Chapter 11.
Time Turner quickly turned to face the Cutie Mark Crusaders when the two larger stallions clashed together. The Earth Pony noted Sweetie Belle’s injury and realized ordering them to run again wasn’t going to work well for her.
“Quick, get her on my back, then we must run like crazy and find the royal guards,” he whispered and crouched down in front of them.
“B-but…” Apple Bloom stammered. Her attention was mostly on the fight.
Turner didn’t wait for her to snap out of it. He quickly reached and grabbed Sweetie Belle by the scruff of her neck and swiftly slung her to his back, causing the filly to squeak in surprise. He rose up and using his front hooves managed to usher the other two fillies away from the battle.
Unlike the Gryphon fight, this one was far more equal. Both stallions weighed the same and were the same size. Silver Axe main advantage was his ability to fly, but in the woods that didn’t do much good. For now this was a ground battle and that was Big Mac’s strongest advantage.
They kicked and punched, but both barely budged from their positions. Sometimes one managed a charge that caused the other to back a step but he immediately came right back. So the fight really hadn’t moved much except in a small circle. Big Macintosh was focused on keeping Silver Axe away from the others. For all he knew the Pegasus had every intention of harming them.
Why am I doing this? Silver Axe thought as he dodged strike. He quickly used his own head to butt it against Big Mac, but it didn’t do much and the Pegasus had to duck another blow.
Is it really worth it? He reared up and struck with his front hooves but his opponent matched the move and the strikes only hit the red pony’s legs.
A hard blow hit Silver Axe in the head causing the Pegasus to back a bit shaking it. But his inner thoughts had distracted him enough so he didn’t immediately charge back. He looked up when realizing that Big Mac hadn’t followed up either, just stood there and blocked his way back to the cottage.
“Had enough yet?” the red pony asked. “Ah can do this all day.”
So can I. Have to do it, have to for her. Silver Axe narrowed his eyes. Glancing around him he saw there was just enough space. The Pegasus reared up, spread his wings and began flapping them hard and fast.
Big Mac was nearly caught off guard by this move. The gust of wind that hit his face was really strong and forced him to back few steps. He tried to struggle against the air current produced by the other pony but found it was taking a lot just to stand his ground. Soil and plants they had kicked loose during their struggle were thrown around and some hit him.
This got to stop. The red pony managed to eye around and noticed a particularly large rock half buried in the ground. Big Mac started to move over; it was a little easier as he wasn’t working up the wind.
Silver Axe frowned and wondered what the Earth Pony was up to. He was becoming frustrated that the wind hadn’t knocked his opponent off yet, he increased the tempo of his wings and was now flapping so hard that he was hovering a foot above the ground.
Oh pony feathers. The Pegasus suddenly realized what Big Mac was doing when the red stallion was behind the rock. Had there been more distance between them he would probably have had time to react when his opponent kicked the boulder with all his might. But as it was he was too close and the projectile hit him square in the stomach, sending both him and the rock flying up and through the canopy.
Big Mac took a moment to catch his breath when the wind finally let down. He glanced back and could easily see in what direction the Pegasus had been sent by the broken branches on the trees.
Mister Turner has taken the fillies away. Good. Ah better go make sure this feller is down, somehow Ah don’t think one rock is goin’ to keep him down, he thought frowning. Then the pony galloped in the direction Silver Axe had been thrown into.
“Oh no, I took wrong turn.” Time Turner cringed when he and the girls were right back at the cottage, this time facing the still open front door.
“Yeah, that Gryphon is probably still there,” Sweetie Belle gulped, she clung to the stallion’s neck.
The four ponies moved to turn around but Apple Bloom glanced back and gasped when seeing Paul come walking around the corner. The male Gryphon was just returning from checking where Silver Axe had gone off too.
“Hey!” Paul shouted when spotting them.
“Hey, we are just passing through,” Time Turner responded. He and the fillies ran right back into the woods.
Paul growled and had every intention to fly up and cut their escape short. But his body reminded him that he had recently been in a fight and the Gryphon crashed right back to the ground. Snarling and cursing he rose back up and simply began running after the escaping ponies.
He didn’t run too far either, there was a thud and something landed hard on his tail. The Gryphon yelped and crumbled back to the ground. He looked back only to see Rainbow Dash had come crushing down from the sky and landed right on his tail.
“Oh no you don’t,” the Pegasus snapped.
