//------------------------------// // Ponyville // Story: Elements of Battle // by Gouka Suzaku //------------------------------// The wind blew softer here than in my homeland. Its touch passed gently over the wide plains. It quietly rustled the leaves of its many forests, and whistled through the passes of their mountains. The feeling of the gentle breeze playing across my skin made me feel at ease, much in the same way the pair of blades on my left hip did. Taking a single gold coin from my purse, flicked it up in the air with my thumb and let it fall to my palm, as had become my habit. Before it could land, however, a big, meaty hand snatched it from the air with surprising dexterity for something so large. “Would you knock that the hell off, Felix?!” Grunted one of my companions, his gruff voice more than a little annoyed. “You always flippin’ ‘at coin like it’some kinda charm, and I’m-“ “Oh give it a rest, Nero. You know he can’t stop,” a bored voice interrupted the big guy. “It’s his Curse.” Ignoring them, I slipped another coin from Nero’s wallet. As luck would have it, he didn’t even notice. I just happened to pick the moment when he was most distracted. Flipping the coin into the air again, this time it came down and landed right on the edge, standing perfectly still in the most precarious position possible. An uncertain result. Again. Then, unlike last time, it fell, landing “tails”. Something very good was going to happen soon, followed by something very, very bad. Of course, that was only a guess, since I’d never seen that result before. I was excited about it. Not about the good thing that may happen, but about the bad, the one that was going to happen. Good things were boring. They meant safety. Bad things were dangerous. Danger is what gets my blood pumping, makes me feel alive like nothing else can. There is nothing like being locked, eye to eye with an enemy, the single-edged blades of my twin daggers the only things separating me from Death’s cold embrace. Gazing over the land before us, bathed in the light of the dawn, I shuddered with anticipation. Who knew what could be waiting for us here? Only one thing was certain. I was going to have fun later. Twilight Sparkle had been up all night, reading. The library in Ponyville only had so many books, but so many of them held secrets even the Royal Canterlot Archives did not. This nondescript book told tales of a fierce race of furless, tail-less two-legged creatures who lived in a land far across the sea. It sounded like a mere legend, but the way it was written led Twilight to suspect otherwise… the descriptions were precise, even going so far as to describe their appearance in great detail. That just didn’t say “myth” to her, despite how fantastic it seemed. Looking out the window, she saw the sun rising over the Ponyville market. Everything looked so normal, peaceful. So why did something feel so… wrong? It felt much like the day Discord had risen, or when Nightmare Moon had returned. There was something dangerous coming, her magical sense told her this much. But what would it be this time? Shoving the coin back into my purse, I stood from my crouch. It was time to go; we had a queen to meet. “From all our reports, we’re looking for a Princess Celestia, not a queen,” Came the reminder in the form of a familiar bored voice. “I don’ care wha’ she’s ca’d, Alaric,” grumbled Nero. “We got a job ta do, and a’s all ah I care ‘bout.” Dumb brute. “How are we supposed to find the capitol?” I asked, “I mean it’s not like we can just go to the nearest town and ask where it is…” “Dex?” My shortest companion looked up from cleaning his already-spotless longsword. “Oh, well… what I gathered from what I overheard, we’re looking for a city called ‘Canterlot’ or some such.” “Canterlot,” Alaric repeated. “Well, did you get any clues as to where it is?” “Well, see that town over there?” he pointed to the village where he’d gained his information. “If we go there, and head east along the road, it’ll take us straight there. We should be able to make it within a week or less, at a guess.” “Alright,” Alaric turned to me. “Felix. I want you and Shun to head into that village first. If anything happens, you two have the best chances of getting away without having to fight.” Made sense, but I didn’t like it. A sleepy town like that would be boring. I sighed, digging another coin from my pocket and flipping it. This time, it landed on the edge, and stayed there until I plucked it away with my fingers. Strange. “Alright, Shun. Let’s go before you get tripped up again.” Several snickers from the others, and a glare that could’ve melted stone followed my remark. Nonetheless, she pulled the hood on her cloak up, and darted away so fast it was as if she’d vanished. Pulling my own hood up to leave my face in shadow, I spun toward my destination, my own cloak flapping in the breeze, and followed at a walk. Rainbow Dash thought she’d seen just about everything in Equestria since leaving Cloudsdale when she was a filly. But in all her time in the land of the clouds, she’d never once seen