Iris Strike: Sealed Power

by hujan86

THE HUNT

Author's Note:

1. Tarpany = Tarpan + Germany

“The woodlands behind the college will only take you as far as Gait City. From there, you still need to pass through its vast suburban neighborhood to get to the city limits.”

Moon Dancer was saying things that Rainbow Dash already knew.

“Though, it won’t matter now,” the Unicorn added.

“What do you mean?”

“The place may be dead past midnight, but I’ve heard news that-”

***

Few days earlier…

After the transaction was closed, Silver Spoon with a professional smile said to Applejack, “Thank you for your business. We really appreciate it.”

Afterwards, the fancy Southern Earth Pony could not help but enjoy talking big to her henchpony, Flim and Flam, who carried a statuesque marble sculpture out the store.

“Careful now!” she sounded derision. “Dis here is custom-made specially for de upcoming Summer Fest Gala! Ah want de mayor and ever’pony present to have a good impression of me, once dey see how much trouble ah went through to make dis year de best gala ever.”

The brothers rolled their eyes in annoyance as they moved across the sidewalk towards the awaiting carriage.

“A’ll have ya know dat ah paid quiet a hefty sum for it,” Applejack went on. “Shame if ah had to cut all y’all’s pay for dis month just b’cuz somethin’ terrible happens to-”

Vinyl Scratch emerged from another sidewalk at that point, glancing back as though she was running away from someone. Since the store is located at a corner, she collided head-on with the sculpture and fell onto the pavement along with it.

“Nooo!!!” Applejack cried in horror at the state of her super-expensive sculpture. “Mah beautiful sculpture!!!”

Vinyl Scratch reacted to the uniformed polices’ arrival by quickly springing up on her feet, then going by only her instincts, used her Unicorn magic to pick up pieces of the broken sculpture and hurled them straight at her pursuers. As Officer Trotter and Officer Fluffles lay hurt on the pavement, Vinyl Scratch made a run for it. Silver Spoon came out from her store shortly, having heard the commotion. She gasped at the sight of two unconscious police officers in front of her.

Just then, what appeared to be a fireworks rocket exploded over the skyline into sparks of blue, pink and purple, that in turn displayed a message: NO ONE CATCHES DJ PON-3, EVER! :P

Applejack reacted to it with full fury. “She will pay!!! Send word out to Braeburn, Big Mac and Apple Cobbler. Ah want dat mare hunted down and brought to me alive!”

“Ain’t that going little too far, ma’am?” Flim asked, as he and Silver Spoon tried to help the officers.

“Besides, that message was probably meant for the cops,” Flam said.

Applejack however was not listening. “Mark mah word! Ah shall be avenged!”

***

“The police took issue of their fellow officers assaulted very seriously,” Moon Dancer explained to Rainbow Dash. “Right now, a joint-patrol with the army is being conducted in the area. And the presence of bounty hunters isn’t helping the situation either.”

While the two ponies talked, Iris remained quiet. When Rainbow Dash returned, unexpectedly with Moon Dancer, Iris tried to apologize and explain herself. But Rainbow Dash refused to listen. She had not said anything to her after that, but Iris could tell that the Pegasus is really, really, really pissed with her right now, despite the fact Moon Dancer seeming want to help them, whatever her reason is.

“So, what now?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Moon Dancer pulled up the cuff of her sweater’s sleeve and took a quick glance at her watch. It was then that Rainbow Dash noticed the timepiece was the expensive kind of brand, made of gold alloy and encrusted with tiny gems.

“Two hours from now,” she said. “Wait for me outside the eastern side of the fence. By then, I’ll have a carriage waiting to pick you up.”

Still suspicious of Moon Dancer, Rainbow Dash asked her, “Why would you wanna help me?”

“Why would you help her?” the Unicorn asked back, referring to Iris, whom she absolutely has no idea what to make of.

Rainbow Dash held up her palms and said, “Okay, you win.”

Rainbow Dash looked at the time. Welp, this is it. Moon Dancer better keep her word.

She went out and switched off the lights to darken the corridors and stairway. Then, together with Iris, they sneaked out of the dorm building and secretly made their way towards the eastern fence as told, careful to avoid the lights from the lamp posts. Keeping close to the fence, the two went behind a small house where the gardeners kept their tools for storage. Held true to her words, Moon Dancer was waiting outside the fence along with the vehicle that she had promised them.

