Based on what Hunter had told them, there were three locations on Luna’s map that peaked the group’s interest; so they divided into teams to inspect each. The first locale was Sweet Acorn Orchard, Rarity offered to lead a team of Twilight, Applejack and Fluttershy to the farm as she had already met the residents. The second locale was the railway town of Dodge City, to which the royal sisters would be traveling. Lastly, Hunter had noted a small logging village along the river and headed there with Sunset, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash.
Hunter carried Sunset through the air, Rainbow Dash at his side with Pinkie Pie on her back. The village they were on route to was small, but acted as a primary source of lumber for the region as the river gave access to many populated areas. The large mill was the first thing to come into view, its water wheel churning dedicatedly as workers went about their day.
“Things look normal.” Sunset noted as they landed.
“Seems that way.” Hunter agreed as he set her down.
“Is that it then?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“It won’t hurt to ask if they’ve seen anything strange lately.” Hunter shrugged as he headed into the rustic village.
“Ooh, maybe they have a gift shop.” Pinkie Pie wandered off. “I’ll get us some souvenirs.”
“Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash shook her head and went after her.
Sunset followed Hunter over towards the mill where several stallions were hauling logs up into the saw house. “Excuse me.” She waved.
“Oh, hello.” One of the workers smiled and approached. “Don’t see too many visitors here.”
“Well, we’re sorry to bother you; but we wanted to ask if anypony here has seen or heard about anything unusual going on in the area.” Sunset continued. “Or if any strange creatures have passed through.”
“No strangers.” The worker assured. “But… something kind of odd came floating down the river the other day.”
“What?” Hunter asked.
“None of us are sure.” He shook his head. “I can show it to you if you want?”
“Might as well.” Hunter nodded, gesturing for him to lead the way.
“We’ve got it in the saw house.” He began leading them up to the mill. “Uh… careful miss.” He backed up and slowed Sunset. “Lots of equipment around here, best to be careful.”
“Don’t worry about her.” Hunter looked back with a smile. “She’s…” He screamed as a set of metal jaws rose from the ground and clamped around his leg; the armor protected his shin but the jagged teeth sank into his hamstring.
“Hunter!” Sunset started to run towards him. .
“Wait!” The worker grabbed her and held her back as the other workers began to scramble.
“Good work.” A heavy baritone complimented as Ridgeback lumbered from the mill, a gagged mare held tight in his fist. He tossed the mare aside and the worker ran to her, ungagging her and looking back at Sunset with tear filed eyes.
“I’m… I’m sorry.” He whimpered as he clutched his weeping wife, dragging her to safety.
“Hold on, Hunter!” Sunset blasted the bear trap with her magic and shattered it, the damage had been done though as Hunter’s leg began to bleed.
Before Hunter could move, Ridgeback grabbed him in one of his massive hands and brought him up to his face.
“So. You’re the little shit that’s been following us around.” He balked. “Bet you thought you were pretty clever making a judgement call about Skyfall’s attacks. Good thing I figured you’d be smart enough to head this way, just not smart enough to think I’d see it coming.” With a heavy laugh he threw Hunter into the side of the mill, his body splintering the wood as he crashed through. As he went to pursue, he felt a sharp sting on his back from a red blast of magic.
“Stay away from him!” Sunset commanded as she fired again.
“Bitch, do you know…” Ridgeback’s threat was interrupted as he took a shot to the face. With a maddened growl he lifted a log with one hand and brought it down on top of Sunset. A rainbow blur intercepted the log and smashed the dried wood.
“Rainbow Dash.” Sunset called up as she u-turned in the sky. “Get the Princesses!”
“Right!” Rainbow Dash curved in the air and aimed herself for Dodge City.
“Skyfall!” Ridgeback called out.
From behind the houses the reptilian bird rose and blocked Rainbow Dash. “Forget it, girl.” He whipped his right wing forward and forced her down with his quills.
“Alright, let’s kill them already.” Ridgeback approached. “I’ve got better things to do.”
“Bastard!” Hunter flew from the mill and latched onto Ridgeback’s arm, he drug his talons down its length and opened up several wounds. Ridgeback roared and swatted at him; palm meeting dirt as Hunter evaded the blow.
“I’ll deal with him.” Ridgeback looked up at Skyfall. “Kill the ponies.”
