The Running-Pt 8: A Thief, A Crusader, and a Hell of a Night
September 7th, Evening
-------------------------------------
Twilight Sparkle’s face brightened considerably at Celestia’s claim that she might know where the spell would be that could fix Volare’s wing…the very one that she had attempted herself with less-than-satisfactory results. For a moment, she cringed inwardly at how tough she’d made his situation via her good intentions. But she quickly focused back on her mentor who stood there, waiting patiently for her student to respond. “W-where do you think it is, Celestia?”
“Follow me and I’ll explain, Twilight,” the Princess nodded in a direction other than the Canterlot Library front doors, confirming that the better part of two weeks of her search for the spell had indeed been all but wasted in the wrong building! Twilight quickly caught up with her teacher’s long-legged strides that carried her along at a quick and quiet pace that belied her much larger body; as if the Sun Goddess weighed nothing at all. The smaller lavender Unicorn tried in vain to match her pace and grace, but to no avail; though her efforts did elicit a soft chuckle of amusement from the Princess. She was young yet…she’d grow into it if she so chose.
“Where are we going?” Twilight finally spoke up after nearly half a minute of the brisk pace through the Canterlot evening that was eerily reminiscent of the night when she first arrived at the train station.
“Well, from what you and Shining Armor have told me, I believe I know what you tried to do to help Volare’s wing,” Celestia nodded slightly to a trio of ponies who’d stopped to bow respectfully to her.
“I hardly remember what I did or even read on the subject, Princess,” Twilight shook her head, trying in vain even now to recall something that she might have read the involved that spell…but try as she might, nothing came to mind, and it was frustrating the hay out of her! Celestia noticed her furrowed brow and she gently brushed the Unicorn’s mane with her wing.
“Twilight, over the years, I’ve discovered that sometimes, in dire situations especially, our minds can recall the oddest of things,” she chuckled softly. “A long-forgotten scent, a name lost to seasons, or even a long-dormant skill awakened in order to help another pony’s in need. Even something as specific as a spell,” she gave her student a soft approving smile. “Meseems your mind happened to recall that particular spell at that time. In any case, I’ve decided that if we can find this spell, I’ll teach it to you so that once Volare is stabilized, you can send me a message and I’ll assist you; I’ll explain further once we find it.”
Twilight smiled with pride at the thought of her mentor and teacher relegating herself to a mere assistant in a situation like that; stepping aside to let her student complete a difficult task herself. “Where’s the spell located?”
“I’ve deduced that since it’s not in your Library or the Canterlot collection, there’s only one other major place of knowledge that you’ve been recently; the only place where that spell should be located,” the Princess took a sharp turn onto a wider thoroughfare lined with bushes, trees, and statuary.
“Should be?” Twilight cocked her head.
“Yes, if it wasn’t stolen like a few other spells during the Wedding Incident…what a damned mess,” she sighed slightly but shook it off. “Do you remember when you were looking for that time travel-stopping spell because you thought the world was going to end on a Tuesday?” she chuckled.
“Hey, it wasn’t just any Tuesday!” Twilight protested. “I was visited by my future self and…nevermind, yes I remember, why?” But the Princess simply smiled and nodded her head slightly, waiting for Twilight to drop the other horse-shoe. The Unicorn’s eyes widened as she finally realized where they were headed. “Wait, you’re not telling me the spell is in the Canterlot Archives, are you?”
“The very same,” Celestia replied curtly as they approached the dome-based tower flanked by two grey Royal Guard Unicorns dressed in dark armor indicative of their high security status.
“But why would a spell like that be locked up in there?”
“For numerous reasons, including the general harm it can cause; see Volare as evidence. There’s also a chance, because it supplants the body’s natural healing process, of it becoming quite the addiction to use, so the willy-nilly use of it must be prevented,” Celestia quickly changed gears and looked up, smiling at the blue-armored Archive Guard Unicorns who retained their stoic stances. “Good evening, gentlecolts. How’re your duties coming along?”
“Good evening Princess,” the older, grey-templed Unicorn on the right spoke gruffly. “Things are quiet and peaceful; nothing to report.”
“Nothing but stray leaves and grass trimmings moving around out here, ma’am,” the younger Unicorn guard on the left added. “Much better than this past spring, begging your pardon.”
“Stow it, Corporal Spiral,” the gruff guard barked. “I don’t particularly like being reminded of my own personal failures!”
“It’s quite alright, Sergeant Greymane,” Celestia waved a hoof. “That’s all water under the bridge now and there was nothing you could do. I’m just thankful that nopony lost their lives in the incident.”
“Aye, true, true,” the officer nodded. “I take it you and Ms. Sparkle have business in the Archives?”
“Indeed, we do,” the Princess replied. “We’ll more than likely be in there rather late, so don’t concern yourself too terribly if we don’t come out for some time.”
“Duly noted, Princess,” he resumed his stoic pose.
“Good luck in your search, ma’am,” the Corporal smiled before getting a thwack from the Sergeant’s spear butt. “Ow…I mean, right!” He mimicked the Sergeant’s pose as Celestia and Twilight entered the building, doing their best to hold in their giggles.
As they trotted into the nearly silent structure-the only noises they could hear coming from the numerous guards that patrolled the interior-Twilight took in the sight of the ancient tapestries and numerous old weapons that hung from the walls; relics of an ancient era. All around them were signs of the building in various stages of repair from the break in that past spring. New paint and wallpaper filled the building with their dull odors, and stacks of bricks were neatly piled in corners, awaiting their turn to heal the building’s scars.
“Which one of these wings is it in, Princess?” Twilight gestured to the numerous heavy wooden portals that flanked the hallway every few paces. Celestia paused and tapped her chin thoughtfully.
“Which sections of the Archives did you enter?”
“Just the Starswirl the Bearded Wing,” Twilight nodded to the locked door covered in an iron portcullis and marked with a series of large blueish-white stars above the lintel.
“Well, then that’s our ticket,” Celestia smiled and trotted forward. “The old SB Wing, as you called it.” Her horn lit up and zapped the lock with the pass-spell, and within moments, the old deadbolts slid away and the gate swung open with a creak. They were greeted by the sight of thousands upon thousands of priceless scrolls neatly stacked and sorted upon one another in shelves that surrounded a large half-hourglass in the middle of the room…wait, what?!
“Whoa, Princess,” Twilight exclaimed as she saw the sand-filled half-glass. “Didn’t there used to be a whole hourglass in here?”
“Yes, there used to be,” Celestia replied with a sigh. “But whoever broke in here destroyed it before leaving," she gestured to the piled remains of shattered glass on the floor. "Your brother the Captain knows the finer details better than I.”
“I’ll be sure to ask him what the hay happened for sure,” the Unicorn nodded before turning back to her mentor. “Well, where do we start?”
“Eh-heh, that’s where I was afraid we might have a bit of a problem,” Celestia chuckled nervously, a rarity for her. “Since the scrolls were rather tossed all over the room by whatever it was that got in here, they’re out of the usual order from what I’m used to…so in short…I have no idea exactly where.”
“Urgh…here we go again,” Twilight groaned and reached for a scroll, her resolve flickering for just an instant before she strengthened it. No, I made a promise to Volare, and I intend to fulfill it…he’s just gonna owe me a big one when I get back…nah, make it two or three…then again, no telling what interesting things I might find in this place. Yeah, look on the bright side, Twilight!
--------------------------------------
September 8th, Morning
Volare groaned softly and turned over in his sleep, enjoying the tail-end of a nice, peaceful dream of his simple drifting on the breeze like a leaf…like the leaves that would soon fall in the Running two days from now. But his mind barely drew the connection as his eyes flickered open and he yawned deeply, stretching on the couch in the middle of Fluttershy’s cottage and simply taking in the sounds of the soft nickering breaths of the yellow mare upstairs. The square of early morning light filtered in through the window and illuminated the dust motes that swirled in and out of the glow the border of which slowly crept its way along the floorboards in the direction of the couch…but it was a ways off yet. He looked down through lidded eyes at the small basket sitting at the base of the couch, and in particular at its small, long-eared white occupant.
Volare had to admit: when Angel Bunny wasn’t being a little terror, he was kinda endearing; all curled up and giving on tiny little snores as his front legs wiggled every few moments. The blue Pegasus chuckled to himself and closed his eyes again. He decided that he’d earn the chance to sleep in a little bit today, that things were finally falling into place in the world for him. He was thankful for a little bit of peace…he half-contemplated simply relaxing the rest of the day away like this. He did have a race to rest for, after all! He knew the chances of winning weren’t great, but there wasn’t any sense in not trying, right?
