The Trials

by Zee


Ch 16: Umbra

"Hmm... would you guys mind stepping back?" Mosina enquired, drawing Wind Ruler from her back.

She stood up on her hind hooves, leaning on the pole-arm for support with her new silver armour. Fixed upon her head was a matching, silver helmet, her turquoise ponytail sticking out from the back. While the armour didn't cover as much as Speck's heavy armour set, she was a fair bit more protected than before.

Shrugging, Echo and Speck backed up to give her space. Night Watch sat behind them, pulling on the last piece of her own new, silver armour. She wore a similar silver helmet to Mosina's, her blue mane sticking out from its back, as well.

"Alright, here goes..." Mosina whispered to herself. With a gasp, she slashed her pole arm horizontally through the air.

Immediately afterwards, a strong gust of wind hit Echo and Speck, nearly blowing them back.

"Aaah!" Echo yelped, wobbling a bit before falling to her haunches, Speck following suit.

"Sorry!" Mosina cried before looking to her pole arm, incredulously.

"Geeze!" Night Watch hollered from her place, having felt the wind. "I told you we'd get super powers!"

Mosina giggled, looking back to her weapon. "This is incredible! I... I feel so strange when I hold it. As if I could feel the wind, itself." Walking up to Night Watch, she held up her weapon, offering it. "I suppose you want a swing with it?"

"Heh, sure," Night Watch said, accepting the weapon into her hooves. Immediately, her eyes went wide. "Whoa, this feels so heavy."

Curiously, Mosina furrowed her eyebrows. "Really? It felt incredibly light, to me."

"It's heavier than this gold spear," Night Watch remarked, pointing to the golden spear slung across her back. "Alright, here goes..."

With some strained effort, she swung Wind Ruler vertically with a loud cry. Echo, who was standing some distance away, shrugged.

"I didn't feel anything."

"W-what? Why won't it..." Shocked, she swung it again, but to no effect.

"Hey, guys!" Speck suddenly called from beside Echo, holding out her new shield. "Throw things at me!"

Suddenly interested, Echo turned from the distressed Night Watch and shrugged. "Hmm, sure," she said, picking up a nearby rock. "I wonder what this'll produce..."

She took several steps back to clear a short distance between Speck and her. Reeling back, she tossed the rock straight at Speck, who lifted her shield to deflect the projectile.

Just as it connected, an unearthly pang rung out, causing an ethereal ripple of indigo light to wash over the surface of the shield. Immediately, the rock shot away, almost smashing into Echo's face before she quickly dodged out of the way.

"Aah!"

"Wow!" Speck exclaimed, looking up from the shield.

Mosina walked up to her after Night Watch had given up Wind Ruler. "If my weapon has an elemental property to control air, I think yours has some sort of knack for... kinetics. Force."

"Eh?" Night Watch blurted.

"For example, she could—"

Mosina cut off as Speck raised her shield and slammed it down into the ground. As it connected with the rocky surface, a bright, indigo light flashed, followed by a screeching, unearthly bang.

Mosina, Night Watch and Echo were forced off of their hooves and thrown back, crashing into an empty weapon rack.

"Aah! Sorry, guys!" Speck cried, running to her friends.

"Ungh..." Echo groaned, slowly pulling herself off of Mosina. Speck nuzzled Echo before being pushed away. "Next time, let's test super-powered weapons away from everyone else."

Mosina stood up, rubbing her forehead. "That certainly has its uses in fights."

Night Watch shook her head, hopping up from the ground and rolled her shoulders. "Now I'm excited to see what super-weapon I'd get."

"Yeah, it looks like these weapons are attuned to us. Only we can wield them to their full extent," Mosina affirmed.

"We shoud get going, soon," Echo piped up, checking her saddlebags. "Make sure we've got everything we need."

"Right." Mosina nodded. "Somepony should carry the golden claws. Seems wasteful to leave them behind."

"I can," Speck offered, picking up the hoof-claws. "I have a lot of space in my bags."

Echo pulled away from her saddlebags, closing them. "Also, that's four more health flasks, a new golden sword for me, a spear for Night Watch, and new armour for her and Mosina."

Looking around the room, she confirmed her list as each of her companions nodded to her. She glanced to her old silver sword, Night Watch's silver spear, and Speck's silver shield, resting on the ground.

"I guess that means we've gotta leave behind old equipment we can't take."

Mosina shrugged, walking up beside Echo. Tucked into her front pocket was her own light crystal. "Let's move out, then."

"Right."

With their new-found equipment, the bat ponies took off in a brisk gallop across the large room they had fought the spiders in, back to the entrance from which they came.