Ponies paced while the surgeons worked.
The waiting room of Ponyville’s healing house was packed with more than a few members of the Everfree Rangers. Lightning Dust, Sky Stinger, Vapor Trail, Angel Wings, Icy Mist, Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash (in her Firefly guise) had all crammed themselves into the small chamber while the rest of the rangers milled around outside. While Lightning paced and fretted about Sunflower, the others kept their eyes firmly locked on Rainbow Dash.
“...I can’t believe you brought Chroma into the Rangers,” Sky Stinger eventually spat.
“I’m just trying to start over,” Rainbow Dash responded. There wasn’t malice or begging in those words. Just a simple statement of fact. “The Elements of Harmony cleansed me of my madness.”
“And that’s it? You just get to claim madness and we’re supposed to just forgive you for everything you did?”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Kid...I don’t even forgive myself for what I’ve done. I’ll be paying back my debt for the rest of my life.”
“But why us? Why the Rangers?” Vapor Trail asked.
“There was a tradition among the legions,” Rainbow Dash began with a sigh. “Disgraced legionnaires would take a posting on Equestria’s most remote borders to defend the country against external threats. This...isn’t exactly the same. But it's close enough.”
“So, what...you just work alongside us?” Angel Wings asked. “We just...pretend that you’re Firefly?”
Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Why not? It’s an easy way to avoid the problems that will follow if I just reveal myself to everypony. It’s just...better this way. Besides, I may not be Chroma any more, but I’m not sure I’ve earned the right to be Rainbow Dash again yet.”
Sky Stinger glared at Lightning Dust. “You can’t seriously be willing to go along with this!”
Lightning stopped her pacing to look at him. “I don’t see why she can’t earn a bit of redemption. She used to be one of Equestria’s greatest defenders before Scorpan did what he did. I’m inclined to believe that the Elements did their job, considering she saved our behinds when one of her supposed ‘friends’ tried to kill us. At the very least, I think that she’s earned a chance.”
“Really?” Sky Stinger exclaimed.
Lightning shrugged back. “I gave you a second chance.”
“What I did doesn’t come close to what she did!”
“No, it isn’t. But Rainbow Dash has expressed her remorse and that’s good enough for me to give her that chance.”
All was quiet for a moment before Scootaloo spoke up. “I say we give her a second chance. She did kind of help save us from that spider.”
Sky Stinger looked around at everypony. “We can’t seriously be considering this can we?”
Lightning frowned. “In the end, it’s my call. I intend to allow Rainbow Dash a chance to make up for her mistakes. If that’s a problem, you’re free to go.”
Nopony moved. Though a few of them still seemed uncertain about the presence of the former alicorn. Rainbow Dash looked ready to say something, when the door to the surgery theater swung open. The surgeon’s smock was dirty with the results of his work and his expression was grim.
“She will live, but she lost the leg.” A round of winces and groans ran through the group as the surgeon continued his explanation. “It will take a bit of getting used to, but she will be able to walk with a prosthesis. Combat though…”
Lightning nodded, not needing him to finish the sentence. “Is she awake? I’d like to speak with her.”
“She is. I’m hoping you can lift her spirits. She’s-”
“Thank you,” Lightning interrupted, pushing past him and into the operating theater and then beyond to the recovery room. Sunflower was laying in a cot near the entrance her gaze focused firmly on the wall. Her right hind leg was now mostly missing, and thoroughly wrapped in fresh bandages. Lightning sat down on the cot next to her.
“Glad to see that you’re still with us,” Lightning began. “Walking away from an arachnarok strike is no small feat.”
Sunflower said nothing.
“I know that direct combat roles aren’t really possible right now. But you’ll always be welcome at the lodge-”
“Why?” she croaked. “I can’t fight like this. I’m a useless cripple now.”
Lightning bristled at that. “Just because you can’t fight, doesn’t mean you’re useless! We can get you a replacement limb! You can still help out at the lodge!”
”How? Scrubbing floors? Feeding the birds? Being a glorified maid? ...I could do that at any of the merchant or noble houses in the country.”
“Or you can still help with the training. Or support your fellow Rangers emotionally. We’re…a family. We can’t just throw you out like garbage.” She stood, fixing Sunflower with the most intense gaze she could manage. “And I won’t. Do you understand me?”
“But-”
“Sunflower, there’s a bunch of ponies out there, pacing because they’re worried about you. ...I know that everything looks dark and hopeless right now. But I’m not going to let you throw your future away because things look hopeless at the moment.”
