//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: Iron Colt // by Demon Eyes Laharl //------------------------------// Prince Blueblood’s front left hoof wouldn’t stop shaking. It got to the point that the normally unconscious action was now so noticeable that it was bothering him immensely. He hadn’t said a word to Gear Match, who he had just freed from Alternate’s clutches. He didn’t want his friend to know that he had thought him dead and only after regaining his wits from his panic did he realize that the odd black pony-like creature had inadvertently given away Gear Match’s position. It was a simple matter of finding him near the sleeping area. He also didn’t want to tell him of his encounter with that monstrous mare, Silver Star, or the fact that he had fallen for Maelstrom’s trap. Just a few moments ago, he had thought that he had finally found some common ground with the pegasus. He may have been trying to build weapons of destruction, kidnapped him and kept him for weeks, but he was not a monster. He showed sorrow, regret, and anger when he had rescued the Prince from Silver Star’s hooves. . . only to find out it was an elaborate scheme. Alternate mimicked Gear Match the same time Silver Star was in heat and did a number on Blueblood’s wits. She left him distracted for the pony-like creature to subvert. Blueblood would not believe that Maelstrom was ignorant about it. The pegasus was suspicious, and quite effective when he needed be. Now the Prince was convinced the pony was smarter than he had thought, as well as ruthless. Celestia forbid, Blueblood had murder on his mind. Gear Match was wasting a lot of adhesive tape tying Alternate down. Blueblood let him. He had never seen Gear Match so worked up, and he’d rather have him tying down his cause of misery rather than anything drastic. Besides, he’d be hypocritical if he told Gear Match to calm down, when he himself was already on the fritz. At least the older stallion was doing something constructive - overboard, but still constructive. He felt the fire inside him burn with rage and hatred, but Blueblood knew he had to hold it down, stifle it. In a few minutes, they were about to embark on an exodus using untested and very new technology.  He needed to have his wits intact. Outside was a twisted labyrinth filled with pony and gryphon guards. Past that, even more. Each could be armed with spears, swords, or even firesticks. All that stood between Blueblood and grievous and most likely lethal bodily harm was the modified armor he had constructed from various sources. And his focus. If he let go of that, he would make a mistake - and they only had one suit of armor. He’d never forgive himself if Gear Match paid the price for his emotional outbursts. “I think that should hold that mimicking little blighter,” Gear Match muttered, cantering towards Blueblood. “Finished two rolls. He isn’t getting out of that one.” Blueblood didn’t bother to look. “Wings as well?” “Oh yes, Prince Blueblood. The works.” “Good,” the Prince replied, trotting towards his work table. Biting down on an edge of the covering cloth, he pulled it away revealing the interior armor, the armor plates, and the incendiary device that would burn through the metal door blocking their path to freedom. Gear Match’s horn glowed as he began to clear away the debris of scrapped metal bolts and uncut pieces of crystals that was used as extra camouflage, and made sure he swept away the broken glass near the armor pieces and the device just in case someone wanted a closer look. Once that was done and over with, he gave Blueblood a nod. The Prince positioned himself near the indentations on the interior armor, which was lying flat on the ground. Putting his front hooves in place, he lifted his flank and stomped with his hind hooves hard on the back indentations, starting the process. Metal clanged as the interior of the armor instantly snapped from both sides, encasing Blueblood in a mesh of wires, gears, and soon, light. With his mini-AMR now powering up the interior, he could hear the small gears moving with slight clicking sounds. Gear Match watched, patting his hooves and poking a few places. Satisfied, he smiled. “Inner armor secured, no problems,” he advised the Prince. “I’ll begin with the outer armor. Where do I start first?” “Body armor first,” Blueblood replied. The Prince had modified the outer armor shell slightly when he saw Gear Match’s work on the inner armor workings and was able to produce something of similar effect. He was able to create a system of intricate locks of his own, but limited in design. The body armor was to be put on first. It was foldable, and if engaged, would encase him from flank to neck, leaving his hooves and head exposed. The helmet was next, as that could easily lock on the neck part of the armor without trouble. The greatest difficulty was creating the hoof armor parts. He had copied Gear Match’s pressure-activated design so he could quickly