“With pleasure.” Skyfall focused in on Sunset and Rainbow Dash, diving at them with talons barred. Sunset raised as shield to cover them and Skyfall bounced off of it, circling in the air over the homes for a return strike. As he descended towards the ground, Pinkie Pie appeared on a rooftop and jumped onto his neck.
“Surprise!” She produced a pair of cakes she had taken from the local bakery and slapped them over his eyes.
“God damn it!” Skyfall cursed as he shook in the air, trying to remove her as he wiped at his stinging eyes.
“Rainbow Dash, go now!” Sunset lowered her shield.
“Be back in a flash!” Rainbow Dash soared into the sky and went for help.
In spite of his leg, Hunter’s improved skill allowed him to keep his distance from the hammering fists of Ridgeback. They worked their way into the saw house, Ridgeback tossing whatever he could at Hunter as he danced in the air.
“Stay still, chicken shit!” Ridgeback ripped the massive saw blade from the cutting line and whipped it at Hunter; it tore through the opposite wall and spiraled out into the river, narrowly missing Hunter’s wings.
“All that strength doesn’t mean a thing if you can’t hit me.” Hunter took up a logging chain and maneuvered in, looping it around Ridgeback’s leg and flying out the new hole in the wall. He tried to get him to the water but Ridgeback reached down and easily snapped the chain.
“Oh I’ll hit you.” Ridgeback threw the severed links over his shoulder. “And one hit is all I’ll need.” He reeled back and threw a wide haymaker.
In the clouds above them, Skyfall flew high into the air as Pinkie Pie held onto the plumage of his neck. Making a sharp stop, Pinkie flew even higher with a scream and Skyfall sent a pair of quills into her side. She went limp in the air and began plummeting to the ground.
“Pinkie Pie!” Sunset cried out as she ran to catch her.
“I’ve got her!” Rainbow Dash blew by Sunset and ascended, catching Pinkie in her hooves and quickly falling back.
“Rainbow Dash?” Sunset skidded to a stop and looked back, smiling in relief at the sight of the Princesses descending from above.
“Assist Sunset, Luna.” Celestia pointed down to her former pupil. “I will aid Hunter.”
“Yes, sister.” Luna peeled away from her and engaged Skyfall. Rainbow Dash flew up to her side and held altitude with her.
“Pinkie is hurt.” She informed.
“Then let us try and end this quickly.” Luna fired her magic into Skyfall’s side as Rainbow Dash moved to flank him.
“You again?” Skyfall hissed, launching more quills which were quickly negated by her barrier.
“You will be free of us when you are locked in Tartarus, villain!” Luna retorted, teleporting above him and attacking his head.
“I’ll be free of you when you’re dead!” He somersaulted and flared his wings, sending quills in every direction and forcing them both to retreat.
Celestia flew over the mill to see Hunter and Ridgeback dueling near the river bank. “Hunter!” She dove downward and fired into the brute’s backside.
“Great, another one.” Ridgeback glanced up to see her approach.
“Eyes on me!” Hunter abused the distraction and closed in. He clawed at his neck, opening up another wound. It was a fair trade though as Ridgeback backhanded Hunter in the chest and sent him into a tree.
Ridgeback was staggered by another powerful blast of magic and turned his attention to Celestia. Hefting two, heavy rocks in his hands he crumbled them in his grip; Ridgeback pitched the debris upwards like a shotgun blast and peppered Celestia’s body. As the Princess reeled from the pain, Ridgeback looked over his many gashes and decided enough was enough. He ran on his feet and knuckles back around the mill.
“Skyfall!” Ridgeback shouted. “Let’s go!”
“Right!” Skyfall slashed at Luna and Rainbow Dash, sending them back before flipping in the air and descending towards Ridgeback. The ape held his arms outward and Skyfall latched onto them, lifting him into the air and heading back towards the hills.
Hunter and Celestia came over the ruins of the mill and saw their escape. “Rainbow Dash!” Hunter called to the fastest of the flyers. “Grab one of these chains and follow me!”
“Gotcha!” Rainbow Dash left Luna’s side and dove down to the stacks of logs, scooping up a chain with Hunter and flying after the pair.
With Ridgeback in tow, Skyfall was much slower and they were on him shortly as they sailed over the landscape. Hunter pointed to Skyfall’s wings and Rainbow Dash instantly caught on. They dive-bombed the pair and each snared one his lower most wings in one of the chains.
“What!?” Skyfall staggered in the air, having lost half his wing power; he looked over his shoulder to see them pulling backwards with all their strength.
“Drop me!” Ridgeback ordered.
