting for a moment before it too vanished.

“Finish whatever measures you intend to take on that amulet before you depart.” the mysterious pony rose up off the ground the moment his king disappeared, regaining his dignity, “Haywire is currently in Hordimare. Meet with him there and do as Terra instructed.

“Use restraint when searching out the griffin, but use whatever measures available to see that our enemy’s hope dies here and now.” he continued, leaving Truant to his gemstone, “End their efforts before they can gain any ground on us.”

* * * *

“Is that it then?” Tager asked flatly, “Me, destiny, a stupid book, some king I’ve never heard of and some chump prophet?”

“Pretty much.” Marco nodded subtly, satisfied with successfully getting the bounty hunter up to speed, “So what do you say? You want to help save Equestria?”

“No.” Tager shot the offer down emotionlessly, “Sorry, but I don’t really care.”

Dash gasped, Gilda grinned, and Marco just stared dead ahead. He had seen that coming just as easily as the griffin had.

“Hold on T...” Dash interjected, “Just lemmie explain it to you a bit better-”

“Save your breath.” Tager cut her off, “You’re right; I don’t really get it, but it’s fine that way. Sorry, but I’m not the type who understands things they’re not interested in. Anyway, I don’t know what the deal is with you two all of a sudden, but I’m busy at the moment.

“Ah, and sorry to you as well Mr. Twenty Questions.” she said to Marco as she turned on the spot and trotted away, still wearing his woolly coat, “Equestria and it’s bitch princesses can handle their little revolution without me.”

“I understand. Gilda already told me you had your own agenda before we came out here looking for you.” Marco said as she left, “The number one bounty head correct? The Mad Doctor Haywire?”

“That’s the one.” Tager shot back, keeping her pace, “I’m gonna take his head.”

“So you can do what exactly? Prove that you’re the strongest?” Marco pushed, making his move, “I’ve heard all about who you are and why you do this. But taking out Haywire won’t make a difference.”

“And what the hell do you know?” Tager asked, stopping her march forward to come face to face with the prying Marco, “And I should tell you to watch your tongue. You being Dash’s friend only means so much to me...”

“All I’m trying to say is that Haywire’s small fry.” Marco grinned despite himself, his nervous sweat freezing instantly in the chilling wind, “If you really are trying to prove yourself by bumping off the strongest, then he’s just a bad place to start...”

“Really? Then who should I be after, huh?” Tager lent in venomously, “You perhaps? Are you trying to tell me you’re the real strongest? Careful, you might convince me...”

“I’m talking about Terra.” Marco matched her hostile gaze, knowing that riding out his bravery would serve him better than backing down at a time like this, “Thousands of years old, wielding power untold to shape the world in his image. He’s bent some of the strongest mortals in the world to his will, and he was even able to take out Celestia and leave Luna running.

“And you Tager, are a hero fated to bring him to his fall.” he continued, driving whatever advantage he had home, “Don’t you get it? You being the best and you taking out Terra are one in the same. Being the strongest isn’t a dream anymore; it’s your destiny!”

“Is this all true Dash?” Tager asked, staring at her friend with her curiosity perfectly masked, “This Terra... is he really that strong?”

“It’s all true T.” Dash replied, “You’ve gotta help us out!”

Gilda found Tager’s gaze turn on her. “Every word Tags.” the griffin nodded, “The guy’s the real deal.”

“So here’s the deal Tager.” Marco said with an edge, sensing his opportunity, “If you step on over to our side, we’ll not only lead you to a direct confrontation with Terra, but we will also get that troublesome bounty on your head revoked. I can tell that the civilized world isn’t really your thing, but there’s no doubt it’ll make life easier.”

With cautious optimism, Rainbow Dash watched as Tager seemed to think about it, mulling it over in her impatient head. She looked down intensely, tapping her muzzle in contemplation. Soon enough however, her hoof was back upon the ground and her blazing eyes were snapped up at Marco.

