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// 28 - Magnetic Personality 
// Story: Ponyfinder: Roots of Stone 
// by David Silver 
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Fast turned herself in a quick strike, knocking one of the feathery limbs away as Maud drove a hoof against its toughened side. The creature barely took notice of her attack, but turned a hungry antenna on her. A swirl of rusty red dust came from where it brushed against a foreleg and she hopped back from it with a slight wince.

Flint leveled his bow and let loose an arrow into the thing's chitinous back, but it seemed to only have thoughts for its hunger. "Ya alright, Maud? The heck did it do to ya?"

There was little time for talking. As it tried to gets its terrible beak in at Fast Shadow, Tree slapped the ground. Vines erupted out around the rust monster, pulling it down and slowing its motions. "Bright, go!" He took off from her back in a streak of black feathers. As he closed in with it, it lashed out with a long tendril, drawing free that dirty red mist. With a caw of defiance, he raked along its back and circled around away from the deadly feelers.

Paul was inching closer, trying to avoid the attention of the beast as the battle raged. Fast danced back and left, trying to avoid its reaching beak and deadly tendrils, but she wasn't in her comfortable metal shell, or as fast as Maud in the battlefield. Every graze of those deceptively soft things seemed to drain her of vitality, leaving her more and more tired. "This isn't good. Kill the blasted thing faster!"

"I'm trying!" called out Tree. as she raised her hooves, calling on the help of the green to battle it. "Come on, radical creatures of the green, we need you..."

Flint was having no problems aiming his shots. The creature was large enough to fill the hallway. The trick proved in landing blows that mattered. Every other arrow cracked against its plates, and the others only seemed to draw angry screeches from it.

The next time the feather came at Maud, she ducked nimbly around it and hurled herself at the beast, grabbing its tail from above and coming down in a single fluid motion that yanked the beast away from the others. Its attention was fully focused on her, rattling in a wholly unpleasant way. It turned to be rid of her but one of Flint's arrows proved true, piercing through one of its eyes in a sudden spray of unnatural blood.

Fast moved quickly as it thrashed and swung her staff. "Like driving in a piton." The staff connected and drove the arrow further into the enraged beast before the shaft shattered from the force. With a deafening cry, it grabbed Fast with its beak in a sudden crushing force of terrible jaws.

Maud refused to allow it, even as a hyena appeared beside her and started nipping fruitlessly at its tough hide, she hefted it by the tail and whipped it back to the ground, tangling it further in the grasping vines. As she rushed ahead with its tail and wrapped it quickly around the beast's stunned neck, holding it in place as it thrashed. Those wildly flailing tendrils brushed against her with a painful drawing of her iron directly from her blood. Everything was getting dim and painful at once.

With a sudden battle cry, Paul brought down his bone mace across the thing's face with all the power in him. Held still by Maud's efforts, his blow struck the monster firm and well. Though he was no trained warrior, he had the strength of a true laborer of the land. The bone weapon shattered, but so too did the creature's skull. It was suddenly quiet.

Paul dropped the useless weapon from his shaking hands. "I... I did it!"

Fast let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Yes, yes you did. Is everyone alright?"

Maud released its tail and fell back to all fours. "I'm fi--" She collapsed to the ground beside the beast, unconscious.

Tree scrambled past the others with a shriek of dismay. "Sister of stone! Hang in there!" She quickly wrapped her forelegs around Maud, hugging her and calling on the green.

Fast sagged against a wall. "Your spell won't put what it took out of us back in, but it may help the bite wounds. That'll be good enough. Good job... everyone."

Flint clapped his hands together. "I'll say! That was right fine work there. The way you hit that arrow after I put it in tha beast? That was amazin'."

Bright landed atop Tree lightly, preening. He hadn't been that useful, but he did what he was asked, and seemed to have no regrets for his part in it.

Paul reached in carefully and tapped a deadly tendril. When pain didn't result, he yanked at it, popping it free of the beast. "What'ya think this goes fer?"

Flint snorted. "If we had a home, I'd suggest mounting the damn thin'. Not sure how much one ah those'd go for 'less you found someone what really likes that kinda thin'."

Maud fluttered her eyes open and looked up at Tree who was still holding her tightly. "Hello."

Tree smiled and ran a hoof through Maud's mane. "Hey there yerself, righteous warrior. Are you alright?"

Maud quietly sat herself up and looked around. "We can go now."

Flint nodded at her. "That's true. Ain't nothin' stoppin' us. Let's get back to the surface. Hey, Fast, it didn't even try to go for yer fancy hat."