Rainbow Dash helped Iris in tossing the bags over the fence for Moon Dancer to catch and stashed them into the carriage. When Iris asked for the last bag, Rainbow Dash declined, deciding to hold on to it because that particular bag contained the Extreme Gears. If something happens to the boards, she will have to take responsibility and answer to Tank.

Iris climbed over fence, whereas Rainbow Dash exited through the main gate. The guard at the security house questioned her why she had decided to leave at such late hour. The Pegasus casually replied that she will be staying at a friend’s house nearby for the night before traveling back together to Cloudsdale. The guard bought the explanation.

Moon Dancer picked her up by the corner of the eastern fence, and so begins the journey to what she referred as a ‘safe place’. Iris lay on the back seat, keeping herself low as to as not be seen by passing vehicles. She did not like the experience- the occasional bumps, the frequent stop-and-go motions, the swaying motion when the carriage turned and the bright city lights coming through the windows, all made her dizzy and nauseous.

“All the western boroughs are probably covered,” Moon Dancer said, eyes kept on the road ahead. “We’ll have to use the southern route to bypass the security checks.”

“But where are we going, exactly?” Rainbow Dash pressed the Unicorn, the notion of the a likely trap lingered in her mind.

“Like I said,” Moon Dancer braked to make the vehicle come to a slow stop at the traffic lights, “safe.”

The road journey to the city limits took another hour but they were not in the clear yet. Vast residential areas lined up both side of the rural thoroughfare. Iris was still lying in the back, dizzier than before. Had she was able to sit up and take a look, Iris would have seen how beautiful Illumina actually is at night. The combination of its unique architectural style, colorful crystal lightings and mechanical contraptions that would fit pretty nicely in a steampunk or magitek universe painted a fantasy feel on the surroundings.

“Can I get up now?” Iris asked when it became apparent that they are now far away from the city.

“Yea,” Rainbow Dash replied her. “You okay back there?”

Iris slowly sat up, a hand on her forehead

“No,” she said, holding in the urge to throw up.

Moon Dancer flinched in the driver seat, alarmed. “What is it!? Is it infectious!?”

“Course not,” Iris said. “I’m just dizzy.”

Both she and Rainbow Dash did not know where they are now. It was dark outside the window- no street lightings, no houses, only illumination from the full moon in the sky. Rainbow Dash was not sure which way they are currently heading as all sense of directions had been lost after countless turns and curves.

On such long journey, Iris wished they could play some road trip games, but it was night.

“Soooo boooo-riiiing,” she whined. “Are we gonna get there soon?”

“No,” Moon Dancer said flatly.

“Is it far away?”

“Yes.”

Every after a while, Iris asked Moon Dancer the same question: “Are we there yet?” which the Unicorn coolly replied with the obvious answer every time. This went on for the next hour during which her repeated question was getting on Rainbow Dash’s nerves.

The Pegasus came so close to scolding Iris but then astonishment came over her at what she saw up ahead. “Is that…?”

Past the huge brass fences, is a two-storied country house, built atop a small conical hill, its grand magnitude and traditional architecture visible thanks to both the moonlight and garden lightings.

“I welcome you to my family retreat house,” Moon Dancer said. “This is where my family usually spend the time during summer. But don’t worry. They all are away on business trips so won’t be back until next week.”

“Moon Dancer,” Rainbow Dash gasped, “your family’s rich!?”

There was nothing in her manner or appearance that could have indicated that Moon Dancer is from a wealthy family. Save for the fancy watch.

The Unicorn gave Rainbow Dash an eye. “What, anything wrong with that?”

Starlight Glimmer was not having any luck with Fortepiano. The hornless Unicorn had refused to be spoon-fed nor talk to her. She just sat on the bed, sullen, unmoving and there was a far-off look in her eyes. When she had come to, her hands were already tied up and head covered with a large bandage. It was Photo Finish who did the ropes. Starlight Glimmer had objected to this but the Earth Pony mentioned Forte’s act of aggression earlier as justification.

“Please,” Starlight Glimmer pleaded, “you haven’t eaten for days.”

“The spell was only meant to last a day,” she added. “I honestly don’t know why it took you only now to wake up.”

The young Unicorn looked towards the window at the faint sound of a motor engine followed shortly by the iron gates opening and closing.

That must be Moon Dancer, she guessed.

