***Neighagra Falls***
Fancypants pushed aside the curtains blocking his front windows, then moved his head into an awkward position to peer out the boards hastily nailed to the door.
“It’s still going to be there,” his wife Fleur de Lis said from behind him.
“I know,” he sighed, putting the curtain back. “How did it end up like this? We came here to be safe, and now one of those things has opened right outside our house? Is there no escaping it?”
“It’s stayed closed,” she said in a mix of annoyance and comfort. “Nothing’s come out yet. We should consider ourselves lucky for that.”
“It’s just a matter of time,” he said quietly. “Those creatures won’t wait for much longer before coming for us."
Twilight paced back and forth next to the chariot. Where were they? Fancypants couldn’t wait long to be rescued.
“There you are!” she yelled when Mahanon walked up, followed by Cassandra, Sera, and Blackwall.
“Ugh,” Sera moaned. “Not so loud, yeah? Got a wicked hangover.”
“I told you not to try the Trixie,” Mahanon scolded. “You know Trixie said her family used to use it as cleaning solution, right?”
“Long as it cleans this world of demons,” she said, clutching her head.
“Why are you late?” Twilight asked in a quieter but no less hasty tone.
“Late night,” Mahanon said, stepping into the chariot. “Only got a little bit of sleep, and then we had to drag Sera here out of bed.”
“Most people usually try to drag me into it,” she laughed as she stepped into the chariot after him. When all the companions were in, Twilight hopped in, and the chariot took off into the sky.
“So Princess,” Blackwall said, leaning his elbows on his knees. “What’s the state of your people? How are they holding against the demons?”
“I don’t know much,” she admitted. “Only what Princess Celestia tells me. She says that stopping the Breach from expanding helped, but that it’s still more than we can handle.”
“They’re too scattered,” he replied. “You need to unite them, under one banner. A million little scraps of metal are useless, but together, they make a sword or armour.”
“She’s doing all she can!” Twilight defended. “But there’s still so much that needs done, and uniting all them would be catastrophic!”
“I agree,” Sera moaned. “Ugh, bloody alcohol. But yeah, uniting all of ‘em at once would put all those little ponies at danger, yeah? Can’t have that.”
“Neither solution is a good one,” Cassandra joined in. “We cannot let all the innocent ponies die, but we also cannot let ourselves spread too thin. Sacrifices will have to be made on both sides.”
“We’ll get everyone we can,” Mahanon said. “I’m sure there are plenty of ponies throughout Equestria that would like to help and just can’t right now.”
The flight continued in silence for a few more minutes, the Inquisition members all looking out over the Equestrian countryside passing beneath them. “Say, Inquisitor,” Blackwall spoke up after a while. “You thought of what we’re going to do once we’re done here?”
All eyes in the carriage turned to Mahanon, who sat there and thought. “I suppose I’m not quite sure,” he admitted. “We’re still needed in Thedas, so I suppose we’ll return there. As for the rest of you, I guess it’s up to you.”
“I will need to go back to Thedas,” Cassandra said. “The Chantry is not very pleased with me being away for as long as I have been.”
“I’ll probably move here,” Sera said a little hopefully. “Red Jenny needs some new Friends, and what better place than a whole new continent with colourful ponies?”
“I suppose I don’t really know where I’ll go,” Blackwall thought. “I’ll go wherever the Inquisition needs me. Don’t really have ties in Thedas besides the Inquisition, and this land will need protecting.”
“The Inquisition’s going to stay?” Twilight asked hopefully.
“I see no reason for it not to,” Mahanon replied. “With everything we’re going to need to do to close the Breach, no doubt we’ll be looked to for guidance just as we are back in Thedas.”
As the chariot passed by Canterlot, everyone inside turned their heads to see the Breach as long as possible. It was still a swirling vortex looming over the mountain, but it seemed calm. The dull green light emitted from it washed over the chariot, bathing it in its sickly grow.
“The sooner we get that thing closed, the better,” Sera proclaimed. “Andraste’s tits, I hate demons.”
Blackwall chuckled. “Don’t we all?”
Not long after the chariot passed by the Breach, two ponies in blue spandex suits flew up next to the Royal Guards pulling the chariot and started talking to them. The Inquisition could not hear, but the pony on the right, a yellow mare with a fiery orange mane, started getting angry and raising her voice at the chariot. She held up her hoof and pointed it down commandingly, then flew away.
“What was that about?” Mahanon asked, trying to see where the ponies flew off to.
“I don’t know,” Twilight said, legitimately surprised.
