It had been a few weeks after discovering where his parents had been for all these years and now Night Fury was going into overdrive to get to them before anything happened to them. He paced in his room, pondering on who he could bring with him to this "Cursed Forest", but he was running into constant dead ends with all of his options so far.
"The Mane Six are still busy with another adventure. Princess Celestia is busy over diplomatic issues. Luna's helping out the Mane Six. Who can I possibly count on?!" Fury said, greatly displeased.
"Sigh, am I really going to have to do this myself?" Fury asked. Then, an idea popped into his head.
"Wait, that's it! I know exactly who to call on!" He said triumphantly. He grabbed a quill and scroll to write down his letter, scribbling frantically in joy. Then, he held his letter over a dragon fire candle that Spike gave him for sending scrolls and it disappeared into thin air.
"Hopefully she won't be too busy. Not much happens in the Crystal Empire these days, Luna tells me."
Only five minutes later, he got a message back from the candle. He opened the letter to see it was from the Princess of Love.
Dear Night Fury,
I am truly sorry you have to deal with your parents being away from you for so long. It is not right this should happen. Mark my word, Night Fury, I will help you in your quest. Together we will bring them back safe and sound. I will be arriving there in two days. Get some supplies ready and we will go questing. Besides, it's a little boring in my castle with all this paperwork. I wouldn't mind a bit of adventure. I hope you are doing well and see you then. Signed, Cadence."
Fury smiled. He finally had someone to accompany him. Even better than an alicorn.
"Great! When she arrives, we'll be there! Hang on mom and dad, help is on the way." Fury said to himself.
–
Two Days Later…
Night Fury stood on the platform at Ponyville's train station, eager to start planning his trip to save his parents.
This is it, Night Fury, the moment that you've been waiting you're whole life for!
He thought to himself as he looked up at the sky, seeing the clouds shape themselves into his parents. He was soon snapped out of his thoughts when a blaring whistle came from down the track. In the distance, he saw a familiar crystal bullet train shooting down the track, its powerful puffing shaking the rails. The train engaged its brakes with a horrible screeching noise that made Fury wince in discomfort until it came to a stop with a hiss.
He heard the trumpets sounding.
"Presenting Her Highness, Mi Amore Cadenza!" said one of the guards.
Out came Cadence. She waved at other ponies but was fixated on finding Night Fury.
"Princess Cadence!"
Cadence looked to her side to see Fury running towards her.
"Night Fury, so good to see you!" Cadence said, hugging the black feline. "It has been too long, how are you?"
"Well enough as I can be, what with your private engine nearly blowing my ears out with its brakes."
"It is a little loud. Shining doesn't mind though. He likes how it wakes his guards up from sleep." Cadence laughed.
After a little light hearted conversation while walking to Fury's mansion, they finally were ready to get down to business.
"So let me ask, Night Fury. Do you know where we're going?" Cadence asked.
"Sure do, check this out." He said, pulling out a map with markings around a dark forest.
"Okay, this is where we're going. Someplace called The Cursed Forest. It's east of Manehattan, a couple miles out from the city limits."
Cadence looked nervous.
"Most ponies dare not go east of Manehattan. It's a horrible desolate forest out there. It took the founders of Manehattan a lot just to claim it from the dead forest filled with swamps and fire. It makes the Everfree Forest look like a petting zoo."
"Well that just makes it more exciting for me! And besides, these are my parents' lives that are on the line. I don't care if the place stinks like murkweed or is infested with Cragodiles. This is the closest I've ever been to getting my parents back, and I'm not turning back now. And I'm no chicken, so who's gonna stop me? Bakaw!" Fury responded, clucking like a chicken.
Cadence chuckled.
"You really are brave, Fury. There's a reason Luna took a liking to you." She smiled.
"Yeah, I am a pretty charming stud." Fury boasted.
Cadence rolled her eyes while smiling.
"Yeah, heh, I suppose so."
Getting back on track, Cadence further inquired.
"Okay so do you have food, medicine and all the other things we need to survive?" Cadence asked.
"Yep. Applejack taught me survival skills she learned at camp and delivering food to dangerous places and Twilight made me read for hours on my vacation to know all the good first aid maneuvers and herbs along the way. Not to mention that Fluttershy helped me pack up on snacks for the trip and told me about certain animals along the way. And I did a lot of training before I saw you. I think I'm ready." Fury said.
"Good." Cadence said. "We'll take a train to Manehattan and we'll party at the festival there. They probably are looking forward to seeing you."
"Parties are fun but I really don't have time…"
"You have to. We don't want others to know that we're going to try to go to the Cursed Forest. We need to be as low profile and stealthy as possible. We don't know how strong these Speed Shifters are. It's best we try to use stealth as best as we can. And besides, it's best to keep high spirits so you can focus on what really matters." Cadence said. Fury really wanted to go straight for the forest and fight for his parents, but he had to admit that Cadence was right. If he wanted to keep focused on the task in front of him, he had to stay high and strong. Both for himself and the others around him.
"Yeah, you're right. I always hated being too serious anyway. So, when should we make our trip out?" He asked.
"Well I was doing some pre planning, so in a few hours." Cadence said.
"Well then, I'll see you on the train to Manehattan. Get ready to party." Fury said.
"Oh I'll try. Though I doubt anypony could beat you at that." Cadence said.
–
When they went to Manehattan, it was a nice time partying. And talking to others. Fury was seen as a hero. In fact a certain buisnessmare was very insistent in trying to get with him. Luckily he escaped her clutches.
But after all that merrymaking, Fury and Cadence were indeed ready for their perilous trek.
"Okay, I've got my binoculars, my first aid kit, snacks, map, herbs and medicine, and my dashing good looks. Though, I doubt that those will really need to be accounted for." Fury smirked.
"Good. We're all set. We had better get going." Cadence said, looking at the early morning light. "There's a boat that will take us to the forest. I told the ponies that we're in this for tourism."
"Good." Fury said seriously. "Well, there's no turning back now. You sure you're ready Cadence. It's gonna be tough."
"I've been through rougher." Cadence said. "Especially with Chrysalis and dealing with the enemies of the Crystal Empire."
"Then let's get going!"
And so Cadence and Night Fury went on their way. They went into the mysterious Cursed Forest. It felt beautiful but strange. There were giant mushrooms. And glowing blue flowers. But no animals yet.
"Goodness, this place feels so empty." Cadence said.
"Nothing that I'm not used to. I've been living in places like this for years." Fury said, pushing through some leaves and branches. They soon came into a swamp where mud and sludge filled their path. Later down the trail, Fury saw something that took him back to his juvenile days.
"Woah, watch your step." He said, stepping in front of Cadence. He gestured to a mudslide that led down into the darker part of the forest. Cadence gulped.
"Are you sure we should go this way, maybe we should take a detour?"
"I don't see any other way through here, so we're gonna have to go for it. I've done this before, but you haven't." Fury said, looking down into the darkness.
"You've done this before?" Cadence asked. "Not that I'm surprised."
"Yeah, when I was a kid at least. I used to slide on mudslides like this all the time, and I'm sure you can too. Are you ready?"
"Okay, I'm ready." Cadence said. Fury grabbed her by the hoof. "I'll have to take a bath after this."
"Okay, here we go. One…"
They leaned down slightly.
"Two…"
Cadence was now smiling in anticipation.
"Three!" The two jumped into the slide and flew down the slippery slope.
"Wahooo!" Fury said as they were sliding on the mud. "Now this is the life!"
They slid a long way. And they had to avoid a few rocks along the way.
"Watch out!" Cadence said.
Fury dodged a large rock on his way.
"See Cadence, I have experience with this! I don't bump into that stuff anymore- Ouch!" He bumped his foot on one.
"Uh you were saying?" Cadence smirked.
"Okay fine, not as much." Fury said.
"I think we're reaching the end!" Cadence said.
"That's a mud pit! Oh, this is gonna be good! Hold on!"
They both splashed and dove into a pool of mud.
They both surfaced.
"That was amazing! I would love to do that again." Fury said.
"Eh, I would have preferred a real water slide." She said, trying to spit out some mud. Fury started to giggle.
"Hehe, you look really funny with mud on you. You look like a mud monster." He joked.
"No you!" Cadence said, splashing a bunch of mud at Fury. "That looks better." She smirked.
They both had a good laugh.
"Let's get to some solid ground." Fury and Cadence swam to the shore but they noticed something unusual.
They saw something glowing purple in the distance.
"Huh, that's new. It's the brightest thing out here. I wonder what that is?" Fury wondered.
