Four Hooves

by destinedjagold

3 - 16

“Reykan?”

“He's dead. Let's just find that book already.”

A white feathery wing pokes the unconscious lump of black fur. “Rey?”

The black furball stirs, if only slightly.

“Well, looks like he isn't dead yet.” A pause. “Tough kid.”

“Nnnnggghhh...” Reykan stirs some more, finally recovering his consciousness. Hissing and coughing, he slowly sits up. “Ugh... Grrrfff...”

Two feathery wings help him up, supporting him.

“G-get...” the cub hisses weakly, slowly opening his eyes. All he sees is the blurry broken floor he's on. “...t-them a-away from m-me...”

Two sets of eyes blink curiously at him.

“...what?” Moon Gaze squeaks.

“Kid,” Reykan clarifies before he slowly shakes his head. “Mmmrrrfff... T-their farts turn you to s-stone.”

Moon Gaze blinks. He looks up at the swan. “...I feel like what he just said is an old joke that needs to die already.”

Seri sighs, shakes her head, and hugs the hissing cub. “T-thank Odette, you're okay.”

Reykan weakly pushes her away. “N-no hugs.”

The swan blinks, smiles and chuckles.

Moon Gaze then scurries up the swan and settles on her back. “Well, let's go,” he says. “Can't let that crazy stallion's sacrifice go to waste.” He sighs as Seri picks up the shining gem on the floor. “But I wish that Rainbow Dash mare is here though. I wonder where she went?”

“Jay?” Reykan shakes the last of his dizziness off—“ACK!” he cries in pain—startling the swan and the rat—and quickly lifts a front paw off the ground. “Ow... Mrrrfff...” He blinks the tears out of his eyes as he looks around. “Where's Jay?”

Seri tries but stops herself from holding the cub. “Reykan, are you...?”

“I'll be okay,” the cub quickly says, looking at her. “Where's Jay?”

Seri looks away.

Moon Gaze shrugs. “Outside, distracting that giant lizard.” He shakes his head. “He's probably already dead, so we should—”

“Dead?” Reykan asks, blinking at the rat.

Moon Gaze frowns. “Probably. Maybe. I don't care. If he is, then that dragon's gonna be coming back soon, so let's find that stupid book already.”

Seri sadly nods her head in agreement.

Reykan's ears droop. “B-but...” He looks at the thunderous world outside. “...I didn't get to eat him.”

Moon Gaze rolls his eyes.

Seri shakes her head. “I'm sorry, Rey.” She frowns a sad frown at the cub.

Reykan sighs. “...Well, I can still eat you and that Sparkle pony after I'm done helping you guys.”

“...What?” Moon Gaze squeaks.

Seri blinks at him. “...I ... thought you said that she's...” she trails off, frowning a sad frown.

Reykan blinks a blank blink. “...Oh, right...”

Moon Gaze shakes his head. “His head is still jumbled.”

The cub coughs. “Mmmrrfff... I'm fine.” He slowly puts his paw back on the floor, but winces when he puts pressure on it. “...or not.”

“You,” the swan starts, hesitates, and continues, “you need help?”

Reykan shakes his head. “I'll be fine. Not soon, though...”

The swan lets out another sigh. “Well, if you say so...” She looks back at where the dragon was resting not too long ago. She lifts the gem up, repelling the darkness.

Before them is a spacious hallway, with large doors—some of them broken down and barely hanging on—on each of the two walls. The swan walks through the hallway in a slow pace, turning and pointing the gem she is holding towards the doors, but the gem only dims in response.

They continue until they reach the end of the hallway. Before them are two sets of spiral staircases, both spiraling down and up a floor.

The swan blinks and points the gem at each, the stone shining brighter at both.

“Let's go that way,” Moon Gaze squeaks, pointing at the left stairway.

Seri blinks at it. “...Why?”

The rat shrugs. “I dunno.”

The swan turns to the cub. “What do you think, Rey?”

The cub blinks at her, his ears twitching. “Meh...”

Seri frowns a concerned frown. “Are you sure?”

Reykan glares at her.

Seri sighs. “Alright...”

The group approaches the left stairs. Before they take their first step up, Seri points the gem upward, it shining brighter.

“We're going up, huh?” Moon Gaze asks as the swan starts climbing up the stairs with the cub following not too far behind.

---

The group arrives on the third floor of the castle.

Or at least, what was left of it.

The walls are almost non-existent here, and the limited floor only provides little space to walk around. From the swan's point of view, she can see the ground floor, the many gems reflecting the many cracks of lightning up above.

“Well,” Moon Gaze squeaks, blinking. “It definitely isn't here.”

A flash of lightning.

A rumbling noise from the stormy heavens.

The swan then turns and turns, trying but failing to point the gem to the right direction.

Moon Gaze carefully jumps off of the swan's head. “Guh,” he squeaks, shaking his head. He then scurries onto the cub's back. “Damn swan making me dizzy.” He blinks, and pokes the cub's nape. “I'm not making it hard for you, right?”

“Meh...”

After a few more turns, Seri blinks and slowly points the gem at the stairs.

It shines a bit brighter.

Blinking, she lowers the gem. It dims.

She then slowly points the gem up the stairs.

The gem shines brighter.

“...What?” Moon Gaze asks. “But there's no ‘up’!”

The stairs before them spirals up twice, and ends there. It broke off, many many years ago.

Seri blinks at the gem. She pulls the gem back. It dims.

