A mysterious kingdom with an even more mysterious past, Cloudwalker Kingdom is preparing for war on Equestria. Will our hero's be able to stop the villainous king? Or will war ravage Equestria?
Cloudwalker Kingdom--A snowy far-away land inhabited by a breed of pony called Cloudwalkers. A kingdom whose king is preparing for war against Equestria, and willing to risk everything to win. For years this king has been abducting Equestria's inhabitants and forcing them to join his army, eventually brain washing them to believe in his cause. Copper Head and Spot are two such ponies, taken from their homes by monstrous wolves, but do they have what it takes to survive the king's tests? Alongside the cloudwalkers Shadowstorm and Grand Prix as well as the mysterious alicorn Kindle, Copper Head and Spot might stand a chance, and be able to save the two kingdoms from all out war.
A rust colored earth pony stallion woke up to an impenetrable darkness. It was hard for him to know if he was still asleep or truly awake, but the smell of old stone, the faint sound of dripping water, and the feeling of being watched assured him of the latter. He took a step forward, but quickly stepped back when he felt something scurry away from under his hoof. Looking around, the pony tried to find any source of light, and was delighted to see a faint glow not too far off from where he was. Slowly, he shuffled his hooves forward still feeling things scurry away from him as he progressed. He finally made it to the light. The light itself came from a ghostly flame hovering some distance above him with many more scattered throughout a cavernous room. The room itself was incredibly huge and the walls of the room were too far away to see. After taking in the enormity of the room, the stallion noticed something strange. The middle of the room was filled with almost perfect square blocks of the same stone that the room was made of. He shuffled closer, curious as to what these features were. The first wall he came to was bare, nothing on it except moisture that dripped on it from the ceiling. On the other side was a strange marking, it didn't seem like something that he had ever seen before, so he disregarded it. The third side held something much more interesting. Behind strange metal bars with runes etched into them, was a large lizard. It stared at him with unblinking eyes, but it looked like it could care less about his presence. The stallion smiled and waved at it, but the only response he got was another intense stare.
“I would step back from the cage if I were you.” The stallion bolted around to see a unicorn standing there. Before he had a chance to greet the newcomer, something slimy and stretchy grasped his throat. He was thrown against the bars of the cage with tremendous force and he could feel his life slowly being squeezed out of him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the lizard with its mouth wide open, and its tongue stretching through the bars. The other pony wasted no time. He leaped forward getting a grip on the tongue with his teeth. As he pulled, the captive pony could feel the air reenter his lungs. The unicorn then bit through the tongue and threw it over his shoulder. Blood spewed from the tongue, coating the ground and both the ponies. The unicorn licked the blood trickling from his mouth, and spoke to the other pony who was trying hard to catch his breath, “What are you doing here? This isn't the cell block for ponies. I don't know how you got out, but I'm going to have to take you back to your cell. But not before properly punishing you of course.”
The stallion was confused by the unicorn's words, and he looked up in surprise. What he saw came as a shock to him. The first thing that he noticed was the other ones imposing size. He was easily double the height of a full grown stallion, and probably also twice as strong. The next thing he noticed also happened to be the strangest. It looked like the ponies body was crisscrossed with veins of silver.It pulsated and flowed. It was both beautiful and grotesque, and they all emanated from his cutie mark: a silver star. After the initial shock, the earth pony answered his question, “I don't know where I am, sir. I just... woke up here.”
The larger pony frowned, “Just woke up here? Tell me your name.”
“Copper Head.”
“Copper Head, huh?” The monstrous pony used his magic to conjure a large piece of paper. After thoroughly examining the list, the unicorn dismissed it in a puff of smoke, “It seems like you aren't on the list, which means you aren't dead. But that makes no sense. No pony in their right mind would willingly enter Tartaros.”
Copper Head's eyes widened and his voice became uneasy, “T-T-Tartaros?” -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
The unicorn, who called himself High Noon, led Copper Head to his room within the prison. It looked simple enough from the outside. Another one of those cubes but with a wooden door instead of bars, and a different looking symbol on the side of it. High Noon opened the door revealing a much bigger and more complex room than could be physically possible.
High Noon noticed his expression and smiled, “Don't you just love magic?”
Copper Head nodded and followed him into the room. It looked sort of like a library, but with noticeable hints of a rancher's life such as cowboy hats, lassos, saddles, etc. High Noon led him to a simple wooden table and pulled up a chair. Copper Head sat down while High Noon pulled out a book from one of the shelves and started flipping through it. The unicorn put the book down after he seemed satisfied with what he had found. “It looks like you are an astral projection. Meaning, your physical body is probably sleeping in bed, and you spirit is what is here before me. Which also explains why that ghost eater attacked you. Nasty things. They only eat spirits and butterflies.”
“Why butterflies?” Copper Head inquired.
High Noon shrugged, “I don't know. Maybe because they're unnatural. I mean have you seen them up close? They're beautiful from far away, but look into their face and you'll know the true face of evil.”
“Uh... Yeah... sure.” Copper Head scratched his head, “But how do I get back to my body?”
“Simple. Just wake up. You know how to wake up, right?”
“Uh...” Copper Head punched himself, but with no results. “I guess not.”
“Well, you had the right idea. With enough shock, one can wake themselves; but you might not want to leave just yet. Let me tell you a bit about this place first.” High Noon then began his long story about how he became trapped in Tartaros. High Noon called himself one of the Doomed, ponies who were servants of a dragon he named only as Doom. Learning his true name would automatically make you a target, and he would certainly find and retrieve you no matter where you hid. The Doomed were forced to make sure that none of the monsters left their cages, and in total there were two other Doomed that High Noon knew of, even though they almost never saw each other. One pony was unknown to him. He saw him before, but was unable to learn anything about him. The other pony was practically a legend. Somepony that most ponies would die to meet: Wonderbolt.
Copper Head was amazed, “Wonderbolt? THE Wonderbolt? HERE?”
High Noon nodded, “Yup. Back in my day, the called him 'The greatest thing that happened to flying since wings.' He practically invented aerial acrobatics, and I even hear they named some group after him.”
Copper Head nodded, “Yeah, the Wonderbolts! But why is he here? Why are you here?”
The unicorn shook his head, “I'm afraid I don't want to tell you that. It's personal. You understand right? I... wait... are you?” The unicorn looked at the earth pony's side, which Copper Head quickly hid. High Noon used his magic to move away Copper Head's tail, revealing a blank flank. “Ha! I knew it!”
Copper Head hid his flank again, his cheeks turning a brighter shade of red, “It's not my fault I don't have a cutie mark! I just haven't found my special talent yet!”
High Noon smiled, “Don't be embarrassed! This fact actually brings everything to light. The reason you're here is that you're the same as me! That's why you can use an astral projection without being a unicorn, and why it brought you here to me! This is exciting! I thought the order died shortly after I became Doomed.” He paced the room excitedly as he spoke, finally turning to Copper Head to say, “I know exactly how to get you cutie mark!”
Copper Head jumped out of his chair, sharing the same excitement as the unicorn, “Really? How?”
High Noon hopped onto the table which groaned under his weight, “All you have to do is....” He was cut short by a low growl, and the unicorn's excitement turned into pure terror, “No... it can't be.” He ran over to the door and looked out. There was nothing out of the ordinary, but another growl shook the ground and some books rattled off of the bookshelves. High Noon slammed the door shut, ran over to Copper Head and started shaking him, “You need to wake up! Now!”
Copper Head started to get really scared, “What is it? What's coming?”
High Noon kept shaking him, “That's not important! Wake up before he gets here!” The growl started to get louder, and footsteps started to disturb the furniture in the house. Everything was shaking and falling off shelves. Potted plants were thrown to the floor and books became scattered all over the place. Copper Head felt something hit his head. He looked up to see that the roof was collapsing. No. The roof was being pulled off. Large talons pierced through the walls, causing large cracks to run throughout the stone and more chunks of the ceiling come falling down. With a great rumble, the roof was finally pried off the rest of the house and a gargantuan monstrosity loomed into view. Looking down at the two was a dragon tall enough to reach the ceiling of the dungeon and horrid enough to make Cerberus run away like a scared puppy. “Wake up, Copper Head!” High Noon continued to shake him with renewed fervor. The dragon looked down at them with piercing red eyes as he reached with his other clawed hand into the house, grabbing at the two ponies. “Wake up!”
(Prologue) The Flower that Survived the Fox's Flames
Everypony knows of the great kingdom of Equestria and it's ruler, Celestia, but the esteemed Princess doesn't rule all of the lands inhabited by ponies. Far east of that familiar nation is a mysterious country that is ruled by ponies said to have descended from a dragon: Neigh Jing. Neigh Jing was created by four legendary creatures. The great blue dragon, Azuros, created the plants and filled the world with magic. She is also thought to be the mother of all dragons. Bito, a large shark, used his powers to create rivers, lakes, and keep the ocean from flooding the fertile earth. Not everyone was satisfied with what had been created. Myobu, a great white creature that is half fox and half wolf, created animals, fire, and lightning. What happened next however, was something that the three couldn't have imagined. Azuros had a daughter, Qili, who was part dragon and part pony, and showed great potential in using magic; something that only few had been able to use. Qili visited the world that the three had made. She saw the beautiful forests and tasted the succulent fruits. She rested by the lakes and ran in the rivers. She even played with the many animals, but everything seemed so.... empty. She then had the idea of making something that was more like herself. Someone to play with; to spend time with; a friend. But why have just one friend when you can have lots of friends? Using her powerful magic she made what we now know are the first unicorns. The other three were curious as to what Qili had made. They weren't like Azuros' plants. They could talk, they could move, and they could think. They weren't like the rivers and streams that Bito had made. They had no set path and they never seemed to stop growing and expanding. Neither were they like Myobu's animals. They were intelligent and they were always learning, teaching, and creating. Soon, they built a magnificent empire, the foundation for which became their magical origins.
A young yellow unicorn hurried down one of the many busy streets of Neigh Jing. She dodged street vendors filled with food, papers, souvenirs, and other items they wished to sell. She stopped at one particular vendor, the owner instantly recognizing her.
“Spot! How great to see you! On your way to the academy I assume?” The old stallion leaned forward in his chair to get a better look at the mare; his eyes were not as good as they used to be.
“That's right Uncle Pack Rat, but this time I'm not filling out paperwork or applications! This is my first day as a scroll keeper!” Spot was elated, and it showed through the large smile on her face.
“Call me Packy, dear. Everyone else does. But that's great news! Being a scroll keeper is a great responsibility, and a great honor. You sister also went to try out for that position as well, yes?”
After hearing Packy's question, Spot's smile was quickly erased and replaced by a frown, “She...well... she almost killed somepony yesterday during her test. She tried using a spell that was too complicated for her. An extremely high level Myobu spell. But it went wrong and started a fire that trapped a group of ponies. I was able to use Bito's Rain to put out the fire in time, but... needless to say... they chose me over her, and banned her from entering the academy grounds again. After words she yelled at me, and refused to speak to me again. I think she blames me for what happened somehow. I don't know what to do about her.”
Packy shook his head, “I see. Well, Fire Petal has always been rash and headstrong. She no doubt tried to do her best to surpass you and used magic that she wasn't ready to use . When she failed and her younger sister had to correct her mistakes, it must have really hurt her. Just give her some time.She'll cool off eventually.” He finished speaking, leaned back, and noticed that their was a customer behind Spot. He quickly addressed him, “I'm sorry, sir. I'll be right with you.” He turned to Spot, “I'll speak with you later, dear. I have business to conduct.”
Spot's smile returned, “Of course Uncle! I'll come by after work, see ya!” She left her uncle to deal with the customers and trotted off towards her destination: Four Pillars Academy, the most prestigious academy in all of Neigh Jing, and located in the capital, Neigh Jing City. She didn't get to go to that school though. Her family was poor, but her parents were able to get enough money to send her and her sister to a decent school in the valley of Mount Sleighbaek. After they graduated, the sisters moved to Neigh Jing City where they got jobs teaching at magic elementary school. After a few years of trying they finally got a chance to get into Four Pillars.
As she rounded another corner, Spot could start to see the academy. It's the biggest building in all of Neigh Jing, dwarfed only by the Emperor's Palace. It was built in the traditional Neigh Jing style with four large pillars representing Azuros, Bito, Myobu, and Qili, which give the academy its name. Unlike some other pony civilizations, magic and the learning of magic is one of the most important things in Neigh Jing. Most of the inhabitants were unicorns and the citizens regarded their ancestors and their past with great respect. Spot finally reached the main gate of the academy which was decorated with scenes from Neigh Jing's rich history. There were all sorts of strange creatures, and famous unicorns adorning the gate dressed in gold with a background of red. She passed through the opening between the gates and arrived at the first statue, the statue of Qili, and recognized her sister, wearing a cloak so that no one would notice her. Spot quickly ran up to her, hoping that no one else would see her.
“Fire Petal? What are you doing here? If the guards or teachers see you, they will arrest you! You need to leave.”
Spot's sister frowned, “I'm here to apologize Spot. I was irresponsible the other day, and I want to make it up to you. Meet me at Myobu's shrine outside of the city after work. I have a surprise for you.”
Spot couldn't believe her ears and hugged Fire Petal tightly, “Thank you sister! I didn't want you to stay mad at me. I'll definitely be there!”
Fire Petal smiled, “Thank you, Spot. I'll meet you there. I would like to talk more, but I have to leave before someone sees me.” She trotted away and eventually was lost in the crowd.
Spot smiled and nodded. She watched her sister leave before turning and entering the school.
When Spot left the academy, she was literally jumping for joy. Her first day as scroll keeper was great. She had met many great students, and made new friends with many of her coworkers. And now, she was on her way to Myobu's shrine to meet her sister. Nothing could bring her down today. The shrine was outside of the city in the surrounding forests. They were known to hold many mystical animals, the most common of which is a strange bird with an even stranger song. Those who follow its song normally find themselves lost in the forest, much to the bird's delight. Other strange creatures include frogs that can read minds, salamanders that can really burst into flames, and crickets that bring good luck. The path she was about to take was heavily traveled and cleared of trees, so she didn't need to worry about coming across anything like that. It started to get dark when she neared the shrine, but the lack of light made what awaited her more magnificent.
The shrine was empty of other patrons and decorated with hundreds of paper lanterns in various colors that cast their light on the jade wolves and foxes that guarded the steps. The jade shone through the dark and cast an eerily beautiful green light around it. The gold ,too, shone in the light becoming more and less brilliant as the lanterns swayed in the breeze. At the entrance of the shrine sat Fire Petal at an elegantly set table. Spot couldn't hold herself back and raced up the steps to hug her sister.
Fire Petal struggled to get out of her clutches and finally managed to. She gasped for air, and asked between breaths of air, “Do... you like... your surprise?”
Spot looked around, and smiled, “Of course I do! A feast set out here in the beauty of nature? I think it's great!” She sat at the table across from her sister, and picked up a peach from a bowl of fruit. “It's great to have you talking to me again.... eh?” A fireball brushed past Spot's head, singeing part of her mane. She jumped away from the table and blurted, “What was that for Fire Petal? I thought you weren't mad at me anymore?”
Fire Petal was covered in a fiery aura and magical energy emanated from her, “You were supposed to die from that first spell, but it doesn't matter. I'll get rid of you soon.” Fire Petal fired another blast of flame at her sister, who jumped out of the way of the flames.
Spot flipped the table over, spilling the food on the ground, and hid behind one of the pillars, calling out from its safety, “Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to kill me?”
Fire Petal growled, “It's because you're always upstaging me! You're better than me at everything! It makes me furious!” Fire Petal approached the pillar, the fire around her growing hotter with each step. “I am the older sister! You're supposed to follow in MY hoovesteps! But instead I have to settle for playing second fiddle to the second born. It's humiliating!” She ignited the pillar Spot was hiding behind, scorching part of her coat.
Spot started running. She hopped over the fence and into the forest, hoping to lose her sister.She ran and ran, but the heat kept rising. She knew her sister could flamewalk, a spell that lets the user run faster and set the ground aflame with each step. It was only a matter of time before she was caught. The only solution was to fight back. Spot stopped, turned around, and closed her eyes. Her horn sparked with magic, and her body was enveloped in an orb of water. Fire licked around her, but she was safe inside the bubble. However, everything around her was burning and the forest was being destroyed. She focused all of her energy and the orb of water exploded causing the flames around her to fizzle out. She opened her eyes to see Fire Petal standing before her, a tall pillar of flame emanating from her body. “I won't lose to you this time Spot. I will finally be better than you.”
“I still don't understand!” Spot cried while dodging another fireball, “You're my sister!”
Flame Petal flared, “You may see me as a sister, but I only see you as a stumbling block, a nuisance, and an enemy! If these flames aren't enough to kill you, I'll have to use a spell more powerful than anything you've ever seen!” With that, Flame Petal revealed a scroll she had been carrying. It held the seal of Myobu, the patron of fire.
Spot was unable to cry, her tears being dried up by the intense heat of the flames, but her voice was still shaky and hesitant, “Please sister! This isn't like you!”
Fire Petal shook her head, “This is who I am, Spot. You were just too arrogant to care about your weaker sister. But now you are weaker than me.” She opened the scroll and a surge of magical energy burst forth into the blazing mare's body. The fire around her body grew hotter and hotter until it burned white. After what seemed like an eternity, the flames surged from her body after Spot who could only sit and watch. She closed her eyes and turned away waiting for the fire to consume her; but instead of heat, she could feel cold. Spot opened her eyes to see a great white wolf blocking the flames from reaching her. The flames eventually died down, and Fire Petal collapsed on the ground. Her body drained of all magic. The white wolf padded over to her, sniffing the motionless, smoldering body. He shook his head, and turned his attention to Spot.
“Hello, daughter of Qili. I rushed over as soon as I felt my shrine being destroyed, only to find that two unicorns were fighting. Who was that one? To have used an ancient scroll so recklessly is not normal for a citizen of Neigh Jing.” Spot heard his question, but couldn't speak. All she could do is cry, and hold her sister in her hooves. The wolf watched, but did not interrupt her. After Spot had started to dry her tears the wolf commented, “She will not die young one. She may have used all of her magic, but given a few days, she will recover. Now I will ask again. Who is that unicorn?”
Spot wiped her eyes and looked up at the wolf, “She is my sister, Fire Petal. She... she... tried to kill me just now...”
The wolf looked shocked, “You must have made her very angry for her to do that.”
Spot looked back at her sister, “I didn't mean to. She said she was angry that I was better than her at everything, but I still don't understand how she could be so mad at me.”
The wolf's ears perked, “Better than her? You mean to say that your magic surpasses even the brilliant, though admittedly suicidal, display of magic I just witnessed?” Spot nodded, and the wolf smiled, “How would you like to come with me? I have need of a unicorn with magic like yours.”
Spot was amazed. A creature of his greatness needed her? She was about to accept when she remembered her sister, “What about her? I need to get her some help.”
The wolf was quick to answer, “The shrine officials will be on their way. They'll be able to take care of her.” He lowered his body for her to climb on her back. She hesitated, then climbed up.
“As long as you say so. Thank you, Myobu.”
The wolf launched into the air with a smirk on his face, “Right. Myobu.”
Copper Head woke in a sweat, his dream still vivid in his mind. He could remember a large unicorn named High Noon, a dreadful cavern, and a monstrous dragon that was about to devour him. He looked around, making sure that he was no longer dreaming. All seemed normal. There's his stack of comic books, arranged alphabetically from “Bat Stallion” to “Wonder Mare”. There's his mining gear, rusty from long use and dirty from the day before. There's his row of family portraits. There's his... wait. What is that? Copper Head looked close at a small figure sitting at the foot of his bed. He couldn't recognize it from the shape, and it made a weird sound as it breathed. “Hello?” He called out to it, but it didn't respond. “Who's there?”
“What? What do you want?” The figure jumped up from the bed and spun to face Copper Head. “First, you toss and turn in your sleep, and now you purposefully wake me up for no reason! I have a sun to crow at in an hour, but until then I would like some peace!” The shadow glared and resumed its original position on the bed. Copper Head now knew exactly who it was. It was Cluckwurk, the family rooster. Copper Head's father found Cluckwurk in the forest... well, half of Cluckwurk. Some animal had attacked him and left him there to die. Copper Head's father crafted a new body for him. A body made of steel to make it strong and alchemical to make it move. However, being made out of metal makes Cluckwurk now unable to fly, but able to take a hit from a moving train.
Copper Head carefully got out of bed, so as not to disturb the bird. As he left his room, he passed by all of his family photos. He smiled as he looked at the memories captured in the tiny squares. His favorite picture was of his entire family in the Ore family reunion. Looking at all the pictures, he realized how many twins there were in his family: Hard Rock and Heavy Metal, Inkie and Blinkie, Diamond Dust and Pearly Gates, Coal and Slag. But not him and his sister. Aside from being older than him, Tin Tail never got along with her younger brother. She always worried about her appearance, so much so that she wouldn't even help with the simplest of tasks. Copper sighed and moved on to the next picture.
Next was a photo of his father and mother. His father's name is Iron Mane. Iron Mane got his name from his bright grey mane that he had ever since he was a child. When he was a teenager, he dyed it black to better match his brown coat. Over the years though, he started letting it return to its natural grey. Copper Head admired his father. He was hard working, loyal, honest, and generous; something Copper Head tries to emulate, but his anger sometimes gets the best of him. His mother's name is Cobalt. She came from a rich family who would have had her married off to some snobbish rich stallion from Canterlot. She always recalled one suitor who said, “Your coat is as beautiful as the morning sky, and your mane deeper than the deepest blue.” Which is an accurate description of her. But with all the suitors she had, she fell in love with Iron Mane and ran away to be with him.
Copper Head left the photos and grabbed his mining gear. His family had just started work on a new mine, and Copper Head loved exploring all the cave systems that crisscrossed through the mountain on which he lived. What could he say, he's addicted to the excitement of discovery. He trotted quietly down the stairs, but the clanging of his mining equipment made it hard to be silent. He reached the door and opened it. A cool morning breeze rushed through the door and Copper Head inhaled the cold air. He looked over his shoulder. All was quiet. He slowly closed the door, and once he was a little ways from his house, Copper ran to his favorite spot on the whole mountain. He stood on a cliff that overlooked the neighboring countryside and gazed at the land in the light of the sunrise. The rays of light revealed the great green canopy that was the Everfree Forest, the gleaming patches of red that was Sweet Apple Acres, and the multicolored splotches that made up the buildings of Ponyville. He sat there for a bit, his heart longing for life in the city. Life that was ever changing, just like the caves he loved to explore.
After the sun had cleared the horizon, Copper Head left the cliff and made his way to the new mine. There was a warning sign at the entrance of the mine to ward off any stray ponies that might be interested in the cave. Beyond the entrance of the mine was the beginning of the minecart tracks and a row of lanterns. Copper Head took on of the lanterns and lit it. He set it on the ground next to him and pulled a lever next to the cart tracks. There was a loud screech followed by a continuous squeak. The noise got louder and a minecart appeared from the darkness. Copper Head hopped in with the lantern and pulled the lever again. The mine cart took off again into the gloomy cavern. Copper Head soon left the light of the entrance, and all light now came from the sole lantern that Copper Head held in his mouth. The light from the flame danced along the cave walls as the minecart rolled past. Copper Head smiled as he remembered when he used to be scared of the shadows cast by the light of the lamp, but he had grown out of that. The minecart reached its destination and screeched to a halt. Copper jumped out and inspected the cave walls. They were marked with arrows that led to the excavation spot, and away from dead ends and holes in the cave floor. He followed the arrows as they led him into the twisting labyrinth. He finally reached his destination, a dead end where three bare walls of stone stood. One of them had sprung a leak, and was plugged up and abandoned. The wall adjacent to it held some iron ore that Copper Head had excavated earlier, but he decided to keep heading in that direction to see if there was any more. He strapped on his special RockBreaker brand horseshoes and double checked to make sure they were on tight. RockBreaker horseshoes are made of forged steel and the sharp spike in the front is specially designed to break rocks when mining. Copper Head reared and struck at the rock with his right hoof. He felt the rock easily crumble from the impact.
Copper Head broke rock for about another hour before stopping to rest. He progressed about 10 or 11 feet which was good for a lone pony working a rather wide tunnel. He wondered when his father would get there to help. They could have probably gone twice the distance he had, but Copper Head always got up before everypony else. He listened for the sound of the mine cart since it was too far into the darkness to see. He didn't hear it, but he did hear something else. He hadn't heard it before in the caves, but it was familiar somewhere else. He concentrated on the sound, and the realization of what it was frightened him. Running water. He quickly grabbed the lantern and rushed to the wall where the water leaked from before. To Copper Head's dismay the wall was leaking again, and already the water was hoof deep. From the look of it, there was a crack higher up in the wall that they must not have noticed before. Copper Head reached up to cover the crack with his hoof, but made a grave error. His RockBreaker horseshoes were still on and they only made the crack even larger. Gripped with panic, Copper Head reached for the lantern; but tipped it over in his haste.
All became black, and Copper Head quickly became disoriented. He could feel the water continue to rush through the hole in the wall, but there was no escape. Copper Head could try to find his way in the dark, but getting back through the twist and turns of the cavern was going to take a miracle. Suddenly, Copper Head could hear breathing. He stopped his own breathing to make sure he wasn't hearing himself, and sure enough, there was something else in the cave with him. It panted heavily and seemed to draw closer to him through the darkness. The stallion then began to hear splashes of water as something stalked ever closer to him. Then all sound stopped. Copper Head dared not move in case whatever was out there hadn't heard him yet, but the beating of his heart seemed loud enough to alert all of Equestria. Seconds passed then a minute, and there was nothing more. Copper Head relaxed a bit, but he was far from safe. He felt warm breath down his neck, and knew that whatever was out there had found him. He felt a sharp pain in his leg as the creature started dragging him somewhere into the depths of the cave, into some unknown abyss.
The creature dragged the stallion down into its lair which Copper Head guessed was towards the bottom of the mountain. They kept going farther and farther down the mountain when suddenly a bright light made Copper cover his eyes. The monster had dragged him into a room within the cave lined with brightly glowing crystals. There was a hole in the low ceiling which let in the sunlight which reflected off of the crystals. In the middle of the room sat a pool of sparkling water, and in the middle of the pool stood a pillar of rock. Copper Head would have found it quite beautiful had he not been captured by some monster, which threw the pony in a corner of the room as it walked to the pool to drink. Copper Head finally got a good look at it as it lapped water. It was actually a large black wolf with scars and ugly matted fur. The wolf didn't take long to drink, and was upon the pony again in an instant, “So, you are to be my meal today, hmm?”
Copper Head was shocked when the wolf addressed him, but managed to find the courage to utter, “Please, don't eat me!”
The wolf laughed, “You stink of fear, little pony. That only makes you all the more appetizing, and I haven't had pony in such a long time. Only squirrels, birds, and lizards, which gets very boring after a while.” The wolf started to circle Copper Head, who by this time was paralyzed with fear. “What's your name little pony? Oh, wait. I don't care! You're just Lunch to me!” The wolf grinned revealing only a set of teeth on the right side of his mouth, and nothing on the other. The teeth it did have were yellowed and sharp enough to tear a pony apart.
Copper Head had lost all hope, until he heard a clink when he took a step back. His RockBreakers! He had completely forgotten about them, and planned a counter attack. He waited for the wolf to circle in front of him, before striking with his front hooves. The wolf was taken by surprise and took the brunt of the impact. The RockBreakers tore into the wolves skin, cutting him above the eye, and across the leg. It howled in pain, “Gah! You want to play that way Lunch? I'll have you know I've been playing this 'game' a lot longer than you.” The wolf lunged at Copper Head and swept him off his hooves. As Copper Head hit the ground, the wolf knocked the RockBreakers off his feet.
Copper Head rolled out of the way and hopped to his feet. The wolf looked amused, like a cat playing with a trapped mouse. The beast stepped slowly closer before rushing at him in a burst of speed. Copper opened his mouth to shout, but instead got a mouthful of fur. The pony took the opportunity to bite down on the wolf's neck. The wolf howled as the pony drew blood. Blood. Copper Head couldn't believe how great it tasted. He could feel his heart race, his blood boil, and his thoughts shorten to one word: kill.
The wolf tried to shake the pony, but Copper held on with a carnivorous rage. The wolf slammed the pony into the ground and against the wall, but still he held on. The monster jumped into the pool of water in an attempt to drown the pony. Copper was forced to let go, and the wolf took this opportunity to get away. As the stallion emerged from the water, he looked at his reflection in the pool. He had grown fangs. Long vicious teeth for tearing apart prey. Good for killing this wolf with.
As it retreated, the wolf turned to look at the pony and something caught his eye, “You! You're one of them! I should have noticed it earlier. I was going to eat you, but now... Krafty's interested in special little ponies like you. You haven't seen the last of me.” It turned and quickly retreated down the path.
Copper Head quickly gave chase, yelling at the wolf as it disappeared, “Come back, coward!” The pony followed the wolf until he reached an exit out of the mountain. The area right outside the cave led straight into the Everfree Forest where the wolf hid himself from his pursuer. “Wolf! Get back here!” Copper Head yelled into the dense foliage, but received no response. He stamped the earth and his breath came fast. He could feel his entire body being engulfed in a flame with some unknown hate fueling that fire. He called again, but still no answer. He could no longer hold back and charged blindly into the thick foliage. The Everfree Forest was no match for this new monster that had entered its domain. Bushes, thorns, vines, boulders, even trees – nothing could stop Copper Head as he searched the forest for the wolf that had dared to attack him. The dense plant growth soon gave way to mowed lawns and cobblestone paths, but Copper Head paid no notice. He could only focus on the task at hand. He studied his surroundings and found no sight of the animal. There were only other ponies. Unimportant. He raced through the streets, knocking over carts and tearing through crowds. He was unaware of the destruction he was causing, and the attention he was garnering from bystanders. As another crowd dispersed, one particular pony didn't sense the danger. She sat on the ground talking to a bunny that was trying to warn her of the oncoming danger. Copper Head's body didn't respond in time, and he was about to collide with the pegasus. He was mere feet away from the other pony when he was hit with a magical bolt. He turned to face his new attacker, but not before getting hit with a few more blasts of magic. He hit the ground hard and instantly blacked out.
“I don't know anything about this irregular cutie mark. Spike, get me that book on unique cutie marks.” Copper Head could hear unfamiliar voices and the sound of tiny feet rushing around. “Hmm, it's not in here either. Let's try the one about magical deformations.” Copper Head opened his eyes a little. He could see a flash of purple and a lot of books. “It's not in here either! I may have discovered something new! Spike, get me something to write with!” Again another flash of purple. Copper Head tried to move his legs, but it felt like they were tied down. “I wonder if the strange cuite mark is somehow connected to the fact that he partially deflected my magic bolt earlier. It was like his body has a natural resistance to magic. I noticed it took a lot more magic to pick up a pony of his size than it should have.”
“You!” Copper Head opened his eyes fully and struggled against his restraints, “You were the one who hit me?” He stared into the face of a purple unicorn her horn aglow as she kept a quill and parchment afloat. Before the unicorn could speak, a small purple dragon pushed her away and swatted at the stallion with a rolled up newspaper.
“Stay back Twilight! Who knows what this guy will do. He almost hurt Fluttershy for no reason.” The dragon made a huge mistake when he hit Copper. The stallion was still in a fit of rage and took the strike as a personal attack. Copper pulled hard against the chains that held him down and he could feel one of the links give way and finally snap. With his freedom, Copper Head lunged at the dragon who proceeded to scream and run away.
Around the room they went, resembling a purple and red hurricane. Spike threw books at his pursuer, but they bounced harmlessly off of him. Copper was getting every closer to his prey. Closer, closer, now! He pounced at the dragon and smiled in anitcipation... but it seemed as if he was frozen in the air. It was that unicorn again! He struggled in the air, but it was no use. “Stupid unicorn! Stop interfering!”
“I'm not a stupid unicorn! My name is Twilight Sparkle, and my research indicates that I'm at least a genius.”
Something clicked inside of Copper Head when he heard that name, “Twilight Sparkle?” He could feel the burning anger flow out of his body, “Then that means you're Pinkie Pie's friend right? My name's Copper Head and she's my cousin! She told me about you and her other friends.” He realized what he had done and blushed, “I'm so sorry! I... I don't know what got into me. After I met that wolf it felt like I wasn't in control of my own body. I would never hurt you or any of Pinkie Pie's friends!”
Twilight put a reassuring hoof on his shoulder, “It's alright. For some reason, I feel like I should believe you. You seem like a completely different pony from that pony that chased Spike around my house. But... if you don't mind...” Twilight looked at his flank. “I'd like to ask how you got that strange cutie mark.
Copper looked confused, “Cutie mark?” He quickly turned to look at his own flank and was shocked by what he saw. Where once was nothing, sat a gleaming new cutie mark. A black pointed helmet with a set of ominous glowing eyes. “Glowing cutie mark... just like High Noon. Then that means what he said was true. I am just like him.”
Twilight glanced at him, “Did you say something?”
Copper nodded, “Yeah, I think I know something about this. Last night, I dreamed that I was in Tartaros and met a unicorn named High Noon. He said that I was just like him, but I'm not sure what he meant by that.”
Twilight rubbed her head, “Hmmm, High Noon. I've heard that name before. Oh right!” She pulled a book off the shelf. She flipped to a page with a picture of High Noon.
Copper studied the photo and thought to himself, That really is him. I guess I wasn't just dreaming, but really did visit Tartaros. To Twilight he asked, “What does it say about him?”
She scanned the page for information and after about a minute she said, “He was a crytpozoologist and a gifted magical marksman. He lived in a town called Buckerud that was northeast of Canterlot until an avalanche destroyed it. He mysteriously disappeared after an expedition funded by Celestia to capture an Enfield ended in failure.” She closed the book and sighed, “Looks like there's nothing in here to explain your cutie mark, but now I'm intrigued by something else.” She put her hoof on the book, “A missing unicorn, something called an Enfield, and a failed expedition funded by Celestia herself? I would like to solve this mystery, wouldn't you?”
Copper Head nodded, “Yes, but the only pony alive that would no anything about that would be Celestia herself. I doubt we can just waltz into Canterlot and ask her ourselves.”
“That's where you're wrong, friend. As Celestia's number one student, I have direct access to the Princess.” She put the book back on the shelf and headed upstairs. She returned with Spike in tow who was outfitted with pillow armor and a rolled-up newspaper sword. “Oh Spike put that away! He's not going to hurt you anymore.”
Spike jumped off of Twilight's back with his “sword” raised, “He's like that now, but he can snap at any minute! Don't trust him for a second!” He swung the newspaper in the air in front of Copper Head's face.
“Oh, stop it Spike.” Twilight took the newspaper from Spike's hands and replaced it with a quill, “Now write this down,” she cleared her throat before speaking, “Dear Princess Celestia, today I have made a new friend named Copper Head, and there are some interesting items that I have learned from him. The first is a new kind of cutie mark. One with a magical glow even though he isn't a unicorn. The second is a mystery surrounding a unicorn named High Noon who we believe you might have known. We would be grateful if you know anything that could reveal the truth about either of these mysteries. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”
Spike finished the letter with a final flurry of penstrokes and whisked the letter away with a breath of fire. “There it's sent. Can he leave now? I still don't feel comfortable with... belch!” Spike coughed up a letter, and opened it. “She replied already?” He read the contents and handed the letter to Twilight, “Looks important.”
Twilight took the letter and read it aloud,
Twilight Sparkle,
I need you to come to Canterlot as quickly as possible. If High Noon is involved, I'm afraid a great evil is looming on the horizon. An evil that could be the end of Equestria. I have sent a chariot towards Ponyville and would request that you start traveling towards Canterlot to meet it as soon as possible. Time is of the essence.”
Twilight put the letter down, “That isn't like Celestia, but we have to follow her orders.” She turned and addressed the stallion, “Give me a minute and I'll get my things together.” She walked up the stairs with the dragon following close behind her.
