//------------------------------//
// Blood Hooves, Ghosts, and Humans oh my! 
// Story: Battle of the Blanks 
// by HumanSVD 
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Konrad and Ruby were slowly making their way down the hill from the ruins. The weight of Luna, along with his weapons, was not easy for him, but it was manageable. He could feel the sweat coming from his forehead and a few drops would make contact with his eyes slightly burning them. The only thing he had to comfort him was the fact that they were still alive, minus Ruby who was technically already dead.

He still couldn't understand how the hell she could be a ghost with a corporeal body, and neither Ruby herself had understood the concept. It was one thing to be murdered but it was another to be stuck in a body that could feel pain and being stuck around your killers had to be maddening. Konrad looked at Ruby to his left and saw that Apple Bloom was resting on her back, with Ruby looking around the area for any more enemies. He saw the look of determination in her glowing yellow eyes, as it was the same Ruby had when she was protecting Apple Bloom in the ruins. And that was a quality in her that he liked a lot.

"I know I wouldn't be able to handle her situation, she must be a tough gal."

"Thinking about Ruby now aren't you?"

"Just admiring the OC that Ruby is. Never knew there was more to her than just the game."

"Awfully hard to think about that when so little is known about her…horse lover."

Konrad laughed on the inside and gave a bit of a smirk at his conscience's remark. After all this time he had denied being a horse lover, he had made a choice between Ruby and Luna, and that made Konrad feel conflicted about the matter on the inside. On one hand they weren't human and he kinda felt like a zoophile, but on the other hand, if he was truly stuck in this world, he would have to take any shot at happiness wherever it came. He always wanted to find a nice girl to be in a long term relationship and eventually have children, but the latter set sail hours ago.

Not only that, there was the problem of Luna and Ruby outliving Konrad. Assuming the one Konrad chose would eventually marry him he would grow old while they stayed the same. Ruby was a ghost and was already dead, and was already over 100 years old, which meant she wouldn't age assuming she wouldn't crossover when this was over. Luna was well over a thousand years old and still looked really young as far as he could tell. He was also afraid of being dumped when he got too old for them, and that was something that he feared, should he be stuck here forever.

The odds of Konrad hooking up with another gal here was probably next to nothing, and now he was simply going to have to make the best of it. Besides, Luna was freaking awesome and now Konrad came to realize that so was Ruby. It was this that Konrad had taken into consideration, and now he was starting to rethink his choice from earlier.

"I got more important problems that romance indecision at the moment. I can cross that bridge when I get there…fucking Blood Hooves made a bridge! How the hell is that even possible?! This is so confusing just like those cannibal murders in the Arklay Mountains! And to think I used to hike there."

"They were a lot smarter than you thought, and the cannibal murders aren't your problem. They are the S.T.A.R.S. problem now."

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean? How could you even know about this?"

And once again when confronted by Konrad, his conscience refused to answer. This was beginning to make Konrad's head ache with confusion, not to mention his ear was now sore from Ruby's hoof strike. It was most likely bruised by now, just like Luna's eye.

"Damn, Ruby's got a good hook! Getting hit by a pony DOES freaking hurt. I can't imagine what they can do with magic."

Princess Luna's mane waved slightly in front of his eyes as he thought the question and immediately he remembered the scene from earlier.

"Oh right, I do know what they can do, but I wish I could have some means of countering it if I even need to."

Konrad then snapped out of thoughts and continued to follow Ruby, with Apple Bloom still knocked out on her back. That had made Konrad extremely furious when Crimson Tail had struck her in the back of the head, and forever sealed his hatred for the Blanks and the Blood Hooves. He would never forget the look of fear on her face, and even worse seeing her leg wounded with blood oozing out of it. He was also afraid that he would have seen her die right there before his eyes, being eaten and dismembered while he was forced to watch.

And because of that, Konrad took a lot of satisfaction at killing that bitch, and it also felt real good to give the flip off Blood Clop. As cliché in it seemed he now had a Nemesis that would do nothing but follow him where ever he went, intent on killing him. If they were smart enough to adapt to his weapons, perform ambushes, and make bridges, then he had no idea what else they could do. It was now more important than ever that they all get the hell out of the forest, but Konrad remembered something else.