She points it up again. It shines.

“Great,” Moon Gaze sighs. “We came all the way here, following a stupid gem, for nothing!” He shakes his head and glares at the swan. “What? Don't tell me the book is in the very eye of this chaos storm?!”

Seri doesn't reply as she slowly wobbles toward the stairs.

Reykan blinks at her.

Moon Gaze gawks at her. “...Are ... you serious?”

The cub and the rat watches the swan wobble up the stairs. Seri soon arrives at the very last step. Blinking, she lifts the gem up, it shining even more.

“Are you trying to get lightning to strike you?” Moon Gaze shouts at her. “Get down from there already!”

Seri looks down at her webbed feet. She furrows her brows. She slowly lifts a foot up...

...and takes the next step.

---

“You're not serious, are you, love?” Xana asks, blinking, her amber-orange eyes reflecting the waving rope-bridge before her and her companions. She looks below the cliff, seeing nothing but darkness. “That's a deep fall, too.”

Twilight is gazing at the forest on the other end of the bridge. More specifically, on the large broken portion on the wall of trees. “Hm...” She turns to the kangaroo, staring at the unconscious brown stallion she's carrying on her shoulder. “Hmmm...” She then looks at the trail of broken trees behind them.

Sienna sighs. “Jay was able to cross and back, right?”

“Looks like it,” the mare says with a slow, studious nod.

“Heh,” Syroc smirks at the sleeping stallion. “Dude's got guts for crossing this crazy path twice and taking down that giant lizard.” He turns to the unicorn mare. “Now I know why my bro wants to be around him.”

The doe rolls her eyes. “He was just lucky.”

“Extremely,” the mare agrees.

The panther rolls his orange eyes. “Yeah, well, call it whatever you want.” He gestures at the stallion with a paw. “He survived, and that's what counts.” He looks back at the stallion with a smirk. “Pony-dude got my respect. Not gonna harm him nor his mates and offsprings, if he has any.”

“I take it that's your predator code, love?” Xana asks, blinking at the black feline.

The panther shrugs. “Eh, sure, I guess. Whatever.” He stares at the wavy rope bridge. “So how are we gonna cross this?”

“Well,” the unicorn mare says, “we could just—”

The panther quickly turns and roars at her. “No more of your magical bullshit!” He then shivers violently. “I felt like vomiting a very large hairball when you did that!”

“Sorry, love,” Xana says, shaking her head. “But I'm with the cat here.”

Syroc glares at her. “Don't call me ‘cat,’ you oversized dog.”

Xana ignores him and continues: “I don't really wanna experience that ever again, not so long as I can help it.”

Twilight mare frowns. She then turns to the doe.

Sienna blinks. She shrugs. “Well, I wouldn't mind going through it again.” She smiles at the mare. “It's not the worse I've experienced when it comes to magic.”

“Magic freaks,” Syroc mutters under his breath as he approaches the bridge.

Xana rubs her chin with a hand, staring at the neighboring cliff. “Hm... Too far for me to jump.”

The panther places a paw on the wooden footing of the rope bridge. He presses onto it. “Hm... It's sturdy enough.” He blinks, noticing something on the wood. “Huh.” He smirks as he pulls out the sharp nails on his paw. “So that's how he crossed this,” he mutters to himself as he slowly walks on the bridge, his nails digging slightly to the wood. “Heh. Rey's all grown up.”

“Well,” Twilight turns from the panther to the kangaroo. “I'll teleport Sienna and I to the other side.” She smiles a small smile. “Wanna join.”

“Nope,” is Xana's quick reply as she quickly leans forward and grabs the panther's tail with her free hand.

“Gah!” Syroc shrieks, shivering from tail to head. He throws a glare at the kangaroo. “Let go!”

Xana smirks as she steps on the bridge. “No chance.”

“Grrr—!”

“Get a move on!”

“I'm gonna kill you,” the panther growls.

“Pfft,” the kangaroo pfft's as the duo resumes their careful trek on the rope bridge, their combined weight preventing the bridge from waving too wild.

Sienna blinks. “Huh...” She looks back as the mare begins emitting magic from her horn. “... ... ...”

“It looks like they're doing just fine,” Twilight says, smiling as she eyes the duo crossing the bridge. “But just in case...” She casts a magic spell on the bridge, steadying it some more.

The panther yelps when he notices the bridge glowing purple. He stops and throws a glare over his shoulder, only for it to be blocked by the tall kangaroo following close behind him. “I will kill you if you do anything funny, you magical freak!”

“Move your tail, love.”

“Let go so I can, you stupid oversized dog!”

Horn still lighting, the unicorn mare rolls her eyes and turns to Sienna. “We should wait for them to cross before I teleport the both of us.”

The doe doesn't reply, her gaze still on the path of broken trees behind them.

The mare blinks. “...Sienna?”

Author's Note:

Written on December 17, 18 & 19, 2017.

Edited on January 5 & 15, 2018.

Comments

[bonberjean]

Sienna will bail the group again?

[Chrome Masquerade]

Seri sighs, shakes her head, and hugs the hissing cub. “T-thank Odette, you're okay.”

Reference to Swan Lake?

[Mix-up]

Boy will RD be jealous about missing the fight with the dragon and hear that Jay defeated the dragon. I wonder where they are going to set up base now.

[Warbar]

Just read the story today and I am finally up to date with the updates, loving the story so far