//------------------------------// // Mission 7, Part 3: Dangerous Sands // Story: Semper Pie // by deathtap //------------------------------// The skimmer raced over the sands. It really did live up to its name, the way it glided across the desert like a boat on water. Static knew that they had to make good time before the sun set, already the smoke from the downed airship was slowing. He hoped that they weren’t already too late. He tried not to think about the airship burning itself to an unsalvageable husk, but he knew that even if the chance was slim, they needed to search through the debris and find something. “Look! They are feeding!” Samidra shouted, pointing at another wyrm taking bites out of the closer end of the dead one’s carcass. It was at least a mile or more away, but the size of it made Static shudder. Every bite seemed to slice the dead one in half. “The blue smoke comes from there!” “We can’t go ‘round! It’ll take too long!” Static shouted over the rushing wind. “We head straight!” The young female camel said nothing in response. The Elite that was riding with them, the silent one named Torment, sat at the front and stared at Static unblinkingly. Providence said that he couldn’t talk, but Static wasn’t sure if that was true. Perhaps he wouldn’t, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t. The way he just sat there and stared was unnerving. Static and Samidra sat at the rear of the skimmer to help balance the weight of the cargo they brought with them. The most precious of which were three large barrels of water, more precious than their weight in Equestrian bits this far in the desert. Not far ahead was Sonic steering the other skimmer with Raze sitting near him at the back. They were talking with one another, but it was clear that Sonic was getting annoyed at the mare. At the front was another Elite named Onslaught. He was a huge pegasus stallion, but his wings were too tiny to be of any use. He seemed quite content to be sitting away from the other two and was staring off into the distance. Both Static and Sonic had thought that Semper would come with them, but he didn’t. He opted to instead accompany Providence to the Caldera with the others along with Pani leading the way. To Static, it was strange. All these hardened killers were flocking towards Providence as if she were the only thing left for them. She was their mother, daughter, sister, aunt, or whatever else to the rest of the Elites. The obeyed Semper, but they did it because he was there trying to help her. If it weren’t for that fact, would they still obey him? Maybe. The plan was simple. Static and his group would take the skimmers around the near side of the dead wyrm and head for the downed airship and salvage whatever they could. The others would traverse on the far side of the desert avoiding coming close to the wyrm’s corpse and secure a campsite along the western tip that had a slightly elevated rocky outcrop. Pani did not know what to call it but Providence, who spoke a little of the camel language had translated it to something akin to ‘peninsula’, but elevated from the sand. According to Pani, the wyrms could not hide on the rocky terrain but it was home to other deadly creatures and something else that the camels could not translate into Equestrian. Providence translated the word to the only closest thing she could: ghosts. Semper not coming with them was something Static had not expected, but it wasn’t the only surprise he had to deal with. Static wanted to travel with Sonic and Samidra as they were the logical choice. But Raze had insisted so strongly on going with Sonic that there were moments were Static expected her to throw herself onto the ground in a tantrum. So Torment switched places. A part of him actually liked the silence that the Elite offered instead of the constant wisecracking barrage that Sonic couldn’t seem to switch off. It was a nice change of pace if only Torment would stop glancing over towards him. “What about continuing on through the night?” Static shouted. Samidra shook her head and laughed as if she had heard the silliest thing in the world. “No, no. Impossible. The night is not a time for us. We will camp, light our skimmers with the halos and sleep.” At those words, Static looked at the strange ring of crystals that hung from the top of the mast. He had seen it before, but because he had spent most of his time trying to help Providence and Pani solve the riddle of the Stone of Fates, he didn’t actually get to see what it did. “Why? Can’t we continue under the light of the halo?” “I don’t know. I don’t think