The Fields of Ouroboros was no more than a black sea of sand that stretched towards every horizon, strewn with what little remained of the old Kingdom of Naught with thousands of ghostly Echoes wandering aimlessly in all directions in its deathly silence. The small rock formation that jutted up from the black sand started to stir as the soft blue glow of Mira's starlight hair poked out from the hidden passage below. Checking to see if the coast was clear, Mira floated back down into the passage way where Glow waited, looking anxious to get things going.
"Okay, before we go out there are a few rules you should know." Mira began to explain to her.
"Rules?" Glow asked, looking surprised.
"Rule number one to surviving, everything wants to kill you." Mira stated, holding up one finger.
"O-Okay." Glow replied, looking rather concerned.
"Rule number two to surviving, everything can kill you." Mira continued, holding up two fingers this time.
"That's… useful." Glow mumbled slowly.
"Rule number three, beware of Hoopoe and Apep. Hoopoe's the raven, his wings are silent and it will gore you with its talons before pecking your flesh from your bones." Mira explained, holding up three fingers.
"That's gross." Glow muttered, frowning at this.
"Apep's the serpent. He will swallow you whole before you even know he's there. He hates the light so if he even sees a hint of it, he'll try to snuff it out." Mira elaborated further.
"Why?" Glow asked curiously.
"Because he was born from the spit of Nadir, the first of his abominations, and is filled with nothing but hate." Mira answered.
"You're kidding." Glow replied, looking dumbfounded.
"There are creatures wandering the fields known as Echoes, they don't hurt you and you can't hurt them. So don't be afraid." Mira added, motioning for her to follow.
"Is there anything else I should know?" Glow asked, following her down the passage to the Fields of Ouroboros.
Mira stopped short, floating quickly to Glow who reared her head back to how close she came to her face.
"There's a large wolf named Rok, he's my friend and if you hurt him I'll claw your face off." Mira said threateningly, poking her on the nose with her finger.
"I-I-I won't hurt the wolf." Glow promised, nodding her head several times.
Mira shot her one last threatening look, as if to solidify her resolve of the mauling if any harm were to come to Rok. Reaching the entrance of the passage, Mira poked her head out once more to ensure that there was nothing slithering, crawling, or skittering by that would spell trouble for them. Ducking back down to a waiting Glow, Mira moved her hand to close the passage with the large stone that hid her home from wandering eyes.
"We'll have to be quick getting to the Forgotten City. If we're spotted along the way then we're pretty much dead. If we make it to the Forgotten City we'll probably run into a whole slew of abominations and will probably be killed anyways. If we somehow miraculously find your Mad Pony, then we're still probably going to die by his craziness. Any questions?" Mira explained, looking rather nervous at the whole plan.
"Uh…" Glow began, unsure of what to ask with those kinds of odds.
"Alright, let's get going." Mira hissed, floating up and out from the rocks.
Glow was quick to follow. Stepping hoof onto the Fields of Ouroboros, feeling the black sand slide beneath her, the eerie stillness that hung in the air, the silence of the fields making it seem like her flames roared violently. Her hesitation was met with the quiet hisses of Mira, who floated a couple feet away, trying to get her attention; motioning her to follow her. Kicking off the sand Glow sped off across the fields, watching the Echoes Mira spoke of crawl from the ground below; almost mist like in their forms. Glow's gallop was much faster than Mira's glide like float. Scooping her up with her wing, Glow plopped her atop her back and carried her towards the Forgotten City; Mira did not seem to mind.
"Keep to the outside until you find an arch, that's where we'll enter." Mira said to her, climbing up the back of her mane to speak into her ear.
Charging across the sea of black sand, Glow was able to take in the enormity of the Forgotten City. It was if not, hundreds of times larger than Canterlot and the Crystal Empire put together. A mere city spanning such distance and size seemed almost impossible to navigate without being lost for days, but with Mira's help Glow was hoping to trim some of that time off. Approaching the edge of the city allowed Glow to see the damage it had suffered. Something of great power seemed to cleave large towers like knives through butter, giant walls toppled to mere stones littered the ground, and whole buildings turned inside out leaving not but the foundation left of where it once stood.
