Chapter 22: Faltering Wind
“I’ve got a bad feeling,” said Twilight, shifting nervously to press her side against Arkenstone.
“You too?” said Arkenstone, feeling his own muscles tense.
Around them, the train rattled and rumbled. Both Applejack and Rarity were sitting on another bench, chatting away excitedly as they discussed their successes in obtaining the Royal Warrants, while Coco Pommel listened in silently. Having left Canterlot the day before, they were due back in Ponyville almost anytime now. However, the feeling of warmth and security that Twilight normally felt when returning to her home was curiously absent.
It made Twilight seriously uneasy. After all, given that everything in Canterlot had gone off without a hitch and they’d managed to leave without being harassed, everything should have been alright. However, the closer they got to Ponyville, the worse Twilight was feeling. Some vague feeling of dread settled in her heart, making her wonder if something was seriously wrong at home.
She decided to take a look out the window, hoping that the familiar sight of the town would help calm her nerves. Instead, she noticed several things at once. Flocks of birds had taken to the air and were winging their way away from town as fast as they could, looking like swarms of bugs as they filled the sky. From her position, she could see Ponyville itself. Her eyes picked out a faint spiral of dust coming from near the town’s center.
“Something’s wrong,” she said, whipping her head around to give Arkenstone a distressed look, “There’s some kind of disaster in Ponyville.”
To her surprise, Twilight saw her normally unflappable coltfriend pale slightly, his eyes opening wide to reveal the featureless, white orbs his lids normally concealed.
“It must be him,” said Arkenstone, “Terra Heart.”
“That pony from the Cult Solar?” asked Twilight, her heart hammering in her ribs.
Applejack and Rarity had fallen silent, the two of them realizing that something was wrong. Now they were listening to Arkenstone and Twilight, their ears standing upright on their heads and their eyes wide with shock.
“I can’t think of anypony else who would be capable of inflicting such a grim feeling,” said Arkenstone, “especially at this distance.” He shot to his hooves.
“Where are you going?” asked Twilight.
“I’m going to talk to the conductor,” said Arkenstone over his shoulder, “I need him to wring every ounce of speed he can out of this train. The sooner we get back to Ponyville, the better.”
“What can I do to help?” asked Twilight, moving to follow him.
“Nothing for now,” said Arkenstone, “I get the feeling we might need your magic for something else in the near future, so we shouldn’t squander it now. I can only pray we aren’t too late.”
They left the car, sliding the door shut behind them, practically forgetting about their friends who were still there.
Applejack swallowed hard and turned to look at Rarity. “Red was worried somethin’ fierce when Ah left,” she said, “Ya don’t think…”
“I’m sure he’s fine, darling,” said Rarity, gently patting Applejack’s arm, “Red River is a most capable stallion. But if that brute is even half as dangerous as Arkenstone seems to fear, then…” Rarity’s hoof flew to her mouth. “Oh no! Flaxseed! He’s still in Ponyville! What if that monster finds him?”
Now it was Applejack’s turn to be the reassuring one as she rubbed a hoof up and down Rarity’s back. “Take it easy there, sugarcube,” she said, “That jerk’s probably there for Dawn. Dawn ain’t gonna let that guy know about Flaxseed. He’ll be fine.”
“I hope so,” said Rarity, turning to look out the window and watch Ponyville as it got closer. Despite their encouraging words to one another, neither of them could completely stamp out the feeling of dread that continued to swirl in their hearts.
“Dawn…” said Scootaloo, shuffling nervously behind him.
“Get back,” said Dawn softly, not daring to take his eyes off the stallion in front of him.
Already, Cheerilee was doing her best to usher the foals away. Dawn prayed fervently that Terra Heart’s single-minded determination to kill him wouldn’t drive the stallion to attack before his classmates were clear.
“I’m not leaving you,” said Scootaloo.
“Scootaloo! You’re going to make things harder if you stay,” said Rumble as he and Sweetie Belle did their best to try and tug the orange filly along with them.
“I didn’t say I was going to try and fight,” said Scootaloo, “But I’m not gonna leave him alone like this.”
“If you’re going to stay, then stay clear,” said Dawn, risking a glance back at Scootaloo, “I can’t guarantee anything ab-!” His voice cut off as he felt a surge of air approaching him from the front. Dawn barely managed to wrench his eyes back to his opponent just in time to see Terra standing directly in front of him. It was the same type of technique he’d seen Red River use in their past fight and sparring matches. Terra almost seemed to close the distance in a single step, arriving even before the sound of cracking and splintering wood that signaled the destruction of the schoolyard fence that had been between them.
