//------------------------------// // A Mammoth of a Problem XLIII // Story: Rainbow Dash's Unstoppable Ego // by MagicS //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash flew over the mountains to the northeast of the mammoth city. Up here she could look over her shoulder and have a commanding view of the city, the lake, and the entire valley they sat inside that was guarded by this ring of mountains. Straight down she peaked at the treacherous cliffs and peaks that had so little room between them that traversing through them on hoof would be next to impossible. Especially for mammoths. According to Larkon though there was a path on the ground that led directly to the Sacred Spring. Not that she needed to use it, he had told her the exact direction it was in and how it was contained between some of the mountains in possibly the only open and flat area down there. The reason the Sacred Spring was able to be kept secret for so long was mostly due to the simple fact that mammoths couldn’t fly. Combine that with strict rules about not searching for it, mammoths with no experience in mountaineering, and the natural danger and impassibility of these mountains, and it wasn’t a surprise that for hundreds and hundreds of years it remained hidden ever since the fall of Tarmok. Rainbow Dash was about to be the first creature in ages to touch down at the Spring. The Sages who lived there were in for a very big surprise today. At least Larkon said they still lived up at the Spring. Apparently drinking the water of it to prolong their lives as they eternally carried out their duty of protecting and watching over it. Rainbow personally couldn’t imagine staying cooped up alone in the same boring spot doing the same thing for that long. She looked over her shoulder again at the mammoth city. It had been a while since she really flew this much and this high now that she thought about it. Getting a view like this was nice. And despite the size of the buildings down there from up here it looked so small, it looked like any other city she had been to in the world. Back further she could see that first hill she landed on when she came to this realm of mammoths, she had really found the adventure she wanted. Rainbow Dash sighed and went back to scanning the mountains in the search for the Sacred Spring. “I just really, really hope Larkon is okay.” They had parted swiftly and silently after another hug. Her doing her duty and Larkon going to do his. How come he was the one doing the dangerous thing? That should be her job, she’s the one who wanted the dangerous stuff. But now her friend was practically sacrificing himself… She shook her head. She knew what Larkon’s choice meant to him and she respected that decision, all she needed to do now was succeed in the mission he gave her and stop Karkona. And she never let her friends down. Because she was Rainbow Dash. Element of Loyalty and just the most awesome pony to ever live. “Heh, so where is this place?” She said to herself as she looked down at the rocky and snowy landscape. It must’ve been nestled in somewhere like that little magical oasis she had slept in so long ago now. She hoped the water of the Sacred Spring was warm too… please let it be a sacred hot spring so she didn’t have to dunk herself into freezing cold water. She was far above any of the mountain peaks and was looking straight down for any open space or any color that was eye-catching or something like that. A small lake like she expected the Spring to be should be easy enough to notice. Rainbow Dash was very thankful that the skies were clear today otherwise she’d be in a pretty rough spot. If she was being honest with herself though she figured her eagle eyes would’ve already found the Spring by now. Especially with the general directions Larkon had given her. Rainbow Dash bit her lip, she didn’t have the time to search around the mountain range for hours. She had no idea how long Larkon’s confrontation would go or how long after that it would take for Karkona and his forces to reach the Spring. There were just too many variables for her to take a chance on. “And when I get there I have to find the Sages and convince them to let me use the Spring in the first place… that might be a whole other huge problem,” Rainbow complained to herself. She’d have to deal with that and any other problems as they came though. For now finding the Spring was all she needed to focus on. There should be a building or something down there too with it, right? If the Sages lived there they must’ve had a house to sleep in or whatever. It may have been built with stone and blended into the landscape though. Why couldn’t anything be easy right now? So much hung in the balance, was this just karma for her always looking for a challenge? She