so. I’ve never done it before. But the night brings out different and stranger creatures,” Samidra shouted back. “They sleep in the day. The don’t like the light.” “Like what? What sort of creatures?” Samidra shrugged. “I don’t know.” An annoyed look flashed across Static’s face. There was one thing he began noticing about these camels and it was starting to annoy him. They lived here, these were their massive lands. Granted, the camels, much like their Zebrican neighbors, did not have a central ruling system, but were a race that banded together out of mutual necessity. However, unlike the Zebricans, the camels seemed to know next to nothing about their own homeland. They seemed to be content on living as things come. Onwards they travelled without anything eventful taking place. At sunset, Static slowed the skimmer by loosening the mainsail and telling Torment to do the same with the jib. The two sails flapped around sporadically in the wind. “Lower the sails,” Static shouted and turned his attention to Sonic and his skimmer coming to a halt nearby. When Static looked back at the sail he noted both the jib and mainsail were already being clamped down. Torment had done it so deftly that Static contemplated if the Elite had experience with ships before. Samidra, seeing that the sales were lowered, jumped up and over the edge of the skimmer. “Wait!” Static yelled before he could stop himself. The camel landed on the sand and immediately jumped back onto the boat. “What? Did you see one? Did you notice something?” “No, no. I forgot that we were on land,” Static replied exasperatedly and rubbed his hoof against his face. “I can’t believe it. I actually thought you were jumping into water.” Samidra giggled. “You Equestrians are strange. There’s no water here.” Static wanted to make a sarcastic response to the obviousness of the statement, but decided against it. He didn’t know if Samidra understood sarcasm, or whether she was being sarcastic. “Wow. Look at him go,” Sonic said pointing up at Static’s mast. At the top, Torment was aligning the crystals making them start their eerie white glow. It illuminated the sand around them making it look like they were on top of a pile of sugar. Sonic spread his wings, then looked at Samidra. “It should be okay if it’s the height of the mast,” the camel acknowledged. Sonic smiled and pushed his wings to reach the halo and align the crystals. He reluctantly allowed himself to float down to the ground. When he touched the ground he looked up at the big expansive sky and sighed. “Hate that I can’t fly.” “You’ll get used to it,” Razed replied nonchalantly. “I miss flying, but you’ll get used to it.” “Wait. You could fly? But you’re an earth pony!” “Yes, I could fly. Until my wings were ripped off.” “Y-your wings were ripped off? Didn’t that hurt?” Raze nodded with a vacant expression on her face. “Oh yes. It hurt quite a lot. Almost died too.” “Who did that to you?” Raze pointed at Onslaught. “He did.” “Under orders,” Onslaught replied without missing a beat. “But she got me good. She cut me across the throat. You can’t see it, but if I shave my fur under my neck you will. Doc saved my life then. But she would’ve killed me if I hadn’t pass out from blood loss.” Raze laughed at that. “Yeah, but if I did kill you then you wouldn’t be here now!” The huge pagsus nodded. “True.” “Wow!” Sonic said looking at the two of them. “How in hay are you two still friends?” “Friends? Oh no, don’t confuse us as friends. We are using one another to advance our own personal agendas. Nothing more. If he gets in my way, I will finish the job,” Raze said indifferently. “Same here. There is nothing wrong with her way of thinking,” Onslaught agreed. At that, Sonic slammed his hoof down on the side of his skimmer’s hull. “Nothing wrong? Nothing wrong! There’s everything wrong! Y-you guys aren’t just some… whatever! You guys are ponies and killing each other is wrong.” Raze suddenly lunged and placed his dagger against Sonic’s throat. He had leaned back out of reflex sending both himself and the mare off the skimmer and landing on the sand. It was so sudden that Static had barely enough time to react. Sonic had crossed his forehoof in front of his neck so that the blade didn’t go straight for his neck. There was a bit of a barrier between the himself and the blade, but it seemed that Raze was in full control over her weapon. Summoning a quick charge, Static made to intervene, but stopped himself when Torment held his forearm across Static’s path. Torment shook his head slowly. In a way, the Elite was right. It was way too dangerous. Still, Static