"This is it." Mira pointed out, tapping her on the head.
The arch Mira spoke of had seen better days, barely an arch anymore, pieces of loose stone stretched out connected to nothing. It was enough to be the landmark Glow could recall if needing to backtrack out of this immense city.
"Stay close to the walls, if you find an opening don't go in it. Something is probably already using it." Mira instructed.
Glow nodded in understanding. Doing her best to keep her flames as low as possible, she trotted along the sides of the building walls; following the street leading deeper into the city.
"We need to walk from now on." Mira whispered to her. "The sound of your hooves will give us away."
Slowing her pace, Glow began to walk down the littered streets of ruined buildings that stretched high overhead. Stone walkways, paved streets were covered in thin layers of black sand, while some areas seemed to be void of it.
"Some creatures crawl upon their bellies, like Apep, disturbing the sand, and giving us a chance to steer clear of them." Mira pointed out.
There were abrasions on the sand, places where it seemed something massive had moved through, heading in certain directions, making Glow even more nervous to what could be stalking the streets at this very moment. Everything about the city was unnerving to Glow, it screamed death in every direction, and it provided absolutely no light other then what she was casting; making her feel like more of a target.
Something within the shadows ahead of Glow stirred, causing her to retreat quite quickly in fright, cowering with Mira behind very narrow alley way that separated the two buildings. A large tendril slopped out from with the building, striking the ground hard, disturbing all the sand and rubble around it. The creature dragged itself the ruins of the building, the burbling and gurgling of its skin was sickening to listen to as it reached out another long tendril and sickeningly slamming it further down the street. Glow could hear Mira shushing her quietly, which wasn't necessary as she was already holding her breath trying to remain as silent as possible. The noise of the creature faded, the tremors of its tendrils growing in distance, allowing Glow a moment to relax.
"W-W-What was that?" Glow asked, almost shaking.
"It is called Kana, think of a giant squid that absorbs you through its skin, melting you slowly." Mira whispered to her.
"Doesn't it need to be in water or something?" Glow asked in disbelief.
"What's water?" Mira asked curiously.
"Never mind." Glow replied, starting to have second thoughts about this whole endeavor.
"Why did it just decide to come out right then and there?" Glow asked, feeling her heart rate elevated just from that one encounter.
"It's attracted to the light, it probably saw the glow of your flames and came to check it out." Mira explained.
"Well that's just peachy." Glow mumbled, feeling that her flames were just a giant bullseye now.
"We'll need to cross the street and squeeze in between the buildings, Kana's ilk will linger for days and melt any that walk into it." Mira instructed pointing to the building across the way.
Nodding her understanding. Glow took a few deep breaths, trying to regain her courage and composure as she stepped out into the street again. The ink like liquid left behind by the giant squid seemed almost like glass, but Glow wasn't getting anywhere near it. Crossing the street, Glow was able to slide herself through the narrow alleyway, lifting her wings high overhead to fit; Mira resting her chin atop Glow's head.
"Where are we going, exactly?" Glow asked, working her way through the alley way.
"I'm taking us to where I found you; we can start looking for the Mad Pony there." Mira replied.
"You know… he wasn't always a Mad Pony." Glow informed her, struggling to fit herself through.
"Are you defending him?" Mira asked sounding annoyed.
"I have to defend him, or else every pony will only remember him as he is now." Glow replied.
"Need I remind you that he tried to kill you?" Mira asked in a matter of fact tone.
"That's not him, that's not him." Glow said defiantly.
Mira scoffed at her. Refusing to speak about it any further, growing tired of Glow's insistence. Coming to the end of the alleyway, Glow carefully poked her head out to have a look around; Mira taking her own looks as well. Not seeing much in the empty and ruined streets, Glow took the time to check the walkway and street before her if there was anything amiss with it; Mira gave her the go ahead to move on.
"Further down this street you'll find a clearing, a large area meant for gatherings." Mira explained pointing further down the path. "That is where I found you."