"Well, we won't know what until we find out. C'mon, let's go see." Cadence added.
When they walked over they noticed a grove of glowing plants. They saw flowers glow purple. They saw trees glow red. It was nothing like they had ever seen before.
"Whoa." Fury said simply.
"It's beautiful." Cadence remarked.
In particular they saw a glowing red giant flower that looked like a cup. Fury walked towards it.
"Now this is something my dad would tell me as a story. Amazing. I wonder if I could have a piece of that flower." Fury said.
"I don't know about that. Something seems strange about it." Cadence said.
"Oh how dangerous could it be?"
"I'm just saying we shouldn't take chances. It could be dangerous. And Twilight told us not to play with unknown things."
"Oh, would you just relax? We're fine! I'm sure this thing is completely harmless." Fury said, brushing the leaves of the giant plant. Then, a low growling noise filled the air.
Grrrrr
"What was that?" Fury asked. "I'm not that hungry." The growling became louder.
GRRRR
"Cadence, is that you? I know you alicorns have strange anatomy, but yeesh!"
Cadence shook her head. "Nope. As much as I want to think that was my stomach, that's not coming from me."
Rustle
"Wait, I thought I heard something." She said. She looked ahead of them to see if any creatures lay in front of them. But Fury took one look behind them and saw the real threat as he shivered in fear.
"Uh… C-cadence… Since when do giant red flowers have razor sharp teeth?" He stuttered. Cadence turned around and saw what he was looking at.
"I d-don't recall." Cadence gulped. "Until now."
ROARRRRRRRR
The giant flower came alive. It was looking right at Cadence and Night Fury. They could feel the malice of the creature.
"Let's get outta here!" Fury attempted to run, but one of the carnivorous plants' vines snatched him up. "Aaah, the thing's got me!"
Cadence shot a beam at the vine releasing him. He was able to run for a little while but the vine quickly regenerated and attacked Fury again.
This time he narrowly dodged.
"What the heck is this thing?!" Cadence asked.
"I don't know, but I think I ticked it off!" Fury said as he tried to fight off the vines, but the creature was smart and used multiple vines to tangle him up and hang him over its mouth.
"Cadence, now would be a good time to figure something out before I become plant food!" He called as he started to slowly lower into the creature's mouth.
Cadence looked around. She saw a gate of opportunity. She levitated a tree trunk and lodged the tree into its throat.
"Grrrrrrr!!!!" The plant beast cried out now furious. Fury used the discomfort of the creature to bite his way out and escape.
"Hooo. That was a close one." Fury said. "Let's get outta here!"
The two ran and flew quickly. But the plant beast was not so willing to give up. It snapped the tree into splinters and regained its strength, unleashing its vines once more. This time, it got a hold of Cadence.
"Fury, help!" She called. Seeing Cadence in danger made Fury feel something he's never felt before, but he wasn't going to let that distract him.
"Alright, that's it!" He yelled. He lowered himself to the ground, red lightning engulfing him as he charged up what would be his most powerful attack. He opened his eyes, looked at the creature that almost had Cadence fully wrapped up, and let go.
ROAR!
A blast of electrical energy fired out of the Speed Shifters' mouth, completely obliterating the plant that had attacked him. Cadence fell to the ground and looked on in shock as the black feline eviscerated the dangerous plant.
I'm safe but… what in the world was that?! Did he really do all of that?!
Fury soon ran out of energy and closed his mouth, the surrounding area was pulsing with electric charge from the blast. And most of all, the carnivorous flower was gone.
"Fury, are you okay?" Cadence asked, running over to the panting Speed Shifter.
He panted heavily.
"Fury?"
"I need water!" Fury said. "Give it to me!" His body was jittering now.
Cadence gave him some water and made him rest on the floor. He gulped a good amount of water and Cadence had to limit him.
"Are you starting to feel better?" Cadence said softly.
"Yeah, much better." Fury said weakly. "Well that was… Interesting cough cough."
"Yeah, I could say the same thing. Who knew something that looked so beautiful could be so dangerous?"
"I don't think anyone would have been able to predict that. No way in Tartarus." Fury said. The two looked on at the destruction that Fury had unleashed.
"Since when could you do that?" Cadence asked.
"I don't know. I guess when I saw you getting dragged away, something just… Triggered. I've never felt like this before. Perhaps it was a bit of guilt too."
"Well, it's a good thing that you did. I wouldn't be here if you didn't do that." Cadence said with a smile.
Fury looked down.
"You wouldn't have been in danger if I had not done that. I'm so sorry. I guess I always thought I knew what was dangerous and not living so long in the jungle." Fury said. "That flower looked like a flower back in my jungle, I assumed it was safe. But it seems in this forest, you can't take anything for granted."
"Hey, don't beat yourself up about it. I would have done the same thing you did if I saw it. There's nothing to be ashamed of when you make an honest mistake." Fury smiled at Cadence's words, he felt better knowing that he didn't do too bad. But his thoughts were soon cut off when a rather loud growling noise broke the silence.
"Oh no, is that thing still alive?! Stay back, Fury, I'll take it on!" Cadence said, jumping up to defend her friend. Fury blushed and let out a nervous chuckle, he knew what that sound was, but it wasn't that flower.
"Uh, that one was just me."
Cadence simply collapsed on the ground. "Ugh! Your stomach is too much sometimes, you know that?"
Fury laughed at this. "Yep. You got that right! I am a hungry cat after all. My mom always told me that when I was hungry, my tummy made sure everyone around me knew. She told me it rumbled like thunder and she even called me Thunder Belly sometimes."
Cadence found this a pleasant story and laughed.
"And then," Fury said, "I would always eat a lot. Sometimes I even eat a bite from my friends. Only a bite."
"Well that explains your cake snatching." Cadence said as she wrapped some bandages around his wounds.
"You bet it does!"
"It must have been good times with you and your mother." Cadence said. "You seem to love her very much."
"Trust me, I do. And once I get her and my dad out of this place, I'll be happier than ever!" He said, but his stomach made some objections. "But maybe a little snack break wouldn't hurt." He said with a blush.
Cadence unwrapped her bag and gave him some fish. She squirmed a little at their slimy feel, but not Fury. He tossed it up and caught it in his mouth, biting down on it with a satisfying crunch from the bones.
"Thanks Cadence!"
"Heh, no problem." Cadence said, still not quite used to seeing him eat. But she moved on from that. She had more important things to think about.
"How are you feeling now, Fury? Do you feel normal now?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get going, we've got to get to my parents." He said, getting up and starting to walk down the dirt path.
–
Cadence and Night Fury strolled smoothly down the path, taking in the sights of the mystical forest as they passed by, from blue grass to red tree trunks. Then, Fury stopped and put a leg in front of Cadence.
"Hey, what's going on-"
"Shhh! Get down!" He whispered, pulling her into a nearby bush. She was rather confused as to why Fury was getting antsy, but soon realized what he was worried about when she saw two Speed Shifters walking along in the opposite direction.
"I don't know why we have to be out here? Couldn't we have gotten someone else to do it?" One of the said, clearly aggravated.
"Oh stop your whining, we have direct orders from the chief to patrol this part of the forest. He wants to be extra sure no one is intruding." Said the other.
"How could I not complain, I'm not supposed to be out here! Couldn't the chief have those two prisoners do it?"
Prisoners? They must be talking about mom and dad!
Fury thought as he continued to listen in.
"No, he has plans for those two."
"Plans? What plans?"
"Turns out that those two have a son, and he moved to Equestria a few months ago. The chief is planning to lure him out with a fake distress call from them so he can capture him and get info on the tribe from Thunder Hollow."
So that's why the Chief wants me. In fact he might be expecting me!
"Wait, you mean little Night Light or whatever his name is? What does he have to do with anything?"
"Well duh, he's apart of a bigger picture! Apparently he's apart of some sort of prophecy. Do you remember The Prophecy Of The All Powerfuls?"
"Yeah why?"
"Well you see, it turns out that Night Fire, or whatever, is someone quite special despite how weak he seems, according to our chief. And he didn't explain all the details, but he says that kid is part of the future of the Speed Shifters. Something about restoring the Silver Blue. And bringing back glory to our tribe!"
The Silver Blue city! That's what I was meant to do all along!
"But, I thought the Silver Blue was destroyed years ago?"
"Not exactly. It's been rumored that it still stands somewhere out there and the little squirt the chief is after is the key to restoring it to its full glory! And our tribe will finally secure its rightful place after those filthy non Speed Shifter felines exiled us!"