A choked sob shook Sunflower’s body as she threw her forelegs around Lightning Dust in a tight hug, burying her face against the side of Lightning’s neck. Lightning Dust hugged back, letting the mare’s sorrow break against her body. She would sit right here and wait until Sunflower had vented all her feelings. Together they sat, Sunflower’s tears soaking Lightning’s coat until the sobs eventually began to slow and then, eventually, stop.
Sunflower pulled back, eyes red, but with a more determined expression now. “O-okay. If you still want me around…”
“I do.”
“...Then I’ll give it my best.”
Lightning grinned. “That’s what I like to hear. I’ll see you back at the lodge once you’re released then?”
“As soon as I can,” Sunflower said, allowing herself a small smile. “For now though, I should probably get some rest.”
Considering the surgery she had just gone through, Lightning couldn’t blame her for wanting some sleep. Excusing herself from the room, she set her mind to what was going to come next.
It was time to really get ready for Harshwhinny.
- - - -
A chorus of shouts and the discordant clang of weapons on weapons, rose from the lodge parade grounds in a veritable wall of sound.
With Harshwhinny’s arrival crawling closer with every day, training had become accelerated. This morning the applicants had been squared off against each other, with Rainbow Dash overlooking it all. Now that her secret was out in the open among the Rangers, she was putting some of her former legion training to work. Today’s focus was one of hoof-to-hoof combat techniques.
“GAH!”
Which was how Lightning Dust found herself getting smacked around the parade ground by one of ancient Equestria’s greatest generals.
“This is a basic choke lock,” Rainbow Dash explained. All while she kept her forelegs firmly, but not too firmly, locked around Lightning’s neck. “Basically, it’s the move you want to break out when you need to take somepony down quickly. Put just a little more pressure on the neck and you can knock a pony right out.”
After the first round of morning grappling, where in Rainbow had assessed everypony’s skill sets, she was now demonstrating her moves on Lightning Dust. A fact that she was starting to regret agreeing too.
“Avenge me everypony!” she mock gasped through Rainbow’s grip. “Avenge me!”
...Not that she couldn’t have some fun with it.
Rainbow Dash didn’t react to Lightning’s attempts at levity and instead pushed onwards with her demonstrations. “Now, when you’re dealing with another pegasus or a griffin, their wings are your primary concern. Lock those down and their mobility is hampered. Now, your basic wing grapple-”
Lightning found herself flipped upside down, her wings pinned against the tight muscles of Rainbow Dash’s chest.
“I prefer this one. It’s easy to transfer into a basic body slam, which can be useful to stun or disarm a pony.”
While Rainbow Dash rambled on, Lightning Dust found her eyes drawn to a dark spot on the horizon. A dark spot that was drawing closer and closer. The dark spot ended up banking hard and dropping straight for Lightning Dust, quickly revealing itself as the dark coated form of Night Glider.
“She’s here!” she shouted, coming to an ungainly stop.
“Who is?” Lightning blinked.
“Harshwhinny! She’s shown up early! Starlight is trying to stall her, but I don’t think you have much time-”
A chorus of panicked shouting rippled through the applicants as Rainbow Dash dropped Lightning to the ground.
While panic threatened to break out all around her, Lightning Dust calmly got to her hooves, brushed herself off and gave a sharp whistle. Everything stopped as all eyes locked onto her.
“I’m not gonna lie, this is less than ideal,” Lightning said, beginning to pace as she addressed everypony. “I had hopped to run a final round of trials before Harshwhinny arrived. But it looks like her inspection is going to be those trials. This might not be ideal, but we are going to face her like the Everfree Rangers we aspire to be. Understood?”
“Mam, yes mam!”
“Good! Go make sure your bunks are clean! We want to look good when Harshwhinny arrives!”
As everypony scattered to get ready, Lightning Dust headed for her office. She was going to be ready.
- - - -
Starlight Glimmer had to give Harshwhinny some credit. She was focused on her task in a way that few nobles Starlight had met were. As they and the hulking stallion that was Harshwhinny’s judicial champion marched out towards the Black Rook Lodge, Starlight could only fume as every attempt she had made to buy her friend a little more time had been rebuffed.
“I appreciate what you are trying to accomplish,” Harshwhinny said with a labored sigh. “But if Lightning Dust can not be ready for surprises such as this, then she is not suited for the role of leadership.”
Starlight’s coat bristled at the comment. At least Lightning Dust was out and trying to rebuild the Rangers, rather than passing judgement on them from afar! But on second thought, she pushed the bile back down and flashed the smile she usually reserved for diplomacy.
“While I can appreciate that in theory, you did still give her three months and are showing up after one. There are serious questions about how much training she’ll have been able to do in that time period.”