But for now, he snuggled back against the cushions and sighed, drifting back off into his dreams…he also knew the odds of sleeping the day away like this were just as low, but one could hope, couldn’t they? Unfortunately, Volare’s chances of relaxing were more like slim-to-none…with none being the more likely outcome if a certain trio had their way…
--------------------------------------
“Alright Applebloom, you’ve been grinning your head off half the morning and the other half you’ve been lookin’ at the clock,” Scootaloo stated as she and Sweetie Belle trotted side by side with their friend out the door at noon, let out early for the weekend. “So what gives?”
“Yeah, what’s going on under that bow of yours?” Sweetie giggled and patted the country filly’s mane as they stopped near the white picket fence that lined the schoolhouse property.
“Oh, heh-heh, Ah’ll tell ya once we get ta tha clubhouse,” she nodded in the direction of their center of CMC operations to the southwest.
“Does it have to do with a new crusading idea?” Sweetie Belle asked excitedly.
“Somethin’ like that,” Applebloom smiled cryptically.
“Aww, really?” Scootaloo groaned softly. “I was gonna go hang out with Volare and learn some more about flying.”
“Now don’t be such a stick in tha mud, Scootaloo,” an older voice spoke up from down the fence line. The trio looked up to see Applejack leaning against the fence and smiling from under her hat. “Ah hear pray tell ya’ll ain’t been spendin’ much time with your friends lately.”
“Howdy sis!” Applebloom grinned and galloped up to Applejack, giving her a big hug upon arrival. She looked up and read her sister’s facial expression, trying to gauge her reaction as she was still unsure how she felt about her little plan. But Applejack simply returned the hug with a strong one-hoofed embrace and smiled warmly in return. “Ya don’t need ta walk me home today; we’re gonna head to the clubhouse and talk about crusadin’ stuff!”
“Aha, well, if’n that’s true, Ah’ll just head on over ta Fluttershy’s and let Volare know Scootaloo’s takin tha day off. Heh, Ah’ll bet he’ll appreciate a breather anyhow; dern fool’s gonna run himself into the ground at this rate!”
In truth, she was somewhat hopeful that Scootaloo would go and spend some time with her friends and get Applebloom’s mind off her scheme so Volare could get a little rest…however, she did make a promise to Grannysmith that she wouldn’t get in the way if her little sister tried to help Volare in her own way. And when Applejack made a promise, she’d keep it consarnit!
“Sounds good, sis! Come on guys!” Applebloom whooped and galloped off towards the clubhouse, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo hot on her hooves, leaving Applejack standing alone in a filly-sized cloud of dust.
“Ack-ack-achoo!” The mare sneezed and chuckled. “Must be pretty secret for Applebloom ta wanna talk about it at mah old treehouse…aww who’m Ah kiddin’, she’s probably gonna tell’em about her plan.” She sighed and set out down the road to Fluttershy’s cottage. “Guess Ah’d best get on down there an’ give Volare support for when this little whirlwind hits.”
---------------------------------
“Ok, so what’s so important that you made us run after you all the way to the clubhouse?” Sweetie Belle huffed as she finally caught up to her two more athletic friends and sat down beside the clubhouse, more than a little winded.
“Yeah, spill the beans already, Applebloom; is it a crusading idea?” Scootaloo urged, her wings buzzing excitedly as she hopped up and down. Her farm filly friend was rarely this secretive about crusading ideas unless it was something big…and thinking up the big ideas was normally Scootaloo’s job, so she was very curious to see what Applebloom had thought up today.
“Well, it sorta has ta do with crusadin’ but it ain’t any specific crusadin’ idea just yet,” Applebloom answered with a grin and paused. When she was certain that her friends were hanging on every word she said, she finally broke the dramatic silence. “Ya’ll know Volare, right?”
“Scootaloo’s friend, yeah,” Sweetie Belle nodded, her green eyes wide in anticipation. “What about him?”
“Hey, you’re not gonna take my personal trainer idea, are you?” Scootaloo asked in sudden worry, but Applebloom shook her head.
“Nope, not plannin’ on it. What Ah wanna talk about is Volare’s cutie mark.”
“Um, he doesn’t have one, Applebloom,” the orange Pegasus pointed out.
“Exactly, he’s 23 years old an’ a blank flank like us,” Applebloom nodded. “So Ah was thinkin’…”
“Oooh, I know where this is going!” Sweetie Belle spoke up with a grin. “You wanna help him get his mark right?”
“That’s the first part of mah idea Sweetie, yeah. But it’s more than that. Remember how Pinion didn’t even mess with Scootaloo after Volare gave him tha what-for?” Her friends giggled at the memory of the overly-proud Pegasus colt practically tucking tail and trotting off the other day. “So like Ah was sayin’, Ah was thinkin’ of how Volare could help keep them bullies that like makin’ fun of us fer bein’ Blank Flanks offa-well, offa our flanks, heh-heh.”
“That could work,” Scootaloo nodded. “But what’s the second part of our plan? You gonna pay Volare to be our bodyguard or something?”
“Nope, better,” the yellow filly grinned smugly. “Ya ready? Ok…we make Volare part of the Cutie Mark Crusaders!” For a long moment of stunned silence, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle simply stared at their friend, not sure if she was joking or not.
“Applebloom, are you serious?” Scootaloo finally asked.
“Sure am.”
“I think you’re crazy,” Sweetie said matter-of-factly.
“Nah, nah, hear me out, guys,” the farm filly waved her hooves. “Scootaloo, ya’ll said that when Volare helped ya out, he said he was no different from us in his lack of cutie mark, right?”
“Yeah, that’s why he got involved with Pinion, because he said that he’d have to pick on us both since we’re both…Blank Flanks,” Scootaloo’s eyes widened.
“Exactly, he already said himself he’s one of us,” Applebloom’s eyes glimmered excitedly. “An’ Ah figure, since he’s one of us, and the CMC was formed ta help us Blank Flanks get our mark, what better way for him ta get his mark than ta team up with us? That way, we can all work together ta find our marks, and him just bein’ with us outta keep them bullies away. Besides, Grannysmith said it’s a good idea cuz tha Apple Family is always lookin’ ta help out tha pony folks. Scoots is helpin’ him learn how ta fly, and Ah wanna help him this way.”
“Applebloom,” Sweetie’s expression read somewhere along the lines of shocked amazement. “You’re still crazy…but a good crazy,” she giggled and nudged her friend.
“Well, that’s one down. Whatcha think, Scoots?”
“I…I dunno,” Scootaloo hesitated. “I mean, yeah it’s a good idea, but won’t we be taking away from Volare’s rehab stuff?”
“Nah, we can help him with that too,” Applebloom smiled. “Besides, tha more tha merrier, right?”
“I guess so, yeah,” a grin finally cracked across Scootaloo’s face and she looked up in the direction of Fluttershy’s cottage. “Well, it’s kinda early, but he should be up right now. Wanna go ask him?”
“Ah take it you’re up for this idea, then?”
“If Volare is, then yeah! Heh, hey Sweetie, if this works, you’ll have to find something to do to help out Volare too!”
“Hey, I’ll figure out something!” the small Unicorn replied with a frown. “Maybe I’ll…oooh, I know! I’ll make him a Crusader Cape like ours!”
“Bet he’d look pretty good in one of them, eh?” Applebloom nodded her approval. “Well then, Ah say time’s a wastin’. Let’s go tell’im the good news!” And with that, Applebloom again led the trio back onto the road and eased into a trot towards Fluttershy’s cottage. “How do we break it to’im, though?”
“How do you break what to who?” A bubbly voice spoke up, startling the CMC until they realized it was just Pinkie Pie…who’d somehow popped out from behind a tree skinnier than she was. “Is that some sorta weird new cutie mark crusade?”
“Jeez, how the hay do you keep doing that, Pinkie?” Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief.
“Keep doing what?” Pinkie cocked her head, waiting for specifics.
“You know, that!” Sweetie Belle pointed at the tree.
“How do I keep doing trees?” the baker pony frowned. “Um, are you sure you three are old enough to know about that sort of thing…cuz if you are, I think you might wanna get your bits back from whoever told you about it, cuz I’m pretty sure that’s impossible. Although Fluttershy did say she wanted to be a tree one time, but even then I dunno how that’d even work and-,” she suddenly noticed their apprehensive looks and for quite possibly the first time in her life, she cut her own self off. “Uh, heh-heh, nevermind. What were you saying you’re going to break?”
“Some news,” Sweetie Belle replied with a smile as they returned to trotting down the road.. “Some good news, in fact!”
“Ooh, I like good news,” Pinkie hopped along. “If there’s ever any news worth breaking, it’s always good news! Wait, breaking it how and to whom?”
“To Volare,” Applebloom said proudly. “Ah got me an idea for’im and us last night, an’ it’s even Apple Family approved!”
“Aha, what is it?”
