//------------------------------// // Last Surprise // Story: The Little Pony Legend: Shadow Play // by MyEcho4 //------------------------------// Chapter 4: Last Surprise The museum was quiet that evening, the only noises being made was  the sound of footsteps and flashlights flicking on and off and occasionally the sound of mumbling between guards. It was once again another boring, dull night at the still being renovated Starswirl museum though tonight felt a little extra crowded as there were several more guards on duty some to their dismay as some had weekend plans. A couple guards were chilling by the entrance chatting about everyday life while others were by the main desk playing some cards one of guards brought over. For a night at the museum it was pretty quiet. Or so they thought. One of the guards, looking around a middle-aged man let out a yawn and scratched the back of his head, taking his daily patrol through the main hall where stood in its case the journal of Starswirl the Bearded himself, the cover shining in the moonlight. “Man. I should be enjoying the night life right about now.” he moaned. “Today was supposed to be my day off but noooo. The queen and her friends had to bring in all these artifacts today of all days and only NOW they need extra guards for the night. I just wish this night got a little more interesting.” He was about to check out his phone before he noticed a figure standing in the distance over by the Guardians of Harmony display. He picked up his torch and shone it upon the mysterious figure. By the looks of the body, it is no denying that this was indeed a female, a curvy but still slightly muscular one at that. She had on what looked like a red jacket, what looked to be a black skin tight pants underneath with shiny black boots. “Uhm. excuse me ma'am?” said the guard. “The museum is closed. I'm gonna have to ask you to leave.”  The figure didn’t say a word or moved a muscle as she simply continued reading the exhibit. The guard figured she probably didn’t hear him so he spoke a little louder.” “Ma’am? I said the museum is-” “Shhhh” The figured placed a finger on his lips to silence him. Slowing turning her head, she revealed her slightly tan-orange skin, shiny red lips and ocean blue eyes with raven black hair with a streak of white going down a bang, all tucked away in the crimson red hat that matched her outfit. Sticking out each side were a pair of what looked like to be wolf ears. The guard nearly fainted from her beauty but quickly regained his consensus. “Im trying to read.” she replied. “Its not everyday you get to learn about each of the Guardians of Harmony.”  She brought him over to the case of what appeared to be the Staff of Sacanas and the Storm King’s armor still in stone and shattered. She stood behind him, wrapping her hands on his shoulder which sent a shiver down his spine. “Like this, The staff here-” “Uhm, Ma’me thats just a model” “Well duh. Why would you keep such an objec thtat has the power to absorb all kinds of magic AND bending alike? Even spirit energy like that wisp girl. What’s her name again? Key? Li? “Uhm...Chi?” “Right! Thats it! She’s been considered to be one of the most powerful of the guardians right?” “U-uh yeah right. She’s pretty cool.” “I bet she is.” said the girl. “And you know what else can be cool?” She leaned in his ear and whispered lustfully. “Is having this night to be unforgettable.”  This was enough to snap the kid out of her trance as he was already a married man. “Well I'm afraid that t-tonight's not the night, Ma’am.” said the guard. “I’m afraid your gonna have to leave.” The girl put on a pouty face and sighed. “Fine but can you do one thing for me before you let me out.” “And what’s that?” The figures eyes turned from blue to emerald green and she flashed a smile to him. “Don’t scream.” Before he could reply, he felt a brute force hit him in the throat. Not enough to choke him to death but enough to knock the air out of him. Next he felt a wave a pain as she hit both his legs in places where he lost balance and fell to the ground. He tried to reach for his radio but she knocked it out of his hand, took his torch to his face, knocking him out instantly. She grabbed the keys from his belt and quickly lock the doors where the other guards were. She sighed and took off her jacket and hat revealing her shiny black catsuit and her black tail with a white tip. Pressed her ear and began to speak. “Heading into Main Level. Await confirmation.” She opened the door into the main exhibit hall where it had several guards. They all turned towards the sound of the door and shined they’re flashlights. “Hey boys. Why don’t you take the rest of the night off and I’ll take it from here. What do you say?” Instead of answering, the guards pulled out their taser sticks and clubs ready to take her down. “Aww now that no way to treat a lady now is it?” One of the guards in response began to charge at her with his taser. The girl rolled her eyes and adjusted her suit. “Fine. If you insist.” He jabbed the stick at her but she was able to grab it and fliped him with only her one arm to ground. Another