Copper Head watched her go, but his mind was lost in thought. Who was High Noon? What happened to him? And what evil was the Princess talking about? He rubbed his head. “What I would do to be back at home... home! My family is probably worried about me... but now I'm caught up in some adventure with a unicorn I just met and the Princess is involved...” His thoughts were interrupted by hoovesteps behind him.
Twilight had finished packing and had a pack bursting with scrolls and books, “You ready to go?”
“Not quite yet. I need to tell my family that I'm leaving.”
Twilight smiled, “Of course, Spike can send a letter while we are gone.”
Spike crossed his arms, “I'm not doing anything for him. My legs still hurt from running around the library.”
“Spike!” Twilight glared at the dragon, “That's no way to act! Now, where does your family live Copper?”
“On top of the mountain, Pinkie Pie knows where it is if Spike can't find it.”
“You heard him Spike. Let's go Copper Head.” She opened the door and left.
Copper Head followed close behind her. Once he was outside he finally realized how late it had gotten. The sun was already setting making Copper wonder how long he had been knocked out. He just hoped that his parents weren't too worried about him. He looked to see if he could find his house, but the trees on the mountain blocked the view.
“Hey! Let's get going! It's not good to keep the Princess waiting.” Twilight was already on the road out of town, and Copper Head ran to catch up with her. “You sure you're ready to go?” Copper nodded and walked beside her as they walked through town. The two talked for a bit, but not about anything interesting. By the time they reached the edge of town, the sun had already gone down and a small sliver of moon hung in the sky. Twilight used a spell to ward off the darkness, but it wasn't very bright and Copper Head felt uneasy.
“I think we should walk faster or something. I have a bad feeling about this.” Copper Head continually checked over his shoulder, but he couldn't see anything in the darkness.
“Don't worry so much. I'm sure we'll run into Princess Celestia's guards soon, and besides; I'll protect us with my magic if I have to.” Copper merely nodded, but he couldn't shake the feeling he was having. They walked on, but there was still no sign of the chariot. Things were also starting to get strange as well. Small animals would run past the them as if they were scared, and Copper Head's feeling of dread only grew.
“Oh, looks like Lunch found himself a friend.” A voice echoed through the night, and Twilight and Copper Head stopped dead in their tracks. Copper Head knew that voice, it was the wolf's voice. “Lunch will have to wait though. I can't go behind Krafty's back; he would be very sore for killing one of your kind.”
Twilight increased the brightness of the light, but even then the night was impenetrable. “Who's there?” She hid the fear in her voice well, and Copper Head could tell that she had been in her fair share of danger.
Copper Head faced the darkness, but addressed Twilight, “I know who it is Twilight. The voice belongs to a wolf that tried to eat me earlier. I fought him off, but he must have come back for revenge.”
“Almost!” The voice sounded closer than it had before, “I'm here for revenge and a meal. Thank you so much for bringing a unicorn with you. Their horns make great toothpicks!” The wolf laughed and both of the ponies felt chilled to the bone.
Twilight swung around trying to find him in the darkness and yelling, “Show yourself!”
“As you wish.” From the edge of the darkness emerged a pitch black paw, followed by the rest of the body. He looked nothing like the monster Copper Head had encountered earlier. His coat was completely smooth and inky, as if it was made of darkness itself. His eyes glowed red and his half set of teeth shown bright like the moon. “I do like my prey to see what ends them.” He licked his lips and stepped closer to Twilight.
Copper Head jumped in the way, “Hey! Leave her alone! I'll beat you again like I did earlier!
This only made the wolf laugh, “Ha! Your kind may be powerful, but at your level, you could never realize your potential in just one day. Now move!” He swiped at Copper Head who was too slow to react. The stallion felt like he was hit by boulder as he was knocked to the ground.
The wolf closed in on Twilight, but she teleported next to Copper Head as the beast lunged at her, “Don't worry Copper Head! I'll teleport us back to safety.” Twilight charged her magic and the last thing Copper remembered seeing was a bright purple flash which forced him to close his eyes.
Copper Head slowly opened his eyes, only to be met by another pair of eyes. Glowing red eyes. The wolf laughed, “Looks like she left you, Lunch!” Copper Head was paralyzed. Did she really leave him there? “Not that it matters much. I would have caught you no matter where you ran.” Copper Head could hear the wolf walking around him, and could feel his tail as it brushed against him. “You know. King Krafty has a few rules he makes the cadets learn. It would have helped you in our little 'game' earlier.” The wolf leaned in and whispered, “Play to win. If you lose, you might not get to play again.” Copper Head felt something hard hit his head which knocked him out immediately; those final words echoing in his ears.
Copper Head woke in a dimly lit room. He got up carefully in case that wolf was still around, but after examining his surroundings he could tell exactly where he was: a jail cell. He sneaked up to the wooden door and stood on his hind legs to look out the barred window. He could see the dancing flames of a torch and an open cell door opposite him. There was nothing of interest from what he could see. He sighed, and turned around to have a look at his cell. There was a pile of hay for sleeping on, and... that was it. Well, I might as well get some rest, Copper Head thought to himself, My head still hurts from where that wolf hit me. He laid down on the pile of hay, only to be met with a sharp pain in his side. “Ack! What was that?” He looked once again at the hay pile as a figure emerged from it.
“Uhm... I'm sorry I hurt you.” Although Copper Head couldn't see very well in the dark of the cell, he could tell that the pony before him was a mare from listening to her voice. “I was really scared when they threw you in here. I wasn't sure what kind of horrible criminals they would throw in here. So if you're a psychopathic rapist serial killer, please make it quick...”
“Wait what?” Copper Head quickly replied, “I'm not a killer or a rapist or anything like that! So just... calm down.” He couldn't tell if the mare believed him or not, so he decided to share what he knew about how he got there. “Look, I was knocked out and kidnapped by some monster wolf. I guess he brought me here for some reason.”
“You were kidnapped by a wolf, too? Did he have white fur, and claim to be Myobu as well?”
Copper shook his head, “No, this one was black and tried to eat me. What's a Myobu?”
The mare gasped, “You don't know of Myobu? The great fox that created fire? I thought everypony in Neigh Jing at least knew the legends of the Four Great Beasts.” She put a hoof around Copper Head, “You must be one of those neglected ponies I've heard about before. Growing up in the poor provinces without proper learning. Working all day farming, or fishing, or fighting. Yes. Fighting would explain that unusual helmet cutie mark. Oh dear! Are you from the upper Hoof Hills? Ponies from that area are always pillaging and plundering. We have to get you some proper learning right away.”
Copper Head shrugged her off, “Um, I'm from Equestria. Not this Neigh Jing place, and I've had plenty of learning. I went to elementary school for at least three or four years.” Copper Head blushed when he realized that only three or four years of elementary wasn't very impressive. He never needed school since his family were miners, “Anyway, we should try to get out of here. I don't know where we are, but I'd rather be outside than stuck in a jail cell.”
“Well, I do know a spell we could use to get out. I haven't used it before because; well, I was scared of leaving. You'll protect me right?”
Copper Head thought that that was an odd question, but nevertheless he answered, “Sure, I'll protect you. Now let's get going before any guards come to check on us.”
The mare nodded and moved towards the door. Her horn glowed with a blue light, and there was a small click. She pushed the door, and it slid open noiselessly. As if someone took great care in making sure the door made no noise. Suspicious. But now was not the time for that, they both crept out of the cell and trotted silently down one of the dimly lit hallways. There was a deathly silence in the air, as all the cells they passed were empty. Some of them even had spiders webs covering the doorway. The mare was the first to break the silence, “My name is Spot. What's yours?”
Copper Head was caught offguard by the sudden question, “Oh, uh. My name's Copper Head. It's good to meet you. If you don't mind me asking, why is your name Spot?”
The mare stopped at one of the torches and pointed at her muzzle. There was a bright pink spot, that Copper found kind of cute. “I was born with it,” she noted, “Sometimes I get teased for it, but I don't mind.” They continued walking, and the mare resumed talking, “How did you get your cutie mark? The glow is really interesting, I haven't seen anything like it before.”
“I got it from the wolf,” Copper Head flashed back to when the wolf attacked him in the cave, and when he lost all control and hunted the wolf down only to be stopped by Twilight Sparkle, “We fought, and after he ran away I found myself with this cutie mark.”
Spot's eyes widened, “You fought a wolf? You must be really brave. I'm glad someone like you is with me in such a scary place.”
Someone like me? I wonder what she means by that? Copper Head thought to himself. He didn't respond, and they continued in silence down the dark hallways which seemed to go on forever. On and on they walked, their progress unmarked by any recognizable landmark. The hallway didn't veer left or right. It never stopped and not once did they see another prisoner. It was all so strange, as if the entire prison were just part of some crazy dream.
“Eek!” Suddenly Spot screamed, which startled Copper. “There's something over there!” She pointed to one of the many patches of shadow. Copper Head looked but couldn't see a thing, until something scuttled from one shadow to another. “You saw that right?”
He nodded, “Yeah, but what was that?” The stallion ran forward to where the figure hurried to. Peering into the murky blackness he could see a shape, but it was strange and otherworldy. It turned to face him and quickly sprung out of its hiding place. Copper Head was able to evade it, but Spot wasn't so lucky. Copper turned to look and saw a large spider crawling all over Spot's head. Spot herself was scared stiff. The spider harmlessly crawled off of Spot, but she raised her hoof to kill it as soon as she was free from it. She brought her hoof down onto the spider. A loud clap sounded through the corridor as Spot's hoof hit only stone. The spider was hovering safely away from hoove's reach and surrounded by a magical green aura. The two ponies watched as the spider hovered away from them and was placed gently on the shoulders of another pony that neither of them had seen standing there. The pony wore a hood and its face could not be seen.
“I prefer my pets alive thank you.” The pony spoke, but Copper couldn't tell the pony's gender from just its voice, “I'm here to give you an offer given to all prisoners,” The pony took the spider off of its shoulders and started to pet it, “If you are able to pass three tests, you will be shown the way out. If you choose not to accept these tests, you are free to wander around here as long as you want, or till you die. Whichever comes first. Simple yes?” The pony continued to pet the spider, but remained silent as if expecting an answer.
Copper Head was first to respond, “How do we know you're telling the truth? What if we take your test and you don't let us out?”
The pony chuckled, “Consider your options. Take the tests and have a chance at freedom, or don't take the tests and walk these endless halls forever.”
Copper Head looked over at Spot, “He has a point, what do you think we should do?”
“We accept of course. I've taken plenty of tests in my time. I just hope its not on advanced geomagical calculus. I never understood Hoofington's theory of sensitive fractal residue, and I always forget that the magic burst constant is 15.894471... uh...” Spot started counting in her head, trying to remember some obscure mathematical constant.
Copper sighed and turned back to the hooded pony, “I guess we'll accept your offer. What's the first test?”
The pony chuckled, “Oh, it's an easy one! Just find the key to reopen the door.” After the hooded pony finished his sentence. One of the closed doors slammed open and a vaccuum of air started to pull Spot and Copper into it while the mysterious pony remained unaffected. Spot was caught off guard and fell head over heels into the room, but Copper Head held on the best he could. It took all of his energy just to stand in place without falling over. He looked at the hooded pony who took off its hood. To Copper Head's horror, it wasn't a pony. It was some monstrosity with the body of a pony and the head of a spider. Copper couldn't help, but stare at its inverted mouth as it spoke, “Magical resistance? How rare. The wolf did well to bring you here, but why don't you be a good pony and take your test already?” The monster's eyes glowed green and the spider that was on its shoulders flew at Copper Head. The spider hit Copper's leg and caused him to fall; without his footing, the stallion slid into the murky depths.
As the door closed, all light vanished from the room. Then, one by one, a series of torches lining the walls were lit. Each one had a different color of flame, making them appear unnatural. Spot gasped and nearly fainted when she saw what was in front of them, “Bito help us...” Copper Head turned to look at what had scared Spot. When he saw it his heart skipped a beat. Set before them was a long hallway, and at the end was a pedastal with a key and behind that, a door. Filling every inch in between were spider webs. Silvery webs that stretched from floor to ceiling or wall to wall, and on those webs sat thousands upon thousands of spiders. The arachnids ranged in size from as small as an apple seed to as large as dinner plates. Copper Head started to regret accepting this test.
“I think I know what to do here Copper Head.” Spot had regained her composure and was now standing up facing the spiders, “I know some magic that might help us out here.” Her horn glowed blue and a small ball of water started to form over her head. It continued to grow bigger and bigger until it had grown large enough to probably knock out one of the larger spiders. She launched it towards the tangle of webs, but it was intercepted by all of the magical flames in the room. Now it had become worse, it was pitch black and the only light came from the very end of the room where the key was. “Sorry Copper...”
Copper Head sighed, “It's fine, Spot. We'll just have to do this... without magic.”
Spot pressed against him tightly, and Copper Head could feel her shudder, “But... I'm scared... I don't think I can do it. Those spiders will get all over me. I'm scared of spiders.”
The stallion couldn't help but feel bad for the mare, but they had to complete this test to be free. “I'll go first ok? If you follow beside me, the spiders might not touch you.”
Spot hesitated before answering, “I don't know... they could still touch me...”
“Look Spot.” Copper Head was a little more stern with his voice as he was starting to get quite annoyed by Spot, “Do what I'm telling you, and we'll get through this, alright? Now walk next to me. I don't want to leave you behind.” He didn't hear her respond, but he felt her press even harder against his side. He took a step and felt her step with him. I guess that's a yes. Step by step the two advanced in the darkness. Copper Head anticipated the feeling of the spider web against his head, but he couldn't really prepare himself for what was coming. The silken strands resisted against him, but easily broke and covered the stallion. The worst part was feeling the spiders scurry about after he destroyed their web. They ran through his mane and all over his face. Copper Head had to close his eyes, but he kept moving. The two were making good progress, then Copper Head felt himself step in something. He shuddered after realizing what it was: one of the giant spiders had crawled in front of him and he had stepped on it. He could feel the spider's guts on his hoof, but he had to keep going.
Eventually, they made it to the end of the room. Spot ran up to the pedastal, grabbed the key, and unlocked the door. She wasted no time getting out of the room, and away from all the spiders. Once outside, Spot used her water magic to clean the webs and remaining spiders off of Copper Head and herself. “Thank's for protecting me. I wouldn't have been able to do that by myself.”
Copper Head answered while shaking his head to dry his mane, “No problem Spot. Anything for a friend.” After the two were dry, they looked around, and found themselves in a large empty room. There was a light highlighting the middle of the room where a pony sat with her head resting on her hooves. The two approached the mare who turned out to be a unicorn. She had a black coat, a green mane, and a cutie mark of three orbs that matched the green in her mane.
She looked up at them and sighed. As she sat up there was a clinking sound that came from the collar around her neck, which was attached to a chain and a spike set in the ground. She spoke to them in a melancholy voice, “Welcome to your second test. All you need to do is pull the spike out of the ground. Although, it doesn't matter. You'll never be able to do it.”
Copper Head looked at the spike then back at the mare, “Can we use magic on it?”
The mare shrugged, “You don't think I've already tried? I'm telling you it's impossible. Ponies a lot more impressive than you two haven't been able to do it.”
“We have to try! Otherwise, we'll never be able to get out of here. Spot, do you know a spell that can pull the spike out of the ground?”
Spot nodded and walked over to the spike. After examining it, her horn and the spike sparked blue. But it was useless. Spot strained to get the spike out of the ground, but it didn't budge. Her horn sparked again then went out. She started panting and wiped the sweat off her brow, “That spike must have mithril in it or something. It doesn't react at all to magic. It doesn't look like there's anything I can do.”
“Told you. No one can do it. Thousands have tried, and none of them have even gotten close.” The chained mare spoke without looking at either of them.
Copper Head took hold of the chain and smirked, “Hold on now. I haven't had a turn. At least let me try.” Copper Head pulled hard against the chain, but it didn't budge. In his head he was hoping that whatever happened when he fought the wolf would happen now. He was sure that he could pull out this spike if he had that kind of power. He tried and tried and tried, but never did he enter that state of bloodlust. He had all but given up when he noticed something. A small crack had formed where the spike penetrated the ground. “Ha! I might not have pulled it out, but I loosened it a bit. That's more than what any other pony has done.”
“What are you talking about? No one has ever...” She turned and looked. She momentarily had a look of both joy and surprise on her face, but it quickly disappeared as soon as it came. She coughed, “Congratulations. You passed the test. All you had to do was try to pull out the spike. It truly is nearly impossible, but you gave it a shot anyway.” Her horn glowed green and a door opened not far from where the unicorn was chained, “Go through this door to start your third and final test. Good luck to you.”
Copper turned to walk towards the door, but Spot continued to look at the unicorn. “What is your name?” She asked. “How come you're chained up here?”
The other mare was surprised by her question, “In all of the years I've been imprisoned here no one has ever asked me that. They always assumed I was here as part of there test. I... I'm really touched that you would be concerned about me.” She wiped away a small tear, “Being in here for so long can tear down your hope and dreams of freedom. Anyway, my name is Soul Glow. I was imprisoned here by the same pony who imprisoned you, but I'm more of a threat than a potential ally."
“But who put you here? We were brought here by wolves, but you say a pony put you here?”
Soul Glow nodded, “Yes, a pony did put me here. Somepony you will meet after you complete the final test. Now go my little ponies. There's something I have to do, and you have to get out of here as soon as possible.”
The two thanked Soul Glow and walked through the door. They were met by bright sunlight filtering through a large gate. “Oi! Them prisoners are here. Get up boys it's time to administer the last test.” The voice came from a pony near the gate. The ponies he was talking to were lazing about either smoking, playing cards, reading, or sleeping. They all stopped what they were doing and formed a circle around Copper Head and Spot. They were all smirking except the one that addressed them all. He wore a serious expression, and one of his eye sockets was badly scabbed over. He stepped in front of Copper Head and looked him in the eye, then did the same to Spot. After scrutinizing the two ponies, he stepped back and said, “You two beat the first two tests? I woulda though the yella' one woulda cried her eyes out at the first test. It's happened before ta' dames much tougher lookin' than her.” Spot blushed and looked away, “But dat's the past. What we got 'ere is your final test, and prolly the most painful. You two gotta fight mah boys, and if you can beat 'em, we'll open these gates and let you go free. Sound good?”
Copper Head and Spot nodded. There was no turning back for them now.
The leader of the gang smiled, “Good. Name's Brick by the way. What's yours?” The two hesitated, but told them their names. “Copper Head and Spot, eh? Well, I hope ya'll are ready. Get 'em boys.” The group of ponies sprang into action, quickly surrounding the two younger ponies. Two ponies jumped out from their midst and charged the younger ponies. Spot pummeled the one that came after her with a ball of water, while Copper Head met his attacker head on.
By the time Copper Head had pummeled his first adversary, Spot had taken out three more opponents with her magic. I guess she isn't as weak as I thought. She had just been messing up ever since I met her. Copper kept an eye on her as she watched her fight of her attackers while being sure to defeat those that left the perimeter to challenge him. From what he could see, Spot moved gracefully while she fought, and she never let an attack hit her. She jumped, dodged, and rolled between blows as a stream of water flowed behind her to counterattack. It's like she's a completely different person when she's fighting... kind of like what happened to me... Copper Head's focus was brought back to his fight as a hoof collided with his face. He flinched and was immediately dog piled by about four of the stallions. He struggled to get loose, but he wasn't strong enough to throw them off. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the group's boss approach Spot who had her back turned. “Spot! Behind you!” Copper yelled, but the mare was unable to turn around in time.
Brick knocked Spot on her back and stood over her, “You made quick work of my boys didn't ya? But I ain't like them. It'll take more than a lil water to beat me. Let's see how tough you are now.” He raised his hoof and struck Spot violently. She was completely unable to concentrate on her magic while Brick was constantly hitting her with a barrage of hooves. Copper Head redouble his attempt to get free, but he was still unable to escape the weight of the group of ponies. Copper glanced back at Spot and saw that her body was bruised and bleeding from the leader's assault. Then something snapped inside of Copper.
He could feel a burning hatred start to flow through his veins. He could see blood stain the floor, and that small sliver of red grew to fill his vision. “Get off!” He launched the stallions that were holding him down into the air with impressive force. Without missing a beat, Copper Head launched himself at Brick, who was too busy picking on Spot to notice the true threat behind him. Copper Head snarled, “Leave her alone!”
Brick laughed, “Or what? You can't...Gah!” The leader felt a sharp pain in his shoulder and quickly turn to see the red stallion biting into his flesh. “What's into you! Are those... fangs?” Copper had indeed grown fangs which were tearing into Brick's muscle.
Copper Head pulled away, taking a chunk of flesh with him. Brick howled with pain and fell to the floor. Copper Head spit out the meat and licked his lips, “I haven't had pony blood before. It's a bit different from wolves blood. Very minerally compared to the sweetness of a carnivore. You wouldn't understand though. Still being a herbivore and all.”
“What? What are you talking about?” Brick tried to get up, but he had lost too much blood and muscle to be able to stand on all four legs, “All ponies are herbivores.”
Copper Head smiled, showing his large fangs, “Do these look like the teeth of a plant-eater to you? No. These are the teeth of a predator. I gave up being prey not too long ago.” Copper Head meandered over to the wounded stallion and kicked him onto his side, “You're still prey though. And you know what happens when a predator captures his prey?”
Brick's face was a mixture of pain, confusion, and fear. He tried his best to get up and crawl away, but Copper Head just knocked him down again. “Look, you win alright! I'll open the gate for ya'! Please stop!”
Copper snickered, “Stop? You didn't give Spot that option, did you? Let's see what Spot has to say.” He turned and addressed Spot, who was laying on the ground not far away with an expression of terror.
“Please stop. You've hurt him enough.” Spot's voice was soft, but Copper Head could hear her loud and clear.
“Stop? This guy was hurting you just a second ago, and you want me to stop?”
Spot nodded, “You've hurt him more than he hurt me, and he said he would open the gate for us. Isn't that what we want?”
Copper Head stomped on the ground, “No! I want blood! I want the cries of my enemies!”
“Copper Head!” This time Spot yelled, “You're not being yourself! Snap out of it!”
Copper Head looked into her eyes. He could feel the hatred leave his veins. His heart started beating slower and he could feel his fangs return to normal pony teeth. It seemed like Spot was able to turn him back to his old self, “Alright, Spot. We'll do it your way.” He swirled around to look for Brick. He was about a foot away, scrabbling towards the gate which mysteriously had opened itself.
Standing in the light of the gateway was a tall mare covered in armor. She had a blue coat, white and gold mane, and a cutie mark of a lightning bolt running through a halo. Her eyes scanned the scene, but her face remained emotionless. She held a red crystal tied around her neck up to her mouth and spoke into it, “Splints? Send a few people to clean up at the gate. Seems like our visitors were going for extra credit on their test.”
After a few seconds the crystal changed from red to blue and a voice came out of it, “Really? Brick never let's himself get beaten badly enough to need medical assistance. Usually it's the other way around. Anyway, sending a team out their right now.”
“Roger that.” The crystal turned red again and the mare started making her way to Copper Head and Spot. Her pace was slow, but she made long strides so her progress was unbelievably quick. She looked at the injuried ponies as she walked past them, but never stopped to help or ask how they were doing. When the mare reached Copper Head and Spot, she stared at them blankly, “Come with me. Krafty is waiting.” The mare turned and walked towards the exit without making sure the two young ponies were following her. They obliged and followed a step behind her.
“So what were all these tests for?” Copper Head asked the mare. “I find it strange to kidnap people, put them in prison, and then test them.”
The mare giggled, “Oh, that's just Krafty's way of testing you. 'Test your friends and your enemies' he says. They all tested something different about you. The spiders tested your mind. None of them were harmful, but it played off of arachnophobia. The spike tested your spirit. No pony could ever pull it out of the ground. The group of guards tested your bodily strength. It's all a test to see if you're worthy.”
“Worthy of what?”
“You'll see.” As they exited the cave, they were met by blinding sunlight. Copper Head and Spot shielded their eyes from the sun and once their eyes adjusted, they were met with a breathtaking sight. In front of them was a mountain peak, the highest part covered with glistening snow and a majestic castle. Green banners hung from the walls and green flags flew from the highest turrets. They could see ponies like ants coming in and out of the open gate of the castle. A paved road led from the castle down the mountain and branched off into other caves and other parts of the mountain. There were some houses carved into the side of the mountain, but most of the houses were built on a single large cloud that circumvented the peak. The cloud itself was spotted with tiny floating islands that was home to about the only plant life that could be seen at first glance. These islands held the most activity, there were ponies playing, walking around, and just carrying on.
“What is that large cloud for?” Spot was staring wide-eyed at this new environment, clearly forgetting the danger she was in earlier, “Can only pegasi walk on it, or does it have magical properties?”
The mare shook her head, “No it is a normal cloud. It has been there since as far back as anyone can remember, and you'll find that almost everypony here has wings.”
“What about you? You don't have wings.”
The mare smiled, “Sure we do. You haven't noticed them yet?”
Spot looked confused. She doesn't have wings. She thought to herself, If they aren't on her back then where... After looking over the mare, Spot found her answer. On the mare's back legs were wings. They looked like they were put there through some weird experiment, but there they were. “Who are you? What are you?”
“The name is Angel Storm.” She smiled at Spot's confusion, “I am a cloudwalker and this,” She sweeped her hoof over the entire mountain range, “This is Cloudwalker Kingdom.”
An elderly cloudwalker stepped onto a platform set in the middle of a grassy area. Behind her was a large building adorned with rows upon rows of windows. The brown stone resembled the mountainside, and it was built in a gothic style. All along its facade were banners with the message “Welcome students!” and clumps of clouds where very important looking cloudwalkers sat. Facing the platform was a large crowd filled with young mares and stallions of varying shapes, sizes, and colors.
The mare on the platform cleared her throat before addressing the large crowd, “Welcome all 1st year students! We are so happy to have you here!” She gazed into the crowd, looking from one pony's face to the next. “You all have been given the privilege of attending the prestigous Mountainside Academy, founded by our own King Krafty. Now before we being, there are a few things we need to go over first.” The mare put on a pair of glasses in order to read the paper that was set on the podium by an assistant cloudwalker. As she listed off various rules and regulations, the entire crowd listened attentively... all of them except for one particular pony.
“Ugh, this is so boring...” Copper Head whispered to Spot, “How did we ever get into this situation anyway? Can't we just ditch this and find our own way home?”
Spot sighed, “We already had a deal with Krafty remember? Don't you know what he'll do if we skip out on the contract?”
Copper Head nodded, “Yeah. I remember.”
Copper Head thought back to when they met the cloudwalker's king, Krafty. It was shortly after they exited the prison and met Angel Storm.
Copper Head and Spot followed Angel Storm up the winding trails that led to the castle on top of the mountain. Along the way, a few of the cloudwalkers stared at them. Some laughed, and others looked disgusted. One very mischievous stallion yelled, “Go home, dirtwalkers!”, followed by a few snickers from his friends.
Angel Storm reassured the two 'dirtwalkers', “Don't worry about them, Copper Head and Spot. If Krafty has his way with you two, you won't have to walk amongst these commonfolk for very long.”
“Who is Krafty?” Spot questioned, “We've heard his name often enough, but we still don't know who he is.”
“Krafty is our king. After the disappearance of his brother Kindle, he had to assume the role of leader. Krafty is very popular with most of the citizenry, but there are some that still hold on to the past. Look here.” She walked to a nearby wall. As she approached, a group of Cloudwalkers scattered to give her room. Spot noted that she must be very important for these ponies to treat her with such respect... and fear. Angel Storm pointed to a poster hanging on the wall.
It read, “Stop playing games! The fire still burns!” These words were set on a background of blue fire with a snowflake in the middle.
Angel Storm tore it down, crumpled it up, and stamped it into the ground. She sighed and started to explain, “One day, there was an uprising of cave geists that threatened the safety of Cloudwalker Kingdom. Kindle and a group of his best warriors and closest supporters went to quell this insurrection, but none of them ever made it back. Some say that Krafty planned it all; that he wanted the throne for himself... It's rumors like these that tear down society. Come, we are almost to the castle.” She left the spot in a hurry, almost knocking over some ponies that remained from the previous crowd.
As they turned to leave, Copper Head noticed a hooded pony put up another poster in the destroyed one's place. He noticed Copper Head watching him and put up a hoof in silence. Copper Head narrowed his eyes and ran to catch up with the mares.
As they neared the castle, Copper Head asked, “So what exactly are cloudwalkers? Is it just that you have wings on your hind legs? Wouldn't that make you some sort of pegasus or something?”
Angel Storm giggled, “It's not as simple as that. We may have wings,but there are some things that we cannot do. For example, we cannot hover in the air. Our wings don't actually flap, so in order to fly we have to continually run. We can, however, walk on clouds just like pegasi. Hence the name, cloudwalker.” She pointed to a group of cloudwalkers resting on a cloud to illustrate her point. “But there is something different about us that isn't very apparent. Explaining the entire thing will take a lot of time, but I can give you the condensed version. Most cloudwalkers you will meet are your ordinary cloudwalker, but a select few of us are born with a special magical ability. These ponies are set in higher esteem than the rest, but to tell the truth; our magic is hereditary. If a parent had magic, then the child will most likely also have magic. A cloudwalker can possess magic from one of three distinct schools. The first is harmonic magic, believed to have been given to us by The Golem, Harmony.”
“The Golem, Harmony?” Spot interjected, “What is that? Does it have something to do with the Elements of Harmony of Equestria?”
“I am glad you are so full of questions, Spot, but that story will have to wait for another time.” She quickly dismissed Spot's question and resumed her previous explanation, “Cloudwalkers with harmonic magic usually control such forces as nature, light, and healing. Next is discordant magic, believed to be given from the draconequus, Discord. I'm sure Copper Head knows who Discord is.”
Copper nodded and thought back, “I saw the chaos he put Ponyville through when he came back. Pinkie Pie, the element of laughter, is my cousin. She told me all about it, but she always regrets not keeping the cotton candy clouds that rain chocolate milk.”
“Oh, very interesting.” I'll have to let Krafty know about his relationship. “But that really is what discordant magic is about. Strange magic that does even stranger things. Chocolate milk rain, sand storms made of salt, turning things different colors, or forcing ponies to speak backwards. Lastly, we have chaotic magic. Given to us by Doom, who is said to be the largest and most powerful dragon, chaotic magic is the most destructive, usually having to do with fire and darkness.”
Copper Head gulped, Doom? Does she mean that dragon High Noon told me about in my dream? I've never heard anypony other than High Noon talk about Doom, so why would she?
“So what kind of magic do you have?” Spot questioned, “Judging by your cutie mark, a halo and a lightning bolt, I would guess harmonic magic.”
Angel Storm glanced at her cutie mark before answering, “You would think that, judging from my cutie mark, but my magic is more of a mixture between harmonic and chaotic. Sometimes a cloudwalker's magic is hard to judge.”
“I see.” Spot looked at her cutie mark again, “It's a really nice cutie mark, I like it.”
“Thank you Spot. I like your cutie mark as well. A pink flower... you must like plants?”
Spot shook her head, “Not exactly, my cutie mark...” Spot glanced at her cutie mark. “I got it when I discovered my affinity for water magic, by saving a forest from burning. It was the first time I ever used magic, and my family thought it was incredible. I saw a pink flower amidst the ashes, and it made me so happy to have saved it's life. The flower on my cutie mark is the exact same flower that I saved that day.”
Angel Storm smiled, “That's a very nice story, Spot.” She then turned to Copper Head, “What's the story about your cutie mark, Copper Head? It's very interesting.”
Copper Head was caught of guard by the question as he was thinking deeply and didn't hear their conversation, “Oh, well.” He chose his words carefully. She knew about Doom, so she might know about the wolf too. “I got in a fight one day. That's when it appeared.”
“But what about the wol...” Copper Head quickly covered Spot's mouth.
She mumbled in protest, but Copper talked over her, “Oh yes, the wool. Nasty business that was. Could you believe that my opponent actually attacked me with a wool sweater? Tried to suffocate me. Probably the scariest sweater I've ever seen.”
Angel Storm looked surprised, “A sweater? As a weapon? I'll have to tell Krafty. Get the researchers looking into it.” She turned to talk into the crystal and Copper Head took Spot aside.
“Hey, don't talk too much about those wolves.” He whispered into her ear, careful to make sure Angel Storm didn't hear. “Try not to tell her everything about us. We still don't know why this Krafty guy wants us here, and Angel Storm obviously works for him.”
Spot glanced at Angel Storm who was still talking into the communication crystal and whispered, “Alright, but she seems so nice. I don't think she would hurt us.”
“Maybe so, but we can't take any chances. She reports to Krafty, and we don't know what he is like. He might hurt us.”
Spot nodded in understanding, and not soon after Angel Storm was done with her converstation. She beckoned the two ponies to follow and they resumed their journey up the winding trail of the mountain.
It wasn't long until they reached the gates of Krafty's castle. Copper Head and Spot stared in amazement. The castle was made from a brown stone that matched the color of its surroundings, and the peak of the mountain was actually a tall tower made from a sparkling white material that mimicked snow. The closer they got the more everything changed. The air got colder, the wind harsher, and the crowds sparcer. If there were groups of ponies, they were either moving towards or away from the castle, never standing in one place lest the gale freeze them. Angel Storm seemed unaffected by the cold, but her stride did become noticably faster.
“Commander Angel Storm!” two guards saluted the blue mare as she approached the gate, “There was a group of Frozen Ash protestors here today. We assumed the normal protocol of evicting them from the premises, but they fought back. We have one badly injured guard being treated right now. The protestors also stole seven wooden posts, destroyed two potted plants, and one was able to get past the gate, but fell into the moat.” After giving their report, the two stallions stared emotionlessly ahead waiting for Angel Storm's response.
“At ease, soldiers. We will have to replace the plants, but the posts were just left over from Nightmare Night. Tell me, how many protestors were there?”
“About seventy.”
Angel Storm sighed, “That's more than last time. If any more show up, make sure to report it in. Now, open the gates.”
“Yes, sir!” The guards pulled a lever that opened a small wooden gate that led into an outer courtyard. There was a large lawn lined with flowers, trees, and other well-kept foliage that somehow survived the cold. There were plenty of guards hanging around a large building set in the corners that must have been the barracks, but there were a few important-looking ponies in various locations talking to one another. The group kept walking until the reached a moat that circled the castle itself. A drawbridge was lowered and hit the soft earth with a great thump. After they all crossed, the drawbridge slowly made its ascent up to its original position.
Once inside, they entered a small room with torches, seats, pictures of past kings and queens, and small potted plants. Directly opposite the entrance was another set of doors that Angel Storm stopped at. She turned to them saying, “Beyond these doors is the throne room. You better be on your best behavior, alright? King Krafty is very... laidback, but I would feel better if you didn't cause any trouble.”
“Alright,” said Spot.
“As long as he lets us go home,” Copper Head replied.
“Good.” Angel Storm turned and pushed open the doors.
What awaited Spot and Copper Head took them by surprise. Beyond the doors was a throne room with a high ceiling. Several columns lined the room and each had a torch with a flame of multiple colors. There was a carpet which depicted various mythical creatures leading from the door to the throne. All along this carpet were what looked like piles of junk, but as the group got closer to these piles, they could see that they were all children's games and toys amongst gruesome looking traps. One pile would hold a checker board and a stuffed animal, but a bear trap sitting right next to it. One pile was made completely of chess pieces of various colors and materials. In between these piles were tables, each with a group of ponies sitting at them. The ponies would look up as they walked by, but quickly resumed their previous activities. After passing by a pile compiled of plastic teacups and rubber ducks, Angel Storm was stopped by a stallion sitting at one of the tables.
“Angel~ Where are you headed to in such a hurry? I got something I need to show you.” The stallion slicked back his black mane and made his way over to Angel Storm.