“You’d better be good for it.” she warned, “Tracking Haywire was no small feat.”
“Then how about we make it solid?” Marco asked, stretching his hoof out, “I promise, that for as long as you follow me around, you will have you chance to defeat Terra.”

Tager grinned first, then spat at her hoof and returned Marco’s gesture. “It’s a deal.” she said, “However, I’m only agreeing to following your lead so you can keep your promise. I will do as I wish no matter what, and if try and boss me around, I’ll make you regret it.”

Marco found himself smile. Withdrawing his hoof and spitting at it, he shook Tager’s firmly. “Nice to meet you then.” he said coyly, “Now if you don’t mind, let’s get on with it.”

Twenty minutes of walking later, ten of it back-tracking to find out where they were now that the landscape had been changed, Marco, Gilda, and Rainbow Dash were back on the path toward Hordimare, their new recruit complaining all the way.

“So, when you said ‘let’s get on with it’...” Tager repeated, “What you meant was ‘let’s trot on back to Hordimare and sit on our asses until your princess is done fuckin’ scuba diving so she can teleport us to Canterlot’?”

“Pretty much.” Marco replied, his pride well and truly swallowed to be protected under Gilda’s wing again as the winds picked up somewhat, “Except first we need to wait for Paragonia, get him to tell the captain we’re waiting for Luna to finish with Neptune, then wait for her to pick us up.”

“Fantastic.” Tager rolled her eyes, “If there’s anything I love, it’s waiting.”

I’m gonna go out on a limb here...” Marco turned to Rainbow Dash, “She ain’t much of a laugher is she?”

“Nope.” she, Gilda, and Tager all replied in unison.

“Well, you can relax.” he continued, “Dash has a toasty and warm lodge for us to loiter in until Luna’s done with her business.”

Tager exhaled tiredly. “Honestly you guys...” she sighed, “This is some crazy shit you’ve roped me into here. I can’t say any of it makes much sense, but as long as Marco keeps his promise, I won’t have to worry.”

They continued to walk, and soon enough Tager found herself by Gilda’s side. “By the way G...” she asked, “What are you gonna do from now? They said you were only in this so you could find me again...”

“The idea was that I could tag along with you for a while and learn a little bit about the bounty business.” Gilda revealed, “If you’re sticking with these two, then I suppose I’ll tag along for a bit.”

Tagger nodded silently at the griffin’s words before they both looked down at the earth pony tucked away by her wing. Rainbow Dash also felt the need to throw in her two-cents...

“What do you think Marco?” she asked in a way that sounded as if she wanted him to decline, “Should we bring her too?”

“We couldn’t have found Tager without her.” Marco reminded the pegasus, “And I’m not in the habit of turning away anyone who’s helped me...

“However, there is on thing I need to be sure of first.” he continued, dropping back out from under Gilda’s wing so that he could face her and Dash simultaneously, “I need to know if you two are able to work together.”

He continued to eye the two of them. “I heard about what happened the last time you two were together.” he said seriously, “If you haven’t seen each other since your falling out, I have to be sure there won’t be problems.”

The two girls looked down. “But Marco-” Dash made to object, but Gilda quickly cut in.

“It’s okay Dash.” she said solemnly, “It’s actually been eating at me for a while. And, well... I’m totally sorry about what happened.”

Dash went totally bug-eyed. She probably never expected to hear an apology from Gilda. Regardless, neither of them noticed as Tager walked up and stood beside Marco and the two of them begun to watch the scene unfold.

“I don’t get it.” Tager admitted, scrunching her muzzle at the implication of emotional baggage, “What happened between those two?”

“Shut up and find out.” Marco replied casually, focused on the conversation in front of him.

“Look, I feel totally bad about making such an ass of myself and being so lame to you and your friends.” she apologised, her pink cheeks made invisible beneath her white down, “I couldn’t see how selfish and uncool I was acting. Is there any way you could, uh... you know, forgive me? Or something...”