guard came after her and she used her elbow to jab him in the face before striking him with the taser. Two more guards came after her as she grabbed a club, knocking one of guards to the ground and the other tasing him unconscious. She then did backflips and hit two guards in the neck, knocking them out instantly while kicking one to the stomach knocking the air out of him. Finally for the last several, she reached into her suit and pulled out a small bottle, doing a familiar motion with her hand, several drops of water flowed from her finger. With a quick motion, the drops turned to small sharp spikes of ice and she flung it at each the guards necks. After several seconds, they all fell to the ground simultaneously. She smirked and fixed her hair before pressing the ear piece.  “Did anyone time me?” “30 seconds. I could’ve done better.” “Yeah sure you would” “Please tell me you saved some guards for me?” “Sorry Doku. Got kinda carried away.” she replied. “But don’t worry, if police comes down and gets us. You gets first dibs.” She headed to the main entrance and pulled out a keycard. Nova’s keycard. She swiped it and instantly the door unlocked but when she looked outside, no one was there.  “Uh. guys?” she called. *SMASH* The wolf girl let out a shriek, her fur and tail sticking up as something shattered behind her. She quickly turned around to see that a large chunk of the skylight from above was cut through and smashed into millions of pieces. Next thing she saw was eight figures dropping from the moonlit sky and landing on the ground simultaneously, all appearing to be anthro animals the vas majority being wolfs like the girl. The first was appeared the be the youngest of the team, having having short dark orange hair light tan skin and two wolf ears pearkly sitting on top of her head. She had on a black and grey sash, both covered with different objects and gadgets and a brown jumpsuit with black boots and belt and yellow eyes. The second was a dark pink skin and has a scorpion tail but still has wolf ears. He had three clawmarks under his bright blue eyes and short dark red hair with a blue streak going through. He had on what looked liken half a shirt, still having the ripped marks. He also had on dark purple pants and cuffs with sharp metal spikes. The third looked like to be the second shortest of the bunch with dirty yellow hair and what appeared to be half the face of a badger with grey eyes. She had on a beige shirt that was long sleeved but cut at the bottom showing her midriff. She had on green pants and was barefoot with two black anklets, one having the same scar symbol the pink one had.  The fourth was a dark skin wolf with light brown mohawk hair,ears, and tail. He wore a dark brown jumpsuit with a yellow v-neck and brown boots. If you look closely, his eyes looked much blurier than the others, indicating he was blind but still manage to move normally. The fifth was probably the tallest in the group having dark skin but snow white hair and a headband with the symbol of their team. He work a dark red shirt with white marks on each side and black pants and boots. On his back was a bright red sword with each crossguard having his eye color, which was blue and yellow. The sixth may look like a young kid but he’s actually the oldest of the team. He had on a black mask and yellow neckerchief and blue eyes. His body looked almost like a cat, having a long black tail with a white tip. He wore black pants and a black t shirt with exposed his long black arms with paw-like hands. On his waist he wore a utility belt which had the symbol on the front The final member seemed to be really dressed for the occasion having on a long black coat, black shoes, red gloves and a white mask with black markings on it. His heels clapped to the floor as he took step by step, his blue tail hovering behind him. By the way how he walked and dressed, it was no assumption that he was the leader of the pack. “You couldve just waited at the door like I told you too!” said the girl wolf as she adjusted his now messed up hair and tossed the card aside. “Sorry Hadari.” said the leader. “We were standing by the door but you how Doku can be.” “Eh hehe. Sorry” Doku apologized, rubbing the back of his head, Hadari rolled her eyes. “You know I probably would’ve done this quicker if I was chosen to sneak in.” said the tall black wolf, who was named Bulkan. “You probably would’ve screwed it up and ruined the entire operation the way I see it.” said the short brown wolf, his name being Tiupan or Pan for short. “How can you even see? You’re blind!” Bulkan shot back. “You forget that I can see with my ears.” “That still to this day doesn’t make any sense and you know it!” “Alright enough!” shouted the cat as he stretched his paws out and split the soon to be brawl between the two. “You can whine about who’s right later, right now time is of the essence! Kam?” “Already done.” replied the thief and she put the finishing touches on her device. “Cross paws...or fingers” “Are you sure this will work, Kam?” questioned Hadari. Knowing past experience, Kaminari’s inventions tend to backfire in the team's