anything like the strange, cloaked figures that’d walked in to town shortly after dawn. Right from the moment she noticed them walking through the fields to the northeast of Ponyville. In the distance, she could see several more (perhaps four?) staying low on a hill behind them. To anypony on the ground, they would’ve been invisible. But she was the best flyer in Equestria, and from the sky, they couldn’t be more obvious… or so she told herself. In actuality, their drab grey cloaks blended into the ground quite well, and even from her vantage she’d had a hard time spotting them, at first. Looking at those cloaks, she cringed. She wasn’t nearly as fashionable as Rarity, but those things were nasty! After she checked these guys out, she was going to go right to Rarity’s Carousel Boutique to give her a heads up, just in case. Taking off from her cloud, the pegasus pony flew toward those ugly-looking cloaks, her mind set on saying hello. “Hey there!” A single voice broke the silence, making me jump, my hands flying to the hilts of my daggers under my cloak. “I’m Rainbow Dash.” The second vocalization told me where it came from. I looked up. Above me, sitting on a cloud just a few feet above us, was what could only be a winged horse of some kind. Its blue fur and feathers surprised me almost as much as its multicolored mane and tail. My hands fell from the hilts they gripped. If it had wanted to attack, it would have done so before we were aware. “I’m Felix. This is Shun,” I said, “Nice to meet you, Rainbow Dash.” I pulled back my cowl, “But we’re in a bit of a hurry today, so we need to go.” She, for it was definitely female by the voice, was visibly surprised at my sudden dismissal. Even so, after a couple seconds, she said, “Well if that’s the case, how ‘bout a race? Here to Ponyville, fast as you can!” I sighed and glanced at my partner, knowing the look I’d find on her face. Unsurprisingly, she was ready to show off, as usual. Then again, that was her Curse. “Alright, on my go.” I sighed. Counting to three, I said, “GO!” and two blurs sped away, one grey and one like a rainbow faster than I could truly see. I swear they left the ground smoking behind them while I followed at my own pace. “Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! Twilight!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, rushing into the library, “RainbowDashfoundsomeponynewtora-” She was abruptly cut off by Twilight’s hoof in her face, the pony in question looking rather annoyed. “Pinkie, start over. Slowly.” She drew out that last word for extra emphasis. Taking a deep breath, the fun-loving pony began, “Rainbow Dash found somepony new to race, and they aren’t like anypony I’ve ever seen before!” When Twilight just looked confused, she continued, “This pony isn’t a pony at all! They’ve only got two legs and they don’t even have a tail! And they almost beat Dashie!” “What do you mean ‘almost’,” the unicorn asked. “It was a tie!” If Twilight hadn’t been interested before, she certainly was now. “Lead the way!” When I got to the place where Shun and that pegasus had finished, I found them glaring at each other, surrounded by a crowd of creatures similar to Rainbow Dash. “I won!” yelled Shun “No, it was me!” cried the pegasus! I stomped toward my comrade. Pinkie Pie led Twilight to where Rainbow Dash and the funny-looking pony were yelling at each other. Twilight had followed, curious to know just who was fast enough to beat her friend. Rainbow was the fastest pony in Equestria when she was in the sky, and she’d proven that time and again! Even the Wonderbolts couldn’t beat her in a race of sheer speed! So who… She stopped dead when she saw them. Just as Pinkie led her out of the ring of ponies that had formed to stare, there was a loud smack, almost like a high-pitched crack, and it took her a moment to process what she was seeing. Standing before her, at the center of the crowd, Rainbow Dash watched with surprise almost equal to her own, as the two strange, pale creatures glared at each other, a red mark on one’s cheek, and the other one’s weirdly-shaped hoof still extended out from the blow. She stared. Not so much because of the event, as it was who, or rather what had caused it. She’d just been reading a book about creatures like these, but it couldn’t be! They’d gone extinct over a thousand years ago, and that was if they’d really existed in the first place! Humans. The world seemed to fade away, save those two strange creatures. If they were what she thought they were, then she could learn SO much from them! The way she was feeling, she thought it must be how Pinkie felt whenever she made someone laugh. She started forward. “Hi, I’m Twilight Sparkle,” I heard a voice declare from behind. “I was hoping I could ask you some questions?” Turning, I found a pony with a spike sticking out of its forehead. What did they call those again? Oh, right! Unicorns. I sighed. “Felix. I’m sorry, but we’re kind of in a hurry. I don’t suppose you could give us directions to Canterlot, could you?” I pulled my hood back so she could see my face. I didn’t