//------------------------------// // In Which the Veldt is Plundered // Story: Filly Fantasy VI - The Return of Magic // by The Wyld Stallynz //------------------------------// Morning in the Veldt arrived and with it came Zecora. The sun barely peeked out from over the horizon when the zebra showed up at the Paradise, calling out for Stardust to join her. Minutes later, not only did the chocobo plod down the gangplank, but the rest of the Returners as well, dark bags under their eyes and sullen from waking up so early. “You could have just come in and gotten the bird,” Trixie grumbled as she rubbed at her sleep-deprived eyes. “Apologies for the early start,” Zecora replied, a smirk Fplaying at her lips. “This way you all get to play a part.” She pulled out a piece of parchment and carefully cut it into smaller segments. She hoofed over a piece to each pony, keeping two larger segments for herself and Stardust. “These are the things we’ll need to set my people free. Find them and bring them back to me.” Applejack squinted and tilted her head at her list. “Um, begging your pardon, but I don’t know anything that’s on here.” “Me neither,” Sunset seconded. Zecora held up a hoof to forestall any further protests. “No need to worry, I know we’re in a hurry. The items on your lists will hum and glow when you get near. Just follow the sounds and sights and there will be nothing to fear.” Trixie eyed her list and the zebra dubiously. “And how did you manage to do that?” This time, Zecora let her smirk fully form. “Trade secrets from my place of birth. Espers aren’t the only ones with magic on this earth.” Whirling around, Zecora galloped off, her form seemingly vanishing within the tall Veldt grass. Groggy and irritated, Trixie stuck her tongue out at Zecora’s retreating form. “I’m having second thoughts on letting her join.” “Deal with it,” Sunset said, trotting off with her own list. “If this makes getting back to the zebra village faster then I’m all for it.” “All right!” Derpy exclaimed and hopped into the air. “Scavenger hunt! I’ve got the home advantage, too!” A pair of pink magic tendrils yanked on the ponies’ tails before they could get any further. “Not so fast,” Trixie said, ignoring the glares leveled at her. “We should at least form into pairs. There’s still monsters running around.” She pointed at Sunset and Derpy in turn. “Since you two are so eager, go with each other. The rest of us will head out in a minute.” Sunset snorted, but declined to say anything. She took a few steps forward, motioned her head for Derpy to follow, and the two were soon out of sight. With a flip of her mane, a six sided die fell out of Pinkie Pie’s hair and fell to the ground. “Okay, everyone pick a number. We’ll roll to see who goes with who: one with two, three with four, five with six.” Trixie raised an eyebrow. “Why?” “Because it’s more fun this way, silly! I’ve got number one!” A few rounds of rolls later, the parties were decided. Applejack and Shining Armor formed one group, Pinkie Pie and Big Macintosh were the second, which left Trixie and Stardust together. “Great, I’m stuck with her.” “Great, I’m stuck with him.” “Hey, the dice decided so no take-backs.” Pinkie Pie looped a leg around Big Macintosh and pulled him close. “Let’s go, Big Red! Those other two got a head start so we’ll have to book it to catch up!” She ran off, dragging a bewildered Big Macintosh with her. Shaking her head with a smile on her face, Applejack poked Shining Armor in the side and began trotting away. “C’mon, fella. Time’s a wastin’.” “So is this the Veldt, round two for us?” Shining Armor commented as he followed after her. “I hope we don’t have to jump into the sea this time.” The pair shared a chuckle as they left. The remaining duo gave each other a look, scowled, then headed out without a word. .o.O.o. “Got another one!” With a swooping dive, Derpy skimmed the top of a field of grass, pulling up into the air seconds later. In her hooves lay a green fern which she carefully placed in her saddlebag. “Already halfway done and it’s not even lunch yet!” “Good,” Sunset Shimmer absently replied. In her magical grip she held out the Ultima Weapon with her own list to the side. “Keep at it.” Derpy landed next to her and inspected her own list. Everything she had collected automatically crossed itself out, leaving her with only a few more things to find. “Just like the zebras to come up with something like this. They really are great, aren’t they?” “Yep.” Frowning, Derpy poked Sunset in the side, eliciting a mild flinch. “Are you paying attention to your list at all or your sword?” Sunset grimaced and sheathed said sword. “Sorry. Was just thinking I should get this thing powered up soon. I can’t wait to show Twilight.” “How do you do that?” “Well, so far, by draining something of its life energy. Oh, and undead don’t count.” She shuddered, remembering the results of the last time she tried that. “Anyway, I was kinda hoping we’d run into some monsters.” “Hmm, well, I