The surge of air was the only warning Dawn had gotten as Terra’s forehoof was already a blur, lashing out with blinding speed, aiming straight for Dawn’s chest. Unable to do anything else, Dawn threw himself backward with every ounce of speed he could muster, his body seeming to be in two places at once, with Terra’s hoof actually passing through the afterimage he’d left behind.
In actuality, Terra’s hoof came within mere millimeters of connecting with Dawn’s flesh, so close that it grazed the hairs of his coat. Skidding to a halt several meters back, Dawn was aware of a searing pain in his chest. A second later, he coughed and spat out a bit of blood, the action shocking Scootaloo, who was now standing level with him.
“Dawn!” she exclaimed, shocked at the sight of blood. She’d been sure that Terra’s strike had missed.
“Get back!” said Dawn sharply, unable to think of saying anything else to her under the circumstances. It was clear that even a minor distraction could prove to be fatal. He barely even grazed me, but still… Even without pressing his hoof to his chest, Dawn suspected that there might even be small fractures in his ribs from the impact, even though Terra’s hoof had only barely brushed past him. It reminded Dawn of his fight against Skan, where allowing even the slightest contact with his opponent’s blows would be fatal. However, Terra was clearly stronger than Skan by an order of magnitude. If his hoof made even the slightest contact with Dawn’s actual body, Dawn had the feeling that he would crumple like a paper cup.
The sound of fluttering wings told him that Scootaloo was following his advice and putting some distance between herself and the fight that was about to begin in earnest. Now that she wasn’t in obvious danger anymore, Dawn allowed himself to return all of his focus to Terra, who was still facing Dawn with that same, stony expression.
Once again, Terra moved, taking a single step that seemed to eat up all the distance between the two of them all on its own. In reality, it was several steps at once, as the sound of ringing impacts that followed in Terra’s wake told Dawn. But Dawn was in no position to quibble over such details as he ducked beneath another lightning-fast punch that Terra had sent hooking in from the side. Even as Dawn ducked beneath it, Terra planted that hoof back down, the movement of the punch itself bringing the stallion’s shoulder in line with Dawn. When the hoof came down, it completely shattered the ground beneath it as Terra surged forward, thrusting his shoulder at Dawn like a battering ram.
Dawn’s wings beat downward as he kicked off with all four of his hooves, shooting upward out of the line of Terra’s attack. To Dawn’s amazement, the strike didn’t simply end with Terra’s shoulder, but actually sent a shockwave ahead of itself that tore a trench along the ground. Such a blow would have allowed Terra to kill Dawn without even touching him.
Dawn responded with an attack of his own. From above, Dawn beat his wings downward again, lashing out with his hooves to steady himself as he sent a blast of compressed air, capable of shattering rock, straight down at Terra’s head.
Terra didn’t even flinch as the blow slammed into him. The ground around his body exploded in a flurry of dirt and torn up grass as the blast of wind scattered and vented its force on Terra’s surroundings rather than the stallion himself. From the blast, a single stream of wind whipped out randomly and slammed into the side of the schoolhouse, slashing through the wall and practically cutting the building in two. With a roar of shattering timber, the upper half of the building sagged and toppled over, the tower with its bell slamming to the earth in a ringing cacophony.
Well…that didn’t work, thought Dawn as he looked down at his opponent. Terra had shrugged off the blow as though it hadn’t even been there. Dawn knew that hardening the body was supposed to be one of the most basic skills of the Mountain Root and earth pony martial arts in general. A master like Terra could probably withstand the most powerful strikes Dawn could use against him without difficulty. There was little point in taking the offensive if that was the case. It would only be a waste of stamina on Dawn’s part.
Perhaps I can wait him out, thought Dawn. After all, from what he knew, the Mountain Root was based almost entirely on physical contact. If Terra’s blows couldn’t reach him, then there was no way that the stallion could inflict any damage. If Dawn could wait outside of Terra’s reach and play for time, then maybe he could keep this going until Arkenstone arrived.
"Do you think you're safe up there?" asked Terra coldly, his eyes narrowing.
Before Dawn could even think about answering, Terra seemed to vanish and reappear not only in front of, but above Dawn. Out of reflex, Dawn jumped to the side as Terra thrust a hoof out at him. Dawn swung a wing across his body, bringing a hammer of air slamming into Terra's flank. However, Dawn was the one who was thrown away as the force of his own strike seemed to rebound against him. Luckily, the force was scattered somewhat, so he was spared being smashed and was instead sent into a disorienting tumble. Barely managing to right himself, Dawn got upright just in time to see Terra Heart seemingly walking across the empty air at fantastic speed straight at him. How?
