//------------------------------// // Rainbow Roadtrip, Part 2 // Story: Guarded Emotions: The Final Season // by Alabenson //------------------------------// “So, you can’t use your magic at all, then?” Moonwhisper said, desparately trying to keep his voice level. “Well, I could try a Transform To Root Vegtables spell, but it likely work out too well,” Discord replied. “Captain Wuzz is an archer, not a spellcaster. If you want magic, then you should talk to Garbunkle over there.” “Alright then, how about this. Do you have any idea what happened, where we are, or what exactly this is?” Moonwhisper said as he thrust the nameless relic into Discord’s face. “How in Equestria should I know?” Discord protested. “Do you think I just know everything there is about dangerous magical artifacts?” “Yes!” Moonwhisper yelled. “Half the time the damn things are running on chaos magic!” “Guys, guys, yelling at each other isn’t going to solve anything right now. What we need to do is stay calm and try to figure out what’s going on so we can get back,” Spike said as he interposed himself between the two. “I wasn’t the one yelling,” Discord pouted. “I…apologize for raising my voice,” Moonwhisper grumbled half-heartedly. “That being said, we’re still facing a number of unanswered questions about our situation.” “You know, it’s possible this is like the time me and Twilight and all the others got sucked into a Power Ponies comic,” Spike said. “The time you…no, that’s a conversation for another day. Go on,” Moonwhisper said. “Anyway, when that happened the only way we could get back was by finishing the story. So, maybe this is the same sort of thing, where we need to complete our quest before we can go back,” Spike said. “So, what you’re suggesting is that we need to find a Princess Shmarity analogue in order to get back to Equestria? Well, in the absence of any other suggestions I suppose it’s as good an idea as any,” Moonwhisper said as he stowed the amulet away in his bags. “So, what do we do now?” “Ah, my dear Moonwhisper, or should I say, Gregor,” Discord said as he leaned over the unicorn turned griffon. “What we should do now is find the nearest village and then head straight for the tavern!” “In other words, cleaving to the most hackneyed tropes imaginable,” Moonwhisper muttered. “Sure, why not? Maybe some dark and mysterious stallion sitting in the darkest corner of the taproom will give us our quest?” Moonwhisper added sarcastically. “Isn’t that pretty much how you introduced your character?” Spike asked, causing Moonwhisper to visibly wince. “Point taken. And since I don’t have any better suggestions, I’ll withdraw my objection,” Moonwhisper said. “That’s the spirit!” Spike said happily. “So let’s head out and get this quest started. And, look on the bright side, if this is a completely new world then we probably won’t have to deal with anything like the Squizard.” ********* The village of Aviaville was a bucolic farming settlement which in many ways reminded Spike of a Medieval version of Ponyville. There were, however, some notable differences, particularly when it came to the residents. While a few of the villagers were ponies, the majority of them seemed to be some kind of bipedal bird creature unlike anything Spike had ever seen before. But Spike was hardly the type to be put off by something as trivial as encountering a new species, and aside from the occasional odd stare directed at Discord the townscreatures seemed rather friendly. There was one member of the party, however, for whom the peace and friendliness of the village seemed to hit a sour note. “I’m starting to question your ‘adventuring quest’ theory,” Moonwhisper said to Spike as they sat at a table at the Limping Timberwolf, the town’s tavern. “What are you talking about? This place is great,” Spike replied. “I bet any minute now some mysterious stranger is going to come by and give us a noble quest to –” “To do what, exactly? Mow their lawn? Pick up their groceries? Spike, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but this town seems every bit as peaceful as Ponyville. In fact, given the absence of the Everfree Forest I’d say this town’s likely even more peaceful,” Moonwhisper said. “Of course, it seems that way now, the adventure’s just starting,” Spike said. “Trust me on this, things are going to pick up before Captain Wuzz and Sir McBiggun even get back.” “You’ll forgive me for being somewhat skeptical,” Moonwhisper said as he leaned back in his chair. “I’m fairly certain that an adventure isn’t going to just drop out of the sky into our laps.” Even as the words left Moonwhisper’s mouth, however, one of the bird-creatures crashed through the roof of the inn and landed on the table right in front of Moonwhisper. “…I stand corrected, apparently. Although…A magical scroll that can take us all back home isn’t going to just drop out of the sky and land in front of us!” Moonwhisper looked up at the hole in the inn’s roof expectantly for a few moments before letting out a sigh. “Well, it was worth a shot.” Spike, meanwhile, had other concerns on his mind. “Whoa, are you alright?” Spike asked as he scrambled up to inspect their unexpected guest. “What’s going on here?” Discord said as he and Big McIntosh rushed over. “Really, we leave the tow of you alone for scarcely a minute and you’re already causing a scene.” “It wasn’t our fault,” Moonwhisper protested mildly. “We were just minding our business when this one suddenly dropped in.” Discord stared at Moonwhisper for several seconds before finally responding. “I’m going to give you a point for that pun. Anyway, who do we have here?” As their unexpected guest started to stir, Moonwhisper finally took a moment to properly look them over. The creature closely resembled a pony-sized, pure white swan with a pair of arms and hands in place of wings. It sported an upswept pompadour of seafoam green atop its head, and its green and purple tail feathers trailed out behind it like the hem on an overly-long cloak. “Wha…where am I?” the avian asked in a distinctly feminine voice as she opened her eyes, only to let out a terrified yelp as she saw Spike and the