//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 - The Lightning Strikes // Story: My Little Equestroid: Stompin' is Magic // by ForeverChasingRainbows //------------------------------// **Thirty-Thirty** Thirty-Thirty's good mood did not last much beyond the end of the meal. Now that the initial shock of his arrival had worn off, a series of ugly questions began to rear their heads. What had happened to BraveStarr; where had the portal sent him; and, most importantly, could he go back? He had been through portals to other worlds and even other times before, but this one was different. Stampede had seemed to think throwing BraveStarr through the portal would dispose of him for good. I'm still alive, so it can't have been meant to kill him - which leaves me with one other choice, he thought hopelessly, there ain't a way back outta here. There had been similar conditions on other portals Thirty-Thirty and his partner had encountered before - as long as the gateway remained open, travel was still possible, but once it closed it was gone for good. He didn't recall seeing the portal in the cave when he awoke for the first time, but he wasn't exactly confident of his ability to remember every detail from that event - and he couldn't even be sure that he actually arrived there either. He could have been moved while he was passed out, like he was the second time, although according to his internal clock he'd only been unconscious for a couple of minutes after he was hit the first time. Although, he thought, perking up a little, if this is the Celestial realm Shaman was so worried about, then he should be able to contact me. He does his spirit-talkin' stuff with somethin' here all the time. And if Stampede's found a way to make more of his portal things then I might be able to get through one o'them in the other direction. The thought of jumping back through one of Stampede's own portals brought a grim smile to Thirty-Thirty's face. I could give him a good stompin' on the way by, as a way of sayin' thank you for throwin' me in here. Maybe introduce him to Sara-Jane. Either way, BraveStarr ain't gonna leave me here. My partner's never let me down before, and he's not gonna start now. Not that he had any particular objections to the world he now found himself in - on the contrary, it seemed like a pleasant enough place. The natives brought up a conflicting storm of emotions - bittersweet memories of his own kind, a tantalising glimpse of a familiarity and belonging that he had never felt on New Texas. He certainly wouldn't say no to coming back here for a visit, especially as the years wore on. But he had other friends, and another home - back on the other side of whatever divide he'd crossed. ~Fluttershy~ seemed to pick up on his fluctuating mood, and asked what was bothering him. The other ponies were sitting or lying around in the slowly fading light, talking quietly after finishing their food, but ~Fluttershy~ had stayed next to him rather than joining her fellows. Well, they're all talkin' at least. Pinky ain't exactly bein' quiet. Thirty let out a soft sigh. "I'm worryin' about stuff I got no control over, an' stuff I can't know. Whether my partner's okay. If I can go home. That sort of thing." His spirits picked up when ~Fluttershy~ told him that her people's rulers would be able to work out how to send him home - and that there was already a carriage on the way to take the group to the capital. "You'd do all that, for me?" ~Fluttershy~ paused, an odd expression on her face, as if she was having trouble understanding the question. After a moment, Thirty-Thirty continued "How do they know about all this anyhow?" The small pony gave quite a lengthy answer to that question, although it was a struggle to puzzle out the meaning of it all. As far as he could make out in amongst some completely unintelligible stuff about the moon and sun, the group of ponies had somehow gotten a message to their leaders at the same time as he'd been taken out of the cave he arrived in. Some sort of carriage was supposed to pick them all up after sunset that night, so the ponies had tried to make him comfortable and settled in to wait. "Well shucks," Thirty said, cheeks colouring as he absently rubbed a hand through his mane, "sounds like y'all are goin' to a lot of trouble to help me out, after I just sorta dropped on top of you an' all. I'm mighty grateful for that." ~Fluttershy~ tried to dismiss the group's actions as nothing special as Thirty-Thirty leaned back, lying flat on the ground with his arms folded behind his head. Just as it struck him how odd the pose would probably look to the ponies - after all, he definitely couldn't get his legs behind his head without his forelimbs transformed - he caught sight of Bolt out of the corner of his eye. Not only was she already lying down with her forelegs behind her head, she also had her hind legs crossed. How the heck does she do that? Wait, wait, hold on - why is that the bit that weirds me out? She's bright blue and has workin' wings in the middle of her back for cryin' out loud. Apparently concerned by his lying down, ~Fluttershy~ asked Thirty-Thirty if he was feeling okay. "I'm fine. Side hurts a little, but it's nothin' that won't fix itself in time," he replied, looking up into the clear desert sky. "Still feelin' a mite wore out, though. If we're gonna be waitin' 'til nightfall I reckon I'll just doze here for a bit - if'n you