Photo Finish came to the door to greet who she expected is just Moon Dancer. Much to her surprise, she found the Unicorn not alone. Rainbow Dash was not the problem at all.

“Vaz zur teufel!?” Photo Finish exclaimed. “Moon Dancer! Vy is zeir an Overlander vif you!?”

Red immediately came over Rainbow Dash’s face.

“I thought you said this place is safe!” she angrily said to Moon Dancer.

“It is,” the latter maintained.

Rainbow Dash fumed. “How could it be ‘safe’ when there is another pony in the house!?”

“Moon Dancer, why is she here? And...who...is that?”

Rainbow Dash had no problem recognizing that voice. She looked towards the staircase and sure enough, there she was, Starlight Glimmer, her bully in college, as dumbstruck as she is.

“What the hay is going on here!?” the Pegasus demanded an explanation.

“You two are harboring fugitives,” Moon Dancer pointed out with a scornful remark. “And you’re asking me what’s going on? Puh-leez, don’t make me laugh.”

“Fortepiano?” Iris spoke up. “You mean she’s here? Where is she? Is she okay?”

When met by confused stare from the ponies, she said, “Y’know, blue hair, white skin, and talks in a, what’s it called? ‘Hackney’ accent?”

“Verdammt!” The agitated Photo Finish turned to Starlight Glimmer. “Zat Unicorn is wif za Moebians! I told you she is trouble! Let me vack zem bof now before zings get vors!”

“Would please you stop it, already!?” Starlight Glimmer angrily objected. “There will be no ‘whacking’! Now or ever!”

Whacking!? The word prompted Iris and Rainbow Dash to exchange worried glances.

“It’s already too late to back out, you know,” Moon Dancer had correctly interpreted the look on their faces. “I promised you a temporary safe place to hide in. This is it.”

“So,” Forte spoke, “you aren’t dead after all.”

Iris showing up at the door took her by total surprise. Last time she saw the brunet, she forsook the girl to her fate, choosing instead to prevent a large of piece from The Catgirl from causing collateral damage to the city’s urban center. At first, she thought the blow on the head had messed up her mind, causing her to hallucinate.

Geez, would it kill ya if you’d say something pleasant to me for once? “Yea, happy to see you too,” Iris said bitterly as she walked into the bedroom. “Gosh, what happened to you?”

After putting down her bag, she looked over the rope tied around the Forte’s hands and tried to undo the knots but found it too strong. “Geez, I can’t undo these. It’s way too tight. Maybe Rainbow Dash can help.”

“Rainbow Dash?”

“Yeah,” Iris said, as she walked over to the windows. “I was lucky enough to get a little help from her. Ended up hiding inside a college dorm for the past few days before finding a way out of the city. Long story actually.”

Outside the window, she could see Moon Dancer, Rainbow Dash and the Earth Pony with the funny accent discussing- actually, it was more like arguing, among each other out in the front yard garden.

Huh, ain’t that ironic, Iris thought, recalling that something similar like this had happened before. (Dreamfall- Iris Rising Act)

She turned back to sat beside Forte. “Hey, where’s your SHADE?”

Forte shook her head, remained quiet.

“Seriously?” Iris smirked. “You lost it? Come on, that is so lame on so many levels. For someone who could take on a whole armada of-”

She suddenly remembered what Zach said about never pick a physical fight with Forte because her bite is actually worse than her bark. “N-never mind. Sorry.”

“Why are you here actually?” Forte demanded to know.

“We’re making a stopover,” Iris replied, “Believe it or not, Rainbow Dash’s taking me to where Zach is.”

Then she saw the Unicorn’s expression changed.

“I’ll have a talk with her,” Iris promised. “I’m sure she can help us sort out this mess.”

Forte frowned. “Why? You and I know both know we don’t like each other.”

“You’re right,” Iris acknowledged it. “But after what Zach…and Perris, had done for me, I owe it to them. I’d be damned as hell by them if I turn my back on you now.”

Somehow Forte believed her. Something about the girl’s look that made her so believable.

Was this how she gained Zachary’s trust then?

Her stomach made a growl. Iris noticed on the desk a bowl of soup that had gone cold. So she took the sandwich that was meant for her dinner out from her bag then offered it to her. Forte hesitated at first but after a little encouragement on Iris’ part, she accepted it with a gracious “thank you”.

Outside, Starlight Glimmer stood motionless by the door, having overheard the whole conversation. She breathed deeply, then came in and pretended to be surprised at Iris’ presence.