“We’ll tell ya on the way to Fluttershy’s,” Scootaloo replied. “But ya gotta keep it a surprise when we get there, ok?”
“Okey dokey lokey!” Pinkie grinned and listened as she hopped alongside the CMC, headed for a rendezvous with almost certain antics…or at least that’s what her Pinkie Sense was telling her.
--------------------------------------------
Knock, knock, knock!
“Huh-wha?” Volare mumbled and sat up with a start, yanked out of his subconscious by the sound of a hoof striking the door across the room. “Hrm-who is it?” he mumbled and yawned, scratching his back lazily.
“It’s Applejack, and Ah’m here ta warn ya, Volare!” the farm mare’s voice called anxiously. Warn him?! With a thump and a rumble, Volare jumped from the couch to rush to the door, but only succeeded in tangling his hooves in Angel Bunny’s basket, tripping him up and sending the suddenly awake and irate rabbit sailing across the room and crashing into the wall.
Heh, I almost say that serves ya right, Volare smirked briefly and got to his hooves. “Sorry, Angel,” he hissed as the bunny stomped off to find some peace and quiet elsewhere. The Pegasus finally reached the door and tugged it open, nearly bumping muzzle to muzzle with Applejack in the process.
“Whoa, howdy Volare!” she grinned with a blush much more slight than the one that quickly flashed across the Pegasus’ own face as he backed off.
“Heh-heh, heya AJ,” he chuckled dryly before straightening himself and looking at her ruddy face once more, all business this time. “You said you’re here to warn me about something? What’s up? Is something bad on its way here?” He looked past her shoulder at the road behind her, thoughts of all sorts of beasts from the show running through his mind; from a swarm of Parasprites, to a pack of Timberwolves. But when he saw nothing out of the ordinary and heard her chuckle audibly at his display of alarm, he looked back at her with slightly less tension.
“Nah, nothin’ bad enough ya’ll gotta be lookin’ out fer danger er nothing,” she shook her head and trotted inside. “But it is somethin’ Ah felt Ah should give ya fair warnin’ abuout.”
“Alright, what’s the punchline, AJ?” he asked in puzzlement.
“No punchline,” she said seriously. “This ain’t a joke, Volare. Thing is, mah sister Applebloom’s got it in her head that ya’ll and her friends Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo have a lot in common.”
“…I don’t get it.”
“Ah didn’t at first till she explained what she meant, and if it were any other situation, it’d make sense,” Applejack snorted softly. “Thing is, she got Grannysmith on her side in this, an’…well, what she wants ta do is, since ya’ll and them are all Blank Flanks…she wants ya’ll ta”-
Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock!!
The two ponies’ eyes shot to the door at the rapid series of knocks that were much lighter than Applejack’s had been. To their surprise though, the voice that called through the door wasn’t who they expected. “Heya Volare-bear! It’s Pinkie Pie! Lemme in, I got somethin’ to show ya!”
Volare half-considered not answering the door before Pinkie called again.
“Come on, I know you’re in there! I heard you talking to somepony!”
The Pegasus gave Applejack a helpless look before shaking his head and slowly opening the door a crack…before it burst open as the pink party pony and three multicolored fillies jumped out of the lower periphery of his vision and through the door in unison and tackled him to the ground, giggling up a storm the whole while. “Hee-hee, gotcha!” Pinkie smiled and hopped off of him, letting have a good look at who else had knocked him over.
“Heya Volare!” Scootaloo grinned and hugged his chest while Applebloom and Sweetie Belle smiled down at him just as broadly.
“Oof, what’re you guys doing here?” Volare managed to force out what was left of the air in his lungs as a dry laugh. “Getting your cutie marks in ninja ambushes?”
“Nah, nothin’ like that,” Applebloom said as they got off of him and helped him to his hooves.
“Yet!” Sweetie Belle squeaked.
“…super,” Volare caught his breath before noticing that each of the CMC as well as Pinkie were still wearing larger-than-average grins…and for Pinkie, that was saying a lot! “Ok, what gives? Why all the huge smiles, eh?” he asked with a wary squint.
“They’ve got a surprise for ya, Volare!” Pinkie hopped up and down. “Oooh tell him! Tell him, tell him, tell him, the suspense is killing me!”
“What the-Pinkie, we already told you, ya goof,” Scootaloo giggled.
“I know, I meant my suspense for Volare’s reaction when you tell him!” The party mare beamed and continued her hopping.
“Alright, spill the beans you guys,” the blue Pegasus laughed.
“Ok, here we go,” Applebloom cleared her throat, gaining Volare’s attention. “Volare, in recognition of your actions a few days ago when ya saved Scootaloo from Pinion and his ornery friends”-
“Oh get to the good stuff, Applebloom!” Scootaloo nudged her friend impatiently.
“Alright, alright, Ah’m workin’ on it, sheesh! Can’t a filly have a chance ta make a good presentation? Like Ah was sayin…cuz ya’ll caused Pinion ta stay away from Scoots, it gave me an idea. We all saw that ya don’t have a cutie mark on ya, and Ah figured: hey, it makes sense that he stood up for Blank Flanks cuz he is a blank flank! An’ then Ah remembered ya’ll said ya’ll are 23 years old and still don’t have your cutie mark. Grannysmith suggested that Ah help and Ah think I know a good way to!”
As she spoke, Volare’s own smile became more forced as he realized that Applebloom was mistaking his lack of a cutie mark as a natural occurrence, and that because she didn’t know the truth about him, the good-hearted and helpful filly been concocting a scheme to help him get his, just like the crazy stunts they did as a group in the show…wait a sec!
“Um, what sorta way is that?” he asked, bracing himself for the forthcoming answer which he imagined could range anywhere from volcano-diving to shark-wrestling. Do they even have sharks here? He sincerely hoped not.
“Volare, since we all feel like ya stood up fer Blank Flanks everywhere that day, and as fellow Blank Flanks, because we wanna help ya figure out who ya are in life too, I, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle wanna offer ta make ya an honorary Cutie Mark Crusader!” The three fillies plus Pinkie grinned enthusiastically, awaiting the flabbergasted Volare’s answer. He absolutely didn’t expect that to be their idea.
“I-uh…wow,” he stumbled back a step or two. True, he wasn’t sure if the rules of cutie marks even applied to a being like him, but even so, the gesture from the three young fillies was so heart-warming, he almost said yes right off the bat just to humor them. But he quickly stopped himself and tried to think about this rationally. “What’s the catch?”
“No catch,” Sweetie Belle shook her head emphatically. “We seriously just wanna help you.”
“Yeah! Well, there might be something else…sorta,” Scootaloo added sheepishly.
“Scootaloo, knock it off!” Applebloom hoofed her friend rather roughly. “He ain’t gonna go for it if’n ya tell him everything up front! You’d make a terrible sales-pony!”
“But I don’t wanna lie to him either, Applebloom,” the orange Pegasus frowned and looked back to Volare, who thought he’d guessed what the catch was now.
“Let me guess,” he chuckled lightly. “You wanna help me out, but at the same time, you want me to keep the bullies off your back, right?” By the adorable sight of the three fillies awkwardly scuffing the ground with their hooves, he was pretty sure he’d guessed right. He turned to Applejack and Pinkie Pie and beckoned them aside for a moment. “Hey, help me out here, guys. I dunno about this.”
“What’s the problem, Volare?” the pink pony asked. “This seems like a fun idea!”
“I dunno…don’t you think other ponies would think it’s a bit…weird for somepony like me to be running around with these little fillies?” Volare worried. “I just don’t wanna give the wrong impression that I’m a”-
“Now hold your horses there, Volare,” Applejack held up a hoof. “Mah family an’ Ah already had this here little discussion last night. Grannysmith approved of the idea, and she said tha Apple family has your back in this. Ah’m not totally fer the idea mahself, but that’s mainly cuz, heh-heh, Ah fear for your own safety just a bit.”
“Aww, come on, AJ! I’m not that weak!” Volare about-faced on his stance, suddenly a little miffed. He knew he wasn’t in the best possible shape right now (and that was putting it lightly), but to be told he couldn’t handle the antics of three fillies without concerning Applejack about his personal safety? Perhaps it was who the statement was coming from, but it just made him feel inadequate to hear that. And he hated feeling inadequate! Perhaps it was his military training that told him to always search for a way to succeed in his mission that some of what others would consider to be hard-headed behavior stemmed from, or maybe it was just foolish pride; either way he wasn’t one to take being told he wasn’t capable of something!
“Now, now, Ah didn’t mean nothin’ by it, sugarcube,” Applejack patted the air between them with her hoof. “Just lookin’ out for ya, that’s all.”
“I know, I know,” he shook his head. “But damn it all if I’m just tired of feeling like it’s me that has to be watched out for all the time here…just frustrates me as a guy and hurts my pride, ya know?”
