//------------------------------// // The Red Wings // Story: Final Fantasy: Warriors of the Crystal // by shadowfalcon76 //------------------------------// The Red Wings The trio of ponies were picking their way back through White Tail Woods towards Cornelia. Azure had felt that, in light of recent events, a visit to his mentor Clover the Clever was in order, a decision Highwind and Vin both felt was prudent. They needed to know what this crystal was, and what portent was held within the cryptic rhymes of which it spoke. They were not sure if it was the favor of fortune or just coincidence that they had the wind to their backs, but it helped to speed them along on their journey nonetheless. "This gem," Vin spoke, "as beauteous as it is, seemed a tad out of place under the ground in a cave, did it not? With such gusts of wind, it felt as if it should have belonged in the sky..." "Judging from what it said," Highwind answered, "it would seem that it was hiding from something. From what, I do not know, but if its pursuer knows anything of their prey, then to hide something related to the sky underground would seem to be a solid bit of misdirection." "That's part of what has me worried," Azure added in, "Why did this crystal feel the need to hide, and from what." The three adventurers pressed on, unanswered questions hanging in the air as they made their way forward, seeking the answers. So absorbed into their discussion were they, that they did not notice the blur of green and white that trailed them. -=*=- Finally! she thought Where in the hay did these guys go? The pegasus mare had been trailing her marks for a while through the woods, and was doing a fairly good job of it, too. The pegasus stallion taking to the skies slowed her down a bit, as she tried to avoid notice, but apparently he didn't see her. How he could fly wearing all that armor was beyond her, but it didn't matter. She knew she could out maneuver and out fly him if need be. It was the pair of unicorns that had her worried. The mare in red seemed to be a red mage; she had seen enough of their kind to know that they were tough to handle on their own if you couldn't get the drop on them. The stallion in blue, however, was some new type of mage she'd never seen. He used a sword like a red mage, but he never cast any of the spells that she normally saw most mages use. He didn't seem to be a warrior of any kind; most unicorns tended to shy away from the more physical walks of life. It always got on her nerves how they always had it a bit easier, never having to lift a hoof to do any actual work, simply due to those horns. Regardless, the red mage seemed to be the one in charge, and she was leading her group deep into White Tail Woods. As the mare skulking in the shadows had overheard in the inn back in Cornelia, the three of them were searching for some sort of treasure out here, however unlikely such a discovery would be. Many ponies had come through here, picking clean the bones of the lost deer civilization, and she was no exception. She had made a small fortune selling relics she'd found occasionally here, but nothing on the level of what that mare from out of town was talking about. That piqued her curiosity; the unicorn spoke of some secret that foretold riches beyond their wildest dreams, and she seemed to know what she was talking about. That got the attention of this sneak-thief, and explained why now she stalked them through the woods, hoping to swoop in and claim the prize for herself. However, swooping would prove problematic. First off, them having a pegasus of their own along made it impossible for her to hide in the clouds; he would see her all too easily, and as a pegasus, would be expecting threats from the skies as well as along the ground. Secondly, the winds snaking its way through the woods were unstable, and shifted quickly and easily. Flying through them would be hazardous, even more so if one was trying to hide as well. One sudden change in the winds and one would be introduced, face first, into the bark of a tree or worse. Not exactly the best possible thing to happen when one is trying to be stealthy and unscathed. The last thing that made swooping difficult would have been the fact that she somehow lost them after they stepped through a somewhat thicker bough of trees where the wind was at its strongest. That part had perplexed her greatly, as she felt herself a somewhat accomplished tracker. She would later blame it on the fog that suddenly rolled through as she got closer to the copse of trees. It was several hours later into the afternoon when she once again spotted them. They were seemingly tired and drained from some ordeal, most likely wandering aimlessly through the woods no doubt. However, the blue unicorn seemed to have a slight spring in his step, and was talking about something they had found in a cave somewhere. In all the time she spent looking for these three, the mare in hiding never once saw any evidence of a cave. Perhaps the delirium of exhaustion and the let down of not actually finding anything got the the young stallion, she wasn't sure, but she was fairly certain no cave was to be found here. Regardless, she would simply slip into their camp tonight, silently rummage through their saddlebags, and be off with whatever loot they might have found with nary a peep. As the thief she was trained to be. Oddly, she did note one thing that her pegasus instincts pointed out to her; the wind had calmed greatly, and always seemed to follow these three... -=*=- The campfire felt nice on a cool night such as this. Azure Vessel always enjoyed relaxing under the stars at night, and camping out in the open was something he looked forward to often. Camping in the woods, however, seemed likely to cause troubles, as it was all too easy to be ambushed