//------------------------------// // The Scourge of the Plains (Part 3) // Story: The Best of All Worlds // by NerfedFalcon //------------------------------// Unlike the moon from my own world, this moon seemed to give off its own light, bathing the plateau in an ethereal silver glow. I found myself tracing patterns across it and through the stars, as if I could guess at the constellations that the ponies had named. As Applejack and Strongheart kept a vigil, Twilight stepped up behind me, and I could feel her looking down my hand. “The Tower,” she said, tracing a constellation. “The sixteenth guardian sign, just before the Summer Sun Celebration. Mine was the Magician, the first, in autumn. I wonder...” I was wondering what she was on about, but didn’t say anything. “What sign were you born under?” “I, uh, don’t think we use the same constellations,” I replied. “Where I come from, we only had twelve, not twenty.” “Twenty-two, actually. There’s two that only appear on certain days, and they’re considered extremely lucky for anypony born under them.” She was earnestly trying to teach me about her world, and I respected that enough to think on it a little further. “What’s a sign near the end of summer?” I asked. “I was born a couple of weeks before the end of summer, so.” “Well, there’s the Moon, number eighteen,” Twilight offered. “What, like that moon up there?” “No, the constellation. It’s a little hard to see right now, but it looks just like a crescent moon.” I recognised the symbols from the Tarot readings my mother used to do, but I never listened enough to remember what each one meant. Still, the Magician seemed appropriate enough for Twilight. I latched onto something Twilight had said before and said, “Back up a little. You mentioned the Summer Sun Celebration just before. Is that midsummer every year?” “On the night before the longest day of each year, ponies stay up all night to watch the sunrise. The sun is the most important symbol of Equestria. Princess Celestia even controls the sun, bringing life to all of the world.” “Sounds a bit like a cult,” I replied. “Nobody’s that powerful.” Twilight almost looked like she pitied me for a moment, and I added, “But considering that magic exists here, I can’t just assume that everything works like I’m used to.” I wondered whether to ask the next question, but eventually decided on doing so. “Do you mind if I ask you anything at all about Equestria? It might help to know the lowdown from someone who’s lived there all their life.” Twilight nodded quickly, smiling. “The merchant said this wasn’t the same Equestria I’m used to, but I’d be happy to teach you anything I can, sure.” Holding up a hand to ask Twilight to give me a minute, I stood up and looked across the sky in a circle. Not seeing anything, I sat back down again. “Looking for the Scourge?” she asked. “Yeah. But it’s still not here, so we’ve got plenty of time.” As I thought about what to ask next, I looked back at the moon, seeing the large, clear craters forming a strange pattern. “You know, the moon where I come from looked like it had a face living in it. There were all these legends about the man in the moon, though some cultures thought it looked like a rabbit...” “The mare in the moon?” Twilight asked. She looked up at the moon more closely and gasped. “Why is the mare in the moon back? I thought...” “Hold on, the mare in the moon?” “Doesn’t that look just like a unicorn’s head to you?” I shook my head, but looked up again to humour Twilight. It was difficult to see with the rotation, but after squinting a bit, I could see an equine figure’s head in profile marked out on the moon. “That’s the Mare in the Moon. But I thought that it was gone after we...” As she trailed off, I sighed. “Don’t remember?” “Yeah... Sorry. I’m sure it’ll come back to me, though.” “Well, keep me informed. Whatever you’re forgetting is probably important.” I turned back to the moon, seeing the pattern of the unicorn more clearly after Twilight had pointed it out to me. I supposed whoever had come up with this game had phoned in some of the writing to come up with all the bad horse puns. I’d probably get used to them eventually, but it was still amusing for now. A dark shape suddenly passed across the moon. It moved almost so quickly that I thought it was a mirage, but my instincts told me that it was more than that. “The Scourge is coming!” I shouted. “Over there!” I pointed in the general direction of the moon, and sure enough, the black silhouette of the Scourge was visible once again in the moonlight. It slowed down