The chariot began angling itself downwards, and soon landed on a long paved road next to a small town with an enormous crowd of ponies in it.
“Why have we landed?” Twilight called to the Royal Guards. “Fancypants isn’t here, he’s outside the town!”
“They ordered us to,” one of the Guards wheezed back, clearly exhausted from the flight.
As the Inquisition jumped out of the chariot, the same two ponies as before came up to them.
“Spitfire?” Twilight asked the yellow mare with the bright mane. “Is that you?”
“You bet it is, Princess Twilight,” she responded, moving her goggles up to the top of her head.
“You made us land?” Sera asked from the chariot. “We’ve got a freaking princess with us! That mean nothing here?”
“I’m sorry, but it’s standard protocol,” she apologized, legitimate sorrow in her voice. “I wish I could make an exception, but I can’t.”
“You can’t make an exception for your own Princess?” Blackwall asked, slightly annoyed.
“Look, I hate the rule as much as you do, but I was told that no chariots were allowed to fly here. Otherwise air traffic would get congested, and we unfortunately need clear skies for everypony that’s going to be coming in.”
“‘Coming in’?” Twilight repeated. “Who’s coming in?”
“Refugees,” Spitfire responded, pointing to the crowded town. “The town of Neighagra was, until recently, one of the few places in Equestria without one of those Rifts nearby, so ponies have been flocking here. But one opened up a couple of days ago, so we’re just sitting here and trying to keep the town contained while we wait for backup.”
“How long do you think that will be?” Twilight asked worriedly.
“I dunno,” she shrugged. “Two, three? Maybe four?”
“Four what?” Twilight asked. “Days, weeks, months?”
“All of the above. Could be years until we see help. We may never see it. Until now, we’re all just sitting on our hooves and waiting for somepony to swoop in and save us all.”
“We may not be somepony, but we may be able to help,” Mahanon suggested. “We could get out there and close the Rift, and that would make the town safe again.”
“If only things were as simple as that,” Spitfire shook her head. “I’d love to let you guys out there to do your crazy magic thing, but it’s a bureaucratic nightmare here.” Mahanon’s eyes shot to Twilight’s, as he swore he could see a twinkle in them at those last few words. “The ponies in charge of refugee efforts have been scared witless, and so they’re not letting us do anything. One of my Wonderbolts was taken in the other day for leaving his patrol route to help a little filly who got lost and couldn’t find her mom.”
“Really?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah. It was Soarin’, no surprise there. That guy never makes trouble, but he always manages to find himself in it.”
“So there’s nothing we can do?” Mahanon asked.
Spitfire laughed. “Well, nothing by the books. Of course there’s always something that can be done.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.
Spitfire looked around to make sure nopony was eavesdropping, then leaned in close to the Inquisition. “There are some old mining tunnels from when this place used to mine coal. The coal ran out, but the tunnels are still pretty stable since they’re a popular tourist attraction. They got locked up when this place became a refugee town, but since I lead the Wonderbolts, I got a key. The other side opens up not too far from the Rift, so by the time you got there you’d be far out of range of our sights. And I’ll tell the rest of the Wonderbolts the plan is so none of them catch you thinking you shouldn’t be there.”
“Even though we technically shouldn’t,” Mahanon clarified.
“Yeah, but it’s fine,” she said with a wave of her hoof. “The ponies in charge rely on us to report things to them, so long as it doesn’t get reported, they’ll never know. And even if we get caught, they can’t discipline all of us. We can’t be court martialed since we’re not military, and even if they report us to Celestia, she’d probably just scold them for not letting you guys through.”
“If they rely on you to report, how come one of your Wonderbolts got in trouble for helping the filly?”
“He forgot to tell them he wasn’t supposed to,” she said, rolling her eyes. “They went to them to commend him, but they instead pulled him from rotation and are taking ‘disciplinary action’ against him, which really isn’t anything. Still, it takes one of us out of rotation.”
“Will they stop being so strict if we can go and close the Rift?”
“We can only hope,” she sighed. “Still, even if they don’t change, the ponies here will be safer. Or at least, they’ll feel safer.”
“I guess we shouldn’t waste any time, then,” Mahanon said. “I’ll let you lead the way.”
Spitfire turned her head to the pony behind her and nodded, to which the other Wonderbolt saluted and shot into the air. “Good, now just follow me.” She turned towards the town and started walking, and the Inquisition followed.
“Ugh, just look at that,” Sera scoffed while they passed through town. “This place isn’t built for this many ponies! Who told them all to come here?”