Without hesitation, the girl faced up to her. “Hey, you! I don’t know what your game is. But I need you to let go of my friend here. Whatever happened between the two of you, I’m sure we can talk it over.”

“Fine,” Starlight Glimmer yielded.

With the use of her magic, the knots came loose- surprisingly easy. The rope carefully pulled away from Forte’s hands, rolled itself up, and when it was done, Starlight Glimmer took the neatly bundled rope in her hands.

“You can go any time you want,” she said coldly, “and I’ll make sure Photo Finish won’t stop you.”

“I still need my clothes back,” Forte lightly demanded.

“It’s not here,” Starlight Glimmer maintained. “You’ll have to wait till I return to Illumina to get it.”

“See that you will,” Forte ended the discussion and proceeded to take nibble on her sandwich.

After picking up the bowl of cold soup off the table, for the sake of being courteous Starlight Glimmer asked Iris, “Are you hungry? There’s plenty of warm soup in the kitchen.”

Iris wondered whether she should accept the courtesy from a pony who bullied Rainbow Dash and held Forte prisoner.

“Well?” the Unicorn asked impatiently.

“Du spinnst! (You are crazy!)” With that, Photo Finish stormed back towards the house.

Rainbow Dash turned back to Moon Dancer, exasperated. “What did she just say to me!? It was an insult, isn’t it!?”

The Unicorn ignored the question.

“How long have you been doing this?” she pressed the Pegasus to answer.

“Moon Dancer,” Rainbow Dash said calmly, “if you truly wanna be my friend, then please help me by keeping this as a secret. If you’re willing to do it for someone like Starlight Glimmer, surely you can do the same for me.”

“We’re not just talking about you helping a Moe- a foreigner get to the border,” Moon Dancer reasoned, “you’ve actually been in Grand Forest! You know the consequences. You know you are close to the queen and the princess. You could be branded as a traitor.”

“They don’t have to find out,” Rainbow Dash interjected, “so as long as we keep our mouth shut.”

“For your sake, I won’t breath a word,” Moon Dancer said, still put off by the Pegasus’ stubbornness. “Starlight Glimmer too since she’s the same as you. Photo Finish will need some convincing but I think she’ll come around eventually. But, you. One day you might slip, if you keep on doing this.”

“I won’t, okay?” Rainbow Dash promised. “I know what I’m doing.”

“Wow,” Iris said after slurping on her spoon, “this is pretty good.”

The soup contains green peas, leeks and potatoes. What other ingredients were added to make the broth, she did not know, only that it is very tasteful and creamy.

Sat right across the table was Starlight Glimmer.

“This...Fortepiano,” she asked, “is she really your friend?”

“If you mean by real friends, then no,” Iris replied. “We actually met by chance. Our relationship…is kinda complicated. Something like a love-hate relationship, but not at a personal level.”

“Who’s Zach and Perris?” Starlight Glimmer asked without hesitation.

Iris raised her eyebrows at the Unicorn. “You were eavesdropping on us? What’s it to you?”

“I’m not being judgmental,” Starlight Glimmer said. “I wish to know more about her.”

“I’m sorry, but-”

An obvious angry Photo Finish abruptly interrupted Iris. “Vat are you doing, Starlight!? So zis Overland is za guest here now!?”

Behind her was Rainbow Dash, apparently not fond of seeing Iris together with her bully.

“Hmmm, something smells good!” came Moon Dancer’s voice from the hallway. “What’re you guys having?”

“Erbsensuppe,” Starlight Glimmer replied.

Moon Dancer came into the dining hall with a delightful look. “Nice! You know, Photo Finish. I really missed the taste of your mom’s cooking.”

She then told Starlight Glimmer to pour one bowl each for her and Rainbow Dash before going upstairs to clean up herself and make a quick change of clothes.

It was not long until her angry screaming voice was heard upstairs. “Starlight Glimmer! Photo Finish! Get up here now!”

Starlight Glimmer hurriedly set the bowls and the big pot on the hot pads on the table.

“Help yourselves,” she said to Rainbow Dash and Iris then hasted with Photo Finish out of the dining room.

“Explain to me why is there a broken mirror in one of the rooms!?” Rainbow Dash clearly heard Moon Dancer scolding the two ponies. “And what’s with the hole in the painting!? How am I supposed to explain that to my parents!?”