Lost Valley was quiet for a moment as everyone waited on Rainbow Dash’s word. “What are you talking about G?” she finally replied, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment, “Holding a grudge is so last year! I forgave you, like, ages ago!”

“Urp... I think I’m gonna puke.” Tager groaned unsympathetically, “Let’s keep moving already... I’ll even stop whining if you guys stop with the sappy crap.”

Gilda and Dash chuckled comfortably at their friend’s discomfort. Together, the two of them obliged by following her back upon the path to Hordimare.

After another ten or so minutes of walking, the group was nearing the edge of the valley. The cold had eased up significantly, so much so that Marco was now relatively comfortable walking unaided. He moved alongside Tager with Gilda and Rainbow Dash behind, the two of them chatting idly now that they had resolved to start anew.

So with his only company being the pegasus next to him, Marco saw fit to break the ice. The idea of making an ice-breaking pun in relation to their frosted surroundings came to mind, but he was better off shelving that for now. It seemed that Tager preferred simple.

“Hey, Tager.” he finally spoke, “Do you mind if I ask you something?”

“Yes.” she replied flatly, “But you’re gonna ask anyway right?”

“That ornament thing attached to your tail...” he begun, “How heavy is it?”

“Dunno.” she shrugged, “Heavy I guess.”

“Is it a weapon then?” Marco continued with the questions, “Or a training aid?”

“A bit of both.” Tager replied, “Why so interested?”

“What about that leather hide you’re wearing?” he asked, ignoring her question, “I guess that’s a training aid too then?”

“You guess correct.” Tager kept it simple, “But what’s it to you?”

“Well, I admit that its placement has been bugging me a bit.” Marco answered, “Is it a coincidence that it covers up your flank?”

“No.” Tager replied plainly, “It’s quite deliberate.”

“So I assume you won’t tell me what you mark is then?” he asked, “Or even if you have one?”

“Good guess.” she smiled slightly, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay, I wasn’t trying to figure out what it was.” he replied, “That said, I am interested in what it isn’t...”

Marco indicated his own cutie-mark. “Just tell me it’s not the same as mine.” he said seriously, “Please. It’s important to me.”

“Okay then.” Tager nodded, “It’s not that.”

With that said, she trotted on ahead and left Marco, stopping him from continuing to pry. Unbeknownst to him, Gilda and Dash had ceased their chatter at some point and had been listening in as he questioned Tager.

“That’s good isn’t it?” Dash asked him, taking to air now that the air wasn’t as chilling, “Since she doesn’t have your mark, and she’s definitely a hero, that puts you in the clear right?”

Marco bit his lip. “Wrong.” he said evenly, “It’s still possible hat she does have my mark.”

“What do you mean?” Gilda asked in confusion, “She told the truth didn’t she?”

“She told me she wouldn’t tell me what her mark was.” Marco reasoned, “But suppose I asked her if it wasn’t this and it actually was. If she said yes then it’s the same as telling me what her mark was... which she refused to do.”

“I still don’t get it.” Gilda confessed, “Slow down dude...”

“It means there was no point in asking.” Marco simplified, “Because the answer would always be no.”

“Now what are you gonna do?” Dash asked, “How else can you figure out if you are in the prophecy or not?”

“Who knows?” Marco shrugged, “I could hang around her until she’s comfortable sharing I guess. It’s either that or I wait for the next hero to pop up and pray he’s not the type to hide his cutie-mark.”

At this, Dash hushed her voice to a whisper. “Couldn’t you just, you know...” she lowered her voice even further, “Sneak a peak?”

“Yeah, right...” Marco shook his head, “That’s not the best idea.

“Remember, she’s not in it for the same reasons as us. If I break the trust, she’s out of here and we’re screwed.” he continued, “Besides, you probably shouldn’t say such things so openly Dash. She’s listening.”

Dash and Gilda snapped bolt upright to see Tager stop in her tracks ahead of them. She turned to eye the trio, somehow intrigued by the fact she had just been busted.