guess predators could be considered monsters, but that would be kinda mean. The zebras always told me that even meat eaters are a part of life in the Veldt.” Her lazy eye landed on Sunset’s levitating list and she perked up. “Hey, one of your things on your list is lighting up. We must be close to it.” Blinking, Sunset pulled up the list. Indeed, a line item was glowing green and making a very faint pinging noise. “Huh, whaddaya know. Let’s go.” Holding the list out in front of her, Sunset turned and headed in the direction where the beeping was loudest, Derpy following. Moments later, a rock formation came into view. Once they got closer, a small entrance just large enough for a pony to squeeze through could be seen. The pinging became loudest when Sunset pointed the list at the entrance. “Looks like we’ll need to go in there.” Without waiting for Derpy to respond, Sunset shimmied her way through the opening, crawling several hoof lengths before coming out into a larger area. The cavern inside held no light, prompting Sunset to light up her horn. Dull grey rocks made up the walls while a thin layer of dry dirt covered the floor. A tunnel leading down into darkness could be seen on the other side of the chamber. The sound from her list increased as she walked further in. “Hold up!” Derpy called as she came up from behind. “I don’t recognize this cave. Anything could be living in it.” “Relax, we both have magic. We’ll find what we need and burn anything that gives us trouble.” Sunset trotted on, using the list as a guide. She passed by a narrow slit in the wall, too small for any pony to fit through. But not too small for a bladed foreleg to swipe through. Sunset saw the glint of the appendage a second before it cut her neck. Yelling in both shock and pain, Sunset hopped away before a second attack could connect, a thin stream of blood rolling down her coat. “Watch out!” Derpy’s panicked cry was all Sunset got. Reacting on pure adrenaline, Sunset unsheathed the Ultima Weapon and raised it above her head mere moments before a second curved blade impacted it. Sparks of energy flew as Sunset strained to push back against the surprisingly resilient and strong razor threatening to cut her in two. Unseen, a second blade rose and descended. Sunset reeled from something fuzzy but solid ramming into her, sending her careening further down the tunnel. She took several precious seconds to reorient herself, swinging Ultima Weapon to and fro in an uncontrolled frenzy. Springing to her hooves, she faced the direction she was knocked from. Nothing came for her but two mantis like monsters with curved bladed forearms contorted their bodies to squeeze out of the tiny openings in the walls. The mantises’ were now focusing their efforts on cutting down Derpy who was flying for her life in the tight confines of the tunnel. “Hang in there!” Sunset cried as she charged in. “Stay back!” Derpy yelled then unleashed a barrage of lighting strikes from her wings. The bolts traveled directly for the mantis’ forelegs, impacting them, but the electrical energy flowed straight down through the mantis’ body and into the floor. Neither mantis appeared aware that anything had happened. “Oh, darn—!” With a pained yelp, Derpy felt herself being pulled by her tail towards Sunset, away from the mantises. She caught a glimpse of red magic surrounding her hair and was set down next to the unicorn. The two ponies now faced off with the approaching monsters, the glow of the cave exit behind the creatures. Sunset scowled and held up her sword but a tap on her shoulder stalled her. “What?!” “This way!” Derpy said as she whirled around and ran deeper into the cave. “Why?!” Sunset called, but turned tail and chased after her. She didn’t receive an answer, instead focusing on keeping Derpy in her sights while being chased by giant mutant bugs. .o.O.o. Elsewhere, two other ponies each with a list stopped their hunt for ingredients and took a moment to stop next to a stream and fill up on water. Around them, herds of animals crowded around to get a drink as well, including a group of antelope that quickly took notice of the out of place ponies. One nudged another and said, “Well, lookie there. I do say I think we’ve encountered these foreigners before, haven’t we?” The second antelope rubbed his chin. “Perhaps, but what would the odds of that be?” “Pretty good, I say.” The first antelope walked up to Applejack and Shining Armor and gave a small bow. “Good day. You wouldn’t happen to be the same ponies that washed up a while back, would you?” Applejack looked up at the taller creature, cocking her head. “Uh, maybe. How many ponies do you fellers meet around these parts?” “She’s got a point,” the second one said, nodding. “But that accent does sound familiar. However, to answer your question, we did spot a smaller one of you just a few days ago. White colored and didn’t stop by for a conversation. Saw us and skedaddled.” Shining Armor’s ears perked up. “Was