Oblivion looked to the skies as a spirit that he was familiar with came into view. He watched closely as Soarin began to glide toward him and the barn. The Pegasus landed with a flap of his wings and visible, relief showed on his face.
“Thank Celestia I found the right place.” He said as he smiled.
“Trouble?” Oblivion gave a gentle tease in reply.
The Pegasus gave a short shrug and chuckled. “I had to ask the others where I was going exactly. Silver and Striker were nice enough to walk me through how to get here in the shortest amount of time.”
“Thankfully you did not get lost.” The Witcher replied.
“Yeah. That would have been embarrassing.” He groaned.
Sasa walked up to the pale stallion and nuzzled him in greeting. “Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres Soarin.” She said as Oblivion spoke for her and the Pegasus gave a warm smile in reply to her.
“Thanks, Sasa.”
“How did the others take your departure?” He questioned.
Soarin grimaced in response to his question. “Spitfire was pretty unhappy with it. She couldn’t say much since it was Princess Luna who came to get me.”
“Luna did?”
“Yes.” He replied with a chuckle. “Spitfire and the others nearly dropped their teeth when she bellowed my name from the side of the field we were training in.”
“Did Spitfire forget that I have the ability to call on my team no matter what they are doing?”
“I think she thought it was something that she could get around.” He admitted. “Princess Luna reminded her of the rules that came with being on your team and Spitfire had to give in and accept it. She did ask how long I would be gone and Princess Luna simply told her until you didn’t need me anymore.”
“Luna can be very blunt when she chooses to be,” Oblivion admitted.
“She was blunt as a hammer.” Soarin barked through a laugh. “I thought Spitfire was gonna drop to the ground with her jaw.”
Oblivion chuckled and Sasa chuffed a laugh at his side. “Come with me.”
The black Unicorn led the way into one of the near orchards where they would be able to speak in private. He turned to face the Pegasus as they came to a stop after a few minutes of walking. Sasa sat down at his side and her aqua eyes regarded the Pegasus.
“I assume you’re going to tell me why I’m here,” Soarin said to him as they went still.
Oblivion nodded. “What I am about to tell you is meant to be kept quiet. It’s known only to Luna, Celestia, Blue Blood, Shining Armor, Twilight and the others, and myself. I trust you can keep it that way?”
Soarin’s face went from laughing to serious in a moment’s notice and he gave a solemn nod in reply. “Understood.”
“You know about the Elements of Harmony and my connection to them.” Soarin nodded. “The Elements were moved to Ponyville after Discords return and they were placed in Twilights control.”
“She’s the Element of Magic?” Oblivion nodded. “That makes sense.”
“Two days ago I was in Canterlot and received a letter from Twilight asking me to join her in the Library immediately.” He said and Soarin began to look concerned. “I arrived to find her in severe distress and she informed me that the Elements of Harmony that were being held in her home were gone.”
Soarin stared at him for several seconds as he finished speaking. “What?”
“The Elements have been stolen.”
“Tell me you’re doing something very out of character and you’re in fact pulling my tail?”
Oblivion shook his head and the Pegasus breathed in a deep breath and held it as shock registered on his face. “No. They were stolen from her home and loaded into a wagon behind the Library and taken into the Everfree.”
“I assume you know this when you followed the trail?”
“Yes. I found the wagon they had used and the signs of a Solar Chariot being used to remove them from the area of Ponyville.”
“Wait.” Soarin yelped. “A Solar Chariot? You mean one of Princess Celestia’s chariots?”
Oblivion nodded. “I will explain how we know that in a moment.” Soarin nodded and motioned for him to go on and he spoke further. “Sasa and I came back to Ponyville after finding the evidence of their movement in the Everfree and Celestia took us with her to Canterlot after she spoke with Twilight. She called on Shining and he was able to show us that only one chariot had been signed out in the past few days. He walked the line of them and found out that one of them is missing as well.”
“Oh no.” Soarin breathed.
“Exactly. So somepony took one of them and used it to steal the Elements of Harmony.” Oblivion explained.
“All of them?” Soarin asked. “I thought you kept yours with you?”
“All of them, save mine.” Oblivion corrected and the armor slowly crawled over his body and settled into its natural place on his body.
“Oh thank Faust.” Soarin breathed.