want to come across as rude. The pony perked up even further, if that was possible. “I can do better than that! I can take you there!” she cried. That got ME to perk up. A guide would be even better than directions. “Shun. Go back to the others.” “But…” “Now!” I put as much force into that one word as I could. “Tell them to meet me tonight. I’ve gotta have a talk with Ms. Twilight.” My eyes never left hers. Nobody does anything for free I thought. “Lead the way, Ms. Sparkle.” “Please, call me Twilight.” She smiled at me, her intelligent eyes glinting like she’d found a literal mountain of gold, all for her to take. It wasn’t a friendly view… but it reaffirmed that I had something she wanted. Hopefully it was something easy to give. With a toss of her head, as if to say “this way,” she walked off, and I, somewhat apprehensively, followed in her wake. “You want me to what?!” I demanded, though I’d heard perfectly well. “It’s for research!” the unicorn replied. “It’s not like I’m going to get off until you do, anyways!” “By the five! I am not going to be doing that! I already stripped down and let you do what you wanted to me! Now you want me to do that for you!?” “The five” seems to be an important part of the modern human culture, scrawled her floating quill onto her equally levitating parchment. Beyond that, it seems to be nonsense. I swear she was trying to goad me into explaining it without having to actually ask, but I refused to be tricked so easily as that. Even with her standing over me and “examining” my nude form, she was hardly an imposing figure. But, despite all my luck, I didn’t have any with women… of any species, it would seem. I couldn’t even persuade her to peacefully let me get dressed when she’d finished with examining my… parts, which she’d done despite my numerous protests. When you got this apparent scholar’s interest peaked, it seemed she didn’t take “no” for an answer easily. “You will not be taking a closer look at my… bits… than you’ve already gotten!” even as I said this, her horn began to glow, and a squishy sensation enveloped my hands, promptly pulling them away from my groin and exposing my crotch to her curious gaze. A cold hoof lifted my genitals a bit so she could examine them. After but a second, she said, “Certainly far different from the stallions I’ve seen.” The way she was talking actually made me blush a bit. Before she could scrawl more notes onto her parchment, the door suddenly burst open with a loud crash. In stepped another unfamiliar figure. “Oh my gosh, Twilight!” cried the new, white unicorn, “How can you stand to be anywhere near that cloa-,” she stopped mid-sentence when she saw me. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I’ll come back later!” “Wait!” I shouted, almost desperately. “Any chance you could convince Twilight here to stop with her ‘research’?” She looked at me like I was insane. “Well, I do need you to make you a new cloak…” she mumbled. “Rarity! I’m in the middle of important research!” An exasperated Twilight stated. “It can wait!” Alright. That was the last straw. I thought. Bracing myself, I put together a simple counterspell in my mind with what I knew of the magic being used to bind my hands. I wasn’t nearly as skilled as Alaric, but this spell wasn’t particularly powerful, and luck was always on my side. Focusing on the bindings, I imagined them shattering, and poured power into that image. “ενέργειας που συνδέεται με να σπάσει!” I shouted. The effect was instant. With a sound like breaking glass, the magic binding me broke. Leaping to my feet, I ran over to my clothes and dressed in a matter of seconds, buckling my weapons into place faster than ever before. My cloak, left in a heap on the floor, was quickly swept up and with a flourish that was actually to keep my eyes on the unicorn, I spun it onto my shoulders and fastened the brooch. “Ok, that was way more than I agreed to!” I growled. “I’m leaving. If you try to stop me…” I left it hanging there, my left hand finding its way to the familiar surface of the worn silk that wrapped the hilts of my blades, while the fingers of my right hand etched a series of burning runes in the air, readying a simple flame spell. We stood there, nobody moving, for several heartbeats. Twilight’s eyes remained fixed on my magiki grafi, my spell’s written form, as if trying to decipher it. Then, before I felt it necessary to cast my spell, the door crashed open again. Concentrating on my spell as I was, I couldn’t afford to look and see who had burst in. But I had a feeling it wasn’t a friend of mine. “What’s going on here!?” Demanded a high-pitched voice. “Is it a party? Why wasn’t I invited!?” at the last line, the voice sounded distinctly offended. “It’s not a party Pinkie!” yelled Twilight, but the interruption had already diffused the situation. I could see it in how they all relaxed. So, with a flick of my wrist, I drew a slash through the floating runes, and they dispersed bursting into nothing more than a nimbus of light before vanishing entirely. While their attention was averted, I took the