really didn’t want her cockiness to negatively affect others. With a grumble she descended a bit, knowing that according to Larkon it had to be around the general area she was flying over now and thinking that if she got closer she’d be able to see things in detail easier. She looked from side to side as she went down to around the level of some of the higher peaks, taking in less of a view overall but making sure she definitely wasn’t missing anything in the spots she checked. No stone was going unnoticed by her and her impeccable eyes. But maybe she should’ve asked Larkon for some actual exact coordinates before speeding off now that she thought about it. He wanted her to go as fast as possible too but now she was living the downside of that decision. Since Larkon personally had never been to the Spring he likely didn’t know that it would be problematic like this for her to discover. They say hindsight is 20/20 but Rainbow Dash really wished she could trade it for some foresight. At the same time she idly wondered if any other mammoths in the city, or possibly even Karkona and some of his followers, had seen her speed off in the direction of the mountains? She didn’t exactly do it stealthily and while she would’ve cleared the city in basically an instant she was still a really bright and noticeable object in the sky. No one could ever catch her but she didn’t want the mammoths of the city to think she was running away. And she especially didn’t want Karkona to know that she was already heading to the Sacred Spring. Although she was pretty sure Larkon was going to flat out tell Karkona that he had already told Rainbow Dash to go to the Spring. Because that would really, really, rile him up. It would also guarantee Larkon a very painful immediate future but he already knew that too. Larkon knew Karkona was going to severely hurt him when Larkon stood in his way, so why not make that evil mammoth really angry at the same time? In fact they had probably already confronted each other by now… “Ugh! Stop losing focus!” Rainbow Dash slapped her cheeks and shook her head. She couldn’t think about Larkon right now. If she thought about him too hard she was liable to blast off like a lightning bolt back to the city. Rainbow Dash was now right in the middle of the barrier of mountains and a good distance northeast of the city. It had to be right around here. The bases of the mountains all jammed together and their peaks were practically jumping distance apart, where was the Spring hiding in here? The pegasus passed one particularly big mountain that had two separate summits atop its ridgeline with snow cascading down its sides. Her eyes followed down it as the mountainside sloped more and more until it stopped at a sudden cliff. She blinked. Could it be? The cliff was only a short thirty or so feet high at the most and at the bottom of it was a flat expanse of land. A small piece of land but it was still there all on its own between the mountains. No greenery dotted it, the land just looked like gray dirt but on closer inspection it was oddly shaped. A perfect circle. An absolutely perfect circle of land that looked like it must’ve been dug out intentionally that way. It was slightly bigger than she had expected, from one side to the other could fit most of Ponyville. How had she not seen it yet? Was there maybe some sort of magical protection over it too rather than it just being secluded? She had no way of finding out, Twilight could’ve, or Starlight, but Rainbow Dash only knew what she could see with her eyes and feel with her hooves. And what she saw with her eyes right now was a lake of water. She grinned and began to fly down to it, that lake of water taking up the entirety of the open area aside from a shoreline on the west side. From above the whole thing would’ve looked like the sun being almost eclipsed by the moon until there was only a crescent sliver left of it. And the sun wasn’t just some random metaphor she thought up, the water was bright white—steamingor glowing perhaps, she couldn’t tell yet. But she was about to find out. “Sacred Spring, here I come!” She yelled and took a steep nosedive to her destination. In the city there was a violent storm of rambunctious noise and chaos that was impossible to ignore. It had been heading down to town’s square without stopping, shaking the ground, shaking the windows of buildings, and making the few mammoths who were brave enough to be outside earlier run into their homes like frightened children. Karkona’s army was a sight for the ages as they entered the city proper, past the walls, past homes and businesses that held scared mammoths who were barely willing to peek out at them. So far not a single soul had confronted them or stood in their way as they marched. It