Angel Storm rolled her eyes, “What do you want F1?”
The red stallion feigned injury, “Now why did you have to say it like that? Have you forgotten all those nights together in Shadowclad Forest when we were kids?”
Angel Storm blushed, “Quiet! Not in front of everypony.” Her blush faded and she regained her composure, “Now, why did you stop me?”
“You're no fun, Angel Storm.” The stallioned Angel Storm called F1 retrieved a letter from the table he was sitting at and gave it over to the mare. “It's nothing really... just thought you would like to know...”
Angel Storm read through it with an annoyed look on her face, “So, your daughter has been accepted into Mountainside Academy, too. Congratulations.”
F1 beamed with pride, “Of course she was accepted! Grand Prix is a chip off the old block. A real renaissance mare. The fastest pony in THE. ENTIRE. WORLD! Why she could even... wait. What do you mean by 'too'?”
“My son, Shadowstorm, was recently accepted as well. It looks like our children will be fellow classmates.”
F1 looked shocked, “What? They let HIM in? That mischievous little slacker was accepted into the prestigous Mountainside? I... There must have been a mistake. You did something to convince Krafty didn't you! I know it's not below you; I remember who you used to be!”
Angel Storm kicked F1 in the face with her front hoof. She looked furious, “Enough!” She turned and walked off in a hurry, “Come you two. We best not keep the king waiting, and I would not want the maids to have to clean the blood of a certain red cloudwalker off of the floor.”
Copper Head and Spot followed her, but both of them looked over there shoulders at F1. He looked a bit sad, but it was only for a second. He kicked one of the fallen teacups in frustration and return to his seat.
They returned to the red carpet that led to the throne. Suddenly, all along the carpet were small figurines carved into different shapes. Some were even recognizable to Copper Head. Star Swirl, Discord, an Ursa Major, and even a dragon. At the end of the carpet was a raised platform, with two chairs set on opposite side of a large chess table. Sitting at the table were two cloudwalkers. One, a middle-aged light brown stallion with a dark brown mane, was wearing a crown and a green cape. The obvious marks of a king. His cutie mark was two chess pieces, one white and one black. He was holding a figurine that looked a lot like... Princess Celestia...
Copper Head gulped. Why would he have a statue made to look like the Princess? It... must just be a coincidence... Copper Head watched as the pony opposite the king took out another figurine. One that looked just like Princess Luna. Ok, definitely not a coincidence.
The pony with the Luna figure set it on the table in front of Krafty and said, “My king. I apologize for the delay in creating the Luna figure. We had originally started on one for Nightmare Moon, but after her defeat, we had to start completely from scratch.”
The pony who was obviously King Krafty smiled, “I absolutely love them Dugan. You always outdo yourself. I'm going to grant you that extension onto your shop that you've been asking for.”
Dugan's face brightened, “You mean it? But, what happened to the Locust family?”
Krafty shook his head, “Just last week, Desert Locust died in the field. He was captured by authorities in Saddle Arabia, and died trying to excape custody. Another field agent in his team brought back his body. I felt so bad for the family that I moved them to the Aurora Fissure.”
“The Aurora Fissure! Now those are some lucky ponies. You are too generous my liege.”
Krafty brushed off this compliment, “I only do what any good king would do. My brother would have done the same.”
Dugan's face shadowed over at the comment, “I do miss your brother. Kindle was a great king while he was alive.”
Krafty nodded in agreement, “That he was, but there's nothing we can do about it now. Tell me, how is the next assignment coming along?”
“We have some sketches. Here let me get them.” Dugan ruffled around in his bag and produced a sheet of paper. He unrolled it, gave it a look over, then gave it to King Krafty.
As Krafty looked over them, Copper Head peered over Angel Storm's shoulder to get a look at the paper. He shuddered at what he saw. There were pictures of six ponies, and he knew exactly which ones they were. The first he noticed was his cousin Pinkie Pie, and right next to her was Twilight Sparkle. What is this? Copper Head thought, Why is he ordering figures of Pinkie Pie? And Twilight? There's those other ones too that Pinkie Pie told me about. Rainbow Flash? Applestack? There names didn't matter. What mattered was that they were in trouble. He could feel it.
Krafty rolled the drawings up and handed them back to Dugan with a smile on his face, “They look perfect. Thank you so much for handling my little projects, and I've already sent the money to your shop.”
Dugan spoke while putting the paper back into his bag, “We always love your orders, King Krafty. But I must ask, what is your interest in these ordinary looking ponies?”
Krafty smirked, “Research Dugan. Princess Celestia has foolishly given the Elements of Harmony to these young ponies. She was better off keeping them for herself, but now I only need to take out one of these six ponies to completely disrupt one of the strongest weapons that could be used against me.”
Dugan coughed, “Sir, we have guests. I suggest you speak about this later.”
Krafty raised an eyebrow and turned his head, “Ah! Guests!” He leaped from his chair and shook Spot's hoof, “Spot I assume? Your use of water magic is impressive and graceful. Reminds me of our very own, Ocean Strider. Yet, you have more style. More... beauty.” Spot stood there confused as Krafty moved on to shake Copper Head's hand, “And you! Copper Head! Very strong name. I'm sure you were named after a snake on purpose, yes? And you have such ferocity to match your name. Though it seems like your inner fighter only shows itself after some... motivation.”
“Wait...” Spot was still recovering from her confusion, “How do you know our names? And were you watching us as we took those tests? What's going on?”
Krafty raised his eyebrow again, “My my my. So many questions. I feel as though I can answer them all, though. To answer your first question, I know your names because Hati and Skoll told me. I'm sure you've met before.” Krafty put a hoof up to his mouth and whistled one sharp note. Only a moment later, a vortex of pure black and white light appeared off to the side near the wall. One inky black paw emerged, then another. What came next made Copper Head's blood boil. It was the black wolf that he fought back in Ponyville.
The wolf bowed and said, “Hati at your service, King Krafty.” Hati peeked upwards from his prostrate position and laughed, “Haha! Lunch is here!” The wolf disappeard in a puff of smoke and reappeared at Copper Head's side, “You look just as appetizing as I remember you.” Hati started drooling and licked his lips, “I'm sure one of Krafty's chefs wouldn't mind making me some pony kebabs, or maybe a pony steak. It doesn't matter really.”
“Hati!” King Krafty yelled at the wolf who jerked when he heard his name called, “These are our guests. I would like you to treat them with respect.” The wolf muttered something under his breath and went to stand next to Krafty who looked at him condescendingly and asked, “Now where is your brother.”
“I'm right here, sire.” The voice came from a white wolf who had suddenly appeared at Krafty's side. He bowed to the king and said, “Skoll at your service, King Krafty.” He sat elegantly next to Krafty and spoke with unblinking eyes, “It is nice to see you, Miss Spot. I hope my dishonesty did not harm you in any way. I only did what had to be done.”
Spot remained silent. It was obvious that she was angry, but did her best to hide it. She nodded, hoping that it would suffice as an acceptable answer. The air between the ponies and wolves was foul, but the king either didn't notice it or simply ignored it.
Krafty put a hoof to his chin as if in thought, “Now as for your next question. Hmm. Ah yes, I was indeed watching you as you took your tests. I find it very entertaining and necessary. Should anything befall a young pony, I need to know in order to get them the help they need. Nopony is going to die on my watch. And as for the reason why you're here, it's in the hopes that you'll join me.”
“Join you for what?” The inquisitive Spot forgot the presence of Skoll and broke her silence, “What could you possibly need both of us for when you have an entire kingdom that's loyal to you?”
“Now THAT is a good question!” Krafty walked back the table and sat down with the two wolves on either side, “You see, there's a thing about us cloudwalkers. We don't exactly fit in with ponies of other cultures. Wings on our legs and all. Sure, you can hide them with boots, but keep them tied down for too long and you'll eventually get wing rot. Not fun at all. That's why I have need of pegasi, unicorns, and Earth ponies to help me conduct... business, in other lands. Which actually brings me to the reason I brought you here.”
He turned to Skoll and whispered something in his ear. The wolf nodded and disappeared in a flash of light. No sooner was he gone that he reappeared with two pieces of paper held gently in his mouth. Krafty took the pieces of paper and laid them on the table. He beckoned for the two ponies to get closer, and they obliged. “Here is a contract that I give to non-cloudwalkers. All I ask is that you attend Mountainside Academy. If you pass with good marks, I will return you to your homes. If you do not agree to the simple terms of the contract or if you fail any classes during your time at Mountainside, I will leave you at the foot of the mountain where you are free to find your own way home; but trust me, it's a very long flight and an even longer walk.” He pushed the contracts towards them and took out an ink pad. “Just put your right hoof in the ink and press it on the paper if you agree.”
Spot looked at Copper Head, “What do we do? It doesn't seem like we have much of a choice.”
Copper Head sighed, “You're right, Spot. If we don't agree, who knows what will happen. We can't fight against an entire kingdom, and even if we did, we wouldn't know how to get home.”
“I guess we agree then?” Spot stared into Copper Head's eyes. She looked scared, worried, and lost all at the same time.
Copper gave her a reassuring smile, “Don't worry we'll get throught this, together.”
Spot smiled, and they both signed the contract.
Krafty rolled up the parchment and smiled with them, “Good! I'm glad to see that you agreed. It might not be so bad! Who knows what will await you at Mountainside Academy!”
Copper Head could hardly believe the situation that he and Spot were in. Somehow, they had both been captured by giant talking wolves, imprisoned, given three strange tests, and practically forced to attend a military school in a far away country filled with a breed of ponies that no one has heard of. He furrowed his brow. Everything seemed to have happened so fast, as if he was just in a dream. Yet here he was. In the middle of a crowd of cloudwalkers, waiting for the speaker to finish whatever she was doing.
“Copper Head? You should pay attention, she's calling out names now.” The voice was Spot, Copper Head's newest companion and the only pony he could relate to in this foreign environment. She was listening intently to the mare on the platform and noticed Copper spacing out, “She's starting to name ponies and the teacher's they've been assigned to.”
“You mean we aren't all in the same class?” Copper Head inquired, “I guess I really did miss a lot.”
“Not much really. Four ponies will be assigned a teacher who will give them all of their quizzes, tests, assignments, etc. The speaker made a very big deal about how all of these teachers graduated from this academy as the best in their class, and that our time here will be easy or difficult depending on which teacher we are assigned.”
“Oh.” Copper Head thought for a second, “But what if you and me aren't given the same teacher?” A moment passed and Copper Head glanced at Spot after she didn't respond. She looked sad and suddenly pressed herself against Copper Head's side. Copper Head felt bad for her, I would probably be alright on my own, but Spot... Who knows what could possibly happen to her. She's so fragile. For her sake, I hope we're with the same teacher.
Soon, the assigning process began. The mare on the platform shuffled through her notes until she found the one she was looking for, “Our first teacher is Miss Dover Dust.” A white cloudwalker who had been sitting near the stage quickly hopped out of her seat and jumped on stage. Her green mane was cut short, but the erratic gusts of wind still blew the longer strands of hair into her face. “Assigned to Miss Dust is Apple Spritzer, Alumina, Off Topic, and Solid Smoke. Will you please come to the stage at this time.” A colorful group of four ponies made their way out of the crowd and onto the stage. They greeted their teacher and quickly exited the platform.
What came next seemed like a blurr of names and bodies. One by one, students were paired with their teacher; and little by little, the crowd of ponies grew smaller. There were only a handful of ponies left, yet neither Copper Head nor Spot were called yet. However, they still weren't in the clear. Three teachers were left. Three chances for them to be separated. “Our next teacher is,” the announcer paused for a moment as she read the name in her head. In the most serious tone she had every produced, the mare read the name aloud, “Kloud Nine.”
The remaining ponies in the crowd starting murmuring. Spot could barely make out one of them saying, “Didn't his last group of students fail miserably? I heard he's probably the hardest teacher in the entire academy.”
The pony next to him responded, “Yeah, I heard that too. It's probably because he's King Krafty's younger brother.”
“And the student's under his tutelage are Copper Head,” immediately Copper Head's heart dropped. He looked at Spot who was staring back at him with large pleading eyes. He had no choice, but to walk up to the stage. As he made his way across the lawn, the mare started calling more names, “Grand Prix.” Copper Head remembered that name; the daughter of the stallion they met in King Krafty's castle? “Shadow Storm.” Another familiar name, the son of Angel Storm. Copper Head started to think that he put all of them together on purpose. “Spot.”
Copper Head's ears perked up and he looked back to see the yellow unicorn bounding across the grass to him. They looked into each others eyes, but exchanged no words. They shared a smile and returned to walking up to the platform. The two made their way to the stairs and slowly started climbing them. They were cheap wooden ones that weren't meant for frequent use and as soon as Copper Head put his full weight onto the wooden planks, they groaned under his weight. I guess cloudwalkers don't weigh as much as normal ponies... that or I suddenly got fatter... He frowned and hoped that the latter was false.
When Copper Head and Spot emerged onto the stage, they were met with two unfamiliar faces. One was a mare with a white coat and a red mane. She had a golden trophy in front of two checkered flags as a cutie mark and a checkered scarf; marking her as Grand Prix, the daughter of F1. She looked rather annoyed and avoided eye contact with either Spot or Copper Head. The other was a stallion with a dark blue coat and a black mane with a gold stipe. By default, he would have to be Shadow Storm, the son of Angel Storm. He eyed the two non-Cloudwalkers with great interest, but with very little subtlety.
There was a harsh grunt that caused all four ponies to jump. Looming next to them was a disgruntled stallion. His face was covered in scars and there was a cigarette hanging from his mouth. He held a striking resemblence to King Krafty, except for the splotches of black in his coat on his back and nose. “Figures I would get the two foreigners and Krafty's pets. I guess he'll baby me till the day I die.” He spat out the cigarette which fell through the cracks of the stage. Copper Head wondered if that would start a fire, but apparently the teacher didn't care as he brushed past them. “Well, let's get going. You have a long and painful day ahead of you. Might as well get a head start, eh?” He laughed as he made his way down the steps.
Grand Prix rolled her eyes and passed Copper Head and Spot without a word. “Don't worry about her.” Spot and Copper could feel hooves around their shoulders. It was Shadowstorm, “She's always like that, stuck up and arrogant and all that. But she'll come around. Name's Shadowstorm by the way. What's yours?” They both gave him their name, “Really? Sound's kinda odd to me. Anyway, we should catch up with the teacher. It's always best to make a good first impression.” He hopped down the stairs with Copper Head and Spot following close behind.
The entrance to the school was not far from the back of the stage. There was a small patch of grass and a cobblestone path leading to a small bridge. A small pony-made river ran under the bridge that hosted a variety of wildlife as indicated by the numerous quacks, croaks, and buzzes. Kloud Nine was waiting by the door with Grand Prix. Neither of them looked at each other. As Copper Head, Spot, and Shadowstorm approached, Kloud Nine spoke, “As soon as we head inside we are going to head up the stairs to my office, which is on the ninth floor. Don't stop at the other floors. I don't want any of you getting a head start.
Kloud Nine swung opened the door to the academy and a blast of warm air swept over the ponies. The warmth was a great change to the cold atmosphere outside, so all the ponies hurried through the large wooden doors. Inside, there was a broad staircase in the middle of a small room and corridors leading off to the left and right. Kloud Nine led the group up the stairs and past several floors. At each one of the floors there was a set of large doors with small windows set in the middle of each. Most of the ponies didn't bother peering through the glass, but Spot couldn't resist. From what Spot could see, the rooms beyond the double doors were vastly different from the previous floors. Beyond one door was a tropical jungle, behind another was a desert wasteland, and behind yet another was a snow covered city. What's with all these different floors? Spot contemplated, This place is nothing like the schools in Neighjing. No classrooms, no school ponies wandering the halls, no library; not even a bonsai garden! I wonder if the others noticed. She tried to read the other ponies' faces, but it seemed like they were oblivious to what was behind the many doors they passed. She couldn't investigate alone, and asking the teacher might only make him mad. For now, Spot decided to put these thoughts away for later.
As they reached the ninth floor, there was another door, but this one was actually painted into the wall. Kloud Nine stopped and looked deeply into the wall before muttering, “Every dog has its day.” The painting suddenly swirled and changed colors. It went from a small green door to a wide red door which was rounded at the top. The teacher opened it and stepped through while the ponies sat staring at it in wonder.
“What was all that about?” Shadowstorm walked up to the door and stuck his hoof through the opening. “It was just a painting a second ago.”
Grand Prix pushed him out of the way, “Ugh. It's called magic, stupid. Krafty has this kind of stuff all over the kingdom. You can be such an idiot sometimes.”
Spot interjected for Shadowstorm, “Hey, there's no reason to be so mean. We're a team now. We should learn to get along.”
Grand Prix rolled her eyes, “Psh. There's no reason to. As long as we get good enough grades, I don't care what happens to you three. I'm here to be the best, and I don't need you all holding me back.” Grand Prix went through the door, before anypony else could say a word.
Copper Head huffed, “Well that was rude. I have a bad feeling about her, guys.”
Spot grinned, “We'll just have to show her the magic of friendship. If we just keep being friendly, she'll start being friendly back. Trust me, I used to be a teacher.” She turned with a flourish and entered the room. Copper Head and Shadowstorm exchanged a look before heading into the room after her.
The room beyond the portal looked a lot like an office. It was small and a dark mahogany desk filled most of the space. Three chairs sat opposite the desk and bookshelves stood at its sides. The wall behind the desk was mostly comprised of a large window. The view overlooked the side of the mountain and a floating island like the ones Copper Head and Spot had seen earlier hovered in the distance. Ponies could be seen flitting to and fro between islands like small birds flying from tree to tree.
Kloud Nine was at the desk with an already lit cigarette in his mouth. The desk itself was littered with papers of various shapes, sizes, and colors. The stallion took his hoof and pushed all of the papers off the desk. Before they could hit the ground, the papers twirled around and magically placed themselves in a neat piles on the corner of the desk. He then opened one of the drawers and procured four small blue books. He tossed them at his students, all of whom managed to catch them except Shadowstorm who was struck in the face with the book.
Copper Head set the book down and flipped through the pages. There was a bunch of words, but also some drawings and pictures. The best kind of book. He finished flipping through the pages and asked, “So what are these for?”
Kloud Nine set the cigarette in an ashtray and replied, “Student Handbook. You'll need them for your first assignment, but before that, you'll need to know the password in order to get back into my office. It's 'Every dog has its day.' Make sure you remember it!”
Grand Prix raised an inquisitvie eyebrow, “Every dog has its day? What's that even supposed to mean? Wait...” Grand Prix smirked, “It has to do with your name doesn't it? Kloud Nine. If you shorten that down you get K9.”
Kloud Nine frowned, “Dang kids get more smart mouthed every year.” He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. “Yeah, that's the reason. Ever since we were kids, Krafty always called me K9. He always thought I looked like a dog and that's why the password is dog related. Heck, even my magic is dog related, but enough of that!” K9 quickly leaned forward and surprised the four ponies, “I best be telling you your assignment.” K9 took out another copy of the Student Handbook and opened it, “Turn to page 22. You should see a page with a list on it.”
The four ponies opened their books to page 22 where they found a list titled, “Actions That Warrant Detention.” Spot examined it closely while commenting, “I'll be sure to memorize all of these rules within the hour. I haven't had detention in my entire life, and I don't intend to start now.”
K9 chuckled, “Well that's too bad. Because your first assignment it to get detention.”
“WHAT?” Spot yelled, “NO! I can't tarnish my record! I take pride in my academic conduct, and you want me to TRY to get detention?”
K9 nodded, “Yeah, that's pretty much what I want you to do.”
Spot muttered, “You monster...”
“Anyway... I'm splitting you up as well. Copper Head, you're with Shadowstorm. Grand Prix, you're with Spot. I'm not letting a guy and a girl go together for this assignment. I've made that mistake once and I'm not writing that much paperwork again...”
Copper Head was about to complain about the pairings when suddenly a hole in the ceiling sucked up Shadowstorm, Grand Prix, and Spot. Copper Head could feel the suction pulling him up, but he was firmly planted to the ground. K9 raised an eyebrow, “Still here? I should get those portals looked at, but that's why they made floor versions.” K9 pressed a switch which caused a hole to open up under Copper Head, who fell through and disappeared into the inky blackness.
Copper Head and Shadowstorm landed in a patch of tall dry grass near each other. The two looked around at their surroundings from the safety of the foliage. They could see a long flat piece of land with few vegetation except tall patches of grass and some trees. The sky was blue and cloudless and the sun beat down on them with an unrelenting wave of heat. There was little movement except for the grass swaying in stray gusts of wind. Shadowstorm turned to Copper Head and whispered, “Where do you think we are? Is this... are we still in school?”
Copper Head looked around again before replying, “I'm not sure. Something seems odd about this place, but I don't know what. But it probably has something to do with our assignment.”
Shadowstorm nodded enthusiastically, “Yeah, that's what I was thinking! But still, what kind of assignment is that? Getting detention? I can do that in my sleep. Heck I don't even need this book.” Shadowstorm threw the book over his shoulder which flew up and out of sight.
“Um, you probably shouldn't have done that.” Copper Head put his handbook on the ground and opened it, “We should at least take a quick look at it.”
Shadowstorm quickly snatched up the book and threw it over his shoulder, “Ain't nobody got time for that! Trust me, I've gotten in detention enough times that it just comes natural to me. Teach' is probably writing me up right now for something I did. That's just how good I am.”
“I don't think 'good' is the right word to use...”
Shadowstorm quickly waved Copper Head off and peered out of the grass again. After a moment he turned again and said, “I see a tree not too far away. If we can make it there, we could probably climb it and find someone to help us. And by help us, I mean get us in trouble.”
Copper Head sighed, “Fine. It's not like you listen to me... anyway...” Copper Head looked up mid-sentence to find that Shadowstorm was already gone. Copper quickly chased after him. He wasn't too far off, but the cloudwalker was a lot faster than the earth pony.
When Shadowstorm made it to the tree, he faced Copper Head and started jumping up and down, as if trying to somehow encourage the earth pony to run faster. Copper eventually made it to the tree, and peered up into its branches. The tree was oddly shaped, with its branches and trunk badly twisted and gnarled. The leaves were also very large, but there were less of them compared to other trees. There were even strange furry vines that hung down and swayed back and forth.
Furry vines? Copper Head thought to himself. He suddenly realized what it was and pointed it out to his companion, “I think there's something in that tree. Do you see that vine? It looks like an animal's tail.”
“Pshaw. It's just a vine. Here, I'll show ya'.” In a feat of acrobatics, Shadowstorm made his way to the branch below the “vine”. He judged the distance, and when he was satisfied, made a leap for the plant. He grabbed it with his teeth, only to find himself falling to the ground with something on top of him. The object leaped up off of the pony and snarled. To both of the ponies' dismay, it was a cheetah.
Copper Head stood as still as possible and whispered to Shadowstorm, “Is that... a cheetah? Why did you have to grab its tail with your teeth!”
Shadowstorm laid on the ground and whispered back, “How was I supposed to know? I thought it was a furry vine.”
“Vines aren't normally furry!” Copper Head kept the cheetah in his sights as he half-whispered half-yelled at Shadowstorm. The feline was looking at both of them with a hungry look in its eyes, as if judging which pony it should eat first. “Listen, Shadowstorm. When I say go, we try to make a break for it. If we run together, we might be able to break off and confuse him.”
Shadowstorm contemplated the plan for a second before saying, “Nope. I'm out.” His shadow expanded as he slowly sank into the ground. Soon, all that was left of him was a small patch of black on the ground that skittered away perpendicular to Copper Head and the cheetah.
The cheetah narrowed its eyes on Copper Head and started walking towards him. Copper Head backed up a bit and murmured, “Well, I'm dead.” He broke out into a run away from the cheetah who immediately took off after him. It wasn't long before the wild cat was upon the pony, it unsheathed its claws and dug them deep into Copper Head's flank. Copper Head winced in pain and fell to the ground, twisting his body to face his attacker. The pony struck out with his hoof and hit the cheetah on its forehead, but it was not enough to deter the creature. It swiped again at him with his paws and left a huge gash on the pony's front. Copper Head struck again, but this time the cheetah grabbed his leg with his teeth. The wild cat pulled on his leg and probably pulled it out of its socket. The stallion closed his eyes, waiting to die, when he felt the weight of the cheetah being lifted off of him. He opened his eyes to see that the cheetah was gone, and in its place was a hooded pony. Copper Head looked around and saw the cheetah about a foot away with a spear pierced through it's side.
The pony spoke in a strange accent that Copper Head could not place, “Good think it was I who was walking by, being eaten by a cheetah is a bad way to die.” Copper Head stood up weakly and thanked the pony, but his knees buckled from the wounds that the cheetah inflicted. Copper Head couldn't even feel his leg, and it just hung there. “Injured leg? I have the cure! Best come to my house for sure!”
The mysterious pony helped Copper Head up and led him not far to a small hut that almost blended in with the surroundings. There was a cauldron outside with a foul smelling odor emanating from it. The pony noticed this and explained, “The foul smell coming from the pot, keeps predators from stalking my lot!”
Ok, this is getting weird. Why is this pony speaking in rhymes? And some pretty bad ones at that...” Copper Head felt wary of the stranger, but there was not much he could do. This pony saved his life when his so called “teammate” ran away at the first sign of danger. Inside the hut, a small opening in the roof let in sunlight that revealed a myriad of clay pots and one bed roll. The pony set Copper Head down on the bed roll and began searching through the the containers scattered throughout the tent. “Eye of newt and ostrich egg. These we need to fix your leg.”
As the pony kept rumaging through the pots, Copper Head had to ask, “Why do you talk in rhyme? Doesn't it get old?”
The pony stopped what he was doing as Copper Head asked the question. He just stood there for a few minutes before asking, “You're not here to give me a grade are you?”
“What? What grade?”
The pony turned and removed his hood. The stranger turned out to be a female zebra. She walked closer to him and stared into his eyes, as if trying to read his soul. “Well well, it looks like you are not a liar. What brings a red earth pony to floor eight without reason?”
“Wait... I'm still in school? Why are there cheetahs in school?!?”
The pony laughed, “You are a freshman! I see you still haven't been taught the mysterious function of this school. It is good to see a new pony, but it is unfortunate that you would be attacked without having been briefed on the dangers of this floor. Here, let me get rid of this eye of newt crap and get you some real medicine.” The zebra went outside and came back with a first aid kit. She gave him some kind of medicine that took away the pain, and set his leg. Copper Head heard a pop and feeling, including pain, came back to his leg.
Copper Head tested the leg by walking around which he could only do very slowly. “Thanks for helping me. Mine name is Copper Head. What's yours?”
“My name is Bonez. It's a strange name for a zebra, but I never did live in Zebrica like most of my kind.”
Copper Head sat down across from her and started examining his leg while questioning, “Zebrica? I've never heard of that, before. What's it like?”
The zebra laughed, “You know more about it than you think. This entire floor is meant to simulate the wild savannahs of Zebrica. Being half-zebra, I was assigned here to learn more about my 'ancestral homeland'.”
“Half-zebra? You don't look like anything other than a zebra to me.” Copper Head examined the zebra for any signs of a different lineage, but there were no tell-tale signs. She had taken off her cloak, and Copper Head could see why she was named Bonez. The stripes on her back and sides were set so that they looked like a back bone and ribs and the stripes on her legs looked like leg bones.
Bonez chuckled, “Well, my father is a zebra and my mother is a cloudwalker. I don't have the hind-leg wings, but I do have the cloudwalker magic. I don't mind not having wings either, they look rather awkward to me.” She examined Copper Head and asked the same question, “How about you? Just an earth pony, or do you hold some sort of mystery?”
“No, just a normal earth pony.”
Bonez nodded, “Fair enough. Now tell me. What brings you here?” Copper Head told her about his teacher, K9, and how he had assigned them to go and get detention. He then told her about how Shadowstorm had ran off at the first sign of trouble. Bonez shook her head in disappointment, “Teammates need to look out for each other. If he was here right now, I would give him a piece of my mind.”
Copper Head agreed, “Yeah, well at least you were there to save me. By the way, where is your team?”
The zebra slowly looked away from the stallion and at a photo that Copper Head had not noticed earlier. There were four ponies in the picture, one of them was Bonez. She sighed and softly spoke, “They all died. It was on our fourth trip to Zebrica. The real Zebrica. When we were attacked by a pride of lions. One of my team foolishly stopped to fight them off and was torn to pieces. The other two could not run fast enough to escape them. I almost met the same fate, except a wandering tribe of natives came to my aid. They fought off the lions, but my friends were already dead. I couldn't even bear to look at their remains. Now, without a team, I'm unsure if I'll ever be able to graduate.” The zebra smiled, “But I never give up hope. Krafty is a caring pony. He's helped out his fair share of unfortunate students before.”
Copper Head could feel his heart ache. He hadn't realized it before, but his family must think him dead as well: devoured by some wild beast. Twilight would have surely told them about what happened between them and the wolf, not knowing that he was alive and well, but far away from home. As the two sat in silence, a low rumbling started to shake the ground. Copper Head felt it first, “Hey Bonez, what's that sound? I don't think I've heard it before.”
Bonez raised an eyebrow in confusion, but after she felt it, she knew what it was. “Quickly, come with me.” She exited the tent and Copper Head followed. Once outside, everything looked normal, except for a cloud of dust not far from where the hut was. There were figures moving within the cloud, but they were hard to make out. Bonez walked a bit closer to the cloud before explaining, “It's a stampede. Something must have scared the elephants. It doesn't look like they are headed this way, but we must be prepared to run if they decided to come towards us.”
Copper Head glanced at his leg, “Yeah, I don't know how well that would go.” They watched as the stampede grew closer, but it seemed like they would be far enough away that neither of them would get hurt. But something seemed odd about the rampaging herd. The head elephant was quite large and it looked like there was something attached to its head. Upon closer inspection the thing kind of looked like... a pony. Copper Head immediately guessed who it was and facehoofed, “Shadowstorm...”
Sure enough, the reckless cloudwalker was riding atop the lead elephant and laughing his head off. As the stampede drew closer, Shadowstorm noticed Copper Head standing not far off, and did a double backflip off of the elephant. He landed perfectly and out of reach of any of the elephants. After dusting himself off, Shadowstorm trotted up to Copper Head with a huge grin on his face. “See? I told you I could get detention. All we need to do is wait for that lady to show up.”
Copper Head was beginning to get very annoyed of the cloudwalker, “Hey! Did you forget that you almost got me eaten earlier? You just ran off like it was no big deal! I could have died! Then you run back here heading up a stampede of elephants? How reckless are you?”
Shadowstorm waved him off, “Hey, you're alive aren't you? Besides, in just a little bit, I'll have solved all our detention problems.”
“What are you...” Copper Head stopped as he heard yelling and turned to look for the source. A bright blue pegasus flew up to them and started gasping for breath. She was wearing safari apparel, much like something Daring Do would wear, but with a lot more animal teeth dangling here and there.
After the pony caught her breath, she screamed at Shadowstorm, “YOU!! How dare you start a stampede on MY floor! That right there gets you a detention.” She looked at Copper Head and narrowed her eyes, “And a detention for your little friend here too. I'm sure the both of you had loads of fun planning this little charade. Now come with me, the both of you are in a LOT of trouble!”
Shadowstorm nudged Copper Head in the shoulder and whispered, “See? What did I tell ya?”
Copper Head rolled his eyes and turned to say goodbye to Bonez, but she was nowhere to be found. He looked in the direction of the hut, and could almost make out her figure. He waved in that direction just in case she was looking, and swiveled around to follow the pegasus. Well, we got detention easily enough, but I did get hurt in the process... I wonder how Spot and Grand Prix are doing? They surely can't be having too hard of a time. With Spot's smarts, she probably figured out a way to get detention without endangering anyone's life...
Grand Prix and Spot landed in something soft and cold. The two struggled to get out of it, but eventually they made their way to solid ground. After examing the landscape, the two discovered that they had fallen into a snowdrift that was piled up onto the side of a wall. Looking up, they could see the looming silhouette of buildings against a dark starry sky. “We must be in one of the other floors,” Spot commented, “I saw this same place while we were climbing up. Looks like maybe Phillydelphia to me, or some other large city.”
Grand Prix sniffed, “Yeah, it's gotta be one of those dirtwalker cities. The smell is unbearable. Let's hurry up and get detention so I can get out of here.” She walked out of the allway and into the streets which was surprisingly filled with ponies, many of them not even cloudwalkers. Spot followed Grand Prix into the streets, walking and reading the student handbook at the same time.
Spot flipped to page 22 and began reading through the list of offenses. Some of them were rather normal, no killing, stealing, or cheating. But others were incredibly weird, like “Don't feed the walruses on floor B1 cupcakes”, or “No speaking in reverse while on floor 3.” Each floor looked like it had some particular rule attached to it, but neither pony had the slightest idea as to what floor they were on. Grand Prix came to a sudden halt, which made Spot drop the book after bumping into her. The book fell between the slots of a drainage grate and out of reach. Spot peered inside the hole, but could not see the book.
Grand Prix pointed at something with her hoof, “Hey, that place looks like fun. Let's go there.” Spot looked up to see what Grand Prix was talking about. About a block away, there was a brightly lit building that was producing loud thumping music. Lights flashed through the open door and a small line of ponies were being let inside. Grand Prix hopped in line and Spot fell in behind her.
There was a large buffalo in a black suit and shades guarding the door. Whenever a pony tried to gain entrance, he would search a checklist before either letting them in, or turning them away. Only a couple of the ponies in front of Grand Prix and Spot were turned away, so it came as a surprise when the buffalo grumbled, “Not on the list. Get out of here.”
Spot turned to leave, but Grand Prix stood her ground and stamped her hoof, “Why aren't we on the list? Do you know who I am?”
The buffalo looked her over and replied, “No. Now go, before I have to force you off the premises.”
“Why you...” Grand Prix wanted to fight, but her opponent was ten times her size. She was going to give up and leave when a voice behind her startled the pony.
“The ladies are with me Shaggy. Let 'em in.” Grand Prix, Spot, and the buffalo turned to see an impeccably dressed cloudwalker stallion. He smiled at the two mares and in a suave tone said, “Won't you two lovely ladies join me? I have a VIP booth where we can get acquainted. It's also the best place to listen to the music: not too loud; not too soft. Just right.”
Grand Prix and Spot blushed. They both stuttered, “Of course...”
The stallion smiled again, nodded, and gave the bouncer a strange look before entering the building. The two mares giggled and followed him into the club. After adjusting to the low-light, they realized how full the building was. It was hard to believe that there were this many students in the academy. The dance floor was active with stallions and mares dancing to the beat that the DJ was mixing. The DJ herself was on a platform surrounded by amplifiers and in front of her was a mixing table. She wore various glow-in-the-dark bracelets along with many of the dancing ponies. In the corners of the nightclub, lovers sat at small round tables and were either drinking, talking, or kissing. No one sat at the bar, save for a few who were just ordering drinks to take back to the tables.
The stallion motioned for them to follow and he led them up a flight of black stairs that was almost impossible to see if you didn't know they were already there. They climbed up into a box-like room with a large one-way mirror. At the top of the stairs, the stallion opened the door and invited them in, “After you.” Grand Prix and Spot entered the room and the stallion closed the door behind them. The music dulled when the door was closed, but one could still make out each beat and note. The side opposite the window was occupied by a large illuminated fish tank filled with exotic aquatic animals. The rest of the room held a private bar, couches, love seats, and a table with chairs.
There were other ponies already in the room, two stallions, two mares, and a she-griffon. One stallion who was rubbing his face into the griffon's feathers was the first to look up, “Hey Crasher. Brought us some entertainment, huh?” At the mention of “entertainment”, the others immediately looked up.
