Valley Of Rainbows: Seeking Solutions

by Sparx

Goblin's Song

Rainbow Dash flew above the rest of the party, looking down from above the hills and mountainsides to try and get a better view. “I don’t see her yet!” she called down. “Not much of anything around here actually!” She saw no signs of life running about lately. They had walked for about an hour while still seeing a few goats and minotaurs running about and some satyrs lying out in the sun, but it seemed they didn’t come out this far.

“That’s good!” Lyra called back up. “Power Mettle said that Applejack was beyond minotaur lands!”

Rainbow nodded and looked back down. “Hey! I see something! It looks like a tent!” She glided back to the ground and landed in front of the others. “It might be AJ’s. It’s just straight ahead, c’mon!” She broke into a gallop as Lyra and the dogs picked up their speed as well.

They approached what looked to be a small and rather ragged campsite, with a fire only recently put out, some scraggly pads set up like seats and a single tent made out of—

“Leather,” gasped Lyra. “Cowhide specifically.”

“Some unlucky minotaur perhaps?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“It is,” Rover spoke quietly as he gave a sniff to the tent.

Lyra shook her head. “Then we should definitely keep our swords ready, and our wits sharp.” She looked around for any immediate signs of danger. “Let’s hope Applejack didn’t run into whoever set this place up.”

Rainbow Dash gave a nod. “Rover, I want you, Spot, and Fido to give the area a good sniff and scouting. I’ll check from up high once again and see if there’s anything coming our way.”

Rover gave a thumbs-up. “You heard her, dogs. Spread out and search,” he ordered. Spot and Fido gave a salute as they drew their weapons and split to the east and the west. Rover brought himself low to the ground, dragging his nose across the dirt to try and pick up a scent as he grabbed hold of his blade’s handle.

Rainbow Dash flew up above the clouds and perched atop one. She looked out over the landscape below. A bit further to the north she saw campsites similar to the one underneath her with smoke flowing from small fires. She saw no signs of anything moving around nearby though and flew over towards the site, staying above the clouds. Over there, the camps were smaller and clustered together with much more junk and refuse scattered about on the ground. She lowered herself slightly and caught eye of a much larger tent that seemed to be stitched together from multiple hides. She made the assumption that this housed the leader of these creatures, or at least a bigger one.

“But why is the one to the south separated from these ones?” she whispered to herself, looking back. She saw Spot and Fido running off in opposite directions and flew off to each one, pointing them north and telling them to start their scouting at the new site. She returned to the lone tent and met with Rover and Lyra once again. “Find anything?”

Lyra’s face contorted in what seemed to be disgust. “Bones, meat, blood, and these.” She floated a thorny rope in front of herself with what looked to be ears hooked onto it.

Dash took a few steps back as she gained a look of repulsion. “Trophies?”

“Indeed,” Rover answered from inside the tent. “Many a creature’s ears hang from the weed, as you see. Most common seem to be of the minotaur, occasional satyr. If you look closely though, you could also see the ears of ponies.” He paused for a minute from inside the leather shelter. “I think I found the latest addition,” he said as he emerged. He held what looked like a beak in his paw. “Smells of griffon. Fresh. We are lucky to not have been here earlier.”

“Fits the look of the bones inside as well,” Lyra pointed out. “Big appetite if Rover is right about it being fresh.”

“Any idea what we’re dealing with?” Rainbow asked.

“I have a few theories,” Lyra said. “But I don’t like any of them.”

“The scent is unfamiliar to me,” Rover added. “The beast has left locks of its fur all over, but it is not pony, dog, griffon, minotaur, or truly anything I’ve ever encountered.”

Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. “I saw a similar encampment up north. I sent Spot and Fido to go investigate. There were multiple tents though, huddled a lot closer. I don’t know why this one was separated if it’s part of the group.”

Lyra shrugged. “A pet perhaps? Too big or vicious to be with the rest of the group?”

“Possibly both,” Rover added. “Though a pet, I doubt. It hasn’t been uncommon for groups of under-creatures to take in a beast much bigger than themselves and offer it service in exchange for protection. Whenever dogs find such alliances, the beast usually retains its lonesome activity however, keeping to itself in times of rest.”