as it approached the mesa, watching us as we readied for the battle. Strongheart touched her bow with one of her hooves, Applejack raised both of hers, and Twilight summoned her wand to her hand. I mounted Karin and touched the hilt of the sword the merchant had given me. “I can’t do a lot unless we can bring it down to our level,” I said. “I’ll be relying on you!” Receiving shouts of affirmation from the party, I turned back towards the Scourge. It had landed on the far side of the plateau, its wings folded into its body. All of a sudden, it stretched them out and released an ear-piercing screech, leaving my ears ringing and my hands clutching my head as it launched back into the air over my head. I barely heard myself give an order to attack, and I wasn’t sure if anyone else had heard, but they joined the fight regardless. Applejack was firing arrows as quickly as possible, barely stopping to aim. The Scourge was large enough that most of them were hitting, but usually they hit the wings instead of the body, and it didn’t seem to do much. More still were simply blown out of their arcs by gusts from its wings, and the assault didn’t seem to do more than annoy it. Strongheart’s arrows were only marginally more effective for actually being aimed. She had the same problem as Applejack that they were being blown out of the air by the wingbeats. I turned Karin to rush towards her, and as I turned back, I ducked low on her, marginally missing being grabbed in its talons as it turned around. “Don’t shoot while its wings are flapping! Your arrows will just get blown out of the sky! Wait for it to pull back!” I shouted as I passed by Strongheart. “It’s flapping too often!” she replied. “Well, wait for it to pull back! Time your shots carefully, and you too, Applejack!” “I don’t see you doing much to help!” “If you can bring it down here, then maybe I can change that!” “Kweh!” Twilight was trying to use her magic, but she was standing the furthest away from the Scourge, and it was able to move around her attacks too easily. If she had a stronger or faster spell like lightning, then maybe she could do something, but I couldn’t just unlock it for her in the middle of a fight. Applejack grunted and started focusing, and I realised what she was doing before I could tell her to stop. As an orange light filled her eyes and extended into her hands, she pointed her bowguns towards the sky, firing what looked like a hundred arrows all at once. Many of them passed through the Scourge’s body entirely, but several hit their marks, sticking into its chest. It screamed again and tried to dive at Applejack, who ducked out of the way just in time. As she grabbed her hat, she realised that her bowguns had disappeared, but undeterred, she picked up a rock and readied herself to throw it for what little it would do. Everyone else was doing something, and all I could do was run around the plateau on Karin, trying to stay ahead of its attacks. There had to be something I could do to help. The Scourge landed for a moment and let out a series of cries that almost sounded like it was laughing at us. I growled to myself and pointed Karin towards it. She charged as fast as she could, but it wasn’t enough to stop it from taking off again. The gust of wind knocked me off of Karin’s back as she fell down. She picked herself up quickly and let me climb back on, but I still felt angry. The bird had taunted us. Through the anger, like a bolt of lightning, it struck me that maybe I could taunt the bird back. I shook my head quickly to try and clear it, and then faced the Scourge, shouting so loudly it hurt my throat a little: “Hey, big guy! Your mother was a parrot!” That got the bird’s attention, and with another loud screech, it flapped quickly to gain altitude. With its beak focused towards me, I urged Karin to sprint as fast as she possibly could, and held myself down tightly to her body as she accelerated. I could hear the Scourge diving towards us, and prayed as though it would help that Karin was fast enough to outrun it, that my plan of trying to taunt it to get a few hits in would work— A loud crashing sound came from just behind me as the Scourge’s beak slammed through the rock face of the plateau. Karin just barely managed to outrun its falling talons as well, skidding to a stop as she turned around. “Get me closer!” I shouted, hearing the muffled cries of the giant bird as it tried to pull its beak out of the rock. Karin squawked and started running up towards it. I clambered out of the stirrups and jumped onto the Scourge’s back, climbing up