//------------------------------//
// FFF III 
// Story: Final Filly Fantasy 
// by Amereep 
//------------------------------//




Prelude

In one night, Equestria's magic was stolen by a machine of unknown origin.  Resilient and prepared, the machine left no magic intact with the one who possessed it.  The four ponies however, were fortunate to only witness the event unfold from a far.

Fate has decided to test these four ponies, and they accept this trial for family, friends, and themselves.  But how can one take down something that can withstand The Magic of Friendship from an entire nation?

With the future of Equestria now riding on their shoulders, the ponies begin their search in Klugetown where someone named, Cider, could hold the answers they need to save their home from this new threat.




Walking through the bazaar within the shady town, Tempest Shadow, Shining Armor, and Flash Sentry follow Second Wind to meet with his uncle.  All of them are fully armored like they were prepared for a battle, but in truth, it's just a facade for the creatures on the streets.

One merchant is entice by Tempest's sheathed broken sword swinging by a leg buckle strapped around the mare's right foreleg, but jitters back the moment they see the pony's right scarred-eye glaring at them.

A passerby gives a look of interest as they eye Flash’s halberd that's currently wrapped in cloth, but as they trace their gaze along the wing that carries the weapon, they falter away to the dragon appearance that Sentry's armor gives them.

"So intimidating them is the only way?" Shining verifies with Wind.

"With Klugetown having a reputation of being the place where everything has its price, the only way to shoo off the haggling of the common folk is to scare them away or to just blend in." the pegasus reassures, "And four quadrupeds in a city full of bipeds, isn't going to cut the latter."

"So what's your excuse?" Tempest points out Wind's attire, "Wearing chest leather, hoof guards, and a metal wing doesn't seem intimidating to me."

"It's because they know who my uncle is." Second jokes, despite how true it likely is.

"That's not very comforting to hear moments before meeting him." Flash comments.

"He's really a nice guy, but a very stubborn one at keeping commitments and holding onto grudges.  You'll understand when you meet him."

The seasoned soldiers wonder about this Cider as they walk by the hovel looking stores, until they pass by a mediocre one that stood out from the garage entrance it has.  The words, 'Hammerhead Garage', are faintly painted on the garage door.  Wind leads them around towards the entrance of a simple structure that sticks out from the garage.

Opening the door, the team is met by the sound of a bell attached to the framing and step into a lounge of sorts.  Firm chairs, a dirty table, and there's a heavy dose of grease in the air that they can smell.  The absent wall on their left leads directly to the garage portion of the shop, appearing mostly in a wide open floor and walls cluttered in tools, chains, ropes, and splotches of oil in small quantities.  A metal-sheet roof is being held over them by the wooden beams going along it with an electric lamp over the center of the place, and upon looking back at the lounge, there's another electrical lamp in the center as well that they'd overlooked.

"Be with you in second."

A firm voice, with hints of brittleness to it, attracts the team of ponies to the corner of the garage where an overhead electrical light is casting down on a messy workbench, along with a pale-maple fur abyssinian sitting on a stool and tinkers away at something with a screwdriver.  He lays the tool down after a moment, turning towards his guest after rubbing the grease on his paws off with the prussian-blue apron he wears.  The feline has a relatively old face and a strand of wheatgrass in his mouth to which he nibbles.  He looks at the ponies through the aviator goggles he wears, shifting the headgear up soon after in order to get a better look at them with his sky blue cat eyes.

"Well take one of my lives and consider me renewed," the abyssinian jumps off his stool with a gleeful look, "Second Wind!" he exchanges hugs with the handicapped pegasus, "Always have a way to lighten the spirits, but judging by your friends," he reviews them, "I take that you're not here to keep this old fur-ball company."

"Forgive the intrusion." Shining removes his helmet in courtesy as he addresses the cat, "My name's Captain Shining Armor of the Canterlot Royal Guard.  My teammates and I would like to request a conversation with somepony named, Cider."

"You're looking at him," the abyssinian states.

Armor is dumbstruck, noting the difference in species of uncle and nephew, but refocuses on the matter at hoof, "We came here hoping that you could possibly shed some light on an incident that happened last night."

Over the next half hour, the small team of ponies explain everything that occurred in great detail for Cider.  The events they saw, the description of the magic draining machine, the capabilities it had, the aftermath that it left, and their desire to seek out a way to negate the magical defense and absorption the machine can pull.  Cider nibbles the wheatgrass in his mouth as he listens to everything, but an abysmal look on his face becomes more apparent the further they explain.

Upon finishing, they wait for Cider's insight on the matter with anticipation.  And after finishing off the wheatgrass, he begins, "I'm gonna be honest with ya, Captain.  I don't know the first thing about magic."

Disappointment and confusion befalls on the team.

"I'm a guy who's used to working with his paws.  Tinkering, melding, forging, pretty much anything involving metal is something I excel at.  I can give you a rough idea on this machine you're talking about, but anything involving magic, that's something I can't quite help you with."

"But Wind's prosthetic wing," Shining grasps to understand, "it forms space pockets all the time.  You're telling me that there's no magic involved in that?!"