charged his magic. He had learnt to do it without his horn glowing, a skill that was supposed to take a long time to master, but he had done it. And it had proven to be a very useful skill. “How dare you?” Raze screamed, spittle flying down onto Sonic’s face as he tried to turn away. “How dare you? Don’t you think for once that we don’t think it’s wrong? But who are you to judge us? Don’t you dare judge me, Guard! Don’t you ever judge me! You have no right! No right at all!” “We,” Sonic grunted and he tried to push the mare off of him, “just want to protect everypony!” “Protect? Protect! Where were you when I was taken from my home? Where were you when I was taken away from my family? Where were you when I was cold, shivering in a cell? Where were you when I was forced to do things I didn’t want to? Where were you when I had my wings ripped off my body? Where were you when I needed you? Where? Where! Answer me! The Guard is supposed to protect me? Where were you when I needed you the most? Where?” There was nothing anyone could say that. Her final scream seemed to reverberate through their souls as her voice died out amongst the sands. In its place was a deep silence that seemed to perpetuate the very ether. And she was right. Sonic’s eyes widened as he felt something drip onto his cheek. Tears. Genuine, angry, justified tears. The stallion turned his face towards the mare and he saw her, really saw her, for the first time. Not the killer, not the Elite, but her. “I’m sorry.” Those words made Raze blink in bewilderment. She had expected excuses, expected him to tell her that it wasn’t his fault, that he wasn’t a Guard and that there was nothing he could’ve done for her even if he had wanted to. She had heard many Guards say that to her before, usually moments before she sliced them open, but never in her entire life, at least as far as she could remember, did one actually have the nerve to apologize. “No.” Raze pushed Sonic’s head down harder into the sand, twisted his head sadistically so he would eat the granules. “No. You don’t get to apologize! None of you do! You think it’s that simple? You think that after years of torment and pain you just get to say sorry and it’s all better?” Raze drew her sword. Sonic looked at the mare and did nothing. “I’m sorry.” “I don’t want your useless sorrys! I want an answer!” Raze screamed. “What do you want me to say? That there was nothing I could do? Not my fault? I can’t even say that. I might not be the brightest tool in the shed, but I know things! I know I wasn’t there, and I know that I can’t say anything to change that. I made a vow to protect you, we all did. We failed. Nothing I can say will ever excuse us. We weren’t there. But if you let me, I can make sure that it won’t happen ever again to anypony else.” Those words hit Static hard in the gut. He wasn’t saying sorry for himself, Sonic was apologizing on behalf of the entire Guard. How many ponies like Raze and the other Elites had to suffer unknown horrors because the Guard wasn’t there for them? It was impossible to know. And the seeds of that anger and hate were sewn deep. Raze dropped her blade and dropped down to the ground, and rolled herself off of Sonic and into a fetal position. Her body shook with silent sobs. “But if it means anything,” Sonic said gently as he leaned up and looked over the mare, “for as long as I live, I won’t let anything happen to you ever again.” “Liar!” He knelt next to Raze. “I have no reason to lie to you. I’ll never know what happened, but I will make sure that you never, ever, ever have to relive it. Ever.” The mare did not respond for a long time. Then, almost inaudibly, she spoke. “Promise?” “Yes. I do.” Raze looked at Sonic, her light green eyes peering deep into his. She wiped her nose with the back of her foreleg and nodded. “Okay. But if you break your promise, I’ll cut you in half.” “If I break that promise, I’ll do the honor myself.” Strangely, that made the mare giggle. Torment nodded and lowered his hoof. As he did, Static released the magic he had stored. Onslaught, whom Static did not notice until that moment, lowered his crossbow and removed the bolt loaded onto it. Was he pointing it at him, Raze, or Sonic? He had not noticed. How could such a huge pony go undetected by him? The only one that seemed unaffected by everything was the camel, who was now placing a small magic-powered cooker on the ground between two skimmers where the lights from where the two halo lamps merged. The heated magic almost took hold at once and in a few seconds the red-hot crystal had a bowl of water