by some hungry predator, or to accidentally catch the trees on fire from a stray ember. However, this night, Azure didn't worry, as the crystal he held in his saddlebags seemingly held all worries, doubts, and fears at bay for the time being. Vin had settled down to some light drinking from a wine pouch she had brought along, while Highwind paced around the camp, looking out into the woods so often. He seemed to be agitated, glancing hither and yon, looking for something. After a few minutes more of this, Azure spoke up. "What has you worried, my friend?" the blue unicorn asked. It was a few seconds before the dragoon responded. "I wasn't certain before," he said while still looking out into the forest, "but I'm all too certain now that we are once again being followed. Whether or not it is the same one that was following us before, or some new threat, I cannot tell, but it would be wise to have at least one of us on watch tonight." "Oh, don't be so melodramatic," Vin said with a giggle in her voice, "These woods are tame, and hold little danger. What danger it did have, we took care of it, did we not?" She took another drink from her pouch, and was already enjoying a bit of a buzz from its contents. She wasn't too keen on letting the overly paranoid pegasus put a damper on that. "Well, if it is all the same to you," Highwind continued, "I'll stand watch tonight. The wind carries a warning, and I'll not so foolishly ignore it." With that, the dragoon turned to walk towards the edge of camp. Azure watched him for a little bit, then turned back to Vin. "You know," he started, "He was only looking out for us. You didn't have to dismiss his concerns like that." "He needs to learn to relax a bit," the mare responded. She seemed a bit more drunk than the last time she spoke, which was a mere minute ago. "Loosen up a little, be positive, take a load off, have some fun." "I believe he has his fun when he isn't worried about being followed by some unknown threat." Azure looked to his saddlebags before continuing, "I wasn't sure until he said something, but I think the Wind Crystal was trying to tell me something as well. I felt this urge in the back of my mind, telling me to be on the lookout for something, but I could never pinpoint what it was trying to tell me to find." Vin simply rolled her eyes as she took one last swig from her drink. "So now we have glowing rocks foretelling even more doom and gloom to go along with the paranoia. You know what I think? I think we just need to sleep it all off, and then see your Clover the Clever about your gem in the morning. Perhaps afterwards, going to the markets and seeing what we can get for it." At that, Azure simply looked at her with a flat expression. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding." "I would hope so," he said, "This is certainly no mere bauble to be sold for coin." "Indeed," Vin responded, and under her breath, added, "besides, no sane merchant would buy a glowing piece of glass that spoke only in archaic doom riddles..." -=*=- It was later into the night when she came upon their camp. The mare had followed them to a small clearing, where they settled down for the night. She could only see the two unicorns; the pegasus was nowhere to be seen. The two of them had been asleep for a little while, enough to where she felt she could perform her tasks and be gone before she was noticed. She saw the mare had a wine flask with her as she slept. Good, all the easier to sneak past her. The blue one, however, was tossing and turning in his sleep a little, and that made her a bit nervous. What made her a lot nervous was that she still did not see where the pegasus was, nor where he had gone. That meant she would have to be quick as well as stealthy to do what she came here to do. That didn't matter much to her, though. I can steal anything that's not on fire or nailed down, the thief thought to herself, or my name isn't Tricky Bit! She sneaked into their camp silently, on the tips of her hooves, a difficult feat, but one most thieves learned early if they wish to have any luck in their chosen career. As she made her way around the two slumbering ponies, she began to dig through their saddlebags. She didn't find much of value other than more wine and a small pouch of bits in the mare's bags. She then turned to the stallion's bag, and when she opened it up, the glow caught her eyes. Now, what have we here... -=*=- Highwind had enough of his patrolling. Whatever threat lurked out in the woods had made itself scarce, either out of boredom, finding some other prey to follow, or the realization that he and his allies would make a very poor target to pursue. It didn't matter much to him, as he was heading back to camp to try to catch some rest this night. He had chosen to ignore Vin's snide remark as a side effect of her drinking, but he would talk with her later about how dangerous doing so when they were out in the open was. As he made his way back to camp, he caught sight of the glow of the Wind Crystal amid the light of the campfire, and it seemed to be moving. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't moving on its own so much as it was being moved by something. Highwind moved closer to get a better look, and as he did so, he stepped on a twig. The snap was loud, and caught not only his attention, but the attention of what was moving the crystal. By the light of the crystal, he saw a mare slinking through the camp. She had a gray coat of fur, over which she wore a white, light shirt that had holes cut for her wings. Underneath a green bandanna that was tied into a hood over the top of her head was a mane of light brown, with a tail of matching color. Upon her flank was a symbol of a small green cloak, under which hid an even smaller dagger. Her lavender eyes were set squarely upon him, a mix of surprise and fear in them, and in her hoof was the Wind Crystal. As soon as the shock of discovery wore off, both the thief and dragoon spread their wings, and made to bolt into the sky. "THIEF!" Highwind yelled, "Return here at once, and I might go easy on you!" He pumped his wings to gain altitude and speed to chase her down, thankful that his training had given him the ability to handle flying with armor with ease. It still slowed him down a little, and if he did not corner and catch her soon, he might not catch her at all. The rogue, for her part, had other plans. "Sorry," the mare said, "but I have my treasure, and somewhere I need to be, so I'll have to take a rain check on that easy going of yours. Catch ya later, slowpoke!" She turned to glance back at her pursuer, and was shocked to find that he was keeping pace with her, despite his wearing armor that should be slowing him down a lot more than it was. She decided to test to see if he was as maneuverable in that armor as he was speedy, and dived down into the canopy of the trees to try to shake him. Highwind followed the thief, knowing that she was trying to lose him in the twists and turns of the trees. He had a plan though, and soon turned and veered off course. Tricky Bit turned back to see if she had lost the pegasus following her, and when she saw that he was nowhere to be found, turned to race out of the woods. She remained below the canopy, as that cave her cover from being spotted before she was too far away, but it also slowed her down. She was quite maneuverable, however, and so she wasn't concerned about being caught. The shortest path out of the woods took her near the camp a little, but she believed she had enough distance and time on her side to outpace that stallion. What she didn't expect, however, was to almost fly face first into a gout of dragon fire. "HORSEFEATHERS," she yelped as she banked sharply, just barely being roasted alive, as well as nearly ramming into a tree nearby. The near collision made her panic, and her vision was still stinging from the sudden blast of heat and light. She saw a large blur of movement sweep to her left, and the glint of claws flashed near her. She never expected to find her end in the belly of a dragon, and she wasn't about to let this one have an easy meal. She bucked wildly as she tried to make her escape, but then she thought she heard some chanting that sounded to be some distance away, and suddenly she felt her body begin to lose feeling and slow down, as if it were made of lead, and before long, the cold embrace of paralysis swept through her being, leaving her helpless upon the ground, easy prey for the scaly beast. She had heard that dragons were powerful, but she hadn't heard that they could also cast magic. Regardless, she would never get the chance to let others know, she thought, as she would spend the rest of her very short life touring the digestive tract of such a beast. She then heard the hooffalls of the creature making their way to her, readying themselves to tear into her flesh, as she began to resign herself to her fate, tears forming into her eyes. Mother, Father, little sister, I'm sorry... Wait. Hooffalls? Tricky Bit thought, Dragons don't have hooves... -=*=- Highwind reached the mare laying prone on the ground, and moved to pick up the crystal. As he did so, he saw the tears formed in her eyes, as she seemed to register that he wasn't a dragon, but a pony. He looked back at her shortly before turning to the pair of unicorns that were galloping up to him. As Azure made his way to him, Highwind passed him the Wind Crystal before he spoke. "I'm glad the two of you woke up when you did. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to keep her from escaping if you hadn't caught her with that paralysis spell, Vin." He then turned back to the thief still laying on the ground. "Let's get you tied up, and perhaps loosen your tongue enough to have you tell us what you planned to do with our crystal." After getting her body back to camp, the trio tressed up her wings to keep her from flying, and bound her hooves to prevent any other movements and attempts to escape. Some time later, Vin's paralysis spell wore off, and the thief was more than a bit agitated, as was evidenced by her pointed tongue as she spoke. "So what are you all going to do to me now that you have me tied up?" the thief spat out, "A march to the guards and the gallows, or are you just gonna leave me here like this, food for whatever beast takes a fancy for pony?" "We haven't decided yet," Highwind spoke, "however since my friend Azure and I are members of the Town Guards of Cornelia, it would not be that long a march to reach them." "First," Vin spoke up, "some introductions seem to be in order. You would do us the kindness of at least letting us know who our assailant is, wouldn't you? Allow me go first. I am Vintessa LaRouge. The purple-clad pony that looks so much like a dragon it's scary is Highwind, and our blue friend here is Azure Vessel. So," Vin turned back to the captive rogue, "Who might you be?" "Hmmmph," the tied up pegasus huffed, "It's not like it matters much. I've never once come across a mark that cared to know the name of who robbed them, only that they got back their trinkets. For all it's worth, the name's Tricky Bit. Don't think that makes us buddies all of a sudden, because it doesn't." She turned her head away from the others, her anger evident in her tone and poise. Azure stepped up and pressed with a question of his own. "What did you hope to find, sneaking around in our camp like that?" "Well, loot, duh," Tricky snapped back, "What else would I look for? Meet many thieves who don't steal, do you? That'd be an interesting lot to see." Azure took a step back, before moving forward