“Not bad.’ she remarked, focusing her gaze on Marco, “How’d you know?”

“You’ve been at this for a while haven’t you? Being on the run?” he replied, “If you want to survive when you’ve got a price on your head, you need to learn how to pick up on whispers.”

“True that.” she acknowledged, “I’ve been wanted long enough to adapt to the lifestyle.”

“Well, it’s in the past now.” Marco said confidently, “I swore that your bounty would be history if you joined up. We just gotta get to Canterlot first.”

“Then how about we get going already?” she announced, flexing her wings and neck, “I’m friggin’ done with all this snow-”

Before she could properly finish, Tager suddenly stopped dead. Her eyes darted left and right and her very posture tensed. Marco quickly realized that she had picked up on something. Before he could hazard a guess as to what it could have been, it emerged...

“Wait!” Marco cried as he put himself between the offensive stance of Tager and the approaching Paragonia, “This is the messenger bird I was talking about.”

“Didn’t you say Paragonia was a snake?” Dash asked.

“Quiet.” Marco commanded, “Don’t complicate things.”

Tager finally eased up. “That thing looks like what the village said you chased off Dash.” she commented, “What gives?”

“That’s because it is.” Dash replied sheepishly, “I, uh... I’ll tell you about it later T.”

Tager watched curiously as Marco walked up and removed a rolled up scroll from the creature’s clutches. “It’s smaller than I was told.” Tager finally relaxed, “Who knew the terror of Hordimare was this little bastard?”

By way of response, Paragonia gave a quick hiss. It was hard to tell if he was acknowledging the statement or taking offense. Either way, it didn’t seem like the two were about to butt heads after all.
“I heard about the ‘Black Death’ too.” Gilda added, “Blew Hordimare to hell thousands and thousands and thousands of years ago when his little star fell from the sky or something. It’s gotta be some legend if they still pass it down today.”

“Is that so?” Tager tapped at her muzzle, “Okay then G, here’s your first test as a bounty hunter. Collect on this one right here.”

“Oh, har-de-har.” Gilda rolled her eyes, “I knew you weren’t gonna take me seriously.”

“What do you mean G?” Tager chuckled, “Isn’t it better to start easy and work your way up?”

Paragonia hissed again, but was comforted as Dash gave the cosmic terror a reassuring pat on the head. “Chill out little Quetzalcoatl.” she said, mispronouncing the word horrifically, “They’re only joking.”

The group laughed comfortably for a moment, but Dash was the first to notice that they were missing something. “Marco?” she asked, seeing he earth pony staring intently at the letter Paragonia had brought, “You’re pretty quiet back there.”

She received no response. Tager and Gilda caught on too, and ceased their teasing to see that he was eerily still. “Hey?” Dash moving in slightly, “What’s going on over there? You’re scaring me...”

Marco finally tore himself from the parchment and faced her. The look on his face caused a slight chill to grip at her chest. “The girls made it back to Canterlot.” Marco said, his voice staggered, “And they brought back the prophet’s son. But...”

“Marco...” Dash’s concern went up a level, “Don’t tell me-”

“It’s bad Dash.” his voice was level, “Are you sure you want to hear it? You won’t be able to change-”

“Damn it Marco! What did the hell it say?!” Rainbow Dash roared, “Tell me!”

“Twilight, Applejack and Rarity are in the hospital with severe injuries, but they’re alive.” Marco replied utterly deadpan, “Philomena, Sergeant Ceasler and Private Slayde are all missing in action. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy are unharmed, and they’ve brought with them a buffalo girl called Strongheart to help Caliber piece together what happened.”

“Did you say Caliber?” Tager questioned, her eyes widening to recognise the name, “Wait, is he the captain you were-”

“Which way’s Canterlot!?” Dash demanded, cutting off Tager and zipping up into the air in a frantic fit, “They need me over there!”

“Calm down Dash!” Marco tried to console her, “And if you try to think, you’ll realize that they need you here! You should already know that Fluttershy and Pinkie will take care of them for us!”