Once again, Terra struck, this time twisting his body around to kick his hind hooves at Dawn, who barely managed to force himself up above the line of attack. However, to Dawn's dismay, the force of the kick seemed to disperse the air directly beneath his wings, sending the colt into a fall. Dawn managed to arrest his descent right before hitting the ground, but still landed hard enough to buckle his legs slightly. A faint whistle was the only warning he had before he threw himself to the side to avoid Terra, who descended from above with the force of a meteor.
Kicking off the ground again, Dawn used his legs and wings to propel himself back away from Terra as the stallion hit with an explosion that threw dirt and stones in the air. Before Dawn could actually try to leave the ground, he felt a faint pulse of...something...through the earth that seemed to flow up the one hoof he currently had connected to the ground. All of a sudden, Dawn's body, wings and all, felt as though it were made of lead. His liftoff aborted and he dropped down onto all four hooves. The feeling vanished almost immediately afterward, but it had halted Dawn's movement just enough for Terra to come rushing in once again.
Desperately, Dawn swept both his wings forward so that the outermost primaries pointed out past his head straight at the incoming Terra. Even as he flapped, Dawn also lunged, putting the full force of his body into the motion of one of the first techniques he'd taught Scootaloo. The Forward Wing Strike sent a wave of air that pulverized the ground ahead of it, turning rocks into dust and digging a trench through the earth as its full force slammed straight on into Terra.
It didn't even slow the massive stallion down. Instead, the cannon-blast of compressed air exploded outward on impact, tearing apart the ground all around the two combatants. On one side, the remnants of the schoolhouse crumbled into fragments while the fence on the other side vanished in a storm of splinters. Through it all, the roar of the wind filled the two combatants' ears as Terra blurred closer to Dawn.
Once again, Terra lashed out with a forehoof in another hooking strike that came at the side of Dawn's head. Dawn's own body blurred and vanished as he jumped sideways, moving in such perfect time with his opponent that Terra's hoof suddenly seemed to hang still in the air in front of his very eyes. Dancing around to Terra's flank, Dawn attempted to attack again, using a wing to drive another battering ram of air into Terra's side. However, once again, the force of the attack seemed to simply rebound against him. This time, Dawn let out a grunt of pain as he felt nearly the full force of his own attack slam back into him, launching him through the air. He only barely managed to avoid serious injury by relaxing his body to allow the force of the attack to knock him away rather than break him. Even so, the pain from the impact he'd received on his chest earlier redoubled.
Folding his wings tightly against his sides, Dawn hit the ground shoulder first and quickly went into roll to bleed out his excess momentum. The roll also carried him back onto his hooves. Using the remainder of his inertia, Dawn pushed off the ground before he could allow himself to be dragged to a stop and beat his wings to quickly take to the air once more.
That was what saved him as Terra's front hooves came crashing down on the very spot Dawn had hit. Once again, the earth shattered. Dawn grunted again as he was pelted with tiny stones that had been thrown up from the impact. The hail of tiny projectiles peppered his body, one or two even drawing blood.
This is no good, thought Dawn as he saw Terra already going into motion again. The stallion was relentless. If it was at all in his power, he would not let Dawn get into the air. Even worse, he could apparently follow Dawn into the sky if he needed to. How was something Dawn had yet to determine. Furthermore, Terra was doing everything in his power to keep Dawn from gaining distance on him. Every move Dawn made was being matched by Terra in order to keep him in the stallion's range. Finally, the constant motion and the need to remain alert and aware of Terra Heart's every movement were slowly taking their toll. Even though the fight had barely begun, Dawn already felt as though he'd been through half a dozen training sessions in a row with barely any time for a breather in between them. In contrast, he couldn't even make out the faintest trace of sweat across Terra's brow as the stallion came at him again. This is a master of the Mountain Root...
Dawn knew he couldn't afford to pull his punches any longer. Terra Heart was just too strong an opponent to even think about holding back against. Even as the realization occurred to him, Dawn flicked out one wing, holding it with its feathers splayed out so that it resembled a blade's edge. Slashing his wing through the air, Dawn seemed to carve a line through the world itself as a slim, crescent-shaped blade of vacuum whistled faintly through the air, straight for Terra's chest. Terra Heart didn't even see the strike coming and was in no position to avoid it as it hit dead on...and simply seemed to break in two across his chest, not so much as drawing a single drop of blood.
Only the sheer intensity of the fight kept Dawn's jaw from hanging slack as he dodged a flurry of strikes from Terra, moving so quickly that his body seemed to be in several places at once. His swiftest, deadliest attack, capable of slicing even through nigh-indestructible metals like mithril, hadn't even scratched Terra's hide. Desperately, Dawn launched a flurry of vacuum blades at Terra, trying to find some way to penetrate the stallion's unyielding defense. But they all scattered uselessly as Terra came on.