The one referred to as Crasher replied in a suave tone, “Not so fast, Limelight. A few introductions are in order.” He faced Grand Prix and Spot and pointed to each pony as he called their names, “The cuddly one is Limelight. The griffon is Ozone, but we just call her Oz. The big pony in the corner is Pacha and his two lady-friends are Ecstasy and Black Out.” With a flourish he gave a small bow, “And my name is Crasher. Welcome to the VIP room of Club Phuture.”
Grand Prix stepped further into the room, “Thanks a lot Crasher. My name's Grand Prix, and the yellow one over there is Spot. Pretty nice place you got here.” She walked over to the window and looked down at the mass of dancing ponies, while Spot stood near the door talking to Crasher.
The cloudwalker named Ecstasy got up to stand next to Grand Prix and started admiring her scarf, “That's such an interesting scarf you have there. A checkered flag; are you a racer?”
Grand Prix nodded, “Yeah, I've been in my fair share of races. The Cavern Run, the Skyway Circuit, and even the annual Cloudwalker Grand Prix. I think my father named me after that very race. As for the scarf, it was given to me by my sponsor: Rainbow Factory Inc.”
Ecstasy giggled, “Very impressive, Grand Prix. Do you mind if I try on your scarf?”
“No, go ahead.” Grand Prix took off her scarf and gave it to the other Cloudwalker.
Ecstasy wrapped it around her neck and exclaimed, “Oh! This is surprisingly soft! I love it!”
“Mmhm... So, what do you guys do for fun around here?” Suddenly, Grand Prix felt something wrap around her neck.
Ecstasy pulled her close using the scarf and looked into her eyes. “Why don't I show you,” she whispered. She pulled Grand Prix even closer and kissed her. Grand Prix was repulsed as she could feel Ecstasy's tongue wrap around hers.
Grand Prix struggled and eventually released herself from Ecstasy's embrace. Something was wrong though. Grand Prix felt dizzy and it was hard for her to think straight. She stumbled over her words, but was finally able to speak a few words, “What... did you... do?”
Ecstasy smirked, “Oh my, you haven't had Cloud Dust before have you? I suppose I passed on some of its effects to you.” Ecstasy pulled Grand Prix in again, this time though, Grand Prix couldn't resist.
Grand Prix started feeling the effects of the drug called “Cloud Dust” and it made her completely compliant and spacey. She couldn't think, she couldn't remember anything, she couldn't really do anything. All she could do was sit helpless as Ecstacy had her way with her. What is happening? Grand Prix thought through her blurred mind. I don't want this. I have to fight back. I have to fight this. Grand Prix forced her brain to send orders to her limbs, but somewhere along the way, the transmission was lost. Come on, Grand Prix. You can't let her win. You can't... what's that feeling?
An icey surge ran over Grand Prix's body. She thought it was just the effects of the drug, but she notice that Ecstacy finally stopped and Grand Prix dropped to the floor. She made a splash as suddenly the floor seemed to have turned into water. She turned her head to see Spot.
Spot's face was red with anger and embarrassment. While Grand Prix was over by the window, Spot was absorbed in conversation with Crasher. It was all innocent until Crasher asked for sex as payment for getting her into the club. His asking for sex like that made her furious. In her haste to get the stallion away from her, she pushed him into the the aquarium which shatter the glass. The water level was high enough that some of the fish could swim around, but the larger fish flopped helplessly in the low water level. In the split second it took for her to push the stallion away, she was surrounded by the remaining ponies; save for Ecstasy and Grand Prix. The griffon lunged at her, but she repelled her with a blast of magic. She hopped over Blackout and bucked Limelight in the face. Crasher however, had recovered from the shock and jumped at her. She rolled out of the way and shot a burst of magic at him. He deftly avoided it and the bolt hit Pacha who was slow in getting off of the couch.
Crasher looked around at his friends and the ruined room. He sighed, “C'mon Spot. A simple 'no' would have sufficed... well not really.” He kicked at a fish that was flopping around near his hoof and sent it flying, “You see, when you step into the VIP room. You have to play by the rules. And the only rule is what I say goes. But I'm feeling generous. I won't bill you for damages if you present that nice flank to me. What do ya' say?”
Spot narrowed her eyes, “Bastard! What kind of scheme do you think you're running? This is a school! Students should feel safe, not treated like this.”
Crasher laughed, “Wow, you sure are stupid! Each floor of this school is based on a different location in the real world, yes? The reason we can run little 'schemes' like this is because they exist in the real world! Go to downtown Las Pegasus, Phillydelphia, or Detrot and see if you can't find a drug dealer, or somepony willing to sell their body for money! This very club is modeled after one in Rio Caballo. So, I'll give you another chance. What do ya' say?”
Spot snarled, “No! Of course not! Just let me and Grand Prix go!”
Crasher sighed, “Then we'll have to do it the hard way.” He slicked back his hair and his cutie mark glowed. His hair took on a metallic sheen and suddenly Crasher charged at Spot. Spot launched a ball of magic at him, but he deflected it with his hair. Spot was too surprised to do anything else, so she braced for impact. Crasher's hair had not only taken on a metallic sheen, but had actually become as hard as metal. Spot learned this the hard way as Crasher charged into her. Spot lay on the ground gasping for air as Crasher stood over her. He leaned in close and said menacingly, “You see? I always get my way. Now just relax, I'm sure you'll enjoy this.”
Crasher parted Spot's legs. Spot's mind raced with thoughts on how to get away. Her horn glowed blue and in an instant, all of the water from the aquarium started circling around the ponies. Spot's horn sparked and all the water slammed the contents of the room against the window, including Grand Prix and herself. A crack formed on the window and grew larger and larger until the window shattered altogether. The rest of the crowd of Club Phuture didn't see it coming. A torrential downpour flooded the lower level of the club, frying electrical systems, drenching ponies, and spilling over drinks.
The music stopped and was replaced by screams and the sounds of running. The water had short circuited the DJ's electronics and started a fire. The fire instantly spread up the curtains on stage and small puddles of fire sprang up in places where the spilled alchohol had ignited. Only minutes after the window gave out, the entire club was in chaos and most of the party-goers had left the building. Spot dragged Grand Prix out of the building as she was still tripping on whatever drugs she had been given. “Thanks... S-Spot.” Grand Prix hazily formed the words.
Despite the current situation, Spot smiled. “Of course, Grand Prix.” Their earlier experience had been something less than great, but now it looks like Grand Prix was opening up to Spot.
Once outside, the two mares tried to get as far away from the site as possible, but they were accosted by an older stallion. “Hey! Hold it right there you two!” The stallion was dressed like a police officer and he had a shiny gold badge to prove it. “Crasher tells me you two were responsible for this. Now I don't know you two, but I've known Crasher a very long time and he would never lie to me. I may have full confidence in his word, but I'm a fair pony. Explain to me what happened and maybe I won't be giving you two detention.”
Spot's eyes widened. She looked at Crasher who was standing where the police pony was standing just moments ago. He had an evil look in his eye, but Spot just miled and said to the officer, “Yep, it was us.”
The officer scratched his head, “Huh, it's not normal that I get a confession. I'm.... actually unprepared when it comes to a response.” The confused pony ran a hoof through his moustache before saying, “Follow me, then.” Spot followed the officer to the floor's exit with Grand Prix in tow. She was not excited about getting attention, but at least she was a way from that crazy night club.
Copper Head, Spot, Grand Prix, and Shadowstorm were in K9's office. K9 himself was reading a few papers that had been given to him and chuckling as he read, “I see you four have been through quite a bit. Burning down buildings. Starting stampedes. Color me impressed, I didn't think that any of you had it in you.”
Shadowstorm leaned back in his chair and boasted, “C'mon Teach'. I've been getting into trouble as far back as I can remember. This assignment was too easy.”
K9 shot an annoyed glance at Shadowstorm before saying, “Now, for your grade. Copper Head and Shadowstorm: B+. Grand Prix and Spot: A.”
“What?” Shadowstorm nearly jumped out of his seat, “How come they got a better grade than we did? That was A+ material!”
K9 sighed and rubbed his temple, “Please don't argue with me. If you need a reason, what Grand Prix and Spot did was much more... grand. Sure, you led a stampede of elephants. That is pretty dangerous. But the girls burned down a nightclub. I was seeing how far you all were willing to go to finish your assignment well; even if it put others in danger.”
“B-but...” Shadowstorm searched something to say, “ I endangered Copper Head's life! Does that count?”
K9 raised an eyebrow and asked, “Is this true Copper Head?” The earth pony nodded and showed the teacher his bandaged leg. K9 tutted and marked something on one of the papers he had. “That would bring your grade down to a C.”
This time Shadowstorm did jump out of his seat and landed on the floor with a thud, “What? Why did you lower it?”
K9 sighed, “You don't get your teammates hurt! Without your team you will not be able to graduate! You might not even be able to survive till graduation! That's why your grade has been lowered.” K9 took another look at Copper Head's leg and asked, “Spot, you're a unicorn. Can you do something magic to fix his leg? He's going to need it.”
Spot nodded and made her way to Copper Head. Her horn sparked blue and long tendrils of magic wrapped themselves around Copper Head's leg. Copper Head shivered as Spot's spell brought on a freezing sensation that ran throughout his entire body. Spot stopped her spell and looked up at Copper Head, “Better?” She asked.
Copper Head tested his leg by stomping it on the ground and putting his weight on it. Amazingly, there was no pain, and even the scar wasn't as noticeable as it was before. “Yeah, feels great!” Spot smiled and made her way back to her seat.
K9's words to Shadowstorm made Copper Head remember Bonez, the zebra he had met earlier. She had lost all of her teammates and confessed her fear that she would never graduate. She also mentioned that Krafty was a generous pony, which conflicted with what Copper Head had seen about the King.
“Face it, Shadowstorm.” Grand Prix smirked, “You got bested by two girls. Why don't you just give up now?”
“Hey! It was an off day for me. I'll TOTALLY do better next time.” Shadowstorm jumped out his chair again and slammed his hoof against the teacher's desk. “What's the next assignment?”
K9 brushed his student's hoof off the table, “While I do appreciate the enthusiasm, please don't hit my stuff. As for your next assignment, it's something of a time trial. You'll go to detention and your grade will be determined by the number of days it takes for you to get out. One day gets you an A, two gets you a B, so on and so forth.”
Spot raised her hoof and K9 acknowledged her. “What do you mean when we 'get out',” Spot asked, “What exactly is detention?”
“Good question, Spot, and it is one that I choose not to answer.” K9 smiled mischievously, “But don't worry. I'm sure the others in detention will be glad to fill you in. But that's not until tomorrow. It's already late, so I'll show you four to your room.” K9 slowly got out of his chair and walked over to the “door” that led into his office. He spoke another incantation that none of them could make out and the door swirled and shifted like it did when they had first encountered it. This time, a door didn't appear, but four hoof prints formed in its place. “Now here's one of my favorite parts,” Krafty remarked, “You four put your hoof on the prints, and it will create a dorm for each of you based on your preferences. It's one of Krafty's many great inventions.”
The students stared at the four hoof prints, unable to actually make out what they were looking at. Eventually Grand Prix silently walked up to it and placed her hoof on the first print. As soon as she did, a red door materialized. It was very plain, but the red color was vibrant and very distinct.
“Woah! Let me try!” Shadowstorm climbed over Copper Head and Spot and placed his hoof in the next print. The plain red door became outlined by a great glimmering stripe of gold. It added character to the door, but alone it drew too much attention too itself.
“That looks like fun!” Spot exclaimed. She walked up to the third print and placed her hoof on it. The gold trim that was formed by Shadowstorm started to bleed into the rest of the door. It twisted around and crawled its way all across the surface of the door. It formed very brilliant gilded flowers, but seemed incredibly fragile; as if it could scratch off at the slightest abrasion.
“Looks like I'm next.” Copper Head made his was to the last print and placed his hoof there. The door started to bubble and out of the red emerged a steel plate that barred the door. It gave sturdiness to the frame, but it looked crude when compared to the rest of the door.
When the process was finished, a bright light blinded the onlookers. After they recovered from the sudden burst of light, the ponies could see that the door had materialized in front of them. No longer was it just an image on the wall; it was an actual door. “Well? Go on in.” K9 nudged them and together all of the ponies entered the door that, somehow, had a litte bit of each of them in it.
Once inside, the group was amazed at the size and splendor of their “dorm”. It took them into a kitchen area, that had a stove for cooking and an ice box to keep things cold. There was a grand oak table with more than enough chairs for all of them. Located opposite the kitchen was a closed door, with the name “Grand Prix” carved into it. Intrigued Grand Prix opened the door and peered inside. Her eyes lit up and she turned to say, “None of you come into my room, or I'll kill you.” She then slammed the door abruptly.
“No one would want to be in your room anyway!” Shadowstorm yelled back at her. “Seriously,” Shadowstorm said aside to Spot and Copper Head, “Like it would kill her to be nice once in a while.” Shadowstorm looked around and spotted a door down a hallway with his name on it, “Anyway, I'll see you all tomorrow.” Shadowstorm let out a big yawn, “I'm gonna get some sleep.” He made his way to his room and disappeared inside.
There was a stairway off to the left of Grand Prix's room with a door at the foot of it. The two ponies inspected the door and discovered that it was Spot's room. “Good night, Copper.” She called out before closing her door.
Copper Head stared up the stairs and made his way up them step by step. The stairs reminded him of his home, back in Equestria. He could actually picture all of the family photos that line the wall on the way up the stairs. When he reached the top, there was a single door with the name “Copper Head.” Copper Head hesitated, then swung the door open. To his amazement, he found himself back in his own bedroom, or at least, what looked like his bedroom. There were noticeable differences between this one and the real one, as this one was tidy and didn't have the family photos that he kept on the dresser. He continued looking around the room. He glanced at the covered window and threw back the curtains. It was just like looking outside the window at his own house... He tried to open the window, but it wouldn't budge.
“Copper Head?” The stallion spun around to see who had spoke. It was Spot. Tears welled up in her eyes, and Copper Head went to comfort her.
He asked, “What's wrong?” He already knew the answer though. She was homesick just like he was.
“It... it looks just like home. How do these ponies know all this?” She pressed herself closer to him, “I'm scared Copper Head.” Copper Head held her close till she stopped crying. She wiped away her tears before asking, “Could... could you sleep in my room? Not with me of course... I have an extra bed in there. It's where my sister would have slept...”
“Sure, Spot.” The mare thanked him and led the way down the stairs. Normally, any stallion would be excited about spending the night in a mare's room, but these circumstances weren't normal. How does Krafty know what are rooms look like? Copper Head contemplated. He doesn't seem particularly evil, but after what I've seen, he's got to have some scheme going on. Copper Head continued to try to figure out Krafty's game when he entered Spot's room right behind the mare.
“Well, here we are. It's a little small, but space is hard to come by back in Neigh Jing.” Copper Head looked around the room. It was very small considering everything was in the same room. The kitchen was in one corner and the shower was in the other corner. In the middle of the room were two bed rolls, both of them covered in a pink flower pattern.
“It's nice.” Copper Head replied, “It must have been great living in a big city.”
“It was alright, there were a lot of good books back in Neigh Jing,” Spot yawned and got into her bed. “There were a few things I had to put up with though. The smell was horrible and the constant noise made it hard to sleep.” She turned and looked at Copper Head who was just getting into the other bed roll. “What about you? What was your home like?”
Copper Head closed his eyes, picturing his home back in Equestria. “It was quiet,” He said, “We had no neighbors and the air was clean. We didn't have any kind of learning; my entire family worked from dawn to dusk.” He turned over and looked at Spot who was looking back, “I guess that would make it completely opposite to what you're used to, huh?”
Spot nodded, “It sounds nice.” Spot let out a loud yawn, “Wow, I didn't notice how tired I was. We best be getting to sleep. Goodnight Copper Head.”
“Goodnight, Spot.” Copper Head rolled over and tried to sleep, but was unable to. He couldn't help but ponder why Krafty would bother keeping Spot and Copper Head there. He went over everything he had gathered about this place. It is far away from Equestria. Hati and Skol, the two wolf brothers, are working for Krafty and had kidnapped both Copper Head and Spot. According to Angelstorm, Cloudwalkers acknowledged the existence of Doom, the dragon ruler of Tartaros, who Copper Head had seen in his dream. Krafty is planning something for the wielders of the Elements of Harmony and from the look of things, his plans are sinister. Lastly, he created a school where cloudwalkers and other races are put to work creating “simulations” of the outside world. Eventually, his weariness took over and he drifted into sleep.
“Copper Head! Wake up!”
A voice called out to Copper Head in his sleep. The half-asleep stallion called out, “Spot? What is it?” He felt a nudge that caused him to sit up. He slowly opened his eyes as it had suddenly become bright in Spot's room. After his eyes adjusted, he realized he wasn't in Spot's room at all and he wasn't talking to Spot.
Sitting at a table in front of him was High Noon, the stallion from his dream. “Howdy there. Sorry for the rude awakening; were you expecting your marefriend?”
Copper Head was still confused, “Marefriend? Uh... yeah...” It then dawned on him that High Noon must have been talking about Spot. He blushed but didn't say anything more about it. Copper Head looked around and noticed that he was in High Noon's “house” in Tartaros. There were no obvious signs of repair after Doom ripped off the roof of his house. “So why am I here?” Copper Head questioned.
“Just to talk.” High Noon replied. He got up to look at Copper Head's flank. Upon seeing the cutie mark he smiled, “I see you finally got your mark. Mind telling me what creature you fought? You don't have a horn, and you don't have wings... It must have been a mammal.”
“How did you know that?” Copper Head exclaimed, “Have you been watching me?”
High Noon chuckled, “Of course not. It's something that all of our kind has to go through. Even I had to fell my own monster.” He rubbed his unicorn horn with his hoof. “I'm curious as to what you fought; won't you tell me?”
Copper Head was wary but answered his question anyway, “I fought a wolf named Hati. After I accidentally drank some of his blood, I started going into these 'blood rages'. Are you saying you know something about that?”
“I know quite a bit about your condition, but that wolf named Hati intrigues me...” He stared off into space as if contemplating something in his head. Finally he said, “I only have so much time to teach you about your past, so that is what I will do.” His horn glowed and a large book flew off the shelf.
As it floated by, Copper Head could make out the title. It read “Joraguur”. “What does that mean? Joraguur?” Copper Head inquired.
High Noon sighed, “It's what we are Copper Head.”
“Is that... some race of pony?” Copper Head was starting to get a little scared.
High Noon shrugged, “Yes... and no. Just listen.” High Noon opened the book to the first page which held a picture of a swirling mist in front of a very regal alicorn. High Noon cleared his throat before starting, “In the twentieth year after the birth of Queen...” Without warning High Noon threw the book across the room which landed with a thump and a flipping of pages.
The movement was so sudden that it made Copper Head jump, “What was that for? I thought you were gonna tell me what a 'Joraguur' was!”
“Oh, I'm gonna tell ya.” High Noon eyed the book that was on the ground. “I just remembered that the book was cursed. I put a hex on there sometime ago and never took the time to remove it.” He used his magic to place it back on the shelf, “Besides, I like to tell it in my own way.” He cleared his throat again before restarting the story, “An incredibly long time ago, before Celestia, Luna, Discord, or even Doom was around, a great alicorn queen waged a terrible war with a griffon king. Many lives were lost on both sides, and a great many innocents were slain. Then one day, beings of mist began appearing on battlefields all across Equestria and the griffon lands. Many did not understand their purpose as the creatures only hovered in place; as if waiting for something to happen. Both sides deemed them harmless and resumed their meaningless war. It is said that as the first drop of blood dropped, the mist creature had slain the attacker.”
Copper Head raised his hoof, “Question! What were the two sides fighting over?”
High Noon facehoofed, “Of all the questions you could have had, and you want to know what they fought over?” Copper Head nodded innocently. “I don't know; land maybe? Food, gold, bastard hippogriff babies?”
“Hippogriff babies?”
“Pony and griffon hybrid. They're quite cute actually.”
“Oh...” Copper Head slowly nodded, “I'll save the questions for later.”
“Well, eventually the war changed from a fight between the two kingdoms to a struggle against these new creatures. It was not long after that the griffons named them the Joraguur, a name in an ancient tongue which loosely means “regulating spirits” as they would 'regulate' the battles that were fought. In the beginning, the ponies and griffons were able to defeat the beings, but not long after, the Joraguur were able to adapt. They slowly built up a resistance to unicorn magic and became physically strong to fend of griffon attacks. Eventually, both sides gave up hope and called a draw. Both sides left and the war was ended.”
“So...” Copper Head interrupted, “I'm a shape-shifting cloud?” Copper Head then extended his front leg and started flexing if, as if trying to make it change into something else.
“Not exactly. As the battles stopped, the creatures started following the soldiers home. The warriors knew not to attack them, so they just became part of everyday life. Many years after the war, the creatures had taken on the shape of ponies be it earth, unicorn, or pegasus. One thing led to another, and hybrids were born. This is what we are.”
Copper Head computed everything he said. He wasn't sure to believe it or not, but with the things he had recently been through, anything seemed possible. But one question started to nag him above all else, “Does that mean my family is the same as me? These... Joraguur? My sister is a unicorn like you.”
“Well, that part is tricky. While it's true that you and your sister share the same blood, the fact that she is already a unicorn means that she doesn't have... enough of the right blood.” He pointed at his own horn, “I wasn't always a unicorn you know. I was an earth pony till I killed a dusk elemental as a child. You see... we are all different depending on the magic that we absorb from other magical sources. For instance, you drank the blood of a magical wolf so you have the teeth and bloodlust of a carnivore. I absorbed the essence of an elemental so I became a unicorn. And then some of us become pegasi if we slay something with wings.”
“Wow, that sounds awesome! Whatever happened to the Joraguur?” Copper Head looked expectantly into High Noons eyes, but the look he gave back was full of sorrow. The unicorn got up from the table and walked into the other room. He came back with a glass of water which he started to drink.
“Sorry, thinking about that always chokes me up... Water helps...” He set the glass down and hesitantly started the story. “We don't have a name. We are not Joraguur, those cloudy beings from another world; our names have always been given to us by others. Guardians, Slayers, Vanguards – different names for the same race of pony. We began to fall apart after the fall of Discord in a time when we were called Berserkers. We would go around and destroy nuisance monsters. The occasional ursa major, lich, and ogre always kept us busy; and everypony appreciated our help. Everypony except Celestia.”
“That seems kind of strange.” Copper Head said inquisitively. “All of the ponies I know view Celestia as a kind and benevolent ruler. Surely the Berserkers getting rid of monsters would make her happy right?”
High Noon shook his head, “She always disapproved of our violent ways... and the fact that we were almost immune to the Elements of Harmony. There was almost nothing she could do to stop us by herself. That wasn't what set her off though.The final straw came when my friend Bear Claw confessed his love to Princess Luna. Celestia was furious at the prospect of a Berserker being with her sister. Celestia was always over-protective of Luna, and she manipulated Luna's feelings for Bear Claw and overloaded the Elements of Harmony. It turned Bear Claw to stone and killed all of the other Berserkers. All of them except me and Wonderbolt here in Tartaros.”
“That can't be true though!” Copper Head interjected, “I'm still here! Which means that some of them survived, right?”
High Noon nodded, “The younger ones most likely survived as their Joraguur powers wouldn't have been activated. Without anyone to guide them, they rejoined society and the knowledge of our existence was eventually lost. Then we have you.” He narrowed his eyes at the earth pony, “The one pony who happened to have our blood, and absorbing the power of a very rare monster. I find it very strange.”
Copper Head smiled, “Yeah, sounds like something out of a comic book or a fairy tale.”
“I don't know what a comic book is, but it does sound like something from a fairy tale.” High Noon sighed, “Well, I told you what I wanted to, and I'm glad to see that you handled it so well. I need to get started on some research about that wolf so it's time you get back to your own world.” From out of nowhere, High Noon pulled out a frying pan and proceeded to close in on Copper Head.
“Wait!” Copper Head yelled, “I still have questions!” The frying pan flew through the air and hit the earth pony square on the head. His world went black and he drifted into peaceful sleep.
Spot woke up to the sound of Copper Head squirming in his sleep. She turned to look at him. He looked so uncomfortable. The bed roll looked much too small for him and... wait. The bed roll is too small? She looked again and confirmed her suspicions. When Copper Head got into it the first time he barely fit, but now the bed roll was blatantly too small. It was as if he had grown. She let out a yawn and ventured over to where he was. He twitched and rolled over, but didn't wake up. It's too early to think... I'll worry about it later... She opened up a window and saw the rolling hillsides of her childhood home in Neigh Jing. It made her homesick so she turned away from it. She was still groggy so the faint smell of something burning didn't reach her until now. “Fire!” Spot jumped over to Copper Head and shook him awake. “Copper Head! Fire!”
Copper Head woke up in a daze, “Huh? What?” He got up woozily. “Fire? Where?”
Spot pointed at the door which had a small puff of smoke coming out of the top of the door. “The main room!” She pushed Copper Head forward, “Open the door and I'll use my water magic to put it out!” Copper Head nodded and slammed the door opened. He felt a surge of water rush over him as Spot flooded the room with water.
“Hey! It wasn't time to add water yet!” In the kitchen was a furious Shadowstorm who was bent over the stove with a spatula in hoof, “How am I supposed to make my famous “Storm Cakes” if you go and add water at the wrong time?”
Spot and Copper Head looked at him quizzically. “Storm Cakes?” Spot asked. “What are those?”
Shadowstorm crossed his hooves and smiled, “It's a Storm family recipe! Singewheat pancakes that are burnt to a crisp till they're blacker than a rain cloud! Gotta add water at the end to keep them from being too dry.” He sighed and put whatever was in the skillet into the trash, “But they're ruined now... It was gonna be a surprise for you guys.”
Spot giggled, “Well it's the thought that counts. Right Copper Head?” Copper Head nodded. He was still a little shell shocked by the information given to him by High Noon. He wasn't even sure if he should let the others know...
“What's all that racket?” Grand Prix emerged from her room sleepy-eyed and slammed the door behind her. “Can't a girl get her beauty sleep around her?”
Shadowstorm scoffed, “In that case, you're gonna need to hibernate to get rid of all that ugly.” In an instant, Grand Prix launched a chair across the room which crashed into Shadowstorm.
“C'mon you two!” Spot intervened, “We've got a big challenge ahead of us today. We need to work together!” The three ponies started chasing each other around the room. But what started out as a hostile act turned into something playful. Copper Head wondered how they could be so forgetful of the trials they had to endure in just a few hours. He laughed it off and joined in. Might as well have some fun; he might not have that chance again.
It was almost noon when K9 came to get his students to escort them to detention. He was a lot gloomier than usual and his footsteps dragged as he led them down flight after flight of stairs. “You all better not die,” he said over his shoulder, “I can’t afford to lose another class. I don’t think my heart nor my wallet could survive the loss.” The others wondered what he meant by him “losing another class”.
“Will you tell us what detention is like now?” Spot said, “You wouldn’t tell us earlier.”
K9 grunted, “I could tell you, but you still wouldn’t be prepared for it. I will tell you this though, detention here isn’t like detention in other schools. In fact, it wasn’t even built for detention; it was made for older students to earn extra credit. My brother figured that if anypony could get through that place, then they deserved to have a better grade. Eventually it was turned into a place to also serve detention. Though many teachers figure it’s too dangerous.”
“If it’s too dangerous then why make us do it?” Grand Prix said sleepily, “Why put new students into something made for older students?”
“Because I only want to teach the very best,” K9 replied nonchalantly, “To be honest, your first assignment wasn’t really to test your determination to finish a mission, though it did test that; but to actually test your adaptability. Being thrown into a new environment is something that some ponies are unable to cope with. However, you four were able to pass easily.”
Grand Prix frowned but seemed satisfied with that answer. That or she didn’t have any response. However, Shadowstorm had his own question, “You’re our teacher right? Then, how come you never teach us anything? Like math, or history, or whatever it is that ponies learn in school.”
The older cloudwalker smiled and replied without looking back, “Do you believe knowledge can only come from a book? While there is value in books, experience teaches you faster and it stays with you longer. So while I may not read from a book, I can still teach you, right?”
Shadowstorm shook his head, “Uh... I’m not sure...”
K9 chuckled, “Don’t worry my students. It won’t be long until you get into the normal school routine. I just need to requisition a floor based on your skill levels, and according to Krafty’s needs. He has a lot more to do with Cloudwalker Academy than many would believe.”
As they continued their descent, the air grew colder and the walls became eerily moist. Moss grew in dank corners where ponies tread the least. Eventually they reached the bottom floor, which consisted of neither the normal carpet or wood, but dusty stone slabs. There was a small puddle at the bottom of the steps that all the ponies avoided except for Shadowstorm, who intentionally made the biggest splash he could.
“Watch it!” Grand Prix screamed as some of the water got on her scarf. She smacked Shadowstorm upside the head. The stallion rubbed his head and laughed at her reaction.
“Shh!” K9 quieted them both, “We’re almost there, so now’s about the best time that I tell you what you need to do.” K9 dropped his cigarette into a puddle, took out another one, and lit it before speaking. “The objective of detention is to defeat the monster that lurks at the exit. That’s the only way out.” He spoke with grave tones that made his students nervous just listening to him. “None of the faculty will come to save you, so it’s up to you and whoever else is in there.” K9 stopped in his tracks as he spotted a gate in the distance. He turned to his students and looked at them with the softest look he could muster, “I believe in you guys. From what I’ve seen, if you can work together, you’ll get out of here no problem.”
Shadowstorm fake sniffled, “Gee Teach’. I didn’t know you could get so sentimental. Will you have milk and cookies for us when we get back?”
K9 rolled his eyes and kept walking without responding to Shadowstorm’s sarcasm.
As they got closer to the gate, the faint outline of two ponies could be seen in front of the gates. Copper Head squinted as he tried to see one of them more clearly. He felt like he had seen him before, but something was very... off about the pony. Copper Head gulped when he realized who it was. Brick, the leader of a gang of ponies that Copper Head and Spot ran into, was standing there, guarding the gate.
“Oi!” Brick spit, “Lookie who we have ‘ere!” The stallion smiled a toothy smile as they drew closer. “The yella’ unicorn and the cannibal!” He spit in the direction of Copper Head and looked at him with a hostile expression. “Takin’ dat chunk outta my shoulder was mighty painful! But,” Brick turned to the side so that everypony could see. The piece of his skin that Copper Head bit off wasn’t there, but the remaining flesh was a strange green and didn’t look natural, “Krafty done made it all better! Gone and infusiated mah muscles with a bunch a glowin’ rocks.” He tapped his shoulder with his spear, which made a clinking sound. Like metal tapping against metal. “Ain’t nopony goin’ to be takin’ a chunk outta me anymore!”
“Ahem,” K9 stepped between the guard and his student, “They’re here for detention. I’m sure that the report came in, yes?”
Brick stepped back and eyed the teacher, “Yeah. I got yer report. Go ahead and let ‘em in.” He nodded at the other guard and they both pulled the levers that opened the gate. Brick grinned, “Ya’ll got a tough one this week. Better get in there ‘fore somepony else dies."
The four stood around in silence, unsure if they should proceed. As if in response to their silence, a force pushed the ponies forward and they all were sprawled out on the ground beyond the gate. The guard pulled the levers back and the gate was closed. “You can do this!” K9 yelled through the bars, “Just remember that teamwork will help you through this!” He looked them all in the eye before turning away and disappearing into the darkness until only the light from his cigarette was visible, then that too disappeared.
“Let’s get going then guys,” Copper Head walked out in front of the group, “I’ll lead the way.”
“Woah, woah, woah,” Grand Prix jumped in front of Copper Head, “I’m not going to let a stallion lead me around. Besides, mares have a better sense of direction.”
“Ummm,” Spot mumbled, “I think Copper Head should go first. He is bigger than all of us.”
“Shadowstorm? You’re on my side right?” Grand Prix gave Shadowstorm a menacing look. The stallion frowned and shrugged, not wanting to get into the argument. “Ugh. Fine, lead the way.” The ponies fell in line behind Copper Head who started at a brisk pace down the passageway. Copper Head was confident that his newly-found ancestry would help protect him and his friends from what lie ahead, but what they found was a surprise to them.
Halfway down the dark cold corridor was a pony standing against the wall. Copper Head was the first to see the pony clearly and it looked like King Krafty. “Ah! Copper Head!” The king called out, “Just the pony I was waiting for! Could you come here please?” Copper Head stepped forward and the others started to follow, “Oh, this is just a private conversation between me and Copper Head. I’m sorry my faithful subjects.” Copper Head removed himself from the group and approached Krafty.
“Sir?” Copper Head said upon approach. He didn’t really know how to address Krafty, but that sounded the most appropriate. He didn’t consider Krafty to be his king.
Krafty smiled, “It’s been a while. Not since you first arrived in Cloudwalker Kingdom
a few weeks ago. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something. Have you been sleeping well? Have any dreams?”
Copper Head was shocked. Did he know about the dream he had, or was he playing mind games with him? “No sir,” he lied, “No dreams for me.” Copper Head searched the king’s face for an indication that he had detected his lie. However, Krafty didn’t show any change.
“Good good. I’m glad you are getting adequate rest. You’ll need it for what you’re about to face. I’ve stationed a special monster here just for you.” Copper Head remained silent, too stunned to say anything. Krafty smiled again and turned down the corridor. From over his shoulder the king shouted, “One last thing. Beware of lightning.” The king laughed to himself and turned a corner.
Shadowstorm, Grand Prix, and Spot reunited with Copper Head. “So what did he say?” Shadowstorm asked, “It’s pretty cool that the king would want to talk to you.”
“He’s right,” Grand Prix chimed in, “Getting to talk to King Krafty is a high honor for cloudwalkers. I’m almost jealous.”
“It doesn’t feel like an honor,” Copper Head replied, “It seems like he knows everything. He asked if I had a dream last night and I did. Can he read minds or something?”
Shadowstorm and Grand Prix shrugged. “It’s not entirely impossible,” Spot responded, “Unicorns in Neigh Jing have created machines that can record dreams, but the machine has to be attached to you in order to work. Maybe he has more advanced technology.”
Copper Head wasn’t satisfied with Spot’s suggestion. Krafty somehow knew more about Copper Head than he let on. Copper Head sighed, “Let’s just get going. I don’t want to talk about it any more.” The others nodded and Copper Head returned to leading the way.
It wasn’t long before the ponies realized what detention really was: a labyrinth. The ponies took multiple turns. Left, right, left, right. Sometimes a path branched off in four or more directions. Leading the ponies to believe that detention was harder than they had thought it was going to be. Shadowstorm tried to fly over the wall, but an invisible force blocked his progress. After traversing the maze for several hours, the team stopped at an open space where a fountain was located. The water spewing from it was crystal clear. The four drank their fill and rested in a corner of the room.
“This is pointless,” Grand Prix noted as she sat down, “It will take weeks to get through this maze. Let alone one day. How are we expected to do this?”
“Maybe this place is not as big as we think,” Spot reassured, “We can still make it in time.” The two mares started arguing, but neither of the stallions were listening. Shadowstorm decided it was a good time to take a nap, and Copper Head was watching something.
From the far side of the room a figure approached the fountain. It walked up to the fountain and drank from it. It either didn’t care that they were there or didn’t notice. Curious, Copper Head walked quietly up to the figure. It was instantly recognizable that the creature was not a pony. Copper Head wasn’t sure exactly sure what it was, but it looked very dog-like. It stood on two legs and carried things around with its long gangly arms.
The creature noticed Copper Head’s approach and stopped. It grabbed the bucket close to its body and gripped it firmly. As if it was some great treasure that Copper Head was about to steal. “What does horsey want?” It croaked, “Horsey comes to steal my bucket?”
“Uh no,” Copper Head said calmly, “I just haven’t seen anyone else around. I was hoping you would know the way out of here?”