“So you think this is the tent of their big gun?” Rainbow looked over the site once more. She had seen one tent larger than this one in the group camp, although it seemed more out of decoration or to be used as a place of gathering. This tent was much larger than the majority of them up north. It looked like a size suitable for Fido.

“Yeah, you could definitely put it that way.” Lyra seemed to shiver. “I’d like to take a look at the northern campground.”

Rover nodded. “Three noses might gather more than two. There is little else this site can tell me.”

“Yeah. I’ll show you.” Rainbow spread her wings and motioned for the two of them to follow. As she flew, Lyra followed at a gallop and Rover ran along on all fours. After crossing a hill they could see the settlement as Spot and Fido explored with their noses to the ground. They went to join their two companions. “Anything?”

Spot and Fido nodded. “We smell the odor of foul wine and spoiled beef from inside the largest tent, though have not looked within it yet,” Spot started.

“Three variations of creature walked these grounds,” Fido continued. “One from the site to the south, one whose scent is strongest by the large shelter, and many of the third variety who scatter everywhere.”

Spot picked up without missing a beat. “The strongest traces we find are of blood and fire. It is everywhere around here.” He shuddered. “Violence amongst one another, vicious attacks brought about from the one to the south have spilled blood all across the soil.”

“They are reckless with their fire,” Fido added. “Most ashes you see were former tents.”

Rover scratched absentmindedly at his chin. “Any weapons found?”

“Look around.” Fido motioned with his paw to draw their attention to the ground. They saw various sticks and scraps of metal. “These seem to be scraps from blades overused. We think they took the sturdier ones along with them, though with what we see, we don’t think it is quality work.”

Dash felt uncomfortable here. This was the camp of savage beings. There was no sign that Applejack had been here, but she couldn’t stop herself from worrying about her friend by seeing this. “Anything in the rest of the tents?”

Spot shrugged. “More weapon scraps, burns and blood. We think there were bones, but if there were we don’t know what happened to them. Perhaps eaten?”

“I wouldn’t doubt it,” said Lyra.

“Let’s take a look at the large tent then.” Dash waved for her companions to follow as she hovered towards the tower of leather. As they all approached, she understood what the dogs meant by ‘the odor of foul wine.’

Inside they actually found many more of the leather rags sat upon the dirt. This was obviously the place where they came together. In the center, before the fire, was a crude chair, built to give the appearance of a throne. Crafted from what looked like bone and minotaur horns, the head of a minotaur bull rested at the top with tongue hanging out and eyes open in a look of horror. Behind the throne was what looked like a large bed.

Rover drew close to the bed before falling backward and crawling desperately to separate himself from it, a paw over his nose. He gave a look to Dash like he was about to vomit. “You do not wish to know what it smells of. Many a dirty deed has stained those sheets.”

They all looked on with emotions ranging from repulsion to dismay as they took the scene in; taking into account that all of the leather that surrounded them outside, many lives were lost on these mountains and possibly more somewhere around.

“They wouldn’t leave this much behind if they intended to go,” reasoned Lyra. “They should be back, how soon, I don’t know.”

Rainbow Dash nodded. She let out a slight sigh of relief, there was still no sign of Applejack here. “We can’t let acts like this go on. They’re too close to Minolympus.” She turned to her partners. “We’re stopping what these things started. Applejack will have to wait, in fact, we may be saving her from whatever these are.”

“Goblins,” Lyra interrupted. “I kept trying to reason something else, but I can’t see it being anything else. This is a goblin camp, and they have a bugbear with them.”

Rover looked to Lyra with fear in his eyes. “Missus Lyra cannot be certain of those last words.”

Lyra shook her head. “I don’t see what else it could be. That tent to the south gives too many clues, and if this is a goblin camp, it’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“Perhaps a wolf?” Fido insisted, not willing to accept Lyra’s answer.

“Why would they bother building a tent for a wolf? And why just one?” she reasoned.

“I’m a little lost here,” Rainbow interrupted. “A bug what?”

Spot shook as he spoke. “Bugbears are large savages that tread without sound. They live off of terror and anguish. They feed on it.”

