//------------------------------//
// Chapter 35: The Dark Flock 
// Story: Daring Do and the Hand of Doom 
// by Unwhole Hole 
//------------------------------//

As Daring Do and Rainbow Dash rushed through the empty streets of the frigid mountain village, they did not notice the many sets of eyes upon them. Likewise, two of those sets of eyes failed to notice the hundreds upon hundreds of other sickly, jaundiced eyes that watched both pairs of ponies.
Rogue stood on the sharply slopping roof of one of the ragged and thin mountain  houses.
“There they are,” he said.
“I see them,” replied Caballeron. Space seemed to distort around him as he deactivated the invisibility spell that surrounded him. Doing so immediately aggravated his nausea, which was largely due to the fact that he was not familiar with invisibility spells and the effects they tended to have on pony physiology. That, and hiding under the thin Questlord cloak had required him to forgo his oxygen tank.
Rogue took off his own mask and passed it to Caballeron. Caballeron took several deep breaths, feeling part of his strength return. 
“Bloody heck,” muttered Rogue. “It’s absolutely chilled out here.”
“I’ve noticed,” snapped Caballeron. 
They both watched Daring Do and Rainbow Dash pass by. 
“Boss, we have to hurry,” said Rogue. “Before the albinos get past the mob and those two freaks Daring Do left behind.” 
“It’s not a problem. We will handle it swiftly and with ease.” 
“How? I mean, that’s Daring Do, and we’ve only got the two of us- -”
Caballeron glared at him. “Before they turned on us, the Questlords left us some very interesting equipment. Apart from this cloak.” He produced a small but very full bag. “Including this…” 

Daring Do rushed through the empty town. There had been few residents to start with, and almost all of them had joined the angry mob. No doubt Sweetie Drops had her hooves full, and Daring Do hoped to Celestia that the earth-pony would keep White safe. 
Her own options were far more limited. She had to get Rainbow Dash to safety, but there was hardly anywhere left that was safe. The best option was to head for the peaks of Lyskymm; the ponies who lived on the mountain below feared them and would not approach. At night, though, the mountain would be covered in swarms of deadly creatures. The trip up would be an exceedingly short one. 
Worse, something was wrong. Both her and Rainbow Dash could feel it. In Daring Do’s case, it was a profound taste of metal and a worsening migraine. For Rainbow Dash, it was the sudden and heavy vibration of the vedmak amulet that she wore. 
Suddenly a pair of figures appeared above them, standing atop a building and sending a plume of agitated crows fleeing from their approach. For a moment they were silhouetted in the moonlight- -and then Daring Do felt a hail of small objects peppering her back and mane. 
Rainbow Dash’s eyes focused first. “Caballeron!” she cried, spreading her wings
Daring Do looked up and saw that Rainbow Dash was correct. Caballeron was standing on top of the building, next to a single henchpony, the one named Rogue.
“Daring Do!” laughed Caballeron. “I see my associates, against my recommendation based on considerably experience, have underestimated you!” His green eyes flashed. “You will find that I will not make such an oversight.”
“Why don’t you come down here and say that?!” cried Rainbow Dash, already starting to lift off the ground.
“Because he doesn’t have to,” said Daring Do, gravely. 
Rainbow Dash stopped ascending, confused by Daring Do’s response but instinctively realizing from her town how serious the situation was, even if she did not know why. Daring Do reached into her mane and removed one of the small objects that Caballeron had thrown down onto them. She held it up for Rainbow Dash to see: a long, pointed white object.
“A tooth?” asked Rainbow Dash, still clearly bewildered.
“No. Teeth. Dragon’s teeth.” 
The ground beneath them began to rumble. Both turned, but only Rainbow Dash cried out. Daring Do did not. Although she could not fathom where Caballeron had managed to find actual dragon’s teeth, she knew exactly what to expect.
The teeth had already begun to germinate. Wherever they had landed, they sprung forth, driving roots out in every direction, grasping and grubbing for material that they greedily consumed. At first, only tendrils rose, dragging themselves from the ground- -but then they began to resolve into hooves, and finally into the gaunt, skeletal forms of ponies. Their bodies and armor were forged from ice and frozen earth, and their ribcages and empty eye-sockets were illuminated by the glow of magical dragon’s fire.