“I have spoken with Shining at length about who could have possibly known the Elements had been moved to the Library with Twilight. It is not a well-known fact that they were moved. Very few knew about their location. I had interrogated a pony that had been part of that attack on Canterlot months ago and he finally told us that the goal of the attack on the capital was in fact to steal the Elements.”
“So that attack was all to take the Elements and do what with them?”
“Do you have any idea how much they would be worth on the black market?”
Soarin looked thoughtful, and then his eyes went wide. “A great deal.”
“Precisely. Now they have six out of seven of them in their possession.”
“Oh, man.” Soarin looked green as he leaned back on his haunches. “Okay go on.”
“Shining had some knowledge that I was able to add to my own about the group that had been trying to take them the first time. We know precious little but enough to be able to formulate a plan to get them to come after the final Element that they do not have.”
“So you’re acting as the bait?”
“Basically.”
“Geez,” Soarin said as he sighed.
“It was done by a shadow group that exists within the shadows of the kingdom. The pony we have in custody was able to tell us precious little about them. He is a simple foot soldier and knew next to nothing about their structure. So far we know enough to formulate our own plans against them.”
“Okay. What do we know?”
“We know that they are structured in a pyramid and their lead from the top and they branch out from the leaders to their sub-leaders, and down to the pawns they use. We do not know the names that they go by or their actual names and that leaves us in the dark as this moment.”
“Great,” Soarin said as he took the weight off one hind leg. “So why am I here? Not that I don’t appreciate getting away from the Wonderbolts for a bit.”
“Your job is to watch my back. You have to be able to give off the impression that it is normal for you to be here with me and that nothing is out of the ordinary.”
“Okay. So some acting is required.” He replied and Oblivion nodded. “Okay, why am I the only one here? Shouldn’t the others be here to ensure the Elements safety as well?”
“I do not want the ponies that will be coming after the Element to be put off,” Oblivion explained.
“Why?”
“I want them to come after it.” He replied and Soarin’s eye widened slightly as he went on. “The plan is for Blue to spread a thinly veiled rumor about the Elements as a while and the location of one of them.”
“Okay. I get the rumor part but why have you decided to act as bait?”
“The goal is to capture one or two of them and question them.” He replied as Soarin nodded in understanding.
“So my job is to defend you or am I supposed to pull back and let it happen in front of me?”
“I expect you to jump in on the fight and provide back up.” He explained.
“That’s what I was hoping you would say.” He said as a smile crossed his mouth.
“You and I are going to ensure that they see us and we will act in a very deliberate manner and fall into a routine that we will adopt today and let them see it. They will be able to easily predict where we will be and at what time.”
“That makes sense since we want them to come after you.”
“We will be going into areas that will be perfect for an ambush and we will linger there for a time. That will be more than enough to give them the chance to come after the Element.”
“What if they manage to pull the medallion off your neck?”
“I placed a Return to Me spell on it and I will be able to call it back to me in the event of it being taken.”
“Do we know if they can block Unicorn magic or not?” Soarin questioned.
“My magic is not easily countered. Even if they manage to take the Element itself I am still its Master and can call it back to me.”
“The others can’t do that?” Soarin asked him, his face a mask of uncertainty.
“The others do not have the magic at their disposal to call them back. Twilight and the others did not have the time to be able to add magic to them to call on them. I do not think there is a way for the others to place that kind of magic on them, now that I think about it. Twilight and Rarity might be able to but the others are Pegasus and Earth Pony. They do not have magic that can affect the physical forms of the Elements.” Oblivion explained.
“I see.” Soarin nodded that he understood. “I got to admit that they have a lot of balls taking the Elements of Harmony.”
Oblivion barked a laugh and nodded in agreement. “I agree. But consider the importance of the Elements themselves and their place in Equestria.”
“That’s a good point.” Soarin nodded. “When I think about it that way I’m not too surprised that they were taken.”
Oblivion nodded. “Our job is to draw them in. Once I have one or two of them I will get the answers we want and then I will see if I can track the magic from Twilight that she had placed on the case the Elements were housed in.”
“Case?”
“Yes. She had them placed in a glass container. She had placed a lock on the entire case and once they realized they could not get past it they took the entire case. I am going to partner with Twilight and see if I can trace her magical signature.” Oblivion opened his mouth to go on and paused as a thought came to him.
The Unicorn looked down at the medallion around his neck and at the Element that was housed around it. Soarin was silent as he looked up at the Pegasus and then his orange eyes went to the feline with him.