Glow nodded, remembering to keep close to the walls and walking off in its direction. Being rather paranoid by the large squid, Glow was extra cautious around every corner of each building, checking the inside of each one, and stopping for minutes at a time whenever she thought she heard something. Mira wasn't as paranoid as Glow, being upon her back meant being second to being attacked, which gave her some comfort.
"Do you have any kids?" Mira asked curiously.
"What?" Glow asked, her face flushing slightly.
"You know, did you and your mad pony make little ponies?" Mira asked, sounding bored but interested.
"He wasn't a Mad Pony when we… when we got together." Glow insisted, sounding annoyed. "But we did have some foals."
"How many?" Mira asked, pressing her question.
"We had twin colts a couple of years ago, there about seven now." Glow replied, smiling at the thought. "We named them after my father, Wick, and after my mother's maiden name, Pyre."
"You're Mad Pony didn't get a say?" Mira asked curiously.
"Scorch was always bad with names. He wanted to call them Fireball or Matchstick, or something." Glow muttered, shaking her head at the thought. "Our twin colts carry the name Phoenix, which is the legacy of the royal lineage of Scorch's family."
"You're royalty?" Mira asked, sounding surprised.
"Yep, I'm a Queen." Glow replied, glancing over her shoulder at her surprised look. "I wasn't a Princess, mind you, but Scorch was a Prince who became King, who I ended up marrying."
"So you married into money?" Mira asked with a look of approval.
"Hardly!" Glow snapped. "I was very much in love with him, or he was very much in love with me. It just took me a while to come around is all."
"Right, right, right." Mira said, not believing a word of it. "So you got two annoying twin colts waiting back home for you?"
Glow didn't respond right away. Mira could feel Glow tense up for a moment, as if something had pained her.
"We… had another colt, but he's barely turning a year old." Glow said slowly, sounding sad.
"So he's just a baby, then?" Mira asked, noticing Glow's uneasiness.
"Scorch and I were… we had drifted apart so much that…" Glow mumbled, unsure of how to phrase it. "It was just… unexpected."
"An accident?" Mira asked, sounding interested.
"It was a blessing, nothing less than that." Glow insisted, looking rather upset. "Even if Scorch didn't see it that way."
Mira could tell that she was treading dangerously close to a very sensitive issue with her. Not wanting to upset her, especially in a place like this, Mira tried to put a more positive spin on it.
"What did you name the squirt?" Mira asked.
"I named him Smolder. It was part of the name of my family's shop, but it was also because it was to reflect the slow burn of Scorch's and I relationship." Glow replied, still sounding upset.
"Are you worried that he'll become a Mad Pony, like his Dad?" Mira asked, feeling that this was what was troubling her.
Glow stopped walking for a moment; Mira could feel her weeping quietly to herself; feeling that she had pushed the issue too far.
"I miss him." Glow whispered, her voice wavering. "I miss all of them."
Mira could feel a twinge of pain within herself, that feeling of loss, of missing those you cared so much for. There wasn't any sort of comfort a pony could give when it dealt with family, but it was that shared pain that brought ponies closer together.
"We're… we're going to find your missing pony," Mira began, patting her on the shoulder. "And you'll both be home with your annoying little kids before you know it."
Glow was calming herself down. Taking a few deep breaths, trying her best to steady herself before turning to look at Mira.
"Not before I help you with that favor." Glow said decisively.
Mira could feel the wrench deep in her gut, that favor would never have her going home. Before Mira could respond, there was a sudden flash of light that came from far into the city, within the flash their came a sudden screech, one so familiar that Mira hugged Glow's neck tightly; it was Hoopoe's cry.
"It must be Scorch." Glow whispered, looking in the direction of the flash.
"We need to hide!" Mira hissed urgently.
"Hide? We know where he is, if we don't follow it now we might lose him." Glow insisted starting to take off once more.
"We're not the only ones who saw that!" Mira hissed, almost pleading to her.
Glow slowed down, thinking about the other creatures that may have saw the flash as well. Anything from the squid to some other unsightly monster would be going to check it out and it would just make then easy targets along the way. Fighting her urge to run towards it, Glow stopped her march and came to a stop.