Lyra continued. “They are a cousin of the goblins, the creatures we hear about in those frightening tales our mothers would tell us. They are solitary hunters, the things that go bump in the night. A bugbear will steal a foal from their bed and leave pieces of the poor thing in its home to frighten their parents, leaving the mangled remains in the final area they would search, all for the thrill of building up their fear before going in for the kill. Massive as they are, they hide better than any changeling. They slowly reveal themselves, with a scratch on the wall and a creak on the floor until you’re ready to scream. Then they bash your head on the ground.” Her eyes seemed to go blank as she spoke. “I thought it was one when I saw the ears, but I didn’t want it to be.”

Dash frowned. “Big reputation I see. How do you know about them?”

Lyra tilted her head. “Biped with hands. Fell into my research.”

“And I’m guessing that goblins are just a smaller version of this?” Dash tried to gather more information.

Rover waved his paw in front of his face. “Nowhere near as frightening. Goblins are stupid, small pests at their worst and a nuisance at best. We can cut through an infestation of them easily… if they were alone.” He swept his paw over his head.

Dash still wasn’t looking too concerned. “So this bear thing is the guy who sits in the chair?”

“Not likely,” Lyra answered. “Usually bugbears are solitary, but they will occasionally follow other goblinoids, but never lead. He’s their weapon, not their brain.”

“About how big is this thing exactly?” Rainbow began tapping at her chin.

“About as big as Fido, and twice as thick.” Lyra motioned towards the large dog.

Dash began sizing Fido up. “I think I could take ‘im.”

The dogs and Lyra all looked directly at Rainbow Dash, stupefied expressions on their faces. She gave a wide grin back at them.

“What? You don’t think so? We helped take down a giant squid in a storm you guys. Why would some oversized bogeymare leave you all shaking in your horseshoes?” Dash chuckled.

“We had many more helping us,” Spot objected.

“And cannons,” added Fido.

“And lightning!” Rover finished.

“So? The thing lives off fear right?” Rainbow kept her smile strong. “We know he’s coming back. We’ll probably see him before he sees us. Why should we be afraid? Rover and Spot can fill the guy with arrows and bolts before he gets close. Fuck, guys, Fido is a strong guy, he could probably take this thing out alone!”

Fido shook his head like mad and held his paws out as Rover and Spot looked to him.

Lyra interjected. “You know that legends are made for a reason right?”

Dash nodded. “You’re the bard! You should know better than anypony that heroes trump legends!”

“Except when they don’t!” Lyra countered.

Rainbow Dash gave a scoff. “You’re all worrying too much.” She narrowed her eyes and let the atmosphere around her fall to a more serious tone. “Besides, do you really want to let more of that happen?” She pointed a hoof towards the decapitated minotaur head on top of the throne. The dogs and Lyra were silenced as they looked back at the grisly décor. “What if that was Bon Bon, Lyra?”

As she thought about it, Lyra swallowed hard at a lump in her throat. “Point made, Rainbow Dash.” She returned her gaze to Rainbow, smiling with renewed courage. She drew her blade and let it float at her side. “Let’s lay out a plan.”

Dash looked back to the dogs who all gave grins of their own. “If it isn’t Miss Rarity, it can’t be that bad,” Rover chuckled. “D-don’t tell her I said that when we go looking for her.”

Rainbow’s face held a determined gaze as she walked over to the throne. She faced it with her back legs and gave it a good bash, throwing the bones and horns and head across the tent. “Alright then, prepare for war everyone!”

Foki let out a roar of joy as his servants carried him atop his throne. He cackled as they all roared out from below. “Sing the song of victory my slaves! This is only the first of many future victories under my rule, I can promise you that!”

From the voices of his tiny green cousins came the tune he had taught to them, and he sang along.

He cackled once again at the finish. “How is our haul?”

Before him ran five of the smaller creatures, carrying on their back a minotaur heifer who was unfortunate enough to wander too far into the hills, her head now cracked and spilling blood.

“Brilliant! We shall let none come across these lands without paying their tribute to us!” Foki cried to the sky.

In a line that had been rehearsed, one of the goblins below called back, “But what tribute should befit someone as mighty as you, Lord Foki?”