“Sasa?”
“Hmm?”
“The Element has its own magical signature correct?”
The cat looked thoughtful as her head tilted to the side for a moment. “It does yes. It’s not a very strong one when it’s dormant like it is right now. But it does have its own… magical signature yes. Why?”
“Can I learn its signature and use it to track it if I need to?”
She looked at him as her eyes widened. “Oh you clever pony.” She praised and he gave her a sidelong look as she went on. “You might be able to learn it but I am not sure if you would be able to track it from very far. While your magic cannot be countered it can be slowed. You are able to counter that problem with the World Spirit itself. So it is possible for you to be able to learn it and track it, yes.”
He reached up and pulled the Element from the medallion and held it out to Soarin, who looked alarmed. “I need you to hold this in front of me. The Element itself has its own magical signature that I am going to try to learn and that will allow me to track it should it be taken and if I cannot simply call it back to me.”
“Oh. Okay, I get it.” He replied as he took the Wolf shaped gemstone and held it out towards the Unicorn as it sat in his hoof.
Oblivions horn lit as his aura surrounded the Wolf shaped gemstone. He used magic to reach out to the Element and he could see it shudder in the Pegasus’s hoof. Soarin held it out and stayed as still as possible. Sasa moved to the side to watch as he let his magic guide the way. Magic coated the gemstone and it shivered in his grasp. He reached out his magic and he closed his eyes as he focused on the magic that sat within the Element.
“You can do this Chosen.” Sasa encouraged. “The magic it holds is similar to your own but different enough to have its own signature.”
He gave a barely noticeable nod to her and his magic gripped the gemstone tighter. The Witcher used the magic he held to call on the Element itself. He didn’t see it shudder almost violently in the Pegasus's grasp. Magic flowed easily from him and he could sense the magic within the Element respond as he opened his eyes and looked at it as the gemstone began to pulse in time with his own heartbeat as it had done when he wore it. He felt the magic within it as it aligns with his own and his eyes narrowed as the magic in it began to leech out and it showed up as a dim light in his Sight.
“Got it.” He whispered.
Soarin sat down as the gem nearly fell from his grip and he put his other hoof over the top of it to keep it from falling to the ground in front of him. He looked up as the azure flames dissipated and faded as Oblivion raised his head and he reached for the gemstone. Soarin leaned forward and dropped the now still gem back into his hoof. Oblivions horn lit as he called for the gem to return to its normal place and it seemed to slither up his foreleg, up to his leg, across his shoulder, and to the medallion around his neck.
“Wow.” Soarin breathed.
“I know its signature and if needed, I can track it.” He said to the Pegasus who smiled in reply. “Now we start to walk around and ensure that we are seen.”
Soarin nodded and fell in at his hip as the Unicorn walked past him and back the way they had come. Oblivion was not able to hide the slight tug of his mouth as they walked. Sasa fell in at his side and he heard her chuckling as they walked, her voice echoing through his mind.
Oblivion walked into town with the Pegasus at his hip. They had spent the morning doing some easily done chores at the farm and then their new routine had them walking into town to look at a few stores and then out into the Everfree for what could be called private discussions. It was meant to look as if they were taking a break and simply used the Everfree for that purpose. They would walk into the Everfree and linger within a few of the closer clearings that he had used for hunting. So far they had not been followed or attacked while they were ‘resting’ inside the Everfree. Soarin had attracted some attention at first but no more than what he had anticipated. Rainbow Dash had gushed on him for a day before she had been informed that he was in fact working while he was in Ponyville. Once she had been made aware she had backed off and was now waiting for a sign that it was okay to speak to him again. The Pegasus was now viewed as normal in the town and he was mostly ignored by the ponies in Ponyville.
“Anything?” Soarin asked quietly.
“No. Not so far.” Oblivion replied.
“Ugh.” Sasa groaned as she padded at his side. “This is becoming tedious.”
“Time is our best friend right now and we need to ensure that we are seen.” He said back to her and he heard her growl in reply.
The Witcher was silent as they made their way through the main street and stopped at the Library and walked inside to speak with the still upset Unicorn that lived within it. She looked at them and both of them shook their heads at her.
“Damn.” She cursed under her breath. “I know I shouldn’t want them to attack you but… I want them to attack you.”
Soarin chuckled and nodded. “I know what you mean.” He assured her. “We’ll get them back.”