"I made a promise to go to Sunny Town…that place is definitely going to be scary as fuck, and creepier than it was when I played the game. At least I'll be there with Ruby, and hopefully the Royal Guards too."

As Konrad thought about Sunny Town, Ruby spoke up,

"Hey Konrad…how are you holding up?"

"Heh, I should be asking you the same thing."

Adjusting Apple Bloom on her back, Ruby continued to walk down the hill towards the River, and purposefully avoided that same rock both she and Luna tripped over. Konrad followed behind Ruby, and avoided the rock as well, doing his best to hold onto Princess Luna, and his weapons. As he avoided the rock, he couldn't but help get another look at Ruby's rear. He wasn't lying when he said she was attractive, and Ruby had blushed a bit when he admitted it.

Ruby spoke back up again, as Konrad made his way to her right side.

"I'm serious Konrad, you almost died back there and…I just want to make sure that-"

"I'm fine Ruby…we'll I'm actually tired, hungry, and dirty as hell, but I'm just glad that none of us died back there…I uh mean, I-"

Ruby looked at him and giggled a bit before speaking back to him,

"It's okay, I know what you mean, and I'm not offended at all. And I just want to say that…I'm sorry for bringing you into this, taking you away from your loved ones in the past, and-"

If Konrad could have held her hoof he would have but instead, he simply replied,

"Ruby, stop that. I forgive you and I don't blame you. It's the Blood Hooves fault, all of this happened because of what Grey Hoof and those others did. If I'm stuck here, then so be it, but right now I just want to kill every single one of those…well you know."

"Bastards? Or did you want to use the word cunts?" said Ruby while raising an eye brow and smirking a bit.

Konrad chuckled a bit at Ruby's use of his curse words. It amused him to see a My Little Pony character to use such vulgar language, and it made his opinion of Ruby go even higher.

"Wow, I'm really corrupting you with my bad human curses now aren't I?"

Ruby chuckled a bit at his analogy and said,

"Yes, in a way, but I don't mind it, I just wish that you hadn't have used it in Apple Bloom's presence though."

Ruby then gave him a slight accusing glare, and Konrad blushed a bit from embarrassment. As much as he liked to swear at cliché bad guys, he really regretted using those words in front of Apple Bloom. While most of the zomponies were ignorant of his curse words, he wasn't willing to bet that the rest of Equestria was ignorant of their meanings. He was also surprised that Princess Luna hadn't called him out on such word usage, and concluded that she must still be behind the times culturally by acting like a Princess from the ancient times.

Apple Bloom on the other hand was still an impressionable filly, and he was afraid that him speaking curse words in front of her would come back to bit him in the ass.

"Yeah…in my defense, it was heat of the moment, but I see your point. From now on, I'll only curse when I'm killing all of those cunts in Sunny Town. Deal?"

Ruby gave him a look that resembled Sweetie Belle's unsure look and said,

"Okay Konrad, but remember my mother is there, and I won't have you calling her such names."

"Sorry, I forgot your…wait, isn't your mother a…"

"Yes, she's cursed like them, but she isn't with them anymore. Grey Hoof and the others subdued her when she fought them and I still have no idea what happened to her after I left…I hope she's still there, I want to be able to see her again."

As if Konrad didn't already have enough to worry about, he now had to worry about the possibility of meeting…Ruby's mother. There wasn't much shown about her in the game and on the Fanfics online that he read. From what he gathered, she regretted her decision when the curse was brought upon the town, and she seemed a bit dark, curse aside. He could only hope that she wouldn't be that monster in law, so to speak.

"I see…what's your mother like?"

Ruby lowered her ears a bit and said,

"Well, she always cared for me deeply, and I was really all that she had left ever since my father died."

"I'm sorry Ruby."

"It's fine, my mother didn't tell me much about him, but I got the impression that it his death hit her very hard. It must be the reason why she was very protective of me, and never let me go far away from home or the town when I was a young filly looking for things. Though, I'm sure when this is all over and assuming she is still there, I would like you to meet her, I'm sure she'll definitely want to see you."

And that made Konrad VERY uncomfortable, as he found out that Ruby's mother was very protective of her and that was an indication that she was not going to like him at all. He imagined it right now, walking up to Mitta in her zombie form and saying,

"Hi! I'm that human guy your daughter has a crush on! Nice to meet you!"