opportunity to start making my way toward the window. Just then, I heard another voice say, “Did ah hear somethin’ ‘bout a partay?” with a rather… distinct accent. Turning, I saw there were now five others besides my “scholar” of a captor. One of them looked very familiar, too. Looking back, I tried the window, only to find that it didn’t even open! Fuck! “Who’s that?” a soft, barely audible voice asked, and I looked back to find twelve eyes staring back at me. “That? Oh, he’s what’s called a ‘human’,” said Twilight. “He was allowing me to do some research in exchange for taking him to Canterlot.” There was practically a riot from the other equines. “Canterlot!? Oh I simply must make him a new cloak first!” “Y’all ain’t goin’ nowhere without us!” “Ooh, sounds like lots of fun!” “uhm… if it wouldn’t be too much trouble… could I… maybe… come, too?” “Hey, if you’re going to Canterlot with him, then I’m coming too!” Twilight seemed to get a bit of an earful, almost looking as if she was getting a headache. After a few seconds of this outcry, she burst out, “FINE! YOU CAN ALL COME WITH!!!” In an instant, I was picked up by a glowing purple nimbus, and levitated toward the white unicorn. “Rarity, go make your cloak or whatever. The rest of you, go get ready. I have a letter to write.” For the next three hours, I was forced to stand still while an absentminded unicorn went about fitting me with an extremely “elegant” new cloak. Simple silver cloth trimmed with gold and with a dark pink ruby inlaid in the silver brooch. All in all, I was grudgingly forced to admit that it was somewhat impressive when it was finished. “I doubt this will stay very clean on the dusty roads,” I mentioned. The white unicorn, Rarity, laughed. “Oh, darling. I put a spell to repel dust and rain on the fabric. Why, unless you dive into the ocean, or jump in a mountain of dust, that cloak will stay as spotless as it is now.” Clearly, she was quite proud of her handiwork. “It’s such a pity you there’s no time to make you a new outfit as well.” That was something we disagreed on… not that I was about to admit as much to the crazy unicorn. She’d probably try to impale me on her horn if I said something like that. Before the silence that was beginning could develop into any particular mood, the door crashed open, and when I spun around, I saw a sight that almost struck me as amusing. Twilight Sparkle was straining against the thick rope lassoed around her neck, her eyes locked on me. Four ponies (and Shun) were straining even harder than the unicorn was at the rope, and still she took another step forward, a wild gleam in her eyes. “Felix!” Yelled Shun, “Run! She found out about the Elements!” Shit, I thought. This can’t be good. If there was one thing I’d learned about the scholarly unicorn, it was that she’d stop at nothing to sate her curiosity. So, without a second thought, I turned and dove out the nearest window, following the river along what I guessed to be its southern bank. Perhaps two kilometers ahead, I could see the trees thicken, growing more dense and far more foreboding. Perfect, I thought, I can lose her in there. Slowing down from my full sprint to a pace I could keep for longer. Daring to look back for a moment, I found the terrifying sight of the purple unicorn still behind me, still with the rope lassoed around her neck, but she must’ve shaken the others free, because it merely trailed behind her in the dirt. I rethought my change of pace, my new cloak billowing around me as I once again sprinted toward the forest. “He went into the Everfree Forest!” Twilight almost screamed. “Calm down, now, Twi…,” said AppleJack. “It’s not as dangerous as we used to think, remember?” “But it’s still dangerous!” insisted the unicorn. “Remember the manticore and the cockatrice? And those aren’t even the worst things in there!” “Are you saying you chased Felix into a deadly jungle?” asked the human carrying that weird walking stick. “Only the most dangerous one in Equestria!” said Rainbow Dash, sounding incredibly worried from where she was hovering up by the ceiling. The stick-carrying human looked at one of the others. “He’s going to love this.” He said, grinning. “Yes. Oh yes he is.” Said the female with the strange, curved weapon. “Uhh… are we missin’ somethin’ here? He’s in one of the most dangerous places in all o’ Equestria!” Came AppleJack’s concerned voice. “Exactly,” said the one with the long, straight blade at her hip. “Of us all, he’s the only one who desires to put his life on the line.” “But why would he-,” began Twilight, only to be interrupted by Rainbow Dash “That’s crazy!” said the multicolored pegasus. “Who in the world wants to die?!” “We never said anything about him wanting to die,” replied the human with the slender, curved blade. “We said he wants to risk death. I believe he said it ‘gets his blood pumping’.” My heart was hammering in my chest, but I’m certain my face was grinning like a madman. Perhaps I was a madman. I don’t know what that thing was, but those claws could’ve ripped me in two! And that thing with the bird head and the