"Huh, well he better be ready for a fight, because the chief is ready." Cadence was appalled by what the two scouts said, so appalled that she didn't notice that Night Fury had disappeared. She looked around in an attempt to find him, only to see the two scouts unconscious on the ground and Fury standing over them. She stepped out of the bush and confronted him.
"Fury, did you hear that? He's looking for you! He'll probably expect you to show up." Cadence said.
"He'll expect me to show up once I see the distress call, but he doesn't know that I'm already on my way. If these guards are patrolling around here, then their settlement can't be too far out. Come on, we have to keep moving." Fury said as he hid the bodies.
Cadence and Night Fury trudged slowly being sure to keep track of any guards and also booby traps.
For Fury, he tried to make sure he was off the main road. And his experience with sneaking around made him extra aware of any potential dangers.
He pointed out to Cadence the occasional bear trap or string traps.
"Nice try guys. But I've seen too much to fall into what is obviously a pit." He said as he slid the leaves off into a large hole.
Cadence was impressed and thankful she had someone like Fury by her side.
"Wow, if I was out here on my own, I wouldn't have seen that coming. You really have a knack for sneaking around traps."
"Yeah, it helps to have a sense of surroundings like mine. It gets you out of sticky situations… and maybe the occasional booby trap your mom sets on the cabinets to keep you from getting into the sugar cookies." He chuckled.
"Oh you sneaky little thief." Cadence chuckled.
The two kept on going for a few more hours. Then they encountered a guard but not just any guard. One with a silver helmet covered in turquoise. He was someone important apparently. He was sitting by a table seemingly reading a map or documents.
"That guy must be an officer. They wear them to show their authority." Fury remarked.
"And he is way bigger than the last ones." Cadence admitted.
"Yeah, and it looked like he's got a few important things that could be of use to us. Wait here, I'll get high up and see what's going down. Heh, get it?" Fury chuckled as he climbed a nearby tree.
"Unfortunately, I do. Sometimes I wish he wasn't as cheeky as he is." Cadence whispered. Fury jumped from branch to branch until he was over the guard. He slowly climbed down until he could see what he had in his possession. On his left was a map, it depicted the forest in very fine detail. One important location that was marked on the parchment was a sort of camp site, possibly the base of operations where Fury's parents could very well be. On his right was a document that looked like a letter of orders. Fury read it in full.
Direct Orders:
Patrol the closer reaches of the forest from camp and stop any intruders that make themselves known. If an intruder is compliant and submits, bring them in to be captured and put to work. If non compliant, then lethal force is authorized.
Special Order:
Look out for a Speed Shifter with red eyes and a lightning strike birthmark on his back. His name is Night Fury. If spotted on patrol, immediately capture and bring back to the chief. Target is of utmost importance. Capture alive by any means necessary. Severe punishment will be enacted if he is killed.
"There sure have been a lot of pony intruders lately," said the gravelly voiced officer. "It's nice to see them squealing and begging for mercy! Ha ha ha! They should be thankful I'm giving them meaning by working for us!"
I see. It looks like I'm wanted, though hopefully they're still not expecting me yet. But most importantly that camp site… I wonder what it's supposed to be for? They said they were planning for something that my parents are made to work on…
Night Fury had the info he needed. Now he was ready to go search out that camp. He climbed back down to Cadence and told her what he had found out.
"Okay, so now we have a direct route to this campsite. That'll come in handy." She said.
"Yeah, but there was one more thing that I saw. He had special orders to look out for me and me specifically. They gave a pretty good description of me, besides the lightning strike birthmark on my back. That's ridiculous, I don't have a birthmark. And besides, my parents would have told me if I had one." Fury remarked. Cadence nodded along with what he said. That was, until she decided to take a sneak peek at his back and gasped.
"Uh, Fury, you might not believe me but… you do have a lightning strike birthmark on your back!"
"What, no way! You must be joking. I've checked my back before! It's not there."
"Well," Cadence used a reflection spell on a nearby tree. "Look at yourself."
And lo and behold a lightning strike birthmark in a lighter shade of black, almost gray, sat on his back.
"What the?! When did that appear? I never had that!"
"Maybe as you've grown, it started to appear." Cadence said. "It's hard to see from a distance but close up, I can see that birthmark."
This had Fury a bit paranoid. How would these strangers know something about him, he himself didn't know? What else did they know about him?
"There's no way I couldn't have known about that. How did they know about that? Unless, someone has been spying on me and getting info on me. If this birthmark is hard to see from afar, then someone close by has been taking glances. Otherwise, my parents knew about this and just didn't tell me. But why wouldn't they?" He exclaimed.
"Well we shouldn't dwell on that now, we have to keep going. I'm sure that once we find your parents, you'll get the answers you need." Fury took a breath and calmed down. While he was still a little on edge about his new birthmark, he knew that he could get answers to it all if he just kept going.
"You're right, I shouldn't stick on it too much. Come on, the campsite is just east of here."
The two marched on to their destination. It was much nicer to finally have an actual goal to get to instead of wandering around.
They started to notice more guards than before. And a few more booby traps. But they finally noticed a wooden palisade. It seemed to be heavily guarded.
"Is this our destination, Fury?"
"Seems like it. Look, there's a little rock formation over there, maybe we can use it to see over these walls." Fury suggested. The two climbed the rock formation until they were at the top, and sure enough, there was a clear view of the inside of the camp from there. Fury took out his binoculars and began to scan the camp.
"Oh my gosh." He said with some horror.
"What is it?" Cadence asked.
"Look." Cadence was given the binoculars and what she saw horrified her.
There were a whole bunch of ponies and a few Speed Shifters who looked malnourished carrying logs and heavy equipment. All under the watchful eyes of task masters. Even children were not spared this fate. They were all chained up. And there were a few pony skeletons decorating the area, perhaps warnings of what would happen should they disobey.
"Dear mother of Equestria, this is horrendous! And look, I can see some Speed Shifters too."
"But two of them stand out from them all. Check out who's near the furnaces." Fury directed. Cadence turned her attention to the wood burning furnaces that looked to practically be burning whoever was working on them to a crisp with how sweaty they were. But just as he had said, two of them stuck out from the rest. One Speed Shifter with white accents and another with purple eyes and a chipped fang.
"Oh my goodness. Fury, at those…"
"You bet it. Cadence, I'd like you to meet Black Ice and Obsidian. My parents."
Cadence could see it. Fury had aspects of both felines. Obsidian's black coat and Ice's eyes. He could tell where he got his heritage from.
But this made her sadder as he saw them struggling to work, just trying for dear life to stay alive.
Cadence saw Fury's eyes. A mix of sadness and righteous anger.
She fully understood why.
"Fury, I swear to you. I am going to help you rescue your parents. If it's the last thing I do. And if possible I'll free as many of these captives as possible. You have my word."
Fury simply nodded. He knew what he had to do.
"Cadence," Fury said. "This will be my most important mission of all time. If I somehow don't make it, then please rescue my parents or at least make sure others know where they are. This is not going to be easy. I don't know how many I'll be able to sneak by without getting caught so be ready for anything."
Cadence realized Fury wasn't messing around this time, she never heard him sound more serious in his life.
"And one more thing, if I don't come out of this alive… Tell Luna that I loved her with my last dying breath. Now let's take back what's mine." He said as he disappeared into the shadows.
"Good luck, Fury. May the gods be with you." Cadence said.
–
For Fury, he had a problem. How was he going to get in the walls? His question was thankfully answered when an oblivious guard opened an exterior door and left it open. Fury wanted to just go straight inside, but he recognized this guard.
It's the guard that whipped mom… I think it's time for some retribution.
He slowly sneaked up on the guard, making no sound as he came closer. The guard had no idea he was being hunted, he would figure that out soon as Fury jumped up and plunged his claws into his neck. Blood poured out of him as he gasped for his final breath, looking over his shoulder to see the assailant.
"Retribution is at my grasp, and you all… will… die." Fury whispered coldly as he ripped his claws out of the guard's neck and watched the life drain from his eyes as he slowly died in a pool of his own blood. For the first time in his life, Fury had made his first kill. And it made him smile.
"Rest in peace, punk. Or in your case, rest in misery." Fury said. Then he looked into the guard's bag to find some things of value.
He seemed to have a map of the camp itself, a badge and of course his whip. He even found a pamphlet of all the workers he supervised. But most importantly, he found some papers of access.
