//------------------------------// // 37. The Four Mystifying Heroes. // Story: Baa-Ram-Ewe! // by Darkonshadows //------------------------------// -Equus, Equestria, Ponyville, Twilight- Still trying to figure out a way to get Lambkin and Changelings to be friends, the Lambkin were tough nuts to crack. Emphasis on being nuts, as the princess of friendship I never had this much trouble with anything in my life… it was actually a rather exhilarating challenge come to think of it. Aside from a slight basket weaving mishap involving Edith the Cockatrice who made a really good basket, far better than it had any right to be, things ended pretty well provided that everyone had warning that Edith was a familiar to one of the students at the Friendship School. As for what I was currently doing? I was saying goodbye to some new friends, Fluttershy wanted to spend a week in the dimension with the talking animals that our lost wanderers had visited. It was strange that the monkeys and the valley dwellers were at war with one another, but they immediately called a cease fire when we arrived to ask about our lost. “Thanks for the help, as much as you could give us anyway.” I swear that dragon was acting evil on purpose, but he was at least amiable enough to us and we got the coordinates for the dimension Pom and the others ended up in due to an unfortunate accident. There was a discussion on whether we should immediately go to that dimension or not. Also, as soon as we stepped out of their world really, the cease fire ended immediately and they were back to fighting. I sighed. Our friendship students, the guard and the civilian goat were doing alright at least. They couldn't possibly be getting into any more trouble in the next dimension. -Time: midday, Location: ????, Realm: ????, Person: ????- This morning started alright, my wee one was just so giggly. We’ve been hearing much ado about the problems coming our way, the empire has been rapidly expanding their territory and taking up large swaths of our peaceful kingdom with aggressive attacks. We were in an out of the way village so we should be fine… is that shouting I hear? Suddenly there was a crackling and my house was on fire, I be taking up my baby and running out the entrance to see that our village was under attack. Apparently being in an out of the way place in a little corner valley halfway up a mountain wasn’t far enough from the reach of the empire. Villagers were running and screaming everywhere, all of them fleeing the twenty or so soldiers attacking our town. The purple helmets, chest guards and shoulder pads were light armor. We didn’t have anyone to defend us, we were just a peaceful farming village and they still went out of their way to attack us when we held no advantage whatsoever to their warring. They were just attacking us because they could. They were even looting our homes as they burned and near the entrance to our village I could see one of their war machines waiting for anyone to dare and fight back. It stood tall and it waited for the soldier’s loot what might even be considered remotely valuable, they’d easily slaughter us all if they weren’t so keen on finding anything worth stealing. I do not know what they were expecting, we farmers didn’t have much out here unless they wanted to steal our food and there were better places to take food than from our small village. Turning away from the horrible sights to start running as everyone else had, I was tripped by a foot and my baby started crying, one of the soldiers was upon me and he had a wicked grin as he raised his blade to sky. I prayed to whoever was out there to help me, for no knights would be able to get out here swiftly enough to save me as no knights could possibly halt the cruel advancing empire from destroying us. I beseeched any deity with all my heart to send us help in our time of need as I covered my baby with my body to shield him from the incoming blow, I would perish before I let the soldier harm my wee one. If they survived a few seconds longer, then maybe some form of magic or miracle might happen to save him. I could hear the whistle of the sword as it was brought down to bear on me, then a powerful impact. … I blinked. … Am I…. am I dead? … I feel no pain, I can still hear my child crying, the burning embers of my home and I turned to look to see what had happened and blinked some more as I stood up and stared at the sight. My prayers… might have actually been answered, much to my surprise. The soldier that had been about to slay me and my child had lost his helmet, his chest covering plate was heavily dented and his blood covered the nearby tree. I could see multiple cracks in the tree where the back of his head had struck it. The cruel soldier’s downfall wasn’t the odd thing, the odd thing was my savior. She looked like livestock, but I could see the intelligence in her dizzy eyes even though she looked like a lamb. She was something more of a kin to one than actually being a lamb itself, call it an odd feeling of mine. What sold her intelligence for me was her gripping at a bag slung over her shoulder as she sat up and looked at the burning house and started panicking. What came out of her was certainly not the noise a lamb would make, but something more like a melodic symphony that sounded like a language made for angels. Whatever she was speaking, I didn’t