placed over it. Samidra cut a few vegetables into it and then poured a mix into the pot before beginning to stir. “You ponies have strange customs,” Samidra said nonchalantly. “Um… what are you making?” Static asked, trying his best to lighten an already tense mood. “Kichdi. Lentil and rice mix,” Samidra grinned. “It’s easy to make, so that’s what we’ll eat.” “Sounds boring,” Sonic muttered as Raze sat up and again wiped her leaking nose. The camel laughed lightheartedly. “Sometimes it’s the simplest of foods that taste the best!” And, true to her word, it certainly was delicious. They all ate heartily, especially Onslaught, who had the wherewithal to wait until the others had a significant helping before he took the entire pot and seemed to suck in the concoction. “Where do you put it all?” Static asked, not realizing he had said it out loud. The stallion looked up and flexed his forelegs. “Right here!” He kissed his biceps for emphasis. They all laughed at the large stallion’s expense. Except for Torment, who sat alone on the skimmer looking towards the distance. He seemed lost in thought. “What’s his story?” Static asked. “His? No clue. He was already an Elite before I… before they injected that poison into me. He’s one of the oldest, I think. The others like him are all gone. All the older ones. Elites, I mean.” Onslaught gulped down another mouthful. “He’s one of the most dangerous. I wouldn’t turn your back on him.” Static looked at the stallion quietly sitting alone. “Anything else?” “Never even heard him speak before. Thing is, when he was aboard the Eleonora, he kept out of the way for the most part. Spent most of his time in the lower levels in the dark with the feeding tanks for the wild animals. We used to transport huge vats of apples and he’d just stay in there. You see, most of the Watu are scum. Funny coming from me, but it’s true. Elites usually were the difficult ones. The problem children. We refused to obey, refused to kill, refused to do things. Part of the reason why they injected that gunk into us. As for my past life from before? Can’t remember anything. I think I was exiled, but then again I just can’t remember.” “Didn’t you look it up? Most banishments are recorded,” Static replied. The large pegasus chuckled. “Would you? Even if I did discover who I was, doesn’t mean I’m that pony anymore. My friends and family must have moved on. Even if they did remember me, I don’t remember them. Plus, I’m a killer. Pure and simple. I can’t go back to that life. Right now I’m just tagging along on this adventure. When my time comes, I hope I can go out doing something good and redeem a little of myself. Thing is, I remember the things I don’t wanna. The ponies I’ve killed. The slave escorts I’ve done. All of it.” “But what about this whole thing about changing your Cutie Mark?” Onslaught let out a large hearty laugh. “Really? You believe that? Whole lot of phooey if you ask me. Complete nonsense. Change my fate? Right. Sure. Why not. I’m only here because there’s no other place for me to go.” “Not all share that sentiment,” Raze muttered. “Even if there’s only a slim chance, I’d take it.” “Like I said, sure. Why not. Having something to believe in is fine, but I am not here for hope. I’m here for Providence. She’s got a family. A daughter. And she remembers. That’s something worth respecting. And, even if it seems small, I’d like to help her go home. That’s my only reason for being here and being bossed about. That and they have they have the last drops of the narcotic, so I have to be close by anyway.” “Last drops?” “Yeah. It’s almost all gone now. If we don’t find a way to end it soon, we’ll all go berserk. If that happens,” Onslaught threw his crossbow next to the cooking stove, “put a bolt between my eyes. Otherwise I’ll shove this blade up yours.” Every one of them looked at the weapon. “This is our reality,” Raze said in the silence and looked at Sonic. “Will you do the same for me?” “It won’t come to that,” Sonic replied without missing a beat. “It can’t.” “Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Onslaught replied. “Especially to us. We’ve all had our hopes crushed. Don’t make it worse.” “You know, that’s what I thought before,” Sonic began, “when I saw all of you at the inn. I didn’t understand. I don’t. But he wouldn’t be here if there’s nothing. I know Semper. Maybe not as good as you guys, but I do know him. He’ll pull through. And we’ll be there with him.” The Elites all looked at Sonic in silence for a long moment. Even Torment was now staring at the Guard. They all wore unreadable expressions, but they