Continuing to give way in a fighting retreat, Dawn's wind-sense told him that something large and inanimate was looming up behind him. Not even bothering to look, his wings blurred, sending another barrage of blades, this time behind himself. The wings sliced through wood and plaster, cutting the corner of the house Dawn had been about to ram into to pieces. Kicking off both the ground and air as hard as he could, Dawn dashed backwards, using his wings to shift the air out of his way to allow him to accelerate away from Terra and put the crumbling walls of the house between them. A second later, Dawn's wings beat again, this time sending a wave of air that turned the fragments of the house's wall into a deadly rain of shrapnel. Driven by tornado-force winds, they rushed with blinding speed at Terra with enough force to shred flesh and shatter bone.
Shifting the angle of his body slightly, Terra brought his hooves down to the ground with enough force to crush stone and thrust his shoulder straight at the oncoming barrage. The house fragments shattered and scattered in all directions, along with the wind that had been driving them. The remainder of the house simply seemed to explode like a balloon, throwing debris everywhere.
Dawn's let his mind empty of thought relinquishing complete control to his body. Spinning and flipping, he managed to slip between the flying pieces of wood, glass, and plaster that had originally been driven by his own attack as they buzzed and zipped around him like a swarm of angry hornets. Even as he dodged, he began to agitate the air around his wings, producing a faint hum as bolts of electricity arced between his feathers. Snapping a wing out, Dawn pointed his leading primary at Terra and sent a bolt of pure electrical energy lashing out with a loud crack.
The bolt exploded against Terra's body in a shower of sparks, but failed to do anything. Not letting up, Dawn wheeled his wings, moving them through exaggerated circles as though they were joined together by a bar running across his shoulders. The power built in both his wings through their movements. As Terra came pressing on through the storm of their own colliding attacks, Dawn sent the electricity from his left wing rippling across his shoulders to add to the power he'd been building on his right wing. Continuing the circular motion he'd started with, Dawn swept his right wing upwards in an arcing motion that sent a stream of lightning curling out in a whiplike motion. Larger and much more powerful than his first strike, the bolt of lightning carved a fiery line across the ground, leaving a trail of glowing-hot earth in its wake.
Terra swept a forehoof inwards, upwards, and across his front in a blocking motion. It intercepted the incoming bolt of lightning and swatted it away, sending the redirected energy lancing into a nearby tree, which exploded in a shower of fiery splinters. Not even missing a beat, Terra came on once again, his hooves moving relentlessly to crush the life from Dawn's body.
Without even thinking about it, Dawn swept one wing out and around in an arcing motion, throwing the force of his entire body behind it. A roaring funnel cloud twisted around both combatants, seeming to swallow them whole as it rose up into the sky.
Fluttershy pressed herself up against Caramel's side, trembling like a leaf as she watched the tornado ascend upward. "Dawn..." she whispered. Like the rest of Ponyville, she had gone straight to Sweet Apple Acres when word had reached her about what was happening in town. Her first thought had been to go to her son's side. However, her bodyguards' words and her own experience told her that she would be more of a hinderance than a help in that situation.
"Can't ya do anything?" asked Apple Bloom, looking imploringly at the two griffons that stood nearby.
Skan curled his forepaws, gouging lines in the dirt with his deadly talons. "We would only get in the way," he said, frustration evident in his voice, "That colt beat me the last time we fought. If he's up against a pony that can press him this hard, then I doubt I'd last more than a minute."
"Besides," said Zhan softly, "We can't abandon our charge. That would be betraying Dawn's trust."
Her eyes watering, Bloom turned to watch the tornado as it gradually began to abate.
"They're tearing apart the town," observed Mayor Mare grimly, "Now I understand why they went through the trouble of having us evacuate."
"Looks like Dawn's tryin' to lead the fight to the park," said Big Macintosh, "Less stuff to smash up around there." Dinky Doo cowered between his hooves, taking shelter beneath the red stallion's hefty form. In the air above them, Ditzy tried to observe what was going on as best she could. However, between the distance and her own irregular vision, she was unable to discern any details.
"Only if he can keep it in the park," Mayor Mare pointed out.
"Ah think that's the least 'o our concerns," said Macintosh darkly.
"Help!"
Several head turned a once as the assembled ponies saw a frantic Flitter diving towards them, her eyes leaving a trail of tears in the air behind her as she rushed down.
"What's wrong?" asked Macintosh as Flitter barely managed to land upright in front of them.
