I couldn’t lie, his display of power was amazing. I would never have expected Sunburst to be able to take something down almost entirely on his own like that. But just how did he manage? Regardless, there would be time to think about that later. For the moment, I had to make sure the Twins were okay.
Pumpkin had used her magic to take care of our wounds, to which we were more than grateful.
“Sis, you were amazing!” Pound cheered as he gave her a hug, “Where did you learn how to control magic like that?”
“Well...hrrk--” she was a bit squished from her brother’s embrace, and levitated herself out of the grip to avoid suffocation. “Thanks, but there isn’t much time to explain all that. I’ll tell you more about it later, yeah? Now where did Pinkie go...”
That reminded me! Pinkie got launched clear across the horizon once her machine was destroyed. Okay, it was time for some deliberation.
“You two go track down Pinkie,” I said, “You showed top-notch skill out here in this battle, but it’s more important to never leave your friends behind. So get going. The sooner you can find her, the better.”
The twins looked at each other for a second, then back to me, and nodded together.
“Yes sir,” Pound replied, “We’ll take care of it no problem. Come on, sis.”
“See you later, sir,” Pumpkin added before the two left in tandem.
I took a moment to exhale. That was a rather rough encounter, but I knew it was far from over. That’s when Cheerilee finally regrouped with me after that situation had concluded. She looked a bit more bruised, but still kicking.
“Everything...whew...alright on this end?” she asked with a shortness of breath.
“Mostly,” I replied with a small smile in return, “But we need to keep going. There’s no telling what could be next from the likes of him.”
Cheerilee shut her eyes for a moment. “Wait a second...I can feel something. Something disturbing…”
I gave her my full attention. “Wait a second, what? Just what sort of disturbance can you sense exactly? And how far away do you think it is?”
“Not far at all, actually. On the path towards Sweet Apple Acres. There’s something familiar about it. As if...as if it’s calling out to you specifically.”
That pretty much told me all I needed to know. It must have been time for the true fight to begin.
“Alright then…”
I didn’t ask about it, but I could venture a guess that Cheerilee had learned a bit from the Earth Pony lessons she had taught at the schoolhouse. Had she honed her sensory abilities to be akin to mine? This was yet another aspect of her that I would have to investigate further once all of this was over.
At that moment, we headed out towards the farm. Up the hills towards the Western side of Ponyville where the smell of apples came across clear as day. The massive red barn started to appear nearer and nearer over time as we galloped towards it.
That’s when I felt it.
An overwhelmingly negative, yet familiar aura. This was bad because Cheerilee’s words rang true. This aura was a direct callout to me personally. Whoever was behind this one knew I was on the battlefield and wanted me to approach them. But you know what? Fine then. I was on the search for a particular set of individuals anyway. The sooner I could eliminate them, the better.
At last, we arrived at the farm. But something was off. Things were quiet….too quiet….
“Do you feel anything?” Cheerilee asked while on a lookout, and crept up to the front gate of the farm.
“...Yes--and no,” I replied as I swallowed a lump of anxiety in my throat. “You’re going to hear it in a few seconds.”
The fuschia mare crouched low to the ground. “Pale...what do you mean by that?”
I took shelter next to the fence. The magical aura had become more volatile in those last few seconds. “We’re about to find--”
BLAM!
The sound of an explosion occurred from the barn nearby. Thousands of red wood shavings trickled down and clattered all around us. We cowered to protect our heads, and once the rain of smoky wood stopped, we saw two ponies fly above us, and tumble to a stop behind us.
“AgH! Oof!” Applebloom was the first. She coughed up some dirt, and rubbed her mouth with her hoof before she stood upright. “That darn motherhubbard…how dare that thang hurt mah sister?!”
Next to her, her cousin landed--albeit with a bit more finesse as she hit the ground upright with her hooves firmly planted in the earth to stop on a dime. “Can’t lose focus, cuz. He may have gotten AJ, but he ain’t gonna get any fartha!”
Cheerilee and I didn’t even bother to ask who they had referred to. The individual in question showed themselves just moments later.
Another demon pony that had a smoky red and black hue swooped in to greet us. It hovered above us all as if it inspected us for a meal. The key difference from the others was that this one had bat wings. Curious. But then, I took a closer look at its eyes.
Lustful, power-hungry, uncaring, excitable. Yet extremely familiar. The aura was very recent for a demon of hell.
And then it hit me. The motivations of this one became clear.
“...Svengallop,” I muttered, “Modified and back for revenge.”