as quickly as I could. Twilight, who was standing nearby, had done the same thing on the other side, and we met in the middle near the back of its neck. There was a small metal object there, octagonal and dark grey, almost black like the feathers it was stuck to. There were eight small bars and a circle in the middle that glowed with a red light, the intensity of each bar’s glow always shifting. Our handholds shook beneath us before we could do anything about the object, though, and I feared that the Scourge had nearly pulled itself free. “Twilight?” I said, using what little time we had. “Soren?” “Hang on!” The Scourge pulled itself free of the mesa’s rock at last, and letting loose a vengeful cry, took to the air all at once. It was all I could do to hold onto anything I could on the back of its neck, and Twilight was giving a pained expression as she did the same. Neither of us was able to say anything. The Scourge steadied out for a moment, and then flew even higher, shaking from side to side slightly to try and throw us off. My right hand came loose, but I threw it upwards and back towards the bird, trying to climb up towards the object. Slowly, I reached the base of its neck, where the object was. With another movement of my right hand, I tried to grip it and pull it out, but I couldn’t. It was too smooth and too well-embedded, and it was all I could do just to not fall down. “Twilight!” I shouted. “Can you get up here?!” Slowly, she started to move towards me, using the same technique that I had. The Scourge was shaking more and more underneath us, forcing her to stop climbing to hang on a few times, but eventually she reached the device. “This must be how they’re controlling the Scourge!” I told her. “I can’t get it out, though! Can you give me a hand?!” She reached towards the device, grimacing from the high altitude and the quick movements of the bird beneath her. At first, she had the same difficulty that I did, unable to pull it out by hand. “Try using your magic!” I said. She looked at me like I was crazy at first, but I repeated, “You must have some spell you can use on it!” As she closed her eyes, I saw her forehead light up slightly with a purple glow that also appeared on the device. Once it was fully immersed, the device started to go haywire. All the bars were flashing rapidly between black and red, and the Scourge underneath us was flailing wildly, falling back towards the mesa. “Hang on!” I shouted again, doing the same myself, and only keeping my eyes open long enough to ensure Twilight had done the same. It was only a matter of time before we hit the ground, and even with the Scourge between us and it, it wasn’t going to be pretty. There was a deafening crash as we hit the ground together, and it slid a few metres across the plateau, leaving a wide gash in the rock. As I shook the disorientation of the fall out of my head, I heard Karin squawking wildly, and let myself slide off the Scourge’s neck. I felt Karin’s wing wrap around me as I hit the ground. As it did, I also felt the bruises and the disorientation leaving me.(1) Behind the Scourge, which wasn’t moving, I could hear Twilight’s groans, and quickly ran over to help her. “I’m fine,” she said as I helped her up. “Just winded, is all, really...” As Applejack and Strongheart came over, she dusted herself off. “In fact, I even feel a little stronger than before.” I looked at the first page in my book, and realised that she wasn’t far off; she, Applejack, Karin and I had all levelled up from the fight, though Strongheart wasn’t listed. Behind us, a pitiful squeak was heard, and we all turned around to see the black colour draining from the Scourge’s body, revealing its white neck and brown feathers, like a giant eagle. The Scourge... or the roc, I should say, picked itself up and looked around, finally setting its eyes on us. As it did, it stepped back as if in surprise, and focused specifically on Twilight for a few moments. With a final squawk, it flew away, leaving us alone on the plateau under the pale moonlight. Out of nowhere, I started humming a fanfare that popped into my head. It seemed appropriate, considering that we’d just won a major battle. In the distance, I saw a dust cloud approaching, and pointed it out to the others. “Looks like the cavalry are here,” I said. “And they didn’t get to dramatically save us after all.” We all walked down the stairs quickly, meeting the buffalo herd at the bottom. Chief Thunderhooves was leading the herd, and he quickly scanned the group of us, stopping when he reached Strongheart. Wordlessly, they