"If he's smart he'll be hiding too." Mira whispered, trying to make her feel better. "He won't get far, even if we do stop to hide for a while."
"Where can we hide?" Glow asked, resigned to this plan.
"There's a shop not far from here, we'll be safe there." Mira instructed pointing away from the flash.
Glow walked on. She was willing to brave the dangers of the Forgotten City to get to Scorch, but not willing to risk Mira's.
The shop the Mira had spoken of was more rubble then building. This is probably why Mira considered it safe, as it had no real opening or conceivable space for anything to want to hide in. Crawling beneath a small opening in a toppled wall, they found themselves in a room that was mostly intact that provided them with enough cover to shield any wandering eyes from Glow's or Mira's light. There wasn't much left for Glow to discern what the shop was originally used for, but was told by Mira that it had once been a place of written word; more or less a bookstore. Resting near the corner of the room, the furthest possible place from the hole in which they entered, Glow laid down to rest a bit while Mira peeked out the hole to look around.
"I'm not worried about my son becoming a Mad Pony." Glow said aloud after a while.
Mira looked over at her. Having asked the question earlier, Mira floated towards her to listen further.
"He's got his brother's to protect him, and a very good friend of mine to look after him." Glow continued, looking a bit somber. "I think he's just going to be a sad pony."
"A sad pony?" Mira asked.
"He's going to grow up wondering why I wasn't there for him. Why I abandoned him." Glow explained.
"But you'll be back; you'll go home after this." Mira insisted, trying to comfort her.
"I'm not going back without him, Mira." Glow said; sounding set upon it. "I can't."
"Why?" Mira asked, almost sounding annoyed by her stubbornness.
"I made him promise." Glow said. "I'd always be there for him, for better or worse."
"Ptthhbt." Mira stuck out her tongue, blowing a raspberry.
Glow chuckled at this. Finding it a lot funnier then she should have, which only made Mira start to laugh herself. Like it or not, Mira was finding herself becoming more and more attached to Glow then she ever thought possible. It hurt her to think that she was going to betray her, giving her over to Null to spare her friends.
No more than an hour had passed since they stopped to hide. There were noises from time to time, but nothing came close to where they hid. Deciding that the worse had come and gone, and that whatever saw the flash would have already had its look, Mira signaled to Glow to move out once more.
Walking the streets of the Forgotten City was like walking through a maze of destruction, each building seemed to tell a story of a horror that had been done to it. That the sheer size of the city would have held countless beings, to find it completely empty and void of life; other than that of the creatures that now lurked around this place. Glow steps were more urgent, walking relatively fast, as if to make up some time lost, but slowed whenever the slightest sound was heard. It wasn't another hour before coming open a small clearing where scorch marks were littered about, with several charred remains of giant creatures resembling scorpions lay dead. There were still linger bits of flames from Scorch's attacks strewn about the area, giving off some moderate light to the buildings around them.
"Scorch…" Glow whispered, looking about for a clue to where he might have gone.
"Wow…" Mira whispered, amazed with the aftermath.
Approaching the fallen scorpions, Glow tried to measure the intensity of the burns to where Scorch may have stood, leading her to the next fallen scorpion. From what she could tell, Scorch may have engaged each one hoof to hoof, using his speed to get one alone for a period of time before the others would catch up, giving him time to beat them at his own pace. Glow approached one of the toppled scorpions, stepping over its immense stinger and examining its back and claw that were badly burned.
"This one is still warm…" Glow murmured, noticing the cinders still burning upon its deformed claws.
"That's comforting." Mira remarked sarcastically, noticing the thick shell of the scorpion nearly melted.
"He can't have gone far." Glow remarked, looking around for signs of where Scorch may have gone.
A sudden upheaval of wind fanned back Glow's mane, causing Mira to clutch her tightly, the black sand under hoof being blown away into the ruins of the buildings. The sound of scratching could be heard on the other side of the scorpion, the sound of a croak and a deep gurgling call cut through the air that had Mira seizing up. With the sound of talons tapping the stone pavement, the enormous raven Hoopoe had just landed several feet away from them.