“I knew they shouldn’t have gone without me!” Dash sobbed, “They needed me and I-”

“DASH!” Marco roared, “Snap out of it! We both would rather be there, but that isn’t what they need right now! When Luna comes back, we’ll be right there at their side, but for now you’ve got to trust the others!”

Rainbow Dash landed once again, but every inch of her body twitched with nervous concern. It looked as if she was liable to shoot off the mark at any moment.

“Don’t underestimate them.” Marco said softly, placing a reassuring hoof upon her shoulder, “Because they’re depending on us here. Depending on you.”

“Let’s just go back to Hordimare okay?” Marco forced Dash’s eyes level with his, “The fastest way back to the city is for Luna to take us. Think about it!”

The pegasus took a few deep breaths before matching Marco’s stare. Eventually she nodded, tentatively at first, but she slowly became more sure of his words and nodded firmly. “Okay.” she finally said, “I understand.”

“Are you still with us Dash?” Tager asked with uncertainty, “Looked like you were about to bust a fuse...”

“I’m fine.” she nodded again, speaking to her old friend with a surprisingly level tone, “Come on, let’s get back to town.”

Dash took it upon herself to lead the way, but even at a glance, her steps were rushed, and her pace only served to widen the gap between herself and the others. Marco quickly realized that might have been her intention. Regardless, he could tell that she was far from fine...

“Gilda.” he said hushed, beckoning the griffin over, “Can you catch up to her and see if she’ll talk? Try and calm her down a little. Slow her if you can.”

Without so much as an acknowledgement, Gilda sped up and met with Dash’s march onwards. She was probably more suited to the task than Marco, but even if she wasn’t, he knew there was something else he had to tend to.

“Yo, Marco?” Tager called to him as if to confirm his suspicion, “Earlier when you said ‘Caliber’, did you-”

“Yeah, I meant him.” he cut her off, “Captain Caliber; your old royal guard buddy. Us being here looking for you was based largely on his word. He was adamant that you were a hero to say the least.”

“Yeah well, once he’s got his mind set on something it’s impossible to shake him off it.” Tager commented, “He’s always been the kinda guy who’s smart, but does everything on instinct. What pisses me off is how he’s pretty much always right.”

“So even after going your separate ways he’s still on your mind?” Marco probed, “What’s your history?”

“None of you business.” Tager snapped back, “But I could ask the same question. You talk as if you know him, but I can’t imagine how-”

“That particular story is probably best left for another time.” Marco interrupted, biting his lip nervously, “Suffice to say, we’ve been working together with Dash to figure out how to find you.”

“I take it those were more of her friends that you guys were talking about?” Tager asked, changing topic, “Sounded pretty nasty. Were they trying to ‘thwart’ Terra too?”

“Yes they were.” Marco replied plainly, “And they weren’t just her friends. Mine too.”

“I see.” Tager nodded to herself, “That explains it.”

Marco turned his head so as to face her more directly. “What do you mean?” he asked, his eyebrow raised and tone sharp.

“I just couldn’t help but notice about before, when you were trying to calm Dash down.” Tager commented, not daunted in the slightest by Marco’s stare, “It was as if you were trying to convince yourself, not her.”

“So what?” Marco spat, “I’m not going to pretend it didn’t shock me. I care for those ponies, and there’s nothing I can do to fix what’s been done. If I said it didn’t make me feel powerless, if anypony in my position said it wouldn’t get to them, they’d be lying.”

“You really have a way for making things more wordy than they need to be.” Tager rolled here eyes, not sympathetic in the least, “I hate that.”

“Tsk, I didn’t expect you to understand.” Marco turned away, leaving her side so as to gain ground on the others, “What the hell would you know?”

At his accusation, Tager’s memory flashed with images of a ruined town, blanketed by ashes. Memories of a salvation that came too late, and of a princess not worth protecting. She saw herself turn away from the tragedy in disgust, and leave her uniform buried with all those others. The day she realized they did not deserve her trust, and started upon the road that led her to this very valley.