was no surprise to Karkona at all, these mammoths would’ve been too cowardly to do something like that even if his whole army wasn’t swinging weapons around. So Larkon knew he was going to be especially surprised to see him standing out there in town’s square already waiting for him and completely unafraid. Right from the beginning he was looking to unbalance Karkona and get him angry. Larkon was there, on the other side of the fountain from where Karkona and his forces had entered, close to the road that led to his house and the eastern exit of the city. He could hear and feel Karkona’s army coming long before he could actually see them. On the inside he was certainly afraid and his heart was pounding but he did his very best to not let any of that fear show on the surface. Even though he made his decision and stalwartly stood behind it in the end he still wasn’t Rainbow Dash, he hadn’t faced down monsters or villains or loved the thrill of adventure like she did. All he could do right now was try his best to be strong. He knew what was coming to him and he had made peace with that. Just try not to give Karkona any satisfaction. Emulate Rainbow Dash and her courage and show off to Karkona that he didn’t fear him. Larkon took a deep breath to steady himself as the rumbling and stomping got louder. Was anyone in these buildings that ringed town’s square watching him? Were they curious to see what he was doing? Or did they just think he was insane for being out here when Karkona was marching down the street. Larkon hoped that however they felt right now that he could inspire them with his actions. And finally he had to wait for Karkona no longer. The column of hundreds of mammoths with him at the front came marching in lockstep down into town’s square—and a very familiar and unfortunate figure was marching right alongside Karkona. “Samarkon...” Larkon let out in a sad whisper. His own son. But his eyes didn’t stay on Samarkon for long, he flickered them back to Karkona and held his gaze steady on the dark mammoth. Karkona soon met his eyes too and the leader of the army of thugs smirked, his eyes narrowing in contempt. Perhaps not as surprised as Larkon had hoped. Not yet at least, not until he learned certain other truths of why Larkon had come to meet him here and not try and hide or run away. Karkona and his soldiers traveled around the fountain, Karkona’s eyes never leaving Larkon’s. They walked steadily with Karkona’s smirk only growing wider the entire time. Samarkon on the other trunk looked confused as to why his father was out here and even slightly hesitant. Like he was almost ashamed to come face to face with his father like this. When they had gotten close, Karkona lifted up his trunk and signaled his soldiers to stop their march. The metal armor and weapons all clanged as the large column came to a stop. The faces of his thugs were twisted in sneers and malicious grins as they glared at Larkon. All of them were just waiting for Karkona to tell them to go crazy but no one was going to jump the gun until Karkona said something. “Well, well, well, look who it is,” Karkona gloated to Larkon. “Did you figure out what was happening and decided to come out here to beg me for mercy? Or could your weak heart just not handle the thought of what I would do to those kids if you didn’t reveal yourself?” Larkon said nothing yet, merely continuing to gaze at Karkona. Karkona snorted and gestured with his trunk to Samarkon, “How does it feel that your own son came to tell me your precious secret? When you realized he was missing what did you think? Thanks to Samarkon we know you’re the Keeper of the Sacred Spring, and there’s nothing you can do anymore.” “So it would seem,” Larkon finally said. His voice far more even and unwavering than even he expected. Karkona glowered, his patience already running thin and disappointed at Larkon’s lack of fear. “Well you know why I’m here. So tell me the location of the Sacred Spring or else. Am I going to have to even wring your son’s neck right in front of you?” Samarkon’s face swung up to look at Karkona in shock but he didn’t say anything. He just kept looking between his father and his idol in disbelief at what he had just heard. “No,” Larkon shook his head, taking the threat against his son in stride. “You wont have to hurt my son or anyone else. I knew you were coming for some time now, a spy that’s been living in your slums for a while came and told me shortly after my son came to you.” That made Karkona’s eye twitch. “A spy huh? We were pretty sure you had someone else working against us after that business in our warehouses.” “I’ve been spying on you for a long time, Karkona,” Larkon told him. The crack of Karkona’s trunk came like a whip. Fast as a flash of lightning it slapped