understand a bit of it. A second later three figures erupted from my burning house rolling to spread out on the ground and then my house collapsed, with the three figures splayed out in odd positions. It seems my prayers were answered in a four for one deal, but could they really help us in our time of need? If the other threes arrival was anything to go by, then my savior was more of an accidental thing in nature than anything done with purpose. The goat looking one got up onto her hooves and looked about, then noticed the kin of lambs panicking and pointed out the burning houses to the goat. The goat, who was adorable with that headband, ponytail and her own shouldered bag looked both confused and sad at the burning remains of my home. The other two were stranger still and didn’t look like any livestock I’ve ever seen, I was fearful of one of them because of her appearance and it wasn’t the one that looked like a cross between an insect and a horse. That one I was oddly completely fine with. It was the orange scaled one that landed on her belly that had me concerned as she picked herself up and looked about, then heard my child crying. This drew all of their attention, the bug horse said something in a tone of crickets playing the sweetest music, the song of peaceful birds chirping and the lofty melody of restored hope all being played in tune to an ocarina. The scaled one spoke in a strangely aggressive harmonic tone back to the bug horse that sounded like an odd stringed instrument with power behind it and soft undertones of hidden heartfelt warmth, she seemed to be just as upset by all that was going on around them. They would not understand me if spoke to them, so I decided to wave to draw their attention to me. I pointed to the smoldering remains of my home, the soldier that just tried to kill me and then at the soldiers coming up this way. Their responses was swift, the goat immediately took on an aggressive stance, the bug horse lit her horn with magic, the scaled one pulled out a… a ribbon? She at least had an aggressive look on her face as she wielded it, making me somewhat worried about what she could do with it. The first one, the kin of lambs, groaned audibly and dragged her hooves down her face. She started to lamenting and whining about something, it sounded like she was separated from her lover and I knew that feeling I did. It didn’t take long before one of the soldier’s was upon them, I couldn’t shout a warning in time as the goat already went to meet them with anger in her heart and she be shouting something that sounded like cheerful violin tune. The sword swung down and suddenly a crescent of white erupted from the goat’s right hoof as she swung it upwards in a wide arc to meet the sword and, much to my disbelief, the sword bounced off the goat’s attack. The goat’s attack, what little remained of it after deflecting the sword, sliced a nasty cut into the soldier’s chin making them stumble back and I also noticed that the sword was damaged. That shouldn’t be possible, the Empire’s magic should have prevented the damage to the blade and the sharpness should not have been deflected so readily by what I’m assuming to be an adolescent. I came to the conclusion that the goat had magic. Swiftly more conclusions came to me that the bug horse had magic, the scaled one had to of had magic and as for the white kin of lamb… she immediately raised up on her hind legs to threw her right hoof upwards into the left side of the soldiers face with a mighty force. The kin of lambs apparently didn’t take kindly to the soldier attacking the goat and with that one mighty blow she sent the soldier spinning and they fell down unconscious on their face. I started to back away quietly and watched to see what would happen next as two soldiers charged them. The kin of lambs pointed at the burning remains of my home and said something to the orange scaled one and then bug horse, she then turned to motion to the goat as she moved forward. Was she their leader? Did a deity hear my prayers and send us heroes? My questions weren’t going to be answered in a fortnight, but I sure saw the bug horse transform into a horse with wings and shoot towards the clouds with the winged scaled one following after. My fears about the orange scaled one lessened by a bit, even if her voice originally sounded aggressive in tone. What happened next was astonishing, they started forcing the cloudy skies that the sun still shined through on the dismal midday assault on our village to create rain without it getting dark. That was the fires handled, these were truly powerful beings that have come to our aid this day and I thank whoever it was that sent these four noble spirits to our aid. When I turned my attention downwards I stared in awe as the kin of lambs about to catch one of the Empire’s fiendish soldier’s blade with her front right leg held up like a shield. What was she thin…? A flash of gold magic erupted from the impact much to the surprise of the kin of lambs, it was an even worse surprise when the dark magic on the sword glowed brightly and rebounded quite harshly. This sent the soldier flying back with his sword shattering, the bits scattering flying into the other soldiers coming up behind him. The soldiers were injured by the bits of blade for sure, but the soldier that was sent flying also knocked the lot of them over