"It's Red and Storm," said the weathermare in a tone that clearly indicated she was seconds away from panicking, "They're badly hurt! They need help!"
"Doc!" shouted Macintosh, turning towards the barn. He'd arranged for the barn to be used to house the patients from the hospital, who were being evacuated as quickly as they could while the fight progressed.
Doctor Stable, who'd heard Flitter's shouts was already giving orders to his staff. "Redheart, Tenderheart, take charge of unloading the patients! Triage, Gauze Roll, get back to the hospital on the double!" His orders given, he came galloping up to where Macintosh and the others were waiting. "I'm afraid all the ambulances are currently in use. Do you have a wagon we can use to collect the patients?"
"Eeyup," said Macintosh, "Ah reckon we do." The wagon, in fact, was the one that Red River would have normally used to haul the produce to market. But on this day, the azure stallion had left the wagon unloaded and gone into town without it. Macintosh found himself wondering if Red had foreseen just this sort of situation and left the empty wagon ready, just in case.
"I'll need you to pull it," said Dr. Stable, "I'll come along to make sure the patients are moved safely."
Macintosh was already hitching himself to the wagon, leaving a reluctant Dinky to cling to her mother as he and Dr. Stable prepared to head dangerously close to the battle still raging.
"Lead the way," said Macintosh to Flitter, who nodded and took to the air, flying ahead of the two stallions as they headed back into the town.
The locomotive hadn't even fully slowed down, coming into Ponyville's station at a much higher speed than it should have. The brakes had been applied much later than usual. As a consequence, it was likely that the train would be well past the station when it finally coasted to a stop. Before it reached the station, Arkenstone bounded out from the locomotive itself, hitting the ground at a gallop. Over the screeching of the train's brakes, Arkenstone could hear the sound of roaring wind and crashing wood. His nose filled with the scents of fear, exertion...and blood.
He came to a halt, realizing that he was now in Ponyville's market district. His ears swiveled around even as he sniffed the air, trying to find out where the scent of blood was the strongest. Time was of the essence, but the continuing roar of wind, punctuated by the crack and buzz of lightning, indicated that Dawn was still fighting. As long as Dawn was still fighting, it was Arkenstone's duty to ensure that any innocents and injured were away from the zone of conflict. After all, once Arkenstone himself entered the battle, it was highly unlikely that there would be anything that could be saved for several miles around.
Finally, he managed to pinpoint the location of the first body. Coming over, Arkenstone's eyes opened once again, betraying his shock as he realized whose blood he was smelling.
"Red River!"
The azure stallion was practically embedded in the wall of the local florist. One side of him had sunken deeply into the plaster wall, while two of his legs bent at unnatural angles. Hearing the sound of his name, Red slowly pried one eye open and focused it on Arkenstone.
"Hey...you made...it back..."
"Don't talk," said Arkenstone softly, "I'll make sure you get treatment."
"D-don't worry a-about me," said Red, his chest heaving with the effort it took to speak, "Find Storm...I...I think he's in a real bad way."
Frowning, Arkenstone stepped away and tried to home in on the scent of the other mercenary. It took him a little bit of work, but he found it. Just as Red had said, Storm was in much worse condition. His body had been thrown into a back alley, where he now lay, motionless. Only the faintest twitching rise and fall of his chest indicated he was still alive. However, there were signs of several fractures and one of his wings appeared to have had its bones completely shattered. The foreleg that normally anchored his meteor hammer had been snapped in several places and wrenched into a very bad position.
Will either of them be able to fight...or even stand again after this? wondered Arkensone, anger building inside of him. There hadn't been any need to break either of his opponents so completely. Terra could have easily done much less physical harm to them if the gulf in power between him and them was so great. However, he hadn't merely defeated them, he had crushed them. Arkenstone realized what Terra had done. Terra Heart had "passed judgment" on these two stallions for daring to impede his mission. He had struck them, not with the intent to defeat or disable, but to maim them, potentially for life, assuming they lived at all. It was an even more extreme version of what Dawn had once done to Flash Spark. However, unlike Dawn, Terra clearly had no intention of ever feeling remorse for this act.
Arkenstone couldn't move them in their current state. He had no way of knowing if any damage had been done to their spines. Until he managed to get a doctor to assist him, it was probably for the best to leave the two stallions as they were for the time being, so long as their lives weren't in immediate danger.
"Mr. Arkenstone!"
Arkenstone's ears perked up and swiveled at the sound of Flitter's voice. She was flying down the street towards him. Behind her were Big Macintosh and Dr. Stable, the former pulling a wagon.
"Excellent!" said Arkenstone, turning to face them. He quickly explained to Stable and Macintosh the situation. Stable used his magic to scan both stallions and then carefully levitate them into the cart without aggravating their injuries.
