//------------------------------// // In a Flash // Story: Pathfinder Ponies // by terrycloth //------------------------------// They met up in front of the bar the next morning before the sun rose, everything packed and ready to go. “Pinkie, Fluttershy, these are for you.” Two plain-looking slender wooden wands floated over to the pair, held in Twilight’s aura. “They cost most of the money we’d earned to date –“ “What?” Rainbow Dash asked, throwing her front claws in the air. “Come on!” Rarity also looked perturbed. “Twilight, when we said you could keep track of the party’s finances it was because we thought you could be trusted. Did we make a mistake?” “Nope!” Pinkie Pie said, pocketing her wand. “I think she did a great job. Right, Fluttershy?” Fluttershy nodded. “These will be very useful.” “Wands of Cure Light Wounds?” Applejack asked. Twilight, Pinkie, and Fluttershy nodded. “Well okay then. Makes sense.” “You’re okay with this?” Rainbow Dash boggled. “Look, all of us have stuff we could buy that would help us do our jobs better. That doesn’t mean everypony else has to pay for them. This is completely unfair!” “Do you want me to keep track of who the wands are used to heal, and make sure that nopony uses up more than her share of charges?” Rarity suggested. “Do you want me to start fighting defensively and getting out of the way so that the enemies can charge the cloth-wielding mage?” Twilight countered. “I’ll use less than either of you,” Rainbow muttered, but she dropped the argument. Applejack rolled her eyes. “If we’re done inventin’ drama, can we get a move on before a giant force field drops out of the sky and traps us here forever?” As the party left town once more, heading for the east road that led to the gorge, they were intercepted by – “Just keep walking, act like you didn’t see it,” Rarity hissed. As the party ignored him, the canine figure approaching them blinked, and reappeared in front of them, making sure that they could see the regalia of an official guild messenger on his barding. “Hey there, are you –“ “Run for it!” Rainbow Dash shouted, zipping away with a trail of rainbow colors. Giggling, Pinkie Pie flew after her, and with much less enthusiasm, the rest of the party followed. ”Hey, what are you –“ the guild messenger asked, as he blinked in front of the party only to be evaded again. “Girls? I have a –“ Again, the party ran around him. “—message and what are you –“ This went on for a while, until it became incredibly obvious that the party was not going to be able to get away from the Blink Dog sent as a messenger, since he could use Dimension Door at will. In particular, he could use it to keep pace with them and deliver his message even as they tried to run. “He can’t force us to listen!” Rainbow Dash insisted, putting her claws over her ears. “NYA NYA NYA NYA I CAN’T HEAR YOU!” Twilight, on the other hoof, resigned herself to her fate and allowed the messenger to deliver his missive. His message was something of a relief to those who chose to listen to it – Katrina had been raised from the dead and had not only admitted to her traitorous behavior, but revealed that she had in fact been under long-term mind-control, which had been broken by her death, allowing her to finally tell what she knew of the true traitors who’d been pulling her strings. Unfortunately, she didn’t know who exactly was behind it, since they’d always appeared in disguise, except that it was some sort of pony. She also didn’t know their true agenda. What she did know was that she’d been told to allow the party to succeed at the Adventurer Test regardless of their merits, after which they were to be assigned specific missions of her master’s choosing. The first mission was the one that they’d already chosen for themselves – to deal with the Diamond Gnoll incursion. “And they actually bought this load of ponyfeathers?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I thought you weren’t listening,” Pinkie Pie said. “Let’s just say there’s a downside to all that monk training about noticing the leaf falling from the cricket and whatever,” the griffon replied with a scowl. “Seriously, though – ‘it’s not my fault, I was charmed’?” “The interrogators charmed her and –“ the blink dog said, blinking out mid-sentence, “—so they’re pretty sure it’s the truth. That’s why –“ he blinked out again, and had finished by the time he reappeared. “Wow,” Pinkie said, staring at the messenger as he blinked in and out of existence at random. “You are super annoying.” The blink dog whined pitifully. “I’m sorry – help it but – normally carry a scroll but – write it down because – of it they would know that we – then we couldn’t send you to –“ “What was that last part?” Rarity asked. “It sounded important.” “Send you to – and if you find out what – do then report back so we can – they’re doing all this for.” “Got it,” Twilight said with a confident nod. “You’d better run along before they notice that you’re with us. We’ll make sure to deliver a full report!” The blink dog saluted, then vanished – and didn’t return. “So… didja get all that, sugarcube?” Applejack asked. “You know what the Guild wants us to do?” Twilight grinned through gritted teeth. “I have no idea.” The party made good time along the eastern road. The terrain flattened out into more typical flat land, although a bit too dry for intensive farming. Back when the pegasi had been the masters of the weather, this had been a lush grasslands, but now, without their influence, it was a parched savannah, the natural weather patterns dumping all the rain that would have fallen on it into the mountains to the west. At first, this was a mere curiosity – the party had plenty of water, and a dry trail was easier to trot along than a muddy one. However, around midday, smoke appeared on the horizon, quickly followed by the orange glow of a spreading fire. “Oh dear,” Fluttershy said, eyes