“I know.” She replied and tried to look confident. “But I hate that I can’t do anything to help you right now.”
“Your time will come after we catch a couple of them. Then you and I will use what we learn and see if I can track your magic that was on the case that held them.”
“Are you sure you can do that though?”
“I am not sure. I have been able to find the magical signature of the Element of Spirit and I have it memorized. If the need comes I can track it should I not be able to summon it back to me if I lose it. I am fairly certain I can do the same in reverse with your magic.”
She looked unconvinced and she sighed deeply, he could see despair biting at her. He moved to set a hoof on her shoulder as she sniffled. Sasa moved up and nuzzled her, purring loudly. He looked back as Soarin moved to come to stand with her as well. Oblivion breathed in as he moved to hug the mare close. He had seen her beginning to fray as the days had passed but he had chosen to leave her alone and see if she was able to pull herself up or if he needed to step in. Her hooves gripped his fur as she hiccupped and buried her face in his shoulder and neck.
“It’s okay.” He said to her as he ran his claws over her mane.
“I just… I should be doing something.” She said to him, her voice strangled as she fought to keep herself together.
“You are doing exactly what is needed. If I had need of you I would have told you. The Element of Spirit is our only way to bring them out into the open.” He said to her, his voice low.
“But… You’re out there doing a job I should be able to do...”
“No.” He interrupted. “Your job is to support and wait for now. When we catch them, and we will catch them, you will play a much larger part in their recapture.” He pushed her away from him and he put a hoof under her chin to make her look up at him. “We WILL get them back. Do you trust me?”
She looked stricken at his question but she nodded quickly. “I have always trusted you.”
“Then trust me now.” He said to her.
She sniffled and nodded. “Okay.” She whispered.
“I will help you bring them back.” He assured her. “I will play my part in the beginning and you will be the one to bring them home, where they belong.”
“What can I possibly do?”
“You hold the magic that can lead us to the case they were housed in. Are you confident that the lock you put on the case is sound?” He asked her.
“It hasn’t been broken.” She said to him. “It would have alerted me when it was broken into.”
“See?” Soarin said to her. “You’re protecting them still. Just from afar.”
She looked at the Pegasus as if seeing him for the first time and a smile tugged at her mouth. “That’s true.” She whispered.
“You are helping us,” Oblivion assured her. “The goal once we have them in custody is that I will question them and then you and I will track the case itself.”
She breathed in a deep breath and released it to help herself calm down further and she nodded. “Your right. Both of you. I can’t give up yet. We will find them and it will be fine.”
“Exactly,” Oblivion said to her as he got to his hooves and backed up a step. “Come on Soarin. We have a schedule to keep up.”
“I’m with you.” Soarin chimed in and moved toward the door.
“Oblivion.” Twilight’s voice was barely a whisper and he looked back at her. “Thank you.”
He gave a bow of his head to her as he made for the front door. He was aware that she had known he would be able to hear her voice even as quiet as it was. He moved out the door, intent on finding their quarry and relieving the stress on the mare. Soarin waited as he pushed the door closed behind them and they walked out into the streets. The Pegasus fell in with him and Sasa purred as they began to walk toward the center of town.
“She going to be okay?” Soarin asked him, his voice quiet.
“In time. I think she was badly shaken by the theft. No matter how stable she wishes others to perceive she is even she needs to crumble every now and then.” Oblivion replied.
“So we need to get them back as quickly as we can?”
“Exactly. It will be to the benefit of all to have them back where they belong.”
“We will get them back.” Sasa assured them as Oblivion spoke for her.
They moved into the Everfree and Soarin fell into line behind him and Sasa brought up the rear. He led them into the trees and into the first of three clearings that they would linger inside. He could hear the sounds of the forest as they moved around him and his ears flicked constantly, listening for anything out of the ordinary. His orange eyes gave off a slight glow in the waning light and he scanned the ground for any signs of pony’s hooves. Nothing stood out to him as being fresher than their own hoof prints from the day before. Behind him, Soarin stayed as close as he dared as to avoid stepping on Oblivion heels.
“Anything Chosen?”
“Nothing.” He replied to the cat as she padded behind them.
The three of them moved to stand in the center of the first clearing and Soarin stood as close as he dared in front of him to give off the appearance that they were simply chatting inside the forest.
“Tell me again how they won’t know that something is off when we are just standing there?” Soarin asked him.
