The Spy · 8:00pm Jul 10th, 2020

“Gah, is everypony alright?!” the thestral called out as the last of the demons fell still beneath him, its throat slit by his bladed horseshoes. Dozens of the beasts lay scattered around him and his companions, their hardened shells split to allow crimson ichor to soak the ground. A neverending buzzing of wings still filled the air, making it clear that though this group was dead, there were yet many more lingering nearby in the crevices of the mountain pass.
A collection of tired calls came from his comrades. He spun around to face them, quickly taking a headcount. He swore bitterly under his breath as he realized that, of the eight he had brought with them, only four remained. The demons had made short work of the others during their initial assault.
“Where are the others?!” one of them, a mare, called, her eyes sweeping frantically over the battlefield.
The thestral shook his head. “Dead. Claimed by the swarm’s arrival,” he stated plainly. “Come, we cannot stay here. There are yet more nearby, as is our quarry-”
A deafening roar cut through the air like a serrated broadsword. The nearby rocky slopes of the mountain pass shook and rattled, loose stones falling free from the force of the call. Everypony’s hooves flew up to cover their ears in a futile attempt to smother the deafening din.
A shadow passed overhead. The thestral turned his eyes heavenward, finding a great dragon, silhouetted against the sun, soaring down for the bulk of the swarm. Its enormous wings blotted out the sky as a torrent of emerald green flames flew free from its gaping maw. The incessant buzzing came to an end, and the thestral knew that the demons had been slain.
“...That was the dragon,” one of his subordinates stated the obvious in a quivering voice.
The thestral nodded. “So it was… Come, tend to the wounded. I feel the threat has passed,” he said, turning to face his company. He pointed to one who was thankfully unharmed. “You and I are to keep watch until we’re ready to proceed.”
The group went into motion, the thestral and his companion taking a place on either side of their injured allies. He listened with great interest as the dragon spoke to something, though it was too far away to make out any words. At one point, the dragon broke out into a brief tirade of shouting but soon quieted back down.
Then, to his shock, the dragon lifted back into the air. Following it with his eyes, he was just able to catch sight of the beings nestled upon its back. He recognized all of them and swore under his breath.
“Sir, what do we do now?” his uninjured ally asked in a low whisper. “The dragon takes our quarry with them.”
The thestral hummed quietly, his wings twitching on his back. He took a deep breath before nodding after it. “...one of our quarries. Where it goes, the other will surely follow,” he deduced. He turned to his troops and lifted his head. “As soon as you are treated, be ready to move swiftly. We are following that dragon!”