"Absolutely none, just technology at work."

Armor drags a hoof down his face as he ponders for the next course of action, "So what should the next course of action be?" he murmurs to his team.

Shining, Tempest, and Flash debate amongst themselves, "Oh!  That reminds me." until Wind recalls something and turns towards his uncle, "We met a minotaur the other day that was making objects appear and vanish similar to your space pocket."

Cider's ears perk up with an expression like someone just challenged him, "How?!"

"He didn't say, but I believe he was doing it with the use of a ring."

"But the H.A.M.M.E.R. component takes up at least half your wing!!!  It shouldn't be possible to install it into something as small as a ring."

"We think he might be using something different.  The time it took for him to use it was instantaneous."

Cider scrambles to his work bench, digging around the messy top until he finds a small notebook and begins flipping through the pages of formulas and concepts written down inside, "It defies the laws of strings.  You have to keep in mind the energy level and the quantum states molecules possess.  There's no way to control all that from just a ring."  Cider pauses mid-page when he suddenly thinks of a concept to the answer.  He looks over to the ponies, down to his formulas, and then out into space.  As he thinks, Cider's face begins to bear his fangs in a scowl.  He slams his fists on the workbench, shaking the tools and startling the ponies, "That rat bastard." the cat drags his claw across the table.

"Captain," Cider calls out, "I can't help you at taking down a machine that absorbs magic, but if my hunch is correct, I can tell you the one who stole Equestria's magic."

The entire team of ponies nearly jump to the news.

Cider takes a moment to settle down and grabs a fresh wheatgrass to nibble on before he begins.  "Yimeck the Burmecian, ever heard of him?"

The ponies shake their heads.

"No?  Well neither have I in the past couple of decades, but that's a name that threw a really stubborn wrench in my life at one point."

"A long while back, during my youthful days and across the sea, there was a company I used to work for called, 'Grease Kittens'.  It was a decent job for the young tom that I was, but it got bought out one day by an upshot entrepreneur, named Yimeck, and he immediately fired all of us with no say on the matter.  He didn't need a bunch of mechanics for his business, but I wasn't going to let that stop me, so I tried to show him my worth somehow."

"Now the reason why I brought this up is because of two things.  The first is that my answer of proving my worth was with the H.A.M.M.E.R. component, the space pocket.  He's the only fella I showed the schematics to, and he was quite impressed by them, but the second reason is when things turned sour.  I was telling him that it could only be done with technology, but he was demanding it to be done in something he strongly believed in.  The conversation ended with him saying, 'There's only one resource that terrifies the competition, whips the defiant, and mesmerizes the consumers.  Magic.'"

"Magic is a bit hard to come by where I'm from, so running a business off it seems a bit ballsy.  If I'm correct however, he stole my idea and constructed one of his own with magic as the main component."

"Call it vengeful wishing, but Yimeck is the only one I can think of that has the means, and possibly the business needed by now, for stealing Equestria's magic."  Cider nibbles on the wheatgrass in his mouth as he notices the astound expression on all the ponies, "Sorry if this old tom rambled on for too long."

"No, in fact, thank you!" Shining reassures, "All of that information has actually filled in a lot of questions we've been struggling with.  Using magic as a means of making a monetary profit was something that never occurred to me.  Just what kind of business was Yimeck running?"

"Well the last time I met him, he was working on ways on how to incorporate magic into products."

"Like the scrolls!" Flash connects, "The scrolls with a limited amount of magic in them, they're just expendable products!"

"I think we have our thief," Tempest declares, "Where can we find Yimeck?"

"Shoot if I know, but if his business is doing good as it seems to be, you shouldn't have trouble finding him.  I suggest searching in Ivalice, that was where I last met him."

"Is that a town?"

"It's a realm overseas to the east.  You can get there by catching a ferry here in town.  It's an eight hour ride, but in order to get on, you're going to have to buy a ticket for a hundred bits, each."

"WHAT!?!?" the entire team cries.

"That's a ridiculous price for a ride!" Shining voices, "Even if we turn a blind eye to it, we don't have four hundred bits on us!!"

"Well then you're lucky to be in Klugetown." Cider expresses with his arms open wide, "With everything having a price, there are bits flying everywhere.  You just gotta find a good deal and work from it."

Shining, Flash, Tempest, and Wind exchange looks for any better ideas, but it appears that in order to save Equestria, they need to tackle this sidetracking procedure.





With each of them carrying an empty leather pouch on themselves and standing in front of the Hammerhead Garage's door, Tempest Shadow, Shining Armor, Flash Sentry, and Second Wind prepare to embark on their own to collect a hundred bits to cover themselves for the boat ride.

"So once you collect a hundred bits, continue to earn some more in case one of us comes up short.  At the end of the day, we'll randevu back here." Shining requests of the team.

With everything appearing to be in order, Armor waves the others goodbye, "Good luck, everypony.  I'll see you all in a little bit." a grin forms on his face as he trots away.

Tempest rubs the side of her head from the joke he made, "Yeah... he's a dad alright." she turns to Flash, "Know what I mean?"

"Not one bit." Sentry gives her a smile.