Flitter was distraught, weeping openly as she watched the doctor settle Storm into the cart. "He'll live," said the doctor, giving Flitter a reassuring smile, "I can promise that much at least."
Arkenstone noted that Stable had neglected to mention just what kind of life Storm would have beyond that point. Still, the doctor's tone wasn't completely grim, so there might have been hope yet.
"Are ya gonna jump in'ta that?" asked Macintosh, pointing his muzzle in the direction of the park, where the sounds of the battle still echoed.
"Yes," said Arkenstone, "I doubt Dawn will last much longer. I'll delay as much as possible to give you and the others time to get situated at Sweet Apple Acres." Turning, he faintly opened his eyes as he regarded Macintosh. "Once you're there, gather all the earth ponies you can and have them Stand Firm. Use their power to anchor the ground. Otherwise..."
"Ah don't know if it'll be enough," said Macintosh, "Ah don't know where Granny went off to."
"If she's not there, it'll have to be you," said Arkenstone solemnly, "Go!"
Macintosh nodded. Moving with careful deliberateness, he pulled the cart around to to take it back the way he came, trying to strike a balance between moving swiftly and avoiding any defects in the road that would cause it to jar his passengers and aggravate their delicate state. Stable followed along behind him, using his magic to smooth out the ride as much as possible.
"Flitter," said Arkenstone, his voice causing the mare to free in place as she was just about to fly after the others, "Did you see what happened here?"
"Y-yes," said Flitter, her body quivering at the memory.
"I need you to tell me everything you remember," said Arkenstone, "Any detail might be important."
"A-alright..." said Flitter.
In a smooth motion, Red River whipped his weapon out of its sheath. The motion extended the spear's handle as he swept it in an arc in front of him, the motion actually releasing a harsh breeze that washed over the ponies in his immediate vicinity, drawing their attention to him.
"All of you!" Red shouted to the ponies around the market, "This is an emergency situation. You all need to get to Sweet Apple Acres as quickly as possible. Do what you can to make sure that everypony makes it there safely...NOW!"
Even as he pronounced the final syllable of his message, Red released an incredible wave of killing intent that made it perfectly clear that he was not posturing or bluffing. Nervously, ponies pulled back away from him as Red focused the entirety of his attention on the one pony that hadn't heeded his warning, the massive stallion still advancing towards him.
The crowds of ponies pulled back away from the two of them as they faced each other, many already heading for the farm outside the town limits. However, most of them hesitated, watching and wondering just what was going on. In the meantime, at Storm Front's urging, the weather ponies were scattering across town and carrying word to everypony not currently in the market. Even though Ponyville was a relatively small town, that still left several hundred ponies who needed to be warned and moved.
An oppressive silence descended on the street as Red faced Terra Heart, his spear still stretched out to one side, angle slightly downward so that its shaft stretched over his shoulders.
Terra came to a halt a short distance away from Red River. "Hail warrior," he said, his voice dripping with formality, "I am an agent of Her Radiance, here on a sacred mission to exterminate evil. I-"
"I know who you are, Terra Heart," said Red River, his eyes narrowing, "You are an agent of the Cult Solar, here with the intent of committing the act of equicide. You and yours have repeatedly ignored Princess Celestia's real wishes in favor of erecting a delusion in her image and worshiping it in her stead. You have persecuted, threatened, and attacked innocent ponies on the basis of mere appearances. While I stand here, I stand between you and the object of your malice and you will not advance past this point."
For a moment, Terra actually looked taken aback by Red's words and tone. Then his eyes narrowed in anger. "I see you for what you are now," he said, his voice a low rumble that seemed to make the ground around him shake, "My course is clear to me, blasphemer. You will not obstruct my mission. Either stand aside or be thrown aside."
"I will not yield to you," said Red grimly.
Terra's expression hardened. "Thrice I ask and done. Get out of my way."
"No."
Slowly, Terra's eyes drifted shut. "So be it." He inhaled deeply. To everypony in the immediate vicinity, it felt as though the ground suddenly tilted sharply in the direction of the massive stallion, as though they were on the verge of falling into a pit that he stood at the center of. Reflexively, their audience backed away further.
In the blink of an eye, Red lashed out with his spear, thrusting straight towards Terra's chest. His other forehoof slammed down, actually embedding itself in the ground as he lunged forward.
Terra's eyes snapped back open and he swept a forehoof upwards and outwards, knocking the thrust to the side. A short distance behind him, the wooden wall of one of the market stalls suddenly had a hole punched through it before the whole structure shattered like glass. Ponies screamed and scattered as the truth of what was going on finally sunk in on a visceral level.
