//------------------------------// // A Mammoth of a Problem XLI // Story: Rainbow Dash's Unstoppable Ego // by MagicS //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash pinched between her eyes after an hour of stressful planning and conversation between her and Larkon that so far hadn’t really gone anywhere. Larkon didn’t want to involve violence so that pretty much took anything Rainbow Dash could contribute out of the equation and neither of them could think of how to safely rescue the kids. Their list of mammoths they thought who might aid them in any endeavor was depressingly short as well. “Ugh!” Rainbow Dash groaned and flopped over onto her back, lying on the floor of the den and staring up at the ceiling. “You really don’t think we could just convince everyone to come with us to the slums and just outnumber Karkona and his goons?” Larkon shook his head. “Certainly not. You’ll find no army of citizens willing to go to the slums even if the goal isn’t to fight. Too afraid for too many reasons.” “But it would just be like, a show of solidarity or whatever! Everyone would be showing Karkona that he can’t push them around and he better give back the kids or else!” Rainbow argued. “That’s the thing; they will be pushed around. And Karkona knows that,” Larkon sighed. “So not even Mallom or the other guards will do anything? Really?” “Possible but doubtful,” Larkon shook his head. “I don’t want to have to count on them for anything. And unless we could get enough mammoths to go to the slums that would massively outnumber Karkona’s forces there wouldn’t be a point to getting just a few guards.” “I knew we were fighting an uphill battle but this is starting to get ridiculous,” Rainbow sat herself up and plopped her chin into her hooves. “No one here has ever had to deal with something even remotely like this,” Larkon said. “I know but still,” Rainbow Dash blew a breath of air out her nose. “You guys may be pacifists but even pacifists don’t just roll over and die. You think they’d at least have some passion or try to do something like you are.” “We’ll just have to do it ourselves. Maybe if they see us acting and trying to save the children from Karkona it will inspire them to finally do something too,” Larkon shrugged. “Sounds like a bit of a pipe dream honestly,” Rainbow sighed. “I can’t disagree with you there...” Larkon joined her in sighing. Rainbow Dash thought about their options. It wasn’t her strength but she still needed to use that head of hers today as best she could. It was broad daylight so sneaking into the slums in any normal way probably wasn’t an option. And they also probably couldn’t wait until nightfall because who knows what Karkona might do to the hostages in the meantime. The hostages were probably being well guarded so a fight was almost inevitable no matter what. And Larkon absolutely refused to let things devolve into violence. They had barely any allies, no resources, no leverage, the clock was against them, and the rest of the city might even potentially turn on the unknown Keeper if they didn’t reveal themselves. So what? What could they do? Larkon’s ideal scenario would be the two of them casually walking into the slums and asking Karkona to let the kids go and then stop being such a jerk. But Larkon knew even better than Rainbow Dash that that would not work out. He probably still was searching for a totally peaceful solution and hadn’t thrown out the possibility of talk completely, but he also couldn’t think of a way to make that solution of his work. Rainbow Dash didn’t think there was any way to convince Karkona by words alone. He wasn’t the type to respond to something like that, same as Blizzard. Rainbow Dash just knew his type of villain well. She had to grind her teeth together to keep her anger in check. Rainbow Dash wanted to tell Larkon that they needed to fight even if it was hopeless, that it was better than nothing and even if it went against the peaceful mammoth way of life it still had to be done! But he was her friend and she really respected him and his strength of will a lot. However, the more time that passed the more it looked like he was going to be forced to make a choice that would pull his spirit in two… While the two of them sat there in silence the sound of Larkon’s front door being slammed open with enough force to nearly throw it off the hinges burst through the entire house. Larkon jumped in fright and Rainbow Dash shot up as well—their first instincts being that Karkona or his underlings had come here for some reason. But a shouting voice soon put an end to those worries. “Larkon! Rainbow Dash!” Abalun’s voice bellowed as the sound of a mammoth thundering down the hallways filled the house. “Larkon, please! Something’s happened! Please, Larkon, where are you?!” “Abalun?” Larkon muttered in confusion and ran to the door of his den, throwing it open. “We’re in here, Abalun!” Rainbow Dash floated up and stuck her out of the door to watch as Abalun came scrambling around the nearest corner in the hallway, for all intents and purposes looking like he was about to slip and crash into the wall. He was panting and sweating like crazy, but his face was devoid of color. If it wasn’t clear from the entrance it was clear from his appearance that he was terrified and worried beyond belief. He bolted down the last length of hallway before collapsing into Larkon, heaving and trying to find his voice again as he looked up at his two friends. “We… we...” he panted. “What is it?” Larkon shook him. “Abalun, are you okay? Tell me!” “Dude, seriously, what happened?