They rose up, dragging themselves free of the ground. Although thin and skeletal, they had come with weapons and armor, some of which appeared to be the rusted and ancient fragments of Pegasus spears and shirts that were lying long buried in the ancient earth.  
“Zombies?” cried Rainbow Dash, her voice rising several octaves. “I- -I can’t deal with zombies! I already did once!” She then yelled at the soldiers. “Go away! I DON’T HAVE ANY COOKIES!” 
“They’re not zombies,” said Daring Do, backing away and pulling the dragon’s teeth on her clothes off- -although being careful not to let them touch the ground below, at the risk of forming more soldiers. There was already a small army.
Daring Do raised her whip. Although she only had half of it, she still struck out at the nearest of the constructs. The whip connected, gashing deeply into its earthen armor. The skeletal form did not even slow. It did not feel pain. 
“No, not zombies,” said Daring Do, backing away. “Not even close.” 
All of the tooth-soldiers charged at once. Daring Do barely managed to dodge a rusty spear that passed right through where her chest had been moments before. Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, landed a solid kick to one of them, causing his body to sustain severe damage.
“HA!” cried Rainbow Dash. “They’re really weak!”
Before she had even finished saying it, the tooth in the center of the construct she had just shattered had already rebuilt its external body. The dragon-light within its chest still glowed strong, and it tilted forward again, this time bashing Rainbow Dash back with a heavy shield.
Above, Caballeron laughed. “Excellent! Absolutely excellent! I don’t know why I never thought of this before! Soldiers! Grab her and restrain her!”
An axe struck Daring Do in the side. It sliced part of her coat, but was largely stopped by the heavy leather of her whip. She was thrown backward, though, and tumbled through the dirt, dodging spear-points with every rotation. 
“I said RESTRAIN!” shrieked Caballeron. “I need her ALIVE!”
“You IDIOT!” cried Daring Do. “It doesn’t work like that! They won’t take orders, it’s not how they’re made!” 
Another spear came toward her, but Rainbow Dash shattered it before it reached Daring Do’s relatively soft body. Rainbow Dash had successfully shattered several of the soldires, which was impressive. Still, she was breathing hard, and the soldiers she had broken were already regenerating as their parts were pulled back around the central, glowing teeth at the center of their bodies. 
“I can’t win against these guys!” cried Rainbow Dash. “It isn’t fair! They keep respawning!”
“I can see that!’ snapped Daring Do. “MOVE!” She shoved rainbow Dash out of the way just in time to avoid the descent of a heavy, rusted axe. Rainbow Dash rolled, as did Daring Do.
“Stop this!” cried Caballeron, yelling impotently at the crowd of magical constructs he had unwittingly unleashed. “STOP! I order you! I ORDER YOU!”
There was no response from the tooth-soldiers. To Caballeron’s horror, they formed up and accelerated their attack- -with lethal intentions.
“STOP!” he wailed. His voice was drowned out by the sound of stone hooves against frozen ground and the clattering of rusted armor.
“Daring!” cried Rainbow Dash.
“We can’t fight them! RUN!”
Daring Do turned and ran through an overgrown alley between two buildings. Rainbow Dash took flight, following after her. Behind them, several of the dragon’s tooth soldiers sprouted wings and pursued them while the remainder clattered across the ground, both directly behind them and around the building, trying to flank them. 
“Now they can FLY?!” cried Rainbow Dash. “Gosh darn it this just keeps getting better!”
Daring Do was not sure if Rainbow Dash was being sarcastic, but hoped that she was. She took a sharp left, rolling out between two buildings and into a narrow path. Daring Do now found herself at the end of a long road between the looming houses. Beyond was the end of the village, and the road passed immediately into the pitch-black of the thick, gnarled trees of the dark cedar forests. 
“Which way?” asked Rainbow Dash.
The soldiers answered for her. They came around the corner swiftly, rushing through the buildings, their empty eyes alight with enchanted fire and their weapons glinting in the moonlight. 
“Forest it is!” 
Daring Do turned, only to hear a sudden rustling. Lights illuminated within the forest, momentarily swaying and bobbing like will-o-the-wisps. Then more of the warriors emerged from the brush, surrounding both Daring Do and Rainbow Dash.