don't mind, that is." ~Fluttershy~ agreed that resting his injury was probably the best choice, and assured him he'd be left alone until their transport arrived. Thirty-Thirty nodded a silent thank-you as he closed his eyes. **Rarity** "Darling, are you quite sure this is appropriate?" Rarity whispered to Twilight as the pair approached their sleeping guest. The sun was just touching the horizon, and the others were packing up their respective tents. "We're just going to look," Twilight replied, "what's the harm in that? It's not like we're going to wake him up or anything." "Yes, but... sneaking up on him while he's asleep feels a little, I don't know..." "Oh come on, you want to get a better look at what he's wearing, right?" Rarity suppressed an involuntary shudder at the memory of the saddle the stallion had been wearing when he arrived. Although it had been distressing to find that it was a fixed part of him rather than an accessory, that feeling had been reduced somewhat when his transformation had removed it - apparently it wasn't as permanent as it had first appeared. The transformation had also ignited a fierce curiosity in her, a desire to find out everything she could about what seemed to be shapeshifting attire that didn't even require any magic to use. This feels maybe a teensy bit voyeuristic, but how can I turn down an opportunity to examine something like this? I'm sure the nice gentlecolt would say yes if I asked, and if Fluttershy doesn't want us to wake him up... "Oh all right," Rarity whispered huffily, glancing around to check the others were still pre-occupied. "Let's get this over with." The pair crept up to the sleeping giant, hooves silent on the rock-strewn sand. He still lay on his back, forelimbs supporting his head and hind hooves crossed, resting peacefully. Once they'd gotten as close as they dared, Twilight gave a muted snort of annoyance. "How am I meant to get a look at his hands when he's sleeping on them?" she complained in hushed tones. "And why does he have to have such a huge mane, it's covering everything!" Spotting something half-concealed under the stallion's body, harnessed to his back, Rarity leaned in for a closer look. "What in Equestria do you suppose that is?" she muttered, directing Twilight's attention to the object. The alicorn's head tilted to one side as she narrowed her eyes at it. "I guess it's whatever passes for a weapon where he comes from. Luna mentioned he was some kind of lawpony, and he's got it stowed on his back sort of like a guard's halberd." Rarity decided to provisionally dismissed the thing as unimportant, and left Twilight to examine it. If it turned out to be some kind of accessory item, she could come back to it later - but she wasn't particularly interested in weapons, even ornamental ones. Military dress uniforms and the accoutrements that went with them were a little out of her area of expertise, although she had always wanted to try her hoof at making something in that vein. One so rarely gets the opportunity to cover a stallion in gold braid without it appearing utterly ridiculous. Turning her attention to the red straps that seemed to be all that remained of their visitor's saddle, Rarity tried to classify what she was seeing. One narrow band around his muzzle formed a typical hackamore - although the reins that would normally be attached to the bitless bridle seemed to be absent. Presumably the stallion did occasional duty pulling carriages or other such labour, but not frequently enough to leave the reins on at all times. The purpose of the other straps eluded her, however. Two loops, one around his throat and one at the far end of his barrel by his hips, were joined by two straight sections running along the sides of his belly. Other than serving as an overly-elaborate attachment point for the star-shaped badge at his neckline, there didn't seem to be any practical use to the crimson straps. A brief thrill ran through Rarity as she took in the strange garment. It's certainly unconventional by Equestrian standards, but I suppose that would inevitably be the case with non-Equestrian clothing. Maybe I could try something similar, the exotic element would certainly appeal to a few ponies. She tapped a hoof against her jaw thoughtfully, absorbed in a brief flurry of design ideas. A little bit of the alien and unfamiliar always lends excitement and mystery to a garment after all. The experimental pieces I made based on those charming hoops Zecora wears at least received a favourable critical response, even if nopony actually bought any of them. Rarity's thoughts were interrupted by an agitated Rainbow Dash swooping over. "Rare, Twi, there you are." Rainbow air-braked to a hovering halt, and eyed the guilty-looking pair suspiciously. "What're you..." she shook her head dismissively. "Never mind. Something freaky's going on with the weather, and I don't like it. The guards are meant to be here with the carriage any minute, and I'm gettin' a feeling this might not be a coincidence, y'know?" Twilight moved back towards the tents, away from the sleeping stallion before responding. Rarity followed along, as Rainbow Dash flitted around above them in agitation. "Rainbow, what could possibly be going on?" Twilight asked. "Nopony even knows we're out here, or what's happened, besides the princesses and the guards that are on the way here. I'm not going to contradict you on the weather being... 