wear them without assistance. That way, once the helmet and body armor was secured, Gear Match could be free to work on the next phase of the plan. More metal clicking was heard as Blueblood’s body was encased in thick angled metallic clothing, covering almost everything in metal. Only his chest area seemed exposed, with a circular thick transparent crystal that allowed the light of the mini-AMR to shine out. Gear Match checked the armor before he lifted the helmet and locked it in place as well. “Good. We’re almost there, Gear Match. Do you have the letter?” Gear Match levitated a letter from a saddlebag, where he’d put all their saved up rations and some other surprises they would be using for their escape. He nodded to the Prince and placed it back in the bag. “Strap on then, and put the incendiary device on the door,” Blueblood said. Gear Match looked reluctant. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay? It’s not that I don’t trust your hoof armor designs, Prince Blueblood, but if something were to go wrong, like a jam on the locks, I could help with that.” “The designs are perfect. They are yours, so stop worrying and place that device on the door,” Blueblood ordered. Gear Match frowned, but nodded, and let the Prince be. Blueblood didn’t know why he was being cross, or why he was hiding the fact he had modified his right front hoof armor and added his personal project, but had no theoretical or practical proof that would work. He was pretty sure he wasn’t going to use it, but he still told no one. Slamming down his left front hooves on the armor part, Blueblood gave a sigh of relief when the mechanism locked in place, fitting perfectly with the body armor. His right front hoof and his hind hooves went in without a hitch as well. He stole a glance at Gear Match. The slits on the facial armor were a bit too restricting, but it was better than having something poke him in the eye. The older stallion had secured the saddlebags and was slowly attaching the device to the door, so the Prince began to run some simple diagnostics to see if there were any problems. The first test was standing on both hind legs. The gears clicked into place easily, and the inner armor supported his whole body perfectly as he stood up vertically. Blueblood stayed like that for a moment, moving his front hooves around, checking how the shoulder and leg moved in armor. It was smooth. No jams, no stiffness. He checked the armor around his chest, making sure the mini-AMR was well protected. Going back to all-fours, he began checking his hind legs, did some shadow bucking and made sure he could turn on a bit to unleash a quick flurry of kicks. It felt natural. “Prince Blueblood,” Gear Match called. Blueblood glanced back at him. “Everything is ready here.” “Good,” Blueblood nodded. “Gear Match, gather all the notes and plans we have made. Burn them all. Leave no shred of evidence, or anything that would allow them to rebuild everything we have discovered and made. If we are to die today, they will not use our creations to forward their ambition.” Gear Match looked at Blueblood for a moment, his smile slowly growing. He nodded, and began to scramble towards the work-table, gathering all paper pieces which contained either the armor or Jericho plans. When he moved towards the dining area, Blueblood trotted to his work station and searched for the counterpart of the twin-linked crystal. When he found it, he waited until Gear Match had finished his part. Blueblood heard rustling and crackling of fire. He spotted Gear Match burning all their plans and double checked on the room to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. After a few minutes, the older pony seemed to have been satisfied, and joined Blueblood on the work-table. “Are you ready for this, Gear Match?” Blueblood asked as the older unicorn magically grabbed the twin-linked crystal, and placed it on the floor. Gear Match threw out a smile. “I think we overstayed our welcome, don’t you, Prince Blueblood?” Blueblood smiled behind his metallic mask, and just stomped on the crystal. Two seconds later, the lights and machinery inside their cavern room shut down. It would have been a total blackout if it was not for the mini-AMR glowing brightly, illuminating the area around the Prince and Gear Match. The two ponies nodded and began to walk towards the metallic door. It took a while before Gear Match finally found the receptor crystal. He threw a bolt of magic into it, starting the reaction. The incendiary device began to glow red hot, brighter and brighter until it visibly began to deform the metallic surface around it. Blueblood took a breath. He could hear the guards on the other side of the door panicking. He didn’t blame them. He had designed the whole plan as basic shock and awe, a tactic that was Auntie Celestia’s favorite during the Great War. During choice skirmishes, she would join the fray and usually her presence would be enough to cow down the