“Well, when you’re surrounded…” Rainbow Dash took flight. “The only way to go is up!”	
“They can fly too! And THEY don’t get tired or run out of breath!”
“What? Come on! I can beat out any of them!”
“But I can’t!”
Rainbow Dash frowned. Daring Do expected an accusatory gaze, but the one she got was one of concern instead. Somehow, that was worse.
“Go!” she said. “I’ll hold them off for as long as I can!”
Rainbow Dash did not answer. At least not with words. Rather, she did so by action: she pulled her wings back to her body and dropped to the ground beside Daring Do. 
“You idiot!”
“Well it’s better to fight with two idiots instead of one!” Rainbow Dash winced. “Oh my Celestia,” she muttered, “I just called Daring Do an idiot…”
Daring Do smiled, despite her anger. She appreciated the show of solidarity, even if it was reckless, foolish, and downright stupid. Unlike Rainbow Dash, she knew how dragon’s tooth soldiers worked, and knew that neither of them were likely to make it out in one piece. 
Still, she smiled, backing against Rainbow Dash as the soldiers slowly advanced. “It isn’t really a fair fight, is it?”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes lit up. As cliché as it was, she already knew the correct answer to that question. “Yeah. Caballeron should have brought MORE!” 
Rainbow Dash leapt forward, as did the ring of soldiers. Daring Do, though, realized that something else was happening- -beyond the soldiers. 
The darkness of the cedar forest suddenly seemed to lift into the air and blot out the stars in the eastern sky. This plume was silent for a moment, but then rushed forward with the deafening roar of thousands upon thousands of wings- -and the cawing of an endless murder of crows. 
Rainbow Dash’s amulet, already vibrating substantially from the presence of the dragon’s tooth warriors, suddenly seemed to be trying to tear itself free of the chain that held it. Rainbow Dash cried out in surprise, and Daring Do felt a thrumming inside her head. A constant, painful noise that sounded like hundreds of clocks ticking in a great cacophony.
The crows poured downward without hesitation. The magical soldiers did not seem to know how to react; in their primitive magical minds, they understood that they were under attack. They did not comprehend by what, or how. 
The moon was blotted out completely as the crows began to circle in a great vortex, tearing away pieces of the dragon’s tooth warriors with each revolution. The soldiers attempted to regenerate, but the crows were relentless. Black talons and dark beaks tore away at stone and frost. Each could only take a tiny amount of material, but in their numbers that was more than enough. 
The soldiers tried to react by driving their weapons into the swarm. Doing so provided no benefit, as the crows simply moved out of the way. Daring Do leapt to the side of a spear- -and hoof still attached to it- -that was knocked toward her and Rainbow Dash. She tackled Rainbow Dash to the ground- -not only to protect her from shrapnel, but from the crows as well. Yet, although Daring Do could feel the brush of wings against her face and body as they passed, she felt no pain. 
The attack was relentless, and the warriors began to disintegrate. They attempted to regenerate, but were unable to. The crows continued to attack, and through her partially open eyes, Daring Do was able to see that the crows were beginning to attack the central flame of the constructs. At first it did little, but the motion of more and more crows began to cause the flames to flicker- -and then finally be snuffed out. 
The dragons teeth were carried away by the swarm, drawn up and away from the ground. The process was not rapid, but within minutes the last of the soldiers had been reduced to peck-marked rubble. Even though they were not nor had they ever been ponies, the sight of their ruined, skeletal limbs and partially shattered heads with empty, staring eye sockets was an unpleasant sight. 
Daring Do, though, was in one piece. She let Rainbow Dash up and saw that the girl was also uninjured.
“Oh wow,” said Rainbow Dash, looking around. “Remind me to never become a dragon dentist.”
“Look sharp,” said Daring Do, pointing. “This isn’t over.”
The crows had not departed. Rather, they had moved and changed their flight pattern. Now instead of forming a tight cyclone, they had instead collapsed into a rapidly undulating sphere. The sphere grew tighter and tighter, circling faster and faster, until a pair of crows broke free from the shrinking orbit. They collided in flight. It was too dark for Daring Do to see what exactly had happened, but they did not separate or fall, even at that speed. Instead, they seemed to have merged.