“I think Ah know whatcha mean, Volare,” she patted his shoulder. “Still ain’t gonna make me keep an eye out for ya any less; it’s the least Ah can do for a friend, so don’t let it make ya feel that way, ok?” Her green eyes smiled warmly from beneath the brim of her Stetson.
“Mhm, same here!” Pinkie grinned and nodded.
“Heh, thanks guys,” the Pegasus again felt that increasingly familiar feeling of sincere gratitude squeezing his chest, something he’d never felt much of back on Earth; there’d always been a catch, or payment, or something required in return for a favor. True goodwill outside of charity had become an increasingly rare gem to be found back home. But here…they were just freely given, and it boggled his mind from what he was used to experiencing. He had to duck his head for a moment to blink the threatening moisture out of his eyes. But as he did so, a thought occurred to him. “Uh-oh, what about Rarity?”
“What about her?” Applejack asked.
“What’s her stance on me running around with her younger sister?” He’d seen her lose her temper, both on the show and here, and though not nearly as scary as Twilight Sparkle could be, the last thing he needed was a fashionista Unicorn chasing him with scissors and sewing needles because she was angry at him for spending too much time with Sweetie Belle.
“Shoot, Ah’ll bet she’ll be fine with it, Volare,” Applejack laughed his worry off. “Ah’ll confirm that with her later today, but Ah’ll bet she’ll even kinda welcome it.”
“Huh-why’s that?”
“Cuz if ya’ll are keeping Sweetie Belle occupied, that’s more time she’ll have ta work on her fashion designs without her little sister muddlin’ things up, as cute as she is-heh-heh.”
“Yeah, and it’ll give her time to finish your gift too!” Pinkie chirped.
“She’s still working on that, eh? Bless you, Rarity,” Volare smiled for a moment before he encountered his last remaining doubt in regards to this. “Pinkie, AJ…you both know I’m not…well, from around here,” he shot a glance over at the CMC, who were waiting patiently. “What’s gonna happen if I don’t earn my mark? Wouldn’t that tip them off that something’s not right?”
“But who’s to say you won’t?” Pinkie asked. “I mean, let’s look at it this way: what if you do earn your mark with them?” Volare paused and realized he’d never given much thought to it; he’d been so preoccupied with getting back in the air that he’d forgotten about one of the most important things in pony society. One’s cutie mark defined their purpose in life…and he had no idea what he’d do past learning how to fly again…maybe that’s what he needed though: focus and purpose! Something to look forward to beyond that-something to work for and keep moving up towards. That philosophy had served him well in the past and he saw no reason why it wouldn’t work here!
“Heh, I guess if I earned my mark, it’d give me purpose here,” Volare echoed his own thoughts, becoming more hopeful of this idea by the moment.
“Ex-actly!” Applejack beamed and clapped him on the back. “That’s also what Grannysmith said. Hay, if ya’ll are gonna stay here anyways, might as well get in wing of things, eh? At tha very least, it’d stop ya from moochin’ offa Fluttershy-hey!” she jumped away as Volare made a cheeky move to swipe her hat right of her head. “Lan-sakes, Ah’m likin’ this idea already! How ‘bout you, Pinkie Pie?”
“I think it sounds like a super-stupendously-awesometastic idea!” the party mare beamed and stood between the Pegasus and the three fillies. “So what’s it gonna be, Volare? Have a fantastically fun time helping the CMC get their cutie marks and vice versa…or lose your best chance at finding who you really are and making these three poor, adorable little angels the saddest little fillies in all of Equestria because you were just a big ol’ stick in the mud?” As if on cue, the CMC adopted forlorn looks that tugged at Volare’s hearstrings, even though he knew they were half-fabricated.
“I dunno…”
“Pleeaaaaassseeeee?” the CMC asked as pleadingly as possible. And after only a few moments of looking at those wide, innocent, colorful eyes, his heart melted, and he relented.
“Alright, alright, I’ll do it,” he chuckled. “I’ll accept membership; just turn off those faces before my soul explodes, will ya?”
“YAAAAAAAY!!!!” The three fillies (plus Pinkie Pie again!) squealed and tackle-hugged Volare. He was ready this time though, and though it took some serious effort, he managed to stay on his hooves. Applejack, on the other hand, was leaning against the wall and laughing and kicking up a ruckus so loudly that it finally woke Fluttershy. The yellow mare trotted downstairs rubbing at her eyes sleepily before smiling at the heart-warming sight before her.
“Aww, that’s so sweet,” she said as she also silently took in the fact that Volare was, although with great difficulty, holding up the entire CMC and Pinkie on his back, a testament to the physical training he’d been putting himself through. Fluttershy nodded in approval and began to trot towards them when the backdoor of the cottage slammed open and Iron Will poked his massive frame into the doorway, causing all ponies present to jump in alarm and Volare to simply collapse under the weight of his friends.
“What the hay is goin’ on in here now-oh hello there,” he gave a friendly wave to the half-petrified Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, who’d never seen a minotaur before. “Friends of yours, Scootaloo?”
“Yep, we’re here to help Volare!” she grinned proudly.
“Don’t worry, guys,” Volare assured them as he scrambled to his hooves and stood in front of the great blue beast. “Iron Will here is a tough guy, but he’s a real softie once ya get to know him-hey, hey, lemme down, man!” He shouted in alarm as Will picked him up with little effort, as if to remind him who he was talking about. “Don’t make me insult your cooking, dude!”
“*gasp* You wouldn’t!” Iron Will glared at him for a moment, but Volare simply stared right back.
“Try me.” After a moment, the minotaur sat him down and shook his great head.
“Sheesh, no need to play dirty in front of the kids,” he tightened his tie and huffed a great sigh. Volare had to really try to not burst out laughing at how out of left field that statement sounded coming from him.
“Oh come on, Will. I didn’t mean it; your brownies are kick-ass stuff!” the Pegasus grinned.
“Is this guy for real?” Sweetie Belle giggled.
“Oh yeah, he’s for real alright,” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Anyways!” she strode forward, gaining everypony’s attention and adopting a rather formal tone. “For our first act as fellow Crusaders, and since I know that you’re trying to get into shape for The Running of the Leaves, we’ll hereby suspend any major crusading in order to help with your training!”
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Volare shook his head. “But it’s somehow overpowered by how sweet that is to offer, Scoots,” he smiled. “How’re you planning on helping?”
“I dunno, actually,” the orange Pegasus scratched her mane. “I figure we just do the same thing we’ve been doing, except now whenever I get tired, Sweetie Belle or Applebloom can rotate out for me.”
“Hey, how’ll that help me out?” the older Pegasus asked bemusedly.
“Keeps ya’ll on your hoof-tips, that’s fer sure; tha more tha merrier, right?” Applejack laughed. “Come on Volare; Pinkie an’ Ah’ll help ya keep them fillies in line!” The country mare opened the door and led the way outside into the noon sunshine. Perched on the warm sod-covered roof was the osprey Shae, keeping a wary eye on her territory as well as an open ear to the conversation inside. As the commotion in the cottage suddenly ceased, she looked down to see an orange mare wearing a hat followed closely by a strange parade of three fillies, two Pegasi, a blue minotaur, and one still very irate bunny waiting for Fluttershy to serve him his already very overdue breakfast; he didn’t care if he’d overslept! Shae shook her dark-feathered head and chereek’d softly to herself, as if in disbelief at how quickly the world had gotten so strange.
----------------------------------------
Canterlot Archives…
Throughout the night and into the next morning, Celestia and Twilight did their best to sort through and search the scrolls of the Starswirl the Bearded wing. The ever knowledge-hungry Unicorn so badly wanted to read and digest the information contained on these priceless papers, and she even found some manuscripts hoof-written by Starswirl himself! But she had forced herself to lay them aside for now, focusing on finding this healing spell. The progress was painfully slow, as many of the scrolls were written in Ancient Equestrian, forcing teacher and student to meticulously translate them before they could properly search back through the texts. As they hunted and translated, Celestia further explained the specifics and the history of the particular spell they were looking for.
During the War against Discord and his minions of chaos (the harpies, trolls, goblins, chimeras, and the like that fought on the side of the draconequus), the Royal Pony Sisters were forced to rise to the level of the defiance of logic via magic that made Discord so dangerous. By creating a healing spell designed to quickly mend the wounds of their own troops, they were able to keep up a constant defense against the God of Chaos until the Elements of Harmony were finally forged and used to defeat Discord.
The spell was of the dual-cast variety that required two magic users of similar power to simultaneously use the spell on whatever it was they wanted to heal of injury. It was created in this way in as a fail-safe, ensuring that that no one pony or creature could go rogue and whirl about the battlefield on their own, slaying and healing at will and turning themselves into an invincible god of battle. No, it would take the concentration and coordination of two individuals working together at the same time.