The thing gripped the bucket harder than before and warily replied, “Yes. Buckit knows where the exit is, but monster guards exit. The other horsey’s still haven’t beaten monster. Too fast, even for Buckit.”
“Other ‘horseys’? Where are they?” Copper Head hoped that the other ponies in detention would help them. “Can you take us to them?” The dog gripped the bucket again and nodded. Copper Head fetched his allies who were only now starting to wonder where he was. They followed the creature down the path he came, but his long stride made it hard to keep up with him. They wandered into another hallway and were soon back in the maze.
“Buckit” as he called himself, kept talking about the other “horseys” and a monster they were trying to get past. It occurred to the ponies that this must be the way out of this place. Buckit himself didn’t leave the labyrinth. He said he liked it there because it was dark, cold, and had an enormous amount of good earth. He boasted that he was almost done building his underground home, but he needed to find a way to get the plumbing working right. The creature droned on and on as they took many twists and turns, but Shadowstorm wasn’t about to let someone talk more than him.
“So what are you?” Shadowstorm asked over Buckit’s constant mumblings, “Some sort of mutant groundhog?”
“No!” Buckit exclaimed, “I am Buckit! Buckit!” He seemed aggravated by the question,
as if the answer should have been obvious.
“He’s a diamond dog,” Spot explained. “They are a subterranean species that only appear in certain places. You probably haven’t seen any before because of Cloudwalker Kingdom’s high altitudes.”
“Diamonds??” Buckit shuddered, “I don’t need diamonds anymore. Diamonds only get Buckit hurt. Dragons take Buckit’s diamonds and hurt him. No, no more diamonds for Buckit.” The ponies were unsure what Buckit was talking about, but the event obviously had a negative effect on him.
The ponies had been following Buckit for a while, and they were getting concerned that the diamond dog was leading them into a trap. However, all suspicions vanished as they rounded one final corner. They had exited the maze and were faced with a huge, imposing gate. Between the group and the gate was a small makeshift camp. Small dwellings were made of rubble that came from nearby sections of broken down walls, and a huge assortment of creatures were weaving their way through the assortment of buildings. There were cloudwalkers, unicorns, earth ponies, pegasi, griffins, zebra, diamond dogs, changelings, and even things none of them had seen before.
“I’ll take you to the birdies. They’re in charge.” Buckit stomped his way through the camp as the ponies followed. There was a low buzzing sound that came from a group of changelings gathered around something large. The large thing was a male changeling, but was an amalgamation of parts and pieces. It scowled at the ponies and they quickly trotted by. What Buckit led them to was a command tent, not very big, but big enough that somepony could stand up inside. The Diamond Dog poked his head inside and said something to whoever was inside. There was a rustling and two griffins exited the tent. Buckit said bid them good luck and darted away.
The larger griffin was a red male, with a black face. He looked very similar to a cardinal. He wore a stoic expression and seemed uninterested in the newcomers. The smaller griffin was a white female, with black speckles all over her coat. She smiled warmly and was very cheery. “What can we help you with?” The female asked nicely.
“We need help getting out of detention as soon as possible.” Copper Head replied. “Our teacher gave us an assignment to get out and our grade is based on how fast we can do it.”
“Heh, good luck with that,” the red griffin grunted, “We’ve been here for three days and haven’t found a way past this monster. Word is that this one is legendary. Something you only hear of in fairy tales.” The red griffin circled around them, “The name’s Pherrick by the way. The lovely lady’s name is Branca.” He walked around the group twice and stopped by Branca. “You don’t look all that strong, and I won’t be the first to tell you that we don’t need to babysit any of you. Unlike you, most of us are here for extra credit. One final effort to improve our grade before graduating.” He motioned towards the group of changelings that Copper Head and the others passed by, “Some of us here would kill you just for getting in the way of that goal.”
“Oh, quiet you!” Branca nudged Pherrick out of her way, “Why don’t you come inside? We just made some tea, and we can tell you all about what’s going on around here.” Branca delightfully swept them all inside and served the ponies tea. The inside of the tent was lined with papers that had a myriad of “X’s”, “O’s”, and lines drawn all across them. Many of them were crossed out in red while other’s had the word “failure” written on them. “We’ve been having a hard time fighting the monster,” Branca mentioned after she noticed the ponies scrutiny of the tent, “These plans were drawn up to fight it, but they’ve all failed.”
“There’s no way we can fight it!” Pherrick interjected, “It can attack almost all of us at the same time, how do you fight something like that?”
“Ahem, what exactly is this monster you’re fighting?” Spot questioned, “You mentioned that it was legendary, but you never named it.”
The two griffins looked at each other as if telepathically deciding who should tell them. Finally Pherrick spoke, “This creature that we’ve been hunting is called the Enfield. Legend claims that it used to guard one of the four gates of Tartaros. We shouldn’t have to fight something that powerful.”
Upon hearing the name “Enfield” Copper Head almost spit out his tea. He had almost forgotten all about it until now. Now that he thought of it, High Noon and the Enfield were what started his journey that brought him there. He determined that if he lived through this, he would ask High Noon the next time he saw him. Copper Head decided to keep quiet, and listen to what the griffin had to say.
“The Enfield is small, but it’s size betrays its true powers. It can shoot lightning from its body and the amount of objects it can electrocute simultaneously seems almost infinite.” He touched one of the plans and the wall and continued, “One of us was able to get close to it, but the Enfield was so fast that it cut up his face with its claws before the poor fool knew what hit him.”
Shadowstorm hopped up onto the table and struck a semi-heroic pose, “But you have US now!” He blurted out, “With our help, we can take this thing down for sure!” Grand Prix, who was sitting next to him, pulled him down and scolded him about being an idiot.
“You think you can do it, huh?” Pherrick contemplated, “I don’t see why you can’t give it a try. I knew a few of the guys want to have another crack at it, I’ll round them up.” The griffin left the tent without another word. Branca cleared the table, but she wasn’t as cheery as she was before. She told them to wait outside the tent and that Pherrick wouldn’t be too long.
As Spot was about to leave, she was stopped by the female griffin. “Would you do me a favor, friend?”
Spot nodded, “What is it?”
“I need you to look out for Pherrick,” she looked nervous, “he may not show it, but he is rather weak from the last battle with the beast. I just want him to be safe and I would rather trust in unicorn magic than cloudwalker magic.”
“No problem!” Spot smiled, “I’ll do my best to make sure no one gets hurt!” Branca returned the smile as Spot turned and left the tent. Outside, she rejoined the other three. As promised, it wasn’t long before Pherrick returned with comrades in tow. There were maybe a dozen of them, including the strange male changeling from before. Each of them exchanged names, but they were all normal everyday names. Except for the changeling, who called himself Aberration. Together they marched on the gate.
“So here’s the plan.” Pherrick shouted so that they all could hear, “A group of our strongest will charge the beast, while the rest flanks the creature from both sides. When it attacks, the first group will break off, allowing minimal casualties and allowing the flanking group to get in close. Then the main group will be ready to reinforce them. This plan has worked the best so far, so we’re giving it another go.” He started picking out ponies for the main group which Copper Head and Aberration were part of along with Pherrick and two other ponies. Everyone else was split up into two flanking groups and they all paused when they got close to the Enfield.
The Enfield is a strange creature. It has the head of a fox, the body and hind legs of a wolf, the wings of and talons of an eagle, and the tail of a lion. It appeared to be sleeping, but a keen observer could see that it had one eye open, carefully observing the group that approached it. Small jolts of electricity crackled along its body at irregular intervals, and small tendrils of lightning would occasionally reach out and zap stray flies that got too close.
Pherrick raised one of his talons to stop the group, "Alright, on my signal we will commence the attack." For one heartstopping moment, time seemed to drag on as the anticipation mounted. Shadowstorm looked ready as ever to get into a fight while Grand Prix nonchalantly readjusted her scarf. “Go!” Pherrick commanded and the group ran forward.
Copper Head was caught by surprise and ended up in the back of the charging team. A brawny pegasus was the first to reach the Enfield, but the creature was ready for them. With one flap of its wings, it was airborne and preparing to throw a bolt of lightning at the pegasus. The pegasus noticed this and started his retreat, but he was too late. The Enfield sent a bolt of lightning his way. The pegasus closed his eyes and braced for impact, but it never came. He carefully opened his eyes and realized that the creature had missed, but in fact the bolt of lightning was redirected.
Copper Head wasn’t expecting to be struck with lightning. He saw it head straight for the other pony, but at the last second, the surge redirected itself right to him. When the bolt of lightning hit him, Copper Head dropped immediately. His entire body burned as every nerve in his body responded with red hot pain. His vision blurred and it was difficult to stay conscious. His head felt close to exploding and thoughts came at a snail’s pace. But the worst part was yet to come; the Enfield’s basic thought processes didn’t realize that it’s lightning bolts were redirect to Copper Head so it still blasted whoever got close. Meaning just as Copper Head had recovered from one strike, he would be hit again multiple times. Spot ran to him, but was unsure what to do; knowing that if she tried to help him, she would get struck as well.
Back in the battle, everyone noticed what was happening. They felt sorry for the earth pony, but they couldn’t pass up this opportunity to take down the monster that had been besting them for days. The flanking strategy turned into an all out brawl, but even without its lightning, the monster was able to hold its own in battle. The Enfield was surrounded on all sides, but it’s amazing speed allowed it to outmaneuver its attackers even when faced with such odds. Sometimes it would grab an attacker and lift him off the ground before dropping them back to earth. It took all of the attackers’ effort to keep on the offensive against the Enfield, but they were slowly losing steam. Everything was going downhill until Grand Prix stepped up to face the beast alone.
“Shadowstorm!” She yelled out, “I need to use my power to beat this thing.”
“What?!? Don’t use your magic! I can’t stand it!” Shadowstorm obviously knew something that the others didn’t. “You’ll hurt everyone else!”
“If you use your magic first it won’t affect you! The others will have to bear with it.” Grand Prix had a determined look in her eyes that wasn’t normal. Shadowstorm understood and nodded in response. He used his power to sink into the ground and become a shadow while Grand Prix closed her eyes and concentrated all of her cloudwalker magic. An aura enveloped her as she readied her spell. Then, in the blink of an eye, her power faded. To an onlooker, it would seem that nothing had happened, but the spell’s effects were evident to all those affected.
Suddenly feeling the effects of Grand Prix’s magic, the Enfield stumbled and fell to the ground. The cloudwalker’s magic has multiple stages and varies in intensity depending on the strength of the target’s mind. The first stage drains all color from the user’s vision, causing disorientation and inability to judge distance. The second stage causes the black and white to switch rapidly, causing a increased disorientation and even seizures. The final stage is temporary blindness which the victim will eventually recover from. The Enfield’s smaller mind makes it incredibly vulnerable to these stages. It took off in flight, but ended up turning a somersault and crashing into the ground. It shot a few more lightning bolts, but they were just directed at the already unconscious Copper Head. Shadowstorm emerged from his hiding place and caught a hold of the Enfield. The Enfield, unable to fight back, admitted defeat and slumped over in Shadowstorm’s grip. In the distance, a clicking sound indicated the group’s victory and the gate lurched open. Shadowstorm jumped for joy before noticing that the monster was gone, it had dematerialized without him noticing. He ran up to Grand Prix and hugged her. Grand Prix pushed him away, but smiled instead of getting angry.
“Grand Prix! You did it!” Shadowstorm congratulated her, “but... what do we do with them?” He motioned to the rest of the team who was in bad shape. Grand Prix’s magic hit them as well with varying effects. Many of them were lying on the ground unconscious, while others ran in circles, and others closed their eyes and vomited violently.
“We better get them back, it will be awhile before my magic wears off.” Shadowstorm agreed and helped Grand Prix carry everyone back to the makeshift camp. Everyone there was excited that the Enfield was finally defeated, but were sad that their fellow teammates had suffered from Grand Prix’s magic. The only one they couldn’t move was Copper Head. He was covered in burns and any attempt to pick him up would have harmed him more. The unicorns were unable to lift him with their magic, because it wouldn’t work on him for some reason. They all decided to give up on trying to move him, and instead erected a shelter for him. Many came to visit the earth pony, but few actually stayed. Not even Grand Prix or Shadowstorm could bear to look at this mangled form. The only ones that never left his side were Spot... and strangely enough the changeling called Aberration.
Copper Head was dead. The academy doctors declared him deceased after they were able to move his body to the infirmary. He had no pulse, didn’t breathe, was covered in burns, but Spot still never left his side. Copper Head was the closest thing she had to a friend in this place; Shadowstorm and Grand Prix really didn’t count. They didn’t check up on the two much though, apparently K9 had finally acquired a room and set the two cloudwalkers to work as soon as possible. It was about five days after the doctors declared Copper Head dead that King Krafty visited him. He was unusually happy when he entered the room, “Don’t fret Spot. We’ll have him fixed up in no time.”
“How?” Spot questioned, “He’s been dead for five days. The doctors said so.” Spot said morbidly. “I might have been able to heal him, but magic doesn’t work normally on him.”
Krafty laughed, “Death is no match for me young one. Here, I’ll show you.” Krafty produced a syringe of nasty looking liquid. “This will get him back on his feet.” Krafty stuck the needle into Copper Head’s leg and injected the liquid into his bloodstream. Amazed, Spot watched as Copper Head’s life was somehow renewed. He started breathing, but didn’t talk or open his eyes.
“T-that’s...” Spot was astounded, “How? What was in there?”
Krafty tutted, “I can’t go giving out all of my secrets, can I?” Krafty ushered Spot out the door, “I will watch over him for now. Go get some sleep. Plus, I’m sure Grand Prix and Shadowstorm are worried about you.”
“Ok...” Spot hesitantly agreed, “Let me know when he gets better, ok?”
“Of course, you have my word.” Krafty waved as Spot trotted off down the corridor.
The nurse approached the king after Spot had left, “My King, how DID you bring him back to life? That was just a syringe filled with a placebo; it shouldn’t have brought him back to life.” The nurse then walked over to Copper Head and checked his vital signs. “His pulse is even normal!”
“Like I said before,” Krafty replied, “I can’t go giving out all of my secrets.” Krafty stood next to the bed before abruptly asking the nurse to leave. She was startled, but bowed and left the room. The king turned his gaze towards Copper Head before questioning him, “How’s the body?”
Copper Head’s eyes suddenly bolted open, “Pretty good, but I can feel his magic field trying to force me out. Because of that, I won’t be able to gain complete assimilation, but what I can do will be enough.” Copper Head tested his limbs, “He’s still pretty stiff. Looks like that lightning did quite a number on him, it will take a while for the body to recover. How’s my body?”
“Your true body has been moved to a more secure location, but for now make sure not to damage Copper Head’s body. I need it for my plans.”
‘Copper Head’ cackled, “Worried it might die again? I always liked you Krafty; you’re schemes are always crazy.”
“Call them plans.” Krafty smirked, “Schemes make me sound evil.”
Copper Head awoke in a familiar, yet unfamiliar place. The impenetrable darkness, damp floors, and stale air told him that he was once again in Tartaros. However, he wasn’t in High Noon’s house where he woke up the last time. “Hello?” Copper Head called out. There wasn’t the usual echo so he assumed the room he was in was pretty small. A light flickered in the distance. Having no other points of reference, Copper Head made his way over to it. When he got close enough, he saw that the light came from a lantern sitting on a normal looking desk. Sitting at the desk was a blue and yellow pegasus. “Hello?” Copper Head tried to get the attention of the other pony.
“Yes, yes, hello.” The other pony sounded aggravated, “Get on over here so I can write you in the book.” Copper Head sidled over to the desk. The pegasus took one look at him and a painful glint shone in his eye, “It’s sad that some ponies have to die as young as you do. I always wished everypony lived to a ripe old age, but hey look at me.” The pony pointed to himself, “I died in the prime of my life!”
“Wait...” it took awhile for Copper Head to compute the other pony’s words, “I’m dead? I-I can’t be dead! I have to be there for them... Spot, and Grand Prix, and Shadowstorm...” Panicked, Copper Head’s heart started racing and tears welled up in his eyes.
The pegasus jumped, “Woah! Hey, now! I’m sure whoever you’re talking about will be alright. If I were you, I’d be worried about myself. You’re in Tartaros now, you know. It’s not a pleasant place.”
Copper Head wiped the tears from his eyes, “Can I at least see High Noon? I’d feel a bit better...”
“You know High Noon?” The pony questioned, “How in Equestria would you happen to know him?” Copper Head started to explain that he had been to Tartarus before, though only as a spirit and he had always met with High Noon. This time though, it seemed like he was really dead. “Interesting story. It’s good to know that High Noon is still kicking, though I guess he wouldn’t die in this place. I haven’t seen him in... centuries? I’m not sure, it’s been so long.”
“What’s your relation to High Noon?” Copper Head wondered. Was he another Joragurr, like me?
“My relation to High Noon? He’s like, my best friend! Well, was... haven’t really seen him in a while. My name’s Wonderbolt by the way,” He struck out his hoof, “What’s yours?”
Copper Head’s eyes lit up as he shook his hoof, “My name is Copper Head. Are you really THE Wonderbolt? The famous one?”
“Famous?” Wonderbolt scratched his head, “I guess I was pretty famous back in my daredevil days. I used to do stunts, you know? I lived for those near-death experiences, and died for them to.” The pegasus laughed. “But, I’m old news. After hearing your story, I’ve grown a liking to you and I think I can get you out of here. Listen,” Wonderbolt pointed upwards and Copper Head followed with his eyes. He could make out a tiny point of light far above them. “If I can get you up there, you can return to your body and live again.”
“Really?” Copper Head barely believed him, “It’s that easy?”
Wonderbolt shook his head, “Nah. The entire way up is filled with abyssal squid. Ten tentacles of tenacious tendons on each and every one of them. Fortunately for you,” Wonderbolt flexed, “I fly up and down that passage all the time. Should be about the same carrying you right?”
“I suppose so,” Copper Head pondered, “But if I do get up there, how will I find my body? It could be anywhere!”
“I’ve tried it before,” the pegasus replied, “There’s a strange light that shows you right where your body is. I... didn’t make it in time. My body decayed to a point where I wouldn’t have been able to use it.”
“Oh, that’s pretty depressing.”
“Don’t worry about it kid. Let’s just get you out of here before the same thing happens to your body.” Wonderbolt was fixing to carry him, but Copper Head stopped him.
“Hold on. I have some questions to ask you first. Are you a Joraguur? Like me?”
“Sure am, kiddo. I thought it was kind of obvious since me and High Noon were friends. Joraguur back in the day didn’t have many friends apart from each other. The world needed us, but they distrusted us to no end. Afraid that we would hurt them somehow.”
“You didn’t seem surprised about my identity like High Noon was, so I wasn’t sure.”
“Heh, High Noon was always into that stuff. While he was inside studying, I was outside flying. Besides, Bear Claw is still alive; even if he’s just a statue.”
“How do you know that?” Copper Head speculated, “Weren’t you dead when that happened?”
“I was.” Wonderbolt agreed, “When you get older, you’ll understand. Your powers will start to sense the state of others like you. Any other questions?”
“Yeah. Why did the Enfield’s lightning avoid that other pony and go straight to me?”
Wonderbolt sighed, “Unfortunately, our power comes with a price. Due to our magical field, we become immune to normal magic; but incredibly susceptible to lightning and fire. It’s an even trade I believe, although it makes it difficult to fight those things that use those elements. You’ll probably never hear of one of us being a dragon slayer.”
“I see...” Copper Head couldn’t think of anything else to say so without further ado he asked Wonderbolt to carry him out of Tartaros. Wonderbolt lifted him onto his back, and off they went. The journey was smooth for a while, but Copper Head started to notice the squid things that the pegasus had talked about earlier. They hid inside crevices in the wall and there large red eyes peered out into the darkness. Wonderbolt made a sudden movement which almost threw Copper Head off. He looked behind them to realize that he had dodged a tentacle jutting out of one of the holes.
“Hold on!” Wonderbolt yelled, “It goes rougher here on out!” Copper Head gripped harder as Wonderbolt started a series of aerial acrobatics. Weaving in and out of the squid’s tentacles like it was some practice routine. Copper Head was starting to get dizzy so he closed his eyes tightly. His dizziness was alleviated, but he could still feel each gut churning twist and turn. He just hoped that a legend like Wonderbolt would be able to do what he said he could. The trip felt like it took forever, but as they neared the top, Wonderbolt broke the silence and shouted, “I’m going to throw you!”
“What?” Copper Head said shocked, “Why?”
“I forgot to mention that I only made it to the top once,” he laughed, “I’ll get as close as I can and throw you!”
“Are you crazy?” Copper Head yelled back.
“Yes!” He answered. Wonderbolt picked up speed and took a hold of Copper Head’s front leg. Copper Head finally opened his eyes. They were surprisingly close to the exit, but the path was crisscrossed with writhing tentacles. After dodging a few more of the obstacles, Wonderbolt spun and put all his momentum into throwing Copper Head. The earth pony was launched into the air and out of the hole. He grabbed onto the ledge and struggled to get up. Once he was back on solid ground, he peered back into the hole. He could see nothing in that abyss.
He surveyed his surroundings. All around him there was nothing. The ground was dusty and cracked, and there was no living thing in sight. In the distance, a tall pillar of light dominated the horizon. “That must be where I need to go.” Copper Head steeled himself and set off on a new journey.
Spot surveyed the building. All of the customers had left, so she grabbed her coat and headed for the door. She took one last look around the shop before venturing out into the blistering cold. The wind whisked past her and sent a shiver down her spine. She pulled her jacket closer to her face and stuck to the side of the buildings. It had been one month since Copper Head was revived and she had been assigned to floor 17. The floor simulated some city in the griffin homeland, but Spot had been too preoccupied to remember what it was. She was too worried about Copper Head. He had grown distant ever since he came back. He rarely talked to anyone on the team anymore, and he spent a lot of time with Krafty nowadays.
It’s strange. Spot thought to herself as she shuffled down the sidewalk, It’s as if he’s still dead. Why did everything go wrong? Spot shivered as she stepped into a pile of fresh snow, sending chills all over her body. I always get pushed away from everyone I love. My parents, my sister, Copper Head... Did I just say loved him? “No,” Spot whispered softly to herself, “I loved the old Copper Head, not the new one.” Spot found the teleportal wall that led to her dorm and pressed her hoof against its surface. The familiar crimson red door appeared. She gripped the handle and hoped that she wouldn’t be faced with the same sight she saw everyday. She swung the door opened and cringed. The common area was a mess; Spot didn’t know how it got there, but it came back no matter how many times she cleaned it. She put away her coat and reluctantly picked up the the broom and dustpan.
In the midst of sweeping up a pile of dust, Grand Prix’s door opened. “Spot?” She called out, “Could you come here for a second?”
Spot dropped what she was doing and hurried over to Grand Prix’s room. Perhaps the one good thing that has happened lately is that Spot had been able to really grow close to Grand Prix. Spot entered the room and Grand Prix closed the door behind them. “So what’s up, Grand Prix?” Spot let her eyes wander around the room. The walls were lined with posters of famous cloudwalker racers, and racing sponsors.
“Well... Copper Head and Shadowstorm were at it again today. And... well... look.”
Spot glanced over at Grand Prix and realized she had a black eye. “What! Are you alright?”
“Not really,” Grand Prix lightly put her hoof up to the bruise, “It hurts pretty bad. I was hoping you could use your magic on it.”
“Of course.” Spot used her unicorn magic to help alleviate the pain a bit. She didn’t know spells specifically for bruises so the mark was still there. “How did you get this?”
Grand Prix sighed, “Like I said, Shadowstorm and Copper Head were fighting again. They were at it when I came in the door. I tried to just get past them, but I was hit in the crossfire.”
Ever since Copper Head had come back, Shadowstorm became paranoid that Copper Head wasn’t the real Copper Head. Spot had her suspicions, but she wasn’t about to attack her friend. One day, Shadowstorm jumped Copper Head and started a brawl that frightened the two mares. Ever since then, they’ve been fighting more and more often. “Where are they now?”
“I-I don’t know. I think Shadowstorm is in his room.”
“I’m going to go check up on him." Spot left Grand Prix's room and moved across the living room to Shadowstorm's door. She pressed her ear against it, but couldn't hear anything on the other side. She decided to knock.
"Go away!" Shadowstorm yelled from inside his room.
"Hey, it's Spot. Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a flesh wound."
"What? Alright, I'm coming in." Spot used her magic to bust the door open and barge into the room. Shadowstorm was lying on his bed and Spot noticed a large bite mark on his shoulder. A trail of blood led from the door to the bed. “You should have gotten help. What if it got infected?” Spot started to heal Shadowstorm’s wound, but an awkward silence existed between them.
“That’s not the real Copper Head, you know.” Shadowstorm whispered as if Copper Head would hurt him again if he said anything about him, “Something has possessed him.”
Spot winced. Although it was hard to believe, she almost shared his thoughts. “While he does act differently, I doubt he’s being ‘possessed’.”
“But I’ve seen it! Whenever I use my powers around him, I can see this thing hovering over him! Some sort of strange insect. It has to be controlling him!” Shadowstorm winced as Spot’s magic closed up his wound. “Thanks for that. You should get going, though. Copper Head might get mad if he knows you were in my room.”
“I suppose you’re right. I’ll get going.” She walked through the open door and turned as she was closing it. “Remember to get help if you get hurt again!” She closed the door gently and headed for her room. Her room was the only place that Spot could feel any solace in her life. It was that one place that reminded her of the life she had before and the life she strove to return to. She collapsed onto her bed roll and stared into the ceiling. Every day she was losing hope. She only went along with Krafty’s deal because he promised to take her home, but she always had the feeling that just trying to find her way back home would have been the better deal. She curled up in her bed as her mind was flooded with thoughts. Eventually, she was able to find rest.
K9 shuffled through a pile of paperwork. He had finally been able to get his students a floor, but it wasn’t the one he had in mind. He wanted to get them into the Changeling wastelands or maybe Saddle Arabia, but Krafty stuck them in some backwater towns where their talent would be wasted. Even in places like the Griffin Kingdom. “Griffins,” he spat, “Good for nothings.” K9 had a certain dislike for griffins. When he was younger, Kindle sent him to the griffin’s capital city as a foreign ambassador. However, his true mission was to steal a sacred sword that had supposed magical powers. In his time there, he became addicted to cigarettes, had his heart broken, killed his first pony, and was tortured once the authorities found out his true intentions. K9 opened a secret compartment in his room that revealed a display case with a sword in it. He managed to get the sacred sword, but it turned out to be blessed with some basic enchantment. Krafty deemed it useless, but gave it to his brother.
“K9, can you see me in my office? It’s about your note.”
K9 grunted and pulled out the communication crystal from one of his drawers. “Yeah, I’ll be right there, brother.” K9 slammed the crystal back into its drawer and put out the cigarette he had been smoking. “Best not keep his majesty waiting.” K9 walked to the teleporter wall and placed his hoof on it. A door so small that no pony could possibly fit through it appeared. K9 crouched down and his body started to morph. He got smaller and his form changed. In a matter of seconds, the stallion had transformed into a puppy. One could not tell at first glance that the cute puppy was actually the stern cloudwalker teacher. K9 walked through the door and entered into the back of Krafty’s throne room. Krafty was seated at his table flanked by Hati and Skol.
Hati’s ears perked up as K9 entered the room, “Puppy is here!” The wolf leaped over the table and pounced on K9. “Can I have some fun with him, Krafty? I promise I won’t hurt him too much!”
“No, Hati. We have things to discuss. Besides, K9 can give you a run for you money.”
“Ha! Puppy couldn’t hurt me... wuh?” As Hati was gloating, K9 shapeshifted again, this time in the form of a large brown wolf comparable to Hati. Hati yelped as K9 pushed him off and bit at his side. “Hey! That hurt!” Hati retreated to Krafty’s side and eyed K9 from across the room.
K9 changed back into a pony and addressed Krafty, “You said you received my note?”
Krafty was intensely focused on a chess game between him and the wolf Skol, but answered his question without hesitation. “Yes, I have.” He moved a chess piece before he continued speaking, “I have thought over it, and I must ask: Why do you want to know the details of my plans?”
“Because we’re brothers!” K9 yelled. He instantly realized his mistake, “Forgive me, brother. I did not mean to yell, but I feel like you are leaving me out of the invasion plans.”
Krafty knocked over one of Skol’s chess pieces and sighed, “What more do you need to know? We’ve been over the invasion plans, tactics, and even simulations. You probably know more than anypony else.”
“I know that, but...” K9 hesitated, “Why did you have to kill my students? You know how I feel about that. Plus, that... thing... that’s possessing his body now is creepy.”
“Hmph, I’m surprised that you found out, but I guess it’s to be expected. The earth pony’s hidden potential fits into my plans. The other ponies are there for... insurance. If he does happen to get his body back, I’ll just threaten to kill the yellow one to keep him in line.”
Anger boiled up inside K9. He was used to Krafty speaking like others were just pawns, but he always took it personally when he talked about his students that way. “What are you going to do about the queen?” K9 said, quickly trying to change the topic, “She could put a dent in your plans.”
Krafty checkmated Skol and turned to face his brother, “I have it covered, brother. You of all ponies should know that I have one hundred plans for every scenario. You shouldn’t worry so much. You’re dismissed.”
“But Krafty...”
“You’re dismissed!” The King’s voice echoed through the empty hall.
K9’s ears drooped as he hurried away from his brother’s presence. He knew his brother was trying to keep his plans secret from him, but no matter how he tried, he couldn’t get any useful information out of him. Only that when the Kingdom destroyed its enemies, the world would be better off...
Copper Head had been wandering the earth for what seemed like an eternity; he could see the light that marked his body in the distance, but he never felt any closer. It was strange being a spirit. He never got hungry, tired, or thirsty. He was always restless and his need to get to his body became increasingly dire. He thought he had finally caught a break when he crossed paths with a unicorn. He followed her hoping that she would lead him to a town, but of course, she didn’t know Copper Head was there. Copper Head moved on because the unicorn stopped randomly to look at birds or something. He didn’t have time for that. He headed in the direction that the unicorn was heading and eventually found a dirt road.
Setting upon that road, Copper Head was surrounded by grassy plains that stretched on for miles. The horizon held no landmarks, and there was nothing to judge how far he had gone. As the sun was beginning to set, he started to notice seabirds filling the air. Gull calls and soon the sound of waves crashing disrupted the natural silence. Eventually, Copper Head found the source of water. A small channel separated where he was from a land mass that didn’t look too far away. “I need to get over there,” he said to himself, “That’s where the light is, and my body I guess.” He trotted through the rocky shore and up to the water. He stared at the channel for some time, wondering how he was going to get over. “I guess I can’t drown, since I’m already dead. Might as well try it out...” Copper Head tried to test the waters with his front hooves, but was repelled by some invisible force. Once his confusion was cleared, Copper Head tried to run at full speed into the water. Once again, the stallion was thrown backwards by that same force. After several failed attempts, Copper Head decided to find another way around...
Three weeks passed since the scuffle between Copper Head and Shadowstorm. Shadowstorm, Grand Prix, and Spot agreed to pretend like they didn’t notice “Copper Head’s” apparent change until they could find something to do about it. On one seemingly normal morning, K9 barged into his students’ room without warning. Most of them were still asleep or just waking up. Shadowstorm was actually already awake and trying to cook, but all the food ended up on the wall after K9 surprised him. The teacher rounded them up to give them the fateful news. “I think it’s about time for a field test.” K9 eyed them all. “You’ve done well in your first training simulations so I’ll be sending you out on a short excursion. If all goes well, it’ll be just like in your simulations.”
“Yes!” Shadowstorm jumped for joy, “I’ve been waiting for this! Time to prove how awesome I really am!”
Grand Prix smacked him in the back of the head, “Stay quiet!” Shadowstorm just laughed and rubbed his head.
“Anyway...” K9 grunted, “You’ll be leaving in just a few minutes. I’ll be back once you have gathered your things.” K9 left the room and the students returned to their own rooms to get ready. Spot really wasn’t as excited as the others were, she was the only one who was assigned to that snowy cold wasteland in the middle of the griffin homeland. In fact, she didn’t know where anypony else was assigned to. She thought she might as well ask. She inched cautiously up to “Copper Head” and asked. He retorted that he was going to a changeling kingdom. Spot found it strange, but she couldn’t get any more information out of the earth pony. As for Shadowstorm and Grand Prix, they were both going to some town called Ponyville. After Spot had gathered up her things, she said a small prayer to Bito that they would be safe... The sudden gesture shocked herself. She hadn’t been keeping up with her prayers to Bito. She did have a small shrine to him in her room, but she had completely forgotten about him; something that didn’t bode very well for the unicorn.
K9 reentered the room not long after. “You’ll only be spending three days in your respective locations, so I don’t expect any of you to get into any trouble.” He pulled out some very large parcels and handed one to each of them, “These contain a few things that you need. One thing you will find inside is a warp crystal. Just grip it as hard as you can and the magic will react. After three days, you’ll come back using the crystals. If you aren’t back after the allotted time, we WILL come looking for you. Also inside, you will find your instructions for this assignment written by the King himself. You need to get as many of the listed tasks finished in the allotted time. Any questions?” The group remained silent, “Good. Remember everything I taught you and I wish you all luck.” K9 watched as each pony gripped their crystals and vanished in a flash of light. Once they were all gone, K9’s stern looked turned sullen, “Come back safely.” He whispered.
To Copper Head’s dismay, he had found himself on an island. Being surrounded by water he was unable to cross, Copper Head had tried alternative means of getting off the island. He found that he was able to phase through objects and tried to go under the water, but that didn’t work. He tried to cross on a boat that docked there for a short time, but even that didn’t work. After giving up all hope, he rested under the shade of a palm tree while staring out at the water. He didn’t really “rest” since he never got tired, but the idea of resting calmed his troubled mind. As he stared over the ocean as the sun was setting, he noticed something in the sky. At first, it was just a small black dot against the sun, but it grew bigger as it approached. Copper Head figured it was just a normal pegasus and didn’t think anything of it. But the pony looked like it was heading for him. As it alighted on the ground, Copper Head felt something familiar about this pony.
“Hello my friend,” the pony said, “I’m glad that our paths have met again.”
“What?” Copper Head was confused, “You look familiar, but I’m not sure if we met before.” She had a horn so Copper Head guessed she was a unicorn, but she was also able to fly. Maybe unicorn magic?
The pony laughed, “I suppose it was awhile ago. Do you remember a chained up pony you helped out in a dungeon some time ago? Had a chain that looked a bit like this?” The unicorn pointed to her neck, and hanging there was a collar and a short chain with a spike at the end.
Copper Head started to put the pieces together in his mind, “You’re the pony me and Spot met! Back in that dungeon...”
“You are correct. Your actions weakened the rock around the chain. With your help, I was able to free myself, but I am still not free from this collar.”
“Oh, it was nothing. I would have done that for anypony. How can you see me by the way?” Copper Head questioned, “I would think that normal ponies wouldn’t be able to see me.”
“I am no normal pony!” The unicorn seemed a bit angered, “I am Queen Soul Glow! An alicorn!”
“An alicorn?!?” Copper Head was surprised. But he soon understood. She was a cloudwalker alicorn: she had cloudwalker wings and a unicorn horn. Copper Head wondered if he should bow to her, but something inside him cringed at the thought of submitting before her. Instead he apologized, “I didn’t realize you were royalty! I’m very sorry!”
“Hmmm, you are forgiven.” She replied, “I have dominion over the emotions of the soul. Most of the time, emotions are shackled by the physical body, but your bodiless form has allowed your emotional energy to run free. This is partly the reason why I can see spirits. For what is a spirit, but emotions without a body?”
“I... suppose so...” Copper Head wasn’t one for deep thinking, “So, why did you come here? I wouldn’t think that you would target me in such a remote location.”