all felt what Static felt. A fleeting glimpse at something impossible. Could Semper really bring salvation to these ponies? “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Static put in. “We have no idea what’s out here. Let’s find this thing first before we decide what’s possible or not.” “Good and sound advice,” Onslaught replied, nodding in agreement. Raze looked at Sonic. “I prefer the dreamer.” The rest of the conversation was muted. None had anything to say and most were lost in their own thoughts. Soon dinner was finished, Samidra washing the dishes with a little of the water they had brought with them. The order of the watch was decided. Sonic volunteered to go first, Raze next, then Onslaught, Static, and finally Torment. Samidra was spared of the responsibility because she had cooked. Sonic hugged the blanket. He had listened to Static when he explained the reason why it was so ridiculously hot in the day and nearly freezing cold at night, but he still could not accept such a huge shift in temperature. Hours ago he would have given anything to throw off his armor, but now he was huddling up to his blanket as tightly as he could. He wanted to use the stove to keep warm, but Samidra had insisted they all sleep on the skimmers and wood and hot stoves don’t mix. He then wanted to sleep on the sand, but again Samidra advised against. As if the flimsy wooden skimmers were any protection whatsoever. The camel kept saying they could not in case they got swallowed up in the sand at night. As to why that could be, she couldn’t answer, which visibly irked Static. That brought a smile to Sonic’s face. A part of him always liked seeing Static annoyed for some reason. His eyes wandered around the desert near him, but he saw nothing. It wasn’t even pitch black and he had a good area of visibility. The halos, however, didn’t help. They limited his vision and, being a pegasus, that was quite irritating. He could probably see a lot further if they switched them off. Maybe be even quieter too. The persistent humming when they were turned on really infuriated him. Try as he might, Sonic kept defaulting back to the sleeping form of Raze. From where he sat on the skimmer, she was right in front of him sleeping under the mast with her blanket covering everything except the very top of her head. What she said to him really disturbed his inner peace. Of course he understood it wasn’t his fault, how could it be? But something about her plight just ate away at Sonic. It was the mare herself that made him feel strange. “Why’re you staring at me?” Raze asked from behind her sheet. “Wha- what? I wasn’t staring at—” She sat up and blinked her eyes at the lights from above her. She leaned in with a raised eyebrow. “I could feel your eyes boring into my skull.” “Okay. I might’ve been looking, but I wasn’t staring. Just my angle,” he shifted in his seat for emphasis, “and you’re right there in front of me.” “We Elites don’t really sleep,” Raze said quietly. “Yes, we rest our body and minds, but we don’t really sleep. Can’t. I don’t know when the last time I had a good sleep was.” “Oh?” “Need some company?” She asked. He shook his head. “Nah. I’m good.” She stood up and walked over to him and plonked herself next to the Guard. “Y’know, I’ve killed Guards before. Border and Royal both. I’m a good judge of skills and fighting. Wouldn’t be alive if I weren’t.” She guffawed quietly at her own ‘joke’. “But I can tell something. Right now, if you and I were to really fight, I’m not certain I would be walking away from that. You’re different from the rest of the Guards, like… like him.” “Is that a compliment?” “To us? Yes. Maybe. It means you’re no push-over. Most of us wouldn’t mind exterminating Guards for the reasons you’ve been enlightened to.” “Yeah. I guess I can understand,” Sonic lied. “Sure you can,” Raze replied, catching him red-hoofed. “But there is something about you and your friend there,” she said pointing at Static snoozing away on his skimmer. “You’re both different, and that interests me. I knew it the moment I saw you standing back at the inn.” Onslaught grumbled and shifted, the skimmer swaying slightly due to his massive weight. He muttered something and then was silent. “I think we should keep it quiet.” Sonic gestured with his head towards the sleeping giant. “Strange,” Raze said, tilting her head to one side. “Is he really sleeping?” “Looks like,” Sonic muttered. Raze looked at Onslaught with a bewildered expression on her face. “Amazing.” “Yeah, you were saying that you can’t really sleep. Why?” “Because you don’t know who would come around