dragon’s body that I saw turn a squirrel to what appeared to be stone? Well, it’s obvious what that could’ve done to me, but I’d managed to get close enough to cut its throat from behind before it could see me. Then there was the latest one: a pack of what looked like wolves, but made out of broken branches so old they were colorless and cracking. Those I’d been unable to escape or sneak up on, so I’d had to fight them off. They didn’t die easily, but a dagger through what approximated the forehead seemed to turn them to dust in an instant. After killing two or three of them, the rest were quick to back off. I didn’t stay around to see if they’d grow a pair and try again. “Oh creature from across the sea,” said a deep feminine voice from behind me, making me jump. “Is that a human standing before me?” I spun around to confront the source, and immediately found myself face-to-face with a rather strange-looking pony. Dark stripes cut through her pelt and her mane, and she wore countless rings of what looked like pure gold on various parts of her body. Even at first glance, it was obvious she wasn’t here by mistake. Her head held high, and her… hooves, I think they’re called… firmly planted in a wide stance marked her as just as much of a warrior as I myself was. The edges of her hooves were obviously sharpened, even with the short glance I gave them, and I had little doubt she had other weapons on her somewhere. Standing up straight, I looked this creature in the eyes the same way I would any warrior of my own kind, I said, “Yes, I’m a human.” Her eyes showed her acknowledgement at my respect, and she returned it equally by not looking away. “The dust of the timber wolves I saw on my way back. Did you perhaps encounter the pack?” I was surprised she recognized the piles of dust that were the remains of the strange canines, for only that could be what she was talking about. “I was attacked by many strange creatures of wood. After a few tries, I found a dagger between their eyes killed them quickly, and after losing a few members, the rest of the back backed off.” The look on her face changed. She’d been looking at me with more curiosity initially, but when I said that, she began to watch me as she would a potential threat. For an instant, my hand moved closer to my weapons out of instinct, but then my mind took over. Such a move would be perceived as a threat. This creature was skilled enough to sneak up on me without a branch “happening” to snap under a hoof. Fighting an opponent whose skill completely surpassed my luck would be suicide, especially on their home ground. Slowly, I raised my hands in a gesture of peace. She seemed to take the meaning as quickly as it was given, and her stance relaxed. Slightly. For a moment, we simply watched each other, waiting for something. Then, to my surprise, the pony spoke again. “What brings you to me, out here in the Everfree?” “I was chased here by a purple pony bent on doing research,” I said, bluntly. The striped creature blinked at me slowly, comprehension dawning even slower. “This pony who gave you a fright, was she the one named Twilight?” For a moment, I wondered how she knew… then I realized that there couldn’t be many ponies with her… dedication to research. I simply nodded, and rolled my eyes when the pony shook her head as if exasperated. “I’m sorry, but… I don’t believe we’ve been introduced. I’m Felix, of the moon clan and the city of Athens.” “Ah, I apologize for my mistake. My name is Zecora, and a pleasure your acquaintance is to make.” For the first time, I noticed the long, shallow gash on Zecora’s back leg. Motioning to the injury, I said, “If it’s alright with you, I’d like to have a view.” For a moment, I just blinked, wondering why that sounded strange. Then it hit me, and I literally slapped myself. I imagine it was quite the amusing display. “A salve for it I am going to find, as soon as I go inside.” Before I could go and start rhyming again, I checked myself and said, “No need. I know a simple spell that’ll take care of it if you’ll allow me…” The pony hesitated for a moment, looking me right in the eye, before relaxing, and turning slightly to give me more access to her rear leg. Taking that as a gesture of assent, I moved forward. “About nine centimeters long and barely breaking the skin…,” I muttered to myself. “A lot of blood for such an injury, but she must’ve been walking or running for a while…” shaking my head for a second to rid it of the unnecessary thoughts, I closed my eyes for a moment, focusing on the tip of my finger. Even as I my eyes opened, I began to trace out the magiki grafi that I needed, laying them out around the wound. When I’d finished etching the glowing, wavering runes into her fur, I held out my left hand, and started etching some more on there. After I’d finally finished with that, I braced myself for what was to come. “θεραπεύσει αυτή την σάρκα, και να μεταφέρει τον πόνο μου!” instantly, my thigh began to itch, but that sensation quickly grew to become pain. All the pain that she would have felt from the healing of the wound