Fast looked up, even if it was out of sight. "True. Perhaps another property of it? If it is a true and proper artifact, only a truly amazing wizard, or perhaps a bard, could tell us its true nature. Come, Maud is right, let's get going before our 'hosts' change their mind." She pushed off the wall and shook herself out. "Do you have any further healing left to you, Tree Hugger?"

Tree shook her head. "I'm totally sorry, but I'm wiped out." She hung her head. "I wasn't that helpful..."

Maud's hoof landed on her shoulder. "You keep saying that after saving me." She raised a brow at Tree. "Am I not helpful?"

Tree paled slightly. "Oh no! You're amazing, sister of stone. Watching you fight..."

Maud walked past her. "Let's go."

The conversation sputtered to a halt, and they pulled open the stone door that had swung shut during their battle. The moment it was drawn open, they saw what closed it. Ronfiz sat there on a throne they had apparently dragged into position quickly. Around him were three trained looking warriors with weapons drawn. "Hello there. That was quite a ruckus we heard." He leaned forward with a wicked smile. "Is it dead?"

Fast nodded at him. "It is, as promised. We'll be going now."

"What proof do you have?" He raised a large brow at them. "I wasn't born yesterday, pony."

Paul quickly produced the feathery limb he had taken as a souvenir. "Here. I took this from its dead body. Ain't nothin' else like it."

Ronfiz clapped his hands together in a loud single sound. "Very good! Very good indeed. Now, you can be quietly killed, and I can take my crown back and our old tunnels. Everyone wins!"

Flint threw up his hands. "Damn it all to hel and back! Lousy sons of--"

Maud took a step forward. "You promised."

He shrugged. "Maybe I did. Tell me why I should give a damn. The only ones that'd be offended will be dead, so, as I said, everyone wins. Ain't that right boys?" They erupted into a supportive laugh as he smiled. "Besides, you look like you had a hard time. Too hard to give my boys too much trouble, the way I see it."

Maud clopped a hoof on the ground. "You promised. You smell like rocks. Rocks don't lie."

Ronfiz blinked at the statement. "Don't they?"

"Never." Maud shook her head. "We're both rocks, inside." She put a hoof at her chest. "Don't lie..."

A tense moment passed as Ronfiz peered at Maud. One of his captains nudged him. "Well, we killing them or not, your highness?"

Ronfiz put up a hand. "Not... The pony has a point, and plays dirty pool. Fine then, fellow creature of earth, get out of here! If we ever see you again, we'll tear you apart limb from limb and put your head on display!"

They were allowed to walk past them in an uneasy quiet, as they got close to the next intersection, one of the captains hurried to catch up with them. "Follow me. We're tired of smelling your dirty hides." He became their guide, and led them quickly through the gnome tunnels to a hallway that looked familiar.

Maud looked around. "I know where we are."

"Great!" The gnome saluted flippantly. "Good luck then, and don't let us see any of you lot ever again."

Fast watched him retreat into the darkness before nodding to her fellow companions. "Maud, never let anyone tell you you can't be diplomatic when the time's right." She gave a tired smile. "You just saved the lot of us."

Maud tilted her head a little. "I just said the truth. Rocks don't lie."

Tree moved up beside Maud and hugged her with a swung leg. "You followed your heart, girl, and said what needed to be said. It was radical..."

Paul looked back towards the gnome tunnels. "One thing... They still have our stuff."

Fast's curses were not fit to be recorded here. "My damn armor! They've taken my lance and my armor." She kicked at a loose stone, sending it down the hall. "What kind of fighter am I?"

Paul reached for her but she glared at him and he withdrew his hand. "Uh, well, we're in the same boat. I don't have fancy armor or even a staff like you have there. We'll manage, together right?"

Flint nodded in easy agreement. "Together. Glad yer really gettin' into the spirit of this new life, Paul. Lucky me, I actually prefer this weapon over the old one anyway." He slung the bow over his back, looking pleased with himself. "We'll find you better, Fast."

Fast stood up and reached for her crown, knocking it off her head to her other hoof where she could examine it. "I'll get over it. We have what we ultimately came for. The Pony Empire may yet rise again, and protect its people." A wistful smile overtook her. "As soon as we find the right brow for this to rest on."

Tree looked at Fast and her crown. "You found it, why can't you wear it?"

Fast recoiled at the idea. "I'm a warrior, not a leader. It takes a different kind of person to command a nation."

Maud shrugged lightly. "You led us."

"It's not the same..." Fast put the crown into her saddlebag carefully. "I'll find the rightful ruler."