faces. Sometimes literally. “Guess were about to find out.” she said as she activated a button on her watch which caused her boots to extended a couple feet in the air, just enough to get to the top of the security camera. She placed what looked to be a usb drive into the slot on the slide. At first nothing happened but then the flashing green light turned red and the camera shut down, as so did the other ones in the room. “Yes!” she exclaimed. “Museum is ours!” “Good work, Rocket!” called out Nadare from below. Ciya, who doesn’t speak as much, gave a thumbs up to Kam, or her codename: Rocket. “So. you guys want to have your vegetables first or just skip to the dessert?” “You know how much I love my cake first.” Hadari smirked and led the group to the center of the room where the book layed, being careful not to set off any invisible alarms. “There it is.” Kaminari awed. “The final piece.” “Just gimmie the word boss and I’ll SMASH that glass hehehe!” “No Doku. Remember what we talked about.” “Aww phooey.” “Aww lighten up. Ring! Besides, when we have this were gonna be long gone and not even the royal “highness” will be able to find us.” Bulkan said as he nudged his arm a little. “He’s been ichting for a fight for awhile give him this okay? Nadare sighed. Even though he wanted to do this with no trace of evidence, he did have a point. But then again, Mako and the others have come close several times to catching them in the past though but now that their mission is complete, they’ll be completely off the grid so they’ll have no way to track them down now.  “Im sorry, Doku. not today.” he replied. Doku frowned as his ears lowered. “Though once we have this, you can do all the smashing you want.” “Ohhhehehhehehe” Nadare then nodded to Mona who  then jumped on his shoulder. Stretching his paws, he opened her claw out and began to form a circle on the glass. Once formed, he casually placed his paws on the circle and gently lifted it off and tossed it aside. He reached in and grabbed the book with no problem at all and handed it to Nadare. “Piece of cake.” he smirked. “As usual.” The team gazed upon the remains of StarSwirl’s journal. The last piece. For years, the Shadow Claws had only one goal in mind, to find Starswirl’s journal and uncover the secrets that he left behind in them. The last several years however were a dead end for them since no one knew what happened to Starswirl’s journal. Some say it was lost in the Great Everfree Fire hundreds of years ago while others said that it found by some pony and was never seen again while few said that it was taken to his grave but some years ago while clearing out the old Sorcerer archive, they found a small box full of some of his prized and important poessions, on the very top was his book. Since the news broke, the Claws have been after the book, planning and strategizing how to take it and leave without a trace. So far luck has been on their side and by how things look at that moment, luck was definitely an ally. “Well done, team.” Nadare said flipping the books in his hand.  Bulkan by the looks of it was getting angsty by just looking at the book. “Well come on! Put the pages in before-”  Suddenly there was a loud beeping coming from Kam’s watch. She looked up and gasped. “Uhh guys. I think we need to hold off on the celebration.” “Huh?” “Whoever made up this security system really knows how they’re stuff! I can’t hold off the anti virus forever.” “And your just telling us this now?” Bulkan said in his teeth? “Hey I didnt know this crummy museum would have state of the art security, especially after seeing Hadari take out those guards!” Ciya tried to break them up but Nadare got to them before she did. “Alright you two enough!” he shouted. “We can discuss this once we are out of here. Ciya, get us out of here!” Ciya nodded and used her earth bending to create a pillar to lift them out of the hole. “Wait!” Hadari called before pulling something else out of her suit and tossed what appeared to be a card to the box below. Landing perfectly on the platform the book was laying on. “I think its time for them to know we’re back. Don’t you think?” she asked her leader. He gave a sly but evil like smile. “Damn right.”  The team then disappeared into the night, just as the alarm went off inside the museum. As the sirens wailed, an old man looked on from the quiet city street before turning around and heading down an ally. *(~)* Back in the forest, the kids were heading back into the town, chatting about things typical late teens/young adults would talk about.  “Okay I got one.” Hozu said. “Would you rather, Kiss a thousand year old mummy or swim in a pool full of poison joke?” “Kiss the mummy. All the way.” Akari. “The last time we got into some poison joke, I always lit my mane on fire.” “Im going with Akari on this one too” Chi replied. “My shapeshifting would be out of control and I know some of you do not want to wipe me off the walls again.” Gallant shuddered. “Please do NOT remind me of that. Took me hours to get you out of my hair.” “Okay my turn.” Chrysalis said. “Would you rather, eat a bowl of shattered crystals or take a bath in hot lava?” “Crystals.” Iris answered.  “Bath in lava.” Hiro replied. I can just create a earth skin to protect while relaxing. Powers of earthbending baby!” “That is until you take off the skin and see your body is tanned more than Mai on beach day.” Gallant added. The firebender narrowed her eyes at the unicorn. “I thought I told you to never speak of it again.” “Alright Alright one more.” said Akari as she began thinking of one. “Okay. Would you rather, Crossdress for an ENTIRE month or Taken back to the day when you were asked out on a date but its the worst date you ever had.” “Jeez Akari you are brutal with these.” Hozu commented before thinking. “Hmm...I choose..Crossdress. I think I can pull off Iris’s outfit. Iris scoffed and waved a hand. “Oh you wish, water boy.” “I’d say...Take the date. Me and Akari has a rep for bad dates.” “He has a point” Akari shrugged. “Never forget Hearts and Hooves Junior year dance.” “Chi what would you choose?” Hiro asked but noticed she wasn’t paying attention but gazing off into space, with the look of dreamy eyes. “Uh..Chi?” “I DON'T HAVE A CRUSH ON HIM!” she blared out before catching herself and covering her mouth, blushing. “I mean uh...Crossdress?” The others looked at her strangely. “Ooookayy then.” said Akari who quickly shook it off and got back to the game. “Okay now wh-” “Wait wait hold on” Hiro interrupted and eyed on the blue wisp who was now hugging herself as if she was cold from the night breeze. “Chi..is there something you need to tell us? “W-what?” she sputtered. “W-what are you talking about I got n-nothing to hi-hide especially not having a crush on Akira WHO IS totally not cute I MEAN HE IS but not to me BECAUSE HE’S hot I MEAN NOT MY TYPE because I dont have time for cute and handsome spirits as of now because I have more important things to do like stalking I MEAN walking close to HIM TO SCHOOL...hehehe.” she giggled. As if on cue each one of them raised an eyebrow. "Girl. You're pink. big time." Chi looked down and noticed that her bright blue skin was now a bright pink, a wisp version for blushing. She sighed, admitting defeat. “Okay...you got me. I mayyyyyyy have a small eeny tiiiiiny crush on Akira.” she confessed, shrinking little by little as if to match her sentence. “But im not 100% in love with him alright?” “And lemme guess.” Hiro stated. “You bumped into Akira, started bumbling words out of your mouth, then didn’t even bother asking him to hang out?” “Yeah...I mean no I mean...something like that.” Chi answered, already starting to feel flustered again as she got hotter. “And I didn’t bump into him. We just were..distracted is all. He's just a friend." “Riiight a friend. Wow you're even worse than Mai with Lu.” “Hey! That was one time! One!” she protested. "And are you begging me to remind you about you experience with Liu-" "Shhhhhhh shhh shh" Hiro replied placing a finger on her sisters mouth. "We don't need to bring that up, alright?" She responded with a small flame exiting her mouth and burning Hiro's finger, though not enough to hurt him but enough where he had to suck on his finger for a while to numb the pain. “Well its not like I was gonna ask him to the party. We both had stuff to take care of this evening anyway.” “Okay Okay fair point.” Akari said. “But what about the next time you get “distracted” hmm?” she said narrowing her eyes and giving her a sly smile. “W-well I-” “Girl please!” Mai exclaimed. “Stop trying to act normal. Its okay to tell us.” “But come on, darling. You? Keeping this from us?” said Chrysalis. “I didn’t mean to-” “I’ll say!” Iris chimed in. “Now that I think about it. Whenever I see you close to him, you head starts spinning in circles. Like a wolf chasing its tail!” “Hey thats not-!” “Honey, you are up in your gills in something that’s for sure!” said Nori as music began to fil the air. “Oh boy…” muttered the wisp. ‘She’s in Love’ from The Little Mermaid Broadway Musical Nori: She’s dizzy and she’s dreamy Chi: “Hey!” Akari: Her head’s up in the clouds Chi: “Its not!” Iris: Her eyes have gone all gleamy It’s like there’s no one home Chi: “Actually..” Nori, Akari, Iris: She flies away the days Mopin’ on the homeroom desk Chi: “Uh guys? This isn’t really necessary-” Chrysalis: You ask her where she’s goin’ She bumbles like a fool Chi: “Excuse-!” Mai: She barely sticks a toe in Down at the mansion pool Nori: It’s more than just a phase Face it, she’s just not herself! Chi: “I am myself see perfectly-” Iris: Is she ill? Akari:  Or insane? Chrysalis: Is it sugar on the brain. Chi: “Uhhh” Nori, Akari, Iris, Mai, Chrysalis: What has got her bothered so? Mai: Its the bends Akari: Maybe the flu? Iris: Gosh, I wish we had a clue! Guardians: Oh, wait! Oh, dear! Good grief! It’s clear... She’s in love! She’s in love! Pounding heart! Not as Alert! Nori Look, I think she’s even wearing a brand new skirt! Chi:  “Hey!” Guardian Girls: She’s in love! Guardian Guys: In love and it’s divine! Guardian Guys: She’s in love! Guardian Girls: That girl’s on level nine! Glory be! Guardians:  Lord above! Gotta be she’s in love! Nori: “Hey boys! d’ya notice anything weird about you-know-who?”  