“Yeah...” she said distantly, “What would I know?”

Marco continued on with the intention to rejoin Dash and Gilda, but he found himself cut off as Paragonia swooped in to remind him of something that had understandably slipped his mind.

“Oh right, our letter.” he said as the Quetzalcoatl looked down on him indifferently, “I guess I’ll handle it this time. They could do with some good news.”

Marco dug into his saddlebags, the jingle of glass pots ringing out before he emerged with quill and parchment. Without waiting around, and with Paragonia waiting patiently to be sent back to the city, he begun writing.

“This is Marco.” he mumbled, speaking the words as he wrote them, “Paragonia has delivered the latest message, and the news of what happened at Appleoosa has hit us hard. We pray for the safety of those unaccounted for, and are confident the girls are safe under your watch.

“We have found the first hero, and she has agreed to help us.” Marco continued to write, moving onto their development, “We have promised her autonomy, and also the recall of her wanted status. We are now returning to Hordimare to await the return of the princess. Give our regards to the others, we’ll be there soon.”

Dropping the quill, he quickly rolled up the letter and sealed it. “Be careful out there Paragonia.” Marco warned as he passed the parchment onto the winged serpent, “They didn’t say what happened to Philomena, but I’d bet that it had something to do with the letters you guys have been carrying.”

Paragonia stretched his wings wide and let his cosmic energies crackle. It seemed as if an opponent would be in for quite the fight if they tried to shoot him out of the sky.

“Alright then, off you go.” Marco waved the Quetzalcoatl off, “Good luck.”

As the earth pony watched Paragonia become smaller and smaller against the stormy sky, he heard the crunch of snow behind him. Tager had caught up while he had been writing the letter, and she continued on past Marco, a satisfied look betraying her casual demeanour.

“Eavesdropping again?” Marco rolled his eyes, “Trust doesn’t come easy to you does it?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time somepony thought it was okay to lie to an outlaw.” Tager was the one to roll her eyes this time, “But a bookish pony like you wouldn’t read out what he was writing unless he wanted me to hear it.”

“Okay, you got me.” Marco took a mental note of Tager’s deceptively keen mind, “I just want you to know I told you the truth. We really will hold up our end.”

“Telling someone what to believe is something liars tend to do.” Tager lent in with purpose, “The only truth worth believing is the type you figure out for yourself. That’s something I figured out the hard way.”

“Good advice. I guess.” Marco gulped, “So what then? A you just gonna analyse my every move until you decide this isn’t some elaborate ruse?”

“Forget I said anything.” Tager replied, not interested in the path discussion was taking, “Let’s just hurry up and get to Hordimare already.”

“Well, I would tell you we’re almost there...” Marco hinted, “But perhaps I should let you figure that out for yourself.”

Tager followed Marco’s gaze and saw the shape of the town forming beyond the light mist. Her look soured to see that the earth pony was rather pleased with himself.

“Smartass.” she remarked deadpan, “Maybe now you might be able to get some clothes again?”

“I won’t need them where we’re going.” Marco said quickly, countering Tager’s attempt to tease him, “Didn’t Dash tell you about her lodge?”

“Pft, whatever.” Tager resigned, “Shut up and lead the way.”

A cold breeze rushed in as if to welcome Marco back to Hordimare. “Urgh...” he moaned, stiffening his posture as the cold overwhelmed him once more, “It would be my pleasure...”

Comments

[Bookmaster]

Yay another long ass chapter I really like them seriously I love them

[Bookmaster]

New chapter please

[Benjamin Lawe]

963128

It won't be too much longer now. Sorry about the wait though, it's been hard for me to find time now that uni has started back up. Regardless, I try not to force myself, and just work at my own pace. Sometimes that means delays, but other times I happily pump out chapter after chapter. Stay tuned, the next one's on its way!

[Bookmaster]

963186 yes awsome