And after that, he imagined that an angry Mitta mauled him to death in a very cartoon like manner. Konrad's face paled a bit and he replied to Ruby with his voice straining a bit,

"That's…n-nice…I think."

Ruby noticed his discomfort and reassured him the best she could,

"Oh don't worry! I know she's technically a zombie, but she's my mother and I know she loves me. I promise she won't hurt you or give you the 'gift' Konrad, it's just not going to happen."

Ruby gave Konrad a sincere smile, doing her best to ease his fears. Despite the cute smile, it really didn't ease his fears one bit, and the thought of having a potential zombie as a mother in law.

"Heh…if you say so, it's just very…different, as if we being two different species were enough."

"I know what you mean, but really it's not going to happen. And you did say a soul is the same no matter what right?"

That made Konrad smile, despite the fear of her mother.

"Yeah your right…I guess I should make the best first impression that I can huh?"

"It would help, especially if you have…um chosen me."

Ruby blushed and smile a bit, very much giving saying that she really wanted him still.

"Wow, she really wants me! I don't know exactly what I did to deserve this but…it's not bad actually."

"I uh…yeah…we'll talk about that when we get to edge of the forest. Princess Luna needs to hear my answer too."

Ruby began to frown at Konrad's statement, but nodded and said,

"Okay, I understand…well, the river should be just up ahead. I plan on using it to guide us to the edge of the forest that will lead us to Ponyville. I won't be able to leave, but…"

"We're going to the edge just get Luna and Apple Bloom out of it away from Blood Hoof reach. I'll still be there with you as you hang in the tree line, and I'll be doing my best to wake them back up. Don't know how I'm going to get help without everypony freaking out about the 'Ancient' human."

Ruby giggled a bit before returning to a serious look. She nodded and said,

"I'm sure we can think of something when we get there. As long as…"

Ruby turned her head to face Luna as her head gently rested on his shoulder before turning back to Konrad. It was still obvious that Ruby wasn't fond of her still but at least they weren't fighting

"…Princess Luna is awake to explain the situation to anypony that might cross our path, we should be fine."

"I agree."

Konrad then adjusted Luna on his back and huffed a bit at the strain on his legs. Ruby noticed this and asked him,

"I take it the princess is heavy?"

"Well…*huff* more of a balance issue really…*huff*"

"Sure it is Konrad."

"Want to trade?" Konrad asked Ruby in a joking manner.

Ruby was not amused at it and merely replied,

"No I'm good. Well, here's the river and there's your truck by the way."

Ruby pointed the vehicle out with her right foreleg and Konrad took notice of his vehicle. The truck looked exactly the same as it was earlier, and Konrad was glad that nopony had messed with it. He began to wish that they could just simply get in and drive away from the whole forest. Unfortunately, unless they got some help to pull it out, the truck simply wouldn't get out on its own.

"I wish I had that cable and hook modification. Would have been very useful but no I had to be cheap."

"I'm glad nopony or whatever has messed with it. Too bad we can't use it."

"I know I would have liked to ride in it."

Konrad's eyes immediately widened when he heard that Ruby wanted to ride the truck. All Princess Luna did was hate the darn thing, but Ruby…she seemed very interested and practical about it.

"Really?"

Ruby smiled a bit at Konrad and said,

"Yeah, I would like to know how it works too…but mostly just to ride it."

"Wow, never met a girl that wanted to ride a truck. Most women drive tiny little cars or compact cars meant for comfort. This thing was meant for work and off roading."

"Makes sense, just like how my mom raised me, to be practical and hard working."

"Okay, Ruby is definitely best OC pony…goddamn! Now I'm conflicted about my choice! One hand, Luna is freaking awesome and real beauty, but Ruby…cute and practical, not afraid to get dirty. Agh! Screw it, I'll think about it later. I'm done being in this place."

"Well…when this is over I'll be sure to give you a ride…that is if I can get the damn thing out."

Ruby smiled a bit and said,

"Can't wait…"

They both looked into each other's eyes and Konrad could feel his heart skip a beat. Ruby in returned blushed a bit, making her even more of a cute gal…that is until something caught her attention. Ruby's face immediately changed into alert mode, and began to look around for something. Konrad immediately became worried that a Blood Hoof was nearby and began to look frantically in the direction that Ruby was looking in.