"What is that?" Glow asked in a whisper.
"Hoopoe…" Mira whispered, clutching Glow's neck tighter.
It would seem that Hoopoe had not seen them. It may have mistaken them for bits of fire and flames that were littered about. Hoopoe seemed more enthralled by the free feast of scorpions left behind by Scorch as it pecked at the bodies bit by bit; scarfing bits of burnt scorpion down. Glow carefully stepped around the toppled scorpion to peek out to see this massive Raven, much the clawing protest of Mira's hands hissing for her to stay away.
Hoopoe's back was turned for the moment, raising one wing to clean its feathers before pecking at the dead scorpion before it. It was an amazing sight to see, if it didn't pose such a threat to them, but Glow was careful to keep herself hidden for the time being.
"What should we do?" Glow asked, not wanting to take any chances.
"We need to leave…" Mira whispered, sounding insistent.
Nodding her head in agreement, Glow backed up behind the toppled scorpion once more to leave the other way; hoping to slip away without notice. The scorpion's body provided a solid cover for them; if Hoopoe's attention wasn't deterred from its meal they could reach one of the branching streets and be on their way. Glow was just barely stepping over the fallen scorpion's melted claw when the sound of crackling flesh started to tear, the arm of the scorpion peeling off from the rest of the body as it slumped back over onto its stomach with a loud thump.
Glow froze on the spot. Mira's fingers gripping her tightly. Turning her head slowly towards Hoopoe, she saw the giant raven staring back, head slightly tilted with bits of scorpion hide in its beak. Hoopoe let out a loud cruck at them, fluttering its wings, tilting its head from side to side.
"Whatever you do… don't scream." Glow whispered to Mira.
Hoopoe opened its wings, touching both sides of the street, opening its mouth to caw loudly into the air. Mira couldn't handle it, shrieking at the sound of it, covering her head with her arms as if she was about to be eaten. Glow flared her mane, raising her own wings to shield Mira better as she turned to face off with the raven. In that moment, Glow watched as the giant head of a serpent struck from the shadows, biting Hoopoe from the head to its talons. Hoopoe's wings awkwardly bent at the corners of the serpents mouth, its legs twitching awkwardly as the serpent opened and snapped its jaws down several time to better fit the raven in its throat; feathers flying.
"Apep…" Mira whispered, shaking like a lead.
Apep was almost one hundred and sixty feet long, nearly three times the size of Hoopoe, his clear scales made him blend into the darkness so well that it only seemed that his glossy eyes were the only thing hanging in the darkness. His hood was always produced, ready to strike at any moment, its fangs razor sharp and deathly poisonous. The large lump in its throat seemed to pulse as Apep reared its head back victoriously finishing its swallow the raven whole before tipping its head towards Glow and Mira.
"Thankssssssss." Apep hissed its tongue flicking.
Glow was at a loss for words at this point. Mira did her best to hide behind Glow's mane, refusing to look Apep in the eyes.
"What… what is it?" Glow asked in disbelief.
"It's Apep." Mira whispered, sounding very frightened.
"What isssssss another Flame Pony doing here with a leech upon itsssssssss back?" Apep asked, the bulge in its neck slowly working its way down.
"Leech?" Glow asked, wondering why Apep would use such a word.
"It isssss what the Arcana are." Apep said. "They devour light, jussssssst like the ssssssstorm, jussssssst like the raven… well not anymore."
"Storm?" Glow asked, sounding more confused.
"Hassssssss the leech told you nothing?" Apep asked curiously, lowering its to get a better look at Glow.
"W-W-W-We have to run." Mira whispered to Glow nervously.
Mira's relentless shaking was enough for Glow to know that she was more scared of the snake then of the bird. Taking a step back, Glow watched as Apep slithered closer, keeping itself close enough to her. Glow could only infer that it was keeping her in range to strike, and that it wasn't about to let them go.
"Leaving ssssssso sssssssoon?" Apep asked, tongue flicking once more.
"Well, you know, places to be, ponies to see." Glow muttered nervously; not liking her odds.