“Why you little…” Paul began rising up only to see something else come from the sky and land right beside him, it was Gilda.
“Hello again cuz,” the female Gryphon hissed and raised her talons for a strike.
“Oh you got to be kidding me,” her cousin groaned, barely ducking punch. He pulled quickly at his tail and managed to get it free from Rainbow; in the same move he slashed his own talons at Gilda who avoided it easily.
“Forget this, I’m outta here!” Paul declared and darted off.
“Not so tough when you don’t have your Pegasus friend around cousin?” Gilda immediately gave a chase followed by Rainbow Dash.
Paul growled but ignored the insult for now. At the moment the male Gryphon just wanted to get distance between himself and his cousin. Neither ran very far, their injuries from the fight were once again irritated too much and both almost at the same time tripped and fell to the ground.
“You alright Gilda?” Dash stopped first by her old friend who just nodded and immediately began rising up. The Pegasus nodded and trotted over to Paul who still lay groaning on the ground.
“And you stay down if you know what’s good for you!” Rainbow Dash snapped at Gilda’s cousin and threatened to hit him with one hoof.
“No, no I give up,” Paul whimpered and covered his face with his front legs.
“Told you he was all talk and no guts,” Gilda chuckled while slowly approaching. The pony grinned and put her hoof down again.
It didn’t take too long to find the rock. It had crashed into a big clearing and ripped up a bit of the grass and dirt in the process. Big Mac walked over, keeping an eye out for the Pegasus that had been sent with the boulder. But walking around it revealed no sign of Silver Axe’s body.
The Earth Pony frowned and took a closer look at the ground. He saw something heavy had laid there and the stallion noticed faint hoofmarks in the dirt. They were roughly his size so his opponent most likely had been here.
Oh shoot, he’s a Pegasus. Big Mac’s realization came just a second too late. He was thrown forward when something heavy barreled right into him from the air.
Big Macintosh grunted as he landed harshly on the ground, skidding few meters on it in the process. He slowly looked up and wasn’t too surprised to see Silver Axe hovering by the rock and glaring at him. The dark brown Pegasus had both dirt and tree leaves sticking out of his coat and mane.
“Ah take it ya are not here to surrender.” The red pony rose up.
Silver Axe sneered and ascended slightly before dive bombing for Big Mac. The Earth Stallion sighed and jumped out of the way just before his opponent landed with a loud thud, sending dirt and grass scattering and visible cracks formed on the ground. The Pegasus didn’t stay long and immediately jumped right for the other pony.
Again they began trading punches and kicks. But this time there was more fury in Silver Axe’s punches, forcing Big Mac to be more on the defensive. It didn’t help the red pony either that they were now in the open. The Pegasus had the option of aerial assault.
Silver Axe finally realized that as well and broke away from the close contact fight. He took to the air and began swooping at Big Mac who could do little now except ducking and trying to throw himself away. The red stallion tried his best rearing up and scoring a hit that way. It helped and was easier to do than try kicking into the air. Silver Axe was maneuverable enough to avoid the kicks.
Big Mac was just glad that the Pegasus was clearly not a fast flyer and relied on his weight. He still had the advantage of flight and the Earth Pony wondered if he could trick Silver Axe back into the woods. So far the dark brown pony was scoring more hits and was beginning to bump forcefully into his opponent.
Ompf, Big Mac grunted when his opponent threw him off his feet. The pony spit grass and dirt out of his mouth and started to rise up only to be forcefully slammed back down. Silver Axe had dive bombed right on top of him.
The Earth Pony groaned and for a moment was too disoriented to realize that he began to move. When Big Mac came to his senses he saw the ground far below and realized two strong front legs were held firmly around him. Silver Axe had picked him up and taken to the air. Before the red stallion could struggle, the Pegasus spun suddenly in several circles before letting go of his hold and sending his opponent towards the woods.
There wasn’t much Big Macintosh could do except take the unexpected and uncontrolled flight through the air. It wouldn’t last for too long though and the pony braced himself for impact as his body began to descend down towards the canopy. He didn’t go through, something caught him and suddenly he was going straight forward just above the tree line.
The red pony looked up and was surprised to see it was his opponent who had caught him and saved him from certain serious injuries. He might have lived but it would probably have involved a long stay in Ponyville Hospital. The flight didn’t last long though, Silver Axe was going more on momentum than his own wing power and soon they were at the edge of White Tail woods. Once there he let go and Big Mac fell to the dirt road below them.