he a unicorn?” “Apologies, didn’t get a good enough look. Headed west if you’re interested in finding him.” The second antelope squinted his eyes. “You know, this whole chat is starting to sound very familiar…” The ponies didn’t reply. They looked to each other, nodded, and gathered up their supplies. “Thanks, y’all,” Applejack said as they began trotting away. “We’ll take a look.” The first antelope waved after them. “Glad to be of service!” Once they were out of earshot, he said to his companion, “Bloody hell, ponies seem to lose their kids rather a lot, don’t they?” The second slapped his head. “That’s who they were!” .o.O.o. “Think it’s him?” Applejack asked, picking up her pace to a gallop once they were out in the grassy plains. Shining Armor snorted. “Don’t know, but I need to be sure.” His list started to ping, but he ignored it, his focus on running as fast as possible and keeping his eyes peeled for any splotch of white. Over a half-hour later, the flat expanse of the Veldt became rockier with several outcroppings of boulders dotting the landscape. The two split up, checking each one for entrances. As Applejack passed by her fifth rockpile, a faint tremor beneath her hooves was felt. She stopped, standing perfectly still. A moment later Shining Armor came up to her, his expression hopeful. “Find any—” “Shh!” With Shining Armor hushed, Applejack continued her silent stance. A minute later, another faint tremor came from somewhere underground. “I think I got somethin’. Not sure what but it’s coming from below us. Keep lookin’ for a cave entrance.” With renewed purpose, the two scoured the remaining rock formations. Finally, Shining Armor came across an opening just big enough to slip through. He called Applejack over and the two wasted no time squeezing their way in. Their luck held as they entered a cave with a tunnel leading further down. Only a short distance in, Shining Armor’s lit horn leading the way, they came across the signs of a recent battle. The walls were littered with sword slashes and a small patch of blood lay on the ground. “Looks like one of the other groups ran into something,” Shining Armor said, picking up his pace. More evidence of fighting was found, from scorch marks to sliced feathers. “Sunset and Derpy from the looks of it.” He abruptly stopped short as something larger than himself blocked his way. Cautiously, he shone his horn brighter, illuminating the body of a giant blue mantis, its bottom half completely blown away. Unsheathing his sword, he gave the upper part a poke then quickly backed up. The monster didn’t react in any way. “Pretty sure it’s dead, but let me be completely sure.” With one precise slice, he decapitated the head where it rolled away into the darkness. “That should do it. C’mon, and be on your—” Chittering from above cut him off, followed by another mantis falling from the ceiling, its bladed arms primed for a deadly blow. “Air Blade!” A razor sharp burst of wind intercepted the falling monster, striking it in its center. The blade cut right through the carapace, slicing the mantis in two and spraying green blood from both ends. The two ends landed with a thud, the top half twitching a few times before laying still. Applejack, having finished her total body whirl attack, walked up to Shining Armor, smirking at all the green goop now covering his once pristine white coat. “Be on your guard, right?” Using a hoof, Shining Armor reached up and wiped as much blood off of his unamused muzzle as he could. “Yeah.” Nudging him playfully, Applejack said, “Let’s go. We’ll worry about hosin’ you down later.” The two continued on, more alert to threats than before. A few hundred hooves later, the distant sounds of shouting could be heard, causing the two to throw all caution aside and rush down the tunnel. Corpses of mantis monsters littered the way but that did little to slow them down. With one last burst of speed, they galloped into a wide cavern and a scene of carnage. Dozens of the mantis monsters lay dead at the hooves of Sunset and Derpy. Several cuts crisscrossed their bodies with patches of their coats missing. Sunset’s horn glowed red, smoke trailing off of it. The air felt hot and oppressive, as though a major thunderstorm were about to erupt at any time. Derpy saw the newcomers first and gave a tired wave. “Heeeeyyyyyyaaaaa…” She promptly fell back on her rump, panting. “What in tarnation did you two do?” Appeljack said, keeping an eye on the bodies in case one of them moved. “You tick off an entire nest of these things?” Sunset declined to answer, settling with giving the earth pony a weary glare. After a quick inspection of the room to be sure all the monsters were dead, Applejack and Shining Armor came up to the two and offered what healing potions they had. Both Sunset and Derpy gratefully gulped down their share, though still looked ready to topple over from a simple push. “That zebra’s stupid list,” Sunset said once she was sure her voice wouldn’t falter. “It