Chi: “Im right here you know?” Hiro: “You mean Chi? I’ll say!” She acts like she don’t see me She doesn’t even speak She repeated the same prank That we did early last week You can tell during the daytime  She tossin’ in her hammock bed Chi: “How can you-” Iris: “Honey, Your hair.” Chi: “Oh right.” Hozu: She’s Cranky as a Donkey Oblivious as rocks You walk right up and tap her— Guardians: She lays there like a fox! Gallant: As sure as lemurs fly Somethin’s made her lose her head! Guardians Girls: She has lost her head! Guardian Guys: And she sighs, and she swoons And she’s hummin’ little tunes  Guardian Girls: Even has a sorta glow Chi: “I always glow you know that.” Guardian Guys What on earth could it be? Nori: Any hammerhead can see! Iris and Akari: That sigh! Mai and Chrysalis: That glow! Hozu and Hiro: That swoon! Chi: “Oh, boy.” Guardians: She’s in love! Girls: When she’s called out she froze! Guardians: She’s in love! Guys: All hot beneath her clothes ! Chi: “Watch it.” Girls: See her hips How they sway! Guys: Well, well, well Don’t you wonder who’s gonna have a lucky day? She’s in love! Girls: She found a hot piece of hunk! She’s in love! Guys: And now she’s as good as sunk! Girls: See her blush! Chi: “Please don’t" Guardians: See her grin! Gotta be love she’s in! Hiro: Our big sis-and-someone sitting in a tree! K-i-s-s-i-n-g! Chi: “Why you-!” Girls: Her skin could not flush pinker! Gallant: It’s clear as h2o! Girls: She’s caught – hook, line and sinker! Mai: Crushed out! Chrysalis: Switched on! Girls: Worked up! Far gone! Guys: Knocked down! Girls: Hard hit! Guys: In deep! Chi: That’s it! Guardians: She’s in love! She’s in love! Chi: I’m...in...love. All: She’s in love! She’s in love! Plain to see! No mistake! Look at those moonbeams in her wake! Obvious what they must be symptoms of— She’s in love! She’s in love! She’s in love! Shoop, shoop She’s in love! Yeah, yeah! The gang, even, Chi, burst out into a fit of laughter. To some it sounded like they were picking on the poor wisp but once you got to known them, it was all in good fun to tease family. Well to a certain point that is. Once they got everything out of they’re system, they got back up and began to calm themselves. “You guys are such jerks.” Chi said as she tried to catch her breath. “But seeing how I was one too, I guess this makes us even?” “I guess you can say that” Iris answered as she adjusted herself. “However, were being serious. We’re here for you, Chi. Weather it be for support or to help get over your first crush in 1800 years.” “Aww. Thanks guys. I really appre-” Chi suddenly stopped herself as something caught her ear. “What is it?” asked Gallant. Chi quietly shushed him and turned her ear into a wolf’s to get a clearer sound.  “I..I think were not the only one’s here.” she whispered. “Come on.” The group quietly followed her towards the source. The more they got closer, the more they began to hear what she was hearing. It sounded like a group of people arguing over something. Once they were close enough, they all ducked behind a crowd of bushes and got a better look at the gang, all dressed up in black and dark colored clothing. “Mission Accomplished Boys!” said Bulkan. “Ahem!” coughed Hadari. The jackal rolled his eyes. “And girls…” he said, his voice oozing with sarcasm and not even a little once of care. “Oh please, you probably wouldn’t have gotten one page if it wasn’t for us!” said Kaminari.  “Page?” Akari questioned. “What page?” “Keep quiet.” Hozu reminded her. “In fact, if it wasn’t for me you probably wouldn’t have all those cool gadgets that you have on your body!” “Yeah..because half of them don’t even work.” muttered Doku.  “Hey I heard that!” “Besides, Doku. You almost made us lose our chance with the third piece of the journal!” “Journal?” Gallant wondered. What journal are they talking about. “All right you guys enough!” Nadare called out. “What matters now is that we got what we need as well as…this” Nadare held the book up into the sky as the moon shined down at the cover. Iris squinted her eyes but they widened in shock almost instantly. “It...it can’t be. Its in the museum.” ‘What is it Iris?” Nori asked. “That’s...thats Starswirl’s journal! The same one at the museum!” “Wait. you mean the Starswirl journal?” Chi asked in which Iris nodded. “As in the one that Nova found?” “The same.” Gallant answered as he got a better look from his angle. “But...how did they get it? Its heavily guarded.” “Might be the same reason how they got those other pages too.” Akari pointed out. “Don’t you see? These are the same guys that stole from those other museums and libraries years ago!” “But it can’t be them…” said Mai. “They said they just disappeared. They could be some wannabes that got lucky.” “I don’t think that’s the case here.” said Iris. “Wait...what are they doing now?” “Well what are we waiting for?” Mona squealed. “Put them together! I wanna see the treasure!” “And we all know how you are when it comes to treasure.” Tiupan reminded the cat. Nadare pulled out the other pieces of the journal and open the book to the page where a single piece laid inside in what appeared to