".......not funny." she replies with a straight face.

Flash takes his leave, walking down the street with his concealed halberd in his wing.

"Well, I'm off." Wind informs his superior.

Tempest, however, stops him from getting too far, "Before you leave, rookie.  Sense you're familiar with the place, would there be a guild somewhere here in town?"

She gains an eye raise from him, "Why would you want to look for a guild?"

"Well guilds usually would have job flyers, so I thought about finding a job there."

"But they usually have hunts for some very nasty creatures.  I know you're a tough commander and all, but wouldn't a less threatening way to make money be better?"

Tempest gives a huff, "Look at the creatures around us."

Second Wind looks at the various creatures.  There's a fishman giving a haircut with a pair of scissors, a lizard sculpting a clay pot, a turtle carrying a barrel in his arms.

"They're all bipeds that can grab, lift, hold, carry, and reach things with their arms and hands, something that would've been easy to imitate." Shadow's broken horn snaps a spark, "Creatures are smart, they know a good deal when they see it.  Those that are capable will pursue the good jobs and the ones that are hiring will pick the most helpful; after all, why would they hire someone that struggles?"

"Doesn't mean that you have to abide towards dangerous jobs."

"It's just how I've been living." there's a melancholy look in her eyes as she gazes to her lower right, "Dangerous or degrading tasks that no one wants is really the only option a defected straggler, like me, has."

"Don't say it like that." Wind gives Tempest a solemn look, almost in a scolding manner, "Listen, I know someone who can really help you out.  You see that building with the awning?"

Tempest follows the direction he points and sees a shady looking place.

"There's a fella that goes by the name, 'Mino'.  Tell him that you're a friend of mine and you're hoping to earn some extra bits.  He'll get you all set up for a job that's mild."

Tempest shifts her weight, giving this choice some thought.

"Look, I should really get started with my share, so I'll let you take it from here."

She watches Wind galloping away before looking back at the store, "...only because he didn't leave on a pun." and approaches the building.

To the awning above the entrance, the place uses a single drape in terms of a door.  Immediately to its left is a white leather scroll sprawled over a wooden sign hanging on the wall with the words, 'Synchronized Wonders', written on with red, purple, and yellow paint.

Tempest lifts the drape that covers the door and the first thing that hits her is a strong scent of raspberry tickling her nose.  She pursues in to find an array of warm colors covering the walls with the many minerals and edibles shelved inside jars and containers.  Some of the ingredients are illuminating, but the majority of the place is lit up by candles and the main attraction in the center of the room, a giant cauldron.  Being heated by burning logs below, the pot bubbles a warm pink glow from the liquid content inside while it's stirring from a wooden handle within the grip of an odd looking creature.  The creature stands on a mahogany platform, on level with the top of the cauldron where one can easily fall inside.

The creature notices the approaching pony.  They leave the handle and proceed down a ramp towards the mare.  It's a biped creature half her size, wearing a blue robe as it shuffles toward her.  Though they're small, the yellowish-brown pointy hat they wear can nearly reach Tempest's eyes, weren't for the red fuzzy sphere at the tip that made it flop down.  The short creature looks up at her, and other than the yellow eyes that study her, she can't tell the creature's species from the shade that's hiding their face.

"Can I help you, kupo?" it asks her.

Tempest raised an eyebrow to that last word, "I was told that I could get a few extra bits here from a friend of mine named roo-" she shakes her head, "I mean, Second Wind."

"Second Wind?  Been awhile since I heard that name, kupo."  The small shop owner extends a paw out, "I'm 'Mino Orpiment Glitz', kupo."

The mare imitates and bumps her hoof against his paw, "Tempest Shadow."

Mino turns back to his concoction and Tempest notes the bat wings poking out of the back of his robe.  He starts looking over his inventory, leaving the mare to wonder.

"So what am I going to be doing?"

"You're going to scavenge for ingredients, kupo.  Wind's metal wing really came in handy for this sort of thing.  But I'll give you a basket, kupo."  Mino picks up a rock and shuffles over to Tempest, "I need water stones that look like this one.  I'll give you one bit for every ten you bring, kupo."

The offer is very conflicting for her to agree to, "If it isn't too much trouble, I'd like to get at least a hundred bits by the end of the day,  Isn't there something else you're short on that I can find?"

"A hundred bits by the end of the day?" Mino looks at his inventory, "That'll be a bit difficult, kupo."  He begins to use his bat wings to fly up to the higher shelves as he looks around, "Mythril is too far to get, and Adamantite is too hard to find."

Tempest looks at the inventory as well, ".........what about Allural Shallot?"

"Too dangerous." Mino replies as he scans the next row.

The lack of a word catches Tempest, telling her how focused he is, ".....where could I find them?"

"The city tunnels."

"How many would I need?"

"Twenty."

"Where's the basket?"

"By the counter."

Tempest looks to the counter, seeing a wicker picnic basket just as he said, "Alright then."

As she wraps a foreleg around the handle of the container, the realization suddenly strikes Mino and he frantically flies for Tempest, "Wait!  No no, kupo!"  He manages to stop the pony as he blocks the door, "It's very scary there, kupo!  A big scary monster lives there, I nearly got my pom-pom bitten off from it, kupo!"