“Why their life of course!” Foki let out a guffaw as he was joined by his servants. His thick and yellowed teeth parted to give way to his foul spit as it flew with his laughter, falling onto his pale gray skin and blackened leather tunic. He turned his head to observe his followers and let his gaze fall upon the largest of them, the brute he had so luckily found, walking a fair distance away from the rest of the group. “Well, Crusha? Have you no words to say? It was due to your silent steps that we bring this minowhore back with us in the first place after all.”

The large and hairy beast returned his oversized eyes to Foki. The milky ovals showing no emotion behind them as he wrinkled his porcine nose with distaste. “There was no hunt to be had. She was simply stupid and wandered too far. She knew not what approached and had no time to fear.”

Foki curled his upper lip. “Fine, Crusha. Next time we shall seek out a tree for you to dig your claws into first.” He returned to looking in front of him, sinking into his seat with his mood souring. He hated being unable to properly control the beast. Granted he couldn’t control these simpler goblins very well either, but they listened and even revered him as a god. As well they should! he thought as he stamped on the wood supporting him, earning a squeak of pain from the goblins carrying him. I saw potential in these maniacs that the other hobgoblins could not. An army is nothing without numbers after all.

He had left his own division years ago, tired of the bickering and paranoia among the officers. It was a hobgoblin’s nature to try and come out on top, so of course it was difficult to fulfil one’s ambitions with so many others around. Foki had learned of this small tribe of goblins and made his way to them. The first few weeks were chaos and discord, loud and obnoxious. In time though he found that if he kept them fed and content, they would listen, and they would follow. When he had found Crusha, things only became simpler. With his military mind and Crusha’s power in hand, Foki had become a king in the highlands.

They had wiped out small, independent tribes of the minotaurs, and slaughtered whatever else intruded upon his kingdom. In time he had turned his eye back to his homeland, slaying the hobgoblin general and throwing his kin into war with one another. He had abandoned the ways of his people in place of his own ideals and ambitions. He needed no more slaves than the goblins who willingly served him, and the blade on his belt. He tapped at the sword on his hip with a smile on his face. Its magic had served him well in his time as king, bringing admiration from the lesser goblins.

Foki readied himself to call out for another song before he saw one of his scouts running back towards him with a panicked look on its face. “Speak!” he commanded.

“Lord Foki,” the timid goblin began. “The camp! It has been tampered, nay, destroyed in our absence! Some creature came along and tore our tents and ripped our rags!”

“What?” Foki stood from his chair, much to the dismay of the goblins below him. “Who would be foolish enough to come into Foki’s domain and tear his tent?”

The scout winced and Foki could hear Crusha chuckle evilly. “I do not know, my lord, please believe me. I simply saw the camp in ruin and returned to you.” He did his best to walk backwards as the army of goblins kept their march.

Foki let his scowl slowly begin to flip. “No need to fear my dear slaveling. We simply have an infestation to clean out. They should be nearby. Why don’t we let them know that we’ve returned?” His teeth showed as he threw on his sickening grin. “Let loose the song of the hunt my dear troops!” he called out. “In the common tongue, if you can remember the words.”

Rainbow Dash watched as their prey approached from below. She sat comfortably on her cloud, ready to pounce. The dogs had hidden themselves in holes underground while Lyra stayed within one of the tents they hadn’t torn down. She was quick to identify the big shaggy brute, believing him to be the bugbear that her friends were frightened of. She also took notice of the large gray goblin that was carried by a group of the small green ones, assuming that he was the owner of the larger tent in the main camp.

The gray one didn’t look pleased at all, at least not when the goblins were looking away. When they did look to him, he kept on a wicked smile to keep them in good spirits, but Dash knew frustration when she saw it. Good! Be upset you sick bastard.

Her gaze once again fell on the bugbear. He didn’t seem to hold any emotion on the situation. He actually looked rather bored as he rested his oversized club on his shoulder, a crude and filthy Morningstar that seemed like it would fall apart any moment. Blood seemed to cake this creature’s pelt and his pointed ears dangled down to his chin. While the goblins seemed too small for their heads, this monster seemed quite the opposite, with a small, evil head resting atop a broad and thick body.