"I think that's who you and Luna were talking about." said Ruby as she pointed out a figure down the river.

"What? I don't see what you're…talking…about…oh no."

Down the river coming from the direction of Ponyville was none other than a character that Konrad hated aside from the Blood Hooves.

"No fucking way! Not this guy again!"

Sure enough, the sound of humming was getting louder and louder as its source became more visible. It was none other than the Sea Serpent known as Steve Magnet. 'Steve' began to casually swim his way down the river until he stopped a few feet from Ruby and Konrad, with Apple Bloom and Princess Luna on each other's back. Steve's eyes immediately widened at the sight before him, and he began to shake uncontrollably.

Needless to say it was very predicable what was going to happen. Instead of Konrad speaking, Ruby did her best to appear non-threatening and spoke calmly,

"This isn't what it-"

"AHHHHHH!" screamed the serpent while backing away.

"-looks like."

"OH NO! The ponynapper has a ghost accomplice and another victim too!" shouted the serpent, while putting his claws to his head in the same "Oh the humanity gesture!" gesture he made before.

Konrad's rage was starting to build at the serpent's stupidity, and was barely struggling to contain it. Ruby did her best to stop the misunderstanding from getting out of hand, and said,

"But we-"

"I'll have you know evil fiends that the Royal Guard is looking for you and will bring both to justice! OH dear! I have to warn them!"

And immediately the serpent turned tail and bolted back towards the direction of Ponyville, going faster than he did before. At this point, Konrad couldn't contain his rage anymore and proceeded to shout out to the serpent, but Ruby beat him to the punch.



"GET BACK HERE YOU EFFEMINATE BASTARD!"

Konrad's eye widened and immediately lowered his jaw in shock at what Ruby said. He turned to face Ruby, who was now huffing in frustration. Ruby stomped her right fore hoof on the ground, and turned to face Konrad. She immediately reddened with embarrassment and lowered her ears when she noticed his look of shock.

"Dang Ruby! Even I think that's a bit harsh!" said Konrad with a big grin on his face.

If there was any moment now that Konrad thought Ruby was awesome, it was this.

"I'm sorry for swearing like that Konrad. It wasn't very mare like of me."

"That was…awesome!" replied Konrad in a Tommy Boy like manner.

Ruby blushed a bit from his complement before returning to a serious look.

"Thanks. I can see why you had trouble with him earlier."

"Yeah, I tried to get him to not scream last time, but he did pretty much the same thing just now. Wait…he said he's about to go warn the Royal Guard!"

Ruby's eyes widened and a look of worry began to form on her face. Having both Blood Hooves AND the Royal Guard after them was really bad, and this was exactly was Luna wanted to avoid. They were now going to have to do their best to catch up with the serpent or at the very least, explain the situation to any Guards that may cross their path.

"We really need to get out of here fast Ruby, I don't want to have to fight Guards doing their job. Now I see why Luna was panicking."

"Yeah, we need their help after all."

"Okay, we need to double time it Ruby."

Ruby was immediately lost at Konrad's phrase, and he mentally face palmed himself.

"Sorry, it's another human expression. I mean we need to move fast…now!"

Ruby simply nodded, adjusted Apple Bloom on her back and motioned for Konrad to follow. She did her best to keep at a pace for Konrad as holding his guns and Princess Luna was tough enough, and running made it only worse. But he would simply have to tough it out if he wanted to get Apple Bloom and Luna back safe and sound. And hopefully not have the rest of Equestria out for his Blood.

And with that in mind, both Ruby and Konrad made their way towards the edge of Everfree Forest in hopes of averting a misunderstanding. It they didn't, then shit would hit the fan in a manner that didn't need to happen.

"Stupid Steve Magnet." 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shining Armor was currently leading the elite Spartrota Unit, and he couldn't be more proud of the honor that he was given. He just wished that the honor would have been under better circumstances, seeing how Princess Luna was taken captive by some unknown creature. Because of this, he had seen a side of Princess Celestia that he never had seen before, one of fierce determination and anger towards this creature.

Not only that a poor filly, one he remembered as a flower filly from his wedding, was lost and potential being held captive by zombies known as Blood Hooves. Shining Armor remembered hearing the tale of them when he and Twilight were very young. He remembered comforting her when she first heard the story, and had difficulty staying asleep. Being close, however, Shining Armor was able to comfort her and help her feel safe.