"Well there was one good thing about you, you incompetent guard. You're gonna help me get into here more easily." He said to the corpse as he hid it in a tree.
"Okay. I got an idea. Time for some disguise work." He said taking the guard's helmet and badge. "This might keep them off my back."
Fury walked on. He went by the second gate.
"Halt!" said the guard. "State your purpose." Fury thought for a moment to come up with a good excuse, he soon came up with one.
"Switching shifts. The chief gave me orders to oversee the furnaces. You know, teach those slaves some good manners." He said. The guard squinted slightly at the statement, making Fury just a little bit nervous. But the guard decided to let him in.
"Go right ahead, the furnaces are on the east side. Open the gate!" He shouted. The gate was lifted off the ground and Fury smoothly slipped inside.
When he went inside. He finally was close to a bunch of Speed Shifters for the first time in awhile. But they definitely were not the nice looking sort. They looked all rough and ragged. He could see many with scars and bruises. He saw some playing cards and gambling for a special drink. But he focused on two of them that were on the opposite end of the line stoking the fires. He made his way over to his parents, making sure that he didn't get any attention from the other guards. He saw his poor mother, struggling to handle the heat as she used a metal rod to stir the wood. She looked as if she was going to pass out.
Don't worry mom, I have a plan.
She soon fell to the ground in a heap, getting the attention of one of the task masters.
"What's wrong with you, why aren't you working?" He asked.
"I'm… so hot. I can't… keep… going." Black Ice whimpered.
"Please, don't put her at fault. She's never worked like this before." Obsidian added. The taskmaster was unfazed.
"I think I will put fault on her! I bet she's just being lazy and wants to slack off! Don't you know how hard it is for us to supervise you traitorous valley Shifters?! I'll teach you some discipline!" He said about to whip her.
Now's my chance!
Fury stepped in and made his move.
"Hold it! I don't think that'll work. Maybe a little fear factor will put her into working order. Where are the prisoner sheds again, I keep forgetting." Fury said in a deeper voice. The taskmaster sighed.
"Ugh, everyone forgets these days. Just go past the wood piles, you can take both of them." He said.
"Good, now get up and move!" Fury yelled. His mom and dad soon got up and moved with Fury to the sheds. He felt terrible for yelling at his own mother, but it was the only way to blend in. They soon reached one of the sheds and walked inside, the walls littered with blood and bones. Fury closed the door behind him and faced his parents.
"Please, not again. I can't do this!" Black Ice pleaded.
"Well for your information, this isn't going to be the same as last time. You remember that little guy, Night Fury? Well he's going to have to deal with the fact that you're here with us and working for us. And you know what happens to those who don't deal with it?" Fury said.
"What? What are you going to do to our son? Kill him!?" Obsidian roared.
"No…" Fury sighed, taking off the guard helmet and revealing himself to his parents. "They come to rescue who they care about." He said softly.
Black Ice barely reacted at first, suddenly looking straight into Fury's eyes.
"F-fury," she asked softly. "I-i-is that my little baby?"
"I don't know, I have your eyes and dad's fur. What do you think?" He said with a soft chuckle. Black Ice burst into tears at the sight of her son, she was elated to see he had come for them. She jumped up and hugged him tightly.
"Oh Fury, my sweet baby! I can't believe it's you!" She wept, Obsidian adding to the hug with his own.
"Glad to see you're still kicking, boyo." Obsidian hit his son's shoulder playfully. "Ouch. I don't have my strength anymore."
"Or maybe I just got stronger." Fury replied cockily.
"Ha ha. You do seem bigger, my boy. I'm not surprised to see you. I always knew no matter what others said, you had something in you." He said finally softly, giving tears of joy. "I'm proud of you, my son!"
"Me too! Look at how big you've gotten. You look just like your father. I truly did bring a blessing into this world."
"Awww gee Mom, not as much of a blessing as you guys!" Fury finally broke down into tears too as he hugged them. "I missed you guys so much!"
After awhile he let go. "I have so much to tell you guys. So many new friends and experiences. I even met those ponies our elders talked about in legends! But that's for later, right now, we need to get you and everyone else out of here."
"Ah it's nice to see you're actually a little more focused, Fury, for once." His mother said tears were now gone and back to her usual scolding self.
"And there it goes. Don't mind her, champ, let's just focus on getting out of this dump. But, how are you gonna get us out of here?"
"I think the better question is how are we gonna get you out of here." Obsidian and Black Ice were both confused at their son's wording. Fury let out a special whistle that neither of them had ever heard before. They were soon surprised by a teal light next to him and we're shocked to see a strange pink pony next to Fury.
"Mom, Dad, I'd like you to meet Princess Cadence of the Crystal Empire. She's going to help me get you out of here. Cadence, I think you've been acquainted with them well enough." Fury said, stepping aside.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, your highness." Black Ice bowed.
"The pleasure is mine, too. I hope it wasn't too much trouble trying to look for us." Obsidian said.
"Not at all, anything to help a friend of mine's relatives." Cadence said.
"Ah I see. Friend." Obsidian smirked. "You have done quite well in your choice of friends, my boy."
"What? No, no, no, no! She actually is just a friend! And besides, She's married." Fury defended, Cadence nodding and showing Obsidian the wedding ring on her horn.
"Oh." Obsidian said awkwardly with Ice shaking her head at her husband.
"Forgive my husband. He can be a bit… presumptive." Black Ice said, bumping her partner. Cadence giggled.
"No need to apologize, little old Fury here is just as cheeky." She chuckled.
"Hey!"
"I'm not surprised, he was always a bit of a wild card as a kitten." Black Ice said.
"Mom!" He always hated how she embarrassed him.
Cadence laughed at this. But she became more serious at that point.
"Okay, let's get back to business. We have to escape. It'll be a little suspicious though to try to explain why we would take you two out of the camp."
"I figured as much." Obsidian said.
"So what will need to be done is a sort of distraction." Cadence said.
"That'll be no problem, once I cause a little destruction." Fury smiled deviously. "Hey dad, remember the time we blew up the oven trying to make mom breakfast in bed on mother's day?"
"Ah yes. I remember your mother yelling at me for that." Obsidian said humorously.
"Well how about we scale that up a bit? About… Furnace sized?"
"Ooh, now you've got my attention, son. How do we do it?"
"Well, we all know that Methane is flammable. Right?" Fury asked.
"Yes…"
"And it would only take a good bit to set those furnaces off, right?"
"Yes…"
"So how about I go and… gas the place up?" Fury said, using his power and turning into a skunk.
"Ah, I see you've mastered transformation. That's very good." Obsidian complimented. "It seems it's settled. Me and your mother will try to run as quickly as possible away from here."
"Awww, don't you guys want to see the show? I promise it'll be funny."
The three rolled their eyes. Obsidian and Cadence humorously but his mother with a serious look on her face.
"Night Fury, this is serious! We do not want the guards to notice us and beat us up! Do you understand?!"
"Alright alright! Sheesh, after all these years, I would've thought you would've become less of a buzzkill, mom. I feel sorry for you dad, I finally understand what you meant when you told me that mom has a stick up her-"
"OBSIDIAN! What did you say to our boy?!" She grabbed and pulled her husband's ear.
"Night Fury, that was supposed to be a secret!" Obsidian said.
"You're just lucky I did tell her about your comments on her cooking. Oops!"
"What did you say about my cooking!?"
"Ahhhh! Nothing! Nothing!"
Cadence just laughed at the familial interaction. Cadence started to wonder if Fury's temper came from his mother.
"Heh, okay okay. How about we save this for later and get to work?" She suggested. Black Ice softened her expression and let her husband go.
"Do not think you're going to be off the hook once this is over!" She scolded. Obsidian sighed.
"Yes dearest." He moaned.
"So, are you ready?" Cadence asked the small skunk.
"More than I have ever been." Fury replied.
"Then go on, little skunk and make a big scene!" Cadence said.
Fury saluted and went out of the prison shed and started making his way to the furnaces.
–
Fury soon made it to the furnaces and hid under a nearby crate. He watched through a peephole as the guards made their rounds, keeping a watchful eye on the enslaved Speed Shifters. He then heard a voice.
"All taskmasters, to the wood piles! We've got a unicorn putting up a fight." One guard said. All of the remaining guards disappeared to deal with the disturbance, giving Fury a chance to put his plan into action. He snuck out of the crate and scurried his way to the first furnace where one of the Speed Shifters took notice of him.
"Well hello, little fella. I don't suppose you could chomp through these shackles and get me out of here?" She said desperately.