“Oh, it was very easy to find you.” Soul Glow smiled, “There aren’t many spirits still hanging around in the world, and you’re the only one trying his best to cross a body of water. Also, I knew to look for you, especially after I found out what Krafty had done to your body.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I believe he killed you on purpose. He really likes to have total control, and he knew he couldn’t control you. So he got rid of you, but kept your body. He would have done the same to me except my powers would have prevented him from doing so. I’m here to get you back to your body. I don’t know what Krafty is planning, but I do not want his schemes to succeed.” Soul Glow offered Copper Head her hoof, “Spirits normally cannot cross the water, but you can if you cross with me.”
Copper Head took a hold of her hoof and was lifted into the sky. To his amazement when they crossed over the water, he wasn’t pushed back like usual. As they gained altitude, Copper Head looked back and saw the entire layout of the island. Towards the far end, he could see the area where the entrance to Tartaros was located. He hoped that he wouldn’t have to go back soon. Copper Head decided to get a few answers from the alicorn. “So, why did your husband lock you up? I wouldn’t have thought Krafty to be that cruel.”
Soul Glow laughed hysterically, “Krafty? MY husband? No, I’m married to his older brother, Kindle. He’s the real king. Krafty is just an ambitious younger brother.”
“What happened to Kindle?” Copper Head asked, “Did he die like everypony in Cloudwalker Kingdom thinks?”
“Of course not! Krafty tricked him into thinking there was some kind of rebellion in the caverns. There was nothing there except a trap, though; I’m not sure exactly what Krafty did with my husband.”
“Maybe he’s in another dungeon in Cloudwalker Kingdom? Kind of like how you were imprisoned.”
The alicorn thought for a minute before responding, “I don’t think so. Kindle was forced through a long range portal. Perhaps he is being held prisoner in some foreign nation. I’m not sure. I haven’t had much time to search.”
Copper Head wanted to volunteer to help her find her husband, but he felt like he would just hold her back since he can’t fly. It would probably be best to let her sort that out, he reasoned. I have my own problems to deal with right now. The two traveled in silence. They flew over territory unfamiliar to Copper Head. He could see large cities here and there with smaller towns distributed around them. There were castles, skyscrapers, and other wonders that Copper Head probably would never see before. It was a nice flight, but out of nowhere the light that Copper Head assumed showed where his body was disappeared.
Copper Head shouted and pointed out the fact which startled Soul Glow she almost dropped her passenger. “Calm down, you! Look over there.” She banked to the left so that the light came into view again. “They must have teleported your body somewhere. We’ll have to hurry.” Soul Glow picked up speed as they raced towards the beacon of light.
“Ugh! This place really is as boring as it was in the simulation!” Shadowstorm slumped over a park bench in Ponyville. “Could it get any more dull?”
Grand Prix pushed him off the bench, “Calm down will you? I’m actually enjoying this. Some peace and quiet is just what I need.” Grand Prix leaned back and closed her eyes, letting the sun soak her in its light.
Shadowstorm picked himself off the ground and got back on the bench, “Well, why do we have to wear these stupid shoes? My wings are starting to ache.” He pulled at a special “shoe” that was on his rear legs. They matched his coat color and looked like they weren’t there. “I know we use ‘em to hide the fact that we’re different, but couldn’t they make them more comfortable?”
“I know what you mean.” Grand Prix actually agreed, “But we can’t let anyone know about Cloudwalker Kingdom. It’s one of the rules, and it’ll help us with spying.” They continued to sit there watching as the citizens of Ponyville walked by. They weren’t simply crowd watching, but actually looking for specific targets. Grand Prix pulled out a list and started to go over it. The list was in order of most importance: a unicorn named Twilight Sparkle was at the top, followed by some Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity. Towards the bottom of the list there was the mayor of the town, some zebra that lived in the nearby forest, and a baby dragon. “I wonder who we should gather info about first.”
“How about that one?” Shadowstorm pointed to the picture of Pinkie Pie, “Didn’t Copper Head say that she was his cousin, once?”
Grand Prix nodded, “I think you’re right. I guess we’ll look for her first.” She lowered the list and almost screamed as Pinkie Pie was standing right there, hidden by the paper.
“Hey! Sorry I startled you! I was just about to go to a surprise party when I noticed you two sitting here. I haven’t seen either of you before so I thought I would invite you! I always throw a party for everypony I meet so I thought it would be just perfect! Unless you want to have your own party. Which is fine by me! But sometimes having a party now is better than having a party later. Oh! I totally forgot! My name is Pinkie Pie! What’s yours?”
The two cloudwalkers stared blankly at the pink pony. Shadowstorm was the first to recover from the verbal attack, “Uh, my name is Shadowstorm and that’s Grand Prix. We’ll be sure to go to your surprise party.”
“Great! Follow me!”
As Pinkie Pie started bouncing away, the two followed her from as far away as they could without looking suspicious. Grand Prix sighed, “Well that was easy, but this one is kind of… hyper. Reminds me of you.”
“Please. I don’t even have that much energy.” Shadowstorm replied, “This party might help us with or spying though. Maybe the other targets will be there. Easiest assignment ever.” They traveled across the town until they arrived at some giant gingerbread house. Pinkie Pie went right inside, but Grand Prix and Shadowstorm stopped outside.
“Alright you.” Grand Prix stepped in front of Shadowstorm, “We’ll split up alright? That way we can get more information. Now, I know K9 had to help you with your short term memory problem, but I feel certain you can focus enough to get something useful. You understand?”
“Of course I understand, ‘boss’.” Shadowstorm retorted as he brushed past her, “I got this all under control.” Grand Prix had her doubts, but there was nothing more she could really say as they entered the strange sugar-filled building.
It wasn’t hard for Spot to find a place to stay in the small griffin city of Talonfall. It was almost exactly like the replica back at the academy. She rented a room for three days at the Six Shield’s Tavern and also found work to pay for the lodging by doing odd jobs around town. Unicorns were rare in that part of the Griffin Kingdom so many citizens just wanted something fixed that would normally take forever without magic. She was not without her objective however. She was tasked with investigating the rumors of an “ice dragon” that had been spotted in the region. Newspaper reports were spotty at best, and no photographs have been taken of the creature. However, many eye witnesses have come forward saying that they have seen an entire dragon made of ice slithering through the snow-covered mountains.
Spot arrived back at the inn after a full day of work and handed the innkeeper, an elderly female griffin named Glyph, a bag of gold coins. “Thank you stranger,” the griffin replied, “It’s not often that your kind visits these parts. Mind telling me what you’re after?”
“The rumored ‘ice dragon’. I want to see if it’s real or not.”
“Ha!” the griffin laughed, “You and that fool Cirrus. I’m sure if you talk to him, he’ll show you where he saw it. He comes in here every day at 5, so if you wait a while, you should find him.”
“Thank you ma’am.” Spot ordered some hot tea, before sitting down to wait. The common area of the inn was nice and cozy. In the middle of one wall was a fireplace that filled room with a constant swathe of warm air. The occasional cold breeze swept by whenever someone entered the inn and there was a constant drone of conversation. Combined with the softness of the couch, Spot was bound to fall asleep had she not been vigilant in meeting this “Cirrus” that the innkeeper had mentioned.
Exactly at five, a grey-blue griffin hurried into the inn and headed straight for the bar. He ordered something and was about to leave, but the innkeeper directed him to Spot. He warily made his way to where Spot was; like the way most of the griffins in town did when walking around the unicorn. “Hey,” he said in whispered tones, “you looking for the ‘ice dragon’ too, huh?”
“Sure am, I’ve been sent by a prestigious university to study the phenomenon. I presume you are Cirrus?” She extended her hoof, “I’m Spot. It’s a pleasure.”
Cirrus eyed her hoof before cautiously, “Right, a pleasure…” Spot realized from her previous training that you had to be very hospitable around griffins from small towns. They’re very distrusting of outsiders and troublemakers. “We can’t talk here… Come, my house will protect us from prying ears…” The griffin was about to leave, but he remembered his drink, “Um, we can go after I drink this. I took one of Glyph’s mugs before and she wasn’t happy with me.”
Spot assured him that it was no trouble at all. Normally, Spot was would be untrusting of being alone with a male of any species after the incident with Gate Crasher. But while she was training, she got into a mare self-defense class that taught her what to do in those situations. Plus, she had her magic. The two had an almost-normal conversation, mostly about the mysterious ice dragon that had been plaguing the area. From what Spot had gathered from the griffin, a handful of griffins had been found frozen solid across the mountainside and the townsfolk were getting scared. However, they didn’t want to admit their fears that it was some kind of dragon. Instead, they put the blame on the victims themselves; that they shouldn’t have gone out in the cold. Anyone who publicly voiced their opinion of the dragon was shot down and thought of as a paranoid fool. After Cirrus finished his drink, he escorted the unicorn to his house.
After entering the house, Cirrus led Spot to a room with a large map of the mountain. Red dots covered the map and many of them were clustered together in one area not far from the outskirts of town. “This is the map I made giving the position of all the victims.” Cirrus noticed Spot eyeing the map and couldn’t help but tell her its purpose. “I believe that the dragon lives near to where most of the victims were attacked.” He pointed to a section of the mountain close to a sheer cliff. “I believe that there is probably a cave around here where the dragon sleeps. I’ve wanted to search the area at night when the dragon is asleep, but I wouldn’t be able to do anything against the dragon if it were to wake up.”
“I can take care of the dragon,” Spot sort of boasted, “I just need to get a few things sorted. How about I meet you here tomorrow?”
“Uhh, sure…” Cirrus had prepared a lot more evidence just in case anyone wanted to learn about the dragon, so he was surprised when this unicorn had made up her mind to join him after only showing her a simple map. “Same time, I suppose?”
“That’ll be fine. You take care now Cirrus, I’ll see myself out.” Spot waved and put on her “totally innocent mare” appearance. It seemed to have worked as Cirrus just waved back and turned to re-examine the map. As Spot made her way to the door, she veered off into what looked like a living room. On the mantle above the fireplace, a glass case enclosed a marble slab with slightly glowing runes etched into the face. This was what Spot had really come for. The "ice dragon" was just a reason to gain the trust of a paranoid griffin. She closed in on the case and focused a magical spell on the glass surface. Unfortunately, the case was unaffected. Spot furrowed her brow. Now she was going to have to use an even more difficult spell. Instead of simply moving the case, Spot was about to attempt to teleport the slab from a distance. This spell was incredibly difficult as anything in the way, including the air, could possibly disrupt the spell. As her horn sparked with magic, she was hit from behind by something. She sprawled out on the floor and tried to get back up, but she wasn’t quick enough.
Cirrus was standing over her with a scowl on his face, “I knew it! You were just after my family heirloom!”
“Whatever are you talking about? I was just curious!” Spot lied, “Please let me go? I’m sure a big strong griffin like you wouldn’t hurt a defenseless mare like me.”
Cirrus hesitated. “N-no! I don’t trust you! I can’t let you leave now… heh. You are kind of cute…”
“What’s with everyone trying to get with me?” Spot delivered a quick kick to the griffin’s crotch. As Cirrus instinctively cringed in pain, Spot pushed him off of her. “I wish I knew it was that easy to get males off of me before.” She picked up a nearby chair with her magic and threw it against the glass case. The glass shattered and Spot happily retrieved her prize. She turned to leave, but Cirrus managed to grab a hold of her tail.
“Wait…” he said, “I’ll help you… translate it…”
Spot paused, “Really now?” She knew she shouldn’t trust him, but she was curious. “What do you know about something so ancient?”
“You really don’t think I haven’t studied it before now? Look, if you help me with the dragon, I’ll give you all of the notes I made about it.”
“What if I just take the notes now? With my magic, it shouldn’t be too hard to pry it from your claws.”
“My notes are encrypted,” he said with a grin, “There’s no griffin more paranoid than me.”
“Fine,” Spot agreed, placing the tablet on a nearby end table. “I’ll be back tomorrow and you better be here.” Cirrus nodded. Spot left the griffin and walked out into the street. It had grown incredibly dark in such a short period of time. She quickly made it back to the inn and went straight to her room. She collapsed on the bed and immediately started crying into her pillow. She hated treating people like she just did. During her training, K9 informed her that she was too soft when approaching others in her simulations. So K9 somehow reconditioned her to be crueler than normal at certain times and it caused turmoil with Spot’s heart. Even during her simulations, when she knew that the ponies and griffins were just acting, she would cry until she fell asleep. And tonight was no different.
Spot met Cirrus the day after their scuffle. The two didn't say much to each other and the awkward silence persisted as they made their way through town and into the snow fields. Spot was impressed that the griffin was comfortable with wearing only light clothing while the unicorn had to wear many different layers. As they neared the mountain, it was obvious that something large was lurking around. Large prints in the ground suggested that a dragon was nearby, but the depth of the prints were much too deep. The dragon would have had to be the size of a castle to make prints that big, and dragons of that size were rare.
Cirrus broke the silence by commenting that they were getting close to the cave that he believed the dragon rested. “We will wait here for night to fall, then we will sneak into the cave.” Spot nodded in agreement, but remained silent. Soon the howl of the wind was the only noise. The two didn’t look at each other; the tension of the previous day still hung in the air. “What do you need the tablet for?” Cirrus questioned. “It’s not something that would be of any interest to you.”
“I’m not interested in it,” Spot replied curtly, “I’m here to retrieve it for someone else.”
“That’s troubling news.” The griffin looked a little sad, “It describes directions to resurrect an ancient power. Be sure your friend doesn’t let it fall into the wrong hooves.” Spot was about to answer when a low rumble shook the two to the core. Something enormous flew overhead, swooping low so as to block out the little light that was cast by the rising moon. “That must be the dragon!” Cirrus shouted as he took off running towards it. Spot followed, and soon the two found the cave that the dragon had made its home.
The cave entrance was hard to miss, but many of the griffins probably didn’t travel up that far because there was really no reason to. The cave was surprisingly bright. There were torches on the walls which was strange for a cave inhabited by a dragon. Despite that, there were telltale signs that a dragon lived there. Claw marks on most of the surfaces, treasure scattered in messy heaps, and the lifeless statues of its frozen victims. Many of the unfortunate were griffins, but there were a few ponies. Heavy breathing echoed through the cave and the two took it as an indication that the dragon was asleep. They reached the innermost part of the cave and spotted the dragon, which Spot found to be most interesting. It wasn’t an ice dragon; it was a dragon made of ice!
Incredible! Spot thought to herself, This is not the work of nature, but of powerful magic! I’ve heard that this sort of magic was possible, but I didn’t realize that I would ever see it; the caster must be here somewhere! Spot momentarily forgot her original purpose for being there and ventured out in the open.
Cirrus noticed her and pulled her back into the shadows. “Are you crazy!” he whispered, “You’ll get us killed!” Spot struggled against his hold, but he was much stronger.
“Let me explain!” She whispered back. Cirrus loosened his grip on her, and allowed her to explain what she had been thinking. Cirrus wasn’t sure if he trusted her reasoning, but he was curious to see if she was right. The two wandered carefully up to the dragon, and to their relief, it didn’t stir from its slumber. As Spot had expected, the dragon’s body was made of solid ice forced into a living shape by magic. As the two stared into it’s body, they could see something standing behind them in the reflection.
They deftly spun around and came face to face with a tall unicorn. He was wearing a silver chest piece that covered his light blue coat. His short mane looked sharp and icy as if it had been blown back by a strong freezing wind. His horn faded from blue into a very deep red that matched his eyes which stared at the two with contempt. “What are you doing in here!?” He yelled, “Do you want me to add you to my collection?” The two gulped. They figured that “the collection" referred to the many columns of frozen ponies and griffins.
Cirrus was the first to answer and it seemed that his surprise had completely vanished. "Are you the one that owns this dragon? The one that has been terrorizing the town?" Indeed, the young griffin's questioning had turned into some interrogation. "You have a lot to answer to if it was you!"
The unicorn chuckled, "You amuse me. Kold does not answer to anyone but himself. You could bring an army against me and I would turn them all to ice and shatter them with a single utterance. " Kold, as the unicorn called himself, stomped the ground and a sharp gust of wind chilled Spot and Cirrus to the bone. There were even small icicles forming on their clothes already.
Spot used her magic and turned the ice that clung to their clothes into water droplets. She then gathered them up into a puddle of water which promptly froze. While Spot thought nothing of the action, Kold was intrigued.
"Water magic? Why, I've been looking for somepony to teach me that very thing." The unicorn thought for a moment. "If you were to allow me to learn what you know, I will let you both go free."
"Hold up!" Cirrus said abruptly, "What about everyone you froze? I'm not leaving until they are all returned."
Kold's smile quickly turned to a frown, "What would you need with a bunch of dead bodies?"
Cirrus was pushed over the edge by this remark. He screeched and lept at Kold with his talons outstretched. The griffin aimed for the unicorns throat so as to finish him in one strike. But without even batting an eye, Kold froze the griffin solid while he was still in mid air. The chunk of ice that was Cirrus fell to the ground.
Spot's heart skipped a beat as she saw the immense power of the other unicorn. She slid over to the griffin and turned the ice into water. As the moisture flowed away and froze again, Spot checked Cirrus' pulse. He was dead. "I need him alive!" Spot spouted without thinking. She quickly covered her mouth so as not to perhaps anger Kold.
"I'm afraid there's nothing I can do." Kold said nonchalantly. "Bringing one back to life is beyond my power. However, instead of worrying about him; you should worry about yourself." Kold moved closer to the unicorn. His intimidating presence made Spot quiver, "I don't want to have to kill you too," he said calmly, "Allow me to learn what you have learned and you will go free. In fact, you will be rewarded."
"I don't see much of a choice." Spot replied. She couldn't see any way out of this. She doubted that a unicorn who could kill a fully-grown griffin in the blink of an eye could be bested by her.
“Good, now point your horn towards me.” Kold looked at Spot expectantly, but she was confused by his instructions. She relented and bowed her head towards him. Kold bowed his head down and touched his horn to Spot’s. A bright light flashed and was reflected by the smooth walls of the cavern. In that moment, Spot was overcome with memories and experiences. She was flooded with feelings of great sorrow and hate, as well as loneliness. The swathe of memories was almost too much for her. She fell to her knees and started gasping for air.
“What was that?”
“A memory sharing spell,” Kold sighed, “I just looked around your mind for anything pertaining to magic; I have no interest in other pony’s pasts.” His horn was surrounded by a blue aura and Kold tested his new magic. He turned the dragon of ice into a dragon of water and back again. Satisfied, Kold helped Spot to her hooves, “Thank you Spot. Allow me to escort you back to the town.”
“Th-Thank you…” Spot was still reeling from the mental experience she just had. “But, who are you?” She had seen into his past in that small instance, and it wasn’t pretty. She wondered what kind of unicorn would be able to survive all that he did.
“I am Kold,” he replied, “that is all.” He seemed to have taken a moment of brief contemplation. “It is time for you to go.”
“Wait! Won’t you tell me anything else?”
“You would know too much,” Kold stated matter-of-factly. Without another word spoken between the two, Kold’s horn glowed bright and enveloped Spot in its magic. Spot instinctively closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she found herself right outside of Talonfall. Spot kicked at the ground in frustration. She felt like she should have known who that unicorn was, but she couldn’t put the pieces together. His memories filled her mind like tiny sprites: only showing up in the corner of your eye before flitting away.
Spot had lost track of time. She stood on the outskirts of the town in the snow trying her best to solve the puzzle of Kold’s identity, but the griffins of the town were getting curious. She had left during the night and now it was early morning. Why was the unicorn standing in the snow and staring into space in the wee hours of the monring? A mischievous little grifflett tossed a pebble at her. The rock struck the ground next to her which was enough to break her concentration. She looked around and blushed when she realized that everyone was looking at her. She scurried off to her room at the inn and rested for a spell before heading to Cirrus’ house.
It was unfortunate that the griffin had to die. He really didn’t deserve it, but Kold definitely lived up to his name. She crept into the deceased griffin’s house and searched for the tablet that she had originally been there for. It was back in its perch above the fireplace, but the glass was still broken from the night before. She retrieved her prize and headed for the door when she remembered Cirrus’ words. Apparently he had some “encrypted notes”. Spot figured it would be best to find them. She searched all over the house, but couldn’t find even a scrap of paper. It wasn’t until she searched that kitchen that she discovered a safe behind a shelf of collectible sporks. It was easy to pick the safe. A teacher back at the academy taught her how to use her water magic in unexpected ways. She used small streams of water as a sort of lock pick. The safe swung open with ease, and laying inside were a stack of papers and a glowing blue gem. Intrigued, Spot inspected the gem first. It looked ordinary, but she could tell that it was somewhat magical. She decided to hold on to it. As for the papers, Spot could tell that they were written in some ancient griffin dialect. Her studies in Neigh Jing allowed her to make out a few words.
“Core, golem, power, elements? I wonder what all of these mean.” She said aloud. She shrugged and decided to keep these as well. She couldn’t make out what the script was talking about, but it sounded interesting. She made her way to the door once again when she looked at the clock. She still had some time left, but there was nothing left for her to do. “I’ll just have to lay low till tomorrow, but I shouldn’t go back to the inn… they might look for me after Cirrus doesn’t come by.” She closed the door to the ownerless house, leaving its untold secrets to be plundered by mere passersby.
When Grand Prix and Shadowstorm entered Sugar Cube Corner, the party was already in full swing. “Not much of a surprise party,” Grand Prix muttered, “It looks like they already had the surprise… and half the party as well.”
“Aww come on, Grand Prix. Don’t be so negative.” Shadowstorm jabbed his friend in the side, “There’s still enough party left for us!” Without another thought, Shadowstorm lost himself in the crowd and the party.
“Wait! Idiot…” Grand Prix wasn’t fast enough. They weren’t there for a dumb party. She decided to let him goof off while she did the job herself. At least she could take all the credit for this assignment. She surveyed the room, but there wasn’t anything in particular that stood out to her. There were guests playing pin the tail on the pony, drinking punch, talking, and whatever else ponies did at parties. Grand Prix pushed her way through the crowd, keeping an eye out for anypony that was on her list. She found Pinkie Pie again, who was playing with what looked like an alligator, but Grand Prix had had enough of… energetic ponies for today. In one corner of the room however, she spotted somepony else. In the corner of the room, was another pony on the list named Rainbow Dash. Perfect! Grand Prix thought to herself. She was actually excited about talking with Rainbow Dash after reading her profile. It said that she was interested in joining the Wonderbolts which Grand Prix mistook for some sort of racing team. A pony with similar interests around here! Grand Prix subtly approached Rainbow Dash, who was speaking to some other pony.
“And that’s how I beat a dragon in a race through a volcano while blindfolded!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she finished her story.
“Wow, Rainbow Dash!” The young filly leapt in the air while fluttering her tiny wings, “You’re amazing! Tell me another story!” The filly hopped around her hero with the largest smile on her face.
“Well, I guess I could. Have I ever told you the one about how I saved Ponyville from the parasprites?”
“Mind if I listen in?” Grand Prix added in.
Rainbow Dash whipped around, not thinking that anypony other than Scootaloo would be interested in that story. “Oh, hey. I don’t think I’ve met you before, have I? I have quite a large fan club so its hard keeping up with everypony.”
“No, I don’t believe we’ve met before; but your story really interests me,” She lied, “My name is Grand Prix. What’s yours?”
“My name’s Rainbow Dash! The fastest pony in all of Equestria!”
“Oh, that’s one impressive title!” Grand Prix looked down and noticed the small orange pegasus that was now standing at Rainbow Dash’s side. “And what’s your friend’s name?”
“I’m Scootaloo!” the little filly blurted out, “I’m Rainbow Dash’s number one fan!”
“Oh, that’s so cute!” Grand Prix cringed a little on the inside. “So, are you a racer Rainbow Dash?” She said changing the subject.
“Well, not really.” Rainbow Dash admitted, “My dream is to become one of the Wonderbolts! The best flyers in Equestria! I’m sure you’ve heard of them.”
“Of course, I’ve heard of them. Hey, let’s move somewhere else. I can’t quite hear very well over the noise.” Rainbow Dash agreed and followed Grand Prix outside while Scootaloo went to go find Applebloom and Sweetie Belle.
Shadowstorm became engrossed in the party and forgot his original assignments. He had never been to this kind of party before. Since he is the son of a military guard captain, the only kind of party he had been to were formal dinners and dances. Never once did he have a normal birthday party growing up. This party was the funnest thing he’s ever been to. At the party’s he’d been to, the funnest thing that could happen was somepony spilling wine on their favorite dress and freaking out. He didn’t enjoy the crowd however. They kept rubbing up against him and stepping on his hooves. A normal Cloudwalker would be more cautious that his hoof-wing disguise would come off, but Shadowstorm’s mind doesn’t think that far ahead. He was separating himself from the crowd when a voice from behind him ringed out, “Hey! I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself!” It was Pinkie Pie, “I’d like to introduce you to some of my friends!" Shadowstorm, who couldn't refuse pink ponies, readily agreed to her proposition. Shadowstorm was introduced to so many ponies that he pretty much met everypony at the party, in fact, he probably did meet everypony at the party. But even though Pinkie Pie introduced Shadowstorm to the party guests, she hopped up and down looking this way and that. She was obviously looking for somepony else, somepony that wasn’t at the party. “Oh no, oh no, oh no!” She whispered to herself as she bounced nervously. “She hasn’t shown up yet!”
“Who are you looking for, Pinkie?” Shadowstorm was beginning to get curious as to who she was trying to find.
“Twilight!” She blurted out as she bolted towards the door.
Caught off guard, Shadowstorm had trouble catching up to the pink pony who had left the party in such a hurry. He burst onto the nearly empty streets, scaring some ponies who were just passing by. He barely caught a glimpse of a pink tail rounding a corner. He followed it and eventually caught up to Pinkie Pie. She was heading towards the outskirts of town, towards a large tree. She stopped in front of the door, suddenly calm and quiet. “Why… did you… stop?” He said while trying to catch his breath.
“Oh, I was waiting for you to catch up silly!” She said without the slightest shortness of breath. “I can’t introduce you to Twilight if you aren’t here can I?” She grinned and knocked on the door. There was a loud commotion on the side. Somepony yelled, “I’m coming!” There was a different voice now, though Shadowstorm couldn’t make out the words. A purple pony finally came to the door… and Shadowstorm was smitten. He didn’t know what it was about this purple unicorn that made his heart flutter, but flutter it did.
“Oh, hello Pinkie! What brings you here?” She said after she opened the door. “And who’s your friend here?” Shadowstorm blushed nervously when she mentioned him. Pinkie Pie didn’t reply. She instead crossed her arms and scrunched up her face. She was obviously upset that Twilight forgot her party. “C’mon Pinkie. What is it?”
“Humph!” Pinkie Pie turned her head and looked at Twilight out of the corner of her eye, “You forgot that my party was today!”
“I’m sorry Pinkie!” Twilight said sincerely, “But I already explained that I might not make it. Today is the only day that I can accurately measure the luminescence of solar flares! You can’t imagine how perfect the conditions must be for this type of astronomical phenomenon.”
“But you can’t image how perfect the conditions of the party are!” Pinkie said almost mockingly, “Literally everypony is there today! Everypony, but you!”
“Ummm.” Twilight was at a loss for words, so she tried to change the subject, “Who’s your friend here?”
Pinkie Pie fell for the not-so-cunning ploy and instantly became jovial, “Oh! This is Shadowstorm! I just met him today and he REALLY likes to party!”
“I’m glad that you’ve met a new friend, Pinkie Pie!” Twilight extended her hoof towards Shadowstorm. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, it’s good to meet you Shadowstorm.”
Shadowstorm stared dumbstruck. He awkwardly extended his hoof for a hoof shake, and stared at it afterward, making a mental note to never wash that hoof again.
“So what brings you to Ponyville?”
“Oh… uh…” The question caught him by surprise. He had prepared for these kinds of questions, but his mind was filled with only images of the purple mare. “Um, me and my friend we are… sightseeing? Traveling… Yeah, traveling.”
“Oh, where are you going?”
Shadowstorm racked his brain. He wasn’t from around here. He had no clue what else was in Equestria… well he would if he had paid attention when K9 taught him… “Oh, you know. Just wherever the wind takes us I guess.”
“That sounds fun! Why don’t you come inside, Shadowstorm? I’m sure Pinkie Pie won’t mind, especially since she just ran off.”
Shadowstorm glanced beside him. Pinkie Pie really had abandoned him. Not that he minded. “S-sure, why not?” Shadowstorm stepped inside the enormous tree. As he looked around, he felt as if he was inside the worst kind of prison known to pony kind. Walls upon walls of books faced him no matter which way he faced. The sheer mass of learning caused him to shiver. He had heard about these kinds of places before, they were called libraries. He trembled as he followed Twilight upstairs to a table. The table was bare except for a vase with a flower in the middle. They both sat down, but neither of them started talking. An awkward silence followed.
“So… what can you tell me about your… um…”
“What are you talking about?”
“The um… leg wings?”
Shadowstorm could feel his heart skip a beat. He turned slowly to look at his back legs. Oh great… The special shoes that were supposed to cover his wings were gone, they probably came off when that one pony stepped on them. And to top it all off, he had a wing boner. Most. Embarassing. Thing. Ever. He quickly tried to come up with something. “Oh, those old things? Yeah, they’re not important. You can hardly even notice them. You probably aren’t really that interested.”
“Oh, but I am! In case you haven’t noticed, I live in a library. I love learning about anything and everything.” She got up and walked slowly to Shadowstorm. Her horn glowed and a magnifying glass appeared from its resting place. “Hmmm.” She examined his wings through her magnifying glass. She moved one of the wings around with her hoof, while talking to herself. “They look like normal wings, but just in the wrong place. Can you fly with them?”
The cloudwalker shakily nodded, “I uh… yeah, they do.” He was quickly trying to form a plan. “Let’s go outside and I’ll show you.”
“Great! Let me just grab some things first.” Twilight was gone in a flash of purple light, leaving Shadowstorm enough time to plot his escape.
“And then, after I did a sonic rainboom, I saved Rarity just in the knick of time and won the competition.” Rainbow Dash finished her story by flying in a loop and landing next to Grand Prix. They had walked outside to a field where Rainbow Dash could show Grand Prix her moves. “Of course, that’s not even the most impressive thing I’ve done.”
Grand Prix shuddered internally while outside she faked a smile, “Wow! You’re one amazing pegasus!” She trotted around the now beaming Rainbow Dash. “You know… I heard a rumor that Discord was here in Ponyville some time ago. Was it you that turned him back to stone?”
“You heard about that huh?” Rainbow Dash said matter-of-factly, “It was actually me and my friends who beat him, but even then, we couldn’t have done it without the Elements of Harmony!”
“Elements of Harmony? What are those?” This time Grand Prix’s voice was filled with genuine interest.
“You don’t know of the Elements of Harmony?” Rainbow Dash appeared shocked, “They’re magical weapons that can defeat any evil! They’re totally awesome!”
“Do you have them with you? Would you mind showing me?” This must be what K9 sent us here for. To find out about these “Elements”.
Rainbow Dash refused, “No can do! Twilight locked them up so that they wouldn’t fall into the wrong hooves.”
“Twilight, huh. One of your friends?”
“She sure is. She’s a real egghead, but she’s not all bad. Hey, here she comes now.”
Grand Prix looked in the direction that the pegasus was walking. She saw Twilight and Shadowstorm and instantly became infuriated. His wings were exposed and he had a stupid look on his face. Grand Prix used all of her strength not to yell at him right then and smack him upside his head. Instead she weakly smiled, “Hey there Shadowstorm. What brings you here?” What she meant was, You bucking idiot! I can’t believe how stupid you are!
“Are you Shadowstorm’s friend?” Twilight inquired, “Do you have the same mutation as he does?”
“What mutation? I have no clue what you’re talking about.” Grand Prix lied.
“It’s very clear that he… urk…” Twilight could feel herself get a little woozy. Her vision turned monochrome. She could hear Shadowstorm’s friend bark something at him. Shadowstorm fell to the ground as if afflicted with some illness. Twilight couldn’t tell, but she had already fallen over from weakness. Grand Prix picked up Shadowstorm and started to run in the direction of the road out of town. Twilight tried to ask them for help, but she was too sick to even talk. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Rainbow Dash take flight, but she swiftly crashed into a tree. That was the last thing Twilight saw before the effects of Grand Prix’s magic caused her to pass out.
Meanwhile, Grand Prix dropped Shadowstorm’s limp body in a small clump of shrubbery. “What were you thinking! She saw your wings! That’s rule number one! Ugh!” Grand Prix fumed and paced a few steps away before returning to him, “I might as well just leave you here now!” Shadowstorm tried to stand up, but he fell from dizziness. “What in the world could have possessed you to jeopardize our mission, or even worse, let Equestrians know about Cloudwalkers? Huh? Talk!” She delivered a swift kick to his side.
He coughed from the blow and managed to mutter, “Go to the treehouse” before passing out.
“The treehouse? What?” She surveyed the town and sighted what Shadowstorm must have been talking about. She left him in the foliage and made her way to the building. As she approached, a small purple dragon darted out as if in a hurry. He left the door slightly ajar. She slipped in as stealthily as possible. Once inside, she was met with a wall of books. “This must be that Twilight’s house. That prideful pegasus told me she locked up the Elements, maybe it’s inside here somewhere.” She plundered the house, but was unable to find what she was after. She did however find some notes that she wrote about Shadowstorm which she quickly disposed of. After destroying the evidence, she noticed something in a corner by the window. It was a newspaper clipping. The title read “Resident Kidnapped: Authorities Searching” it was dated over a year ago and had a picture of a familiar pony on the front: Copper Head. Intrigued, Grand Prix continued reading the article.
Yesterday at around 9:48 P.M., local resident Copperhead, son to Iron Mane and Cobalt the blacksmiths, was kidnapped. The Princess’ student, Twilight Sparkle, witnessed the act yesterday and claims that a talking wolf captured him. Authorities are on the look out for anything suspicious. Large paw prints were found at the supposed site of the crime, leading credibility to the witness’s claims. If you have any information, please contact the Ponyville Police.
“This… This is about Copper Head. And he was kidnapped? King Krafty said he was recruited.” She paused and reread the article. “I wonder what other lies the King has told to his subjects.” Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden opening of the door. Grand Prix slid out of one of the windows and raced back to where she stashed Shadowstorm. She determined to find some answers when she got back to Cloudwalker Kingdom.
A day passed before Copper Head and Soul Glow reached their destination. As acres of trees and plowed fields flew by in glances, they found themselves traveling deeper and deeper into a more arid landscape. Lush forests turned to grasslands which turned to dusty trails with patches of shrubbery amongst rocks and crags. Copper Head had never heard of, or seen anything of the sort before. “Do you know where we are, Soul Glow?”
“I do not,” the alicorn replied almost immediately, “I was just wondering that myself. I don’t think I’ve traveled so far away from Cloudwalker Kingdom before.” Soul glow quickly descended and alighted on an isolated plateau. “I need to rest for a moment. We’re close to where your body is, but there might be trouble when we get there.”
Copper Head nodded in agreement, hopped off, and surveyed the scenery. There was not much to the place. Just rocks, bushes, and dirt as far as the eye could see. There were a few animals like lizards and rodents, but other than that there didn’t seem to be other forms of life. The beacon of light that supposedly marked Copper Head’s body came out of a large canyon not even a mile away. He was anxious to be reunited with his physical form. The strange nuances of being dead were starting to wear on his mind. The feeling of being immaterial was strange to him, it would be strange to anypony. In the distance, a flapping sound caught his attention. He searched for the source and spotted what looked like three pegasi flying in a “V” formation directly behind them. In fact, it seemed like they were approaching them.
Soul Glow noticed as well and turned to face them. As they closed in on their location, the pair were able to get a better look at the pegasi. They looked decent enough, but one would wonder what they were doing out there alone. The pegasi landed and stared at Soul Glow for some time, probably trying to get a reading on what species she was. One of them, an absurdly skinny stallion, spoke first, “Are you alright miss? It’s dangerous to be out here alone. Perhaps me and my company would be of assistance to you.“
“I’m very capable of taking care of myself, thank you. Now, I must kindly ask you to leave.” Soul Glow glared.