"And to think that I told her they weren't real all those years ago. Not only are they real, but my sister was almost lost to them. I won't fail when I face them head on with my friends and comrades with me."

Shining Armor turned around to see how the Princess, Twilight and the others were holding up. Princess Celestia had her eyes narrowed, and was looking forward towards the forest with only the intention of finding the filly and her sister. Shining Armor couldn't blame her at all, for he would have felt the same way. He then turned to see Apple Jack mirroring Princess Celestia's demeanor, with her Element swaying back and forth on her next as she walked.

"Again, I can't blame her at all. I feel for her though, when this is over, and we get her sister and Princess Luna back, maybe I could ask her for those Apple…no! Now is not the time to think of treats!"

Shining Armor unfortunately forgot to eat while he was on the train and missed the night meal as he was too busy watching over that 'Engineer'. He had bigger worries to think about now and continued to see how the others were doing. Twilight met his eyes and gave a weak smile when she noticed he was watching her. It seemed that she was holding fine, but she made it clear that she blamed herself for losing Apple Jack's sister. The only thing Shining Armor could do was return a smile of his own.

He then gave a quick glance over the rest of the bearers and noticed their unique expressions. Fluttershy seemed very neutral, which was a surprised giving her shy behavior, but then again, eh didn't know her very well other than what Twilight told him. Rainbow Dash seemed very nervous, but immediately changed to a determined expression of her own and gave a salute to him when she found out he was watching her. He chuckled and returned the salute, which in turn gave her a small moral boost.

"Heh, she might make a good guard someday, that is if mares were allowed."

Rarity was doing her best to avoid dirt piles on the road and Shining could only roll his eyes at the fashionable unicorn. She didn't notice him as she was too busy avoiding a rather big dirt pile. And last but not least was the strange one known as Pinkie Pie, a girl who seemed nice but was pretty…strange to him. She was merely bouncing up and down as they all walked forward down the road, but she seemed to be humming a tune that he seemed to have heard from somewhere.

"That one is very strange, but Cadence seemed to enjoy her party very much. I guess I should get to know her later when this is over."

Shining Armor turned his back towards the front of the group, with Spartrota Unit fowling behind them in an impressive formation. When they had arrived in Ponyville, several of the villagers opened their windows and doors, curious as well as nervous as to what was going on. Princess Celestia had reassured that all was safe and that they sure return to their sleep. It didn't do very much good however as seeing so many guards made them nervous as to what was going on, but none of them would doubt Princess Celestia.

Shining Armor the river nearby that was close by the main pathway and saw the forest in distance until he noticed something was off. Despite the darkness, he could make out a faint noise and a figure rapidly approaching them. He immediately went into alert mode and shouted out to the other's what he saw.

"Everpony there's a figure approaching us! Take defensive positions!"

Everypony immediately got into a defensive position, with the Princess and the Element bearers stepping their hooves into the ground, ready to use the Elements if necessary. The rest of the Guards, including Shining, readied their spears towards the unknown contact.

"This is it everypony, stay together and we'll be just fine." said Shining Armor.

"Bring it on you BOZO!" shouted Rainbow Dash.

"EEP!" was all Fluttershy could even say.

"I hope I won't get dirty!" said Rarity.

"Ah'll give it a piece of mah mind, Ah'll tell you what!" said Apple Jack.

"Girls! We don't even know what it is!" said Twilight.

"I hope it's a nice pony that likes cake!" said a cheerful Pinkie Pie.

"SILENCE GIRLS!" shouted Princess Celestia.

All of the girls suddenly became shocked that Princess Celestia spoke in the same manner that Princess Luna used to. None of them had seen this side of Princess Celestia before and immediately obeyed with them fearing her rather than the creature approaching. Princess Celestia noticed this and felt bad for shouting at them. It would seem she was very stressed at the moment.

"Girls, I'm sorry for shouting at you, but we must remain focused at the task at hand."

All of the girls nodded and turned their attention to the figure ahead. It was coming from the river, and getting louder. Shining held his custom spear very tight with his forelegs and was ready to fight. Instead of seeing a Blood Hoof or a two legged creature, he saw the same Sea Serpent from earlier.