embraced each other, and the Chief even cried slightly. I didn’t blame him; they were entirely manly tears. Eventually, as they separated, he turned to us and asked, “What of the others? Were there any others?” None of us said anything. I’d arrived late and wasn’t sure what had happened, but I hadn’t seen anyone else, and Twilight shaking her head confirmed it. “Then let me at least be thankful that my daughter is safe.” I bowed again at the statement. “The Scourge of the Plains has been defeated. I don’t think it’ll be bothering you or the ponies of Appleloosa any longer.” As the Chief repeated the statement in his language, the buffalo began cheering, lifting us up onto their backs with their heads. Only Karin was fast enough to avoid the crowd surfing. I laughed, remembering how we hadn’t received such a welcome from Appleloosa. “You have done me a true favour,” the Chief said as we were set back on the ground. “If there is ever anything you require that I can give you, you need only ask.” “How ‘bout a ride back to Appleloosa?” Applejack asked. “In the morning,” I said. “And I hope that’s not my request being taken up.” The Chief laughed at that, a deep and full-bodied laugh that almost made me feel better in the same way as Karin had. “Yes, we shall return you there in the morning. Tonight, you sleep the sleep of heroes.” He said a few things to the buffalo around him, and they began to set up a camp. “We shall prepare our guest tent for you.” The two girls nodded, but I just smiled and shook my head. “Thanks, but I’d rather sleep with Karin now. The grass as my pillow and the stars as my blanket, as they say.” “Would that you were born to the Buffalo,” the Chief replied. “You have almost the heart of one. Very well, then.” I took Karin’s reins and led her to a clear area in the middle of the camp to remove her saddle. She stretched out her wings as I did, opening her beak wide without making any noise as though silently yawning. As soon as I was done, she lay down on the ground and closed her eyes, and I lay back against her and closed mine. I slept pretty well that night, as I recall. ~~ As the buffalo were about to leave us at Appleloosa the next morning, I remembered that I’d picked up a feather from Karin before. “Hey, Little Strongheart!” I called out as I took the feather out, placing it in her headband. “Something to remember us by.” She smiled and returned to the herd, who charged off away from the town just as ponies were starting to gather and stare. “Which way’s the train station?” I asked. “That-away,” Applejack replied, pointing with her entire hand towards an elaborate building at the end of the main road. “At least the train oughta be runnin’ on time since we beat the Scourge ‘n all.” She said that last part more loudly, and ponies began to whisper around us as we walked towards the train station. “Now we just gotta get our tickets. But, shoot, I forgot the money...” “Got it covered,” Soren said, taking a large bag out of a pocket in his jacket. “Excuse me, conductor?” The conductor looked over lazily, then said, “Where’s your chaperone?” Soren took a step back, surprised. “I’m sorry, what?” “Can’t let pets on board the train without a chaperone. Are you lost? Do you have an owner?” As Soren stood there dumbstruck, the pony continued, “That’s the rules. Unattended pets have to be chaperoned.” “Does... What... You...” Soren spat on the ground and shouted, “Does your wife know you’re this much of a racist?! I’m just as civilised as you! Possibly even more so, since I don’t just automatically assume anyone different from me is a stray animal!” “You don’t have to shout, sir.” “If it’s the only way to get the message through your fucking skull, then yes, I do!” “You need any help with this?” Applejack asked, walking up to Soren. “Sorry about my partner here,” she said to the conductor. “He’s... got a strong sense of right and wrong...” Leaving them to it, I walked back into the main street, which had strangely emptied just like when we’d arrived a couple of days ago. All the ponies had left, not even peeking out of windows, giving the town a strange and foreign feeling. When I heard dirt crunching, I flinched for a moment, wondering what was about to approach. The instigator of the sound was another human, dressed in a purple suit and red waistcoat. His black hair was slicked back behind his head, and thick eyebrows slanted permanently downwards, giving him an overcast, angry look. He was staring straight as me as he walked forward, and under his piercing, mismatched gaze, I found myself