Skyfall released Ridgeback who tucked and rolled as he made contact with the ground. With his talons free, he turned back to face them. “Let me go, you obstinate little bugs!” Unable to spare another wing for his ranged attack, he was forced to use his talons and flew at them brazenly.
Hunter and Rainbow Dash flew down and back up behind him, pulling the chains tighter and torqueing his wings into a painful position. As Skyfall howled, a tree flew up from the ground and smacked Rainbow Dash out of the air; with a shocked cry she started spiraling towards the ground.
“Dash!” Hunter watched helplessly as she landed on the ground with a dull thud. Looking down, he saw Ridgeback hoist another tree and throw it at him. Instead of avoiding it, he wrapped the chain around his waist and braced himself. As the tree neared, he dug his gauntlets into the wood and let his armor absorb the impact. Blood flew from his mouth as he rode the momentum of the log; he sailed past Skyfall with such speed that the chain pulled at the base of his lower left wing, ripping it clean off. Skyfall screamed in agony and awkwardly wobbled in the sky.
“You son of a bitch!” He thrashed as blood spurted from the stump.
“Skyfall!” Ridgeback called is attention. “Keep moving before the others come!”
“Fuck!” Knowing he was right, Skyfall bitterly returned to Ridgeback and lifted him from the ground again, flying them both as best his could away from the area.
Hunter crashed into the water, lashed to the tree by the chain. As soon as he was below the surface, his body was consumed by magic and he took on his sea pony form. Not being salt water however, it was difficult to breath; his lithe body slid from the chain and he returned to the surface. With a graceful leap he shot out of the water and returned to his Hippogriff form, landing on the bank and grabbing his abdomen at the sharp pain of broken ribs. Recalling Rainbow Dash’s plight, he limped along until Celestia landed before him.
“Hunter.” She rushed over and helped him stand.
“Where’s Dash?” He asked through a pained pant.
“Luna has her, and Sunset is with Pinkie Pie.” She informed. “You are all injured, we must get you back to Canterlot immediately.”
“No arguments here.” As the adrenaline died down, the loss of blood from his leg began to take effect and he slumped over in her forelegs. “Mind giving me a lift?” He laughed weakly.
“We need to bandage your leg first.” Celestia set him down and returned to the mill; she tore some spare work clothes into strips and used them to stop the bleeding before lifting him with her magic and returning to the others.
Under the tow of the royal sisters, the three of them were rushed back to Canterlot where the castle’s medical staff saw to them. Hunter finally succumbed to his injury and fell in and out of consciousness as he was worked on; he eventually came to on a bed, his armor had been removed and his leg and midsection were bound tight with bandages. He pushed himself up with a groan and stared at the wall as his senses returned.
“Jesus.” He muttered. “All these injuries are starting to make me look bad.” Hunter rolled out of the bed and fell to his paws, looking over to see Pinkie Pie in the bed next to him. He went to her bedside and observed the padded bandage around her waist. “Damn it.” He whispered to himself.
“Hunter?” She turned over and smiled up at him.
“Hey, Laffy Taffy.” He smiled back. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” Pinkie Pie nodded. “He got me with two of those pointy things.” She rubbed her belly.
“Hey, where I come from, two in the Pink isn’t so bad.” He rested his talon on her hoof.
She laughed, despite having no idea what he was talking about. “What about you?”
“Lacerated leg, broken ribs… probably a concussion.” He shrugged. “The usual.”
“Where’s Dashie?” She asked.
“Going to find out right now.” He rubbed her leg. “Keep resting.”
“Okie dokie.” She yawned and curled up again, her eyes instantly closing.
Hunter left the room and found himself in a semi familiar hallway. He headed back for the throne room and came upon the rest of the group, Rainbow Dash included. He saw Celestia’s body covered in bruises from the rocks that Ridgeback and thrown and Rainbow Dash was in a wheelchair with a cast on her right, hind leg.
“Hunter.” Sunset and Twilight hurried over to him.
“I know, I shouldn’t be up.” Hunter nodded. “But when do I ever listen.” He hobbled back over with them. “Princess, you look like hell.” He smiled at Celestia.
“As do you.” She smiled back.
“At least we match.” He went to check on Rainbow Dash. “Broken leg?”
“Is it that obvious?” She laughed, patting the cast. “At least we got in a few licks of our own.” She held her hoof up.
“Got that right.” He fist bumped her.