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “S-Samarkon… Samarkon told Karkona that you’re the Keeper of the Sacred Spring!” Abalun yelled as he gripped the shaggy fur of Larkon. “I just ran from the slums, Samarkon had gone there and told Karkona everything!” Larkon look petrified in shock but Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened and she zoomed out of the den and down the hallway, right up the stairs to Samarkon’s room. She pulled the door open and flew inside with a gust of wind strong enough to shatter his window. Empty. “Oh crud...” Rainbow Dash gulped. She instantly flew back downstairs to Larkon and Abalun. “Samarkon’s gone! He must’ve snuck out while we were talking, he had to have been listening to us too.” Larkon looked woozy and he had to detach himself from Abalun, holding his trunk up to his forehead he collapsed against the wall across from the door to his den. “Oh no… oh no… how could I have let this happen? How could I not know what he was doing or think he’d just stay in his room without Shibu or Alykon to watch him? I’m a terrible father… I’m a complete fool...” Rainbow Dash frowned and flew up to his face, lightly slapping him back and forth a few times. “Snap out of it, Larkon! We don’t have time for this!” He shook his head until his eyes came back into focus. “Y-Yes, you’re right. But I just… what do we do?” “It’s true?” Abalun asked between pants. “You really are the Keeper of the Sacred Spring?” Larkon grimaced and looked to his friend. “Yes. I’m sorry for not telling you, Abalun.” To his credit, Abalun took it pretty well. “I understand why you didn’t. But now… now we’re in a lot of trouble. Karkona has his forces preparing to come here Larkon. Right to your house. They’re getting their weapons and armor from the warehouses and then his whole army is going to come through the city to get to you!” He took another deep breath to steady himself. “I don’t know how much longer it will be, I ran here at full speed, but it can’t be that much longer.” “So Karkona knows I hold the key to what he wants, and he’s going to force me to tell him,” Larkon said barely above a whisper. “We won’t let him!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “No way!” “And Samarkon is with him,” Larkon continued as if he hadn’t heard her. “Samarkon… you would really go that far?” “Larkon...” Rainbow grimaced. “And if Karkona came here and I didn’t tell him he wouldn’t hesitate to hurt Samarkon to make me tell him. Or go find Shibu and Alykon too. Who knows what tortures he’d put my loved ones through if I didn’t tell him? What would he do to the rest of the mammoths of the city?” Larkon turned around, walking down the hallway in a daze. Rainbow Dash thought she might need to go and slap him again as she and Abalun followed him. “Larkon, look, I know it’s bad but we can’t give up! We can still find a way to stop Karkona, can’t we?” Rainbow Dash pleaded with him. “No,” Larkon shook his head. “We can’t.” Rainbow Dash did a sharp intake of breath while Abalun stared dumbfoundedly at the back of his friend. She was about to explode at him when- “Not the way I want to,” Larkon quietly said, coming to a stop. “What?” Rainbow Dash asked, feeling the anger leak out of her as she floated over to look him in the face. The dazed look was gone. Replaced by a face of certainty. Of cold, hard, certainty. It was the kind of face that only someone who had made the most difficult decision of their lives could’ve possessed. Rainbow Dash saw an untold strength in the unwavering face of Larkon the more she looked at him. It was something that filled her with inspiration, not dissimilar to how Twilight could make her feel sometimes. Or how Rainbow Dash herself could make others feel. Larkon turned around and looked Abalun dead in the eyes. “Abalun, my wife and daughter are at Harrak’s house. Can you go and make sure they’re safe? I need to tell Rainbow Dash something.” Abalun must’ve seen the same thing in his face that Rainbow Dash did, for any sort of argument died in his throat. “Of course. Take care, my friends.” Abalun nodded to the both of them and made his way back the way he came, at a decent yet much slower pace than before. When they heard him leave the house and close the door, Larkon looked over at Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow Dash. I don’t know if what I’m going to do is right, or if it’s the only option. I don’t know if I’ll end up tormented at night for this for the rest of my life or not. But I’ve made my decision,” he stood up tall. “I am going to tell you the location of the Sacred Spring. And then I’m