More broke free, flying in the same course and impacting where the others had just struck. The convergence grew. In seconds, two long chains of dark birds had issued from the sphere, merging into a single point. 
In a matter of seconds the flock was gone. Something else had replaced them. Only its wings were visible against the moonlight, and Daring Do momentarily comprehended it as a single vast corvid.
Then it descended slowly and came into better view, and Daring Do realized that it was actually a pony: a winged black stallion. He came closer to them, and Daring Do watched as his large wings curled and seemed to dissolve into his body. At the same time, as his appearance became obvious, Daring Do found herself less than impressed. 
The stallion was a unicorn, and he was distinctly ugly. His eyes were large, yellow, and sickly; they also seemed to stare out of either side of his head. The impression was distinctly birdlike. Like his eyes, his mane was also unpleasant; it was more gray than black, long, and reeked as though it had never been washed. In fact, the whole of his person smelled horrible, like birds, lack of bathing, metal, and rot. Despite this, he did not seem especially dirty; he even wore a somewhat faded looking waistcoat that was completely spotless. 
The stallion glared at them, or at least in their direction. He was specifically staring at Daring Do. 
“My job here is to make sure you do not end up as a slab of delicious meat,” he growled. His voice was oddly high, and Daring Do was distinctly aware of the fact that he had neither teeth nor gums. “You are not making this easy for me.”
“And who exactly are you?” demanded Daring Do.
“Don’t talk. You sound like an idiot.”
“EXCUSE ME?!”
“It’s not your fault I suppose. You were born racially inferior. Blame your progenitors for not evolving.” 
“Wait a second,” said Rainbow Dash, her eyes  narrowing. She stepped forward as if to defend Daring Do. “I know you! You’re the pony who snuck into our room!”
“Wait,” said Daring Do. “A pony snuck into our room- -and you didn’t tell me?!”
“I- -um- -I forgot!”
“Indeed,” said the black unicorn, “your counterpart is quite slow. Do Pegasi still use lead paint? Because if you do, you should probably stop.” 
Rainbow Dash puffed up, preparing a retort. Daring Do interrupted, stepping between her and the mage to stop a fight.
“What do you want?”
“I already stated that. For you not to be meat. At least not yet, once I’m done you can be whatever you want.” His jaundiced eyes turned toward Rainbow Dash. “Your nubile associate can be meat now if she likes. She is not really relevant.”
“You’ve been watching me.”
“I’ve been watching a lot of things. It’s my job. One of those things is you. A tiny, pointless little unevolved thing. But a thing that can apparently read Exmoori higher-text.” 
“I believe that would make me an important thing, wouldn’t it?”
“Ah. A witty feather-bearer. Aren’t I lucky.” He pushed past Daring Do, and she recoiled from both the stench and the odd pulsing in her brain that he seemed to give off. 
“Where are you going?”
“This way,” he said, pointing with his horn. His watery right eye stared at Daring Do. “In case you weren’t aware, four Questlords and a group of less useful animals have beat back the mob and are converging.”
“Can’t you do that crow thing again?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“Yes. But it would be pointless. I can deal with magic. Not with power armor. And especially not with their leader. She is far better built than the rest.” 
“We can take them!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash. “It won’t even be hard!”
The mage shrugged. “Then I suppose I’ll have your wings after they’re done with you. Barbecue will be appropriate, I think.” 
Rainbow Dash began to puff again. Daring Do rolled her eyes. “Let me guess. You want us to come with you?”
“No. But I need you to. And you don’t actually have a choice.”
“Fine.”
Rainbow Dash gaped at Daring Do. “WHAT?!”
“On one condition.”
“You don’t get conditions. I already own you.” 
“My friends. You can see them, can’t you?”
The black stallion groaned. “Sword-horse is alive. The feather-bearer with the low pain tolerance is also alive, but was beaten somewhat by the mob. But they are  not in a position to save you. I am, I suppose.”
“You suppose?”
“Yes. Often. For example: I suppose we should get to the caves before they find you.”
“No way. The caves are full of monsters.”
“Not my problem.”