Harshwhinny suddenly stopped, forcing Starlight into a stumbling stop of her own. “Which shall be taken into account Miss Glimmer. Professionalism is what I expect from those who work for me and I will maintain the same standard.”
Starlight glowered, but didn’t comment further. She spared a glance towards the baronesses’ “judicial champion”. Troubleshoes hadn’t said one word since their arrival, his expression dour at best. Clearly neither were in the mood for it and she wasn’t about to sour the mare’s mood before inspecting her friend’s work.
But her heart rose as they drew closer to the lodge. She could hear the sounds of training rising over its sturdy looking walls and it sounded…good? Admittedly, she hadn’t done much martial combat herself, but all the shouts and strikes seemed to be echoing at a rhythmic pace that would indicate a sense of order. She could even make out a few ponies keeping watch on the walls.
“Hail!” a sunflower colored mare called down as they drew close to the gates. “State your name and your business. Please.”
“Baroness Harshwhinny and associates, here to conduct an inspection of the Black Rook Lodge as ordered by their royal majesties King Sombra and Queen Chrysalis.”
“Hmm. That’s a good answer.”
The mare vanished beneath the parapet. A moment later the gates swung open, allowing them ingress into the parade grounds.
Where in Starlight was greeted by a massive metal and wooden spider.
...I really should have kept a better eye on this place when Spitfire was in charge.
The construct bucked and waved its limbs about in a horrible display. Any one of them looked like they could have bowled a pony over or even knocked them unconcious. But Lightning’s rangers...were doing fine. More than fine in fact.
About half were training on the spider, moving to support each other as they fought. They called out swings when the limbs came barreling towards them, they were aiming for obvious weak points in tandem. They were fighting like a team!
The other half were engaged in marksmare practice on caprataur sized dummies. Again, order seemed to be the command of the day, as they stepped up in neat lines to unleash their volleys upon the targets and even when bullseyes weren’t scored, they maintained their decorum.
And through it all walked Lightning Dust, dressed in her Elemental best as she called out to trainees and gave suggestions.
“Just a little to the left there, you’ll do better next shot,” she shouted to a pony on the archery range.
“Remember, it’s about pacing yourself. Run out of energy facing an Araknarock and you’re a sitting duck.” That was the advice given to another on the massive training contraption.
But then she noticed the presence of Harshwhinny and adjusted her path, striding over to them with a cool and confident stride.
“Baroness Harshwhinny! To what do I owe this early surprise?”
“Simply testing your ability to be ready at a moment’s notice, Lodge Master Dust.” Her eyes roamed across the scene arrayed about them. “Is this your usual training routine.”
“One of many,” Lightning answered. “We recently encountered some hostile wildlife during a training trip to the Everfree, so I wanted to give my ponies a bit of extra practice on the old training dummy.”
“Training in the Everfree? So soon?”
Starlight winced, but Lightning didn’t miss a beat. “It’s where we are meant to operate baroness. With all due respect, the sooner trainees learn to respect that forest the better it is for them.”
Harshwhinny nodded. “Very well. If you would be so kind as to lead the way and give us a proper tour?”
Lightning beamed in that cocky way so unique to her before giving a quick bow of her head. “Right this way baroness.”
- - - -
It was a simple plan, really. Just show the baroness her lodge.
So that’s exactly what Lightning Dust did. Taking the lead, she walked Harshwhinny through the whole of the lodge, from parade ground, to basement. She was able to rattle off every detail about their equipment and supplies that Harshwhinny threw her way. Now that they were in the moment, all of her previous anxiety about the baronesses arrival melted away. She lived the Rangers, she had dedicated trainees and she was going to show this stuffed up mare exactly what her lodge was capable of!
They stopped just outside the entrance to her office.
“As you can see baroness, we are fully staffed, capable of holding out in the case of a siege for a month and are already conducting operations in the Everfree. I hope that it’s enough to meet your standards.”
Harshwhinny looked out across the parade ground. She was quiet for quite a while as the rangers broke off from their training to stand at attention. Lightning could feel a nervous sweat creeping down the back of her neck. Why wasn’t she saying anything? Was she waiting for her to say something else? Was she going to have Troubleshoes launch into a crazed attack?
Please say something. Please just let me know what’s going to happen one way or another! If the lodge is going to be shut down, just let me know so that I can...deal with it.
Still...go out with a smile.
“Cat got your tongue baroness?”
Harshwhinny snapped out of her reverie. “Mmm. My apologies lodge master. Just...thinking.” She turned and cleared her throat. “I must say Lightning Dust considering your reputation as the Elemental of Laughter, I wasn’t sure that you’d be able to pull a group of traniees together. Yet...while they are not a perfect fighting force yet, I see potential here.”
