Ferkó could only think that the team needed to mobilize before Sombra arrived, but somehow the situation rendered them motionless. As he watched Sweetie Belle stretch and yawn, it felt as if he had turned into stone. However, when Sweetie Belle finally opened her eyes, suddenly every muscle in Ferkó's body tensed.
"Hmmm, good morning. Where am I, what happened?" Sweetie Belle asked, a bit puzzled.
"Good morning, little survivor. How does it feel to finally be free of dark magic?" Ferkó joked.
"Well, it feels pretty good, except for this splitting headache," Sweetie Belle said, holding her head.
"Well, draining your entire magic reserve will do that to you, but there's something here that can help," Ferkó said as he slowly tried to sit up.
"What did you dream about? I felt you tossing and turning," Sweetie Belle said as she stretched again.
"Oh, well..." Ferkó's words stumbled for a few seconds. He didn't know what to say. If he revealed that he dreamt about Sombra pretending to be Luna, he'd probably be laughed at.
"A round thing that rolled away," Ferkó declared, trying to lighten the mood.
"What?" Sweetie Belle asked, confused.
"Hehe, yeah, you probably haven't heard that one before. Where I come from, it's a humorous way of saying nothing," Ferkó said, cheerfully rummaging through his bag and pulling out a package of frozen peas and a large red apple.
"Here we go," Ferkó announced happily. "You probably like the apple, and here's some ice for your head," he said, handing it all to Sweetie Belle.
"Thanks! I'm really hungry anyway," Sweetie Belle said, taking a bite of the apple.
Ferkó pulled out a carrot and started munching on it. The sun bathed everything in light, and suddenly, a very loud buzzing sound was heard from outside. For Ferkó, it was no secret who was about to break down the door.
"Good morning, Ocellus," Ferkó shouted before the shape-shifter burst into the house.
"Good morning! Guess what, Twilight woke up!" Ocellus exclaimed, jumping for joy.
"I thought Starlight wouldn't manage without me," Ferkó said, surprised but happy.
"Aren't you hungry?" Sweetie Belle asked Ocellus kindly, offering her some food.
"Oh, yes, I'm quite hungry. I haven't eaten in a long time," Ocellus said, looking at Ferkó with gratitude in her compound eyes, as much as it could be seen.
"Do you want an apple, or do you want the same as yesterday?" Ferkó asked cheekily.
"Well, if I get to choose, then yesterday's sounds good," Ocellus said, and suddenly, she thought about the delicious love she experienced last night, almost drooling at the thought.
"Alright, Sweetie Belle, could you go fetch some water? I want to make a little soup," Ferkó said as he winked at Ocellus.
"Sure," Sweetie Belle said, rushing off.
Ferkó thought only of Sweetie Belle again, watching Ocellus happily munching on food. Despite Ocellus's voracious appetite, Ferkó didn't feel anything special, but he knew that excessive lack of love wasn't healthy in the long run. When Sweetie Belle audibly approached, Ferkó gave a small cough to signal Ocellus that too much of a good thing could be harmful.
"Oh, sorry, but you know, I rarely eat such delicacies," Ocellus apologized, embarrassed that she had to be warned.
"Here's the water," Sweetie Belle announced, holding about 3-4 liters of water with her horn.
"Thanks," Ferkó quickly took the water and poured it into the small stone pot they had crafted.
The others woke up and were having breakfast when Smolder suddenly smelled smoke.
"Something's burning," the young dragon said.
"I can smell it too," added Twilight.
"It's coming from over there," Phinix said, pointing to the house where Ferkó and the others were.
"Let's see what it is," Scoutalu suggested.
The crowd stared as they saw Ferkó working with a pot filled with hot water on a crackling stove, while Ferkó sliced carrots.
"Good morning! What are you doing?" Twilight asked Ferkó, who was busy shaping dumplings out of flour and eggs with magic.
"Would you be so kind as to conjure up a bit of sour cream? I think there's some in the bag," Ferkó said as he stirred the soup diligently.
"Oh, sure," Twilight said, somewhat downcast.
"Mmm, it smells delicious. What are you making?" Sunset tried this time.
"Oh, just a little pea soup. It's delicious, and it's relatively quick to make, so it's ideal for now," Ferkó proudly declared as he threw some wood into the fire.
"Tell me when it's ready?" Fluttershy asked.
"Oh, it will be ready for lunch," Ferkó said, tasting the soup again.
Ferkó added a little more salt and a lot of dumplings, then put a lid on it.
"There you go, when the wood burns out, it's done," Ferkó said, heading out of the house.
Ferkó went to the stream, took a quick bath, then jumped into the water and started swimming. The others were busy trying to figure out what to do to weaken Sombra, but nothing came to mind that they could do with their limited resources. Ferkó felt he had enough of swimming and decided to go plan with the others. When he arrived, they seemed very indecisive.
"Hi, what's with the gloom?" Ferkó asked, trying to empathize.
"Hi Ferkó. Do you have a plan for what we should do?" Scoutalu asked, somewhat dejected.
"Well, I have a few ideas, but with so few of us, the risks are high," Ferkó admitted.
"Well, say one, maybe they're good!" Scoald urged.
"Alright, the first plan is to divide the team into 3-4 member groups, attack in a coordinated manner, or play decoy with a bird. What do you think?" Ferkó offered the options to the others.
"What if we have 4 groups of 3 instead?" Starlight suggested to Ferkó.
"That works too," Ferkó agreed.
"Then let's divide the teams," Twilight said.
"What's the goal?" Sunset asked, bewildered.
"For now, food, then we can think about the rest," Sweetie Belle declared.
"That's a smart insight," Ferkó said.
"What do you think about Appaloosa as the first target?" Scoald asked.
"I was thinking of a simpler place," Ferkó said and began outlining his plan.
"So, the goal is Sweet Apple Acres and a few shops in town, right?" Ferkó asked, seeking confirmation.
"Yes, but how do you plan to do this?" Twilight asked, looking at Ferkó strangely.
"Let me explain the plan. Sweetie Belle, Ocellus, and I will infiltrate Sweet Apple Acres and try to bring some apples to the Crusaders' house, where they'll be safe. Meanwhile, Scoutalu, Fluttershy, and Scoald Storm will guard from the air to make sure no guards come. Smolder, Sunset, and Starlight will simultaneously attack the Cake's bakery and bring back whatever they can. Finally, we need someone to stay here and guard—specifically, Phoenix, Twilight, and Angel. If things go south, they will be reinforcements," Ferkó outlined the plan.
"That's nice and all, but why doesn't Fluttershy stay here with Phoenix?" Scoutalu asked, puzzled.
"Because Fluttershy can communicate with animals, significantly expanding our observable area," Ferkó explained.
"Okay, then let's get started," Sunset said.
"That's what I thought," Ferkó agreed.
TO BE CONTINUED...