Rainbow grabbed hold of one of the clouds nearby and pushed it out in front of her, towards the direction of the bugbear. From their holes underground, the dogs saw the cloud floating overhead and dug their way into a new position, Spot and Rover made their way behind a hill before emerging and making their way to its top with their bows at the ready, fixed on the hulking goblinoid.

Right about the moment Dash was ready to signal for an attack, she heard a strange and broken melody fly from the green creatures. It sounded like a pipe as they began to break out into song.

A cheer from their little voices made Dash almost laugh. It would almost be adorable if they weren’t such vicious little beasts carrying along a minotaur corpse. Dash then flew from her cloud and gave it a kick to bust it. She then began to climb into the sky, readying her next move.

Rover and Spot looked to the sky and saw that Rainbow had made her move, signaling them to begin their own attack. Rover took the first shot, firing his arrow towards the bugbear as Spot’s bolt followed.

Crusha heard the projectiles before he felt them, the whistle of wind giving him just enough time to tense up his skin, stopping them from getting any deeper into his shoulder than they did. A vile grin showed off his needle-like teeth as he spoke. “Finally.”

“Ambush!” Foki cried out as he saw the arrows sink into Crusha. He stamped his foot. “Drop me and ready weapons, we are in battle now!” His slaves obeyed, pulling poorly made weapons from their belts and giving a cry of war.

Rover knocked another arrow as Spot began to reload his crossbow.

He let loose the arrow towards the bugbear once more and it sank into his other shoulder as he made his way up the hill towards them with a pack of goblins at his back. Spot let his second bolt fly but missed the bugbear, impaling the head of a goblin and forcing it to drop dead. While two of the nearby goblins took a moment to point and laugh at their fallen comrade, the bugbear only continued to advance at his graceless pace. Rover considered firing another arrow before the beast drew closer but reached for his sword instead, returning his bow to his back.

The large goblinoid swung his Morningstar forward and let it clash against Rover’s bastard sword. Rover was forced back from the blow, his sword arm dropping to his side as he felt pain ripple through his arms. He barely kept hold of the blade as his opponent raised his mace for a second attack. Rover looked up as the spiked ball fell towards his skull before, under the monster’s feet, the ground became unstable as a great paw emerged and grabbed Crusha by the face.

Fido arose from the dirt with his axe in one paw and Crusha’s face in the other, forcing the back of his head into the ground with a thud. He swung out recklessly with his axe, cleaving through four goblins that jumped at him.

Crusha grabbed a hold of Fido’s paw with his free hand, attempting to crush it and pull it off. Fido only lifted his head once more and forced it back against the ground as Rover and Spot made their way in front of him, cutting down any goblins that tried to interfere.

Lyra could hear the carnage beginning and ran out from her cover to draw the attention of a number of goblins who then began to run towards her. She stopped and turned to look at the goblins with a smug smirk on her face. The goblins continued running towards her before they felt their feet falling further than usual, the ground beneath them crumbling and giving way as they fell into a pit dug earlier and covered up by the dogs.

Lyra couldn’t help but laugh as they fell into the hole on top of one another. She returned to running around the campsite and leading the stupid creatures from one pitfall to another, laughing even harder when she saw one that had fallen for it earlier fall once again after having climbed out.

Foki began to fume as he watched his ambushers make a mockery of his soldiers, a mockery of him. “Javelins! Throw your spears!” The goblins all cried in return and reached for their homely projectiles. Lyra watched as the pointed sticks took to the sky and made their way towards her. She grabbed each one that came close with her levitation spell and held them there long enough for her opponents to weigh what was happening. She launched the spears back at the monsters, sending them running as they were brought down by their own weapons.

Foki’s anger only grew as he reached for his own weapon. He grabbed hold of the blade before a thunderous boom forced his goblins to hold their ears or scatter as a circle of color exploded in the center of their group. He saw only a flash of rainbow before he felt himself forced through his wooden throne and the goblins behind him. He was dragged through the dirt at sonic speed, far from his slaves before he opened his eyes and saw Rainbow Dash giving a powerful grin as she kept him to the ground. He brought his hands onto her forelegs and kicked upwards into her stomach, forcing the two of them to tumble away from one another.