and place a knife into your body,” Raze replied still staring at the large pegasus. A look of envy seemed to cross her face followed by a look of pure evil. No, not evil. Mischievousness. A ‘good’ kind of evil. “He must feel really comfortable with the two of you around. He would never let himself black out like that unless he knew nothing could touch him.” “Whatever you’re thinking on doing, stop. I don’t think Onslaught can take practical jokes.” “What? I wasn’t going to do anything?” “Sure you weren’t,” Sonic replied with a wry look on his face. Raze just grinned. “Okay… I guess you’re right.” The two continued to chat, their voices quiet at times and picking up slightly when they got excited. They chatted about so many things, Sonic telling her about his time at the academy, about Semper, Static, and the others. All sorts of things. But what really drew Raze in was when he talked about Equestria itself. She opened her eyes in wonder as he described Canterlot. She gasped in genuine surprise at the beauty of Cloudsdale. And when he talked about the Wonderbolts, her eyes sparkled with life. None of the Elites were allowed to enter the cities, they were expressly forbidden to do so, for good reason. But as Sonic talked, and as she listened, it was abundantly clear that, somewhere deep inside the mare, she regretted not seeing more of her homeland. And Sonic started to discover something about her that seemed to speak to his soul. She was funny, a little naughty, clever, witty, charming, and, dare the think it, beautiful. Not just on her outside, but her personality, apart from the prolific killer instinct that she possessed, he saw the inner-pony. Under that cold, hard exterior was a genuinely wonderful mare. And, it shocked him to discover, he was actually falling for her. As Raze’s supposed watch ended, because the two of them had stayed up all the time talking to each other, Sonic took Onslaught’s place at the front of the skimmer. The giant had hopped out of the craft with the blanket tied around his neck as he walked to the rear of the vessel, yawning and wiping the sleep from his eyes. He seemed genuinely shocked by this. Sonic lay down with his head near the mast. Raze lowered her head so that they were looking into one another’s eyes upside down. “Will… will you still be here in the morning?” Raze asked. “Of course. I’m not going anywhere.” She looked down and seemed to be contemplating something. “What’s wrong?” Sonic asked noticing her uncomfortable expression. “Can… can I hold your hoof?” Sonic offered it without hesitation. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.” She held onto it with a grip that stunned Sonic and, shockingly, Sonic watched her as she closed her eyes and her breathing slowed down. He felt her breath come in a slow steady rhythm. It took him a moment to realize that she was sleeping. Sonic could not resist as he leaned in slightly and gave her a gentle kiss on her nose, which brought a small smile to Raze’s lips. “Sleep. I’ll be right here.” Samidra pointed to the body of the wyrm, the greenish-blue blood spreading from its corpse. “Don’t go over the blood. It is like glue.” “Okay!” Static shouted back, and shifted the skimmer’s direction slightly. He glanced over to Sonic and saw him and Raze sitting close together at the rear, with Onslaught at the front trying his best not to look out of place. “Amazing!” Samidra shouted loudly into Static’s ear. “What is?” “Your pony courtship. First you act like you’re going to kill each other, then you are inseperable.” Samidra pointed to Torment. “Are you going to try and do the same with him?” “W-what?” Torment had overheard and had the same expression on his face. “No!” “Oh. I thought that was what you were planning on doing because he always looks like he wants to kill you.” “What plan?” Static asked. “To make the Elites like you so they won’t kill you,” Samidra replied. “Was that not your plan?” “What? That ridiculous,” Static replied coldly. “How old are you anyway? That’s just a juvenile train of thought. Only a filly would—” “Sixteen!” “W-what?” “I’m sixteen!” “You’re sixteen?” Static shouted incredulously. “Yes! Why?” “You’re just a filly!” Samidra shrugged. “When you have to grow up, you grow up.” There was nothing Static could say to that. Suddenly Torment stood up. “What’s going on?” Static asked looking in the general direction the stallion was pointing, but the angle had unfortunately placed the morning sun was right in his face. Torment turned around and waved his hoof frantically. Upon seeing this, Samidra jumped at Static slamming against