//------------------------------//
// Hop, Skip, and Jump 
// Story: Ofolrodi 
// by Imploding Colon 
//------------------------------//

It felt to Rainbow Dash as though the group was making swift speed, but that was probably an illusion.  The erratic rockscapes of the world—the miniature canyons and sporadic ravines—made for far greater detail and variety than the travelers had experienced over the past few weeks.  Every hour, it felt as though everypony was passing more and more unique formations and structures.  At every turn, there was yet another stone promontory or limestone mass of stalagmites to navigate around.  If it weren't for Axan's dragonstone—and Rainbow's magical detection of the Midnight Armory—they would very easily have gotten lost in that petrified labyrinth beneath the stars.

Although the steam had dissipated, the air was still moist.  Liquid was quite prominent here, babbling in miniature patches of springs and winding brooks.  The sloping river of thin water situated Curveside to the ravines had evidently grown into a series of shallow rapids.  The group could tell from the constant sound of rushing water in the air, and Rarity confirmed it to Rainbow Dash beyond sight.  Rainbow specifically requested that the group keep low to the ground—just below the summit of the ravines and rock structures that they were threading through.  Safety was the utmost priority, and with Fluttershy constantly detecting life forms all about, there simply was no telling when or if a flock of sarosians might get the drop on them.

This made the travel especially tense—not to mention claustrophobic.  With the chaotic empowerment of Flynn's "Hoverplank," Rainbow Dash had to carefully plot her movement.  There was no luxury of flying high above the vehicle, so she either had to lag far behind it or keep a grand distance before—taking point and spotting the environment for hazards.  Rainbow preferred the latter task, but it was no walk in the park... even with Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie assisting her.

Then—of course—there were those anxious moments when the expedition had to halt completely...





"Now?" Rainbow Dash hissed.

Fluttershy shook her head.

Rainbow squirmed.  Ariel and Wildcard perched not that far from her.  The trio lay flat atop a miniature butte overlooking a break in the rocky forest.  A patch of mud and water lay before them in an elliptical shape, bubbling from underneath with unseen menace.

"How about now...?"  Rainbow Dash repeated a few minutes later.

Fluttershy shook her head again—more emphatically this time.  Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie looked on with nervous expressions.

Ariel glanced at Rainbow Dash, then back at the patch of mud.  Wildcard remained still.  Calm.  Silent.

Suddenly, the bubbling beneath the mud intensified.  The body of liquid was shifting like living molasses.

"Guhhhhhhhh...!"  Pinkie Pie's withers shook, and goosebumps formed all along her neck and face.

Fluttershy gulped.  "Okay..."  She pointed.  "...it's moving now."

Something shifted amidst the muck.  Wildcard and Ariel shifted—but Rainbow held a hoof out to steady them.  Together, the three remained low and concealed as—

"Hrskkkkkkkkkkkkkkshhhhh!!!"  A guttural growl rippled through the twilight.  The group watched as one head emerged... then a second... then a third and a fourth.  Long serpentine necks burst out from the muck, and a huge hulking body rose from beneath it.  A beast with the girth of a whale ascended.  Mud and grime coated its upper scales, but the lower half of the gigantic reptile's body was far cleaner—streaming with liquid.  At last, as it stepped clearly onto stone land, a pair of dragontails lashed left and right, shaking moisture off and raining drops down onto the Herald hidded further towards Alpha.

"Holey moley!" Pinkie Pie chirped, eyes wide.  "A hydra!"  She gawked at the rest of her friends.  "It dug all the way here from Equestria to hunt us!"

"This isn't the same thing we ran from in Equestria, Pinkie," Twilight said, shaking her head.  "It's native to this place."

"Mmmmhmmmm..."  Rarity nodded.

"Shucks..."  Applejack grimaced.  "You mean to tell me that hydras live here as well?!"

"For all we know, they probably come from this place," Twilight Sparkle said.  "Most taxonomists in the Equestrian school of biology have long scratched their heads over the relation hydras have to all other known creatures.  If its origins are in the furthest reaches of Urohringr..."

"So, what?"  Rarity's muzzle scrunched as she eyed the ghastly creature.  "Its species crossed the Edge somehow?"

"Or... there were planes of Urohringr on both sides that housed hydras," Twilight remarked with a shrug.  "Who knows where they ever first came from."  She glanced at the others.  "Who knows where the first pegasi ever first came from."

"Land's sakes..."  Applejack fanned herself with her ghost hat.  "The world as we know just keeps gettin' smaller and smaller..."

In the meantime, Ariel peeped, "Do you know what it is, Rainbow?"

"Hmmmm?"  Rainbow blinked, as if suddenly remembering that the other half of her friends couldn't hear or see the first half.  "Oh.  Uhm..."  She kept her voice low as she gestured at the lumbering beast.  "Back home in Equestria, we call it a 'hydra.'"

Wildcard did a double-take, his goggles glinting in the starlight.

"You mean you've met this sort of a thing before?!"  Ariel hissed.

"Yeah."  Rainbow smirked.  "I kicked one's butt just west of Windthrow."

Twilight made a face.  "Wait... you fought a hydra before?"

"Woohooo!"  Pinkie pumped a hoof.  "Go Dashie!"

"And... uhm..." Rainbow fidgeted slightly.  "One of these things nearly ate a bunch of my friends back in Equestria."  She squinted at the beast as it made its muddy way through the ravine, towards Omega.  "It's pretty darn dangerous.  But—with all of its heads put together—it's still really friggin' dumb.  Pegasi like you and me could easily outfly it.  Same with Jordan and Sera."

"I... just..."  Ariel squirmed.  "I-I didn't know that such weird creatures existed all the way in Equetria."

"Oh!  Girl, we've got tons of weird crap back home!"  Rainbow smirked to herself.  "Most of them in thanks to the Everfree Forest alone.  Like... manticores—Keps' big brothers—they're abundant in the wilderness.  Also in Ledomare."  She smoothed her bangs back.  "Ursa Majors... giant bears made out of stardust... not quite so fun to deal with."  She tongued the inside of her muzzle.  "Mmmmmm... those weird things that are half snake and half rooster."

"Cockatrices," Fluttershy corrected.

"Watch your language, Flutters."

Turquoise eyes blinked.  "What."

Wildcard gestured:  "The beast seems at home in a place like this."

"Yeah..."  Ariel bit her lip.  "For all we know, they must spawn here like jackrabbits."

"If that was true, we would have run into waaaaaaay more of them by now," Rainbow said.  "Nah... something's keeping the population in check... if not nearly extinct."

Wildcard nodded.  He gestured again:  "The Bloodwings."

"The moment we find this place completely empty and barren of life..."  Rainbow stretched her wings.  "...that's when we'll know we have ventured too friggin' close to the Dark Vigil's territory."  She flapped her wings and hovered slightly above the ground.  "Come on.  Let's keep track of the thing."

"It... seems to be taking its sweet time," Ariel said, hovering alongside the mare.  "What do we do if it sticks around?"

"The only thing we can do."  Rainbow sighed.  "...we wait it out."

Wildcard gestured in mid-hover:  "The rest of the Herald will not be thrilled."

"We didn't come here to be thrilled, Jordan."

Ariel squinted at Rainbow.  "Do you really believe that?"

"No."  Rainbow shook her head.  "But it's kept us alive so far."  She coasted forward in a slow glide.  "Come on.  Keep your eyes open..."