Dash chuckled as she brought herself back to her hooves. “Really fucking hurts getting hit by a Sonic Rainboom, doesn’t it?” she taunted as she rolled her shoulders to ready for her next attack.

Foki held his ribcage as he stood, glaring at Rainbow Dash. He was covered in earth, blood, and bits of wood from his chair. “Impressive, I’ll admit that much pony.” He spat at the ground. “A well-organized attack, you’d have made high ranks as a hobgoblin, perhaps you’d prove useful as a slave,” he cackled.

Dash gave a confident grin, she was obviously in much better shape after their grapple. “Yeah, that’s not gonna happen buddy. I’m beyond your level.” She let her wings open and floated above the ground, letting the blades around her hooves spring forth. “I won’t blame you if ya wanna give up. I’d be scared of fighting me too!”

“Not likely,” Foki returned. He grabbed his sword, drawing it from its scabbard. It was as large as Rover’s blade, runes of gold etched into the shadowy steel seemed to glow in the sun. He brought both his hands around the grip and took his stance as the blade ignited in bloody flames. “Now come, pony. Face Foki, King of Goblins.”

Back at the campsite, Fido struggled to keep Crusha in the dirt as Rover and Spot cut through the attacking goblins. He kept his paw firmly across his foe’s face and his foot holding down the hand with the Morningstar. Crusha brought his free hand up to try and grasp at Fido’s throat, but his fingers were met with a snapping bite. His anger grew as Fido persisted in holding him down, but so did his pleasure.

Crusha’s free hand retreated instead to his belt where he grabbed hold of his dagger. He plunged the small blade into Fido’s arm that held his head in the earth. Fido cried and flung his arm back in pain, allowing Crusha to bring his head up and bash skulls with Fido, forcing the large dog off of him. He then swung a punch into his stomach, knocking the wind out of Fido’s lungs. He raised his weapon above his head as Fido struggled with the dagger in his arm and the pain in his stomach.

Crusha felt a stabbing pain pierce his back as Spot flung one of his daggers into his massive spine. Fido swung out with his stabbed arm and landed a punch into Crusha’s jaw, allowing him to get some distance from the bugbear.

Crusha plucked the dagger from his back and threw it back towards Spot, missing and slaying a nearby goblin instead, but he didn’t care. He took hold of his Morningstar with both his hands and charged Fido. Fido pulled the blade that was stuck in his arm and tossed it behind his back, gripping his axe and bracing himself as Crusha approached.

Their weapons clashed, but unlike with Rover, Fido stood his ground and pushed back against Crusha’s power. Crusha couldn’t help himself from laughing, his passion for combat awakening once more. “I can smell your fear, it’s… delicious.”

Fido grunted. “You don’t frighten me anymore, goblin. You smell the fear that comes from all creatures in battle, it is not of your presence. You can take no pride from this.”

Crusha scowled at this denial and tried to force Fido back with a forceful push, Fido returned the push, managing to overpower the goblinoid and force him back. Crusha was left open as Fido brought his axe against his chest, drawing a long but shallow cut.

Meanwhile, Lyra had drawn her blade, cutting through the goblins that advanced upon her and frightening others away with her magic. She made her way to meet up with Spot and Rover as they kept the goblins at bay while Fido and Crusha traded blows.

“Rover! How are we doing over here?” she asked as she joined the fray.

“Fido is proving himself worthy in combat. He proves stronger than the beast we all feared, it holds little power in the daylight,” Rover answered. “Spot and I,” —he separated a goblin from its overly large head—“have slain many of the pests that keep coming. It is confusing though that they persist, they are not creatures of high morale.”

Lyra levitated Spot’s second dagger back into his paw as she continued to fight. “I know what you mean. Their leader isn’t here, their numbers dwindle, and their main source of muscle isn’t having things go too smoothly either, more of them should be running!” Frustration rang in her voice. “The hobgoblin must have trained them well, they won’t stop until he’s down or they’re dead.”

Rover nodded as he stuck his blade through a charging goblin. “Then we shall speed up his defeat! Spot! Help Missus Lyra defend Fido, I leave to lend aid to Miss Rainbow Dash!”

“It is just Rainbow Dash,” Spot returned smugly.