Oh, this is all backwards! the Pegasus thought, at the ironic situation where Starlight Glimmer holds sway over the rest of the students in Magic Arts class, whereas in this house, Moon Dancer is the master.

She sat right next to Iris. “Hey, what did you and Starlight Glimmer talk about?”

“Nothin’,” Iris replied frankly. “She was just curious about me, like how you and Moon Dancer were.”

Rainbow Dash folded her arms and gave Iris a crossed look. “Well, if that liar ever tell you something about me, don’t take her word for it.”

“Hey, it’s not like I wanna have anything to do with her anyway,” Iris said before getting back to her soup.

At the balcony, Rainbow Dash easily recognized the gleam in the distance as the city lights from Illumina, meaning that they are not quite far off from the city edge.

Forte appeared shortly, a robe donned over her nightshirt. “Rainbow Dash, why can’t we talk inside? It’s rather chilly out here.”

Rainbow Dash used her magic to close the slide door right behind Forte.

“Sorry,” she said, “but I can’t risk anyone eavesdropping on our conversation. Not even Iris knows about this.”

“What exactly is this about?” Forte pressed.

“Before that, I’d like you to know that this isn’t Iris or your friends,” Rainbow Dash earnestly told her, “It just so happens I saw that portal that you came through. I don’t know what you guys are doing here, but whatever it is, I’m pretty certain it has something to do with the strange airship I saw passed over Grand Forest.”

She managed to figure it out, but what this could possibly mean for us?, Forte pondered.

Every universe the Godslayers went they either find trouble, or trouble finds them. All the past missions could have gone easy had all the locals they encountered were not that so prejudice on their presence. Some were willing to ally with them, after going through a lot of effort to gain their trust. Others did not distinguish the Godslayers from the Nanites machine constructs and tried to obliterate them altogether, thus the need of secrecy, cover stories and support from covert Spirit Godslayers.

The Pegasus gave her an expectant look, saying, “When Watterson queried about the Precursor Artifacts, it makes total sense why the Suppression Squad recently showed up at Grand Forest. It was a battleship that I saw, am I right? No doubt their queen (Alicia) wants the artifacts as a power source for her new war machine.”

Forte was not inclined to confirm nor deny that, so she pressed Rainbow Dash to get to the point.

I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash. What I’ve said and done to you before was stupid and unwarranted. Let’s put our differences aside. I hope these words will make amends, and we can be the best of-

Startled, Starlight Glimmer stopped writing then looked up at the person standing at the kitchen entrance.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Iris apologized, clearly not expecting to see anyone there at two in the morning. “I was thirsty, so I thought I’d come down here to find something from the fridge.”

Starlight Glimmer hastily folded the paper and put it inside her pocket. “S-sure. Be my guest.”

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Iris asked, pouring the carton of juice into a glass, “whatcha writing about that made you up so late at this hour?”

“That isn’t relevant to you, now is it?” the Unicorn frowned at her.

“Fair ‘nuff,” Iris acknowledged.

“So listen,” she said, after finishing her juice, “since Rainbow Dash is staying as guest here now, I’d appreciate if you don’t try pull any stunts on her like you did at the college.”

Starlight Glimmer let out a groan. “How much do you know about that?”

“Only as much as what I saw with my own eyes,” Iris being totally frank. “Rainbow Dash never said anything to me, probably b‘cuz she guessed you’re not worth mentioning.”

When the Unicorn appeared to take offence by what she had just said, Iris pondered to herself, Can I really do this? Unlike Twilight, I could end up making a mess of things.

Regardless, she went on to sit right next to Starlight Glimmer and said to her, “Karma is a bitch, y’know.” Man, if dad was alive to hear me say that word, I’ll never hear the end of it…

“What-?” Starlight Glimmer had absolutely no idea what that phrase means.

“I don’t know what’s the reason behind you being mean to Rainbow Dash,” Iris said, “but it’s just gonna lead to unending cycles of abuses and reprisals. When what goes around comes around, it can escalate into something so big, so difficult it’s almost impossible to fix.”

“How could you possibly know that?” Starlight Glimmer asked suspiciously.

“Like her, I used to be harassed by a bully in school,” Iris confessed, “then later I lost myself and became one. I was self-centered and hypocritical. If you could see what I’ve done to those who’ve wronged me before, only then you’ll know how real ugly revenge is.”

“I know how,” Starlight Glimmer revealed, “but you’ll have to give me your full trust.”