“It’s one of the few places that’s far from a Rift,” Spitfire said sadly. “They figured that since a lot of tourists came by here, they could handle a lot of temporary residents, but they underestimated. Within days, all the rooms, apartments, and houses they set aside were filled to the brim. We’ve tried to get word out for ponies coming here to plan on staying outside, but most of them don’t get the message, so they’re sleeping outside without any tents or blankets. We’re running out of food, too. And our supply chains are a mess, so we can’t get anything when or where we need it.”
“There’ve got to be ponies with all that stuff lying around, right?” Sera asked deviously. “Not sharing it with the rest of us? Not going to miss it?”
“Maybe somewhere,” Spitfire said with a shrug. “But even if we were to take it, it’d be hard to divide it up everywhere it needs to go. Supplies are short, but ways of transporting it aren’t great, either. The trains aren’t very reliable anymore, by land would take too long, and nearly every pegasus in Equestria is working on transporting what we already have or they joined the military.”
“I’m sure there’s a way,” Sera said, ideas starting to pool in her head.
When they got to a large wooden door cut into the hills, they stopped. “This is where you get off,” Spitfire said, reaching for a ring of keys. “Just keep going straight; take a wrong turn somewhere and we end up having to fish your dead bodies out of there.”
“Or they get infested by demons and turn on you,” Blackwall added.
“Yeah, and neither of those are my idea of fun.” Spitfire shoved a key into the lock on the doors, then shoved them open.
“Thank you, Spitfire,” Mahanon said as his companions funneled into the caves.
“Just kill one of those demons for me, okay?”
“I’ll try and remember to,” he smiled.
“Oh, and Twilight,” Spitfire spoke up. “Rainbow Dash is all right.”
“Is she here?” Twilight asked excitedly.
“No,” she replied, distraught with having to break her enthusiasm. “She got shuffled somewhere, I don’t know. But I get casualty reports every couple days or so, and her name hasn’t appeared yet.”
Twilight smiled. “Thank you, Spitfire.”
“It’s nothing,” she replied.
As Mahanon and Twilight walked into the cave, they heard the door close behind them and the sound of a lock relocking.
“How long do these caves go on for?” Mahanon asked as they began walking through them.
“Not very long,” Twilight answered. “They’re more deep than they are long.”
“And who is Rainbow Dash?”
Twilight paused for a moment. “She’s one of my friends,” she replied sadly. “She got drafted since she’s in the Wonderbolts Reserves, and she was one of the first ones called after the Breach opened. I haven’t seen her since.”
“Bleh, I hate talking about feelings,” Sera said, nearly gagging on the last word. “Anything I can’t solve with arrows is something not worth solving at all, that’s what I say.”
“I’m glad you’re not the one in charge of the Inquisition, then,” Cassandra remarked.
Sera laughed. “Heh, Coryphy-shit would’a been dead soon as I met him. Arrow in the face! Arrow in the face! Bam, dead!”
“You know it wasn’t that simple when we did have to fight him, right?” Mahanon asked.
“Should’a been,” she said under her breath. “Regardless, he’s dead now, so who gives a shit about him?”
“I think he’s the one who opened the Breach here, so I think we probably should,” Mahanon pointed out.
“Why is nothing ever simple with you lot?” Sera groaned. “Why can’t he be dead and over with?”
“It’d be nice,” Twilight joined in. “For starters, we wouldn’t have this crisis to deal with.”
“We’ve done it once, we can do it again,” Blackwall added confidently. “And hopefully, no Corypheus to deal with this time.”
“That’s what we thought last time,” Sera said angrily. “Look where that got us.”
“I think I can see a light up there,” Mahanon said, looking straight ahead.
“Fancypants’ house shouldn’t be too far, then,” Twilight said.
The Inquisition stepped out of the cave and onto a cliff overlooking the Falls. “Astounding,” Mahanon whispered to himself as he looked around.
“We can admire the scenery later, yeah?” Sera said. “Right now we gotta save some stuffy noble.”
“Right,” Mahanon said, coming back to reality. “Twilight, do you know how to get to his house?”
“It’s that one, right next to the Rift,” Twilight said, pointing at a Rift straight ahead of them. They walked up to it, and Twilight cocked her head at it. “What’s up with it?”
“It’s closed,” Mahanon said, taking a few steps back. “Everybody ready?”
“Let’s do this!” Sera exclaimed.
Mahanon raised his left hand towards the Rift, and the Anchor connected to it, ripping the Rift open. “Get ready!” he called to all of them.