led us down here.” She viciously kicked at a dismembered mantis claw laying nearby. Applejack nodded. “Well, let’s get whatever it is and get out of here before more of those things show up.” “Um, that might be too late,” Shining Armor said, pointing towards an adjacent tunnel. The sound of tiny pebbles being disturbed by movement could be heard coming towards them. The group readied themselves as the thing approached. A white cat came bounding out from the tunnel and regarded them coolly. Derpy cocked her head. “Isn’t that Opalescence?” Opalescence sniffed, then ran off back where she came from. The group looked to each other, expressions of befuddlement passing between them. Nopony appeared ready to move until Derpy took off after the cat. Cries to stop went unheeded, forcing the others to chase after her. No more monsters jumped out at them, but the sense that they were heading towards more trouble kept building the further they descended into the cave. The air became stagnant and heavy, as though a weight pressed down on their lungs. How far the ponies went, nopony could say, but at last Derpy came to a stop in a large cavern. “Oh, lordy,” Applejack breathed out. The wide room, partially illuminated by the soft glow of Sunset Shimmer's and Shining Armor’s horns, contained piles of bones. Some pieces still had strips of meat dangling from their ends while others were broken or crushed. The air stank of rotting flesh, the smell assaulting their senses like a physical blow. Sunset gagged and began backing away. “Okay, we’re leaving before whatever lives here comes—” “Son!” Shining Armor rushed forward, towards a small body laying on the other side of the room. Opalescence stood vigilant over the still figure, pawing at its ears. Shining moved to reach down but Opalescence hissed, then pointed to a rag wrapped around the colt’s midsection. The rag was seeped through with blood. “Oh, Spotter…” He twisted his head around, calling back, “Bring whatever healing supplies you’ve got over here! Now!” The others complied, running over and fussing over the boy. Between Sunset and Shining’s careful use of telekinesis to lift Spotter up, Derpy and Applejack where able to clean the deep gash over the colt’s back and change the bandage. A few sips of healing potion where forced down his throat. Their efforts produced a hacking cough from Spotter, their first sign that the colt still lived. “We gotta get him back to the airship,” Shining Armor said, setting his son gently on his back. “Let’s—” Whatever else he was about to say got cut off as Opalescence let out a piercing yowl seconds before a massive form rose out of a large bone pile nearby. The hulking brute shook off its makeshift blanket of body parts and turned its head towards the still living beings in its den. Four times as big as the ponies, with bulging muscles rippling under its pale skin, the monster walked forward on four giant claws. Hornlight revealed a vicious muzzle with two long horns protruding from the head. Derpy gasped and flared her wings, arcs of electricity building within them. “A behemoth! Don’t let it get close!” No sooner had she let out her warning than the behemoth roared and charged, scattering the ponies. It swiveled on Shining Armor, drool leaking from its fang filled mouth. It took a swipe with a claw but a pink shield deflected it. It tried again but a flying kick to the jaw from Applejack sent it staggering. Before it could reorient itself, lightning struck its horns, the magical electricity spreading throughout its body. The behemoth let out a huff of air, its muscles bulging even further. “Oops,” Derpy said. “I’m not having much luck with that today.” She then frantically dove out of the way of a freezing ice beam from the monster’s mouth. The ponies now surrounded it, though if the creature seemed perturbed by this it didn’t show it. Once again, it turned towards Shining Armor, lifting up and slamming the ground with such force that the stallion lost his footing and dropped Spotter. Reflexes honed from a year of training allowed Shining to catch his son with levitation before he impacted the ground. Sensing an opening, the behemoth attacked again, backhanding Shining and sending him and Spotter into a pile of rancid bones. It moved to follow but three simultaneous attacks from the other ponies held it back. Applejack and Derpy struck the behemoth from below and above, their impacts gaining the monster’s attention. As it turned to deal with them, fire lashed across its face, earning a pained roar. “It looks like it didn’t like that,” Applejack said as she danced underneath the beast to land blows to any parts that looked squishy. “Do it again!” “Right!” Sunset concentrated and let loose another volley of fire, each hit leaving a blackened scorch mark. The behemoth howled in both rage and pain, shooting out blasts of ice breath at what it now perceived as its greatest threat. Sunset, still feeling fatigued from her fight with the mantises, struggled