wide. “We need to run!” “Can’t we just fly over it?” Rainbow Dash asked. Applejack glanced at Rarity and Twilight. “Ya think you can carry Twi in her armor, poprocket? I’m not sure I could carry either of ‘em, but it’s worth a shot.” After redistributing the non-flying characters’ equipment to Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were able to lift them into the air – barely. It was tiring to fly carrying so much weight, and slow. It was also terrifying for the two passengers, since flying high enough to avoid being roasted alive by the heat of the flames meant flying high enough that surviving a fall was unlikely. Still, it was a solid plan – all they needed to do was pass over the flames and land in the burned-out area, and they would be safe. Unfortunately, when the fire approached, they could see that it wasn’t a natural fire at all – five flaming wolves yelped and barked as they circled under the weakening fliers, waiting for them to drop their delicious cargo so that the feast could begin! Pinkie Pie removed one of the flasks from her sash. “Ready…” she said, as Fluttershy cocked the crossbow strapped to her foreleg with her teeth. “Aaaaim…” Fluttershy held the sights to her eye, her tongue looping out to work the trigger. “ACID!” “What?” Fluttershy squeaked, her bolt going wide as she turned to look at Pinkie Pie. Below, a vial of acid exploded across three of the wolves, singing their fur with chemical burns. “Well, I’m not going to use fire on them,” Pinkie said. “They’re already on fire.” The two of them fired – er, acided – off a few more volleys before the futility of their attacks became clear. The wolves were regenerating faster than Pinkie could hurt them – in part because between the smoke and flames it was difficult to tell which was which – and she didn’t have an infinite supply of alchemical acid. “Set me down,” Twilight said to the griffon carrying her. “The area’s mostly burned out, and it’ll free up both of us to attack.” Rainbow Dash grinned. “I’ve got a better idea…” she said, with a gleam in her eye, as she swooped towards the ground. “Ahhhhhh -- *thump*” Twilight tumbled across the ground, the wolf Rainbow Dash had tried to hit with her leaping nimbly aside. “Rainbow, I’m going to –“ she started, scrambling to her feet and taking her shield in her mouth. “Mmmphl! Grrmph!” The cinder wolves closed in, one of them yelping as a vial of acid splashed across his back, but all of them united in purpose, as the purple pony waited for them to approach. They snapped and snarled, but none could get past her gleaming armor and flailing shield. Unfortunately, when it came time for her to return the favor, she noticed that she was missing something very important – Pinkie Pie had her flail. “Frow me de fwail!” she shouted around her shield’s grip, crouching into a defensive posture. “INCOMING!” Pinkie Pie shouted back, and tossed the weapon her way, bouncing it off one of the wolves’ heads. Twilight snatched it out of the air, and desperately shoved it into the snapping jaws of one of her assailaints, who’d taken her moment of distraction and used it to almost slip past her guard. Rainbow made repeated passes at the enemies, trying to smack them without staying low enough for them to fight back, but couldn’t quite land a hit, and Twilight’s wild swings did little to deter them as they spread out to surround her – only for the two at her back to suddenly slip and fall as Rarity laid down a patch of grease. More acid splashed over a couple of the wolves as Pinkie Pie aimed at the ground nearby… But one of the wolves got in a solid hit, and Twilight whimpered at the terrible sound of sizzling flesh as the wolf’s jaws sunk into her – a burst of flame scorching her hide as she was dragged to the ground. It was the last thing the wolf ever did. Twilight wedged her flail under its jaw, wrapped the chain around its neck, and with a terrifying burst of magical strength, ripped its head clean off – catching another wolf in the side on the upswing, sending it flying as well. The spurting, headless body staggered back a few steps before collapsing, with no sign of its wounds continuing to regenerate after death. The other wolf she’d taken down didn’t get up either. The last three wolves stayed to fight for a few more seconds, which proved to be a mistake. In those few seconds, Twilight and Rainbow Dash finished them off, with a little help from Pinkie’s last vial of acid and Fluttershy finally managing to hit her target. “I wonder if this was Trixie’s doing,” Twilight asked, once the party was out of reach of the wildfire, whose progress had slowed considerably with the death of the monsters that’d caused it. The grass was dry, but there wasn’t enough wind to spread it very far. “I don’t know… it doesn’t really seem like her style,” Rainbow Dash said. “There wasn’t enough cackling.” Twilight looked unconvinced. “So, what? It was just a random monster attack?” “They happen,” Applejack said. “There’s a reason merchants travel in groups, and it ain’t just for the pleasant conversation.” “Um… girls?” Pinkie Pie asked. “What happened to Rarity’s zombie?” The orc’s funeral was short, but heartfelt. In the single day they’d known him, in life, he’d proven to be a worthy and honorable opponent. In undeath, he’d beaten one of their enemies mercilessly until there was nothing left but blood and feathers. Now, as an inanimate pile of bone and ash, he could finally be at peace. “I am such a featherbrain!” Pinkie Pie whined. “I didn’t even notice he was missing until after the fight.” Applejack shook her head. “It’s not your fault, sugarcube. None of us did.” “He was always so quiet,” Rarity sobbed, weeping over the remains. “He never complained, or rebelled against my orders. Not even once! And now… and now…” She collapsed in sobs, rubbing the greasy ash into her fur. “Kinda milking it a bit, isn’t she?” Rainbow Dash muttered.