Larkon’s temple and sent him careening to the ground. Larkon, who was not used to being struck, couldn’t help but cry out in pain and hold his trunk up to the throbbing pain he know felt pressing through his head. “Ngh...” He grit his teeth to try and bear through it. “That’s for thinking you can get away with talking to me like that,” Karkona spat on him and Samarkon winced. “So you said I didn’t have to hurt anyone else? Does that mean you’re telling me where the Sacred Spring is?” Larkon unsteadily crawled back up to his feet and stared at Karkona. “Yes… I’m going to tell you exactly where it is.” “Gahahahahaha!” Karkona laughed. “This is easier than I thought it would be! You’re all nothing but a bunch of cowards, you won’t even fight for what you believe in!” “You’re right about that, I won’t fight,” Larkon replied. Karkona frowned and raised an eyebrow at the historian, likely confused and disgusted by what Larkon was doing. “Feh, whatever.” His trunk lashed out again and roughly poked Larkon in the chest, making him stumble back. “Just tell me how to get to the Spring now.” Larkon stared long and hard at Karkona for the next minute as if trying to work out one last little problem in his head. “I wish I could talk you down from this but I know I can’t. So here-” Larkon turned slightly and pointed with his trunk down the street. “This is the way to get to the Sacred Spring. Follow the road to leave the city, but instead of just taking it to the quarry, once you get past the last vestiges of houses you must sharply turn up and head northeast. You’ll want to make sure you’re heading exactly the right direction, if you want to picture Tarmok’s Hall as the center of a clock, make sure you’re heading to the 1:30 position away from it until you reach the mountains. Once you get to the foothills you will have to search around for a bit, the trail is hidden between numerous cliffs and crevices, but it is there. Once you find it… all you need to do is follow it and the trail will take you to the Spring.” The savage mammoth regarded Larkon with a single raised eyebrow. “That’s it then? I hope you know how bad things will be if you’re pulling our trunks.” “I’m not lying,” Larkon shook his head. “Follow my directions and you’ll get to the Sacred Spring.” “Hahahaha!” Karkona laughed again and looked back at his followers. “Do you hear that? It’s time for us to claim victory and usher in a new age for mammoths!” “You won’t.” Karkona paused in the middle of his laughter and glanced back at Larkon, a deep frown appearing on his face. “Did you say something?” “I said you won’t. You won’t get what you want, Karkona. Ever,” Larkon told him. “Oh?” Karkona’s face took on a dangerous glower as he walked right up to Larkon and looked him in the eye. “And what’s stopping me? You just told me where the Spring is, you coward, there’s nothing standing in my way anymore!” “It’s true, I told you its location, and I have no plans to fight you, but you will still have to get through me before you go there. I don’t care what you threaten to do to me, I’ll never move for you willingly,” Larkon proudly stated while Karkona fumed. “You’ll never be able to break my spirit or scare me, Karkona. And secondly-” Larkon smirked. “You’re not the first one I told where the Spring was.” “You-” Karkona started but then his eyes immediately widened. He realized now who was missing. “The pony! You told that stupid pony where our Sacred Spring is?!” “Mammoths will never again use that Spring for evil,” Larkon said while the smirk on his face grew wider. “Rainbow Dash and I are making sure of it. She’ll stop you.” This time Karkona cracked Larkon over the head with his trunk, making the historian’s legs buckle as he collapsed to the ground with a gasp. Karkona was hardly done either as he hooked a tusk around Larkon’s and lifted him back up before tossing him backwards. Larkon roughly slid across the ground and struggled to stand right up to the point where Karkona charged him and kicked him in the ribs at full force. The air left Larkon’s lungs and all he could do was lie there and wheeze for a moment. “So what if she gets to the Spring? She’s a pony and we’re mammoths. Even without the power of the Spring I’ll be more than a match for her,” Karkona said as he glared down at Larkon. “And you said you’ll stand in my way? Look how many seconds that lasted.” He snorted and went to walk around Larkon—before he felt a tug on his foot. Karkona looked down in annoyance to see Larkon’s trunk grasped around his foot. The historian slowly pulled himself back up and walked back to right in front of Karkona’s face while his son and the entire enemy army watched. “I’m… not… moving,” Larkon said to him. “D-Dad, just stop,” Samarkon said. Was it actual worry for his father