opposing Diamond Dogs into a full retreat, saving a considerable amount of lives and supplies in the process. They didn’t have much in the way of supplies, and they were only two ponies against an army. If they were going to get through this intact, he would have to do better than his auntie. Once the device’s glow subsided, he dashed forward and slammed through the metallic door and device dead center. The door flew wide open, revealing two scared guards close enough that Blueblood wasted no motion and bucked the two unconscious, his hind legs slamming into their heads with a sickening sound of tortured metal. He continued on his way, the mini-AMR lighting his way. The choice of using clear crystal on top of the device paid off. Now, not only did he have a good light source, the light was also distracting enough to oncoming guards that they would not notice Gear Match sneaking around them. All their attention would be at the armored Blueblood. Taking another left, the Prince encountered the second set of guards. Two ponies, and a gryphon, armed with spears and gauntlets respectively. His presence temporarily blinded them, giving him time to stand on his hind legs while their eyes adjusted. And when they did, their eyes widened as they found a giant standing in front of them menacingly. The two pony guards threw their spears, yelling in fear. They harmlessly bounced off his thick armored chest. Witnessing this, they stood, frozen. Their gryphon companion was braver. Dumber, but braver. He charged in with a battle yell, his wings spreading as his two clawed gauntlets scratched over the armor harmlessly. The gryphon’s panicked expression lasted only for a second before Blueblood’s right armored front hoof slammed down on his face, knocking him out. The Prince then looked at the still-frozen pony guards, and did his best to sound extremely menacing. “Run, my little ponies.” Run they did. Blueblood couldn’t help but chuckle. “Really, Prince Blueblood?” Gear Match asked, appearing on his side. Blueblood shrugged. “I’m working on my aggression, Gear Match. Emulating Princess Celestia is very therapeutic.” “At least you didn’t emulate Princess Luna. Archaic Equestrian in loud volumes would suit you ill,” Gear Match replied. The Prince’s heard turned. “You do know that is one of Equestrian’s Royal Princesses you’re talking about, right?” “I’m pretty sure Princess Celestia would be interested knowing that your thought of emulating her is reminiscent of the Dark Alicorn,” the older unicorn countered. Blueblood went back to all fours and laughed a bit. “As long as I explain it to her it was really Canter Morrison’s version, I’m sure auntie would not mind.” He paused, and shook his head. “We’re not even half-way and we are seemingly celebrating.” “I’m sorry for the distraction then, Prince Blueblood.” “Don’t be,” the Prince replied. He stared forward. “If I am reading our situation right, they will begin to hit us with everything they have. I need you safe, Gear Match. We need those Dragonfire Gems before they overwhelm me.” He turned and faced him. “And I know you, my friend. You don’t work too well if you’re wound up.” Gear Match sighed. “Prince Blueblood, you are asking me to step aside while you take on armed guards and projectiles. You will take a brunt of their attacks while I, in relative safety, scrounge to find Dragonfire Gems while everyone’s distracted in attacking you. I’m more worried about you.” “Yes, well Gear Match, I work well wound up,” Blueblood replied. “Now get behind me. I’m hearing hoofsteps.” Gear Match scrambled behind him, and the hoofsteps became louder. Blueblood let out a deep breath and cracked his neck slightly before he charged forward. He hit the first guard, a unicorn mare, hard, knocking her back. She must have been preparing a spell because her horn was glowing, and thanks to the Prince, her spellcraft went awry and began to fire out magical bolts at random, hitting a few pony guards. She must have been a squad leader, because the whole guard just scattered without her, leaving the rest as easy pickings. “Retreat! Retreat!” one of the ponies shouted. Blueblood just finished knocking out the closest guard to him, and continued to charge forward. The more he could take out in the cave, the less he’d have to deal outside. He rammed, punched, and kicked any creature nearby. He may have been somewhat rougher with the unicorn mares. He kept telling himself it was only because he could not guarantee his armor’s defenses against pure magic. The mini-AMR was built with an anti-interference system, which prevented any stray magic from affecting its workings. Theoretically, Blueblood’s armor should be protected by a slight haze of anti-magic field, but there was no way he’d test that out now. So, any unicorn that came in would be treated as a primary target to take down. Of course, that didn’t explain why he wasn’t that rough on the unicorn stallions as well. As more enemies poured in, Blueblood didn’t even think of questioning the presence of pegasi inside close-quarter environments. It wasn’t an effective battle tactic, as they were primarily used in wide open skies. However, he was thankful. The more of them he could take out now, the less he’d have to worry about later.   