the lever making the skimmer jerk violently to one side. The momentum made Samidra smash her head against the side of the boat, a small gash sending blood down her face from where she had hit. A split second later an explosion of sand erupted right behind them. If they had been going in the same direction, whatever that was would have hit them square on. Whatever it was that had just hit the ground flopped about for a moment before it started to rise into the air. It started out slowly, but it seemed to grow larger and gain altitude at the same time. It looked like a large flat fish, the bottom of which was bright blue and the top the same brownish red hue as the sand. It was no wonder that he didn’t spot whatever it was; the creature merged completely with the sky, and coupled with the sun behind it, was practically invisible. Luckily Torment had spotted it. “Sand ray!” Samidra shouted, wiping the blood from her eyes. “Very rare! We’re lucky!” “Lucky? That thing nearly killed us!” “They’re very rare! They don’t usually fly in the sky unless they are getting away from something, but the wyrm must be bringing them here. We need to be very careful. There might be more in the sky!” “Torment, watch out for them!” Static ordered and turned to Sonic. He gestured with his hoof, communicating with the Guard sign language they had learnt. Sonic replied that he understood and began to instruct Raze and Onslaught to keep their eyes on the sky. It wasn’t long before the Elites spotted another. Static swerved out of instinct at the indication of Torment unsure if the new animal was heading for their skimmer or not. The second impact hit the right next to Sonic’s skimmer, the sand exploding high into the air. As they moved, Static saw Sonic shaking his head trying to get the sand out of his mane. But it didn’t end there. Another, then another, then another. Each one smashing themselves onto the sand. “This is bad!” Static yelled. “We need to get out of here! Samidra, where can we go?” He looked down at Samidra, but she had her head down with her legs over her head. “Samidra!” She did not look up. She did nothing. All she did was crouch where she was and mumbling to herself. Static reached on over and placed a hoof on her shoulder. She flinched noticeably, which wasn’t lost on Torment who made a face of disgust before turning his eyes skywards. The filly was shaking quite badly and Static felt angry at himself for allowing her to come along. This was too much for her. Had he known just how young she was, he would have spoken against it. But the filly was far more mature than she let on, and why had the other camels let her come along if she was not ready? Did they just listen to him without any input? Did they think he gave an order? Static shrugged off the nagging questions and pulled Samidra’s shoulders so that she had no choice but to turn and face him. “Listen! Don’t worry! We’ll get through this, okay? But I need you to help me, okay? You need to help Torment spot any more of those things coming down, okay? And you need to answer my questions.” Samidra shook her head and leaned away. “This is different! I’ve never seen so many at once.” “Samidra, look at me. Look at me.” Static watched as the filly moved her eyes up to meet his. “We’ll do everything in our power to make sure nothing happens to you, okay? But we can’t help you if you don’t help us too. We need to get through this together and I’ll need your knowledge and your eyes. Understand?” Samidra nodded. “Tell me anything and everything you know about these things.” Torment made a sign with his hooves and Static swerved again, pulling the mainsheet to ensure that the sail kept full and didn’t sacrifice their movement. Right now, speed was the only thing keeping them alive. “They are rare. They inflate themselves with gas, like your balloons. They merge with the sky. From above, they merge with the sand.” “Anything else?” “They don’t fly unless the sun is up, but not too hot!” “Okay, that’s good. That gives us a time limit.” Static signed to Sonic. Then, before either could do anything, a pillar of sand exploded into the air and a wyrm, a teeny imitation to the goliath from the day before, erupted not far from their skimmer. Static moved his skimmer to the side out of reflex just as a torrent of sand rained down onto them. The sudden load slowed down their boat to almost a crawl. A sand ray smashed itself in front of their skimmer, it had tried to compensate for their speed but missed them completely. It flopped around for a bit, its tiny eyes focusing on the skimmer.   