going to go face Karkona.” She gawked at him. “What are you talking about?!” He looked at her with sadness in his eyes as he placed his trunk on her head. “One day, I hope we—all creatures—can live in a world where no one has to fight or hurt anymore. But that day isn’t today. We must stop Karkona.” “Larkon...” “Karkona is getting to the Spring, nothing can change that fact now that he knows who I am. I’d never be able to endure him hurting others, least of all my own family, to get something from me. But that doesn’t mean he will get what he wants either. Rainbow Dash, you need to defeat him. I’m going to tell you the location of the Spring and when you get there you must convince the sages to let you bathe in its power. Tell them about me, tell them about what’s happened, and gain the strength of a mammoth to fight Karkona,” Larkon told her. “But you’re—don’t let this happen!” Rainbow Dash pushed his trunk off and yelled at him. “You’ve been so strong! Don’t let Karkona make you go back on your entire life!” “So now you don’t want to fight?” He chuckled in grim amusement, flashing a small smirk. “Well, no, that’s not—ugh! You know what I mean!” Larkon sighed and nodded his head. “Yes, I do. I suppose I can’t call myself a pacifist today. But I am still not letting the power of the Sacred Spring fall into the wrong trunks.” His gaze returned to a powerful look of diamond tough determination. “We mammoths don’t deserve that power, we can’t be trusted with the responsibility the Sacred Spring imposes on us. Karkona will not get his wish and no mammoth will ever again become a mammoth among mammoths! That power is one I can not allow a mammoth to have.” “But you can,” he said to her. Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof at herself. “Me? You know I love fighting and stuff, right?” Larkon grinned and patted her head with his trunk. “Rainbow Dash, in the time you’ve been here you’ve proven yourself as an amazing creature. Your valor, your honesty, your kindness, your generosity. I’ve seen them all and more. There’s no doubt in my mind that the power from the Sacred Spring wouldn’t change you at all, you’d still be the same good pony that wants to stop evildoers and have fun with her friends. You’re the only one who can do it. I think you were meant to do this. I think it’s why you came here, to save us from Karkona and ourselves.” “Well… you didn’t have to praise me that much,” she grinned back at him. “Heh, of course,” Larkon chuckled. Her smile drifted down and she folded her hooves over her chest, looking at him more seriously. “Are you really sure about this? I’ll do it, definitely, but are you sure?” “I’m sure. For the first time ever the Sacred Spring will be used for good.” “I guess it’s kind of what I always wanted. I promise you I won’t make it pointless, I’ll beat Karkona and any of his other losers that try and fight me!” Rainbow Dash told him. She smiled and pumped her hoofs. “Or my name isn’t Rainbow Dash!” “Glad we’re both going to be able to give this our all,” Larkon grinned. “You bet! So what now? You’re telling me where the Spring is and then you’re going off to fight Karkona and delay him?” Rainbow said. “I will not be fighting him,” Larkon shook his head. “In fact, I will be telling him where the Spring is as well without resistance.” “What?!” Rainbow shouted. Larkon winced and rubbed his ears. “I told you that nothing could stop Karkona getting to the Spring. And if I didn’t immediately tell him when he sees me… the consequences would be dire. I can’t withhold the location of the Sacred Spring from him.” “So you’re just going to tell him and leave then?” Rainbow Dash threw out her hooves in disbelief. “No,” Larkon said forcefully. “I will tell him. And I will not fight him. But I won’t move either. It’s… call it foolish if you wish, because I know what’s going to happen to me, but I will stand in his way and make him move me before he can proceed to the Spring.” “Larkon. He’s going to kill you,” Rainbow Dash told him. “Possibly,” Larkon nodded. “But I will show him, his followers, my son, and everyone else who may be watching that I’m not afraid of him. And show them the strength one who doesn’t resort to violence can have. No matter what he does to me I won’t fight back, but I’ll never back down and run from him either. He may break my body, or even kill me, but he’ll never break my spirit. He can’t make me beg, or bow, or respect him. I’m going to show everyone that the strength he possesses and wishes for is meaningless against true strength.” “But-” He held up his trunk to silence her. “No buts. I have to do this.” Rainbow Dash wanted to keep arguing but Larkon clearly wasn’t going to be budging on this. She would’ve liked to have helped her friend and been there for him too, but she had another role to play and a mission of her own. “Alright, I promise I’ll take care of Karkona and everything else for you.” “Thank you, my good friend,” he hugged her with his trunk and for once she accepted it without a groan. After a minute he released her and took a deep breath. “Now—the location of the Spring.”