Staring down at the small creature and the mild vibe he's been giving her, Tempest has doubts about taking Mino's words too seriously, "I'm sure I can handle whatever is in there.   If things get too bad, then I'll just use my sword to stop it."  Shadow shows her sword on her foreleg.

Mino sees the blade, but his eyes are drawn to the Focus Crystal hanging around her neck.  He ponders for a second and looks back at Tempest, "If you really do stop it, then I need you to also bring me something it has for me to properly reward you, kupo."





Galloping down the street with a halberd concealed in cloth, Flash Sentry looks at the many stores and stands that are open.  From fabrics to animals, every place is trying to make a profit from a potential buyer with these goods, but one particular building catches his attention.  An open coffee shop with a swarm of creatures surrounding it with an impatient look upon their faces, making this the ideal situation to take advantage of.

Flash looks at the buildings in the immediate area.  A merchant is trying to sell some useless junk, a fruit stand with some questionable products, but Sentry's eyes settle on an outdoor teahouse without a single customer under its roof.  Clean tables, empty stools, and a lizard-like anthro behind the counter with a sleepy expression on his long face.  There's a bit of an exotic style to this shirtless lizard, what with the baggy pants and the scaly flaps that come off as dreadlocks from afar.

As Sentry makes his way over to him, the teahouse owner perks up, "Is there something I can get you?" the lizard asks in a surprise tone.

"No, but there's something I can get you." Flash leaps his forelegs on the counter to get a better eye level with the owner and points at the coffee shop, "How would you like it if I got all of those creatures over here in your shop?"

"I would like that a lot." comments the lizard, "I would also like to be fifteen years younger, but neither of those are going to happen anytime soon.  Creatures today are too addicted to caffeine, they're hardly attracted to tea anymore."

"Well what would you say if I said, 'I could bring them here?'"

"I would say, 'What's your angle?  Fifty percent?'"

"Ten percent."

He pulls back, reviewing the pegasus with that enticing offer, "You don't look like you could bring in much, but that's a deal that's hard to pass up.  Alright, if you can give me a good crowd going, I'll give you ten percent of the income."

"Fine." Flash shares a hoof/handshake with the owner before hopping down.  Sentry sweeps a stool over to a decent open area within the teahouse.

"So what are you going to do to attract customers?  Pull a Viera out of your helmet?"

Flash doesn't answer as he sits on the stool.  He unclothes his halberd from the rags and starts looking at the pole.  Finding a handle blending along the body of the weapon, he gives it a pull.





Elsewhere in town, Shining Armor scans the residents of Klugetown passing by him.  Many creatures ranging from the girthy to the slim are trying to buy a variety of things off each other, and the sight of it has caused the unicorn to wanna test something.

Eventually, Armor sees a creature that looks qualified and proceeds towards him with the hope that he'll buy into his ploy.

"Excuse me, sir." Shining grabs the attention of a biped twice his size.

The pony stares up an anthropomorphic male tiger with a black horn at the center of his forehead.  Most of his body has a winter fur growing from his burly form, perfect for the barbaric getup he wears.  He focuses his attention down at the pony, giving the stallion a stern look of unamusement.

"How would you like to challenge your strength for a hundred bits?" Shining Armor asks.

The tiger appears indifferent to the suggestion.

"For one bit, if you can break through my barrier of magic," the unicorn demonstrates with a light rose aura encasing him in a dome, "I'll give a hundred bits in return."

The tiger cracks his knuckles and swings a fist without warning.  A loud thud is heard as the fist hits the barrier, halting his strike from getting any closer.  The tiger pulls back, baring its teeth in a growl and reluctantly flips a bit at Armor.

Shining catches it in his magic while the tiger continues on his way.

"Hey," a bulky biped fish calls to the unicorn, "I saw that bet you made.  Let me give it a shot."

A few more creatures around Armor are now observing him.  He places the bit in a pouch with a pleased look on his face, glad to see the chain reaction starting.





Down below Klugetown, within the system of tunnels, Tempest Shadow pulls at the stalk of a ripe Allural Shallot buried in the ground.  She's gripping the veggie in the clutches of her teeth while yanking and tugging until the shallot pops out.  That's the fifteenth shallot and she has yet to meet this 'big scary monster' that apparently lives down here.  Mino promised that if she took care of the monster and brought back the additional materials, he'd help her Focus Crystal in some way.  It doesn't bother her that much at first, but now as she stands here with her horn lighting the area, this entire situation is starting to bring up some bad memories for her.

Treading through the darkness of a cave alone, retrieving something with limited visibility, and the knowledge that there's a beast in the area.  Everything about this situation just keeps reminding her of that day.  The day where her life was taken from her.

"......." Tempest tosses the shallot in the basket she brought and shakes off her nerves to refocus on foraging.

Tempest grips onto the next one and starts pulling.  She can hear the clopping of her hooves as she adjusts herself to get a good grasp at the vegetable, but starts to get the jitters again upon hearing an unsettling sound.  It's faint, but it sounds like a few dozen slaps being made on the rough terrain by some flabby skin.  The odd sound reverberates the cavern, there's so many slaps being made that she can't even tell where it's coming from.