be a map with writing. After adjusting each piece, He carefully inched them together before they touched each other. Almost instantly, a bright blue light emerged from where the pieces merged, causing everyone, even the Guardians, to cover their eyes. The light faded to reveal that each page has formed what to be a map. Nadare picked up the book and took a gander at the newly formed map, which gave off an ominous glow and looked almost holographic when shined under the moon. ‘Well..that was a surprise.” “So we did all that work ...all those years ...for a map?!” Doku exclaimed. “I did no smashing, no bashing, and no tearing people apart for a stinking MAP?!” “Calm yourself, Venom.” said Bulkhan. “It's what on the map that will lead us to the treasure. Now we just gotta find out how to activate this map.” “Activate? What are they saying?” “I dunno.” Chi replied, but its time to put this little treasure hunt to an end.” As she got up and was about to zoom in to  steal the book, Iris used her wing to stop her, unaware that doing so caused a small burst of wind to blow in the direction of the Shadow Claws, catching the ear of Tiupan which twitched. “Were being followed.” he whispered.  “What?” Kaminari replied. “No were not. I check the entire perimeter. There’s no way were-” Tiupan placed a finger over her mouth to shush her. “I never doubt my instincts.” “Uh oh.” whispered Iris. With the simple push of an arm, he summoned a great gust of wind that blew all the leafs off the bushes the guardians were hiding in. As both teams faced each other, eye to eye, they all jump up and got into battle positions, Bulkan pulling out his sword lighting it on fire and Kaminari extended what looked to be a staff, surrounded by electricity while Akari and Iris spread their wings and summoned a ball of fire in their fists. “Like I said. I never doubt them.”  Hadari got a better look at the kids and her eyes widened when she adjusted to the darkness of night. “Wait a second. Nadare these are the Guardians!” “I know..” he replied. “Which is why I’m only gonna say this once. Turn around and go back home. We don’t want any trouble.” “And were gonna say this once.” Iris shot back. “Give us the Journal and turn yourselves in or else..” “Who are you?” asked Gallant. “And why do you have Starswirl’s Journal?” “Again with the questions.” muttered Doku. “Seriously, what do you think this is? An interrogation?” “Don’t worry, they'll be more where that came from when you’re taken downtown.” Nadare sighed. “Listen kid. You wouldn’t understand but we need this journal. Something here that can help us. Which is why were asking kindly for you to step aside” “And were asking you to kindly hand it over, Whoever you are.” said Chi, ready to use her super speed if any of them get any ideas. “Nadare.” he said. “Im Nadare.” “Well, Nadare. I’m sure you wouldn’t want my mom and dad getting involved in this.” Akari threatened. “Oh believe me, Princess. All of us know each other quite well.” Bulkan replied. “Why, If im not mistaken, your dad was so obsessed with taking us down he almost lost his mind, Am I remembering that correctly?” Akari growled in response while Bulkan gave her an evil smile oozing with venom. Gallant placed a hoof on her, calming her down before she could do anything stupid. “One more time...stand down now” “One more time...walk away now.” The two groups stared daggers at each other, waiting to see which one would pull a fast one. Not a single person or wolf taking their eyes off each other. Akari and Gallant digging their hooves in the ground ready to charge.  “Guess we dont have a choice.” Nadare replied. “You know the drill, team. Non-fatal, but don't go too easy on them either.” As if on cue, the seven thieves scattered and began to attack the Guardians, who in turn, spread out and began taking them on. Gallant and Akari went head on with Tiupan, firing magic blasts, air, fire, and hooves towards him but as if he was the wind itself, he dodged every move that came at him, even from behind when Akari tried to knock him down with a kick, he seemed to have noticed or in this case heard her coming and dodged to side just enough to let her kick Gallant right in the face. “Ow!” “Sorry, honey!” “You gotta be quicker than that, Princess.” he taunted as he gestured her to come and strike him again. Now getting really ticked off, she came charging at him trying to knock him off his feet but again, his counters and reflexes were so fast and light as if he was the air and she was pushing nothing. “How is he dodging my every move?” she thought. Chrysalis and Mai weren't really having any luck with their opponent either as Kaminari and Ciya were pretty good at dodging. Mai blasted a fireball at Kam who quickly dodged it before cracking her electric whip, which was also her tail at the firebender, who fortunately, dodged it but didn’t notice Ciya from behind who caused her to trip on a small bump of rocks made by her. Chrysalis charged in to Ciya but was knocked out of the sky by Kaminari’s whip, landing on top of Mai, which knocked the air out of her. “Better watch your step, honey.” Kaminari laughed as she