Each half of the spell focused on different parts of the body one wished to heal. One half focused on reconnecting the nervous system, while the other focused on healing damage to connective tissue such as muscles, ligaments, tendons, and even bones. From what Celestia could gather, during her search for the time-stopping spell, Twilight had glanced at and translated a portion of the healing spell, apparently the nervous system portion if the results to Volare’s wing were any indicator. While he could feel everything in his wing, because there wasn’t another pony there to cast the connective tissue portion of the spell, the tendons and muscles were simply rejoined and roughly knotted together, rather than correctly realigned and linked in the correct order. In short, the base of Volare’s wing had become nothing more than a chaotic bundle of blood vessels, muscles, and bones; no wonder he had no use for it!
Twilight softly banged her head on a bookshelf as it occurred to her how much pain and discomfort she’d caused the poor stallion, but Celestia reassured her that once they found the spell, she felt that Twilight had gained enough magical knowledge and strength to operate at the same level as either Luna or Celestia. When Volare’s mind and body were more solidly synced, either of the Royal Sisters could find time to escape their duties long enough to make the journey to Ponyville, dual-cast the spell with Twilight, and properly heal Volare’s wing for good.
However, after searching the Wing until the night had turned to dawn, the dawn had further evolved into noon, and the searching duo ran into dead end after dead end, they began to realize that that particular scroll must have been one of the ones that was stolen in the break-in, along with the transportation spell and a few other minor ones. Twilight Sparkle groaned audibly, but the Sun Goddess quickly alerted the patrolling guard, telling him to notify and summon Shining Armor to them, surmising that perhaps they’d over-looked it somehow; and if they had, the Captain of the Guard would surely know where it had gone, as he’d been head of the original investigation into the break-in.
Within a few minutes, Twilight’s brother galloped into the Wing, breathing hard from sprinting to the aid of his Princess. He quickly caught his breath and snapped her a crisp salute, which was a side of him that Twilight had rarely seen. But as he was currently serving the Princess of the Sun directly, he was very different from his usual, easy-going self. “At ease, Captain,” Celestia nodded and he relaxed slightly.
“You summoned me, my Princess?”
“Yes, I did. We…may have a problem, Shining Armor,” the princess looked at the stacks of scrolls lay piled about Twilight and herself. “You’re aware of the situation with Volare’s wing, correct?”
“Affirmative, ma’am,” he nodded sharply, snatching a quick glance at the unkempt appearance of Twilight, who seemed more flustered and worried than even he thought possible…he almost preferred the psychotic Unicorn that destroyed half his home in a fit of righteous anger over this bedraggled, hoof-twiddling little Unicorn he saw huddled next to the princess.
“Well, your sister and I have isolated the particular spell she attempted to use to heal him, but we can’t find it here. Do you know where it is, Captain?” she asked hopefully and gave a brief description of the incantation in question. After a few moments of pondering and searching his memory, Shining Armor sadly shook his blue-maned head.
“I’m sorry Princess, but that scroll was one of the ones that was stolen during the wedding attack and is still unaccounted for.” At his simple answer, Twilight groaned loudly and buried her face in her hooves. All the effort she’d put into the past two weeks…wasted and worthless!! She could just see Volare’s disappointed face now as she walked in the room and broke the news to him that he’d have to stay crippled indefinitely. But after a moment of nervous hoof shuffling by her brother and a comforting hoof on her shoulder from her mentor, Twilight’s mind cleared itself of its self-pity, and it began to turn again. She wiped her eyes and looked up with a question nearing her lips.
“But I just don’t get it,” she shook her head. “What would the Changelings want with a healing spell like that? You think Queen Chrysalis got really hurt?”
“I don’t think it was for that purpose, Twilight,” Celestia frowned. “Because at the time of the theft, Chrysalis had yet to be defeated or even harmed by Shining Armor and Cadance’s spell. So they wouldn’t need that particular spell at that time. Any ideas, Captain?”
“Only thing I can think of is they were just being generally destructive when they broke in here and stole those things; we have evidence of them breaking into and ransacking other buildings as well,” Shining Armor scratched his chin. “Thing is, only the Starswirl the Bearded Wing was entered during the break-in, and even then, not even forcibly.”
“Wait, so the door wasn’t broken down?” Twilight asked in shock. “But that means somepony must have opened it with a spell that only the Princesses, you, me, and the Guards know, right?”
“That’s correct,” her brother nodded. “I temporarily suspected a mole amongst my guards, but no conclusive evidence has surfaced to support that.”
“Well, it’s obvious that whatever broke in did so in order to get in here,” Twilight eyed the broken hourglass. “Who was here during the attack?”
“The only officer with the key-spell for the Wing besides me: Sergeant Greymane,” Shining Armor replied. “He volunteered to stay and guard the Archives when the Changelings broke through the barrier, while the Archive Guards went to assist in the fight.”
“Did he see what happened?”
“More than that,” Shining Armor suddenly shivered. “One moment and I’ll fetch him.” Within a few minutes, the Captain returned, followed closely behind by the older guard from the front of the building, having just returned to his shift at noon. “Sergeant Greymane, my Princess,” the Captain indicated the older officer, who bowed curtly.
“Afternoon, Sergeant. My student Twilight Sparkle has some questions for you regarding the break-in this past spring,” Celestia explained.
“Ah yes, by far the greatest blemish on my service record. Forgive me, ma’am,” the Sergeant grimaced and bowed again before addressing Twilight with a slight sigh. “I suppose you want to know what I saw that day, eh?”
“Yes, please,” the librarian nodded. “I’m just trying to make sense of a particular spell the Changelings apparently stole when they broke in.”
“Begging your pardon, Ms. Sparkle, but I’m here to tell ya that it’s my personal opinion that it wasn’t the Changelings that did it,” Greymane said with a one-eyed squint.
“Ugh, here we go again,” Shining Armor muttered under his breath as the Sergeant began his tale.
“What happened, Sergeant?” Twilight shot her brother a venomous sideways glance and beckoned the older officer to continue. He nodded and trotted out the barred door, glancing about the wide hallway until he was certain he was in the right place before speaking.
“Yeah, happened right here…Well, it was like this: Me and my Archive Guards were standing watch around and inside the building when the Changelings broke the barrier,” he pointed towards the door and the general direction of the palace. “I told them to go and help the citizens and I’d stay here and make sure nothing got into the building. Well, as I patrolled the halls, this…dark, shady thing just melted out of the shadows and began just strolling down the hall towards me, as if it were taking the grand tour of the place!” He snorted and bared his teeth for a moment before resuming.
“Anyways, I said ‘hey, you’re not supposed to be in here! There’s a battle going on! Who are you?’ But it didn’t answer. Instead, it just kept coming, and when I shined my hornlight at it, it ducked behind one of those tapestries outside,” he motioned to one of the long, flowing purple cloths. “When I investigated it, the thing was just gone! It wasn’t until I felt, rather than heard this presence behind me, and by the time I turned to look, it hit me in the side of the head and knocked me out cold; gave me a splitting headache that lasted a week, too! Strange thing was, before I hit the floor, I heard hoofsteps, so whatever that thing was, it had to be a pony of some sort! By the time I came to, the Starswirl Wing door had been opened. I charged in there, ready to murder something, but the place had already been ransacked, and whatever that thing was…it was gone! Whatever it was, it bucking knew what it was doing! Please forgive me of my shortcomings, your highness,” he bowed to Celestia yet again, who merely gave him a gentle brush of the grey mane he was named for.
“I’ve already forgiven you many times over, Sergeant,” she smiled softly. “You acted with the citizens of Canterlot in mind first, and that’s all I can truly ask of you.”
“But Sergeant,” Twilight interrupted the exchange. “You said you didn’t think it was a Changeling. Why?”
“Because, Ms. Sparkle,” his face grew slightly ashen. “When that thing snuck up behind me, I saw part of its face out of the corner of my eye before it hit me…it stood taller than me, unlike a short Changeling, and it didn’t have eyes like a Changeling,” he swallowed hard and shook his head. “Changelings have blue eyes, and while slanted and mean-looking, they’re full of life. This thing’s eyes…they were like dead things, dark green to the point of being nearly black…all flat and no light in them at all. I tell ya, Ms. Sparkle, they were the most soulless, lifeless, evil-filled things I’ve ever seen,” he shivered and shook his head again. “That’s all I remember, and trust me, I don’t want to remember it!”
“Eesh, I can understand that,” Twilight gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry for dredging up old memories, Sergeant. I was just curious.”
“It’s alright, ma’am,” he gave her the tersest of smiles. “But does that sound like a Changeling to you?”