Shadow slowly moves towards the sheathed broken sword on her foreleg, keeping her eyes and ears open as she gently pulls out the blade.

She hears a distinct gurgling growl coming from her left, but it wasn't within the light emitting from her broken horn.  A powerful aroma hits her that causes the pony to scrunch up her nose at the horrendous stench.  Tempest gets a surprise startle as a series of moldy green tentacles sweep back and forth across the floor.  They keep getting closer until Shadow understands that they're all attached to a giant creature that's greeting her with an unsettling smile.

It's a giant moving plant, twirling the lower portion of the many tentacles that cover its body to swivel itself at the pony at a slow approach.  Blending in with the many tentacles are dozens of eyestalks that's solely focusing on her.  But the only feature that stands out from the rest is the gigantic mouth that bares razor-sharp teeth from exposed gums that can effortlessly snatch anypony whole.

The frightening sight of this creature is enough to make Tempest anxious, but it's the flashbacks that's making her tremble.  She feels like the small filly she once was, utterly terrified by that celestial giant through this nightmare inducing monstrosity.

She recalls the fear she had back then, the pain she felt from it, the frustration to the struggles, the bitterness of her failures, the jealousy she had towards others, the irritation from her pursuing efforts, the anger in coming out fruitless, the fury from the repetitive searching, the rage of what her loss has brought her.

Tempest form the missing blade to her sword with magic and charges at this creature with relentless intentions as the plant monster takes a deep breath.





As the day starts to draw to a close, Second Wind makes his way back to The Hammerhead Garage while he types on the key panels of his metal wing with a sour look on his face.

"Note to self," he speaks aloud as he types, "get.. revenge.... on the... 'Queen of Cards'."

Wind's resentment suddenly begins to falter.  His ears flap to the calm sound of music being played.  It's a soothing melody that's leaving a comfortable feeling inside of him, giving a gentle easy feeling that's very out of place in the busy city of Klogetown.

Letting his ears lead the way, Second Wind follows the sound to its source.  He takes a brief glance at the coffee shop he passes, completely void of a single customer.  As Wind begins to approach the teahouse, a crowd of creatures are sitting at tables, leaning on walls, and even sitting on the floor in silence as they listen to the music being played.  Many of them are drinking tea, and the ones that aren't are waiting patiently at the counter of the teahouse.  And as Second Wind finally finds the source of the music, he nearly feels his metal wing fall off to the unexpecting sight of who's playing on a guitar, Flash Sentry.

Using his feathers on the strings going along the jet black neck of the guitar, Flash is solely focused on his playing as much as everycreature is on him.  The steel body of the instrument rests on a leg in the smooth dips at the side of its tinted red body.

The melody approaches its end and everycreature listens until the last note fades away before they go into an applaud for his performance.

"Alright everyone," the teahouse owner voices aloud, "as much as I love business, I have to close up shop."

The atmosphere gets a bit sullen to that notice, but it's accepted nonetheless.  Everycreature takes these last few minutes to finish up their tea or to get one more order through before making their leave.  Second Wind made his approach over to Flash while the musician reviews his instrument along the back of its neck.  Sentry identifies a panel on the guitar, and upon pushing it, a spring inside of it is let loose.

The neck of the instrument suddenly gets longer as a compartment opens along it and the strings hide themselves inside.  The red body flattens and its smooth side begin to appear much more sharper now.

Second Wind watched the entire transformation from what was only a steel guitar a second ago, now presenting itself as a double sided halberd.  It leaves him agape when he makes it to Flash, "Your halberd was also a guitar all along!?!"

"Why else do you think I called this, 'The Stratocaster'?" Sentry asks and proceeds to reconceal the weapon in cloth and ties it on.

A 'cling' sound is made from Wind slapping his prosthetic wing on his head, "Where'd you learn to play like that?"

"Nowhere, it was just something I picked up on my own."

"Really!?  What made you want to play the guitar?"

There's a sudden hesitation in Flash's movements, "......hey owner!" Sentry dodges the question, "You got my share ready?"

The lizard waves that he's getting it and Flash finishes wrapping up his halberd.  Second Wind pulls back, gaining the sense that he shouldn't have asked that question and just lets Sentry focus on getting his bits.

Wind waits for his friend, and after a few minutes, Flash rejoins him with a pouch full of bits and the two of them make their way to the Hammerhead Garage.

"So how'd you fare?" Flash sentry converses with Wind.

"By just enough.  I decided to head to my old stomping grounds to win and sell cards, but it appears they added some new rules that nearly cost me."

"So instead of working, you decided to gamble for your bits."

"I wouldn't call it gambling, but rather strategic profiting.  Now the other guy, the one I nearly lost to, he was gambling."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because he based most of his moves off of coin flips."

As the two pegasi continue past a rowdy crowd, Flash stops the both of them the moment his eyes catches a light rose glow from within the group of creatures.  He gets a better look by flying a few meters higher and receives a surprise of who was at the center, "Captain?"