"Don't worry, I'll do more than just that." Fury responded, making her jump.
"Wait, you can talk? Maybe these fumes really are messing with me."
"No, you're not hallucinating. I'm one of you." He said, flashing the two white stripes on his back and tail a red color.
"Wait, I recognize you. You're little Night Fury, Obsidian and Black Ice's son!" She said.
"Yep, and I'm busting every single one of you out of here. I'm gonna blast these furnaces with some skunk fumes and create a distraction. But I don't think I have anything in the tank." He complained.
"I have an idea. You see those berries on that table? Those are gooseberries. They may be delicious, but for us Speed Shifters, they can make us pretty gassy." The Speed Shifter explained.
"Huh, I didn't know that happened to us. And I'm even more thankful that I've never had to deal with that. But, it looks like I'm gonna have to take one for the team. I'm too small to knock it over, do you think you can do it?"
The Speed Shifter nodded. "I'll try."
The Speed Shifter got a pawful of berries and placed them in front of the small mammal.
"Go ahead, little guy. Do your thing." The Speed Shifter said.
Night Fury ate a bunch of gooseberries, they had varying flavors as they had colors from sour to sweet. It was a pleasant mix of flavors for Fury. He found it easy to keep on eating and eating and eating.
Finally he felt funny. He heard a loud gurgle as he felt some pressure build in his belly. He felt like he was going to…
"Oooh boy, I can definitely feel that." Fury said, lifting his tail in anticipation.
"Here it comes! Get ready everyone!" said the female Speed Shifter.
Then came a sound louder than an elephant emanating from the skunk. There was quite a smell, but that was only the beginning.
"Oh wow, those gooseberries sure do pack a serious punch! But now for phase two, I'll be back." The little mammal said, taking off up a small tree and waving a signal. Cadence, Black Ice and Obsidian came as quickly as they could to help the prisoners, but were immediately stunned by the horrific smell.
"Gah! I think you might have done a bit too well, kid." Obsidian said, covering his nose.
"Well I'll take that as a complement. But now I need something to ignite this gas. Cadence? You know what to do."
"I'll do anything to get rid of this stench!" Cadence said, coughing as her horn glowed.
"Everyone get away from the fumes unless you want to burn up." Cadence warned. She let a small spark escape from the tip of her horn and fall to the fumes which immediately were set ablaze. The furnaces blasted fire up and out of their exhaust funnels like volcanoes and were so hot that the gates that gave access to the flames started to turn red.
"Okay everyone, follow us behind these sheds! We'll get those shackles off of you and then the chaos will really start to flourish." Black Ice instructed, leading the other ponies and Speed Shifters out of sight.
"I can still smell the stink, ugh! What did you do, Fury?!" Cadence asked in disgust.
"Sorry, I had to fuel up on gooseberries to get it done. Dad, you can tell her how we react to them." He said with a small blush.
Obsidian answered Cadence.
"Yes Princess. Gooseberries make skunks' flatulence ten times stronger. It is extremely flammable and is often used as a way to light explosives." He explained. "Although most Speed Shifters don't eat that many gooseberries."
"Hey, you can't blame me. Those berries are the best!" The little skunk said before letting out a squeaky remnant of his actions.
"Oh, uh excuse me." He said with a blush.
Obsidian and Cadence both laughed although they stopped to avoid smelling more fumes.
"We better get going!" Obsidian said. Cadence and Fury nodded and they both ran to where their Black Ice was.
Meanwhile every guard was now having to put out the fire. "More water!" Some of the Speed Shifters turned pelicans carrying water from the nearby rivers were trying to desperately put out the fire to no avail.
"Curses, how could this happen?! Hurry up! The chief will have our hides if he finds out about this." cried out a well dressed officer. Meanwhile, Night Fury had just released the last of the prisoners from their shackles.
"Okay everyone, here's the plan. We take on the guards to keep them from turning on us so we can get to the chief. Once we get to him, we tie him up, leave him here, and I'll take care of the rest." He said, turning back into a skunk.
"Okay Cadence, fill me up."
Cadence hesitantly gave him more of the gooseberries. She hoped she would not have to sniff more of those fumes.
"Don't skimp out on me. If my enemies smell it, they'll really not be able to do much!" Fury said with an evil smirk.
After Cadence did so, Fury went over to where the guards were.
"Hey, twerps!" He called, getting all the guards to freeze and look at him.
"You wanna mess with my tribe, then bring it on! Ayiaiaiaiai!" Fury let out a battle cry that signaled all the prisoners to start rushing out.
The guard may have had weapons and armor but they were no match for a large swarm of angry prisoners.
"Take this!" One prisoner slashed.
"Have some of this!" Another prisoner slammed a guard with a hammer.
"You don't mess with my daughter!" said a mother with her daughter, piercing a guard with his own spear.
"They may be big cats, but they're now my brothers against you!" a unicorn said blasting other Shifters with a beam of energy.
Fury looked on in amazement at the moment of shared achievement from both ponies and Speed Shifters. This made him even more confident that he could join the two together and bring about peace to the people. He was soon reminded that he had to stay focused when a gurgle came from his belly.
"Oh right, gotta stay focused! Can't hold all of this in forever." He said to himself, scurrying off to where Cadence had taken cover.
"Okay, now that we have all of the guards distracted, we need to find the chief. And we better hurry…" Fury warned, another growl solidifying his statement. "I'm starting to feel a little bloated."
"And I don't think anypony wants to be here when that goes off. Hop on, I'll give you a bird's eye view." Cadence said.
Night Fury flew up with Cadence seeing the whole village. It was a battlefield of epic proportions, for him at least. So far it seems the prisoners were winning the fight.
"Hey, look over there! Is that the chief?" Cadence pointed towards a Speed Shifter with battle paint on his face and a large headdress with some golden armor. It seems he was taking a nap before and only now just woke up.
"Bingo! Only chiefs wear battle paint and golden armor. Let's give him the drop, mighty Cadence! Heeya!"
Cadence swooped in, lunging straight at the chief. She and Fury were about to knock him out in one blow.
I'll finally get this piece of trash! Fury said to himself.
It seemed strange the chief was surprisingly calm despite all the fire. In fact he seemed to have a smile on his face. But it didn't matter, Fury was going to wipe that smile off his face.
"Hello there, Night Fury! Long time no see!" The chief looked up and greeted them. Before he leaped out of the way of Cadence causing her to crash.
"Ouch!" Cadence exclaimed, getting herself off the ground.
"You okay Cadence?" Fury asked.
"Watch your back!" Cadence said, looking to see where the chief was. He seemed to be gone.
"How could he react that quickly?!" Cadence said, stunned. "I was going as fast as possible. He should have been knocked out!"
"You may be fast, but us Speed Shifters are faster, Cadence." Fury said, still looking for the chief.
"I must agree, we are rather quick on our paws." Said the chief, revealing himself from the shadows. This Speed Shifter had blue eyes and a scar over his right eye. His sharp claws were scuffed and scratched, but still sharp enough to deal some damage. He was an imposing figure to be sure.
"Night Tyrant…" Fury growled.
"You have it incorrect. I am not what you of the Valley call Night Tyrant. I am his descendant. I am called Moon Beam. And I have been looking forward to our visit, my boy." the ruler said with a polite bow. Despite his scarred appearance, he seemed to be very eloquent in his speech.
"Spare me your niceties. I know that you're my enemy. All you want is power, power that I have been said to be gifted with."
"Ah, I see you have been educated in The Prophecy Of The All Powerfuls."
"Prophecy Of The All Powerfuls? Fury, what is he talking about?" Cadence asked, Moon Beam jutted in.
"Let me put it in perspective for you, princess. You see, the All Powerfuls were a group of carefully chosen Speed Shifters that were given power beyond the comprehension of anyone. This group we're blessed with this destiny for one reason, to bring together all walks of feline life and to harmonize our bloodlines. But with that power, came trouble for us all. When it was heard that your little skunk friend was the next generation of these beings, and that he was forming friendships with others outside our species, things started to get… ugly." His polite demeanor turned from calm to seething anger.
"If Fury proceeds to keep going with his efforts to bond with you… ponies and give our people a reason to allow them to become our allies, our regime will fall. Ponies will start to take advantage of our power, use it for their 'creature comforts', and abuse it for their own personal gain! But I will not let that happen. When I sapp the power from this weakling's bones, I will become the next all powerful Speed Shifter, and I will do what is right for our kind!"
"And what exactly is that?" Cadence snarled. Moon Beam only smiled at her aggressive speech.