Unwilling to allow Terra a chance to seize any more momentum, Red retracted the spear and launched a barrage of lightning-fast thrusts, the spear seeming to be multiple places at once, appearing to twist and writhe like a living creature as it jabbed relentlessly at Terra's body. Terra reared up on his hind legs, his two forelegs working in tandem to parry Red's thrusts before any of them so much as touched his flesh. Even as he defended, Terra slowly fell back, retreating from the sheer ferocity of the attack.
Even as Red pushed forward, pressing his attack, it was clear to him that he was outmatched. Though Terra was on the defensive, Red still clearly felt the vast gulf that seemed to represent the difference in their respective strengths. Still, he pressed on. If he let up even for the tiniest sliver of a fraction of a second, then Terra would go on the attack and the fight would be over.
A whistling sound came from overhead and Terra looked up to see a flash of something metallic plummeting at him from above. As Terra looked away, Red took the advantage of the distraction, accelerating his next thrust so that the spear practically seemed to vanish, thanks to its sheer speed.
Without taking his eyes off the falling metal weight, Terra's foreleg snapped out and parried the attack automatically, knocking it off course so that the blade of Red's spear intercepted the weight of Storm Front's meteor hammer. Upon impact there was a loud ringing sound, like that of a gigantic bell that burst out from the weight. The wave of sound slammed into Terra and forced its way into his ear, causing him to reel back with a grunt of pain. He fell back down onto all fours.
Storm pulled the meteor hammer back towards himself, wrapping its cord around his body several times. With each wrap, the weight of the hammer seemed to gather the surrounding air around itself in a swirling vortex that enlarged the overall size of the weight. Then, with a shift of his body, Storm launched the weight straight out and down at Terra like a striking snake, the wight surrounded by a veil of twisting winds. At the same time, Red had pulled back his spear, taking advantage of Terra's momentarily stunned state to spin and rotate it fiercely.
The two attacks came at Terra simultaneously. However, Terra made no effort to defend against them, his head lowered and his eyes closed. Both the spear and the meteor hammer struck home.
The first thing Storm Front noticed was a sound like a cracking whip...followed by the popping and cracking of bone. His eyes widened as he saw his wright arm wrench around backwards, nearly every joint dislocating at once. At the same time, his arm twisted and Storm felt the bones snapping. At the instant of the weight's impact against Terra, the massive stallion had shifted and a rippling wave traveled back up the length of the cord to Storm, where the cord itself had somehow snapped his arm.
Meanwhile, the blade of Red River's spear struck its target...and shattered into pieces, also splintering the next foot or so of the shaft behind the blade. The red tassel was sent tumbling through the air, as Red pulled back the broken remnants of his weapon.
Terra wasn't done yet. Before the meteor hammer could fall away from his body, he reached up with a foreleg and curled his fetlock around the weight before moving fluidly to wrap a short length of the cord around his arm. Terra gave a powerful yank. Storm screamed in agony as he was pulled straight down towards Terra by the arm that had just been broken. His fall resulted in him coming down right next to Terra, who turned and let out a mighty buck just as Storm was about to hit the ground.
Terra's hooves connected with Storm's side, all but completely crushing the wing there and launching Storm into an alleyway, where he hit with a loud crash. Contemptuously, Terra uncurled the meteor hammer from around his hoof and let it fall to the ground.
"As expected from filth that would dare protect a demon," said Terra, turning to face Red. "Now that your weapon has been disabled, I will give you one last opportunity to withdraw unharmed."
Red River began to spin what remained of his spear around one leg, twirling it like a baton. "I think not," he said. As it spun, the spear's shaft began to glow. "The blade may be broken. The shaft may be shattered. But, in the end, a spear is still a spear. As long as I have that idea in my hooves, it doesn't matter whether it's a real spear or a twig or even a blade of grass. I still have a spear capable of piercing you."
The spear's spin halted as Red assumed an attacking stance once again, crouching down on one foreleg while the other hefted the shining shaft of the spear so that it was angled slightly downward. The light seemed to curl out of the wooden shaft, swirling about, taking form. The light formed itself into a massive phantasmal spear formed from glowing lines of hardened light. It was larger than Red should have been able to wield, its shaft to thick for him to actually wrap his fetlock around, but Red still held it, his grip actually still holding the original shaft at the center of the spear of light.
"An impressive parlor trick," observed Terra in a bored tone, "But your dependence on weapons and sullying your Art with concepts from outside sources will not amount to anything."
Red's eyes narrowed and he pushed his three free hooves down into the ground his entire body blurring into the motion as he thrust the glowing spear, which seemed to become a ray of light as it rushed straight for Terra's body.