taking a few of them out in the process. Serves the empire’s soldiers right for putting torch to our homes and trying to take from us everything! The kin of lambs looked shocked, quite unusual for a holy creature to not know their own magical power. I know not where she comes from, but I be glad that she was here… now if she could take care of the problem of the Empire’s other soldiers and that machine strider attacking our home. -Shanty- “Pom… what be that move?” I asked in shocked at seeing the dazed look on Pom’s face. “I’ve felt something like this before and it’s not a move, but it was when a Paladin of Perun named Dispel Grace was attacking me with beams of highly destructive magic. I was launched more than forty feet in the air at the time… this time I was braced for it on the ground and they were the ones that were launched.” Pom be looking lost, confused and worried, she also be bemoaning the fact that we weren’t in Huoshan. “Why is all of this happening to us? Can’t we just go home? Why did we even have to end up here?!” I be hearing cheering from the lady with the child, she seemed happy that we were fighting off the monstrous looking soldiers. They be looking like soldier’s given they were wearing what be looking like uniforms. “I be thinking I know why.” I said as ten or more soldiers ran toward us in the light sun shower that Ocellus started with assistance from Smolder. “Please tell me, because I really don’t know how we immediately went from a peaceful panda paradise to fighting for a village that’s on fire!” Pom shouted because she attacked the next soldier first with a straight thrust of the left hoof to the face and then she spun and launched her right hind hoof up into their chest to knock them down. Some of the soldier’s be picking up their injured comrades and were now fairly wary of using their swords on Pom. “It might be being a good thing though.” I be flinging myself into a Wild Windmill, making the wary soldiers watch as I spun. I brought both my hooves above my head after a forward flip and swung them both downwards as I came down on one of them. I be pointing out the villager with a child that be watching us with a hopeful smile. “We be saving a village with no one in it that can be fighting back, these monsters be destroying their homes!” I just destroyed one of the soldier’s helmets and knocking them to the ground unconscious with the force of my blow, they started backing away from me and Pom. They be grabbing their unconscious people while fleeing and shouting something I didn’t be understanding. “Did you be understanding any of what they were saying?” I asked Pom with a tilt of my head. “No, and I’m fairly worried what that could mean for us in the near future.” Pom’s eyes were darting everywhere looking out for more attackers. “At least those guys seem to be retreating and aren’t attacking the village anymore.” “About that, we be knowing the Yen of Yunshu not be taking us to named places specifically, but can be taking us to places we know or places that we can imagine.” I received a curious look from Pom. “It be obvious that Po could not thinking of Huoshan directly. Maybe he be thinking fire, mountain, you may be being from a village and this place looks to be having friendly people that are under attack. Po be thinking of you guarding lives is what be bringing us here, you did tell him you are a guard.” “Well that’s pretty accurate as to ‘how’ we possibly ended up here at least… provided that the villagers are friendly to us. Just toss in the word ‘awesome’ and this is probably what happens.” Pom said with a hint of depression as she started talking dryly. “Well Po definitely knew how to use the coin at least, but the execution could use a lot work.” We heard something clanking and loud stomping towards us, I be blinking at the sight of something approaching us. “What… is that?” Pom asked with her ears wilting and backing up. “I be thinking that the raiders be retreating for that. If I become a pirate, then I’m definitely going with being a blue one at this rate.” In fact, I be seeing the soldiers cheering on the thing approaching us. “It be looking like an ostrich.” “One that’s made of metal?” Stated Pom with a bit of worry as it and the soldier sitting in the compartment in its back stomped up to them. The machine’s head menacing red glowing eyes. Sure it is only having two legs, but it seemed quite dangerous with that sharp metallic beak. The roundish body held the driver inside, protected from all sides except above. The head of the machine opened its mouth and I saw something forming when a wide eyed Pom dove for me. The ground where we had been standing was blasted by a round circled of energy, the crater it left be a bit disheartening… but I think could take it! I do not be liking them, whoever they are, because they be trying to make the people here homeless! -Pom- “Shanty, I’ll distract it, try to get Ocellus or Smolder’s attention.” The thing was already opening its beak for another shot I toss Shanty to the left as I rolled to the right and ran at the machine. It has a pilot so I can attack them to stop him from… the head quickly slashed its beak at me and I reflexively armored my wool and was knocked into the air flailing my limbs. It opened its beak up at me to fire and I did what saved me from falling into the very depths of the chasm that protects ‘The Valley of Peace’ from being attacked by armies. I inflated the wool on my head and bobbed upwards slightly and curled my body upwards as a ring of energy passed underneath me. I let go of my inflated wool and fell to the muddy pathway created from the sunny rain going on and below a second shot, the pilot urged the machine towards me intending to trample me with its three large mechanical toes on each foot. I rolled sharply to the side narrowly avoided being crushed as it passed by me, it would definitely have had more force than Thundering Rhino’s Hammer and the impacts shockwave might not have been survivable even with my fluffmancer talents. I- wasn’t about to test that or being hit with the energy blasts the head can shoot, the bladed beak hit me hard enough that I felt its edge trying to cut me through my wool. Rolling backwards to avoid being stomped on, I looked up defiantly while trying to think of some way to get the pilot out of it. I had to hop to the left and right to avoid the head of the machine blasting more rings of energy at me, the guy driving it was laughing maniacally at me. There was also something disturbing about the way the eyes in the head of the machine seemed to be staring right at me, it was as if the machine had an intelligence beyond its driver and was tracking me. The beak of the metal ostrich opened up and I went to dodge, only it didn’t fire the weird ring shaped beam of energy this time, this time it screeched. The shock of the screech stunned me as the broad soundwaves passed through my protective fluff and I clutched at my ears in agony, the machine took two steps forward and punted me with its left leg into a burning building. It was seconds later that Smolder was at my side and dragging me out of the burning building, the fires couldn’t die off fast enough even with the light drizzle going on to slow the burning of the homes down. I glared at the laughing pilot as he stood up from his seat and pointing at us. I was mostly okay, my fluff had protected me from the impact and landing. It hadn’t protect me from those soundwaves though. Standing up out of his seat was the pilot’s biggest mistake, given a second later I heard the telltale sign that Shanty had been waiting for this very moment where the pilot was both distracted with his cruel laughter and completely exposed. “Goat Fly!” Shanty shot off the smoldering remains of a wall to a house that has collapsed, she aimed her attack quite well with her right hind leg as she blurred towards the pilot. The pilot of the ostrich machine was wide eyed just a second before Shanty’s hoof slammed into his face almost caving it entirely inwards, needless to say he was sent flying off of his machine. The pilot’s foot must have snagged on something as the machine started to charge forward on its own and I noticed that the head looked forlornly at its own controls in its back as it charged straight into the burning building I had been knocked into. It was as if it knew what was about to happen to it. The machine tripped, fell and slid into the structurally weakened house, the house collapsed right on top of it a second later when its body destroyed a support beam. The cheering and sneering soldiers were quieted and blinking at the fact that their machine pilot was on the ground among them, they all looked to Shanty as she dragged her hoof on the ground. “Help me up Smolder.” Smolder helped me onto my hooves and I patted her head as I stalked by her towards the invaders of this small village. Doing a minor amount of profiling of everything that’s happened so far, we arrived a few minutes into their attack and these invaders were using dark magic judging by the glow of the sword that bounced off of me. “Get your ribbon out and help me defend the village, what’s Ocellus doing?” “She’s still mimicking Pegasus magic to help put out the fires these guys obviously started.” Smolder took out her ribbon, thankfully the combat ribbon was water proof. “She’s trying to make the rain stronger, but she can’t exactly match the strength of a pegasus when it comes to storm crafting. Ozzy can passably copy it well enough though.” “It’s a good thing that she can.” One of the soldiers was brave enough to charge at us as we joined up at Shanty’s side. Smolder snapped her ribbon out and around their right leg, with a pull the soldier fell on his back and dropped his sword. Shanty was on him in a second and bucking him back towards the other soldiers. The soldiers looked fearful and quite scared of the ribbon as they took up their freshly injured member whimpering on the ground and started running away as fast as they could. We had injured enough of them that it would be hard for them to perform any more attacks on the village and they lost their main weapon, that odd ostrich shaped machine. I let out a sigh and as the rain thickened slight and looked to the village in the noonday sun, the fires were finally beginning to peter out. Suddenly we started hearing cheers and looked to the approaching villagers, they all looked to be farmers and I think that they were cheering for us. The lady with the child approached us and kneeled before us, she sounded happy when she spoke at least. Said happiness turned mournful, she looked to the smoldering remains of what had to be her house with tears. She lost her home... we silently moved to give her a hug.