A smile spread across Lightning’s face. “So, you’ll recommend that we’ll get to continue on?”
“No.”
Lightning blinked. She wasn’t quite sure she had heard that correctly.
“I’m...sorry?”
Harshwhinny sighed. “While I appreciate what you’ve done here Miss Dust, it does not change the fact that the Everfree Rangers, as an institution, have reached their end. I have seen drive and planning here today. What I have not seen is any indication that the Rangers are no longer vulnerable to being swayed by a charismatic individual who can whisper the right words into the right ears. I am sorry.”
Her tone had been conciliatory as she destroyed all of Lightning Dust’s efforts with a word. Then she shook her head. “Besides, scattered knighthoods and independant fighting guilds are a thing of the past. There-”
“Rock!”
Harshwhinny, Lightning and Starlight looked to the battlements as one, where Sunflower had made the call. They looked just in time to see the mare dive over the edge while a gray lump tumbled through the air-
The massive boulder that was said gray lump crashed into the spot where she had been standing a moment before, firing granite shards of shrapnel in all directions from the impact point before it teetered drunkenly on the edge of the wall and toppled over into the parade ground, just barely missing crushing Sunflower again.
“To arms! We’re under attack!” Lightning shouted. She was already flying for the wall to see who was attacking them...but somehow she already knew. Hooves touching down on the stone, her stomach plummeted at what she saw.
Caprataurs were pouring from the tree line, swarming across the grounds towards the lodge. They howled, screamed and bellowed, waving crude axes above their heads. Others were carrying ladders, crudely lashed together from tree trunks. At their head was a familiar looking brute. The one eyed warlord they had rescued Aria from and that had given Spitfire her scar. Even worse was the giant creature standing next to a crudely cobbled together sled, packed to the rim with boulders. Each one was easily the size of the crude monolith now resting in her courtyard.
“Just our luck,” Troubleshoes drawled
“Sunflower! Send a raven to Ponyville! Icey Mist! Bar the gates! Everypony else, on the walls!”
Ponies rushed to the walls and soon volleys of crossbow bolts were raining down on the advancing caprataurs. They raised their crude shields in response, batting and swatting at the quarrels as they closed in. Some managed to block the hail of shots. Others stumbled and fell as the iron jacketed bolts bit deep. Yet onward they came, screaming and bellowing in a furious rage.
But even as they did, the sky above them began to crackle and spit. Dark clouds gathered heavy and leden with power. Lightning watched as they opened up and glittering shards of ice and sleet bgan to pelt down upon the onrushing horde.
Lightning spared a glance down the wall, smiling to herself at the sight of Starlight channeling the spell.
The caprataur advance slowed under the relentless assault of ice and snow. Those with shields were using them to protect their eyes, while those without snarled and raged while resolutely stomping forward on shaky hooves. Most of the caprataur horde had fallen short of the road by now, giving the Rangers a golden opportunity.
“Fire!”
Another volley of bolts rained down on the caprataurs. With the ice and cold tearing at them, they weren’t as alert when it came to the stinging steel that now scythed through their front ranks, and their shieldbearers were mostly holding their shields over their heads instead of in front of their bodies. About half of the front rank collapsed, some clawing at the bolts that felled them even as they died.
While she was quite proud of her Rangers, Lightning didn’t join in the general volley of bolts. No, she was aiming at one caprataur in particular. Picking the one eyed leader out of the crowd, she drew a bead on his ugly mug and let her bolt fly.
One Eye sliced the quarrel out of the sky.
“...Ascraids.”
But in the next heartbeat of the battle, that was hardly the worst problem that they were facing down. The hulking monstrosity had picked up another boulder. Another caprataur was at its hooves, and it was another one she recognized. The shaman from One Eye’s tribe with those ridiculous looking fake wings of his. He was pointing towards the section of the wall where Starlight was casting.
Where did they even get that thing? It was like a caprataur blown up to giant sized proportions. Dark magic had to be involved somehow.
“Starlight! Look out!” Starlight shouted as the monster hurled another monolithic shard of stone right for her.
Starlight looked up just in time. She vanished with a flash of magic, appearing next to Lightning a moment later. But with her concentration broken, the storm of ice and snow ended and the caprataur horde surged forward again.
“...We need to stop that thing,” she said.
“No argument here,” Starlight said, nodding in agreement. “Don’t suppose you have any ideas there?”
“I’m pretty sure I can take him down with magic. But a few hundred yards? I don’t think I can hit him from here.”
Starlight nodded. “Sky Stinger, Vapor Trail! Front and center!”
Both snapped off another round of shots before galloping over to her.
“Yes mam?” Vapor Trail asked.