Terra's eyes widened and, at the last second, he threw himself to the side. The shaft of light rushed past him, cleaving a clean line through the ground as it went, until it impacted the side of a building halfway down the street, piercing straight through it as though its walls were made of paper.
Red retracted his arm and the spear of light shrank down to its original proportions as he prepared to attack again. However, as Red took the first step to make his next thrust, the shining spear suddenly seemed to dissolve, leaving behind a broken shaft once again.
Red's eyes widened as Terra's body blurred, crossing the distance between them in an instant. Terra's forehoof came down as he turned and slammed his shoulder into Red River's own shoulder and side. The bones at the point of impact shattered almost instantly and Red barely had time to cry out as he was thrown off his hooves and sent flying through the side of a nearby storefront, where he impacted against one of the interior walls and found himself all but imbedded there.
Terra Heart snorted once and surveyed his surroundings. The last few ponies that had been there to watch the event had fled. He made his way to the alley to inspect the first of the opponents he'd taken down. Storm Front still lay there, his body twitching feebly. Terra stopped, idly contemplating whether or not to finish the pegasus off.
"Stop!" A grayish blur flashed downwards and Flitter landed between Terra and Storm, glaring at Terra with tears in her eyes. "You've done enough," she said, "Leave him alone."
Terra clearly disagreed. However, his objective wasn't here. Instead, he silently turned and went back to making his way down the now deserted street in search of his target.
"So that's what happened," Arkenstone muttered to himself as Flitter finished her story. She had talked as quickly as she could, clearly feeling the urgency of the situation. However, Arkenstone noted that the sounds of battle from the park still hadn't quieted down. Dawn was still fighting. But, against an enemy like Terra Heart, he must have been nearing his limit. The colt likely wouldn't be able to keep up the fight for much longer. The fact that he'd held on this long was incredibly remarkable on its own.
"Did that help?" asked Flitter worriedly, "Can you beat him?"
"It did help," said Arkenstone, giving the mare a reassuring smile, "But I don't dare claim victory just yet. You've been a great help to me. Go with Storm and the others now."
Flitter nodded and took off into the sky.
Arkenstone began making his way toward the park, his nose and ears guiding him. His mind was carefully processing what he'd learned from Flitter's story. She'd told him more than she realized as Arkenstone recognized some of the Mountain Root's techniques in what Terra had done. It told him a great deal about the level of Terra's skill.
Reap What You Sow: Perhaps one of the highest techniques in the Mountain Root's repertoire. The technique that had brought down Storm Front utilized an earth pony's ability to use physical objects and substances as a medium for their magic to its utmost. Terra had rebounded the force of Storm's attack, not merely deflecting the weight of the meteor hammer itself, but sending the force of its impact traveling back up the cord and into the arm that had launched the attack. What was more, Terra had added his own power to it, the resulting force being enough to almost completely destroy Storm's arm.
Empty Ground: That was the technique that had disrupted Red River's attack. It was less advanced than the technique that had defeated Storm, but an excellent measure of Terra's power. Earth ponies drew their strength from the land around them, drawing the earth's power into themselves and refining it before turning it against their enemies. However, against another earth pony, the very act of drawing in power could be used as an attack of sorts. An advanced user of earth pony magic could focus and control precisely where she drew power from. Normally, given the vast potential of the earth itself, this was a relatively pointless ability. However, a strong enough practitioner could use their power to temporarily draw all of the power out of the area in the immediate vicinity of an opponent who also wielded earth pony magic. Doing so disrupted the opponent's ability to draw power into themselves and, as such, would disrupt any attack or defense they had, just as Terra's use of Empty Ground had caused Red's spear to suddenly vanish. It only lasted for a brief period, less than a second even, but a skilled user would not miss the opening such a technique could create. More importantly, it took an immense amount of personal strength to completely draw the power out of just a few square meters of ground even for such a short time.
Terra was strong. He also had knowledge of the highest arts of the Mountain Root. That much was clear to Arkenstone. And yet...there was a fleeting sense of vulnerability, a chink in the otherwise impenetrable armor that surrounded the one known as Terra Heart. Arkenstone hadn't seized upon it yet. However, he knew he would have to if he were to have any hope of victory.
Ultimately, the answer would only be discovered in the fight itself. Arkenstone didn't have time to stand by and calmly consider strategies or assess strength and vulnerability. Dawn Lightwing needed him. Also, there were certain actions on Terra's part that needed to be redressed. Setting his shoulders, Arkenstone fixed on the sounds of Dawn's fight and headed straight for it. It's time to enter the battle.