"Simple. I shall reestablish the rule of the Speed Shifters! I will bring back the Silver and Blue City like my father and his father before him and so forth once wished! For centuries, we Speed Shifters had to wander for generations. We were hated by the other felines even if we were just trying to help them. You Valley Shifters, if I can even call you Shifters, turned your backs on the destiny of the Speed Shifters! That is why we had to live in these Cursed Woods." He was now fully enraged. "You allied with those that seek to destroy our kind! You accursed wretches!"
"That's not true! If I bond with ponies and get them to befriend us, we could benefit from their guidance. What good comes from making any other creature subservient to us? That's just racist!"
The chief shot back.
"Racist?! Let me tell you what was racist! Our Silverblue City, the pride of all felines, was made desolate because of those ponies. They pretend to be on your side but they actually are a manipulative lot. They conquered our lands and we have been humiliated ever since, living in second class forests!"
"The only reason that our ancestors moved out of the Silver Blue was because of the increasing dangers of the cold climate, dangerous creatures, and the lack of supplies to sustain a stable society. The only thing you have to your name is the fact that your father was a disappointment of a creature and should have killed himself a long time ago!" Fury yelled, now transformed back to his original form.
"You know what I think, I think the only reason you think you're doing this is because you can't accept that you will never be accepted for your thoughts and opinions." He said, slashing Moon Beam in the face as he kept going.
"Gahhhh!!! You idiot, don't you realize we had so much back then! We live in tiny villages while these ponies live in large cities!! You could be a conqueror!"
"That's because we saw no need to do so before we saw them grow in population and technology. And why would I ever want to become a conqueror when I could just present my benefits of being a part of their society and let it evolve from there. And I don't care what they did to us, that was in the past! But now I realize that you can't make everyone agree with you." Fury said, plunging his claws into the chief's chest, making him bleed.
"And don't think I didn't forget what you did to my parents, you pinheaded reject! You care more about your dream than other living beings!" He grabbed Moon Beam by the head and knocked him into the ground, imbedding his golden headdress into his skull.
"And you know what that gets you… killed. But I guess that you're so thick in the head that you can't figure that out. But here, let me clear your head!" Fury grabbed the headdress and yanked it out of the chief's head, his cranium bleeding over his head. Cadence was slack jawed at the moment, she had never seen Fury be so merciless ever since King Sombra.
"Say goodbye, sweet prince." Fury snarled as he bit down on his neck.
"No! You will pay!!!!!" Those were the Chief's last words. After that was only a pool of blood as Fury pulled his head and spine out of his body with his teeth and left a headless corpse in front of him.
Night Fury breathed heavily, Moon Beam's disembodied and lifeless head and spine still in his jaws.
Cadence was speechless for a while.
"You definitely know how to make a statement." she finally managed to say.
"No time for conversation now, let's get this done." He said with a bone chilling tone as he dropped the prince's head.
"W-what do we do now?" Cadence asked. "Are we going to assist the other Shifters now?" Fury froze and looked back at the princess, his cold, dead eyes making her blood run cold.
"You get to the others, I have my own place to be." He said, turning back into his skunk form and scurrying off. Cadence sat still for a moment, her entire body feeling as if it had been dunked in ice water as her mind flashed with the mercilessly disembodied head and Fury's cold voice.
"Oh boy, I need a break from all of this." Cadence flew to help out the other Speed Shifters and ponies.
–
Fury stepped back into the middle of the camp and readied himself for his final attack. He raised his tail once again, looking into the still ongoing battle.
"Hey everyone!" He yelled, making everyone freeze. "The bomb is set! I repeat, the bomb is set!"
All of the prisoners started to bail out, making a break for the gate.
They were eager to leave.
"Hey get those prisoners!" There was a large group of guards coming at the prisoners.
"Hey pals!" the skunk replied. "We have a present to give you guards for being such nice people. Get a load of this!"
And then all of a sudden, there was a blast of gas that covered the entire compound. The guards could barely move, they were intoxicated by the fumes.
"Adios, boys! Enjoy the gooseberry surprise!" He said, running through the gates and watching them close behind him. As the gates closed, all of the prisoners cheered for their freedom and the defeat of the Chief.
"We're free!" said an old mare.
"Mommy, are we really safe?" said a speed shifter cub with a scar on his face.
"I think we are, son. We are! All thanks to that young fellow over there!" she said, pointing to Night Fury.
"Aww, thanks! I did what I had to." He said, stepping through the crowd that was giving him props for his efforts to get to Cadence and his parents.
"You did it, son! You saved us all!" Obsidian said.
"I'm so proud of you, sweetie!" Black Ice added.
"Thanks guys, but it's not over yet. Cadence, send the signal." Fury instructed. Cadence aimed for the sky and shot a magic blast into the air, exploding into an arrow that pointed to their location. It wasn't a few seconds later until Celestia and Luna made their appearance.
"Ah it seems we have a lot of new friends by our side." Celestia said.
"Indeed sister. Let us help them out." Luna agreed as they flew close to the free people.
"Hey ladies, so glad you could join us!" Fury said.
"You didn't think I wouldn't take any chance I could to come see you, did you?" Luna said, landing in front of Fury and giving him a kiss.
"Uh, sweetie, you do realize who's on your left, don't you?" He said. Luna followed his cue and saw his parents were looking on at her with very strange faces, Obsidian looking on with a smirk while Black Ice had her jaw wide open.
"Oh… Um, hello." She squeaked.
"Well my idea wasn't completely wrong. You have a different princess! I knew it, my boy!" Obsidian said.
"My little boy. He really has grown up!" Black Ice said with some tears.
"Aww, mom!" He said a little embarrassed.
"It is nice to meet you two." Luna said with a bow.
"Agreed, Princess."
"That is very good." Black Ice said. But then she closed in on her. "That being said, if you do anything to hurt my Night Fury, physically or mentally, I will turn your skull into a decorative item in my kitchen!"
"Dad, a little intervention would be nice!"
"I got you covered, champ!" He said, pulling his wife back.
"Don't worry about her, sweetie. She's just being herself. Overprotective and a buzzkill." He chuckled. Black ice narrowed her eyes as she heard her son call her out but then smiled as she remembered an old nickname.
"Oh I'm not the only one who has a bit of a title, Thunder Belly." She said. Fury's eyes turned into pinpricks as he heard his dreaded childhood nickname.
"Oh no…"
"Thunder Belly?" Luna asked. "That is quite an adorable name. Let me guess, you got it because you hate eating too much?" she chuckled.
"I would also like to know the origin of this nickname." Celestia added.
Fury was not amused.
"Actually the nickname really comes from when he didn't eat. His tummy would make sure everyone around knew he was hungry. It was so loud that it sounded like thunder!" Black Ice giggled.
Luna was laughing like never before.
"I was just kidding about him not eating, I thought it was from him eating too much! I never realized it was his stomach growling! That is supremely adorable!" Luna burst out laughing.
"Why have you forsaken me, mother?!" Fury cried.
"Oh don't be so mad. I am just telling your girlfriend how adorable you are!" she said, hugging him. "And besides you called me that word, Buzzkill. An eye for eye, dear."
"And besides, I always loved how you were my hungwy wittle baby!" She said, nuzzling her son. Fury felt like he just wanted to keel over and pass on from this embarrassment, and it wasn't helping that princess Celestia herself, the most regal being in Equestria was now full on laughing. Not a giggle, not a sensible chuckle, but full on laughter.
"Is it too late for me to be eaten by a Cragodile?" Fury asked, fully embarrassed.
After a little while they finished the teasing.
"But wait? Where are you going to live, you two?" Cadence asked Fury's parents. "Actually now that I think about it, what about all of these ex prisoners too?"
Obsidian spoke up.
"Well for most of these prisoners. They probably want a place to rest. And then they probably will want to go back to their homes. I'm sure their families are looking forward to seeing them. The chief seemed to want a lot of laborers working on his project."
"That may be true, honey, but what about us?" Black Ice inquired.
"Hey guys, how would you like to… come back to Equestria with me?" Fury asked.
"Are you sure? We don't want to intrude on your life too much."
"It's no problem, mom. I'm sure Princess Celestia will be generous enough to give you guys a place to stay."
"Indeed. And not only that, but you will be warmly welcomed to our community!" Celestia said. "You two have earned it. And we will even heal up your wounds and other medical problems you incurred from that camp."
"Oh, that's great! We can improve our lives for the better with this, Ice. And maybe we can-" Before Obsidian could finish his sentence, Fury stepped in.