Copper Head was shocked. The Soul Glow’s sudden hostility came out of nowhere. “You don’t have to say it so angrily,” Copper Head replied. No one heard him.
“We couldn’t possibly do that!” This time a dark mare spoke, “You look so very tired, and we just wanna help you! There’s nothing wrong with accepting help.”
Soul Glow chuckled, “You must take me for some naive little filly.” She casually got up from her sitting posture. “You don’t want to help me. In fact, you would rather do the opposite.”
“What are you saying missy?” The last one, a very large stallion, growled. “Are you accusing us of being bandits or something?”
“I admit, you all are very good at acting; but I can see past your acade. Here, let me get rid of those ridiculous costumes.” Soul Glow’s horn flashed a bright green and a wall of the same luminescent green emanated in a wave from the tip or her horn. As the wave ran over the pegasi, their skin shattered like glass and fell away like feathers. Standing in their place were three identical changelings.
The changelings jumped at their own sudden “untransformation”. They quickly examined themselves and hissed in unison. “What did you do?!?” They bared their fangs and lunged at the mare. Soul Glow shielded herself with magic and pushed the three away.
Copper Head jumped in front of her and growled, “Hey! Only lowlifes would attack a lady. Fight me instead!” The changelings took no notice of him. Instead they split up and tried to attack Soul Glow from different sides. Copper Head tried to tackle one of them, but he ended up going straight through him. In his haste, Copper Head forgot that he couldn’t interact with the living. Now he wouldn’t be able to help Soul Glow, but from the looks of things it seemed like she could take care of herself.
One of the changelings took to the air while the other two rushed the alicorn from the ground. Soul Glow put up another barrier, but this time one of the changelings broke through. He bit into her side with his sharp fangs. The creature drew blood and withdrew his fangs to take another bite. Soul Glow tried to buck him off, but he managed to hold on despite having no good grip. The other two took advantage of this and piled on top of the alicorn. “Soul Glow! Is there anything I can do?” Copper Head yelled through the din of the scuffle. She didn’t respond. Either she couldn’t hear him or she was unable to speak. Copper Head tried to push them off of her, but his ethereal form kept him from doing anything.
“What do we do with her?” One of the changelings inquired of his cohorts as he held down Soul Glow.
“Take her to the queen obviously. She’ll know what to do.”
“She’s been acting weird lately though. Ever since that weird pony showed up, she’s not been the same.” They continued to argue for a while until they picked up Soul Glow and took off towards the light that could be seen from the plateau. Copper Head followed them as closely as possible, but the rocky terrain was still troublesome even in his ghostly form. When the changelings flew into the gorge where the light emanated, Copper Head peered over the precipice as opposed to jumping right in.
What Copper Head saw amazed him, but he flinched at the sudden blast of noise. It quickly subsided as he backed away from the edge. The buzzing of the hundreds of changelings in the gorge was enough to disorient anypony not used to the noise. The strange acoustics of the hive made it so that one only heard the noise if they were already inside the gorge. After getting accustomed to the noise, Copper Head was able to properly survey the changeling hive. The sides of the gorge were covered by a strange mucous-like substance. Copper Head guessed they were the egg sacks since most of the changelings were buzzing about maintaining them. He noticed the three changelings that captured Soul Glow flying toward the deepest part of the chasm, which was also where the beacon originated. Copper Head wondered how he was supposed to get down there, until it dawned on him. Since he’s dead, he can’t get hurt from falls. He took a few steps back and drew a deep breath.
He took off at a run without another thought and jumped as far as he could towards the light. He plummeted down, but he didn’t feel like he was falling. He couldn’t feel the strange feeling in his stomach that occurs during a fall. He saw quick glimpses of different happenings around the hive. Changelings tending to eggs, sleeping, and he even saw what he thought were piles of something dead. It didn’t take him long to get to the bottom, and his landing was just as strange as the fall. He could feel the impact of hitting the earth at terminal velocity, but without any of the pain.
“Look who it is!” Copper Head jumped. He was still shaking off the dizzying fall when he was startled by a loud voice. “Good work my children. Good work indeed.” Following the source of the now hushed voices, Copper Head set off into a dark tunnel. Strangely enough, the tunnel made Copper Head remember the mines back home. These caves however, were littered with discarded husks of changelings and assorted bones of their victims. Once he reached the end of the tunnel, he encountered a set of doors that were flung wide open. The low crackle of a fire masked the conversation that was taking place in the room. Copper Head peeked in, even though he wouldn’t have been seen. He spied Soul Glow tied up in a corner of the room, but in his ethereal form he had no way to set her free. Instead he turned his attention to the three changelings who had captured her. They were bowing down in front of a much larger changeling. The queen.
“Your queen is very pleased with this offering you have given me,” The queen cooed,
“Your love for me must be great, my children.” She kissed each on the head in turn. “Now back to your duties. I have some business I need to take care of.” The trio happily trotted out of the room as a child does when their parents have told them how proud they are. Copper Head slipped into the room after they left. The queen was greedily smiling at her prize which was Soul Glow. The queen called out to her from her throne, “I hope you will forgive my rudeness, Queen Soul Glow. In better times, I would have just fed off of you instead of incarcerating you, but somepony is willing to pay to get you back.”
“How do you know who I am?” Soul Glow spat from the corner that she was heaped into, “Are you working with Krafty?”
The changeling queen raised her eyebrow. Her wings buzzed as she got up from her throne, “I do not know a Krafty, but I can tell you that we’ve been planning for your arrival. Not even a few days ago, a young pony came to us from out of nowhere. Of course, we tried to subdue him at first, but imagine my surprise when the pony could speak in the changeling tongue! Surely, no pony would have even known we had our own language, but I digress.” The queen walked elegantly on her long spindly legs to a door on the right hoof side of her throne. The door flew open on its own, and out stepped a rust colored pony. Copper Head stared in amazement and confusion as his own body walked out to the middle of the room. The queen leaned on the stallion almost lovingly. “This stallion here told me that you would be coming. So I sent regular patrols to make sure I caught you. Now you’re…” The one occupying Copper Head’s body motioned for her to be silent. “What is it?”
Copper Head’s body silently trotted up to Soul Glow. He looked over her once with cold unforgiving eyes. “Queen Atropa, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
“What? This is MY hive! You can’t just…”
“Go! Before I crack open your carapace and feed your insides to the buzzards!” Copper Head’s threat came through loud and clear. Without another word, Queen Atropa left the room out of the door the real Copper Head had come through.
Alone with just the fake and Soul Glow, the real Copper Head made his move. “Hey! Give me my body back!” Copper Head burst from the shadows and tackled his body, still forgetting that he would go through living things. He spun around and growled at the doppleganger.
The fake smirked, “Aww, you’re angry. I suppose being killed would make anypony hostile.” Copper Head took another lunge. The fake laughed, “How about I give you a real target to aim at?” He pointed up. Copper Head followed and what he saw almost terrified him. Hanging upside down from the ceiling was a large insect-like creature. Its grotesque shell was covered in slime and tens of sickle-like protrusions jutted out from its body. At the ends of these sickles was a thin luminous thread that was almost impossible to notice. These threads ran down to Copper Head’s body and was what the creature used to manipulate his limbs. Its mandibles slowly opened and closed as its many eyes were trained on Copper Head. The stallion was left speechless. “Oh, don’t remember me? I suppose you wouldn’t.” The creature spoke to Copper Head by manipulating the stallion’s body, its many limbs working in a flurry to move all the necessary muscles. “I am the Aberration.”
Copper Head gasped. “You’re the changeling from Cloudwalker Kingdom!”
“You’re not as dumb as you look… or maybe you are.” The Aberration ungrasped the ceiling and made his way down to the floor. “Do you know why you were killed, Copper Head? I mean, surely it would have been obvious. The king’s brother sends you to detention where you would have to fight a creature you would stand no chance against. Then, you show up right here where you’re expected. You might just really be as dumb as you look.”
“Sh-shut up! So what if I’m not as smart as everypony else! If you want to fight, then let’s just fight!” Copper Head attempted to kick the Aberration, but the insect retreated upwards and came back down swing the large scythe-like appendage on the front of its body. The scythe cut deep into Copper Head’s back. “Gah!” The pony hopped away from the creature and inspected his wound. There was no bleeding, but a large section of his body was simply gone. As if a chunk of his soul had been cut off. “How were you able to do that?”
“Your tiny mind wouldn’t be able to comprehend it.”
“Stop with the jokes!” Copper Head lunged. This time keeping the scythes in sight. In response, the Aberration stuck his secondary limbs out like a pincushion. Copper Head collided with him and was impaled by its sharp limbs. The Aberration dropped him on the floor and hovered over him.
“I was engineered for this. You can’t beat me. My mind was created to make billions of calculations per second. I know what your move is the moment you go to make it. My claws have been sharpened to the point that they can slice open the soul.” The creature raised his sharp scythe-like appendages and brought them down upon Copper Head. Just before the Aberration was about to obliterate his soul, the insect’s horn starting glowing. It retreated to the ceiling and started to scuttle through the door it had entered through earlier. It stopped at the threshold of the door before turning to say, “You are lucky this time. My master beckons me home because we have what we need, and tells me to leave your body for you. I do not know why he spares your life, but it is not my place to question him.” Without another word, the creature scuttled away without a trace.
Copper Head got up shakily and examined himself. He felt weary and he looked like swiss cheese, but otherwise he was fine. Being just a spirit wasn’t all that bad, especially since he didn’t feel much pain. He approached his body which was now lying limp on the floor. While Copper Head was wondering how to get back in his body, he could see that parts of his soul was returning to the body. After only a few seconds, Copper Head regained control of his body. The feeling of being alive was familiar, yet strange to him. He remembered Soul Glow and rushed over to her, unwrapping her bindings in the process.
Soul Glow stood up and heaved a sigh of relief, “I really thought you were a goner. That thing could have destroyed your soul, and when that happens you vanish from existence. Count yourself lucky, Copper Head.”
“Believe me, I do.” He replied. “I wonder why he left though. No doubt that he is working for King Krafty, but he said he got what he needed. Do you have any idea what that means?”
Soul Glow shook her head, “I have no idea. I’ve been trapped in prison for such a long time. However, knowing what Krafty was able to do to my husband, what he has in store is treacherous. For now though, we need to get you back to Cloudwalker Kingdom. I’m sure your friends will need you.”
“My friends…” Copper Head realized he hadn’t seen them in months. They probably didn’t know he had died and he wondered what the Aberration might have done to them in his absence. Soul Glow motioned for him to follow, and together, they stealthily escaped the hive and headed back to Cloudwalker Kingdom. Back to Spot, Grand Prix, and Shadowstorm.
It was late at night when Copper Head finally returned to Cloudwalker Kingdom, even though it was still day when he left the Changeling badlands. The journey back was difficult as he now had a physical body and a heavy one at that. Soul Glow had to take many stops to regain enough strength to fly a little more while carrying him. Copper Head would have gladly used the teleportation crystal that was giving to each student that went on a mission; if he had known what it was in the first place.
He entered the school without too much suspicion, but he was able to get past the questioning guards after lying that he lost his teleportation crystal. The guards snickered and muttered “clumsy dirtwalker” as he walked past them. Once inside, he opened the door to his dorm quietly. The lights were out and everypony’s door was closed. It looked the same as when he had “left” it. He sneaked silently towards the stairs that led to his room, but he stopped at Spot’s door.
Was she still alright? He thought to himself. He had to check. He slowly opened the door and peeked inside. It was so dark that he couldn’t see anything. He stepped into the room a little more, trying to get a better look.
Little to his knowledge, Spot was awake and she was frightened. What is Copper Head doing in my room?He hasn’t talked to me ever since that incident. She stayed as still and as silent as possible, but it was hard as she fought the urge to scream. Copper Head kicked something in the dark which startled Spot. She let out a small squeak which made the stallion stop suddenly.
“Spot? Are you awake?” He called out to her in the darkness. His eyes still hadn’t adjusted to the darkness. “I’m back! I have so much to tell you!”
Copper Head’s words confused her, “You’re back? But you were here…” She put her hoof over her mouth. She accidentally spoke out of excitement. Now it was too late.
“Well, it’s a long story. If you’re willing to listen, I’m sure you’ll begin to understand what happened while I was gone.” Copper Head felt something wrap around him and a weight that caused him to stumble to the ground. Spot had jumped out of bed and hugged him around the neck.
“Of course I’ll listen! As long as you’re back to the way you used to be. I missed you so much!” She squeezed him harder, just to make sure he wouldn’t go away or change again.
*BAM!* Suddenly, the door to Spot’s room slammed open and Grand Prix and Shadowstorm barged inside. Shadowstorm tackled Copper Head to the ground while Grand Prix picked Spot up. “Are you ok?” She said comfortingly, “We heard a noise coming from your room so we came as fast as we could. Did he hurt you?”
Spot completely ignored Grand Prix and shoved Shadowstorm out of the way. “Get off of him!”
“Are you stupid?” Shadowstorm growled, “He probably came in here to kill you or something. Why are you defending him?”
“Shadowstorm. Grand Prix.” Copper Head said calmly, “It’s good to see you two.” Copper Head burst into a huge smile. “I never thought I would miss you guys so much.”
“Ok, I’m confused.” Grand Prix scratched her head, “Can you explain what’s going on here, Spot?”
“I’ll tell you what’s going on here!” Shadowstorm growled, “He’s trying to trick us! First, he gains our trust. Then, he treats as like dirt. Now he’s back to being all friendly? It’s not going to work!” Shadowstorm charged at Copper Head, but was unable to knock him over. They locked eyes. “You can’t fool us, bug!”
“The Aberration is gone Shadowstorm! It’s the real me! I can prove it! Remember detention? Remember Buckit and the Enfield? What about Zebrica and the first day we met?” Copper Head did his best to convince his friends. Reminding them of the things they’ve been through together.
“K9 probably told you all that stuff! Him or the King!”
“Shadowstorm, maybe we should give him a chance?” Grand Prix put in, “We can decide what to do after he tells us what happened?”
“Guh! Fine!” Shadowstorm gave up, defeated.
“Thank you guys.” Copper Head started to tear up. He had never felt so close to others in his entire life. “This is what happened…” Copper Head told them all about escaping Tartarus with Wonderbolt, about Soul Glow getting him off the island, and about fighting the Aberration. They listened to him fervently, but Shadowstorm only really started listening when Copper Head described the changeling that was controlling his body.
As Copper Head finished his story, Shadowstorm looked at Grand Prix and Spot and said, “He has to be telling the truth. That… thing that he described was the same thing I saw hovering over him. And it’s not there anymore! I checked when you all weren’t looking.”
“So what do we do now? Surely Krafty knows by now that you’re back. Won’t he come after you?” Grand Prix looked around nervously, “He seems to know everything. As if he has eyes everywhere.”
Copper Head thought for a second, “There really is nothing we can do. If we confronted him directly, who knows what he would do? Plus, he has those wolves at his side at all times. I think the only thing to do is see what happens.”
The others nodded in agreement. They talked for a while, mostly just catching up and filling Copper Head in on what happened while he was gone. Eventually, they decided it was getting late so they all headed off to bed. After a few “good night's”, Copper Head made his way up to his room. He didn’t bother getting under the sheets, instead opting to go straight to sleep. ______________________________________________________________________________
“It’s been a while Copper Head.” Copper Head stirred in his sleep after hearing a familiar voice. “Come on! You can’t be that tired.” Copper Head sat up gasping. It took him a while to realize where he was, but he was instantly reminded when he spotted the orange unicorn sitting across from him.
High Noon smiled, “How’s the world’s last living Joragurr doing?” He scooted a cup in front of Copper Head, “Drink this. It’ll heal your soul a bit. Being away from your body that long isn’t good.”
Copper Head eyed the cup. It was filled to the brim with a steaming green liquid. Copper Head cautiously took a sip. It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t all that great either. It reminded him a lot of the taste of blood. “How did you know I was dead? Did you try to contact me before?”
“Sure did!” High Noon exclaimed, “But that thing showed up here instead. Put up quite a fight too.”
“You mean the Aberration?”
“Is that what he calls himself? Very strange.” High Noon grabbed a book from the shelf and set it on the table. “When I tried to summon you a couple weeks back, he showed up inside. He was a very rude fellow, always saying how superior he was.”
Copper Head started to get worried, “What happened? Did he realize who you were?” He was afraid that the Aberration would have reported to King Krafty the fact that he had been visiting a unicorn from Tartaros in his dreams..
“Hmm? Oh, he doesn’t know anything about our exchange. After I subdued him with my magic, I used a curse to remove the memory of our encounter from his mind. Fairly simple magic for me, but there’s something else we need to worry about.” High Noon opened to a certain page in the book and passed it to Copper Head, “Take a look.”
Copper Head finished off the rest of the drink and took a look in the book. It described how a changeling “king” rose in the past. It subdued the many different changeling hives and led a combined army against the kingdom of Saddle Arabia. “What does this have to do with anything?” Copper Head replied confused.
“This is what the ‘Aberration’ is. It’s a changeling king. What this book doesn’t explain, is that the king isn’t a natural occurrence. In order for something like this to exist, it requires ancient and powerful magic. I would go into the details, but it would keep you here longer than possible.” High Noon closed the book and returned it to the shelf before resuming, “What you need to know is this: whoever created this thing is immensely powerful.”
This made Copper Head uneasy. “That doesn’t really make me feel any better, High Noon.”
“Make you feel better? Why…” High Noon was about to say something critical before seeing the look in Copper Head’s eyes. They were exhausted, and not just from a lack of sleep. “Eh, never mind. I have something else for you as well. Follow me.” High Noon got up from his chair and exited the room through a door almost directly behind him.
Copper Head got up quickly so as not to lose him. Through the door was a long hallway littered with different framed pictures on the wall. The stallion gave each one quick glances, but stopped at one particular picture. There were seven ponies in it, one of them being High Noon. They all looked happy. “Were these your friends? Other Joragurr?”
High Noon gazed longingly at the picture. “Yes,” he replied, “Bear Claw, Wonderbolt, Rainfall, Bori Alice, Black Eye, and Double Rainbow.” He listed them all off, one at a time with increasing sadness. “I only know where two of them are. Bear Claw is still a stone and Wonderbolt is somewhere in Tartarus. The others…” His voice trailed off.
“You know, I met Wonderbolt.” Copper Head suddenly realized, “Back when I died, he was there at the bottom of the pit.”
High Noon laughed, “So Doom put him on the welcoming committee? That’s a riot!” He sighed and stared into the picture for a few seconds more. He turned and started walking back down the hall, “Come on, Copper Head. We don’t have time to remember the past. Let’s start working for the future.”
High Noon led Copper Head to the end of the hall where he pulled up part of the floor. Underneath the boards was a staircase that led down into the earth’s foundation. It was dark beyond measure, and Copper Head hesitated before finally following High Noon into the darkness. It didn’t take long for the two ponies to reach the bottom, where they were greeted by a soft light. The light came from pools of magma that were scattered in the cavernous room underneath High Noon’s house.
“You see that rock?” High Noon motioned to a large rock that jutted out of the ground. It was about as tall as two ponies, but very slender. “I want you to crush it.”
Copper Head sidled up to the rock. In technical terms, it was actually a stalagmite and from what Copper Head could see, it looked like it was made of some kind of black substance. Copper Head stretched his legs before turning around to try to buck it. The stallion lashed out with all his strength, only to feel jarring pain in his legs. “Ack! Why did you want me to do that?”
High Noon smirked and tapped the rock. “This is Tartaros obsidian. One of the strongest naturally occurring substances on earth. For any normal pony, this would be impossible to even chip let alone crush. But you are a Joragurr.” High Noon took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His cutie mark started to glow intensely and he started to change. His horn became longer and he grew what looked like small tusks. The size of his body also increased, but that was the least noticeable. He opened his eyes and reared up on his back legs. He brought his front hooves down and made a turning motion with his head. His horn sliced cleanly through the obsidian, causing the top half of it to slide off and fall to the ground.
Copper Head’s jaw dropped and he remained speechless. “How… what?” He alternated looking at the rock and High Noon. “I didn’t know you could do that?”
High Noon chuckled, “That’s the power of Joragurr. And that’s why I brought you here, to teach you how to harness your powers.” High Noon closed his eyes again, and in an instant, he returned to his normal self. “As you know, each Joragurr gets its power from magical creatures. I got mine from a saber-toothed kelpie. They look a lot like unicorns, but are incredibly dangerous monsters.”
High Noon pointed at Copper Head’s heart, “The magic flowing through your blood is even stronger than mine though. You obtained your power from a legendary creature. That there is something special. My goal is to teach you how to harness that power.”
Copper Head’s excitement grew; if High Noon could teach him to do the same things he could do, then Copper Head would have no trouble facing off against monsters like the Aberration ever again. “When do we start?”
“Mmmm,” High Noon squinted his eyes, “Some other time. You have to go now.” With a powerful push, High Noon launched Copper Head into a pool of magma.
Copper Head woke up with a jolt. He quickly checked the clock that was on his nightstand. It read “6:23 AM”. It was too late to go back to sleep, but too early to get up and do anything. Copper Head groaned. High Noon really needed to time his rude awakenings better.
Later that morning, the group headed to K9’s office. In celebration of getting there friend back, Shadowstorm, Grand Prix, and Spot made a great breakfast for Copper Head. It was the best meal he had ever had. After breakfast, they headed to K9’s office in high spirits. As they filed into K9’s office, the teacher was caught by surprise. “What are you four doing here? Didn’t you just come back from an assignment yesterday?”
The four were just as surprised as he was. “What do you mean teach?” Shadowstorm questioned, “We came here BECAUSE we didn’t have an assignment. What else are we supposed to do?”
“It’s off week for you guys. This isn’t rocket science.”
“What’s ‘off week’?” The four ponies said in unison.
K9 face hoofed, “I keep forgetting you all haven’t been here for very long. After every assignment, the students get a week to do whatever they want. This week is termed ‘off week’. Haven’t we talked about this before?”
His students shook their heads.
“Well, you four have free reign to do what you want for a whole week. Go crazy.” K9 spun around in his chair; a sign that he was done talking.
The four hesitantly walked out of the room and stopped just outside of his office.
“Well, what are we going to do now?” Spot asked everyone. “I’d like to take a look around Cloudwalker Kingdom. It seems as soon as I got here, I was ushered straight into the academy.”
“That sounds like a great idea!” Shadowstorm exclaimed, “You guys can meet my family! Plus there’s plenty of things to do at Shade Manor.”
“Please,” Grand Prix interrupted, “The Raceway is much better than your danky old mansion. We wouldn’t want to bore them to death.”
“We’ll do both.” Shadowstorm had a sly grin on his face, “Then we’ll ask Copper Head and Spot whose house is truly better.” Grand Prix grinned back, as if accepting his challenge.
Copper Head and Spot laughed. Today promised to be fun, especially if Grand Prix and Shadowstorm were out to outdo each other.
As the grass gently swayed in the slight breeze, four ponies stood in the middle of the Mountainside school’s courtyard. Two cloudwalkers in the group were in the heat of battle. Their eyes locked and their bodies stiffened as the two engaged in an epic staring contest. Time stopped around them. The only thing that mattered now, was superior concentration and strong eye muscles.
After what seemed like an eternity, the mare cracked a smile. “You’re pretty good, but I think I see your right eye getting tired. You might as well give up right now.” The mare’s scarf started to blow furiously in the breeze, so she wrapped it tighter around herself to keep it from getting in the way.
“Not a chance,” Her stallion opponent quipped, “I can’t be beaten by you. We’ve known each other too long. It’s like we’re rivals.”
Soon, a small crowd of onlookers gathered around them. They whispered in hushed tones to each other. “Who would win?” “I put 5 bits on the blue one.” “This is weird, let’s get out of here.” Some of them left after only a few seconds, but a few stayed to see the outcome.
“What are they doing?” Shadowstorm whispered to Grand Prix who were both watching the spectacle.
“Not sure,” Grand Prix replied, “Looks like a staring contest though.”
“Welp, this is pretty boring. Let’s get going guys.” Shadowstorm spun around, nearly batting Copper Head in the face with his tail.
Spot turned slowly away from the contest, hoping to see who would win. Absentmindedly, she asked, “Where are we going exactly?”
“To my house.” Shadowstorm and Grand Prix responded in unison. After the action had registered in their mind, they both glared at each other.
“When did we decide that we were going to Shade Manor? That decrepit old house doesn’t even deserve to be a royal residence.”
“If we’re spending half the day at your place, then it’ll be dark by the time we head to my house. Do you really want to walk through the woods in the dark?”
“Not really,” Grand Prix hesitated for a moment to contemplate Shadowstorm’s argument. “Fine, we’ll go to Shade Manor first.”
“You too mentioned something about a ‘Royal Residence’?” Spot chimed in, “What is that exactly?”
“C’mon I’ll explain on the way.” Shadowstorm motioned for the others to follow. The four walked away from the gathering of ponies and towards the exit of the school grounds. “Alright. So. A royal residence in Cloudwalker Kingdom is sort of like. Well it’s sort of like.” Shadowstorm thought carefully over his words staring up into the sky as if the answer would be written in the clouds. “Well, I really don’t know how to explain it.” He finally admitted.
“I can explain it better,” Grand Prix interrupted, bumping into Shadowstorm. “The royal residences of Cloudwalker Kingdom are a lot like… wow. It really is hard to explain!” Grand Prix laughed at herself. “A very long time ago,” she started to chose her words more carefully, thinking through her sentences before speaking them. “The king owned multiple residences; not just the castle at the top of the mountain.” The castle she was referring to was actually in sight. The four ponies were walking down a narrow mountain road that was very open and offered a good view. At the top of the largest peak, one could spy the spires of that majestic marble-like castle that blended in so well with the snow.
“Then during the reign of one king, the great hero Scar, saved the kingdom from a griffin army almost by herself. This was one of the first heros in Cloudwalker history, so the king was hard pressed to find a suitable reward for her. After much debate, the king finally decided to give her one of the royal residences. I believe the one given to her was… Gemhold?” She looked to Shadowstorm for confirmation.
“Pretty sure.” He replied, “Honestly, you probably know more than me.”
Copper Head, who was unusually quiet up to this point, asked, “Where do you two come in? Are you related to one of these… heros?”
“Why would you think otherwise?!?” Shadowstorm said while feigning injury. “My great great great great great grandpa Featherstorm was amazing! He brought life-saving medicine to an isolated city during a blizzard AND a hurricane!”
“Woah! That does sound very impressive. What about your family Grand Prix?”
“My family is kind of… a special case.”
Shadowstorm snickered, “Yeah, no real heroes in her family.”
Grand Prix smacked Shadowstorm upside the head before continuing, “My great great grandmother started the Cloudwalker Grand Prix, the biggest racing event for the Cloudwalker Kingdom. Our family is the newest to join the royal families, and many of the other families don’t think that we should be royals at all.”
“Those meanies!” Spot said with a large frown, “You can be royal if you want to, Grand Prix!”
“Haha! Thanks Spot,” Grand Prix sighed, “It really doesn’t matter to me. I think my family is great either way.”
The group fell silent. The rest of the way, Spot and Copper Head enjoyed the sights while Shadowstorm and Grand Prix took turns explaining what they were. It was hard for the two non-Cloudwalkers to comprehend a Cloudwalker Kingdom outside of the walls of the school. Of course it had to exist, but they had never actually seen it. This off-week was turning out to be more of a learning experience than class itself. Most of the shops and residences were built into the side of the mountain itself, although there were plenty of plateaus sprawling with buildings of all shapes and sizes. There were the usual things that you would find in any city of reputable size. Horseshoe-makers, clothing stores, restaurants, repair shops, pawn shops, and even music stores. On the way to Shade Manor, the four stopped by a candy shop that specialized in rock candy, the grade school that Shadowstorm and Grand Prix grew up in, and a dog park that surprisingly had more diamond dogs wandering about than domestic dogs.
Around midday, the four finally found their way to the treeline of the mountain range. Tall, majestic trees stood in such a neat rank and file that their presence was almost overbearing. It was like staring down a giant wooden army. As they made their way through the lines of trees, their surroundings changed drastically. The sky almost disappeared under the canopy of foliage and the seemingly omnipresent breeze ceased, as if those were the two things that the army of trees were meant to protect against.
“This place is amazing!” Copper Head said aloud. He was completely entranced by this new atmosphere that the forest imposed on those who entered. “It feels a lot like home.”
“No kidding?” Shadowstorm said with a smile, “A lot of the earth ponies that live in Cloudwalker Kingdom live here. I guess they are drawn to these kinds of places. Most cloudwalkers like to live out in the open on clouds and mountainsides, but I prefer this place to any of that.”
“I always thought Cloudwalker Kingdom had mostly, well, cloudwalkers. I only noticed a handful of different species back on the mountain.”
“That's because the other species sort of segregate themselves.” Grand Prix responded. “Pegasi like to live in the cloud formations far from the mountain, earth ponies like to live near the forests, unicorns and zebra seem to like the towns. The only other non-cloudwalkers I can think of that like the mountain tops like we do are griffins, although they prefer the snowier peaks.”
Spot rubbed her head in thought, trying to remember something, “How did they all get here? Most of the ponies I knew have never heard of Cloudwalker Kingdom. Even the extensive books in the libraries of Neigh Jing have no references to this place.” Spot continued to think, but eventually gave up the thought, “Can either of you explain that?”
“Sure, can.” Grand Prix replied, “It all started with the cloudwalker’s relationship with the griffins. Cloudwalker Kingdom has had a long history of being at war with the griffin kingdom. At the end of the last griffin war which was a hundred or so years ago, Queen Kindred and her best scholars did their best to think of a solution to end the bloodshed. The solution they came up with was to erase any traces of the Cloudwalker Kingdom from the memories of all the griffins. That way, they would forget all past animosity they harbored against us. Their plan worked, but many years later, the queen decided to take the spell one step further. With further testing, they were able to erase knowledge of our kind from the entire world. Not even written materials were immune from the effects.”
“Wow, a spell that erases memories.” Spot started calculating something in her head, “The amount of magic needed to erase the memory of one creature is substantial, but to erase the memory of the entire world? It's almost unfathomable... How did they accomplish that? Especially since, from what I've noticed, Cloudwalkers can only perform specific spells and those spells aren't nearly powerful enough to bring about what you claim.”
Grand Prix shrugged, “Beats me. I know there are ways to cast spells without having magic yourself. Maybe they used an artifact?”
“That still doesn't explain how all of the other races got here.” Copper Head interrupted, “How long has Cloudwalker Kingdom been kidnapping ponies?!” His words came off a little too harsh, which startled Grand Prix and caused Shadowstorm to furrow his brow.
“Hey, we didn't do anything!” Shadowstorm growled as he got up in Copper Head's face, “You would have to take that up with the dead bastard King Koal!”
“Hey! Settle down!” Spot intervened using her magic to pull Shadowstorm away from Copper Head, “Who is King Koal? And why do you speak about him so harshly?”
Shadowstorm breathed heavily and sighed, speaking only after he had calmed down, “King Koal is probably the worst king in cloudwalker history. He was cruel, greedy, shallow, fat, the list goes on!”
Grand Prix patted Shadowstorm on the shoulder, “Maybe I should take it from here.” Shadowstorm nodded without looking at her. He became sullen and unwilling to talk for quite some time afterwards. “King Koal,” Grand Prix continued as they walked between the trees, “like Shadowstorm said, was indeed probably the worst king in cloudwalker history. He was the one who started the trend of kidnapping from other kingdoms. His reasoning was that the cloudwalkers were superior to everypony else and that cloudwalkers were above doing such menial tasks as disposing of garbage, maintaining the gardens and cloud formations, etc.”
“So he kidnapped others to do those things?” Copper Head said after he started to catch on.
“Right, but there were mixed feelings about this. Most of the royalty and some others were ecstatic, but the rest of the population was appalled. Riots started and eventually a civil war broke out between the factions that were with and against the policy. Koal won however, and that's why... well I'm not sure if I should say.”
“I'll tell them.” Shadowstorm who had been in the front, had been able to hide his face, but as he turned to talk they could tell he had been crying. “W-when he defeated those who opposed him, h-he publicly decapitated my father. I had to watch him die! When I was just a kid too! I've had nightmares about it ever since that day.” Spot audibly gasped and Grand Prix shook her head.
“Wait, so that means this didn't happen that long ago?”
“Right,” Grand Prix replied for Shadowstorm who had become silent again. “He's King Krafty and our former king, Kindle's father. He was known for his greed and insatiable lust. Kindle and Krafty actually have different mothers. No one knows who Kindle's mother was, but many think she was a unicorn slave since Kindle was a cloudwalker alicorn.”
Copper Head fell silent. He thought of Soul Glow, the other cloudwalker alicorn, and decided whether or not to say anything about it. Spot was still terrified that Shadowstorm had to watch his own father die, so she kept her mouth shut.
Noticing the two's silence, Grand Prix smiled lightly, “It's a touchy subject for us cloudwalkers so it must be for you as well, huh?” She motioned with her head to Shadowstorm who was still silently leading the group, “We should probably change the subject.”
They rest of the way was filled with silence as the dread and awkwardness of the previous conversation soaked into their minds. As Copper Head and Spot became more aware of their surroundings, they noticed that what Grand Prix said earlier about the forest's inhabitants were true. There was a noticeable increase in the number of earth ponies in the area. Copper Head could have easily forgotten that they weren't in Equestria, but the occasional cloudwalker broke the illusion.
The group found themselves nearing a clearing where the dense forest was either cleared out or refused to grow. In the middle of that clearing, stood an enormous mansion. The house was made of an impossibly dark wood that was oddly unnatural. It wasn't made from the trees that grew in the forest around it as the wood from those trees was considerably lighter. The way that the plant life gave the house a wide berth also indicated something was different about it, as if the trees would catch some incurable disease if they grew too close to it. The only thing that grew between the forests and the house was sickly, brown grass.
The style of the house was old Equestrian, perhaps a strange homage to a past when Cloudwalker Kingdom wasn't isolated. The mansion was dotted with windows on all sides and one very large window took up space right next to the porch. As they neared the house, they could notice roots growing out of the house. They gave off a dark pulse that was eerily similar to the dark wood of the house. On the porch stood a stoic earth pony, who looked like he was waiting for them to arrive. He broke his statue-like appearance when Shadowstorm stepped onto the first step of the porch.
“Welcome home, master Shadowstorm. It has been quite a while since I have seen the young master.” The earth pony barely moved his mouth which, along with his grey coat and mane, kept up his monolithic appearance. “Do you require assistance?”
“No thanks, Stonewall. I was just going to show my friends around the old stomping ground.” 'Stonewall', this pony was definitely an animated statue.
“Ah, f-friends.” The word seemed foreign to him. He muttered them almost with confusion. He turned and eyed the three other ponies. “I see the young miss Grand Prix is among them. Have you considered my suggestion to marry the young mistress?”
Grand Prix and Shadowstorm blushed simultaneously. “No Stonewall!” Shadowstorm blurted, “I mean I have... Just, ugh!” Shadowstorm rushed past Stonewall into the house.
Stonewall turned to the others and winked, “It is almost too easy to embarrass the young master. You all have fun, oh and miss Grand Prix? Please tell Shadowstorm his sister has decided to stay the day here as well, and would be delighted to see him.”
Shadowstorm led the others inside. Unfortunately, it was incredibly dark and Copper Head and Spot found it hard to follow the two Cloudwalkers. “Um, Shadowstorm? What's going on?” Copper Head called out to the darkness. He could feel Spot press against his side. “We can't see a thing!”
“Oh, sorry about that.” Shadowstorm replied with a laugh. “I forgot you guys can't see in here yet. Let me just find the stuff real quick.” The two stood completely still, unable to move in fear of the complete dark. They heard somepony walk past them and open a door to their right. After some rustling, the door was closed and Shadowstorm's voice return, “Here, eat these.”