“If they were listening in, which I do not doubt that they are, then we have made it known that we are scanning the forest for any monsters that might be getting too close to town.”
“Right. I forgot that was the new cover story.” Soarin chuckled.
“It serves two purposes. One is that it allows us to control the location of the attack when it comes. The second is that we control the timing. They are dancing to our tune, not the other way around.”
“That’s a good point.” Soarin agreed. “It’s just getting old waiting for them to act.”
Oblivion chuckled quietly. “I admit I would rather they attacked sooner rather than later. But we are also playing by their timeline. They hold almost all of the Elements and that gives them the ability to decide if they chase the final one or not.”
“And if they choose to ignore it?”
“Then we have wasted some of our time,” Oblivion admitted. “But I do not think they will pass up the opportunity to gather the full set and sell it all together. I can imagine how much the set would be worth on the open market.”
“I don’t even want to know their worth. I know the worth of the entire Wonderbolts salaries but I have to admit the Elements of Harmony are probably worth more than we are.” Soarin replied with a wry smile.
Oblivion backed up and they began to move to the second clearing and the others fell in at his flank once more as he moved. He led them down the game trails and he easily picked his way down the paths to the other clearing. He slowed for a moment as a sound caught his attention. A smile tugged at his mouth as the sound of whispering caught his ear. He glanced over his shoulder and Soarin was watching around them as before but Sasa caught his eye and he gave a slight nod and she winked at him in response.
“Finally.” She laughed.
“About time.” He agreed.
He looked ahead of them once more and his eyes narrowed as he looked carefully up and he could see the spirits of ponies shining bright as they hid among the trees. His eyes were trained on the path ahead of them and new sets of tracks stood out to him as he walked the same path forward. A breaking branch caught his ear and he stopped to make it appear as though he had been startled by the sound. Soarin bumped into his flank and he put a hoof on Oblivions leg to apologize. The sound had been just outside of the normal hearing range of the average pony so the Pegasus had not heard it. Sasa stayed behind them and he could hear her claws as they moved through the dirt and grass.
“How many?” She asked him.
“Ten, maybe more.” He replied.
“Enough to give you a bit of a workout.” She chuckled.
“We shall see. I think there are a couple of Unicorns and Pegasus mixed in. But without seeing them I can’t know their exact numbers.”
“I trust your guess.” She replied easily. “Lead us.”
“You okay?” Soarin asked as the Unicorn continued to stay still.
“Hmm.” Oblivion made a non-committal noise as he began to walk forward once more.
He led them into the clearing and his pace remained normal as he made for the center of it. Soarin fell in front of him and took up his usual place in front of the stallion. He looked up at Oblivion and his eyes went slightly wide as Oblivion looked back at him. Soarin gave a slight nod and made it look as though he was searching the ground for signs of monsters and creatures as they had practiced. Sasa remained standing as she also feigned interest in the ground. He pretended to be scanning the outer edges of the clearing while the others scanned the ground. His medallion trembled and warned him of the use of magic close by. He swung his flank to allow him to face the direction of the magic and he looked upward at the farthest tree. He feigned as though he had heard a monster and trained his gaze into the distance.
“Anything?” Soarin asked him, his voice barely a whisper.
Sasa gave a loud growl, signaling him that she had seen them as well. “Their coming out of the trees and surrounding us.”
“I know.” He said back to her. “Their Unicorn is already working on us.”
“Will you be using the armor to ensure its safety? They can’t take the entire piece if you’re wearing it.” She pointed out.
“I might.” He replied.
“You just want to make things more interesting for yourself.” She teased. “Not that it will make much of a difference if they are allowed to take it or not.”
He spun back to rejoin Soarin and he lowered his head to look at the ground, which would allow him to speak to the Wonderbolt easily. “They are already surrounding us.”
“You’re kidding.” The Pegasus said as he began to look carefully at the edge furthest from them.
“Careful.” Oblivion scolded. “They have at least ten or more but I guess no more than fifteen.”
“Great.”
“I trust you can take out any Pegasus that is with them?”
“I can and I will,” Soarin vowed. “How many do we need to keep alive?”
“At least two.”
“Easy,” Soarin growled.
Oblivion could see the steel in the other stallion’s eyes. He could tell that he was ready for the fight that was about to come. Sasa growled and he could see her muscles as they trembled, ready.
“Here they come.” He growled and raised his head.