"I'm sorry dad, but I don't think Chief Thunder Claw will be very welcome to you proposing that the tribe move to Equestria." Fury said somberly, Obsidian nodded in agreement.
"I suppose you're right, he was the one who implemented the 'No other creatures may be trusted' policy. Maybe with time, we can prove that ponies can be trusted."
"Gee, that order sounded like that Moon Beam guy." Fury remarked. "But we'll show him. Just like I showed ponies I could be trusted just like the other Speed Shifters. Being an ambassador is no easy feat." With that information now being released, Night Fury's parents went into a frenzy. This time both of them.
"YOU'RE AN AMBASSADOR!?" His parents were surprised.
"Yep! I was made the ambassador to ponies! They trust me to represent the Speed Shifters and to be the go to for future diplomacy. You jealous all you have is the council to stand for you, dad?"
His father laughed. "You're darn right, son. It's always great to see a child go further than their parents. I hope it's not as annoying as some of those council members."
"Thanks, pops! Oh, and mom, I almost forgot. I never told everyone your nickname." Fury said with a smirk. Black Ice scoffed.
"Oh please, what nickname could I have that's embarrassing?"
"Oh I don't know, how about I just explain it to everyone… Jelly Belly." Black Ice froze, she forgot about that nickname. It's been so long.
"No. Don't you dare…"
"So guess what? My mom, when she eats too much, her belly jiggles like jelly. This one time, me and my best friend were eating. We wanted to give her some extra food. And when she ate it…" He waved his arms around to imitate his mother's belly. "It was so hilarious! I'm surprised you forgot, mom!"
"I guess I was trying to suppress that memory… until you brought it back, you little rascal!"
"Oh, and one more thing. When I was just a cub, around the time my mom was still trying to work off her baby fat and battle her post-pregnancy cravings, I walked in on her munching on a literal mountain of food. She looked like she had a balloon attached to her underside. When I walked in, I climbed up on her bed and being the curious kid I was, I wondered what it would be like to lay on her belly. So I bounced up, landed on her belly, and let it wobble me around like a buoy on the lake! And the best part about it, it sounded like she was full of water! Hahah!"
"YOU ARE GROUNDED, MISTER! HOW DARE YOU BRING THAT UP!? I SHOULD STARVE YOU FOR A WHOLE NIGHT FOR THIS!" Black Ice exploded in anger.
"And what are you gonna do about it, gurgle gut? Catch me? I'd like to see you try!" Fury said. "Hey guys, you might wanna stay taking bets because this could get interesting!"
She stopped being angry. And simply gave a smile. But not an easygoing one, but one filled with malice.
"Sweetheart, you want me to catch you? That's fine. I'll catch you. And make sure you know who you're talking to, mister!" She said using her own energy.
Fury now realized she was serious.
"Um, mom? You know I was just kidding right?" Fury said knowing he just unleashed pure wrath.
"Oh I know that, Fury. And I'm joining in on the fun!" She roared as she jumped on him and began to tickle him.
"Bahahahaha! Stop Ihihihit!" He squealed.
"How about no? I'm having too much fun!" She giggled, continuing her attack. The battle went on for what felt like an eternity until Obsidian stepped between them.
"Okay you two, break it up." He chuckled as he pulled his wife off of him and watched Fury run to his girlfriend for protection.
"Protect me, my sweet!" He instructed.
"I shall guard you with my life!" She responded, wrapping him with her wings and staring at his mother. "You shall not attack my sweetums again! Try your luck, if you dare!" Black Ice didn't try again and stepped back from her.
"Okay, I'll concede. But I'll get you back, Mister!" She exclaimed to her son. Fury smiled.
"I'd like to see you try! And to be honest, if I had said the same thing to Luna, she would have done the same thing!"
"I will admit that I would have done that, and you still remember your fate if you dare do that, right?" Luna said, running her feathers down his sides, making him giggle.
"Y-yes I do, I won't do it!" Night Fury nervously said. " Unless it is well deserved, that is."
Luna had a satisfied look.
"Do not dare step forward, mother of mine. I have the protection of the moon at my side, and she does not play around. Show her, babe." Fury said, Luna letting out a playful snarl as she embraced him closer.
"My Night Fury… Mine!" She giggled.
"Also she can move the moon itself, so she's pretty powerful. Just saying." Night Fury smiled at Luna.
Black Ice looked at Luna's body.
"You do have quite a lovely creature on your side, Fury." She walked up to Luna.
"Forgive me, for coming off as a bit harsh before. But now I would like to ask you some things about you."
"As any good mother would do. So please, ask away." Luna encouraged.
"What is your favorite hobby? Is it going to parties or doing karaoke?"
Luna laughed at this notion. Her being a party animal? Is that what Fury's mother thought she was?
"Oh heavens no! That would be my worst nightmare. No pun intended. That is something I would have to be forced to go to! I hate the loudness and crowds!" She looked to the sky. "My favorite hobby is looking at the stars and moon. And to hear the crickets sing their songs."
Black Ice was starting to like this. Luna was a calm, quiet pony it seems. Definitely not someone wild and crazy. A perfect balance for Night Fury.
"Okay, how about your current situation with Fury? Are you happy with him and vice versa?"
She gave a soft smile.
"Absolutely. I have never met someone more wonderful than your son. He is, despite his quirks, one of the most friendly and non judgemental creatures I have ever met." She said.
Black Ice now truly knew Luna was the one for her son.
"Also his purring is simply adorable."
"I know right!" Black Ice said. "He is like a little cub when he purrs!"
Fury was happy but now he realized there were now two ponies who love to talk about how cute his purring was. It was a little embarrassing.
"Oh come on! I don't purr that much!"
"Oh yes you do!" Luna and Black Ice objected.
"And poor old me!" Black Ice said. "I haven't heard you purring in forever! Now I must make amends!" She said, raising her claws.
"Aw shoot." Fury said.
One second after, Luna grabbed him with magic, made him lie on the ground and his mother had her paws on his neck.
"C'mon you two, we don't have to do this!" Fury argued.
"Unfortunately, I have a second opinion." Another voice came. Fury looked over to see Celestia standing next to her sister.
"Oh no, Celestia, not you too!"
"Sorry but I too am curious about this so-called purring that you do. Twilight would appreciate the research after all. So be prepared!"
And all three of them stroked his back and neck, causing Fury to relax and give out a soft…
Purrrrrrr
"Awwww," Black Ice. "Now that sound brings me back to when you were a little tiny cub!" she squished Fury's cheeks. "Actually, scratch that, you're still my little cub!"
Luna was amazed how his mother could display both anger and softness in a matter of a few minutes. She was quite something. It reminded her of Fury's soft side and ferocious side.
"Dang it Mom! The other Shifters are watching!"
Purrrrrr
"Awww don't worry son. This is just how your mother does things." He said while rustling his hair. "Ha ha ha ha!"
"Yeah, it doesn't me I have to like it though!" he pouted.
"Oh hush now, my love. You love this deep down." Luna said.
Fury simply kept his unamused expression but he knew she was kind of right. He did enjoy this.
"Alright ladies, I think he has had enough pampering now." Obsidian said.
The other three reluctantly let go.
"Thank goodness." Fury said. "Are we ready to go to Ponyville now? Who's going to help these prisoners?"
"Don't worry." Celestia said. I'll take care of them. Shining Armor has agreed to give them a camp until they are ready to go to their lands. Your parents can go on ahead. I'll take care of them." Fury smiled at the thought of having his parents come back with him to Equestria, he could finally feel whole again with them around.
"Okay guys, we're ready to go. How do you guys feel now that you'll be coming home with me for the first time in years?" He asked.
"It feels amazing, baby. The thought of not only being able to have my son back and live a more prosperous life is a wonderful thing."
"I'd have to say the same, son. This is a new chapter for us. Being able to see you grow up and live your life is a gift of its own."
"Thanks dad, but I'm not done. You two have some explaining to do." Fury said. Fury's parents were confused.
"Explain what, sweetie?"
"Oh I don't know, how about the fact that I have a birthmark that you never told me about?" He turned around and showed his back to his parents, revealing the lightning strike birthmark.
The two were both silent at the sight of this mark.
"So you know." Obsidian said.
"Sigh, we tried our hardest to hide it with paint. But I guess it was meant to be found." Black Ice said.
"Found out when Cadence looked at my back and used a mirror to give me a clear shot. Maybe being thrashed so many times by bad guys revealed it. Now, why hide my birthmark? Was it too dangerous to be seen?" Fury asked.