to keep from being frozen. “I can’t… keep this up!” she panted out. She screamed as the behemoth rushed her, its size making it impossible to avoid it. A small white shape suddenly leapt up and attached itself to the behemoth’s face, scratching and biting for all it was worth. The monster hissed and stopped its charge to batter at the offending animal, giving Sunset time to see that it was the cat from before. Not letting the opportunity waste, Sunset charged her horn again, motes of red energy seeping out of the behemoth and entering her body. The aches and pains of the day’s tribulations washed away, even as the behemoth gave a low whine at feeling itself weaken. “Sunset!” Applejack called out from under the behemoth. “Throw fire my way!” Reacting before she could think better of it, Sunset aimed her horn at Applejack and fired off a half-dozen balls of flame. The earth pony began to spin, catching the fireballs in a self made wind pocket. Her spinning increased, the fireballs picking up speed with each revolution. Above, the behemoth finally dislodged Opalescence from its muzzle, flinging the cat away. It gave a grunt as it felt the heat underneath it become unbearable and tried to get away. Applejack didn’t give it the chance. “Fire Dance!” Unleashing her stored up power, a mini tornado erupted underneath the behemoth, lifting the colossal monster off the ground. The creature was helpless as it was battered from all sides by searing fire, howling its desperation. The technique only lasted a few seconds, sending the behemoth crashing back to the ground in a heap. Its pale skin, once proud and pristine, was now covered in burns. Slowly, and with great effort, the behemoth braced its claws against the ground to push itself back up. It cracked open its eyes, giving a low yowl, and saw a gleaming blue energy blade stab itself between its eyes. Giving one last shudder, it fell back to the floor and lay still. Sunset waited a moment before pulling out the Ultima Weapon from the dead beast’s skull, its blade longer and brighter than it was before. “I’m really beginning to regret coming with you guys,” she muttered as she sheathed her sword. She was ignored as Applejack and Derpy rushed over to the bone pile were Shining Armor landed. Pushing aside putrid body parts, the two uncovered a pink barrier holding both Shining Armor and Spotter. The stallion had his eyes squeezed shut as he held the colt protectively against himself. Derpy rapped against the shield, causing Shining to open his eyes and see his friend look down at him with a happy smile. Letting out a shuddering breath, Shining cut off power to his magic. “Is it over?” “Yep! It’s safe now.” With Applejack and Derpy’s help, Shining carried Spotter out of the bones and towards the center of the room where the behemoth’s body lay. Shining nodded and placed Spotter back on his back. “Let’s get out of here, then.” “No argument from me,” Sunset said, already heading past the behemoth. She stopped as she heard a pinging noise come from her saddlebag. Narrowing her eyes, she pulled out Zecora’s list and gave it a baleful glare. “This stupid thing led us down here in the first place. I’m about ready to burn it just to spit in that zebra’s face.” “Can I see it?” Derpy asked. Sunset levitated it over without a word. Once in her grasp, Derpy let the list guide her until she reached the point where it gave a final loud ping. She looked down, now standing over the head of the behemoth and its long black horns. “Um, I think we need to take one of these.” “Seriously?! What the hay was that crazy mare thinking sending us to fight something like that?!” “I’ve got it,” Shining Armor said, unsheathing Sky Render. With a single slice, the sword lopped off half of a protruding horn. He put back his weapon and magicked over the behemoth piece to Sunset. “My little way of getting back at it for what it did to Spotter.” Sunset huffed and put away the offered ingredient. “Great, let’s go.” She once again headed for the exit but stopped again. Her eyes tracked a red mist flowing out of the dead behemoth and congealing at the mouth of the cave. All at once, there came a flash and the unmistakable roar of an angry monster. Once the light returned to normal, the ponies gaped at a fully formed behemoth now standing in their way. Its skin now had a reddish hue but everything else appeared the same, down to the deadly claws and sharp teeth. “Oh, you gotta be bucking kidding me!” The ponies set themselves for battle, readying magic and weapons alike. The new behemoth roared, accepting their challenge, and crouched low to pounce. A dark figure leapt up from behind the monster and dropped a red and white feather onto its back. The figure landed before the group, revealing itself as Zecora. The zebra smiled and nodded at them. “Apologies for being late. I ran here as fast as I could to keep you from having a horrible fate.” “Yeah, wonderful, but we got a big problem if you hadn’t noticed,” Sunset