unable to move. “You must be Twilight Sparkle,” he said slowly, clearly. “I have been asked to give you a message.” “By who?” I asked. “A party interested in you and your friends.” He spat the last word, as though it was disgusting to him, and I felt vaguely offended underneath the fear. “My name is Kazuya Mishima,” he said. “And you are a pest.” Out of nowhere, he punched me in the face, following it up with a kick to my sternum that immediately came back down on my head. I fell to the ground, and had barely even touched it when Kazuya picked me up again by my hair, holding me slightly off the ground. He punched me again just as he let go, sending me flying and sliding along the dirt road a few paces. As I tried to stand up, coughing from the rising dust, he stepped forward and threw an uppercut, which crackled with lightning just as it struck my jaw and knocked me into the air. He pulled back his right leg in the air and, as I fell past him, thrust it straight out as hard as he could. My flight this time was interrupted by a collision with a wall, and I collapsed onto the ground, unable to stand. Kazuya walked up to me and picked me up again. “This time, you live,” he said. “But if you interfere again as you did here, then I shall show you no mercy.” He threw me against the wall again and, with a grunt of derision, walked away. He was gone by the time I finally picked myself up. “Twilight?” I faintly heard Soren calling. “Twilight, where are you? We got everything worked out with the conductor...” He trailed off as he saw me, and I heard rather than saw him run over. “Shit, Twilight, what happened to you? Applejack!” She didn’t come. “Someone! Anyone! Help! I need help...” “What’s all the ruckus about, Soren?” Applejack asked, just before she saw me. “Oh, empty sky... Twilight, you’re...” “Don’t just stand there!” Soren shouted as he forced his shoulder underneath mine. “Give me a hand with her!” I faintly heard the sound of a train whistle, and Soren swore again. “Shit, the train’s almost leaving! C’mon, Twilight, stay with me! You can do this...” ~~ We’d managed to get a sleeper car on the train to Ponyville, so we had a place to lay Twilight down until she woke up. I was thankful for that. I’d managed to stop the bleeding with help from Applejack and some improvised bandages; I made a mental note to acquire a new scarf as soon as we got off the train, but that wasn’t important until Twilight recovered. She’d managed to stay awake long enough to tell us what had happened to her, in slightly vague but clearly understandable terms. “Kazuya attacked me,” she’d said. “Told me not to...” That was all she’d gotten through before she passed out. Neither I nor Applejack had said anything for a few hours afterwards, passing the train ride in silence as the scenery rushed past us. As the sun set and the moon returned, slightly fuller than it was the night before, I turned to Applejack. “I just remembered something,” I said. “Back where I came from... there was a kidnapping case, and I was a victim of it. If all of them came here, like I did...” I trailed off, trying to make sense of what I myself was saying. “You’re saying that that Kazuya fellow was from your world?” Applejack said. “Are all humans like that?” “No,” I replied. “That’s definitely just him, but... I don’t know how many others there are, or who they are. They could be anywhere, anyone, friendly or hostile, weak or powerful...” I sighed. “We’re probably going to have to fight other humans again. And we’ll definitely see Kazuya again; despite what he did to Twilight, I can’t just leave this alone.” With a slight chuckle, I added, “What with Twilight and her convenient amnesia, I never thought my own fractured memory would be important.” “So what do we do next?” Applejack asked. “We wait for Twilight to have a breakthrough, and in the meantime take up some mercenary work. I’m sure with monsters about, there’ll be plenty to be had. Something important’s bound to come up once we’ve done enough busywork.” I shrugged. “Well, no point staying up stewing on it all night. Get some rest.” I pulled the blanket over myself as I said that, turning away from Applejack and the window, but then thought better of it. “Actually... There’s something I wanted to ask you. Twilight told me part of a story about the Mare in the Moon last night. Do you know anything about it?” “The Mare in the Moon?” Applejack asked, and I nodded in the gloom. “I’m sorry, but, no, never heard of it before. Maybe ask Twilight once she’s awake again?” “Alright, I’ll remember. G’night, sleep tight.”