Once he was done, he continued on his charge, picking off the slower ponies or gryphons and taking them out. He took a right, went straight through a three-path fork, and turned left, where he stopped abruptly as he saw a line of earth ponies with firesticks in their mouths, aimed right at him. “Gear Match! Stay behind me and don’t move!” Blueblood exclaimed as the squad leader shouted a signal, and the whole cavern exploded with a loud echoing explosion as the first two lines of ponies fired. The Prince felt a shower storm of metallic pieces hitting him, and for a moment, he wondered if his armor design was up to the challenge. Firesticks were a Zebra invention. They were first designed using hollowed tree branches, most likely from the Derk tree, whose wood was flexible enough to withstand a small explosion. They put black explosive powder in the base, and a metallic bearing afterwards. The first firesticks had to use a lit fuse to create the explosion to propel the metallic projectile in high speed. The design evolved. Derk wood was still used, but now it was reinforced with iron. They also replaced the manual lit fuse with re-usable fire crystals at the base; all a pony needed to start the reaction was to bite onto the crystal. They also changed the projectiles, moving from ball bearings to pointed designs not unlike spear points. It was favored mostly by strong ponies, like Zebras and earth ponies. They were strong enough to withstand the force of the explosion, and the firesticks themselves were powerful enough to penetrate Royal Guard armor. The disadvantage was that the firesticks themselves fired once before they had to be loaded with black powder and the projectiles, so the most favored tactic was lining up ponies in four or five rows, and having one or two lines take their shots. While they were reloading, the next line would fire, and the next. If timed perfectly, once the last line finished shooting, the first would have finished reloading and ready to shoot. A few metallic projectiles bounced off harmlessly, but some, mostly those that hit flatter parts of the armor, wedged themselves in the dents they created. Blueblood grunted as he felt the impact of some of those, and immediately stood on his hind legs once more. When the second line deployed their shots, Blueblood withstood the wave of attacks like a stone wall, positioning himself to have his thicker armor take the brunt of their attacks. “I should research a way to move with just my hind legs,” Blueblood whispered, more to himself. He stretched his left foreleg forward and his right hoof tapped an impression. A series of clicks followed, and his left foreleg armor opened up and launched a device in front of the firestick ponies. He closed his eyes. The device exploded in a bright blinding white light that staggered the opposing ponies. Blueblood went back to all fours again and charged, hitting their lines and breaking their formation. There were more shouts as Blueblood just rushed at them, leaving them no room to stand or react. Any ponies that came up were either punched or bucked back to the ground. So busy was he trying to take them out, he hadn’t noticed a pony sneaking up on him until a barrel protruded in his vision and a shot fired out, leaving him with a bright spot in a corner of his eye and ringing in his ears. Blueblood, blinded, growled and pushed himself towards his attacker, who at the slightest hit, seemed to have retreated out of the way. He glanced around; his ears were still ringing when he saw a shadow to his side. Thinking it was the attacker coming back, he whirled and was about to unleash another attack when he saw Gear Match looking at him in wide eyes. “Prince Blueblood, are you alright?” the older stallion asked. “Get out of here, Gear Match! There’s still a pony with a firestick around!” Blueblood replied. “He won’t be a problem, Prince Blueblood. Not anymore,” Gear Match advised, motioning towards the ground on Blueblood’s left. “What are you-” and Blueblood stopped talking immediately when he saw a pony with crimson liquid running down its neck. For a moment, he stood there, dumbstruck. “Is he. . .?” Gear Match just nodded. “Prince Blueblood, it wasn’t your fault. I saw it. He tried to shoot his firestick close-range. The projectile hit your helmet, and it ricocheted. You didn’t kill him.” Blueblood felt like he did. Death was uncommon in Equestria, where his auntie Celestia had instilled the value of life. And even then, deaths were not caused by other ponies. Most were from isolated cases in the Everfree forest. The only serious crime committed in its borders was nothing worse than scuffles. For many years, the