In the time it took for Apep to strike Hoopoe, Glow was sure that she would need at least her Flash Step to have any chance of surviving, but even the slightest show of aggression would have the serpent on the attack. Her only chance was to distract it enough to have it lower its guard for even a moment to drop into her Flash Step and try to escape.
"M-Mira told me of a great and all mighty serpent that roamed the Forgotten City." Glow spoke up, trying a bit of flattery.
"Why are you bringing me into this?" Mira hissed, sounding both scared and annoyed.
"Fear issssssss what the leech rememberssssssss." Apep hissed, its unblinking eyes fixated upon them.
"What is not to fear from a hunter as cunning and as formidable as you?" Glow asked, continuing to try and work him over. "You ate the mighty Hobo-"
"Hoopoe." Mira corrected her.
"Hoopoe in one bite." Glow corrected herself, smiling all the while.
Glow continued to try to dissuade Apep from his position on eating them. Mira pressed her face against the back of Glow's mane, wishing she was anywhere but here right now, but noticing the dead scorpion Hoopoe had been pecking at. The scorpion's stinger lay just off to the side of Apep, a stinger sharp enough to penetrate its skin, and close enough to give them a few precious seconds to escape. Slowly sliding her hands from Glow's neck, Mira pressed them together, focusing her magic on the stinger.
"How long does it take to digest something so large?" Glow asked, feigning interest in her own question.
"You will know firssssssssst hand when I- AUAUUUGH!" Apep cried out in pain, twisting his body in pain; the scorpion's stinger imbedded in its side.
"Run!" Mira shouted in her ear.
Glow didn't need to be told twice, her body became engulfed in flames, as she turned hard to run away. Apep struck. His speed was fast, even for Glow who was in her Flash Step, feeling the scales of Apep's face brush against her back hoof as she leapt away. Apep's face slamming into the ground, upturning the stone beneath the sand, and hissing its frustration loudly. Glow barely touched the ground once more, her wings beginning to open to take flight with her next leap; Apep's tail was waiting for her as it struck her broadside and sent her flying through the wall of a building.
Mira was thrown from the hit. Landing hard on the ground, scrambling to her feet as she looked for Apep. With its body coiled behind him, Apep pushed off the ground, propelling itself forward towards Mira to swallow her whole. Raising her hands up in front of her, Mira created a small black barrier, which deflected Apep's head away from her; shattering her magic on impact. Frightened beyond belief, Mira ran to the closest dead scorpion, hiding herself beneath its legs trying her best to hide from Apep.
Rearing back, Apep whipped its tail towards the dead scorpion, striking it hard and watching it slide several feet. Mira clung to one of its legs, shrieking at the top of her lungs as Apep started to encircle it. Its body coiling around the corpse of the scorpion, slowly beginning to constrict it; trying to force Mira to come out.
"I wonder what the lasssssssst of the Arcana tassssssste like?" Apep asked, slowly crushing the corpse of the scorpion.
Apep felt a set of teeth sink into the side of his neck, near the base of his hood, forcing him to scream in agony as his body writher around in pain; freeing Mira from his bind. Mira gasped for breath, slowly crawling away from the scorpion's corpse, Apep's tail swinging dangerously close overhead. A familiar growl reached Mira's ears as she looked up to see the gigantic dark grey wolf known as Rok struggling to bring down Apep.
"Rok!" Mira shouted in surprise.
With a hard jerk of its head, Apep was able to fling Rok towards its mouth sinking its fangs into the wolf. Pulling Rok off his neck, feeling the wolf's fang tear skin from its body, Apep flung the wolf against the neighboring wall. Hissing loudly Apep turned to face Rok who snarled viciously slowly getting back to its paws, blood streaming from both fang bites.
"Leave him alone!" Mira shouted angrily.
With her markings pulsing, Mira reached out her arms towards Apep, conjuring several hundred shadow hands to take hold of it; subduing the serpent from moving. Mira struggled to keep Apep from thrashing, the serpents raw power was too much for Mira to hold back for long. With the shadow hands being torn away by Apep's thrashing, it lunged towards Mira, mouth wide to swallow her whole. A bright light flashed from the building, a blast of fire struck Apep at the side of the head, burning his right eye, causing the snake to hiss in unimaginable pain; throwing his strike off and having the snake slam into the building behind Mira.