again, undeterred by the bound pegasus' prickly attitude. "What I meant to ask, was why were you following us, when you could have simply cut the purse of some unsuspecting villager and be on your way?" "I've been asking myself that every step of the way while I was following you. I haven't a clue why, but I felt something drawing me to all of you. Probably all the talk of treasure that drunkard over there was spouting off at the inn." Vin shot her a glare that Tricky promptly ignored. "So you figured to help yourself to our treasure while we slept, is that it?" Highwind asked. "Only a bit of it," Tricky Bit responded, "Only what you wouldn't miss. How was I supposed to know you lot were empty hooved after all this time, with nothing that that shard of glass for the taking? Probably wouldn't have sold for enough for me to... er, nevermind." She quickly quieted herself down, seemingly cutting off whatever train of thought she had. "Enough for you to what?" Azure asked. "None of your business, that's what," the thief responded. After a few minutes more of prodding, it became clear to the three that the mare wasn't one much more for talk, and so decided that it was time to catch more rest before the morning. They tied her up to a nearby tree, and took turns watching her in case she tried to escape again, but it seemed she was trying to catch just as much rest as they were, and so the rest night passed without incident. -=*=- The next morning, Azure, Vin, and Highwind packed up camp, and released Tricky Bit from the tree, and although they untied her hooves so she could walk, they kept her wings tied so she couldn't fly. It was evident they weren't going to simply release her. As the group made their way out of the woods and began to return to the path back to town, Highwind's ears perked up. "Wait," he said, "Why do I still get the feeling we're being watched? We have our shadow here with us..." As soon as he said that, unknown to the group, Tricky's blood nearly froze in the icy grip of fear. She quickly and quietly looked to the skies around them. "Hmmm," Azure mused, "it seems the Wind Crystal would share your worries. It seems to be trying to tell me something, but I can't quite make out what it's trying to say." He was holding the Wind Crystal close to his ear, trying to make out the plea the crystal was making. Tricky was fearfully scanning the skies by this point, frantically looking for the source of the crystal's worry. After a moment, her fears were given form as a score of pegasi of various colors swooped down from the clouds, all of them bearing some sort of red paint or coloring on their wings. Azure, Vin, and Highwind all took on a defensive posture, warily eying the newcomers. As they all landed, the trio noticed that the group of flyers had the look of brigands and scavengers about them. One of them, a green-coated stallion with a purple mane stepped forward and spoke, he apparently being the leader. "Well, well, well, if it isn't our little Tricky Bit herself, all trussed up like a turkey and being led to the guards. Tsk, tsk, that won't do. That won't do at all. What's your mom and pops gonna do if you get all locked up in the slammer, eh? How's your little sister gonna pay off that bounty? I'm sure we can find something for her to do while you rot in a cell." He and the other pegasi laughed at that comment, while Azure, Vin, and Highwind held looks of confusion. Tricky Bit, however, held nothing but a scowl on her face. "I- I'll get that money, don't you worry none!" Tricky choked out through her teeth, "You just hold up your end of the promise!" "Well I can see you're right on that," the leader of the gang said, "In the meantime, why don't I have a little speak with your gracious hosts here?" He turned to the trio of adventurers that had Tricky bound. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Enkidu, and I'm the second in command of the Red Wings mercenary group. That little tart you have in ropes there has been avoiding us for the past several months, and we're so glad you could track her down for us. She owes us a lot of bits, and she's been shirking her duty to pay up," a grin slipped across Enkidu's face, "so we've been so gracious enough to host her family in our camp after their house had an... unfortunate accident. Being out on the streets is such a harsh life for a family this time of year, but helping the homeless costs us money, money this ungrateful whelp seems to be intent on not paying us back." Enkidu and the rest of the Red Wings stepped forward. "So we tracked her down to here, and now we see that she's gone and got herself captured by some upstanding citizens such as yourselves. So, we'd appreciate it if you'd give her to us. We could make it worth your while." With that, Enkidu reached back into his saddle bag and pulled out a pouch and set it down on the ground in front of him. In it could be seen some bits, as well as a few gems of various types. Azure and Highwind looked to each other, before Azure looked back to Enkidu and spoke. "While we are grateful for your generous offer to take this thief off our hooves," he began, "I somehow doubt that you have the best interest of her or her family in mind." Azure glanced to Vin, who gave a slight nod. "I don't believe we'll be giving her over to you." After a moment, the smile slid off Enkidu's face, as he reached down and retrieved the bag. As he finished putting the bag back into the saddlebags, he had a resigned sigh on his lips. "I was hoping to simply pay you off and be done with this, but it seems the stubborn lass has found equally stubborn foals to pal around with. No matter, we'll take her and dump your bodies in the woods for the worms to chew through," and with that, Enkidu reared up and let loose a battle cry. "RED WINGS! ATTACK!!!"