high fived Ciya who gave a thumbs up afterwards. The two growled in response and quickly got back up to continue fighting. Hiro and Nori were not having any luck either with their opponents, Doku and Hadari proved to be not only nimble on their feet but also very dangerous. Hiro tried throwing a rock at Doku, but the scorpion/spider wolf shattered it to pieces with a single punch of his fist. Nori tried using water on Hadari, but thanks to her flexible body, she dodged it with ease. “Come one, You gotta be better than that, Starfish.” she taunted. “Maybe you should get rid of all that seaweed on your head. Its blocking the view.” “Why I never-” she exclaimed as she fiercely as she blasted some ice shards at her but to her surprise, Hadari waved her hand to the side, turning them all into mist and splashed on her face with no harm done much to the mere-pony’s surprise. “Thanks for the mist, honey. I was feeling pretty parched” she chuckled before charging in with a kick. Hiro was trying his hardest to dodge Doku’s scorpion tail, taking every opening he can find to use his earthbending and physical attacks. Doku, while dodging and attacking, was laughing maniacally as if he got hit with laughing gas. “Just...hold...still will ya!?” Hiro shouted as he threw some pebbles at the spider-like wolf which exploded on impact, knocking him out of  the tree. Fortunately, he used his tail to grab onto another brand before he landed back on his feet. “Haha! This is too much fun! I’ve been itching for a fight all day!” Hiro sniffed the air before plugging his nose. “I think your itching because you need a bath, buddy!” Doku raised an eyebrow, smelling under his armpit causing himself to shake his head in disgust and look back at the earthbender. “Are you disrespecting me, boy!?” “Maybe.” Doku growled and swiped his claws at Hiro. “Why you little…” “Aww did I make the wittle bug boy sad?” Hiro taunted, now know his weakness. “Does he want mama to change his diper?” “Don't you DARE talk about my mama!” he shouted. “That’s it!….IM GONNA MESS YOU UP!”  Hozu and Iris were trying their best to attack Mona and Bulkan. Mona, being the smallest, had ease to run around really fast on his stubby feet while Bulkan was swift with his razor sharp sword, almost taking off a feather from Iris’s wing. She fired a beam of magic at him but Bulkan simply reflected it off his sword with ease. “You gotta do better than some sparkles princess!” he taunted. “Oh i can do better.” she replied before concentrating with all her energy, the star on her forehead glowing brightly before fire a beam of both magic and fire at the jackal. He tried to shield himself from his sword, but the blast became too much before he was blasted off into a tree, the sword flying out of his hand. “Uh. Not bad, princess.” he groaned before getting himself back up. “If that's how you wanna play” he summoned two daggers of fire in his hands. “Then let's play.” Chi and Nadare were at it with each other, both running at each other at high speed, throwing punches and kicks at each other, even both of them transform into their wolf forms to try to swipe and bite at each other. After several strikes at each other, the two jumped back and reformed to their human forms. “You’re not bad for a girl.” Nadare replied catching his breath. “Is that supposed to be an insult?” Chi replied. “Because its not really affecting me.” “Oh I know. Just wanted to compliment you.” “Alright enough talking.” Chi said before getting into a fighting stance. “Give us the book and we won't beat you to a pulp.” Nadare ponderend on the deal for a second. “Hmmm. Yeah I don’t think so. How about this? You and your little friends just waddle back to your homes and let us be alright?” “Hmmmm. Yeah I don’t so.” “Figured you say that.” Nadare then pulled something out of his coat and threw it to the ground before Chi could react. A giant cloud of smoke emitted from the impact, binding Chi temporary and coughing vigorously from swallowing the fumes. Once the smoke cleared, she could see a blue streak run deeper into the forest. “What the-get back here!” she shouted before zipping off at high speeds after the ring leader. Faster and faster she sped through the forest, occasionally swatting away branches and leaves from her path. Soon she was able to spot the wolf and was tailing right behind him. “Oh no you don’t!” she shouted as she grabbed him by the waist and tackled him to the ground, the two tumbling out of the trees and landing in what looked like an ancient monument with several stones surrounding what looks like a shrine. They both groaned as they stagged to their canine feet, shaking their heads. Once her head was back on straight, she noticed something on the ground, lying in the center between them.  “Gotcha!” she exclaimed as she ran towards the journal and picked it up with her teeth but it also seemed like Nadare had the same idea too as he also grabbed the book with his own teeth as well. Now the two were growing at each other, playing tug of war like dogs with a rope, trying to rip the book out of each other’s teeth. “You...have no idea...what this book can do!” Nadare said between grunts.  “Thats why it belongs in a museum!” Chi said as she pulled with all her might. “And away from you...freaks!” “Let..go…you..Tomboy!” “You first, wolf boy!” The two grunted with all their might, having no idea that the journal was beginning to tear underneath. Inch by inch, the book began to tear under their vision. In a last ditch effort, Chi use her sharp claws to swipe at Nadare, hitting him across the eye. He growled in pain but still kept his stance from the sudden blow but before the two of them knew it, the book tore in two, the force so strong that it knocked the wisp into an pillar in the shrine, causing it to crack and Nadare into a boulder. Chi was dazed and her eyes rolling around in her head before she knocked them back into place Suddenly the starry sky turned cloudy and gentle breeze began to pick up and turned into almost tornado like wind.  The two tried to hold on to their might, as well as the book, as everything around began to toss and turn and blow away from the area that wasn't rooted or cemented in. before any of them can question what was happening, they both noticed a crack forming above the center shrine and a bright white light emitting from it. It was hard to see but was red and black and it oozed out of the crack, landing on the ground with a splat before it looked it evaporated into a puff of smoke. The smoke sounded like high pitched screech that had Nadare and Chi trying to cover their ears while trying not to get blown away. The smoke looked around at its setting before laying eyes on Nadare and the book he had in his head. With the sound of laughing emitting from the smoke, the being charged towards the wolf spirit ready to do whatever to him. Just before he could strike a blue streak ran in front of the two and the smoke found itself charging right inside it. Every last drop of the strange smoke flew inside her before she collapsed to the ground and the weather returned to normal.  Nadare opened eyes, wondering where the smoke went before he looked down and noticed Chi laying right in front of her, unconscious. Nadare couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Did she save his life? Why did she do that? Was she dead? What has he done? All these questions rolled around in his head but had no time to answer them himself as his ear picked up the faint sound of her friends heading this way. He quickly picked up his pieces of the book and ran off into the woods, holding his clawed eye just as the kids exited from it.  "Chi!" Iris shouted as she and the others ran to her friend and picked her up. "Chi say something!" The Wisp groaned and slowly opened her eyes. The ground sighed with relief that the worst didn't happen. She rubbed her head. "Don't need to shout you know." "Are you okay?" Akari asked.  "Yeah. Just very dizzy. What about those guys?" "They ran off after we heard that boom." Iris replied.  Chi sighed and laid her head back. "He ripped the book. I almost had him." "It's okay Chi." She reassured. "Your save and that's what matters right now." "How is it okay? I failed and he probably has the map with him too!" She said as she was helped back up on her feet. "I wouldn't say that." Gallant spoke up as he looked at the journal now torn and dressed in teeth marks from both of the wolfs. He opened up to see only half of a map still intact on the spine. "They only took half of it." "They also dropped this." Mai said as she pulled out what looked like a red card with black and white patterns and handed it to Chi. "Does it look familiar to you?" Chi examined it but shook her head.  "Just who were those guys?" Hozu questioned. "These are not like any other spirit creatures from the past." "I don't know, who they are." said Hiro "But whatever they're planning they won't get away with it. Not on my watch." "They're probably not too far." said Chi as she struggled to walk on her own two feet. "We can still catch them if we-" "Hold on, Speedy!" Iris exclaimed as she grabbed her friends arm. "You are in no condition to chase anyone right now. Especially with that bump on your head." "But I can still catch them! " She protested. "Just let me-"  She began to feel suddenly foggy in the mind as she lost her balance and fell into Iris's arms Fortunately, thanks to her light weight body she was able to carry her with ease. "See? You don't have to prove anything okay?" As much as Chi wanted to argue. She knew that she was right. Well that and also Iris will always win no matter what argument you get in with her. She sighed and nodded her head. Nori took a handkerchief from her pocket, formed a frozen ice ball in her other hand and wrapped it up before giving it to Chi to put on her head.  "Thanks." "Come on. Let's head home and tell our parents." Mai suggested. "Lets hope they know who these guys are." "I'll take Chi home." Iris said. "Hozu. Could you head back to my place and tell my mom and dad?" "No sweat." "Let us know in the group chat if anything comes up." The team nodded and started to head back to Ponyville and Harmony City with the help of Iris and Akari's magic. The sparkles flew down to the ground.