"AHHHH! HELP! Ponynapper! Ghost!"

"EEP! G-g-ghost?!" asked scared Fluttershy.

The Sea Serpent took noticed of the crowd in front of him, and immediately began to speak very fast once got close enough.

"Ponynapperandghostarejustaheadandfollowingme!"

Princess Celestia then interrupted him,

"Speak slowly my subject, and tell us what is wrong."

The Serpent then took notice of the Solar Princess and immediately bowed before getting back up.

"OH dear! Please forgive me your highness, but I just saw the ponynapper again!"

All of the girls immediately gasped and Princess Celestia's eyes widened at the Serpent's revelation.

"Where is it?! Did it have a-", asked Shining Armor before the serpent interrupted him.

"A blue Alicorn? He most certainly did! And he has a ghost with him! She had these awful and scary glowing yellow eyes and she had a filly on her back!"

Apple Jack immediately began to snort in anger and it was all too obvious why. The serpent had just confirmed that Apple Bloom was now being held captive by the mysterious monster and his new ghost accomplice. Apple Jack's face was lighting up as red as a chili pepper and the other ponies, with the exception of Princess Celestia, began to distance themselves from the fuming earth pony mare. Apple Jack was so steamed that even the Spartrota members were begging to look weary.

"WHY THAT NO GOOD VARMINT! AH'M GONNA GIVE IT A BUCKING SO HARD THAT EVEN-"

"Apple Jack, remain calm! You won't be able to help your sister if you're too upset. Remember to stay focused." said Princess Celestia.

Apple Jack's face began to ease a bit in and slowly her color returned to normal. Apple Jack also took the time to bow to Princess Celestia, but her hooves were still shaking in barely contained anger.

"I would feel the exact same way; I need to get as much information as I can."

"Serpent, how long ago and in which direction did you spot them?" asked Shining Armor.

The serpent pointed in the direction of where he came from.

"They are just down the river, and they were also following me not too long ago, maybe five minutes or so. Luckily, I'm a very fast swimmer, and that Ghost Mare of his was just as rude and vile as he was!"

This immediately intrigued Twilight as she began to ask the same serpent who helped her earlier.

"Ghost Mare? You mean the ghost is a pony?"

"Yes my dear, the ghost is a mare, but she was very strange looking. It was almost as if she had a regular body, and aside from her eyes, you would not be able to tell that she was ghost at all! She had a grey coat, orange highlighted man and tail, with a magnifying glass as a cutie mark."

Shining Armor observed Twilight as she began to think, and knowing his sister, she was most likely trying to remember any information that she might have read from a book. As if she found an answer, she raised her hoof with a look of "I know the answer".

"I remember now! The book Ghosts, Goblins and other Ghoulish figures said-"

"Ah don't care what some book said! Mah sister is out there with a monster and a ghost! We need to find them right now!" exclaimed Apple Jack while stomping her hoof on the ground.

Twilight Sparkle, however, wasn't finished.

"None of this makes any sense Apple Jack! Before the Blood Hooves tried to kill me they claimed that they had Apple Bloom, but now this gentlecolt is saying that Apple Bloom is with an unknown creature, and a ghost. The book said that ghosts are victims of murder and with the Blood Hooves nearby, she might have been a victim of them. It's also possible that Princess Luna was attacked and the new creature might have assisted by trying to help her."

"The green creature trying to help them with a ghost? Unlikely Twily, but…we'll see."

"Well, if that's so, then why the hay is this two legged feller going around and insulting everypony? Wouldn't it make sense that he'd ask this feller for some help?"

Twilight Sparkle began to raise her hoof as if to make a point, but froze and then said,

"I…don't… know."

"It sounds to me this bozo is just trying to beat the competition, or is probably helping them. We can't waste any more time! Let's go get'em!" interjected Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash immediately got up and began to start boxing all over the place, and nearly hit a Spartrota Guard. The Guard grunted in disapproval and Rainbow Dash ceased boxing, with her cheeks slightly red with embarrassment, and her ears lowered.

"Heh, sorry bud!"

The Guard didn't say anything however and just continued to stare ahead. Twilight Sparkle stepped forward and asked the Serpent,

"What was the condition of Apple Bloom and Princess Luna?"