Ow that hurt, the red stallion groaned as he rolled on the road. Though this is nothing compared to if I had fallen through the trees at the speed Ah was goin’.
He could have finished me off with that first throw, why did he save me? Big Mac rose to his feet and saw that Silver Axe was preparing for another assault from the air. Why am Ah having a funny feeling he’s as reluctant about this fight as Ah am.
Sweetie Belle held on to Time Turner for dear life, it was a bumpy ride because the stallion was running fast as he could and had to jump a lot due to the trees and undergrowth. This wasn’t doing her injured leg any favors.
She wondered how well her friends were keeping up and tried her best to look to the sides. The Unicorn frowned and twisted her head to look back. Sweetie gasped and quickly tapped at Time Turner’s neck.
“Doctor, Doctor!” she cried.
“It’s Time Tu… oh never mind, what is it?” the stallion asked.
“Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, they aren’t following us,” the filly told him.
“What?!” Time Turner screeched to a halt and Sweetie Belle was almost thrown off him. Fortunately she managed to bite into his mane and had a tight grip around his neck.
“Where… ack… loosen your hold a bit,” Turner choked and the girl did as he asked.
“Sorry,” Sweetie Belle apologized, but stallion was already looking frantically around.
“Where are the girls, oh no they weren’t captured where they?” he asked no one in particular, it was almost as if he had forgotten the Unicorn girl on his back.
“What should we do?” Sweetie asked and was starting to become scared. The stallion turned his head so he could see her.
“Well…” he chewed on his lips for a moment. “I probably should get you to safety first and alert the guards. We know where they are and the guards are everywhere right now so it shouldn’t take too long.”
“Are you sure?” the filly asked unsure.
“We don’t have a choice, you at least need that leg looked at and besides this is a job for the guards.” Time Turner reluctantly began trotting the route he had been going in previously, before he broke into a full gallop.
“Thinking the same as I?” Scootaloo asked when seeing Apple Bloom catching up with her.
The Pegasus filly had deliberately slowed downed on their escape and allowed Time Turner to get too far ahead of her. Then she had high tailed back the way they had come. But her Earth Filly friend had noticed and followed.
“That Diamond Tiara must be in that cottage, eeyup,” Apple Bloom responded, mimicking her brother’s trademark positive answer.
“Yeah, figured Time Turner could get Sweetie Belle away and I could sneak in and get Diamond out of there,” the orange filly said.
“You sound more determined to help than before, why the change of heart?” her friend asked.
“I dunno, something my mom said. Something about hating and she was right, she didn’t raise me to hate. I don’t like Diamond Tiara mind you, but helping her get out feels more right than just leaving her there,” Scootaloo explained and Apple Bloom nodded.
“Say, wasn’t that Gryphon supposed to be following us?” the Pegasus then asked. “I was all ready to jump and avoid him in the bushes.”
“Yeah, we should be almost back to the cottage now,” Apple Bloom commented and just then the two fillies ran into the small clearing the cottage was in. They stopped when seeing Rainbow Dash busy tying up Paul and Gilda standing nearby watching. An old bucket near them indicated where they had produced the rope from.
“Hey!” the blue Pegasus immediately spotted them. She threw the rest of the rope to the female Gryphon who finished tying her cousin up.
Rainbow Dash swiftly flew to the fillies, but the girls didn’t wait for her to arrive. They both shouted Diamond Tiara’s name and ran for the cottage. The mare raised an eyebrow and followed them.
“What? What are you doing here?” the half startled and confused voice of the foalnapped girl asked.
Dash entered the cottage and saw the two Crusaders by a small cage in one corner. In it was Diamond Tiara; the filly seemed to be deciding if she should be relieved or annoyed over who were rescuing her.
“We’re rescuing ya, what does it look like?” Apple Bloom explained.
“You?” now Tiara really showed an expression of disbelief.
“Stand back girls,” Rainbow Dash pushed Scootaloo and Apple Bloom out of the way. She faced away from the cage and raised one hind leg and quickly kicked the lock of the cage. It didn’t break. The Pegasus grunted in annoyance. “Oh come on.”
“Please don’t do that again!” Tiara begged, the cage had been rattled in the process and thrown the filly around. “The Gryphon has the key.”