flowed into me at once. Weeks, perhaps months of itching were condensed into mere seconds of pure agony. I was barely able to keep my binding hand in place. If not for the years of training I’d been through, I almost certainly would have been unable to persist, so great was the pain. Before I knew it, yet after far too long, the spell, having met its requirements, dissipated, and left me kneeling, gasping on the forest floor. Fuck, I hate that spell! Even the smallest wounds were agony to heal like that. Staggering back to my feet, I felt dizzy for a moment, and braced myself against the nearest tree. “What is wrong?” Came a concerned question. Surprisingly, Zecora failed to rhyme that time. I rolled my eyes when I thought that, and wanted to slap myself again, but refrained. “That spell… takes all the pain you’d feel while it healed naturally… and makes me feel it all at once,” I panted, the shock having faded. The look of horror on her face, with her ears cocked back and her eyes wide, couldn’t have been more obvious. “Few know how much pain that truly is,” I said, “but from your expression, you seem to have an idea.” Zecora nodded in affirmation, but said nothing. It took a moment to recover, but once I was back on my own two feet and not being supported by a plant, Zecora walked past me and disappeared inside of a tree, making me blink. The place started to glow the color of a hearth-fire from what I could now see as a door and windows. After about a minute a striped head popped back out of the door. “Come in and have a seat. I’ll fix you up a tasty treat!” I wasn’t sure if she was serious, or if she was simply saying that to rhyme again, but nonetheless, I slowly walked to the entrance. At a single glance, the place seemed completely foreign, both to my own home and to this place. Strange masks adorned the walls, herbs and other plants, as well as stranger things, were on every surface. I spied a spot that was relatively clear at a table in what could’ve been the dining room. Glancing around, I saw the zebra already doing… something by the fire. Tentatively, I sat down. “And you’re sure this ‘Zecora’ will be able to help us find Felix?” asked Alaric. “Because I’d rather not wander aimlessly in here.” Twilight sighed. “No, I am not sure. But it’s the best chance we’ve got.” The path they were on was the quickest and safest way to the middle of the forest, or so the ponies claimed. Twice already they’d had to fight off some strange creatures, so the humans weren’t sure about how “safe” this was. “Alaric,” whispered Shun. “Four o’clock.” The man with the staff nodded just slightly. “Do it silently,” he murmured. “I don’t want to scare any of our guides.” She vanished, leaving only a slight disturbance in the air behind her. There was a series of brief hissing sounds, each followed by a soft smack, and a thud. None of the equines even noticed, but all the humans looked to each other out of the corner of their eyes, as if to confirm what they already knew. This place is more dangerous than these ponies realize. Alaric thought. We need to find Felix before he falls in a pile of shit he can’t roll out of. “How much longer?” “… and then Alaric, one of the most skilled mages in the country, accidentally adds a glyph and turns φωτά into φωτιά… err, ‘lights’ into ‘fire’… and instead of illuminating the general’s tent, he sets it alight!” Zecora chuckled at the story, but I couldn’t hold back my laughter. “and to top it off, when he tried to put it out, he did it again, misspelling νερό as νεό… ‘water’ as ‘a new’, and another tent just popped outta thin air right next to the burning one!” I’d have continued with the story, but even before I could laugh again, I felt the familiar sensation of a spell being cast. My daggers all but jumping into my grasp as I spun around, knocking over the stool I had been sitting on in the process. As I spun, I slashed at the air behind me where I could feel the magic aiming for, and was fortunate enough to catch the fireball on the edge of my blades, and sent a surge of my own power through them, shattering the flaming ball of death before it could do any harm. Looking up, I was unsurprised to see a very angry Alaric, staff still pointed at me. “You swore you’d never speak of that again!” Well shit. Fortunately, Shun was already upon him, grabbing him by his outstretched arm and pulling him over her shoulder to land on the floor. “Alaric!” she grunted, “calm down. Now.” Looking up, she noticed the pony standing behind me. “Are you ok, ma’am? I’m sorry about him; he’s… a bit touchy.” I rolled my eyes at the purposefully vague apology. “It is quite alright. The interruption was rather a delight!” well that was rude of her… I suppose it was only fair, though. I had been rambling a bit. Then I noticed the multicolored creatures watching from behind them. As soon as my eyes caught a glimpse of Twilight, I was unable to stop myself from diving through the nearest window. Within seconds, I found myself darting between the trees, the only thing on my mind being to get as far from her as I possibly could.