“I need you to help Starlight take down the giant back there.”
Vapor Trail gulped. “That thing? I-it’s huge!”
“...Usually, I’d be up for the challenge but considering the circumstances…” Sky Stinger muttered.
“Look, I’ve watched you two in action together. Sky, you’ve been trying hard over the last few weeks. There’s nopony else I’d trust to help Starlight take down that monster!”
Vapor Trail glanced at her friend. “Well...if you trust us, I think we can do it.”
Sky Stinger shook his head. “This is crazy...but when everything’s going mad around you, I guess it's best to just go with the flow.” He clapped Starlight on the back. “Hope you don’t get sick from sudden movements.”
“I’ll deal with it one way or another,” Starlight said. “Let’s go!”
With orders given, they grabbed Starlight under her forelegs and took off for the tree line. Starlight turned her attention back towards the caprataurs now.
They swarmed in on the walls, one group approaching the thick double doors and setting to them with axes, the rest shoving their crude ladders into position. As each ladder clattered against the crenulations, her Rangers shoved them back. But with the amount of caprataurs present, they simply shoved them back into place, multiple taurs then bracing their muscled forms against their bases to hold them in place.
For a moment, Lightning considered giving the order to abandon the walls and take to the air where they caprataurs couldn’t follow, but she quickly dismissed it. While most of her recruits were pegasi, there were a few earth ponies that had made the cut. Taking to the air would leave them and Troubleshoes to hold the wall themselves. They’d get overrun quickly on their own.
Cursing under her breath, Starlight charged the nearest ladder, smashing the butt of her crossbow against the first caprataur over the wall’s muzzle. The brute toppled backwards, but there were easily a half dozen more ready to scramble up in his place. On this ladder alone.
“We need to dislodge those things!”
“I have an idea!” Icy Mist shouted, taking a moment to pause in her bucking of another caprataur. “Sunflower! Can you get me some rope and weights from the store room!”
“On it!”
She galloped off on her three remaining legs and, to Lightning Dust’s surprise, Harshwhinny followed suit.
While they was gone, the battle at the walls descended into the swirling chaos of combat. As more caprataurs pushed their way into the walls the advantage of the Ranger’s crossbows were cancelled out. The rhythmic volleys of crossbow bolts had given way to the swirling, chaotic melee of hoof to hoof combat, success or failure being determined by a dozen individual fights. The caprataurs had the weapon advantage with their heavy axes, but the rangers had the armor edge with their chainmail. The caprataurs mostly didn’t bother with the stuff for reasons that were never entirely clear in Lightning Dust’s mind. Still, if they didn’t dislodge their access to the walls, the Rangers were in danger of being overrun.
There were two exceptions in the swirling melee. Rainbow Dash and Troubleshoes.
Rainbow Dash was a blur in her Firefly persona, lashing out with strikes that were hard to follow. Every blow was expertly placed, drilling into weak points on their bodies. Joints, the soft spots on the neck, the stomach. She was holding off a whole ladder on her own.
Almost like she’s used to fighting these things, Lightning Dust mused.
Troubleshoes was on the other end of the combat spectrum. His double headed axe swung out in glittering arcs, cutting through caprataurs like a scythe through wheat. Felled caprataurs were piled up around his hooves. He cut a hulking and intimidating figure in the midst of the chaos. So much so that he was actually dragging more caprataurs away from others on the walls and towards him, each warrior eager to fell such a mighty foe and take the glory for themselves.
Lightning was vaguely aware that the boulders had stopped hitting the walls at least, but she couldn’t spare the time to look as she sniped a caprataur warrior trying to attack Scootaloo from behind.
“We’re back!” Sunflower called.
She hobbled along with a massive chord of rope slung across her back, while Harshwhinny floated along a collection of six spare iron plates meant for repairing the spider training dummy.
“What do you want us to do?” Harshwhinny asked.
“Tie the plates to the end of the ropes. I require as much slack as you can give me!” Icey Mist shouted back.
Harshwhinny and Sunflower set to work, moving as quickly as possible as they began to lash the heavy slabs of metal to the ropes.
“Done!” Sunflower exclaimed.
Icey Mist took to the air, dragging Angel Wings along with her. The two hauled the heavy and ungainly contraption into the air, moving it into position to just on the other side of the wall. A few quick words were exchanged and Angel held the one end of the ropes, while Icey grabbed the other ends and flew upwards and diagonally from her. As she reached the zenith of her flight and the ropes were drawn tight, Icey Mist let go and dove for Angel’s side.
The heavy iron plates swung along the edge of the wall like a pendulum. With the momentum from the drop, they smashed through the ladders, splintering wood and sending the shattered remains raining down on the heads of the caprataurs below.