“Is it like a memory spell or something?” Iris asked, wary.

“It’s called ‘mind-sorting’,” Starlight Glimmer explained. “It allows me to delve deep into the deep layers of your mind- thoughts, emotions, memories, including those hidden in the subconscious.”

“Problem is,” she added, her cautious tone alarmed Iris, “since this is self-taught, that’d make you sort of a test subject. It’s a final year subject so officially, I’m not supposed to use it yet.”

“This is gonna hurt, isn’t it?” Iris asked with a grimace, recalling the time she had experienced the mother of all migraines right after being subjected to Princess Luna’s memory spell. (Dreamfall- Dreamfall Act)

“Most likely,” the Unicorn admitted.

Iris rolled her eyes. “Urgh, do it.”

After closing her eyes and bow her head a little as instructed, she tried to put herself in a total relax state, as the Unicorn put it that in order for the spell to work, she must not resist the caster entering her mind. Starlight Glimmer did the same, her index and long fingers placed on Iris’ temples. She muttered a short incantation, her horn glowed in a subtle turquoise-colored aura and thus began the process of delving and navigating through Iris’ memories. Later on when it was all done, Starlight Glimmer held Iris close to her as the poor girl was coming down with a headache.

“Uh, my brain feels like mush,” Iris moaned. “No more. This is the last time I let anyone into my mind.”

“I’m sorry,” the Unicorn sincerely apologized. So you came from an alternate reality, and you are…her.

The next morning in Knothole, Luger received an unexpected visit in his home from another village leader. The discussion with Penelope the Platypus was long and tense as they respectively made their stand. Julie-Su after serving drinks for the guest, decided to eavesdrop on the conversation from the kitchen. Even though she wanted to know as the topic concerns her half-brother and sister, it was not her place to get involved when it comes to official business. After Penelope had left, only then she came out.

Luger slumped into his favorite chair, both hands massaging his temples from stress.

“That puts today’s plan on hold,” he complained. “What is wrong with those two? It’s as though all the trouble they’ve caused here weren’t bad enough. Now they’ve dragged in the other villages with the stupid bickering of theirs.”

After picking up the empty glasses from the table, Julie-Su regarded her father sympathetically. “You should attend to get it sorted out before things turn for the worse. I’ll go talk to Kintobor on your behalf.”

Luger said, “You don’t understand, Julie-”

“It’s okay,” his daughter affirmed to him. “I will make sure he receives the message, father.”

Rainbow Dash and Iris both came into the kitchen. Moon Dancer and Starlight Glimmer were already at the table but the latter had just finished her breakfast. On the way out, Starlight Glimmer ignored Rainbow Dash, feeling the time and circumstances were not yet appropriate for her make the apology but she did make a curt nod at Iris to which the latter tactfully acknowledged. After the two guests sat the table, they were told by Moon Dancer to help themselves at the big bowl of porridge on the table.

As she scooped the porridge into her bowl, Rainbow Dash regarded oddly at Photo Finish. She clearly remembered her not just because of the exaggerated accent, but also the many times the Earth Pony, together with her assistants- Pixel Pizzaz and Violet Blurr, seemed to pop out from of nowhere, randomly taking photos of students around the college, regardless whether there was a special event or not. Her unorthodox methods and blatant approach tend to annoy the subjects she takes photos of, Rainbow Dash included.

No way, the Pegasus thought disbelievingly. Photo Finish might be a wacko, but not a...

“What is this?” Iris asked, after taking a spoonful of the ‘weird’ porridge.

Though described as porridge, it was cold like eating breakfast cereal but instead of dairy milk, coconut milk was used, added with chocolate flavoring. Aside from the walnut and coconut flesh toppings, she could make out the taste of maple syrup and vanilla as well in the milk. While not exactly unsavory, the meal still felt weird to her taste buds.

“Crushed sunflower seeds,” Moon Dancer replied. “This type of breakfast is famous in Tarpany.”

“Tarpany? That’s your home country?” Rainbow Dash asked Photo Finish who was at the sink washing kitchen utensils.

“My mutter’s,” the Earth Pony answered nonchalantly.

Sounds close to Germany, Iris figured. That kinda explains the accent.

She decided to speak, hoping to learn more about her hosts if she could. “Can I ask? How did you two knew Starlight Glimmer?”