"Well, from what I remember, the Princess on the creature's back looked just as terrible from before, except this time she had a black eye. And the filly looked very terrible as well, with a bloody right foreleg. I think somepony might have bit her very badly."

Everypony gasped at the details of what the serpent divulged…all except for Apple Jack and Princess Celestia. Apple Jack immediately went into a rage of fury, stomping the ground in anger with her face getting red again. Princess Celestia, however, narrowed her eyes in anger, and if anypony would have made eye contact with her, they would have felt her anger go straight through her. Once again, the Guards around Apple Jack were beginning to look weary, and Princess Celestia spoke up again.

"AH SWEAR IF THAT MONSTER HURT MAH SISTER, AH'M GONNA…"

Princess Celestia immediately went over to Apple Jack and extended her wing over the earth pony. The Princess leaned in and whispered to Apple Jack, like a mother calming an upset foal. Although Apple Jack's anger was still there, her face was no longer red, and she immediately hugged Princess Celestia back. When the embrace was broken, Princess Celestia addressed her subjects and said,

"My little ponies, there will be no more discussion this matter. We are going to find these two creatures and apprehend them. If they resist, then we will use the Elements of Harmony."

"But Princess Celestia! I think that-"said Twilight.

"If there is more to this that what it looks like, then we will find the truth Twilight Sparkle."

"But-"

"The discussion is over my faithful student. Serpent, is there anything else you can tell us about the beings you saw."

Shining looked at his sister, and noticed not only a look of disappointment, but he noticed that she seemed to be thinking heavily about something. The Serpent replied,

"Yes your highness, the creature had not one but two large metal sticks with wood, and one of them had a red claw attached to it. I think it they might be magic items, but I'm not sure."

"Two metal objects with wood attached to it? Some sort of weapon maybe? Perhaps that's how he subdued Princess Luna."

Rainbow Dash all of a sudden started to shake in fear, and asked the serpent,

"D-d-did you say it had a…s-stick made of metal and an orange…claw?"

"Yes my dear, it had that terrible looking object. I can understand why you're scared-"

Rainbow Dash immediately flew up to serpent with an annoyed look on her face. The serpent reeled back in fear as she glared her eyes to his. She began to poke her hoof in his chest and said,

"Hey buddy, I'm NOT SCARED! Don't ever say that again! Got it?!"

"Oh my!" replied the serpent in a manner that would make C3-P0 proud.

Princess Celestia was not amused however, and ordered Dash to back down.

"Rainbow Dash that is no way to treat this gentlecolt, and your fear is understandable. However, that does not excuse your behavior towards him. Apologize and come back down."

Not wanting to upset the Princess, Rainbow Dash begrudgingly looked at the serpent and said,

"Sorry."

"Oh it's not trouble at all my dear, all is forgiven."

Rainbow Dash slowly made her way back to her friends passing Shining Armor. He thought for a second, that he heard the bearer say the word "wuss", but he wasn't quite sure.

Twilight stepped forward a bit and asked the Sea Serpent,

"Excuse me sir, but what did the ghost say to you?"

The serpent covered his mouth with his claws and was unsure if he should answer the question. Princess Celestia nodded for him to speak, and the Serpent uncovered his mouth while taking a deep breath.

"Please forgive me everypony…the ghost mare said…GET BACK HERE YOU EFFEMINATE BASTARD!"

Everypony, including Shining Armor and the Solar Princess, gasped in shock at the vulgar insult. Princess Celestia's eyes were wide and her jaw was lowered, as well as the Element bearers. Shining Armor's rage was building up and he was now looking forward to capturing these foul creatures.

"This creature ponynapped my Princess and a little filly, and has a ghost mare with a foul mouth like him, insulting everypony they see…I will bring you two down!"

Rarity, true to her character, found the whole thing to be appalling, and made it clear to everypony.

"Oh my goodness! What terrible creatures they are to hurl such vile insults! And worse, they have Apple Bloom and Princess Luna! Of all of the worst things that can happen, THIS IS THE WORST POSSIBLE THING EVER!"

Everypony suddenly turned their eyes on Rarity, who was holding her hoof to her head.

"What? This really is the worst thing ever!"

"If this was about something else, Ah'd disagree with you, but…for once Ah see eye to eye with you. This is the worst possible thing ever!"