When the demons manifested themselves, they all took the shape of wraiths. They all took out their weapons, preparing for battle. Cassandra rushed ahead into a group of wraiths, Sera used one of her Flasks of Lightning and sheathed herself in electricity, Blackwall blew into his Horn of Valor to rally them all, and Twilight’s horn powered up.
Blackwall ran to Cassandra, who had used her Wrath of Heaven to weaken some of the demons. Mahanon trapped a few wraiths with his Static Cage, and Sera launched an Explosive Shot into them to kill all of them. He then turned his attention to the few remaining wraiths and cast Walking Bomb. The wraith, facing the constant damage from the curse and the mixture of Mahanon’s spells and Sera’s arrows, died quickly and exploded, spreading its curse to the rest of the wraiths, who also quickly fell.
When the energy from the last of the wraiths went into the Rift, it opened again. Cassandra and Blackwall ran back to the rest of the Inquisition, waiting for the next wave of enemies.
When the next wave did come, it was a far greater mix of demons; there were a couple rage demons, a few shades, and a fear demon.
Smiling, Mahanon launched Spirit Mark at the fear demon. “Focus on this one!” he called to his companions, and they all turned and began attacking it. The fear demon, nearing death, turned invisible and moved closer to him to sneak attack; however, the curse killed it, and the form of a blue fear demon appeared in its place.
Blackwall and Cassandra moved their attention to the shades next to them. Blackwall used Line in the Sand to stop the shades from progressing any further, and Cassandra used Blessed Blades to give them both a boost for damaging the demons.
Meanwhile, the two rage demons focused themselves on Mahanon. He cast Winter’s Grasp on one of them to stop it dead in its tracks, then launched regular spells at it until it died.
When the demon died, he turned to the final rage demon, which was attacking Sera. However, she had used her Flask of Fire and had taken the opportunity to litter the field with Caltroops and a Toxic Cloud before using her Throwing Blades at it to take it down. When it died, all the members of the Inquisition focused their attention on the last shade, which was being blocked by Blackwall’s shield. With all five attacking it, the demon died quickly.
The Rift opened up, and Mahanon seized the opportunity to throw his left arm into the air and connect the Anchor to it. It went away in an explosion of green light.
“The ponies of the town should be safe now,” Mahanon proclaimed. “We should go and make sure Fancypants is okay.”
The Inquisition walked up to the house, which they could see was hastily and sloppily boarded up, no doubt against the Rift. “Do you think he’s even here?” Twilight asked.
Mahanon knocked on the door, and the two stood there for a few moments with no response. “Do we maybe have the wrong house?” he wondered out loud.
“Who is it?” a scared voice came from inside.
“It’s Princess Twilight,” Twilight answered. “I’m here with the Inquisition. We want to talk to you.”
“Princess Twilight?” the voice responded in shock. The door opened, revealing a white unicorn with a blue mane on the other side. “What is it, my Princess?”
“Princess Celestia said you might be able to help us,” Twilight explained.
“I’m the leader of the Inquisition,” Mahanon said. “We’re here to try and close the Breach, and we need a head diplomat. We asked Princess Celestia, and she said you’d be a good fit for the job.”
Fancypants stood in the doorway for a few moments, mulling it over. “I suppose it would be good to do some good...and if you can close it like you closed that thing outside, there’s hope after all.”
“So you’ll do it?” Twilight asked excitedly.
“I will accept,” Fancypants said happily. “Now, I boarded up the door just in case any of those things tried to get in. I’ll go grab a hammer, and we can work on getting them off.”
“No need,” Mahanon said slyly. “Blackwall!” he called to his companion. “Could you help us?”
Blackwall walked up to the door, then pulled out his shield. “You may want to step away.”
Worriedly, Fancypants stepped to the side, out of the main foyer. Blackwall ran forward with Charging Bull, smashing the boards and sending splinters everywhere.
“Suppose that’s one way,” Fancypants said to himself.
“We’ll bring you to Neighven right away,” Twilight said.
“We’ll have to tell Spitfire we closed the Rift,” Mahanon suggested. “She’d be pleased to hear that.”
“Fleur!” Fancypants called into the house. “We’re going to help Princess Twilight, we need to leave!”
“The Princess only mentioned one pony coming with us,” Mahanon said, confused with the addition of another.
“We can take another,” Twilight said. “The Guards flying us might not like it, but they could handle it.”
Another unicorn with a white coat and a pink mane emerged, then started striking poses on Fancypants. “I suppose we’re all ready to go, then,” he said.
“Sounds perfect,” Mahanon replied. “Fancypants, welcome to the Inquisition.”