in his voice? Or was he still bewildered from how easily Karkona threatened to harm him? “Why don’t you listen to your son?” Karkona said and before Larkon could reply he lashed out with his trunk, hitting him several times in quick succession. Across the face, over the head, on his back and sides, Karkona’s trunk was like a storm as he beat Larkon black and blue with it. “You’re nothing but a book-reading coward! You think you can stand up against me? I’ll show you how strong I am!” He kept hitting Larkon more and more, even if Larkon wanted to fight back he wouldn’t have been able to. “What are you even trying to prove? My army and every other mammoth watching will see how weak and pathetic you are!” But Karkona didn’t understand how wrong he was. How courageous Larkon was for facing him down like this and taking all the punishment Karkona could mete out, with no chance of winning and still sticking to his pacifist beliefs. Karkona couldn’t comprehend what Larkon was doing. He’d never be able to. Karkona beating on a defenseless opponent who wasn’t even fighting back didn’t make him look strong. It made him look pathetic. Of course the violent thugs who followed him didn’t care or didn’t get it either. But Samarkon did. And so did all the frightened mammoths watching from the homes and stores. They watched Karkona relentlessly pulverize Larkon, and Larkon just took it all and kept coming back for more, truly not backing down. “You should hurry up and get out of my way!” Karkona yelled and struck Larkon even harder, knocking him over. “I don’t want to kill you, I wanted you especially to see what was going to happen.” Larkon turned his head from his prone position to stare defiantly at Karkona. “Well you’re going to have to do worse than this to get me to stop.” He coughed and shakily rose back up, standing in front of Karkona once more. “Old fool,” Karkona sneered and jabbed his tusks forward, stabbing Larkon in the chest. “Aghhhh!” Larkon couldn’t help but scream in pain this time. The wound was shallow but no less painful, and Karkona twisted his sharp tusks before pulling them out. Larkon staggered backwards and collapsed, nearly in shock. He held his trunk up to the wounds that were right below his tusks and beside his front legs in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Samarkon had gone white in the meantime, perhaps finally realizing what violence truly was and seeing just what he had wrought on his father. Larkon breathed in deeply as his vision began to fade. He knew he was starting to lose consciousness and couldn’t keep this up for much longer. But he would never give up, not until he blacked out or could move no longer. He couldn’t stop himself from shaking, or stand up straight all the way, but he still stood up to Karkona. “Is that… it?” Karkona didn’t explode in anger or yell at the historian, instead he just coldly narrowed his eyes. “No, it’s not.” The savage mammoth leader stepped forward and grabbed Larkon, hooking his tusks under Larkon’s body for leverage he lifted the other mammoth with ease. “Goodbye, Larkon.” He growled and spun around, launching Larkon high into the air. Larkon flailed about helplessly over the stone ground of town’s square while Samarkon watched in horror from down below. “Dad!” Samarkon yelled. The ground came rushing back up to Larkon in an instant as he shut his eyes on reflex and landed on his back. With a snap and a crack Larkon felt the entire back half of his body go numb while a devastating thud rang out across the entire Square. Tiles of stone were broken where Larkon landed, unmoving and barely conscious in his crater. Karkona trumpeted in victory and the rest of his army cheered and laughed at the broken Larkon. Soon after, Karkona motioned for them to head on out of the city towards the Sacred Spring. They had no time to waste. Larkon was quickly ignored by everyone except for Samarkon as the column marched on behind Karkona. Samarkon slowly walked up to his father after the other mammoths had left, he couldn’t follow them. He was too afraid after what he had just seen. Is this what he wanted? And… was what happened to his father his fault? “Da—Father… I...” Samarkon said with wetness swelling up in his eyes as he looked over Larkon’s grievously injured body. Larkon couldn’t move, he didn’t even have the strength to move his trunk, but he still heard his son’s voice and tried to look up at him. “Samarkon...” “I’m sorry, I didn’t—I couldn’t-” Samarkon tried to find the words, any words, but he choked on them. “It’s okay, Samarkon...” Larkon smiled as he closed his eyes. “You are my son… and I… I will always love you.” Finally his injuries and exhaustion were too much for his body to deal with any longer and Larkon drifted off into unconscious sleep.