"And it's oh so…scary….but if they did hurt them, then I'm going to be forced to give them the Stare!" said Fluttershy.

The other Element bearers gave Fluttershy a nervous look, while Fluttershy had a rather cute look of anger on her face. Shining Armor had absolutely no clue as to what the 'Stare' was or how it could possibly bad at all. Pinkie Pie all of a sudden did something that Shining Armor had no clue what it was or why she was even doing it at all. From what he could tell, her tail was twitching, her hooves were shaking uncontrollably and her eyes were rolling like crazy.

"OH NOES! It's happening again!" said the weird pink mare.

Twilight immediately started to duck and cover her head with her hooves, looking back and forth in the air as if something was going to fall. Everypony started to look at the shaking pink mare until she abruptly stopped, with a smile on her head. Shining Armor was absolutely confused at what just happened, and asked what everypony was thinking.

"Uh…what just happened?"

"Oh silly filly! It was my Pinkie sense!" replied Pinkie Pie.

Shining Armor turned to Twilight, who was now getting up off the ground content that nothing bad was going to fall.

"Uh Twily, what does she mean by Pinkie Sense?"

"Don't ask, you won't fully understand. I gave up a long time ago."

"Okay…well Miss Pie, what does your 'Sense' mean?"

"Oh! I fully understand it now! I mean earlier I didn't because of the whole light and boom noise which was so SPOOOKY! But now it means were going to get a very new friend that's super different, but a good person! And…Oh noes! I got to get him a party!"

"HIM?!" asked Shining Armor.

"Yup, it's a stallion, but not actually a stallion."

Pinkie Pie began to jump around with excitement at the thought making a new friend. Twilight's ears perked up, held a hoof to her lower jaw, and immediately she began to calculate the meaning of Pinkie's statement. Shining Armor merely said to himself,

"Oookayy…I don't know what you mean by person but…"

"Person? Nopony uses those terms at all. I know I've heard the word from somewhere…maybe my friend Lyra knows…" said Twilight.

"AH DON'T CARE WHAT THE HAY THAT WORD MEANS! WHY ARE WE STILL HERE?! THERE'S BLOOD HOOVES, MONSTERS, GHOST, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, MAH SISTER IS STILL OUT THERE!" shouted Apple Jack, whose patience

"I agree Apple Jack, and Shining Armor?" said Princess Celestia.

Shining Armor immediately snapped to attention and replied to Princess Celestia,

"Yes your Majesty?"

"Please lead the way. I do not want to delay any more."

"At once your Majesty! Spartrota group Alpha, follow me! Everypony else, stay with the Princess and the bearers!"

Spartrota group Alpha broke off from the formation and began to make a new formation around Shining Armor. He tightly clutched his customized Spear, and looked forward towards Everfree Forest. His focus was broken when he felt a pony wrap her arms around him. It was Twilight and she whispered to him,

"Please be safe brother."

"I promise Twily, and we will get them back. Now please stay with the Princess and your friends. Whatever these monsters are, we will beat them."

"That's just it though. I'm not sure they even are monsters! The Blood Hooves are evil for sure, but this new creature...all we know of it is one pony's account and that's not really much to go off on. I'm just afraid that we might be jumping to conclusions and…"

"Twily, if this thing really isn't our enemy, then why is it acting like a jerk? And why has it been seen BOTH times with Princess Luna on its back with her condition getting worse with each sighting? I'll admit none of this makes any more sense than your friend's…well Pinkie Sense, but it's not looking good. If it is friendly, the best it can do is surrender and all will be sorted out, but if it acts hostile, we won't stop for a minute or else somepony might get hurt and that's not what I want."

"I…understand…I just…"

"I know Twily…you're a good mare you know that?"

Shining Armor gave his sister a tight hug which she returned and walked back to the group of her friends.

"I hope all will work out just fine."

And with that last thought, Shining Armor started to move forward with the Alpha group of Spartrota Unit, scouting ahead for the monster, and his ghost mare in the hopes of finding Princess Luna and Apple Bloom. When they made a good distance ahead of the main group, Princess Celestia commanded the bearers and the rest of Spartrota Unit to follow on. A true force of Equestrian fury was now barreling ahead towards Everfree Forest and anypony foolish enough to stand in their way would be sorry...very, very sorry.