Lightning gave a cheerful whoop and shot into the air, letting her crossbow sing as she plugged shot after shot into the mulling mass below. If they could just hold them like this, they might be able to win!
But then she noticed the form of One Eye pushing his way through the crowd and towards the gates. In one hand, he carried what seemed to be a gourd that had been hollowed out and capped with a wax seal. While she had no clue what might be inside said gourd, Lightning Dust was quite sure it was bad.
Frowning, she lined up a shot and let it fly.
One Eye yanked another warrior in front of him with his free hand.
Lightning could only gape at the warlord’s supernatural instincts. He had to be getting support from magic somehow! Gritting her teeth, Lightning dove for One Eye aiming to get a shot at a closer range.
But One Eye had already pitched his gourd at the gate.
Lightning watched helplessly as it tumbled through the air, before smashing itself against the sturdy wood of the lodges’ gate. Small black seeds burst from the ruined remains, before clattering to the ground.
Then the ground exploded.
Vines, slick black, spiked and easily as thick as a pony’s body lashed forward shattering stone and tossing the broken remains and defenders every which way. Where a moment before there had been a gate there was now a gaping hole. The caprataurs bellowed in glee, swarming forward and into the courtyard.
Before Lightning could fly to assist, she felt something wrap around her hind leg. A sharp yank dragged her from the sky. The minute she hit the ground, she threw herself into a roll, One Eye’s heavy blade impacting carving into the ground where she had been a moment before. One Eye snorted and cracked his multi-headed whip.
“...This was not the way I wanted to follow in Spitfire’s hoofsteps,” Lightning muttered.
One Eye charged and survival became the only thing on Lightning’s mind.
- - - -
“Left!” Starlight shrieked.
The boulder whistled past them by inches, Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail just barely managing to avoid the incoming missile.
“He has pretty good aim for his size,” Sky Stinger grunted.
Vapor Trail glanced up for a moment. “I say we go higher! Approach from the direction the sun is shining!”
“Works for me!” Sky shouted.
As they changed direction Starlight focused on her magic. A creature that size would be tough. There was just a lot of meat and muscle to deal with once you became a literal giant. If she was going to take this beast down, she’d have to hit him in the exact right spot, with the exact right spell. After a moment or two of consideration she settled on a lightning bolt right between the beast’s eyes. Even if it didn’t fell it, maybe she’d hit it hard enough to deter it from continuing the assault.
As she draw upon her own reservoir of arcane might she could feel another rising swell of magic. The shaman was calling upon magic of his own, brandishing a gnarled staff at her while muttering in his dark tongue. The magic of the caprataur shamans was strange. Unlike the magic of pony kind it didn’t seem to be internal at all. Rather the caprataurs seemed to leech magic from their surroundings through strange rituals and chanting.
Opening his mouth, an earth shaking bellow tore from the shaman’s throat. The wave of sound shrieked through the air, almost faster than Starlight could weave a counter. She threw out a crude blast of magic in return, the two forces colliding in mid air. For a moment, the two opposing forces of magic crackled and pushed against each other, each one trying to overwhelm the other. Then they detonated, sending waves of concussive force in every direction.
In the next moment, Starlight found herself tumbling through the air, the impact having blasted her right out of Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail’s grip. Instinctively, she channeled again. Vanishing in one moment, she appeared on the ground behind the shaman in the next. He whirled about, staff glowing with power as he began to chant again. Taking the barest of moments to see how Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail were doing, Starlight could see that they were zipping around the behemoth, drawing its attention away from her and the shaman. But then he was casting again and Starlight’s attention was drawn back to him.
Magic once more crackled between combatants. The shaman intoned vile words in his guttural tongue and slammed the end of his staff into the ground. A tide of filth and crawling critters rolled forth in a repulsive carpet of biting spiders, centipedes and undergrowth beatles. Starlight countered with her own spell, wrapping a crackling circle of flame around her hooves to burn the spell away.
For a moment, all was silence between the two mages, their eyes narrowing in equal anger towards each other. Then came a flash of magic and the two were launching a fresh arcane assault.
- - - -
“Look out!”
Vapor Trail looked to her right and just barely rolled barrel rolled aside in time to avoid the swipe of the lumbering monster. Its slowness was the real thing saving their hides at the moment, as she and Sky Stinger ducked and weaved around its clumsy strikes.
Their initial plan had crumbled thanks to the presence of that mage. And with Starlight Glimmer locked in combat with him...they’d have to deal with his pet monster.