Apep's eye started to blister, welts appearing upon its eye as it thrashed about slamming into the ruined buildings across the street. Glow emerged from the ruins of the building she had been knocked into, she was still in her Flash Step; looking mostly unscathed aside from some bruises. A loud growl had Glow whipping her head towards the giant grey wolf that towered over her. Glow flared her mane ready to defend herself.
"Rok! Rok! It's okay!" Mira shouted, rushing up to the wolf and grabbing the side of its fur.
Rok stopped snarling, turning its head to Mira, nuzzling her softly as she hugged his snout tightly. Glow watched as Mira repeatedly pet the giant wolf's head, whispering to it, as she thanked it over and over again for saving her. She realized that this was the wolf Mira had spoken of earlier, it must have heard Mira's cries and rushed over to defend her, but it was still alarming that with everything they've encountered in the Forgotten City that something this menacing was friends with her. Rok's wounds were deep, Apep's poison already coursing through its veins. Unable to keep itself upright, Rok laid down, panting heavily, whining softly.
"It's going to be okay, I promise, you're going to be okay." Mira whispered hastily; worry in her voice.
The building across the street started to collapse as Apep came slithering out, keeping a distance from the three of them. Its eye a blistering mess, blackened and red, forever blind in that eye. Hissing angrily at them, Apep's tail flipping back and forth as it continued to retreat into the shadows of the street.
"Null will hear of this!" Apep screeched, the last of the serpent disappearing into the shadows.
Glow dropped out of her Flash Step, turning to see Mira very upset over the condition of the giant wolf that was now lying on its side, taking rapid breaths.
"Watch him! Watch him, okay?" Mira ordered; her voice breaking as she pointed to the wolf.
"Okay." Glow agreed, stepping closer to Rok.
Glow watched Mira float off in a hurry back into the area of the scorpions. Turning to the giant grey wolf, Glow could see its wound beginning to fester a greenish ilk, its blood now to a trickle. Mira quickly returned with a piece of the scorpion's shell and one of Hoopoe's remaining feathers that were torn from its wings.
"Heat this! Heat it!" Mira demanded, holding up the scorpion's shell to her.
Glow didn't reply. She immediately did as she was told, spraying a concentrated stream of fire upon the scorpion's shell watching it start to melt. Mira pulled it away from her, turning to Rok; scooping a glob with her hand she pressed it against one of Rok's opened wounds with a painful hiss. Rok yelped loudly, snarling as it took a snap at Mira in protest. Mira responded by slapping it on the nose, hissing back at him. She scooped up another handful and pressed it against the second wound, listening to Rok whine in pain.
"Is he… is he going to be alright?" Glow asked sounding worried.
"Of course he is!" Mira shouted angrily.
Glow could tell that there was a great amount of fear in Mira's voice. Mira placed the feather over Rok, floating towards his head quickly, petting him several times and whispering that he was going to be alright.
"We have to find Kana! I don't have any more goo at home! We need to find her!" Mira shouted hysterically at Glow.
"The squid?" Glow asked, trying to remember.
"Yes!" Mira screamed, visibly crying now.
"Mira, just calm down, okay?" Glow began, trying to comfort her.
"Rok's going to die if I don't find that-" Mira started to shriek through her tears but Glow started to shush her quiet.
"You stay here and protect your friend. I'll find Kana and bring back the goo." Glow said calmly, gently steering Mira closer to Rok with her wing.
"But-" Mira began, but stopped short with Glow wiping away her tears with the tip of her wing.
"Trust me, Mira." Glow said confidently.
Mira nodded slowly. Glow quickly left the ruins of the building, fanning her wings open she leapt into the air, soaring higher and higher before flying off into the city. With the shallow pants of Rok beside her, Mira floated over to him, laying up against him and gently stroking his face.
"That's Glow, Rok." Mira whispered to him, trying to comfort him. "A very brave, very kind and very stupid Flame Pony."