Torment reacted first. He fired a bolt right at the sand ray, the magic quarrel igniting upon impact. The next moment an orange-blue fire engulfed the creature followed by a smaller, more powerful blast that made the skimmer shift slightly pushing Static back and nearly out of the vessel. Torment also compensated gracefully, using the jib-line to hold his place. As the bright light faded, there was nothing left of the sand ray except for a bluish smear across the sand. Moments later, the wyrm crashed downwards into itself. Static noticed that it looked like it was retreating into a hardened exoskeleton that peeked just above the sand. From their perspective, these rises looked like a shallow dais that rose just above the surface. There were a few of these that they had traveled around, avoiding it only as common sense dictated them to be rocky obstacles. It was only now that Static realized what they were actually were. Wrym pits, or whatever else they were called. Burrows where these ambush predators would wait until they spotted their prey. Who knew what contraption these creatures used to propel themselves, but he remembered reading about similar creatures in the Everfree Forest back in Equestria. Quarray eels. That was what they were called. And both these creatures had similar hunting tactics. As the wyrm returned into the hole where it came out, it seemed to be struggling to keep ahold of something. As it sunk below the sand, they spotted a large sand ray clamped tightly in its jaws. It floundered, a hissing noise coming from it as it was forced beneath the surface into the sand below. Static and the others watched as the wyrm held on while the ray fought for its life. It was a futile attempt, but the sheer size and force of the creatures made them acutely aware just how vulnerable they were between the two dangerous animals. They were two different types of predator looking for opportunities in a very hostile land, but what confused Static was the rays attacking them despite the massive dead wyrm. The camouflage of the rays was almost flawless. Their natural protection had spared them from being a tasty meal to the hungry wyrms, but even with that protection there was an element of risk. There were times when the prey would get careless, and the apex predator had revealed itself inadvertently saving the adventurers. “Well, I guess we ought to bail the sand out,” Static uttered when the sounds of the wrym and its prey died away into silence. He peered up at the sky, but there was nothing up there at all. Not even the sharp eyes of the Elites could make out any rays nearby. “They are leaving,” Samidra whispered and pointed vaguely towards the west. Static used his horn, picked up as much sand as he dared while maintaining some reserve just in case something else heppened, and dumped it overboard. Torment picked up the pot they had used the night before to cook the meal and helped, followed by Samidra, who scooped them all using Static’s overturned shield. The second skimmer came to a slow halt and Sonic looked over to Static and shook his head in a sigh of relief. “That could’ve ended badly.” “This isn’t common. Rays don’t flock like this,” Samidra said. “I have never seen so many before.” “Could it be because of the wyrm?” “Could be. I’m not sure.” Samidra threw out another helping of sand.   “Not sure?” “Well, nocamel lives so far away from the Zebrican boundry.” “What about these sand nomads you were talking about?” Samidra shrugged. “Meeting them peacefully is quite rare as well. They also don’t really speak of their home. They only come and go when opportunity strikes, and most of the time they are harbingers. We’ve had to defend ourselves multiple times from various tribes, but they usually live near an oasis.” “Is there an oasis near here?” “Yes, but they are not welcoming to outsiders. That oasis is hidden quite well and they do not welcome outsiders. If they feel threatened, they will attack without question.” “Threatened? Who would want their sandpit?” Sonic asked incredulously. “Ain’t nopony wants to live out here.” “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” Samidra said calmly. “There is also magnificent beauty here.” “Still not buying it,” Sonic replied and looked at Static. “Nothing lives out here unless they’ve got no choice. Now what do we do?” Static looked into the distance. “We continue. The blue smoke isn’t coming from the airship anymore, so we have to step it up.” “Step it up? What are you going to do? Blow on the sails?” Static paused and stared at the pegasus then at the sails. “Actually… yes, I think I will.” “Um, what?”