"Actually yes, Fury. It was because it was too dangerous to be seen." Obsidian said. Fury was surprised by that.
"You see, Fury, we knew about the prophecy about the next generation of the all powerfuls. And it entailed that a Speed Shifter with the mark of The Raging Storm would be the chosen one." Black Ice added.
"Wait, the chosen one?" Fury asked.
"Yes Fury and I can tell. You being an ambassador, you rescuing all of these Speed Shifters, your newfound powers. It all demonstrates that you are the chosen one to bring back unity and glory to felines."
"Wow. This is a lot to take in."
"There's a reason that chief wanted you. Maybe he thought you would work with him to unite Speed Shifters. But the problem was he would do it through violent means and oppression. We have taught you differently to unite others in friendship and harmony. It's good you met ponies who also share these ideas."
"Yeah, I found out from the chief himself, who called himself Moon Beam. Apparently he was a descendant of the Night Tyrant who also wanted to restore The Silver Blue. But this one wanted to do more. Because of me, he wanted to conquer Equestria as well, making ponies subservient to us in his grand plan to restore our glory in his own vision."
"He wanted to? Is he not still around?" Black Ice asked.
"Sorry mom, but let me just say that… I put him in his place." Fury said in a more serious tone, wiping some of Moon Beam's excess blood off of his teeth and flicking it away.
"I-I see." Obsidian said. "Did he pose a challenge?"
"At first." Fury said. "He did manage to dodge Cadence going like a bullet at him. But I was able to get him. It's all over now though! He's gone and that threat is no longer around!"
The two still seemed worried about something.
"Is there something wrong?" Fury asked.
"I don't know." Black Ice said. "It just seems too easy. To think it's all over with the Night Tyrant tribe's schemes. I know for a fact I saw a white unicorn making deals with Moon Beam while we were at camp." Black Ice said. As she said that, all three princesses and Night Fury froze like statues.
"A white unicorn? Are you sure that's what you saw, mom?"
"Positive. He was a little dirty, but he could easily be identified. He had white fur, blue eyes, and a golden mane. He also had what looked like a clip on collar and bowtie around his neck. And boy,.was he ever snooty…" Black Ice stopped as she saw she had all eyes on her.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"No mom, but you did just give us an id on someone who almost killed me twice." Fury said. Black Ice went wide eyed in fear and surprise, her blood running sub zero as she heard what had happened.
"W-what, this can't be true!"
"I'm afraid it is. Black Ice, the pony you just described was Ex Prince Blueblood. A wretched tyrant who went blind with blood thirsty rage in an effort to stop your son from what he thought was him ascending to the throne as Canterlot's next prince. And mine and Luna's nephew." Celestia said with regret.
"It can't be… It can't be… That must mean that they knew about you for longer than I expected!" Black Ice said. "I thought he was just some random rich snob, not a prince of all things!"
"I'm afraid I must concur," Luna piped up. "Blueblood has had a personal vendetta against Fury for as long as he has been in Equestria. He has gone from ruining his public image, to trying to ruin his title of ambassador, and finally going to the point of planting bombs to try and wipe him out completely."
"Not to mention being an all out hypocrite by going after me for apparently getting 'Spoon fed' an easy start to my life in Equestria when he's basically done much the same! But just because I'm not a prince or royalty of any kind, I shouldn't deserve to have those luxuries. Or deserve to exist in the first place… His words, not mine." Fury added.
"I see. What a horrible creature. He and Moon Beam would make friends. But what is Blueblood's status?" Black Ice asked.
"He went somewhere. We haven't been able to track him down. His whereabouts are still unknown. But he is probably not in Equestria." Celestia said.
Black Ice kept pacing around.
"Look, mom," Fury said. "You need to calm down. Everything has been dealt with. It's all over. There's no one out to get me now."
"I don't know about that, Fury." Obsidian finally spoke up. "If that Blueblood is still out there, you already have a potential rival. And also, that Moonbeam, if you were able to beat him so easily, is that the only one? Do you not think there might be more powerful Shifters like him?"
"What are you talking about?" Fury said. "He was the chief right?"
"I've seen a lot of Shifters like him. He is only the beginning. But I know even in being in that camp, there were other officials. Some are far more powerful. They will not rest until they have achieved their goal. They have failed now, but there will be more of the Night Tyrant tribe out to find you. And besides perhaps this Moon Beam was all talk and no substance. I'm willing to bet there is someone more powerful waiting in the background planning their next move." Obsidian continued. Night Fury took a moment to think about what his father had said. He wasn't too worried about there being other Speed Shifters out there who could possibly be looking to take his power from him and claim his destiny as their own, but he had to admit that there was still a genuine risk. He still wanted to look on the bright side of it though as he smiled and looked at his parents.
"I get that I should be careful with who could be out there, waiting to take me out. But look on the bright side, we don't have to worry about it now. If we constantly worried about what was in our future, we wouldn't be able to live our present to the fullest. Imagine if you two were constantly pushing to keep me safe and coddled me my entire life, how do you think I would be now?"
Fury's parents had to agree with him. If they had held Fury back all of those years they were still around and never let him flourish, he may have never wandered off from their home and gone to Equestria to look for them. He may not be even standing here at this moment if they had constantly worried about his future.
"Well considering how much you've grown, lad, I don't think we have to worry too much about you. You've done perfectly fine so far." His father patted his shoulder. "Right, honey?" He turned to his wife.
As much as she hated to admit it…
"I suppose you are getting older. And you are able to take care of yourself. I just… I just don't want you to be hurt. I don't want you to face these horrible things. I wish you were able to grow up without these burdens." His mother said with tears
"Hey it's okay, mom. Sure, stuff got rough for me. But I pulled through. And I had a lotta new friends along the way. And now that you two are here. We'll do even more!" Fury said, hugging her.
"You're right son. Sorry for being so worried. I have faith in you, my dear." Black Ice said.
"Thanks mom." Fury said, releasing her from his hug.
"Alright enough of this sappy stuff! Are you guys ready to go to Ponyville?!" He asked excitedly.
Everyone yelled yes.
"Then let's get outta this place." Fury said.
"Luckily I managed to make a map of our way out of the Cursed Forest. So let's go." Cadence said.
And so Fury, Luna and Cadence went with Black Ice and Obsidian back to Ponyville. While Celestia with some of her royal guards helped to provide shelter for the Speed Shifters.
Things were looking bright for Night Fury now.
–
"What?! Moon Beam is dead?!" said a shadowy voice.
"Yes, ma'am, he had his head and spine torn out of his body with no mercy."
"I should have known. That cocky idiot was always more tell than show. But that doesn't matter. It doesn't matter that our plans didn't go so well. We still have time and not just that, but we have a new friend, is that not right, Prince?"
A white unicorn bowed. "Why yes, I cannot wait to have my revenge against that… Night Fury. But we must not underestimate him. Now that he has shown that he is not afraid of taking lives, we must show caution." Blueblood said, finally remembering his name since he knew not to insult Speed Shifters in front of him.
"Excellent," the mysterious lady said. "And I also have other news, your highness."
"Oh? How so?"
"The camp that Moon was seeing over, the cat's parents were there. And they have been taken back to Equestria." The lady said. This news got Blueblood's attention.
"Ah this could be interesting, we will have to keep an eye out for them." Blueblood said. "Sadly I am not much of a fighter. I would not want to fight him head on."
"That's alright. He might be more powerful than we expected but he is still inexperienced. We have warriors that will make him look like a cub."
"He may be inexperienced now, but as he fights, he learns. His powers are ever evolving as the days pass by, so we must be vigilant. But we must not attack too early, for our plans being revealed too soon may jeopardize our lives. Any other news I must be privy to?"
"Yes, your highness. The boy has a part of his power that is linked to an ancient prophecy of his people. It is rumored that he is the next generation of some so-called 'All Powerfuls' that have existed for years, even before ponies colonized this land. If we can use this power, we will be able to rule once more!" Then she remembered her manners. "Ahem, with you of course having your own kingdom, Prince Blueblood."
"Well thank you, my lady." He said with pretended kindness. "I see this Night Fury is even more powerful than I imagined. I will have to use more of my wit and charm to take him down. You have my word!"
"Likewise for me." She replied. "And maybe one day we will invade that Valley and get vengeance on those traitors!" She seethed. "Ha ha ha ha."
Blueblood and this shadow Speed Shifter both laughed with excitement at their future plans to take down the new All Powerful.
Night Fury had better watch his back.