Winging about she lashed out with a hoof for the creature’s eyes. It was a wild swipe, more intended to distract than wound. The beast roared back in response, a wave of nauseating breath almost knocking Vapor Trail from the sky.
“Ugh. Disgusting,” she muttered to herself.
“Vapor! This way! I have an idea!”
Zipping around the monster’s head, Vapor Trail shot after Sky Stinger, who was heading into the branches of the Everfree.
“What’s the plan?” she asked.
“Use the trees for cover, smack em in the face with a branch, shoot him while he’s down?”
“Seriously?”
“Best plan I got right now!”
While Vapor Trail wanted to argue-
“GROAR!”
It was probably the best option they had right now.
“Alright, I’ll find a branch-”
Sky Stinger shook his head. “I’ll do that. You’re the better flyer than me.”
There wasn’t time to argue, so Vapor Trail banked about again, shooting between two of the mighty branches to catch the beast’s attention again. It roared at her approach, swinging a fist the size of her whole body through the air. She flared her wings to stop short of the strike, shifted right, flapped her wings again and shot past the beast’s muscled neck. Once she was past it, she landed on a nearby branch and snapped off a shot at the back of its head.
The bolt sank into the creature’s head but it barely even slowed down as it lumbered about and swiped at her again. Vapor Trail dove for her life as massive branches smashed through thick branches like kindling.
“Over here Vapor!”
Reacting on pure instinct, she bolted for the voice of her friend. The beast charged after, smashing his way through the undergrowth in a blind rage. Shooting between branches, she rushed past where Sky Stinger was pulling back a decently branch and spun about to line up a shot. As the beast crossed the line Sky Stinger let the branch go.
It raked across the monster’s slobbering maw and face, eliciting a bellow of rage and confusion as it clawed at its eyes. Sky Stinger didn’t wait though, instead diving forward and throwing his body weight against the creature’s chest. With a howl of fury, the monster toppled backwards, shaking the ground with a mighty crash.
Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail unloaded their crossbow bolts upon the fallen creature. Bolt after bolt was pumped into its form as it struggled to get back to its hooves. For a moment, it looked ready to fall, but then it managed to get back to its hooves and go tearing off into the depths of the Everfree, eager to get away from the pair of flying gnats and their stinging attacks.
Vapor Trail blinked for a moment before embracing Sky Stinger in a hug. “Hey! We managed to beat it! We actually defeated a monster on our own!”
Sky Stinger smiled. “Yeah...I guess we did. But come on! The rest of the battle isn’t done!”
“Right!”
And so they flew back towards Starlight and, hopefully, the lodge beyond.
- - - -
Baroness Harshwhinny was frozen in place as the horde of caprataurs stormed through the shattered remains of the lodge gate. Whether she had underestimated the strength of the caprataurs or overestimated the strength of the gates, Sunflower didn’t know. What she did know is that if she didn’t throw out the usual conventions of noble politeness, the Bloody Battleaxe was going to see her last day. She doubted they could get to the barracks or other buildings before the caprataurs could overtake them, but there was a closer option.
Shoving the baroness towards the training spider, she spat out a command without a second thought. “Baroness! Move your flanks!”
Harshwhinny snapped out of her shocked stance and followed Sunflower to the training spider. Sunflower glanced behind her as she shoved the baroness inside.
The fighting had moved off the walls and into the courtyard. Troubleshoes had waded into the middle of the mob again, while the other rangers were struggling to hold back the wave from the sides. She watched as one of the recruits she hadn’t talked to as much- Swift Breeze she thought his name was- went down as a caprataur axe managed to cleave through his chainmail.
“...Time to do something crazy.”
She scrambled into the depths of the spider, closing the hatch behind her and pushing Harshwhinny out of the driver’s seat.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Something crazy.”
She planted her hind legs, fake one included, on the petals and began to pump. The spider lurched into action, grinding forward on its wheels. Sunflower grit her teeth and pumped all the faster, putting every bit of power she had into aiming the thing right at the rampaging horde of caprataurs.
The training dummy crashed into the sea of caprataurs like a boat cresting a wave. Sunflower immediately threw herself into pulling the levers and switches, sending the arms lashing out in every direction. Disorder quickly set into the horde as caprataurs were sent flying by heavy wooden strikes and soon they were being pushed back towards the shattered gate.
Sunflower allowed herself a smile. They just might win this battle yet.
- - - -
Lightning ducked under another vicious strike from One Eye, only to catch a brutal kick to her side. Sent sprawling to the side, Lightning kicked into the air with a flap of her wings, snapping off another shot at the beast.The enchanted bolt punched right through One Eye’s right shoulder, forcing him to drop that damned whip of his.