country had no proper military; the defenders consisted of variants of police forces and town guards until the Great War. Pony casualties were the greatest during opening skirmishes, devastating the mare population and waking the rest of the horrors of the world. One could say the war was called ‘Great’ just by the fact that it established modern Equestria as it was today. Yet, even knowing such facts, Blueblood felt the pit of his stomach sink, its contents threatening to spill out. The image of the earth pony bleeding heavily out of his neck and laid at his feet was stuck in his head. It was no consolation that they were antagonists, or the fact that pony tried to take his life. It ate at him. “Let’s go,” Blueblood said, his voice slightly withdrawn. Gear Match just nodded, and they went on their way. They had a few more scuffles, but the number of guards lessened and the cavern was getting brighter and brighter. They were close to the outside, and Blueblood knew he’d be facing the main force of Maelstrom’s guards on the other side. A few more meters, he could see the mouth of the cave. “Peripheral weapons,” Blueblood muttered as he tapped another button on both his front legs. The armor opened up a section, revealing placeholders made of a simple bowled platform with a thick barrel pointing towards the direction of his hooves and enclosed in a mesh of glowing wires. Gear Match appeared on his side, levitating two fire gems and two small rockets from the saddlebags. He attached the fire gems into fitting slots on the front leg armor, and the two small rockets on his shoulder armor. He made sure to attach the switches so they could be deployed, and once that was done, began scrounging up a few small devices from the bag as well. “I’ll take the initial salvo,” Blueblood muttered. “Once I return fire, throw the devices in a wide arc. And then, it’s phase two.” He saw Gear Match nodding nervously, and Blueblood slowly cantered towards the exit of the cave. His eyes narrowed slightly as the bright light penetrated the eye slits of his helmet, and when his eyesight adjusted, he was met with the largest formation of ponies and gryphons he’d ever seen. They had earth ponies with spears and swords in the first line, mixed in with gryphons with their weapons. There were more earth ponies with firesticks behind them. Third line was a formation of grounded pegasi, lightning-charged clouds hovering just above them, and the last line had some unicorns, horns glowing and ready. As he walked and revealed himself into the light, a whole lot of ponies shifted slightly, but they stood their ground. Blueblood then stood on his hind legs, and almost every pony began muttering in panic. Maelstrom and Gwendolyn landed between the second and first line of guards, and they both walked to the front and center. The pegasus looked like a proper soldier, his demeanor calm and almost unattached. He stared at Blueblood, spreading his wings slightly, before folding them back in. Gwendolyn made a show of revealing her clawed gauntlet as well. “Prince Blueblood?” Maelstrom called, as if he couldn’t believe it. “Is that you?” Blueblood looked at him, his hateful glare hidden behind his mask. He didn’t trust himself to speak. He just gave a nod. “That armor you’re wearing,” Maelstrom began, and smiled. “That is amazing. The potential of it. . . imagine, why make weapons when you can make your soldiers immune to them!” “Well, I’m glad you are liking it,” Blueblood muttered. “Enjoy the view, Maelstrom. It’s the closest thing you’ll ever get.” “Now, calm down, Prince Blueblood. You can see how you can re-negotiate your release,” Maelstrom advised. “With a weapon like this, our benefactor willl be more than be agreeable to it!” “Don’t treat me as an invalid, Maelstrom,” Blueblood replied. “I didn’t believe you the first time. I spent my time working on this to escape, and you think I’d just let you have me turn around, and become your prisoner again?” Maelstrom frowned. “Please be reasonable, Prince Blueblood. I promised weapons. While you advised me the Jericho would take months, that armor you are wearing now is something we can use!” “What you can use doesn’t concern me anymore, Maelstrom. Accept your defeat with dignity, and I’ll spare you the humiliation of what I’m about to do.” Maelstrom glared at the armored Prince and sighed. “Prince Blueblood, your armor has taken damage. Your design is not as flawless as you think. If you believe you can take on so many soldiers and win, you are deluding yourself. Surrender, and I shall place you under my protection once more. If you don’t, I’ll destroy you, and rebuild that armor myself.” Blueblood looked at the pegasus, knowing he was speaking in total honesty. He felt somewhat better about the turn of events. Moving his right leg, he motioned them to come at him. “So be it.” Maelstrom nodded towards Gwendolyn, who took his place.  “Unicorns! Pegasi!” Gwendolyn shouted. Blueblood stood his ground as the unicorns began to amass their magic while the pegasi jumped up to their clouds. At Gwendolyn’s signal, the unicorns shot their bolts of arcane magic at him. Lights of differing color flew like wind, passing between the lined formations of guards with disciplined accuracy, while the pegasi bucked their clouds hard enough to produce huge bolts of lightning. The two forces were on a collision course and hit the Prince like a tidal wave. Blueblood grunted as he felt intruding magic almost penetrating aura of his mini-AMR field. It stopped the effects of their bolts and lightning, but couldn’t stop the force it produced, almost pushing Blueblood a step back. Gwendolyn ordered the firestick ponies to fire less than a second later. The high pitched noise of metal meeting metal lasted for seconds as the guards fired in perfect synchronization, unleashing a column of deadly projectiles in every second. Unicorns and pegasi joined the assault as well, and arcane and lightning bolts flew alongside the firestick projectiles, hitting with a force of a cannon and the noise of thunder. Blueblood could only grit his teeth, waiting for the right moment. He tried to dodge a few bolts of magic and lightning but standing on his hind legs severely limited his movement. He also had to keep himself balanced, knowing even a slight mishap would force him to the ground, giving his enemies opportunity to swarm at him with their numbers. He would not allow it. Then, it stopped. The air smelled arid, with burnt powder and white smoke covering the surroundings. All the guard ponies seemed to have held their collective breath, wondering if their attack had successfully neutralized what seemed to be an invincible enemy. The mountain breeze blew away the smoke, and the ponies saw an even scarier sight. Blueblood’s armor was battered, burned, and even seemed to have been penetrated by some of their firestick projectiles. But he still stood there, smoking slightly, unwounded as he moved his hoof again, and signalling them to try again. The ponies took a step back, visibly bothering Gwendolyn. The gryphon warrior shook her head, staring at her fellow comrades who stood their ground, apparently ready to unleash the gryphon offense. She shouted a charge, and the vanguards of gryphons charged immediately, wings spread. Blueblood found his opening. “My turn,” he muttered, and punched his hooves forward. Magic energy was redirected to the Fire Gem placeholders, feeding the gems enough to spew fire to whatever direction Blueblood was pointing at. In this case, it was the charging gryphons. They might have been predators. They might not have scared easily. . . but fire was not a force that could be dealt with by courage alone. They screamed as the flames moved air currents around them. In the complete chaos and disarray, they couldn’t fall back by retreating into the sky, and with their feathers now catching fire they did what any panicked creature would do. They retreated; right into the scattered formation of earth ponies. Bodies of muscle, feathers, hooves and claws collided in blind and utter terror. Friendly fire was next, as firesticks shot out, cracking like explosives while trailing sharp cut lines formed on earth pony bodies. Behind the scattered earth pony lines, Blueblood pressed his advantage. He aimed his shoulders just above the pegasi collection and pushed a few elevated buttons on his chest armor, activating a fuse directly at the rockets Gear Match had placed earlier. It flew in a slight whistling sound, between the pegasi and unicorn formation, and exploded with a powerful concussive force. Lightning clouds dispersed, and pegasi literally fell like rain. The explosive force also stunned the unicorns, halting spell production and offense for the few precious seconds that Blueblood needed. “Now, Gear Match!” he shouted. The older stallion immediately telekinetically threw out devices in wide arcs, each landing at a different distance. Some were on the broken mesh of ponies and gryphons, while some landed on the stunned unicorns. Blueblood looked away, closed his eyes, and hoped Gear Match did the same. A bright light was emitted by the devices, but unlike earlier in the cave, they produced loud explosive force that left ears ringing of anyone near the devices. Blueblood thought there was a chance that there would be a few ponies or gryphons that were not in panic or unconscious, and those devices would ensure that the next phase of their escape would be uninterrupted. On all-fours again, Blueblood charged at the mass panic, hitting and throwing around ponies and gryphons. He bucked, headbutted, and punched those nearest to him, inciting more panic in the group as they began to spread outwards, stampeding out of control. Slowly but surely, he was routing the rest of the guards. It was as if the Running of the Leaves had come early, and unicorns, earth ponies, and even some gryphons began to run as if Tartarus was after them. Those that stayed tasted steel hooves and bucks, unable to retaliate as their hooves, spears, swords and gauntlets were not enough to even dent Blueblood’s armor. “Stop, Prince Blueblood, please!” The Prince blinked as he finished knocking out a unicorn that was beginning to stir. The crowd had thinned enough to see Maelstrom on the ground. His left wing bent abnormally in an angle, and judging by his position, Blueblood guessed the pegasus had just suffered the bad end of a stampede. “It’s not too late,” Maelstrom said, panic coloring his voice.  “Just surrender peacefully.” Blueblood sneered behind his mask. “And why should I?” The pegasus motioned to his right. The Prince turned, and felt his heart almost stop as he saw Gwendolyn, burnt, bruised and feathers ruffled, pinning down Gear Match down with her gauntlet, her steel claws shallowly penetrating his flesh as crimson liquid slowly flowed down. “Prince. . . Blueblood. . .” Gear Match managed to choke out. Blueblood looked at Maelstrom again, who seems to be smiling slightly. “I win, Prince Blueblood.” “Not yet,” the Prince replied. He pointed his right hoof towards Gwendolyn’s direction. “Please, Prince Blueblood,” Maelstrom scoffed. “Even if you were willing to burn your companion, at this distance, fire won’t reach Gwendolyn fast enough before she slits your friend’s throat.” “Maelstrom,” Blueblood began, his neck slowly craning to the right. There was a slight click as right hoof armor began to spread open. “Remember when I said that it would take months to make the recreate repulsor technology? I was wrong.” Blueblood looked at Gwendolyn, her eyes confused. In contrast to Gear Match’s eyes, which were wide open in surprise as recognition colored his face. The older stallion immediately covered his eyes and braced himself as much as he could to the ground as a bright light began to emanate from the end of Blueblood’s right front leg, and not a second later, shot out of his hoof at unspeakable speeds. Gwendolyn didn’t know what hit her. One moment, she was standing there, pinning Gear Match on the ground, her sharp gauntlets threatening to squeeze and cut his life force away. The next, she was flying as if a cannon had hit her directly, disentangling her from the older stallion, and make her fly tens of meters away before she hit a stone wall with an ugly crunch.   Blueblood was not spared from the physics. It may have been due to the armor, weighing him down enough so he would not join the gryphon in her impromptu flight, but the force was sufficiently strong enough to drag him a few inches back. The repulsor technology worked. His personal project, what he had been hiding for the past few days was a complete success. But if the feeling of thirst and exhaustion was any indication, there were vast array of improvements that should be implemented. But for the moment, it did its job. “Impossible. . .” Maelstrom muttered in complete shock. Blueblood looked at him, feeling his hatred for the pegasus re-ignite. It would be so easy. . . a little pressure on the neck, he could snap it in two, rid the world of a monstrous pony that had designs for destruction. Yet, that earth pony with blood flowing from his neck appeared in his mind. It reminded him how death would look like, and warned him of its consequences: if an indirect cause of death would sicken him, how would it feel if he was the direct cause? Blueblood left him him, unharmed. His hooves were dirty enough. Muttering few choice curse words, he cranked his neck to the left and the right hoof armor began to fold once more, completely covering the repulsor prototype, and walked towards Gear Match. The older pony took his time standing up and looked at Blueblood with disapproval as he began to shake the dust off his back. “You said you wouldn’t put it in the armor yet,” Gear Match muttered. “Yes, well, aren’t we glad we had it when we needed it?” Blueblood asked before he stumbled a step. Gear Match immediately approached him. “Are you okay, Prince Blueblood?” “Note to self, find ways to make the repulsor technology magic-efficient,” Blueblood replied. He gently nudged the older stallion’s hooves away. “I’m fine. The AMR is still trying to produce magic to overcompensate. I’m feeling better every second. Did you get it?” Gear Match grinned. He levitated two green Dragonfire Gems in front of Blueblood. “Spell nexus was overwritten. It’s ready,” he advised. “Phase three then,” Blueblood muttered as he pressed a few buttons in his hoof armor. The fire crystals mounted on the placeholders were forcefully ejected. Gear Match placed the Dragonfire Gems in their place. “Put the letter in the piles,” Blueblood ordered as he secured the Dragonfire Gems. The letter was levitated over the tarp that hid the various crystals, precious gems, metals, armors and weapons. “I hope auntie doesn’t have company.” “Wait a moment, Blueblood! What are you doing!?” Maelstrom shouted from behind the Prince. “Getting