“I’m on it,” Scootaloo declared and rushed out.
The orange Pegasus ran straight to where Gilda stood guard over her cousin. The filly jumped right on top of Paul who winched in pain as she hit some of his still tender bruises. His only eye then had a full view of Scootaloo’s frowning face.
“Where is the key to the cage?” she demanded.
“You have got to be kidding me,” Paul grunted unimpressed but then Gilda appeared above Scoot’s head and raised her left talons.
“You heard the girl, where is the key,” she snapped.
“Hidden in my chest fur,” the male Gryphon muttered meekly.
“Here let me shave that for you, kid.” Gilda pushed Scootaloo back a bit and began slashing at Paul’s chest feathers, revealing the key.
Scootaloo grabbed it in her mouth, breaking the string it was tied on and ran back into the cottage. Meanwhile Gilda was looking questionably at her cousin. Paul had let out a chuckle once the filly was gone.
“Why are you laughing?” she demanded.
“The fact that you think you won just because you have freed the filly,” Paul grinned and didn’t drop it when his cousin grabbed his neck with her right talons.
“What are you talking about Paul?” she growled but now the male Gryphon just laughed.
“Beat me up as much as you wish cousin, I’m not talking. I’m maybe all talk and no guts but I’m no sneak,” he claimed.
Big Mac felt a bit of pain in his ribs. The pony would have wondered if he had cracked one or two in the rough landing on the dirt road if he wasn’t in a middle of a fight. Silver Axe was again using the advantage of flight to either dive bomb or bump hard into him.
Got to take his flight away somehow, he thought and ducked another dive.
He spotted some large rocks further down the road and headed for them. Silver Axe might not fall for the same trick again but at least this might cause the Pegasus to be the one to dodge for a while. The red stallion jumped behind one large rock and with all his might kicked it hard. It flew into the air but his opponent was now far enough away to avoid it.
Another rock was sent through the air forcing the dark brown pony to back away. Big Mac took notice and started to kick rock after rock, sending a volley of stony projectile towards Silver Axe. This gave the Earth Pony a bit more time to think things over since his opponent was busy staying out of the way of the boulders.
He should be slightly distracted now. Big Mac sent one more rock before running for a moderately sized tree. With a mighty kick the stallion broke it and as it began falling he ran into a better position and raised both hind legs.
Silver Axe ducked the last rock and began searching the ground for his opponent but couldn’t spot him right away. Instead he saw a large tree trunk head his way. The Pegasus gasped for a moment before diving to the ground to avoid it.
That was what Big Macintosh needed. The moment the Pegasus was close enough, the red stallion charged and jumped for the other one. They collided and fell to the ground with a loud thud, the ground shook lightly at the impact.
The two ponies rolled on the ground for a bit before they began hitting each other again with their hooves. Big Mac did his best to prevent Silver Axe from flying by holding on to the Pegasus who tried to break free.
Axe tried to head butt his opponent, it was hard enough that Big Mac’s grip loosened and the Pegasus began prying himself loose. The Earth Pony recovered but saw it wouldn’t be quickly enough to regain his hold. He instead quickly managed to give the dark brown stallion a hard kick in the head.
Silver Axe broke free and staggered away. He was too disoriented to fly and walked right into something. The Pegasus shook his head and tried to focus on what he had bumped into. His eyes shot wide open when face to face with a white head covered with a golden helmet.
Oh crap, the Pegasus quickly backed away from the Royal Guard only to bump into another one.
“Are you alright Mister Macintosh?” the first guard addressed the red stallion who sat on the ground catching his breath. He had been about to followed up with his kick when the guards came flying down.
“Eeyup,” he only responded.
“This would be one of the foalnappers correct?” the other guard inquired.
Silver Axe stood between the two guards but he wasn’t concentrating on them. He was still disoriented after the kick and now that the fight was over the pony was starting to feel tired. He collapsed to the ground breathing heavily. He glanced slowly towards Big Mac and stamped his hoof on the ground before losing consciousness.
“Curious,” one of the guards commented and approached the worn out Pegasus.
“What was that all about?” Big Mac asked confused.
“That was a hoof signal I believe,” the same guard looked at the red pony. “If it was, he said ‘you win’ I think.”
“Oh,” Big Macintosh said before he crumbled to the ground himself, he didn’t slip into unconsciousness but right now he was too tired to make any further comments.
End Chapter 11