'freaky', but I'm pretty sure it's just a coincidence." "What possible motive could anypony have for any sort of malicious action?" Rarity asked Rainbow Dash. "Look, I dunno," Rainbow replied, obviously annoyed and worried. "It just feels wrong, okay? There's something in the air that just isn't right. Humidity hit rock bottom a couple minutes ago, and now the pressure's dropping like somepony..." she trailed off, staring at the horizon. Rarity and Twilight followed Rainbow's gaze to an ugly patch of blackened cloud billowing over the horizon, growing steadily larger. As they watched, light flickered within the cloud and, a few moments later, a low rumble of distant thunder echoed across the desert. "What the hay are they doing?" Rainbow shouted, "Are they bucking insane?!" "They?" Twilight asked, a worried expression crossing her face. Rainbow pointed a hoof at the cloud as she looked down at the pair below her. "You can't build a storm that big all by yourself, not that fast. And the speed it's growing, it's gonna be totally uncontrollable! The amount of lightning that thing's gonna put out... somepony could get hurt. Like, badly." She ground her teeth angrily. "Actually, anypony building a storm like that is probably trying to hurt somepony. The guards might be in trouble." "Not to, um, cause any undue concern," Rarity said nervously, "but isn't it heading this way?" **Nightshade** The loud clattering sounds of metal-shod hooves impacting rock, interspersed with the occasional snap of leathery wings as she bounded and dove from cover to cover, were completely drowned out by the torrential downpour that drenched the fleeing mare's coat and mane. Struggling to hold down her confusion and fear, she focused all of her attention on not breaking a leg in the deep gloom beneath the clouds. It was just a carriage run. Just a stupid early evening carriage run. Lungs burning and muscles straining, hooves skidding on the rain-slick rock, the Night Guard narrowed her catlike eyes and pushed on as memories threatened to overwhelm her. A clear sky, burning orange as the sun set, suddenly consumed by the storm's fury. A familiar voice yelling "AMBUSH!" just a massive lightning bolt turned the large sky carriage the squad was dragging into so much molten slag behind them. Tornado winds and driving rain forcing them down as all four of them struggled out of their harnesses. It had been easy then. Training had kicked in. Ambush. Counter-charge, break out, escape the kill zone. Retreat and regroup. Starchaser hadn't made it out of the zone, but you expected to lose somepony when you got hit like that. What had thrown the others had been the ease of their initial escape. It didn't make any sense - there should have been a whole squad or more entrenched that they'd have to punch through to break free, but there had been nothing after the first shadowed attacker had blitzed in and taken Starchaser out. Confused as to the source of the storm, but seeing only one hostile, the squad had quickly regrouped and gone back in to help. Should have just run when we had the chance. The mare bit back a pained cry as a rock turned under her forehoof, stumbling and slamming her side into a small outcrop. Loping awkwardly on three legs, she desperately tried to keep up her pace. A few aborted attempts to put weight on her injured limb and resume galloping caused her to draw up short with a curse, sitting down and tearing a small pack off the inside of her injured leg with the other forehoof. Empty void I hate this stuff. Fighting down her disgust, Nightshade opened her mouth and plunged her fangs through the packet's thick outer coating. Gulping down the contents as fast as she could, she tried not to let her mind linger on the taste. The wonderful... energising... delicious, fresh, hot- "Luna preserve us. Moon, light the way through the darkness." There was another pack on her other leg. All she had to do was take it. With an effort of will that made her whispering prayer tremble even more, she forced herself to stay still. She closed her eyes and tried to force the thought out of her head. "Keep us on the path, that we may never wake to a living nightmare." Even as she regained some semblance of control, a rush of hot, eager adrenaline shot through her and the pain in her leg faded. Nightshade tossed the expended packet into the sheeting rain. No use worrying about being tracked later. Either she'd get away, or that monstrosity would run her down right now. Revitalised, and spurred on by the thought of pursuit, she leapt up and ran on. Whatever it had looked like, Nightshade was certain that their attacker was no pegasus. No pegasus could tear through a guard squad like that. Not to mention the glowing red jewel he'd been wearing was instantly recognisable to any guard, and the Alicorn Amulet had no effect on pegasi. Echo had ordered her to run, told her he'd buy time. The creature was too fast, too strong. He'd bought all of five seconds. It wasn't much, but it had been enough. Fighting down every instinct telling her, screaming at her, to help the comrades she was leaving behind, Nightshade had disappeared into the shadows and run for her life. She barely needed a special talent for it to stay hidden in the rain-streaked darkness beneath the huge storm, but nevertheless she was doing everything she could to remain unnoticed without reducing her speed. She had to reach the Princess before that thing did.