my pay,” was all Blueblood said before he forced magic into the gems mounted on his armor, unleashing green Dragon Fire that engulfed the whole tarp. And everything vanished in a puff of smoke. Maelstrom might have screamed. Blueblood didn’t care at that point. The thirst began to creep back, and he still had to get them out. Signaling Gear Match, the older stallion got out a rope from his saddlebags, and began to tie it securely around Blueblood’s armor, then looped it around his harness. He could barely keep his eyes open when Gear Match tapped his shoulder, signaling that he was secured. Using every last ounce of magic he could grasp, he redirected it towards his hind legs. The hind hoof armor opened up as the magic fed into the placed fire gems and fire exploded downwards, lifting Blueblood and Gear Match, armor and all. Soon, they were up in the air, leaving the mountainside hovering above the Everfree Forest. “We did it, Prince Blueblood!” Gear Match shouted. “We did it!” Blueblood just nodded. He focused on the horizon, feeling his body getting heavier by the minute. He closed his eyes. One moment, Gear Match was celebrating. He blinked, and the next thing he knew, the older stallion was screaming, banging on Blueblood’s armor as they began to fall out of the sky. Blueblood felt his consciousness return just a few feet from the forest grounds. He quickly whirled around, keeping himself between Gear Match and the unforgiving ground. He prayed to his ancestors that his armor would hold. He prayed that his auntie got his letter. He prayed that they were far enough to not be followed. A few seconds later, darkness. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- In Canterlot, the Morning Court was currently in session. Princess Celestia, one-half of the supreme ruling body of Equestrian government, was finally getting a normal day. The past few weeks were the most testing to the Alicorn since the Great War. Her nephew was ponynapped, and just a few days later, Discord broke out and caused havoc. Thankfully, the Elements of Harmony had protected Equestria once more, sealing the spirit of chaos back to stone. It took more days to rebuild all the damage that wasn’t repaired by the Elements, and finally their military was back on track in trying to get the Prince’s whereabouts. Princess Celestia wanted to personally oversee the search, but Luna insisted that she open the Morning Court. With all the chaos going on, her little ponies needed assurance that everything was returning to normalcy. “Thou art needed to raise our citizen’s morale,” Luna had said. “We shall take thy place on our nephew’s search. Convince our little ponies that the danger has passed, and that all is well in Equestria.” And there was nothing more convincing than normal. So, when the court was in session regarding territorial dispute, with two ponies claiming a tree that was at the edge of their territories, it was a typical day in Canterlot. “Princess Celestia, please, you must understand,” one of the ponies advised. “That lemon tree has been in my family for generations.” “I understand, Citrus Scent,” Princess Celestia replied in her most calming tone. “But territorial laws are quite clear.” She nodded towards the other pony on the opposite side of him. “Lime Shine’s family actually had claims on the land that particular lemon tree is rooted on.” Lime Shine nodded. “Our family had no reason to stake any claim until recent years. We just need that particular land to expand on our crops.” “But Princess Celestia—” Citrus Scent was cut off when there was slight rumbling around the Court. Princess Celestia blinked as she felt a massive displacement of mass. Green dragon fire laced with magic burst out, revealing crates covered in tarp appearing seemingly from thin air. For a few seconds, all eyes went to it, and no one could stop gravity from taking a hold of it. It dropped down in the middle of the court, wood smashed revealing precious gems and crystals, metal rods and bars, armor pieces, Zebra weapons. . . and then, as an afterthought, a small envelope floated down on top. The Court was silent for a moment, until Citrus Scent spoke out. “Actually, Princess Celestia, you are quite correct,” the pony advised. “No, wait, hold on,” Lime Shine returned. “I have no use of a lemon tree. If you can pay the transfer, earth ponies can easily move that lemon tree to your territory.” Princess Celestia blinked, and nodded. “Then we have a settlement?” “Yes!” both ponies advised quickly. “Can we leave. . . please?” Celestia could only nod, dumbfounded. After a moment, she shook her head, levitating the envelope to her. She opened it and took out the letter, regarding its contents. Her eyes narrowed and then her mouth opened slightly. She stood up straight. “Shining Armor,” she called. The Captain of the Royal Guard snapped to attention. “Yes, Princess?” “Send a message to Luna. We may finally be able to trace our nephew,” Celestia advised.