Something was placed close to Copper Head's face. He gingerly took it and bit a piece off of it. He almost gagged from the incredibly bitter, dry taste. He didn't finish the rest of whatever it was, opting to drop it on the floor instead. A small squeak from beside him confirmed that Spot was given the same substance.
Shadowstorm laughed at their plight, “That's everypony's reaction the first time they eat it! Don't worry, you don't have to eat anymore if you don't want to.”
Spot stuck her tongue out as if maybe the air would get that horrid taste out of her mouth. “What was that nasty stuff?”
“A piece of the bark from the same type of tree that this house was built with. It'll let you see while you're inside.”
True to his word, both Spot and Copper Head slowly regained their sight. However, there was still no light, instead, everything was illuminated by strange pulsating veins that ran along the walls. It was sort of like a black light.
“Cloudwalkers have the weirdest stuff.” Copper Head commented. He was beginning to feel that this land was trying its best to be the strangest it could be.
After regaining their vision, Copper Head and Spot found themselves in a large entryway with several doors along the perimeter and a staircase straight ahead. “Oh, Shadowstorm, Stonewall said your sister was here and that she probably wanted to see you.” Grand Prix moved towards one of the doorways as she spoke, “If I know her, she's probably in the courtyard don't you think?”
“Brainstorm? Sure, she's probably sitting there admiring the flowers.” Shadowstorm, Copper Head, and Spot followed Grand Prix through the doorway she selected. They were met with a regal hallway lined with art that mixed with the ever-present veins flowing in the wall. Some of the art was so integrated with the wall, that it was hard to tell if they were part of the wall or separate. Opposite the art, the wall was populated by windows out into a courtyard. In the center of the courtyard, a mare slightly older than the four was sitting on a bench set next to a fountain. Her gaze was focused on the flowers along the perimeter of the courtyard.
Shadowstorm ran ahead of the others and burst into the courtyard. Shadowstorm's sister was unshaken by the sudden action. As Shadowstorm embraced her, the mare only then seemed to notice his presence. “Shadowstorm...” she whispered, “I did not expect you. This is a pleasant surprise.” The others filed in not soon after. “And you brought Grand Prix, but who is your friend?”
“These are my friends Spot and Copper Head. We met at the Academy.”
“F-friends? I only see one, Shadowstorm.” She turned her head towards Copper Head and Spot. What they saw shocked the two. Brainstorm was a beautiful mare, that was unmistakable, but what was more surprising were her large, glazed-over, white eyes. She was blind. “I do not like to be tricked, Shadowstorm. Now, who is this friend really?”
“Um,” Shadowstorm looked about as confused as his sister. “There really are two other ponies here. Spot and Copper Head. I'm not trying to trick you.”
Brainstorm seemed a little unnerved at this, “Please, Shadowstorm. I thought you grew out of this terrible habit.”
“He's telling the truth.” Grand Prix spoke up, “We can do a little test. Which one can you see?”
Brainstorm pointed to Spot who stepped closer. Spot stared into Brainstorm's lifeless eyes, “How can you see me?” Spot questioned.
“I can see... your life.” Brainstorm sighed, “I do not know how, nor does anypony know.”
“Can you see my aura? Like an auramancer? Or heat like a viper does?”
The blind mare shook her head, “It is not like that. Now please, bring forward this 'other' pony you claim is here.”
Spot reclaimed her previous position as Copper Head stepped in front of Brainstorm. They all grew silent. Copper Head and Brainstorm stared at each other for a minute, making the stallion feel very awkward.
“Well?” Copper Head said to break the silence.
Brainstorm flinched when she heard his voice. “Somepony really is there!” She struck out with her hoof, grabbing hold of Copper Head to solidify his existence. She felt his mane and his face. She lingered for a while, contemplating something in her mind. “No!” She said defiantly. “This is still just a trick!” She got up off the bench in a haste and made a beeline to Shadowstorm. “I don’t know what you did, but I don’t trust it for a second.”
“Believe me sis!” Shadowstorm replied with a bit of heartache in his tone. “I don’t do those things anymore!”
“You’ve always been a bad liar, Shadowstorm.” She sighed heavily, “You’ve gone to great lengths to trick me before. For all I know, you could have bought a mannequin and thrown your voice.” She sidestepped her brother and headed for the door. “Come Spot, I will be glad to show you the rest of the house. Alone.” She added, giving Shadowstorm a mean look.
Spot warily took off after Brainstorm, looking back at the others. “You should probably go too.” Grand Prix suggested to Copper Head. “I don’t know why, but she can’t see you. No one really knows how her magic works, but… just go with them. Spot will definitely be glad you did. Copper Head nodded and took off after the two. They hadn’t gone far, so he was able to find them quickly. Spot had seen him and her whole body seemed less tense now that she knew she wasn’t alone.
They followed Brainstorm through many rooms of the house, each one either decorated differently, or used for some other purpose. She never once mentioned Copper Head or her brother, but constantly droned on about the history of the house and its inhabitants. Spot was completely absorbed in the onslaught of facts and dates, but Brainstorm’s words might as well have been a lullaby to Copper Head. The earth pony constantly slipped in and out of sleep even while standing up or following the two mares.
“How do you know you’re way around the house?” Spot questioned Brainstorm. “Do you remember where everything is?”
“No,” Brainstorm said bluntly, “Shade Manor is a living being. Since it is alive, I can see it.” The blind mare moved to the wall and traced with her hoof one of the pulsating lines snaking its way across the surface. “I can see its life force flowing. In intricate shapes that allow me to navigate it’s walls with ease.”
“A living house, I’ve heard of these things before.” Spot said matter-of-factly, “The most common of these houses are made from the lumber of magic-bearing trees.”
“That is right, this house was made many centuries ago by a tree that has since gone extinct. It was called simply the shade pine in earlier days, but I believe it has a different, more scientific name.” She knocked on the wall before continuing, “This house is the last building built from that wood. Sad really.” The group kept moving. After climbing a flight of stairs, they arrived in a large room with a long table centered in front of a grand fireplace. It looked like the dining room. Paintings of regal ponies lined the room, but the most impressive of the lot was the one that rested above the fireplace. The picture depicted a green stallion battling against a grey, tyrant-looking character. There was quite a bit going on in the painting, but an ominous guillotine shone bright in the background.
“Who is the picture of?” Spot inquired.
“Which one dear? I can see the house, but not the pictures.”
“Oh,” Spot softly replied, “The one above the fireplace. It probably isn’t the best question to ask.”
“It is quite alright, most don’t get used to my ‘slight’ blindness.” She cleared her throat before continuing, “Is it the picture with the green and the grey stallion?”
“It is.”
“Well, that is the picture of my father, Sylvan Frenzy. I’m told it depicts him battling against King Koal. The guillotine he was beheaded on is shown in the background.”
“Wow, your father must have been a really great pony for someone to paint this about him. There’s one thing I’m wondering though. How come he doesn’t have ‘storm’ in his name like the rest of you seem to have?”
“He wasn’t a ‘storm’,” Brainstorm said matter-of-factly, “He was a commoner who won my mother’s heart and married into our family. It’s actually a rather romantic story, I’ll have to tell you sometime.”
“Oh, I would love that!” Spot replied enthusiastically, “I love a good romance!”
Brainstorm smiled, “It’s a deal. Oh.” The entire group turned towards the door as another pony entered the room. It was Angelstorm, Brainstorm and Shadowstorm’s mother.
“Oh,” Angelstorm stopped where she was, surprised, “Why hello, I wasn’t expecting company.” Her eyes surveyed three ponies, before she addressed her daughter, “Brainstorm, i need to talk to you in private for a second.”
“Of course, mother.” Brainstorm obeyed and walked with her mother out of the room.
After a few minutes, Brainstorm returned to the room without her mother. “What was that all about?” Spot asked.
“Mother says you need to leave now.” Brainstorm replied with a straight face. “I cannot tell you why, but don’t worry. It’s not your fault.”
“Aw, we haven’t seen the rest of the house yet.” Spot whined. She was obviously having a better time than Copper Head was.
“I’m terribly sorry, maybe you can come visit another time.” With that, Copper Head and Spot were ushered outside. Not a minute later, Shadowstorm and Grand Prix appeared, prodded along by the butler, Stonewall.
“I’m sorry Master Shadowstorm, but the your mother has informed me that you have to leave as well. I know it is your home too, but I follow her orders.”
“What’s going on?” Shadowstorm demanded, “Why do we have to leave? I’m her son!”
Stonewall looked away from the stallion, “Visitors, master. They are very important. Even I must stand outside the house until they leave.” Stonewall shivered, “It’s supposed to be a cold night tonight.”
Shadowstorm sighed, “Alright. You stay safe Stonewall.”
“Thank you master. Will you be heading back to the school now?”
“Nah, I promised we’d show our friends Grand Prix’s house afterwards.”
“Ah, I’m sure your friends will enjoy the Raceway.”
“Of course they will!” Grand Prix butted in, “Come on guys. Let’s leave this dingy old place behind.” Grand Prix marched off without another word, forcing the others to immediately follow her back into the woods.
Little did they know that they were being watched. From the upper floor of the house, Angelstorm peered out of the window. “Did you really force my son’s teacher to send Shadowstorm to detention?” Angelstorm said with reserved anger to the pony standing next to her.
“I might have,” King Krafty said, “But I assure you, there was no way that I would allow him or Grand Prix to come to any harm.”
“Lies!” Angelstorm abruptly yelled. She checked herself and bowed, “I’m sorry, my King. It’s just, all of your staff has heard of Copper Head’s death. My son could have been caught in the crossfire.”
“Oh? And where might you have heard these rumors from?” King Krafty coolly replied.
“I’m not certain, sire. I must have overheard one of the guards…”
The King eyed her suspiciously, “Of course. However, Copper Head is alive and well; meaning that these rumors are obviously false. Now leave, I will call you in when I am ready to discuss my plans.”
The mare bowed and left quickly. As soon as she left, King Krafty tapped his hoof on the ground. Almost immediately, Skoll and Hati materialized out of the shadows. “Sire.” They said simultaneously while bowing.
“I need Hati to follow those four.” Krafty spun around and looked back out of the window. He could just catch a glimpse of them as they disappeared through the treeline. “Make sure you aren’t seen, and report anything interesting to me.”
“Of course! The very shadows will hide me.” The black wolf took his leave, disappearing back into the shadows.
“And you,” He said referring to Skoll, “The pieces are falling into place. You know what to do.”
“I have waited for this day, sire.” Skoll bowed and exited the same way his brother had.
King Krafty looked back out the window. “Soon enough, the world will wonder how they could ever forget about the Cloudwalker Kingdom.”
The trip back to the city was uneventful, although the mysterious feeling of being watched hung over the group the entire way. Once they reached the outskirts of town, they realized how late it was getting. Spot, in particular, was worried about walking around the large city after dark. “Don’t you think we should head back to our dorm? I don’t want to walk back in the dark…” Her voice trailed off as she glanced down an already pitch black alleyway.
Grand Prix trotted over to Spot and gave her a reassuring look. “We could stay at the Raceway. The place is full of rooms that are used to house the racers that come from all over the kingdom.” She then winked at Spot. “There’s even a spa. I can totally get the both of us in.”
“What about us?” Shadowstorm blurted, referring to himself and Copper Head.
“Psh,” Grand Prix rolled her eyes. “Stallions don’t go to spas. Besides, we need some mare time. Right, Spot?”
“Um, of course.” Spot muttered. “I’m still not sure about spending the night there.”
Unfortunately, no one else heard Spot’s last comment and so the unicorn was forced to follow them anyway. The sun was slowly making its way under the horizon by the time the four made their way to the Raceway. It was an impressive sight. The last rays of the sun outline the sleek curves of the large modernist complex. As they got closer, a logo on the sign of the building became visible. It said “The Raceway”, in black, red, and white letters. The ‘R’ curved under the rest of word so that it formed an underline. Around the logo, a large amount of posters were posted with the names of different sponsors. Among them were some that Copper Head recognized from other advertisements around town.
Grand Prix meandered up to the wall and pointed at a poster hanging close to the Raceway logo. It read “Rainbow Factory Apparel”. She gently placed her hoof on it while speaking, “This was my old sponsor. Back when I used to race.” Grand Prix sighed. “Even though I haven’t been away for long, it feels like an eternity since I last saw the team.”
“Yeah, yeah ‘grandma’.” Shadowstorm teased. “Let’s just get inside. It’s getting a little cold.”
The group walked through the automatic doors and into a stark white interior offset by hundreds of thousands of racing memorabilia, plaques, info counters, furniture, and other ponies. “This place looks like a museum!” Spot jumped up excitedly. She immediately went over to a display and started reading information on a large golden trophy on display.
Grand Prix stood next to her and smiled, “That’s the champion’s trophy for the Cloudwalker Grand Prix. Every winner has their name etched into it.”
“Intriguing.” Spot paused for a moment to read before asking, “The Cloudwalker Grand Prix is what you’re named after right?”
“That’s right.” A voice answered from behind the both of them. They both turned and saw F1, Grand Prix’s father, standing over them. “Grand Prix, you should have told me that you were coming by. I would have forced everyone else to leave.” He smiled a mischievous smile as he gave his daughter a hug.
“C’mon dad. You don’t have to do that. I’m just here to show everyone around… and probably spend the night.”
Her father twitched at the words ‘spend the night’ and glanced in Shadowstorm’s direction before saying through clenched teeth. “Um, that’s not a good idea. Especially with that… hooligan… around.”
“What’s your problem with him? He’s been my friend for forever!”
“My problem is not with him.” F1 coughed, “If you’re going to be resolute on his staying here, he can sleep in one of the rooms on the opposite end of the Raceway as yours. And I’m not going to change my mind.”
“Fine.” Grand Prix audibly sighed. “Not like we already technically live together…”
“What was that?”
“Nothing! Nothing!” Grand Prix put on her best innocent face.
“Of course…” F1 said with suspicion. “Well, I better get back to meeting all the racers. This year’s semi-pro racing season is starting tomorrow and I have to scout them out. Might find a replacement for Swallowtail. Sometimes I wish this place wasn’t part hotel.” He gave his daughter a pat on the head before heading off into a crowd.
Copper Head and Shadowstorm, who had been purposefully avoiding contact with F1, rejoined their female companions. “Does he still hate me?” Shadowstorm wondered.
“Sure does.” Grand Prix jabbed him in the ribs. “Of course, who doesn’t hate you?”
“Haha,” Shadowstorm rubbed his side, “So whatcha got planned for us now?”
“Well,” Grand Prix pulled Spot close to herself, “Me and Spot here are going to the hotel spa. It’s sort of a mares only thing.”
“You’re telling us that you dragged us all up here just so you could go to the spa?” Copper Head interjected.
Grand Prix blushed, “It’s been a while. You don’t know what you have until you lose it right?”
The guys simultaneously shook their heads. “I guess it doesn’t really matter.” Copper Head replied. “I sort of don’t care about going to a spa, anyway. I’d rather take a look around.”
“Yeah! That sounds like a great plan. Let’s get going buddy.” Shadowstorm said while shoving Copper Head towards a doorway leading out of the room. “We’ll have our own… stallions only… adventure!”
Spot and Grand Prix giggled. “Well, that was awkward.” Grand Prix continued to chuckle, “Anyways, let’s get going. The spa awaits!” Grand Prix ushered her friend down a different corridor than Copper Head and Shadowstorm had taken.
Copper Head wandered around another section of the racing museum observing the plethora of “artifacts” while Shadowstorm intently swept his gaze over the crowd.
“Ya think Grand Prix knew there was a racing thing going on today? Couldn’t have been coincidence.”
“I honestly don’t know Shadowstorm,” Copper Head replied while gazing at photos of past racers and teams, “I didn’t even know racing was so big in Cloudwalker Kingdom.”
“It’s like the only sport we have. Pretty much every citizen has a favorite racer or team. Heck, even I think Beco Boost is the best racer alive… or was. The only race he ever lost was his very last one.”
“What happened to him?”
“Heh,” Shadowstorm walked a few feet away, “Let Grand Prix tell you. She was there.” Shadowstorm continued to walk off. Copper Head quickly turned and trailed behind him.
“Why can’t you tell me?”
“You’ll understand, once… if she tells you.”
Copper Head sighed and gave up the pursuit.
“Don’t worry about it.” Shadowstorm reassured him, “Why don’t we get something to eat? I see some free food over there and I’m starting to feel a bit peckish.”
Copper Head looked around and spotted what Shadowstorm was referring to. A long table was set up with all kinds of sweets and confectionary creations. Hanging from the front of the table was a sign that read “Food for Racers Only”. “Uh,” Copper Head muttered, “I think the food is for racers only.”
Too late, Shadowstorm was already scarfing down a large piece of carrot cake. No one seemed to notice, but Copper Head looked around warily as he crept up to the table. Shadowstorm was already on his third cupcake when he finally got there. He eyed the table and then glanced at his friend who had frosting covering most of his face. Copper Head spotted a tiny morsel of cake. He supposed that no one would miss such a miniscule clump of frosting so he popped it in his mouth.
“Are you racer?” A voice called out behind Copper Head that made him jump. He swallowed the piece of cake and turned around slowly, thinking up some sort of excuse as he went. When he came face to face with his assailant, he was slightly underwhelmed. Standing before him was a mare that he dwarfed in size. Even Shadowstorm, who was a little small for a stallion, seemed tall next to her. “Why you eat? Racers only!” Her broken sentences, strange accent, and harsh demeanor gave her away as a mare not native to Cloudwalker Kingdom, or at least, not the capitol.
“I thought that I…”
“NO!” She harshly replied before Copper Head could finish his sentence. “Dirtwalkers, don’t think! You,” Before she could spout more racist remarks, a stallion put a hoof over her mouth.
“I’m deeply sorry.” The stallion apologized, “My cousin isn’t from around here…” He stopped as the mare struggled harder under his grasp. “She’s from another part of the empire, where… ponies like you, aren’t very common.”
The mare wiggled free and bit down on his leg, causing the stallion to yelp in pain. “You defend him?” She questioned her cousin, “He breaks rule!”
“It’s fine Anna. Please, we don’t want you to get deported… again…” With that, the mare, Anna, stayed quiet but never ceased glaring at Copper Head. “I’m so sorry about that, I wish I could make it up to you, though I’m just a lowly journalist. Name’s Otto Bahn by the way. The loud-mouth’s name is Anna Bahn. What’s yours?”
“Copper Head,” Copper Head replied, “And this is my friend Shadowstorm.” He turned to look for Shadowstorm, but he was still stuffing his face; completely unaware that anything happened.
“Good to meet you, Copper Head. I wish it would have been under better circumstances. Anyway, what brings you to the The Raceway?”
“I just came here with three of my friends. Grand Prix and Spot are off at the spa or something.”
Otto’s ears perked up, “Did you say ‘Grand Prix’. As in the heir of this very building we’re standing in? The up and coming rookie who quit so suddenly?”
“Um, I suppose.”
“No way!” Anna Bahn broke her silence with an outburst that startled everyone nearby. “The mongrel cannot be friends with her! She is too famous to be with trash!”
“Anna! This might be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Do NOT take this chance away from me!” Anna backed off after the harsh scolding. “Do you mind if I ask you some questions about Miss Grand Prix? In private of course.”
“Why wouldn’t you just interview her?”
Otto shook his head fervently, “Everyone knows that Grand Prix never, and I mean NEVER, takes interviews. Mostly because everyone wants to ask her the same questions about that day. The day she quit. It’ll just take a minute and we’ll need to find a place a bit more quiet.”
“A place more quiet? Why not just right over there?” Copper Head pointed to a part of the room where the crowd was scarce.
“NO! I mean. No, there are way too many ears… Wouldn’t want the story to come out before I’m ready to publish it of course.”
“I guess I could,” Copper Head shrugged, “Shadowstorm, you coming?”
Shadowstorm looked up from his plate with frosting all over his face, “Nah,” he said with bits of food spewing out of his mouth. “No one else is eating this stuff. Don’t want it to go to waste.”
“Ok then… Lead the way.” Copper Head followed Otto and Anna to another part of the museum that was void of any other visitors. A large window on one of the walls provided a view of the actual racetrack that The Raceway housed.
“Anna, could you wait just around the corner?” Otto asked his cousin while he took out a pencil and notebook.
“Why? Can I not stand here?”
“Professionalism, Anna. Please understand.” Anna hesitated before grudgingly going around the corner, but still well within earshot. “Thank you for taking the time for this interview.” He spoke in a professional tone while turning to Copper Head. “How long have you known Miss Grand Prix?”
“Well, I guess it’s been a little under a year. I’ve known her ever since I came here.”
“Mmhm, and where do you know her from?”
“The academy. We’re in the same class.”
“I suppose you mean Cliffside. Very good. Now, on to the more… substantial questions.” He flipped over a page in his notebook before continuing, “Does Miss Prix have any cloudwalker magic?”
Copper Head was a little shocked by this question. Not really something that a racing journalist would ask. But he felt there would be no harm in telling him, “She has a magic that causes people to become dizzy and blind.”
“Blind? For how long?”
Copper Head scratched his head, “A minute maybe? I’m not entirely too sure. Why exactly are you asking me these types of questions? Aren’t you a racing journalist?”
“She’s practically a celebrity,” Otto said without missing a beat, “A lot of people want to know everything about her. If you want to stop, we can just end it here.”
“No… it’s fine.” Copper Head didn’t feel like everything was fine, but Otto seemed like a nice guy. “What’s the next question?”
“Does Grand Prix have a love interest? Readers love celebrity couples.”
“If there would be anypony it would probably be,” Copper Head abruptly stopped mid-sentence after he saw something flash by the window behind Otto, “What was that?”
“What was what?” Otto replied with a slightly annoyed tone.
“The window behind you. Something just passed by it really fast.”
Otto sighed and trotted up to the window and looked out, “ I don’t see any…”
A sudden crash sounded and shards of glass permeated the air. Otto fell down backwards, in his head, a large vicious looking wound. Something passed by the window once again.
Anna poked her head around the corner, “What is that noise?” She gasped when she saw her cousin on the floor in a pool of his own blood. She walked closer, staring wide-eyed at Otto’s body and then at Copper Head. “You!” She screamed.
“No, you’ve got it all wrong! It was the…”
Anna sprinted towards him mid-sentence yelling, “I’ll kill you!”
In a hurry, Copper Head lept through the window. He stumbled over something that was just under the windowsill. He picked himself up off the ground and saw what it was. A unicorn dressed in all black was crouched under the windowsill, trying to stay hidden, but he wasn’t expecting somepony to jump out of the window.
“Ack!” The pony blurted as he took off down one side of the racetrack.
Copper Head was slightly dumbfounded, but quickly realized that that pony must have been the murderer. He took off after him, trying his best to keep up. It was already pitch black outside, but small lights located around the edge of the race track provided enough light for Copper Head to keep track of the assailant. Although he wasn’t very fast, Copper Head was able to close the distance between him and the killer. With a final burst of strength, Copper Head lept towards the unicorn. There was a flash of light, and Copper Head was met with the jarring sensation of slamming into metal. Dazed and confused, Copper Head rubbed his head for a while, until he heard somepony walk up behind him.
“I caught you, dirtwalker!”
Copper Head caught a glimpse of her before he felt a sharp pain in his side. He yelped and jumped away from his attacker. Standing before him was Anna, wielding a large piece of broken glass that was now slick with Copper Head’s blood. “I didn’t kill him! It was some other pony. I was chasing him down when he just disappeared through this wall!”
“Lies!” Anna took another swing at Copper Head but the stallion, now aware of his surroundings, was easily able to dodge out of the way. “Stop moving!” Anna said through gritted teeth. She changed her stance to lunge at him, but she stopped. Her eyes widened and she turned pale. She dropped the glass she was holding in her mouth which shattered into smaller pieces upon hitting the ground.
Copper Head was about to ask what was wrong when the mare suddenly started to cough up blood. Copper Head was shocked by the development and wondered what to do.
“What…” Anna gasped sounding incredibly confused. She continued to cough up more blood. Copper Head sprang into action by picking her up and carrying her on his back. She was so small that her weight barely hindered Copper Head as he headed to find help for her. A sudden shiver ran up his spine as something wet splashed against his sides. He didn’t have to look to guess what it possibly was.
Back at the broken window, there were palace guards and shocked onlookers already massed around the dead body. The guards were more than surprised when Copper Head suddenly appeared on the other side of the window carrying a sickly Anna. The guards called for paramedics who carried off Anna Bahn for treatment. Copper Head saw her off at the door, all the while wondering about everything that happened in just the past few minutes.
Shadowstorm casually sidled up beside Copper Head with sugar all around his mouth. “What happened?” he said smacking his lips, “That part of the interview?”
“Uh, no.” Copper Head glanced at Shadowstorm, “Have you been eating this whole time?”
Shadowstorm looked surprised, “Of course! That’s what I told you I would be doing. Silly.”
Copper Head sighed, “Come on Shadowstorm. We have to find Grand Prix and Spot. We need to warn them that there is a killer around here.”
“Killer?” Shadowstorm furrowed his brow, “Is that what the dead body was about?”
Copper Head face hoofed before walking in the direction of the spa.
“Mmmmm, that feels so good.” Grand Prix cooed as she relaxed in one of the spas many hot tubs. She closed her eyes and soaked in the warmth of the water before addressing her friend. “Spot? You getting in?”
Spot stood beside the hot tub, suspiciously eyeing the bubbling water. “How hot is it?” She questioned. “Not… not too hot I hope?”
“It’s pretty hot, but it feels good! You just have to try it!”
“I’m not sure…” Spot started to shy away.
“Just dip a hoof in! You’ll see.”
Upon her friend’s suggestion, Spot gingerly dipped her hoof into the water. “Wow!” She exclaimed, “It doesn’t feel that bad at all.”
“See? I told ya.”
Spot slowly stepped into the hot tub, allowing the warmth to envelope her bit by bit. “You know, we have something like this back in Neigh Jing. High in the mountains, there are hot spring resorts where ponies will relax and bathe in steaming water. I’ve never been to one before, and I always thought that the water would boil me.” She giggled at that last thought.
The two sat there in silence, allowing the water to soothe away the stress of having walked around all day. “So, you mentioned that you were once a racer?” Spot said to break the silence. “Mind telling me that story?”
“Sure. Sure.” Grand Prix closed her eyes, leaned her head back, and smiled, “I can remember it like it was yesterday. The feeling of air brushing past my skin, the roaring cheers of the spectators, the straining of my muscles as I pushed myself faster… Those are a lot of things I miss.”
“Why don’t you go back?”
Grand Prix opened one of her eyes and peered at Spot before closing her eyes again, “I left for a reason. I can’t go back… I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Well, why don’t you tell me how you got started?”
“Yeah sure. My dad always pushed me to be a racer. So I was racing ever since I was old enough. I’ve met a lot of friends and had a lot of rivals since then. Some of them have even gone on to be professional racers. Blue Angel, Saurus, Anna Bahn are all pro’s that I’ve been friends with for years.” Grand Prix stopped speaking for a moment to take a long glance at her scarf which was set in a neat pile in the corner away from the hot tub. “After winning a few small races, my dad hooked me up with a sponsor: Rainbow Factory Apparel. They make really nice, and really expensive, clothes. I never actually owned anything from them except the scarf.”
“Oh wow.” Spot sat back and contemplated what Grand Prix had just told her in her head. “Were you really good?”
“I was alright.” Grand Prix shrugged, “Never got first. Of course, no one could ever hope to get first while Beco Boost was around.”
“Beco Boost? What happened to him?”
Grand Prix flinched, “N-nothing.” Grand Prix looked away. “Let’s talk about something else…”
“Oh, did I saw something wrong?”
“No, it’s just.” She cut off shortly and bolted upright. “Did you see that.”
Spot whipped around. The door to the room was open and something ran across the hall. “Is someone there?” She squeaked.
“I’ll check it out.” Grand Prix said while she was already getting out of the water. She grabbed a towel and began drying herself off as she made her way to the door. Peering her head out of the door, Grand Prix looked in the direction that the figure went. She couldn’t see anything. She turned her head to the right and was surprised to find Copper Head trudging down the hall. He was panting heavily and was he himself surprised to see Grand Prix poking her head of the doorway.
“Hey!” Copper Head exclaimed, “Me and Shadowstorm were just looking for you!”
“Shadowstorm huh. Did he just run by?”
The stallion nodded, “Yeah, he’s chasing somepony. C’mon, I’ll explain on the way. I don’t want to leave Shadowstorm alone with a murderer.”
At the mention of ‘murderer’, Grand Prix’s eyes widened. She turned and commanded Spot to get out of the tub.
Spot reluctantly rolled out of the tub. She didn’t bother with getting a towel, instead she used her magic to collect all of the water off of her body and put the orb of water back into the tub.
The three set off in the direction that Shadowstorm was heading.
“So, what exactly happened?” Spot asked.
“There was a murder inside The Raceway not too long ago. Some pony just popped up out of nowhere and killed this stallion named Otto Bahn. We were on our way to make sure you two were alright when we ran into him again.”
“Poor Anna. She was always so close to her cousin.” Grand Prix whispered after Copper Head had finished his story, “I’ll have to go visit her in the hospital. But for now… We should go tell my dad. He can let security know to be on the lookout.” Copper Head and Spot nodded in agreement.
After a few more twists and turns with Grand Prix leading the way, they reached her father’s office. The door was already open and shadows danced across the light streaming from the doorway. Suddenly, F1’s voice could be heard from inside, “It wouldn’t be so hard to kill you, you know. All, I have to say is that you’re one of them. Then no one would ask any questions.”
Grand Prix, curious as to who her dad was talking to, immediately barged in. “Daddy, who are you talking…” She gasped when she saw the scene before her.
Shadowstorm was bloodied and bruised. There was a knife being held to his throat. In front of him stood a blue unicorn mare wearing a black cloak with the hood drawn back. She was using her magic to hold the knife against Shadowstorm’s throat. Behind the unicorn stood F1. ‘S-sweetie.” F1 stuttered as he noticed his daughter in the doorway.
Grand Prix was speechless. She could only stare at the knife that was so close to ending Shadowstorm’s life. She couldn’t even move. Copper Head and Spot had to jump into action.
“Stop!” Everyone stopped in their tracks, even the pony in the cloak was surprised by the outburst. “Put the knife down, Panic.” F1 said through his teeth.
“Yessir.” The unicorn lower the knife from Shadowstorm’s throat and concealed it somewhere within her cloak.
“What is she doing here?” Copper Head questioned. “She murdered Otto Bahn.”
“On the King’s orders,” F1 added.
Copper Head, and the rest of the group, had no response to this revelation.
F1 sighed, “I can see you’re confused. Let me explain.” He walked over to his desk, which was a cluttered mess of letters upon letters. He rustled through the stack of letters, but eventually gave up. “Well, I was going to show you the actual letter…” He sighed, “Anyway, there is a group of… conspiracy theorists, who believe that our King disposed of his older brother. Otto Bahn was a confirmed member of this group, and has been publishing materials to rile up the citizens to start an uprising of sorts. This of course has not gone unnoticed, and Panic was summoned to dispose of him. However,” he glared at the unicorn apparently named Panic, “She was unable to do so quietly.”
“Forgive me.” Panic replied in a monotone voice.
F1 furrowed his brow before sputtering, “Just go. I’ll speak with you later.”
The unicorn did as she was told and was gone in a flash of light.
“Dad,” Grand Prix walked up to her father. “Why… he was Anna’s cousin. You’ve known Anna ever since…”
“Quiet!” F1 silenced his daughter. “Leave my office. You can stay the night, but you will return to the academy in the morning.
Copper Head, Shadowstorm, and Spot started to back out of the room. Grand Prix on the other hand stood her ground, “Dad, I want more answers.”
“You won’t be getting them from me. Now leave.”
“I’m not moving.”
F1 smiled, “You alway were my stubborn little princess.” F1’s cutie mark glowed and a sudden gust of wind carried Grand Prix against her will out of the room. Before she could leap up, F1 slammed his door shut and locked it.
There was a moment of silence as the rest of the group stared anxiously at Grand Prix. “Let’s just go.” She sullenly trotted off, leaving the others to follow her. She led them to the part of the building where the hotel rooms were located. She picked up two keys from the front desk. “If you all don’t mind. I want to be alone.”
The three were about to nod their head in agreement when Grand Prix continued, “With Shadowstorm.” The three froze in place and gave her a strange look.
“Uh, why’s that?” Shadowstorm said hesitantly.
Grand Prix said nothing. She unlocked the room with her key and entered, leaving the door slightly open.
Shadowstorm glanced at Copper Head and Spot, “She’s probably pretty upset…” He looked at the door. “I’ll just uh… go.” He opened the door and went inside.
“Hey wait about about the…” Shadowstorm closed the door behind him, “key.” Copper Head frowned. “I guess he didn’t hear me.” Copper Head head glanced at Spot who shrugged. Copper Head knocked on the door, but nopony answered. “You gotta be kidding me…”
Shadowstorm didn’t hear the knocks on the door behind him. He couldn’t hear much except the sound of his blood pumping. His heart racing. “Grand Prix?” He called out. She didn’t answer. What’s her deal? Shadowstorm thought. He did his best to navigate the small hotel room in the dark. Eventually he found her lying on the bed curled up in a ball. “You alright?” Shadowstorm questioned.
“No.” She shifted in the bed in order to look at him. Her eyes were wet, as if she was about to cry.
Shadowstorm walked up to the edge of the bed that Grand Prix was closest to and looked into her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
Without saying a word, Grand Prix grabbed Shadowstorm and dragged him into the bed. She wrapped her hooves around him and buried her face in his mane. She mumbled something that Shadowstorm was unable to hear.
“Come again?”
“I thought I was going to watch you die.” She sobbed.
“Hey, hey. It’ll be alright. I’m alive aren’t I?” He rolled over to face Grand Prix and returned her embrace.
“I know, but.” She pulled him closer, “I was so scared. I don’t want you to…” She trailed off.
“Don’t want me to what?”
“To leave me.”
“I won’t.” The two continued to embrace each other until they eventually fell asleep.
The next morning, Shadowstorm was the first to wake up. He was almost surprised to find Grand Prix so close to him, as if he had forgotten what transpired last night. He pulled himself away from her and walked out into the kitchen. He let his eyes wander around the room. They finally settled upon a key card that he set on the table last night. “Hey isn’t that they key to the other room… oh.” He picked up the key and scurried to the door.. He started snickering when he saw where Copper Head and Spot had to sleep.
On the ground next to the wall opposite the door, Copper Head and Spot were sound asleep. Spot was curled up on top of Copper Head, but their difference in size looked funny to Shadowstorm.
“Shadowstorm? What’s going on?” Grand Prix had woken up and was now getting to the door. “What… Pfft.” Grand Prix suppressed a laugh when she saw her two friends sleeping out in the hallway. “You didn’t give them the key?”
Shadowstorm blushed, “I guess I forgot. Heh…”
“There you two are.”
The suddenness of the new voice made Shadowstorm and Grand Prix jump. The source of the voice was none other than Copper Head, who was glaring at the two of them from under Spot.
“I’ve been awake like this for like an hour waiting for you two to wake up. If I could move, I would get both of you.
“You’ve been up for an hour already? And what do you mean you can’t move?”
Copper Head growled, “I have… bad dreams. So I don’t sleep very much. And I can’t move because of this.” Copper Head attempted to get up, but at the slightest movement, Spot whimpered and pushed her head against Copper Head’s side.
“That’s so adorable!” Grand Prix squee’d. “Anyway, let’s go get breakfast Shadowstorm.”
“What about me?”
“We’ll bring you back something.” Grand Prix smiled. The two of them walked away laughing, leaving Copper Head trapped under a yellow bundle of cuteness.