Flash Sentry and Second Wind fly and push to the eye of the crowd and witness Shining Armor blocking another blow with his barrier from a four-armed, purple-fur biped.  The creature stomps in irritation of his failure and chucks a bit at the unicorn to which the pony catches to put it with the rest he's collected.

"How much do you have?" Wind asks his captain.

Shining looks at his teammates and blocks another strike,  "I lost count somewhere around thirty-two, but I'm pretty certain I've hit a hundred by now."

"Then shouldn't you call it quits?"

"From these guys?  I can do this all night." he scuffs the suggestion, "They're not even a hassle."

"Then a true challenge is in order!"

Everyone turns to the commanding voice, easily spotting the creature that spoke as he towers over all of them.  Plated in a silver breastplate and jet black arm guards, stands an eight foot giant with a set of black curved horns that grants him at least another foot.  His moderate gold face of a bull suggests that he's a minotaur, but everything else leaves the impression of a demon.  As the crowd opens a path for this beast to approach the ponies, he reveals that he's a smokey gray centaur with two hind legs and two sets of front legs.

He shadows over Shining Armor, gazing his red pupils down at the unicorn with a curved steel sword in his right grip.  "Your magic appears daunting, but a test against my blade should prove if your magic is august."

The centaur is undoubtedly intimidating the pegasi, but looking at their captain, they see that did little to sway him.  The foreboding sense makes Flash and Wind sweep over to their captain before he makes any decisions.

"You're not seriously planning to accept his challenge, are you?"  Flash questions.

"Of course I am." Shining dismisses.

"Take it from somepony who nearly lost all of his bits in a conflict, 'stop while you're ahead'." Second informs.

"Don't worry, my barrier of magic will stop his sword just like I've been doing all day."

"Exactly," agrees Flash, "which gives spectators, like him, a chance to plan out a strategy."

"So did everyone else, but they still didn't succeed."

"Here," Wind pulls out Armor's shield and offers it to him, "have it just in case."

"I appreciate the concern, but it isn't necessary."

"Then at least cast 'Protect' on yourself." Sentry insists.

"Guys!" Shining Armor tries to get them at ease with an upfront attempt, "Everything is going to be fine, have some faith in me."

"CAST 'PROTECT'!!!" Flash and Wind order.

Shining huff a straight face at them.  His horn glows a lights-rose aura and begins to ripple along Armor's body from the 'Protect' spell he's casting, "Happy?"

"No, but we're less tense." Wind admits.

The captain shoos his subordinates back for him to return his attention to the centaur.  Armor is intimidated by him, but he's confident that his barrier is the perfect defense, "Give it your best shot." the unicorn entices.

They both anchor their stances, Shining forms the dome of magic and the centaur crouches closer to the dusty ground, arching his back to get a good angle at the small pony.  The crowd scurries back along with the pegasi for this battle between sword and shield.

Shining watches this scary giant carefully, and when he swings his sword, the unicorn begins to experience an adrenaline rush coming over him.  Armor takes in an increased amount of information, up to the point where almost everything he sees is going in slow motion, including the sword that's blowing the dust on the ground.  Armor strengthens his barrier and braces for impact.

Upon contact, the sword doesn't break the barrier, and the barrier doesn't stop the sword.  Shining Armor feels a pit in his stomach when he watches the barrier fazing for the sword, and only the sword, to pass through.

Shining stiffs up and goes flying through the air like a rag doll as the blade hits him, dropping the barrier in the process.

Flash and Wind wince at the sound of wood breaking as their captain slams and gets buried under boards and crates.  The pegasi gallop over and toss the wooden debris aside with great concern for the unicorn under the pile.  They eventually find him, conscious, if not dizzy.

Shining Armor also feels a stinging sensation all over his body, if it wasn't for that 'Protect' spell, his injuries would've been more dire.  He's undamaged, all except for his right side, the exact spot where the sword struck him.  Shining twinges at the touch of his right side, completely confused for a reason to why it's only there.

"How regrettable." the centaur straightens up, "Wielding such malleable magic, I was hoping for a challenge, but your magic couldn't even fare against the blunt end of steel."

Gasping, Armor now understands why.

"You may keep your bits," the centaur takes his leave, "there's no worth in claiming what wasn't a challenge."

"That sword!" Shining blurts, catching the centaur's attention for at least one more moment of his time.  Armor staggers to his hooves, still shaken up by the wallop, "Where did you get that sword?"

"The Zantetsuken?" the centaur reflects on the weapon in his grip, "It was forged in a land far to the east from here." and back at the unicorn, "A realm called, 'The Magick Kingdom'."

Shining Armor can't help but make a grin at the information; however, it suddenly contorts to a disgusted look as an awful scent invades his nose.  Everyone begins to do the same and cover their nose to this horrendous smell.  Someone pushes Shining to the side, soon finding himself that the entire crowd is doing the same and runs down the street.  They all leave him, excluding Flash and Wind, as they appear to be avoiding something from down the other end of the road.  And upon looking, they couldn't believe what was approaching.