“No, it really doesn’t,” the lavender Unicorn shook her head before her brother spoke again.
“Trust me, Twiley, we’ve done a complete investigation on this, and no creature in Equestrian history has eyes like that,” he frowned. “Begging the Sergeant’s pardon, but it might be something the blow to his head caused.”
“Meh, maybe you’re right, and maybe I’m right, but I know what I saw,” the gruff old Sergeant snorted. “Now then, if I can’t be of any further assistance, I’ll return to my post…no telling the trouble that Corporal out there is getting into without me to keep him in line, heh-heh.”
“Carry on, Sergeant,” Celestia nodded her consent. The officer snapped her a salute and trotted back down the hall and exited the front door from whence he came. “Well, to say this is a bit of a sticky situation would be an understatement, eh Captain?”
“Indeed it is, Princess,” he sighed and rubbed at his eyes; every time the Sergeant told him that tale, even though they couldn’t find evidence of that particular creature, the vividness of the way the officer told his tale…it greatly unnerved the young Captain of the Guard. He quickly shook away the thoughts and focused. “What does this mean for Volare and his wing, ma’am?”
“Captain, there’re no other officers around, you may drop the formalities,” Celestia chided him gently. “This means our solution to his problem will have to be further-delayed. However, perhaps this is fortuitous as well, because we were going to have to wait for at least a few more weeks for the link between his body and mind to become strong enough to handle that much magic at once. At the very least, now there can be no temptation to use the spell too early,” she smiled in apology.
“But if they haven’t found that scroll by now”- Twilight groaned, but Celestia cut her off.
“Now, now, it’s going to be fine, Twilight. From what you’ve told me, Volare is in good hooves with Fluttershy, and at the very least should be physically and mentally strong enough now to at least take this news,” she pursed her lips. “In the meantime, all we can truly do is to continue our search. Perhaps we overlooked it somehow or it got moved to another section of the Archives by mistake?”
“Fairly possible,” the Captain nodded once he noticed Celestia’s tone; doing what they could to keep Twilight from despairing. He gave his sister a quick one-hoofed hug. “We’re gonna find it, Twiley. Volare’s gonna be back to his old self again, I promise. And if it’ll help, I’ll go with you to help break the news to him when you return to Ponyville. If that’s alright with Celestia, that is,” the siblings turned to the Princess, who chuckled lightly.
“Of course it is,” she nodded. “Oh, that means Luna will have a decent escort now.”
“Wait, Luna is going too?” Twilight asked in surprise.
“Yes, she also said she’d like to meet Volare, as well as help him with the dreams you said he’d been having,” the Princess gave her a knowing look, and Twilight’s ears fell back for a moment. “Maybe soothe his mind if things are a little rough; she is the Princess of night, sleep, and dreams after all.”
“Right, right,” Twilight nodded before realizing the time. “Ah, it’s after noon, and we’re leaving the day after tomorrow!”
“Aha, well, in the meantime, I’d like you both to do a favor for me in regards to this spell going missing,” Celestia’s light tone had been replaced with a heavier, serious one. “Captain, have you heard any reports of ponies using dual-cast spells lately?”
“Not a peep, Celestia.”
“Good; I’d like to know if you do. Same with you, Twilight Sparkle. We don’t need any ponies running around Equestria all mentally unstable due to the over-use of something like that,” she suddenly smirked slightly. “Everypony knows that Twilight and I are quite enough.”
“Huh?” the librarian cocked her head at the Princess’ strange statement.
“Oh come now Twilight, don’t tell me you haven’t at least considered me a bit unhinged at some point?” she put on a rather creepy, hungry-looking grin.
“Um, Princess, do you feel ok?” Shining Armor took a step back, as did his sister.
“Celestia?” Twilight said rather meekly before the Sun Goddess broke into soft chuckles.
“Oh you know I’m just playing around,” she waved a hoof. “Just because I’m a Princess doesn’t mean I can’t have a laugh now and again, even in the most difficult of times such as these…which is when I personally think laughter is needed the most to keep hopes up.”
“Ah, right,” the Captain nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. His mind had flashed back to the Library a few days ago…yeah, reeeeeeally didn’t need that again…
“Haha, very funny,” Twilight snorted and rolled her eyes, but still couldn’t help but smile.
“In all seriousness though, keep an eye out for anypony acting…strangely and or doing things like that,” Celestia requested. “They may need to be questioned, especially if they’re using that particular spell, because that could lead right back to whoever stole it in the first place, and why. But for now, I’m a bit worn out mentally from doing this as well as keeping the sun on its course, so if you’ll excuse me, I’ll take my leave. Good luck, Twilight, Shining Armor. I’ll see you again before you leave for Ponyville.”
And with that, the Princess left the siblings alone with their thoughts. After a beat, Shining Armor’s gaze met his sister’s. “Twiley, what you’re doing here…it really makes me proud, ya know? That you’re going through this stuff to help your friend like this.”
“Well, I kinda owe him, Shining,” she frowned. “I’m partially the reason he’s in this mess in the first place…”
“With Dash being the second party,” the Captain nodded. “Ah, that reminds me, you say you’re going back in two days?”
“Yes, why?”
“That’s the day of the Running of the Leaves. Didn’t you say Dash competes in that?”
“Yeah, she does…and Volare said he was going to-agh, horseapples!” Twilight facehoofed. “I promised Volare I’d run in the race against him, but at this rate, I dunno if I’ll get back in time to do that now…dammit. Letting you down again, Volare.” She thought back to the impromptu race they’d had in her Library and how she’d cheated using her magic...he said he owed her back for that. It was just over two weeks ago, but so much had happened recently that it seemed almost an eternity in the past.
“Hey, buck up,” Shining Armor hoofed her gently in the shoulder. “You’re doing what’s best for him and that’s what’s important; I’m sure he’ll understand that and forgive you for missing a little race, right? And if he doesn’t, well I’ll be there to set him straight,” he grinned fiercely.
“Heh-heh, yeah,” she cheered up and smiled. “He’s really gonna flip the hay out when he meets Princess Luna, I think.” She and her brother shared a hearty laugh before the Captain excused himself to return to his duties, leaving Twilight alone in the silent Starswirl Wing. She sighed and turned back to the scrolls, determined to give them one last go-through, hoping she and Celestia had missed it somehow…who knows, maybe there was an alternate spell somewhere in here…
-------------------------------
Everfree Forest, Evening…
The hooded twin figures of Ray and Jill trotted quietly along the well-worn dirt path that penetrated deeper into the huge forest, heading southwest as they went. They’d recently convinced The Great and Powerful Trixie that it was probably a smarter idea to move her wagon further into the woods, to decrease their chances of being found. Earlier in the day, they’d huddled at the edge of the trees to the north, watching as Volare and the three fillies Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle, the latter sister to some of the Element Holders, romped and played around the cottage that Fluttershy lived in. They were accompanied by three Element Holders this time, and though they were out of earshot, it was plain to see that they were undertaking some sort of training focusing on Volare’s leg strength, as it involved lots of kicking, bucking, and jumping. But no minotaur, as Jill had laughingly pointed out.
“That was weird, eh?” Jill muttered in reference to earlier.
“Yeah, wonder why they’re all together like that, and why that Volare guy is suddenly running around with those kids,” Ray replied quietly, not wanting to draw the attention of the predators that stalked these woods…which was part of the reason why they’d not likely be found, for who was crazy enough to look for them in the Everfree?!
“Heh-heh, maybe he’s a foal creeper,” Jill snickered nastily, though Ray wasn’t nearly convinced.
“I dunno…then why would one of the fillies’ own sisters be there with them encouraging him?”
“Meh, maybe he’s just a good actor or something.”
“Well, either way, if they all keep hanging out like this, it’s not gonna make our jobs any easier…”
“Yeah, no kidding,” Jill swatted at a branch that hung in her path. “One Element Holder is bad, but three? That’s bucking suicide. And if two of those brats are related to Holders, that’ll be just that much more heat on our flanks if we”-
“I know, I know…why ya think we were focusing on the Pegasus filly, Scootaloo? She has no family to come after us,” Ray sighed and kicked at a pebble as he trotted. “This was supposed to be simple; in-and-out. But this is getting more complicated by the”-
“AAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!! A MANTICORE!!!!!!!” the unmistakable scream of Trixie shredded the relative silence of the woods to pieces.
“What the hay?!” Jill growled, more on edge than ever. “That useless magician must be seeing things”-
RRRAAAAOOOOWWWRRGHH!!!!
At the sound of the growling roar coming from the same general area as Trixie’s wagon, both siblings broke into a gallop and tore down the trail, reaching the clearing within half a minute. As they broke into the glade, sure enough, they saw a huge red and yellow manticore was crouched outside of Trixie’s wagon, swiping at the door and biting at the “Great and Powerful Trixie” sign that hung above it. Aparently, they’d moved the wagon right into its territory, and it wasn’t about to stand for it.