others standing over her. “Right now, you’re in the Limping Timberwolf in Aviaville,” Spike replied before straightening himself so he appeared as tall as possible. “And we are a noble group of traveling adventurers currently seeking our next quest. So, what’s your name.” “My name is Pluma,” Pluma replied hesitantly as Spike helped her off the table. “You say that you’re adventurers? Then please, you have to help me! I’m being pursued by the forces of Squirk!” The moment Pluma uttered the name Squirk the entire tavern suddenly went deathly silent. “You’ll have to excuse us, we’re from…someplace far away,” Moonwhisper said. “Who, or what, exactly is ‘Squirk’?” “You’ve never heard of Squirk? The land you come from must be incredibly peaceful,” Pluma said, causing Spike, Big McIntosh and Moonwhisper to all glance at Discord. “What?” Discord protested. “No comment. Anyway, to get back on topic, you still haven’t told us who this ‘Squirk’ is,” Moonwhisper said. “Squirk is an ancient wizard of terrible power who ruled over this land nearly a millennia ago,” Pluma explained. “Squirk’s rule was a time of never-ending fear and misery far everycreature alive.” “You seem to be talking about him a great deal in the past tense,” Discord said. “I take it some brave hero overthrew him?” Pluma nodded. “My ancestor Ruff. With the help of a unicorn mage from a far-off land he was able to steal away the source of Squirk’s power a relic called the Flashstone Amulet. Without the amulet, Squirk’s power was diminished to the point that he was forced to retreat back to the ocean, where his power is strongest.” “And now Squirk’s out to get you because he thinks you know where the amulet is, am I right?” Spike asked, to which Pluma nodded before shaking her head. “The unicorn who helped my ancestor took the amulet with them when they returned to their home so Squirk would never be able to get it back. Squirk won’t accept that Ruff could have simply gotten rid of an item of that power and he’s convinced that my family knows where it’s hidden,” Pluma said. “Even as we speak his forces are trying to chase after me, I barely was able to escape with my life. Please, you have to help me!” Spike was about to respond with a resounding affirmative, but before he could Moonwhisper put a talon over his mouth and pulled him away. “Would you excuse us for just a moment? My companions and I need to discuss something,” Moonwhisper said as he gestured for Discord and Big McIntosh to join him in a bundle. “So, just so were all on the same page, this ‘Flashstone Amulet’ is almost certainly the artifact that brough us here. Would you all agree?” “Eeyup,” Big McIntosh said. “Obviously,” Discord replied. “Well, yeah, of course it is,” Spike said. “It just makes sense that the thing that took us here would be connected to our adventure.” “Setting aside a possible debate as to the definition of making sense, I’m glad we’re all in agreement here. So, with that in mind, I have to question the wisdom of helping her,” Moonwhisper said. “What?” Spike exclaimed. “Why in Equestria wouldn’t we help her? That’s the exact thing that heroes are supposed to do.” “I’m with Spike on this,” Discord added. “This is clearly an adventure hook that’s been dropped right in our laps…more or less. What possible reason would we have not to take it?” “Think about it for a moment,” Moonwhisper replied. “We have the source of Squirk’s power, the very thing that he’s chasing Miss Pluma to recover. As sad as it would be if this Squirk was to capture her, it sounds like it would be an utter catastrophe if Squirk were to actually recover the amulet.” “Oh, is that all? Well, that’s easy to deal with,” Spike said. “If the problem is that we can’t let Squirk get the amulet, then all we have to do is not let him have it. Problem solved.” “Oh for Celestia’s sake, Spike, it’s not that – wait, get back here!” Spike, however, had already left the huddle and was headed back to Pluma. “Never fear, miss, we’ll help protect you from Squirk’s forces!” Spike assured Pluma while Moonwhisper watched irritably. “Well, if there’s one bright spot in this, it’s that this Squirk won’t have any way of knowing that we have the amulet. If we can avoid drawing any additional attention to ourselves, we might actually be able to get through all this relatively peacefully.” ********* “What could Lord Squirk possibly want now?” Crank muttered to himself as he scuttled through the cavernous halls of his master’s island fortress. The clatter of the giant lobster’s many legs echoed off the damp stone walls as he rushed past the numerous skeleton guards Squirk had raised and stationed throughout the fortress. Finally, Crank reached the chamber at the fortress’ heart where his master spent much of his time, only to be forced to dive to one side to dodge a blast of magical energy the moment he entered. “You’re late, Crank. When I summon you, I expect you to come,” the monstrous red octopus lounging on the dais in the center of the room snarled. “Forgive me, Lord Squirk. I came as fast as I could,” Crank wailed as he cowered before his master. “Then you should work on getting faster. Now, enough of your sniveling, there’s work to be done. My Flashstone Amulet has finally emerged from whatever hiding spot that filthy magpie hid it in,” Squirk growled. “The artifact that was the source of your magical power?” Crank asked, promptly Squirk to fire another blast of energy at his hapless servant. “No, that would be the other magical amulet I’ve spent centuries trying to recover. Of course the source of my magical power you imbecile! Ever since that thieving bird stole it I’ve been reduced to ruling this worthless island instead of the empire I once had. But once I have my amulet back nothing will be able to stop me from reclaiming what’s rightfully mine!” Squirk burst into peals of cruel laughter at the prospect of his imminent return to power. When Crank began to join in, however, Squirk’s laughter abruptly stopped as the lashed out at Crank with one of his tentacles. “Why are you laughing when you have work to do? Get to work finding my amulet and then bring it to me, and do it now!”