shot back. Zecora’s smile grew crooked as she looked over her shoulder at the confused monster she had hopped over. The behemoth gave a snort and tried scratching at its back, as though trying to reach an itch. Seconds later it roared and flung itself onto its back but it was too late. Before the ponies’ wide eyes, the creature slowly began to fade. It gave one last echoing howl before disappearing completely. Turning back to the others, Zecora said, “Feathers of a phoenix, so I read, is what you need to deal with the undead. Its hatred for you has ceased and can now rest in peace.” Derpy scratched her head in thought. “So… you killed it by bringing it back to life?” Zecora smiled and nodded. Sunset gave the zebra a hard look. “So why did you send us off to get something so dangerous? We could have all died.” At this, the smile on Zecora’s muzzle fell and she looked away. Pawing at the ground, she said, “This one regrets a list was out of place. It was I that the beast was supposed to face.” Sunset looked towards the others. “You believe her?” Stepping forward, Shining Armor came up and presented Spotter to Zecora. “Look, if you can help my son, I’ll forgive everything.” Gasping, Zecora reached into her pouch and pulled out a brown bag. She undid the ties to the top and sprinkled a sparkling powder over the colt. “This will help but it will burn. We should hasten our return.” “Great, I’m sick of this place,” Sunset said and trotted out the exit. Zecora and Shining weren’t far behind, carrying Spotter’s resting form on his back. Applejack made to follow but a mewl at her side caused her to look down. Opalescence stood next to her, a pair of pony sized gauntlets set in front of her. At the foot of each gauntlet there protruded three long teeth, making the garments look like claws from some metallic creature. Derpy flew over and held up the gauntlets, inspecting them in the receding light from the unicorns’ horns. “Oooh, these are neat! Those are tiger fangs sticking out. Those are supposed to be really tough and sharp.” Derpy held them out to Applejack. “You should try them on.” “Ehh… ” Applejack responded, giving the gauntlets a dubious look. “Why me?” “I think Opalescence found them for you. Probably came from some poor pony that got eaten by that thing. These will work out great if you use them with your martial arts.” Applejack raised an eyebrow, taking the offered pieces and laying them over her back. “I’ll try them out later. I wanna get out of here first.” “Gotcha! Follow me!” Derpy zipped forward, slamming her head into the rock wall next to the tunnel. She pried herself loose, shook away the floating stars, then flew herself properly through the cave. Applejack shook her head and followed, Opalescence padding close behind. .o.O.o. The trip back to the airship was uneventful. Late evening had already set in and the ponies were eager to get some dinner that wasn’t tasteless dry grass. Trixie, Stardust, Pinkie Pie, and Big Macintosh were already there, their lists complete. When asked how things went, Pinkie shrugged and said it was no biggie. Stardust on the other wing… “Trixie just rode me the whole way and made me cast my haste spell to speed things up.” “It was good practice,” Trixie defended. “You made me find the stuff on your list for you!” Trixie sniffed. “And it went faster that way. Trixie’s talents lay in tactics and magic, not gardening.” Ignoring their bickering, Shining Armor came up to Stardust, motioning towards his back where Spotter still lay. “Please say you have something that can help.” The chocobo looked at the battered colt and warked, yanking out an x-potion and offering it to Shining Armor. He wasted no time in administering it. Almost immediately, Spotter sputtered and coughed, looking up with bloodshot eyes. “Daddy…” “Spotter!” Shining cradled his son, openly weeping. Pinkie Pie smiled and walked up to him, whispering in his ear. “Thanks, I-I appreciate it.” Keeping Spotter close, Shining followed Pinkie as she led him up the gangplank. Trixie raised an eye towards the scene but passed on commenting on it. She turned to Zecora who appeared unusually smug. “So did we get everything?” The zebra nodded with a smirk. “Our task here is done and I can make my mix. Tomorrow we are off to help my old village in need of a fix.” “Good. I hope you’ve been keeping up with your training, because we’re about to undo one of Discord’s plans. I don’t think he’ll like it much, and Trixie thinks he’ll show up to stop it.” Zecora tilted her head towards her crystal sword, strapped to her back in easy to reach unsheathing distance. “I pray that we are ready for his dangerous game. To go after my tribe in such a way means for me he might do the same." Her voice deepened and her face grew hard. "The thought of being petrified nigh brings me to tears, though it brings me hope there lie things he still fears.” Trixie gave a humorless laugh. “Oh believe me. Trixie intends to give him plenty to be scared about.”