“How dare you eat my sign!!” the blue Unicorn shouted from inside her wagon, hurling her mane-brush and hitting the great beast right on the nose. It growled and snuffled before snapping the sign off and throwing it across the clearing, tearing at the door in earnest and rocking the small wagon, threatening to tip it over. Trixe fired spell after spell at the manticore, from ropes that did little more than tangle its wings up, to sparklers and fireworks that only served to incense it further. The Unicorn finally noticed movement on the edge of the woods and saw her cohorts standing there, in all honesty having a good chuckle at the rather laughable sight.
“Well, don’t just stand there, you damn foals!!! The Great and Powerful Trixie demands that you-agh, stop it, eeeeek!!!” she screamed as the manticore tore a wheel off the cart, knocking it on its side. It quickly jammed a massive paw into the window and hooked around inside, fishing out Trixie’s hat. “No, don’t eat my hat! Eat me before you eat my hat, you bucking monster! Oh no, no, no, no, no, I didn’t mean that literally!!!! Ray and Jill, help me you idiots!!!” she begged as the beast tossed the hat aside and went after the Unicorn again.
“Do we have to?” Jill rolled her eyes and looked to her somewhat more conscientious brother.
“Yeah, we have to.”
“Aww, why? This is hilarious,” she laughed again as the manticore tore another wheel off the cart while Trixie continued to spew nasty epithets at it. “Not like we really need that waste of space to do our mission, ya know.”
“Yeah, but she pays us real bits, and if she cuts us off, you won’t be able to hit the Gilded Griffon’s bar anymore…”
“…Oh buck that noise!” Jill growled and charged into the clearning, her brother right on her hooves. “Hey ugly! No not you, GPT; try this on for size!” She quickly channeled a spell through her mind and blew a great bout of fire from her horn, engulfing the manticore’s hind quarters and causing it to whirl in rage, swatting Jill across the face and sending her crashing against a tree. The beast covered half the glade in a single leap, aiming to bring its claws down on Jill’s body and tear her to pieces. But before it landed, Ray had grabbed it with a levitation spell, holding it in mid-air while Jill regained her senses, not noticing the blood trickling down from the claw marks her chest, only feeling the burning hate for this animal bursting forth. “Oh yeah? Hit me, mother-bucker?! Well, have some more of this!!!” She ignited the helpless manticore with her spell again.
The smell of burning flesh and fur permeated the air, as did the pitiful howls of the manticore who no longer wanted to fight; it only wanted to get away from these psychotic ponies! “Yeah, yeah, get some, hahahahaha!!!!” Jill cackled as the fire reflected in her eyes, pouring more flame onto the dying beast before Ray saw her malicious expression…and his resolve splintered. With a burst of magic, he snapped the manticore’s neck, mercifully ending its life before dropping it to he ground, extinguishing the flames with an ice spell before the forest burned down.
He looked to his sister, who was still breathing hard and snorting softly, still not noticing the amount of blood dripping down her chest and sprinkling the ground. “Jill…Jill?” he touched her gently with a hoof, and she snapped out of it, finally realizing she was bleeding heavily and collapsed onto the ground.
“Heh, I think we overdid it a bit, eh Ray?” she chuckled softly and winced. “How bad is it?”
“It’s pretty bad,” he frowned.
“Can we fix it? Please tell me it’s not that bad!”
“Oh yeah, it’s not that bad,” he chuckled. “You and I have given each other worse while scrapping. You ready?” her gaze met his.
“Ready,” she nodded. With a concentrated force of will, the two sibling charged a spell between them in the form of two glowing strands, one green and the other white. The strands intertwined and came together in a single glowing, rope-like shape that bound itself around Jill’s chest, sinking into her fur and making her cry out in pain before the glow subsided. She looked down to see her chest whole and unclawed, and she took a deep and welcome breath and grinned at her brother. “Seems like it gets easier everytime, Ray.”
“Practice makes perfect.”
“Eesh, hurts almost as bad as the original injury most times, though,” she rubbed her chest and grimaced. “You’d think whoever the hay invented this damn spell would have done it differently. And what’s up with it being a two-parter?”
“Search me,” Ray shrugged. “All I know is that it’s a good thing the Boss taught it to us, cuz we probably would’ve died at least 7 or 8 times by now, haha!”
“Well, you might have,” she hoofed her brother in the chest and leaned back against a tree. “He didn’t invent it, did he?”
“The Boss? Nah, cuz knowing him, if he did, he’d be taking credit left, right, and center for it,” Ray chuckled and sat next to his sister.
“Where’d he learn it from?”
“Who can say? From what I’ve gathered, the guy is older’n dirt, and probably picked it up somewhere along the way.”
“Meh, in any case, good thing he did…oh buck, what about the Great and Powerful dunderhead?” Jill glanced at the wagon wreckage, and the blue form that laid sprawled out beside it, unconscious but breathing.
“Looks shaken up, but she’ll live,” Ray chuckled.
“Good, cuz you don’t wanna cut me off from that Gilded Griffon booze,” Jill cackled softly. “Half the town would suffer my wrath, hee-hee.”
“Yeah, no kidding,” Ray closed his eyes and sighed softly. “Hell of a night, eh sis?”
“Yeah,” she closed her eyes as well. “Hell of a night…”
--------------------------
Notes: DUN DUN DUN!
And sorry this took me a little longer than usual-work was a pain!
Who was it that broke into the Archives without actually breaking in...and why?!
Stay tuned!
EDIT: Credit for inspiration in this chapter goes to reader GHOST-091...he'll know why ^^
Thanks dude!
Stats
Page generated in 0.066 seconds
Total duration
1,071 users online
1,793,991 hits today, 1,822,946 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Woo! New update!
and... first?
Poor Shae...
HOW have I missed this story? And why isn't this on EQD? It's pure fucking brilliance!
Still waitin for shit to hit the fan. Suspense is killing
me
well then, this is becoming a very good tale do go on... quickly
Oh man, so it was in the SB wing and was stolen in the attack, can't believe I didn't guess that.
And even better, Ray and Jill know it, so a potential lead as soon as someone has the opportunity to connect the dots. Interesting that they think the Element Holders are seriously bad news, even as dangerous as the two of them just demonstrated that they are.
...i need update.
Hmm, so the boss likes to brag... and the one who broke in knew the palace inside-out... and he taught the spell to the twins... Blueblood? But that doesn't explain the eyes...
Also Great and Powerful pain in the flank...
dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Trixie_lolface_1.png
Good chapter, can't wait for the the actual race, that should be interesting.
Awesome!
25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltsli8lFG11r5qrimo1_250.gif
A Sergeant isn't an officer; a noncommissioned officer sure, but not like a Lieutenant or Captain. Also, they hate being called sir (hate isn't a strong enough word...The English language doesn't have a strong enough word...), take my advice on that
Other than that, a few grammar mistakes here and there, but not bad enough to take away from the chapter. Good job. Cya next chapter
992113 EQD is not big on either humans or OCs, and this has both. I personally find that kind of silly because many of the background ponies can be written however you like so they are really no different from an OC and humans give all sorts of interesting opportunities for culture shock or inserting outsiders into pony society, but it is really not that big a deal.
Hmmm, lifeless and pure evil green eyes... sounds like the full out version of Jill's transformation. Maybe their boss has more agents in the field. I just wonder how he got hold of the spell. Still trying to put all the clues together to figure the guy out but I'm coming up with nothing. Anyway, another awesome chapter, can't wait for the next!!
Dude, I'm going to burst into flames and fucking destroy everything if I don't see some VolarexDash real quick. (I'm not trying to be an asshole and I know I am anyway, but all this buildup is gonna fucking kill me. Srsly bro, get the fuck on with it). Inflated sense of entitlement, y u no go away?
ts2.mm.bing.net/th?id=I4809217272185921&pid=1.5
Also Ray and Jill need to fuck the fuck off.
~Dancing Dead, aka The Always Frustrated Man
Ooo so it was the two douchebags
981926 Dude, that picture is epic
>:D
982057
XDD
987967 My hat goes off to you for spending the time to read my little story
:)
8D
I hope you enjoy what else I've got planned!
And hrm, didn't really think about that one...I just might do that, thanks for the idea!
990389 LOL nice creativity! I'll take those into consideration (though I think I was already planning on having Volare visit Las Pegasus at some point)
^^;
992054 LOL yeah, Shae's kinda taken a backseat for the moment. She shall return though!
>:3
992113 I've never considered it good enough for EQD
^^;;
But thank you for the compliments all the same!