“We’re sorry we couldn’t help.” Applejack observed his battered condition.
“Ridgeback knew I was coming.” Hunter shook his head. “He completely set us up with those village attacks, even scared the ponies into helping him.” He sighed. “Walked right into a trap, literally.”
“It must have been a vicious confrontation.” Rarity noted.
“Yeah.” Hunter confirmed with a heavy breath. “But I was able to fight him on relatively equal terms. That armor saved my life though, no way would I have survived those hits without it.”
“I am seeing to its repair as we speak.” Celestia relayed.
“Thanks.” He sat beside Sunset who immediately put her leg around him. “Did anyone learn anything from the other areas?”
“No.” Fluttershy shook her head. “Pistachio and his family haven’t had any encounters with them.
“What about Dodge City?” He turned to Celestia and Luna.
“Sister and I spoke with many of the ponies there.” Luna began. “The only oddity of note was a resurgence of Diamond Dog activity in the area.”
“Ugh.” Rarity’s face filled with revulsion. “Those disgusting brutes.”
“What’s a Diamond Dog?” Hunter inquired.
“They’re thieves and bullies who live for rare gems.” Twilight explained.
“They abducted me once and tried to force me to dig for them.” Rarity carried on.
“What were they doing in Dodge City?” Applejack asked.
“Apparently, they have been trading in large quantities of gems.” Celestia detailed.
“That’s hard to believe.” Rainbow Dash scoffed. “They’re usually too lazy to do things for themselves.”
“You think this is related to what we’re dealing with?” Sunset asked.
“I don’t like to believe in coincidence.” Hunter stated. “It’s worth checking out.”
“We can investigate while you, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash and Princess Celestia heal up.” Twilight volunteered.
“Yeah.” Applejack nodded. “If they’re up to something, we’ll find out.”
“Just be careful.” Hunter warned. “If anything smells funny, just bug out.”
“We will.” Fluttershy promised. “You just focus on getting better.”
Twilight, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy proceeded to move out once more. Sunset looped Hunter’s arm over her and helped him walk. “Come on, let’s get you into bed.”
“Not tonight, Sunny. I have a headache.” He smirked.
“You will if you don’t shut it.” She warned with a smile as she moved him along.
“Wait up.” Rainbow Dash rolled herself along after them.
“You should rest as well, sister.” Luna looked over her body. “I shall handle the remainder of the day.”
“Thank you, Luna.” Celestia hugged her and headed for her room. “I could perhaps use an ice pack… or nine.” She laughed.
“I will see to it, sister.” Luna promised.
Skyfall sat still as Ridgeback bandaged what was left of his wing; growling pain as he cinched the cloth up. “Careful.” He snapped.
“Quit bitching.” Ridgeback barbed. “You’re not the only one injured.”
“Perhaps, but this is your fault.”
“If I didn’t stop them you’d have lost two wings.” Ridgeback stood, checking his own bandages. “He may be small, but he’s a tough son of a bitch.”
“No matter our strength, we are losing the numbers game.” Skyfall rose and folded his wings, feeling the empty spot where his lesser wing once rested.
“Yeah, that’s why I paid for some help.” Ridgeback motioned for him to follow.
“What help?” Skyfall asked.
“They call themselves Diamond Dogs.” He began. “I ran into them while you were hitting those settlements. They’re stupid, but they understand that money talks.” He laughed. “They’ve been a help in keeping the ponies under control… at least I don’t have to sleep with one eye open now.”
“Can they fight?”
“Enough to help even the odds.” Ridgeback shrugged. “I had hoped we could kill that guy, but that didn’t take and they’re going to stumble onto us sooner or later. He’ll be out for a while with those injuries. I’m thinking about moving this little operation somewhere safer.”
“Where?”
“The Dogs told me about a place called the Badlands.” Ridgeback explained. “Said it’s ripe with gems but the ponies don’t go there because of the hostile environment. Best of all, it’s a canyon which means it can be easily defended.”
“I’ll scout it out.” Skyfall offered.
“Good.” Ridgeback snorted. “The Dogs are into the idea of setting up shop so they’re reaching out to other packs. Once they reinforce their numbers, we’ll plan the move.”
“Fine, I’ll be back soon.” Skyfall took off, struggling to adjust to his missing limb. Ridgeback sighed and rubbed the bandage on his neck. Deciding to check on things one final time before resting, he headed back to the mine where the ponies of the village continued to toil away under the watchful eyes of their new guard dogs.