Rover groaned as he leapt into the air and dove into the earth, digging his way under the goblins as Lyra took his place.

Further up the highland, Rainbow Dash let out another frustrated growl as she felt her blades hit metal once again, being pushed back from Foki. He let out another cackle. “Keep trying! A creature has yet to hit me when I draw this blade, but I’m sure you can do it by simply being stubborn.” His voice was taunting and sarcastic, building Dash’s anger.

She let out a cry as she punched a blade in his direction, attempting to feint and bring her other blade up and into his stomach. His sword seemed to move faster than she could think, knocking both her blades to the side and forcing her behind Foki where he planted a kick at her back. Dash groaned in pain as she fell to the dirt once again. He was toying with her, he hadn’t made a swing at her with his blade yet, only parried whatever she would throw at him.

“What in Tartarus are you doing, Fuckie, or whatever the hell your name is?” Rainbow shouted as her rage boiled. “You gonna fight or play games all day?” She knew she was losing her temper, but she had to do something to get this guy to attack, tire out, and drop his guard. So far she was the only one getting tired as he basically deflected her every strike.

Her strategy worked however, curling the lip of the egocentric monster. “You will address me as Lord Foki, inferior creature!” Dash finally smirked as she watched him advance. She recognized the sound of an ego defending itself all too well.

“Some ‘lord.’ You walked blind into a trap, and now you have some bright, girly horses stomping your forces flat while some dogs kick dirt in their faces.” Her taunting continued, twisting the knife into his self-worth.

“Shut your muzzle before I cut it off!” He swung his blade out violently and carelessly. Dash avoided it easily. She went for a swing of her own, and actually managed to get a shallow cut across his arm before his sword knocked her hoof aside. He gave a push at Dash with the flat of his blade to separate them, leaving a small burn on her forehooves. “I see what you’re trying to do you pony bitch.” His voice seethed as he swung at her again.

Dash found this one more difficult to avoid, having to cross her blades in front of her to catch the burning sword. She struggled as he tried to force his steel into her head until she gave a forceful flap of her wings to launch herself a few feet back.

“I can hate and still keep control. It’s how I defeated my former general. I focused that hate! Concentrated it into driving this sword through his heart! You will meet the same fate,” he snarled, advancing slowly on her. The flames on his blade danced wildly as he drew close.

Dash began to wonder if her strategy had proved to be such a good idea. She had gotten him to attack, but she had to weigh if getting him angry proved beneficial or not. She was put on the defensive now, jumping back from his swings, unable to find the openings she had been hoping to produce. This guy was much tougher than she had originally guessed, his broken ribs didn’t even seem to bother him anymore as he kept both hands on his blade.

“You will not see me falling into the dirt this day!” He raised the sword with both his hands as its flames burst wildly, aiming for Rainbow’s neck as he brought all his power down in a venomous chop.

“The dirt is too good to support you!” The ground beneath Foki’s feet gave way as two large paws gripped him by the ankles and tugged. Rover’s face erupted from the earth as he forced Foki onto his back and flung his feet into the air, forcing the goblin to flip through the sky before landing on his face. “Better you should support it instead,” Rover growled as he drew his blade.

Foki felt his temper rise as he brought himself slowly back to his feet, sticking his sword into the ground before him. Its flames coated not just the edge, but consumed the entire weapon to the pommel. The scent of his burning hand assailed Rainbow and Rover’s nostrils as he gripped tighter, ignoring the fire. “Never has any creature annoyed me more than your band of travelers has this day,” he began slowly. “You won’t destroy the empire I have worked so hard to begin.” He gripped the fiery sword with his other hand and took a new stance. “I will take rank above everything else, I will become a god!” The look in his eyes was enough to shake the two companions as they stood at one another’s side.

“Let us test that announcement,” growled Rover, holding at his blade with both paws as well.

“Keep on your guard, his sword is enchanted with something that helps him parry attacks,” Rainbow added.

Rover grinned. “He has yet to see the combined might of pegasus po-nees and diamond dogs.” He looked back down to Rainbow dash. “Let us show him.”

Rainbow nodded and returned the grin, holding out a hoof. Rover curled his paw into a fist and bumped the hoof.