992189 Suspension release incoming within the next week. I guarantee it!
^^
992191 Will do!
8D
992219 Yep, that's where it was
^^;;
And yes, they just may know who dun it!
And believe me, they've good reason to worry. Just look at what they did to half an army of Changelings! Plus, I wouldn't wanna tangle with them when they have the Elements of Harmony with them. The more there are in one place, the harder it is to fight them because of the strength of their relationships.
992220 Eh-heh, I think you'll enjoy the next one
^^;
992292 I'll leave the guessing games up to you!
XDD
And yeah, Trixie's kinda useless...makes me wonder where the hell she's getting her bits from, too
992322 Woohoo!!
992327 Yes, the race shall be...interesting to say the least
:P
992381 Nuuuu, never!!!
XD
J/K, they're pretty awesome too...I just didn't happen to grow up next to an Air Force base instead of a Naval Air Station
992399 Heh, games like that certainly help (as do the military folks following this and helping me out) Thanks guys!
:3
992426 Thanks!
8D
992459 Hey, my story's not as important as life, so no sweat dude
^^;
Hope ya like the rest I've got written!
992490 *bows* Thank you
:3
992580 Aha, thanks for the advice. I just called him an officer as a layman's term instead of NCO (since I'm not sure if the Equestrian military works quite like that). That and he's the commander of the Archive Guards, so I figured it fit him pretty well
(I also had to use a rank below that of Captain, due to Shining Armor's rank, and we've already got a (junior grade) Lieutenant in the story in Volare...so, for the sake of less confusion, Sergeant it was! )
^^;
And the Corporal called him sir out of fear/respect cuz he's a newbie
Thanks for the advice and the compliments!
992989 Either way, idk if I'll ever post it there...I like this site and you guys too much anyways!
8D
993533 Trust me, if they ever talk about video game stuff, he'll certainly mention that one
>D
994164 Nope, it's not Jill, for a couple of reasons:
Jill's eyes are bright green and full of life
She's fairly short (about the height of the Mane 6), and doesn't stand taller than the Sergeant
Her transformation...heh, you'll see that one soon enough.
Keep guessing though!
994244 It'll show up sooner than you think (Volare's got good reasons for not succumbing to her teasing, and she's got good reasons to not take it further than teasing).
oO
And yes, Ray and Jill need to fuck off...and will need to much worse soon as well...
994259 What makes ya think that?
:P
EDIT: and apparently, the site will no longer post my huge reply comments with emoticons.
Oh well, I'll just split them up shorter from now on!
Sorry if it sent two messages...again
994770
FUS RO YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
994244 Haha.
As soon as I saw this chapter. HALLELUJAH!!! . And it lived up to it's expectation.
995050
995081
Heh, I nearly changed the title to "A Thief, A Crusader, and a Barbecue" but I figured that was a little too silly
995503 :) Also I picked up on like two mistakes but this was the funniest one :P
“Let me guess,” she chuckled lightly. “You wanna help me out, but at the same time, you want me to keep the bullies off your back, right?” By the adorable sight of the three fillies awkwardly scuffing the ground with their hooves, he was pretty sure he’d guessed right. He turned to Applejack and Pinkie Pie and beckoned them aside for a moment. “Hey, help me out here, guys. I dunno about this.”
Since when is Volare a she?
Trixie's responsible for this?
scranton.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw752_dashtwist.gif
994758 Maybe she's a "hard working mare" after hours? I mean, there's nothing wrong with some blue flank, right? dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Octavia_plot.png
995672 LOL oops
*edits*
996262 Oh snap, where is it in the chapter?
996666 LOL that would be a twist...but I think she's just a little too incompetent for that
997470 Oh gawd!
Nah, I'll think of something...maybe she inherited money?
997517
Volare: You bitch, making me a mare
Author: It was an honest mistake, I swear
Volare: Honest mistake my ass (trots off)
Author: Pffft, you silly 'filly'
Volare: FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU----
Me: Haha
997529 Volare:
997570 That makes sense :P
Expect more comments from me like the last one with upcoming chapters. 
Volare: Yay I like this kid.
Author: Why?
Volare: Cause he's funny
Author: How?
Volare: Man your humour died with your soul
Author: That's not nice
Volare: So isn't your stories
Author: Whatever. At least I can get featured
Volare: i3.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/005/545/OpoQQ.jpg
webtrax.hu/myfacewhen/faces/lineart-memes/im-watching-you.jpg
Me: Ooo brace yourself author
cdn.omg-facts.com/2012/2/16/556f2424618a0443c1c967c8a01852a8
Author: Oh crap.
Me: Hehehe 25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqpuxdZN421r0ojhto1_250.gif
997570 But he's right! I request a temporary side effect of the spell (when used on a human, properly) to be a gender swap! Imagine all the confusion! The chaos! dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/discord.png
997616 You earned a mustache for dat
997622 Dear lord...
Volare: meep....help me
997638 I humbly accept your moustache [img] http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/17233345.jpg[/img]
Yall are silly fillies.
Also I'd like to request an exterminator. There's an infestation of bad word class D ifyouknowwhatImean :V
994758 NCOs are called Non-coms.
Who cares if you used a rank before? We can keep it all straight. Besides, there are four different kinds of Lieutenants: Second, First, Junior grade, and a plain Lieutenant. You haven't used three of those yet. Besides, Sergeant (E-4) isn't that high at all. He'd be in charge of four men, and that's it. First Sergeant, Master Sergeant or even Sergeant Major would be better.
So, the twins have become addicted to the healing spell? Wasn't there a good reason why you're not supposed to overuse those kind of abilities?
997653 De nada
997741 Heh-heh, next time I'll type it earlier in the day instead of 2 AM
Dammit, why must these ideas keep me from sleep?!
997785 That's if we're using the US Military system...then again, he could be considered a Platoon Sergeant, as he only has 6-7 other ponies under his command...either way, I'll just leave it plain Sergeant for simplicity's sake
Perhaps I'll go further into it at a later date as to why he's an older fellow with so many years of service, but is still relatively low-ranked. Maybe he doesn't want a desk job?
997801 Not so much addicted yet, but it would certainly explain some of their personality quirks (Jill's issues existed well before this though)
But over-use of spells like that can cause mental and physical problems, so that's why it was locked up securely after the War with Discord.
997871 A platoon sergeant is a Sergeant First Class (giver or take a rank based on position availability). From what you describe, he would be a Staff Sergeant as a squad leader.
So he learned the art of dodging a promotion, eh? To each their own, I guess
997871 Not to be a pain to ask but I thought you said you were gonna stick with Volare not wanting to be a pony, I'm not saying that I don't like the story because of that, but the original idea you said was that he would be basically trying to become human again or at least not want to be a pony. :/ . But like I said this story is still awesome.
Herpa Derp
i hate the fact that there is always an evil genius behind the slightly less genius monsters
997902 That works too. And yeah, maybe in his shame at allowing that intruder to get the drop on him, he took a voluntary demotion?
Bottom line: he's a proud old sort that appreciates the value of good old-fashioned hard work to get to the top, and failing at his own duty really hit him kinda hard...poor guy.
997907 Oh trust me, he's only been there two weeks and I really don't think the full shock of it all has begun to hit him yet. He's just dealing with the situation as it comes to him, and right now, he's having to be strong for the kids.
998026 Hey, if they were all evil geniuses, that'd take away from the value of being an evil genius, right?
998127 Lol k you saying that gives me ideas of whats going to happen but i gotta go now im meant to be asleep and have school in 7 hours so night ..... i mean morning......
998127 so much deviousness
994758
icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/128343688002656250hallelujahpra.jpg
997470 LOL now that I think about it, that'd be kinda sad/amusing to read
I... I love this whole thing. I thought that I was going to cry in sone spots. Not just this chapter, but throughout the whole story. I will be greatly saddened when it comes to an end.
“How do I keep doing trees?” the baker pony frowned. “Um, are you sure you three are old enough to know about that sort of thing…" - I lost it at this bit. That entire paragraph! Brilliant! My sides still hurt!
anyway...
Sort of surprised Pinkie would know of such a subject, though
Good Lord, Jill's quite the psychopath isn't she?
I approve though 
Good thing Ray's there to keep her in check, eh?
I'm 100% intrigued to find out who this "boss" is. The anticipation is almost too much! Can't wait for to find out more!
1000936 Well, in this story, you are the god and creator... you can basically do everything you want... that is if the readers like it
1003166 No, I mean for someone to write a separate story like that (or have Trixie mention it in this one)
As a Trixie fanatic, I would like to say two things... Fuck you Ray and Jill and we need s more GREAT and POWERFUL Trixie!
1003728 Just trying be realistic here (I mean, as much as I like Trixie as well, do you really think Trixie could fight a Manticore?)
That said, Ray and Jill will get their comeuppance sooner or later...