Casually walking down the barren street, is a dark orchid mare with a broken horn and an odor that smells like bile and cigarettes.  It's Tempest Shadow, keeping up her tough-girl appearance with a cool demeanor, despite the stench she's giving.  The stallions tense up to the disgusting smell the pony is bringing with her approach, so much in fact that they're not even noticing that her Focus Crystal is missing.

Shadow stops in front of the boys with a look of unamusement.  It's a straight expression, but they can tell that she's extremely annoyed right now.

"What is that," Wind fans the smell away in a concerning tone, "the latest perfume?"

Tempest slaps him across the face.

Armor chooses his words carefully, "Why do you smell lik-"

"A monster with bad breath belched on me." the mare answers before he could finish.

"Monster?" Wind spoke, rubbing his cheek, "Mino usually sent me on scavenger hunts."

"And I got him twenty Allural Shallot and six of the monster's tentacles."

The three stallions groan to the last part in a, 'I can't believe I just heard that,' manner.





Once they made it back to the 'Hammerhead Garage', Tempest went straight to washing herself of the stench that plagues her in the back of the building.  After a while however, it became obvious that the smell wasn't going to come out so easily.  As for everyone else, Shining Armor has been counting the bits everypony has earned today in the lounging area, Flash is leaning against the wall as he's lost in thought, Wind is updating his journal, and Cider is working on Wind's prosthetic wing over at his table.  All of them, however, are starting to let the bad odor get at them.

Cider pushes himself from his work table and makes his way over to Shining Armor, "Alright Captain, how much did you make?" the abyssinian asks him.

"Four hundred thirty-four bits." Armor answers.

"Thank Bastet.  Wind," Cider calls the one wing stallion, "mind taking those thirty-four extra bits and head on over to Artnia to get all the 'rogue tomato juice' you can buy?  We're going to get rid of that stench the old fashion way."

Second Wind didn't need to be asked twice.  He pouches the bits and makes his escape from the foul smell.

Shining Armor snorts in an attempt to push the odor out of his nose before looking at Cider, "Thanks again for giving us a place to rest for the night."

"Think nothing of it." the abyssinian waves off the gratitude, "It's been many moons since I got anyone I could sit and chat with that wasn't work related."

"Speaking of such, I'd assume you'd be an engineer for building Second's wing, but this place comes off as being more along the lines of a repair shop.  What do you do exactly?"

"I'm an engineer by trait," the old timer takes a seat across from Shining, "but being one doesn't mean I'll always be given work, so that's where this repair shop becomes my main source of income."

"Does it make up the difference?"

"As of late, no.  I usually fix watches, music boxes, even carts if need be, but hardly anycreature comes by nowadays.  It's gotten to a point where I've been working on a pet project of mine on building an airship."

"An airship?" Armor gives it some thought, "If Wind's wing is anything to go by, then there must be something about your airship that makes it stand out from others."

Cider winces as he studies Shining, "You're a father, aren't you?"

The question stuns Armor, "Y-yes!  How'd you know?"

"Cuz I'm one in my own right and I've developed a few habits when I first started, and I'm seeing some of those coming from you.  Overconfidence, protective of others, a need to be dependable, and being a sharper listener was what gave you off.  Before you know it, you'll get your fatherly instincts entangled with your daily life."

"Well, I've been a father for a few years now, and I've never noticed anything like that." Shining rubs the spot where the centaur hit him earlier today.

"Well in any case," Cider waves off, "Getting back to my airship, there actually is something more potent about her than most ships.  She ain't done yet, but I'm planning on making her the only airship in the skies that can match any ship without a balloon."

Shining is wonderstruck by his claim, "That would certainly be revolutionary!"

"Darn right it would!  The space pocket may have gotten grazed over, but I'm certain I'll make a craze with this beaut."

Armor leans back, reflecting the idea on a more broader scale.  "It's beginning to feel like technology is making big leaps as of late.  I can't really help but imagine that it'll drive magic out of existence at this pace.  You know, I even encountered a centaur today who had a sword that sliced right through my magic barrier like it was butter.  He even seems to support that theory about Yimeck being behind all this.  He told me that he got that sword from, 'The Magick Kingdom'."

Cider gives an amuse chuckle along with an eye roll, "That does sound like something  Yimeck would pull.  With hardly any magic back in my country, he probably would think that he'd be running a kingdom."

The conversation settles down for a moment, Shining Armor looks over to Flash Sentry and he's still standing where he was since the start of the conversation.  "You've been quiet for a while now, Flash." the captain states the obvious, "You asleep over there or what?"

"I've just been thinking about something." Flash throws in his two cents and looks over to Cider, "You said that magic is hard to come by from where you're from, yet Yimeck has made products that not only uses magic, but also nullifies it like what the machine did with The Magic of Friendship back in Ponyville.  Magic as powerful as friendship is something that no creature has ever withstood before, even when they possessed immense magic themselves."

"You also said that the last time you met Yimeck was when he was trying to find ways to place magic in products, I'm no unicorn, but enchanting an object shouldn't be that hard.  Can you confirm that, Shining?"

"Well, I can't, but my sister was able to make her old toy the desired object of the town with a spell once." Armor confirms, "And that was when she was still a unicorn."