One Eye responded by gripping his sword all the tighter and charging at her again. Lightning flitted backwards with a beat of her wings, but One Eye moved with a speed not hinted at by his muscled form and lept into the air, twisting his body about to lash out at Lightning’s face with his blade.
She cried out as the sword’s razor sharp edge sliced across the bridge of her snout. The sting of blood splattered across Lightning’s eyes, temporarily blinding her with crimson. In the next moment, she was smashed to the ground, a heavy hoof pinning her to the dirt.
“Pitiful worm,” One Eye growled in broken and thick Equestrian.
Lightning squinted through the blood and tears, watching the outline of One Eye’s thick blade rise into the air for a killing strike.
“Oh no you don’t! She’s mine you walking carpet!”
An orange blur slammed into One Eye’s side, knocking him to the ground. The two shapes rolled across the ground, while Lightning wiped the blood from her eyes. Scootaloo had partially pinned One Eye and was unleashing a flurry of dagger tipped punches upon the caprataur. He roared back at the pegasus, snapping his head forward and slamming his gnarled horns against Scootaloo’s head. With Scootaloo sent tumbling away with a cry of pain, One Eye stood again snatching up his sword.
Then a horn call rang out.
Looking back up the road, Lightning’s heart rose at the sight of Ponyville’s militia charging into action. Aria and Sonata at were at the lead, brandishing their elemental weapons as they rushed to the aid of their friend.
One Eye snorted. Briefly, his eye locked on Lightning. But then he reached for a gnarled horn of his own on his belt, sounding it in a series of short blasts even as he began running for the Everfree. The sound of hooves hammering on the ground soon followed as the caprataur horde followed suit, flowing around Lightning and Scootaloo like running water. Just as suddenly as the battle had begun, the field was empty of caprataurs.
Lightning slumped in place, letting loose a long sigh. The wound on her snout still burnt and stung, but they had managed to turn back the horde. Everything was going to be okay.
“Lightning!”
She was locked into a iron tight hug from Sonata. “Oh my gosh! Your bleeding! Help! She’s wounded!”
“Calm down Sonata!” Aria exclaimed. “Are you trying to break her back too?”
It took a bit of effort for Lightning to resist shaking her head and thusly splattering blood over her friend. “It’s okay Sonata. It looks a lot worse than it actually is. Head wounds are always gushers. I need to check on my recruits.”
“Okey dokey!”
- - - -
Lightning shuffled back into the remains of the Black Rook Lodge. The Ponyville Militia followed right behind her, immediately heading for those Rangers who were wounded. Fallen caprataurs were scattered about the grounds, a large number of them piled up around the wheels of the training spider. Starlight, Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail also returned, thankfully intact.
The hatch popped open on its side and Sunflower came flopping out, Harshwhinny right behind her. The baroness looked around the courtyard, before settling on Lightning Dust.
“Lodgemaster...can we speak in private please?”
“Of course.”
She followed Harshwhinny back to her office. ….Well, for as long as it would remain her office at least. If this was going to be the end of the Black Rook Lodge, at least they went out giving the caprataurs a black eye. While Harshwhinny closed the door behind them, Lightning walked over to her desk, dug out a handkerchief and pressed it against her wound.
“My apologies for having your inspection interrupted. But those caprataurs really aren’t one to respect deadlines and the like,” she smiled.
Harshwhinny licked her lips. “...Your ponies performed admirably, I must say. They seem quite dedicated to your lodge.”
“Thanks. We’ve been working hard.”
Harshwhinny sighed, then took a deep breath. “Perhaps...I have been a little close minded in terms of what the Everfree Rangers are capable of. You’re professional, dedicated...even your wounded member didn’t hesitate to fight when when the situation seemed dire.”
She nervously tapped a hoof against the ground. “I...believe that I will recommend for your lodge to retain its independence.”
Lightning blinked. “Really?”
“I may have dismissed you out of hoof because you are the Element of Laughter. But your ponies are well trained and you commanded under fire. I am willing to see what you can make of this.”
“...Eeeeeeee!” Lightning squealed, leaping back over the desk to embrace Harshwhinny.
Harshwhinny sighed in Lightning’s grip. “Please Miss Dust, some professionalism is all I ask.”
“Sorry, sorry. Professionalism. Right, I can do that.”
“Good luck lodgemaster. The future of the Black Rook Lodge is in your hooves.”
With that, Harshwhinny untangled herself from Lightning’s hug and trotted out of the office. Lightning slumped against her desk, letting loose a long sigh of relief. She’d have to tell the rangers- her rangers- the details, begin the repairs and clear the bodies away. But for just a moment, she closed her eyes and smiled.
The Everfree Rangers would continue.