"So it's difficult, but not completely out of the question for a unicorn to perform." Flash makes certain of.  "So Yimeck, with little to no knowledge of magic, was able to find a way to nullify the most powerful form of magic, while residing in a land where there's hardly any to begin with, and was also able to steal Equestria's on his first attempt?"

"What are you getting at?" the abyssinian asks.

"That something's been supplying him with Equestrian magic."

"Think about it, he would've had to perform tests on Equestrian magic if he wanted to make his attack successful on the first attempt.  I mean, you wouldn't walk into a fire right after making your first fireproof boots, would you?  So I've just been wondering," Flash says as he rubs the temple of his head, "where did this domino effect first begin?"





Back on the streets, where oil lamps are lit for the nocturnal creatures to do business in, Second Wind arrives in front of the building with the words, 'Artnia', painted above the entrance.  He sees the dozen or so creatures as he trots inside this café, but Wind's attention focuses on the stubby smoky-skinned pig standing behind the counter on his right.  As the pig finishes making a lemon-flavored drink, Second approaches him with his own order.

"Hey Weskham," Wind calls as he plops the bag of bits on the counter, "I'd like to have all the 'rogue tomato juice' I can get for thirty-four bits as a carry out."

Weskham gives him the 'you got it' gesture and prompts into the back with the bag of bits in grip.

The handicapped pegasus hunches on the counter, tapping his forehoof on the surface of it.

"Another pony!" the creature next to Wind states.

Second looks over at the sapphire blue stallion in a short magentaish gray hooded cloak staring down at the lemon-flavored drink he ordered moments ago.  Wind notes the pale, light grayish tone the pony has, signifying he's currently living through his mid-late years.  Outside of the muzzle, only a dark gray mane is poking out of his hood in a messy fashion, and that's all he can be made from his face.  His cutie mark however is a single, spiraling arc of a golden ratio.

"I never thought I'd encounter one here." spoke the stallion, still staring at his glass.

"You probably wouldn't have." Wind converses, "I've lived all my foalhood here and haven't met one once during that time.  You just caught my team and I passing through here."

"Team, huh?  Sounds like you and your team are on a mission." a brilliant white aura surrounds his drink and it lifts for him to take a sip before it returns back to the table, "Well it turns out that I also have a mission of my own, one that should've ended years ago."

Wind lays on his left wing, only to yelp as he nearly falls from the absence of his prosthetic limb.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah," Wind reassures, "I just keep forgetting that I don't have my wing on."

"...I see." the tone in his voice sounds empathetic to that knowledge, "It must be hard to lose the capability to fly."

"Oh, it doesn't bother me anymore." Second shrugs it off, "I may have lost a wing, but I still got my life."

"No creature should go through life impaired." there's a genuine expression of sorrow in his posture, "The adversity they experience on their solus journey, lost within an isolated world much different from the reality they live in.  Why does fate condemn them in such a manner?"

Wind takes a moment to think how he should respond to that jarring statement, but comes out short.

The aura around his drink appears again and the stranger gulps down the last of its content.  He turns slightly towards Wind and offers a hoof to him, "I want you to have this." he has an empty hoof until a white crystal, the size and shape of a small marble, begins to suddenly take form within a brilliant white aura.

Second Wind shifts his gaze between the crystal and the stallion that hasn't even made eye contact once.  The pegasus watches the odd pony as he cautiously grabs the crystal with his right wing.

"If you ever feel in need for a change, ingest that crystal and you'll regrow that lost wing of yours."

Wind analyzes the object in his wing before giving the stallion a judging look, "I'm not sure if you think I'm stupid or you're just plain drunk."

He laughs a 'hm' along with an amused smile, "That's wise of you to be skeptic, and I don't blame you either, trust is a very deceitful temptress that thirsts off the desperation of its victims.   You're free to throw it away if you like, it won't bother me any."

Second looks at the crystal once more.  He shakes his head, smiling at the absurdity of such a thing.  Wind pulls back his right wing with his eyes on the bucket near the entrance.

"Though you might regret it later."

The pegasus hears the eased voice behind him.  Looking back to the pony that's been watching his empty glass.

"We never really know what the future holds.  If we're unprepared or incapable of doing something, we could find ourselves right back here regretting it.  Drowning our choice in liqueur for throwing away the chance we'll never gain again at avoiding that one injury or that fallen ally for the limitations we bear."

The handicapped pony loosens his right wing, glancing down to the left side of his torso and finding nothing.  Second Wind takes another look at the crystal in his wing, judging the rare opportunity in his grasp.  "Why would you give me this?  Why would you go out of your way to give me such a life changing opportunity?"

The stranger jumps off his seat, "I just don't want others to go through that same suffering." and proceeds to the entrance.

"...what amputee wouldn't want that lost part again." Wind keeps reviewing the crystal at the enticing offer, but keeps getting that there must be more to this.  He shakes his head, but he can't bring himself to throw it away.  Second looks up to find the odd pony, but he was already gone, "Just who was he?" Second murmurs to himself until it finally dawns on him, "Wait... he still had his flux light!"