“Oh, actually she’s a foalhood friend,” Moon Dancer replied, a revelation which floored Rainbow Dash.

“Vas,” Photo Finish quickly corrected her friend. “Zat vas zen. Only because she needs our help, zat she vould come looking for us now.”

“Photo Finish, please!” Moon Dancer said to try calm the sudden tension.

“Vell I am sorry,” the Earth Pony put down the knife she was washing then gave them a fierce look, “but it is za truf!”

This was the first time Rainbow Dash ever saw Photo Finish without her shades on. On top of that, there was something about those eyes that made Rainbow Dash suddenly anxious. Somehow, that sharp stare of hers hinted something frightening about Photo Finish.

What if I’m right? Rainbow Dash fretted. After she found out how Fortepiano got the bandage on her heard, after seeing how eager she wanted to ‘whack’ Iris... Seriously, what if Photo Finish really is a homicidal maniac?

Starlight Glimmer did not expect to bump into Forte on the way to the front door but that was exactly what happened as the latter had waited for her by the stairs. Upon informing that she has finally agreed to her request, Starlight Glimmer’s eyes gleamed with joy.

“But what made you changed your mind?” she still wanted to know.

Forte recalled what Rainbow Dash told her last night: “To be honest, I don’t give a darn about that mare, but since this concerns the safety of Crystal Empire. I went to check out the her workplace. It was clean. So I think whoever’s spying on Starlight Glimmer is following her around, watching her from afar.”

When asked why she did not report it to the authorities, Rainbow Dash replied, “No, I can’t tell the authorities. How am I gonna to explain to them? No pony outside the circle is supposed to know about the codex.”

Realization dawned on Forte. “That means, she and everyone else in this house could be in trouble if this thing gets out.”

Rainbow Dash nodded.

“I am a soldier,” Forte emphasized, “not a counterspy.”

“That’s fine,” Rainbow Dash affirmed. “So as long as you watch her back round the clock.”

Forte felt uncertain about her own decision. Dictated by logic, she should say no. Her lance are at the most crucial stage of the Moebius mission. They need to be fully ready when called upon by Magister Varst for the upcoming battle. By the time everything is over, the so-called Precursor Artifacts would have become irrelevant.

“Miss Fortepiano,” Starlight Glimmer’s concerned voice brought Forte out of her reverie, “are you all right?”

Deep in thought, she glanced at her hand, the one she used to almost break the young Unicorn’s wrist and finally said, “After how I reacted, after what happened yesterday, it just seemed like the way to go.”

Frankly, Forte still wondered if guilt was truly the reason. However, the response had elicited a smile from Starlight Glimmer, not out of contempt, not to gloat either.

“Honestly, I couldn’t see how I could be of help,” Forte added, “I’m merely fluent in the oriental language. That counts for little, compared to knowledge.”

“A valid point,” Starlight Glimmer acknowledged, “but we won’t know that for sure if we don’t give it a try, won’t we?”

She clung on to Forte’s arm and though the older Unicorn was reluctant, she let herself be ushered to the kitchen.

“Photo Finish, there’s a change of plan!” Starlight Glimmer announced, loud with a broad smile across her face. “Looks like we’re going to Dayunguo after all. So get your kits ready!”

“Of course,” the Earth Pony coldly replied, with a hardly suppressed grimace, resulting from her strong dislike for Forte.

She’s in such high spirit all of a sudden, Moon Dancer and Iris both wondered.

Only the latter could guess the reason, being able to see hints of intimacy in the pale purple Unicorn’s facial expression. She shuddered at the thought. In a way, this reminded her of the situation with Twinkleshine, an eccentric unicorn pony she met in Blue Marble Equestria.

Nicole came down the ladder from the top scaffolding, after completing her routine inspection on the electronic systems inside the Monster. She proceeded to use her tablet to take pictures of the warship’s exterior from various angles. As she reviewed and sorted out the images on the screen, a hand abruptly snatched the tablet away from her.

The exasperated lynx turned to the culprit. “What the hell, Ryoko!?”

Asakura glanced the screen then eyed the lynx with obvious suspicion.

“May I ask why were you taking these?” she queried.

“It’s for the daily activity report,” Nicole quickly explained.

Asakura gripped on the device tightly, looking as though she is about to snap it into two.

“Would you give it back already!?” Nicole hissed. “You’re going to give me trouble with Alicia! I can’t send in my report if there’s no pictures!”

“Hmmm, let me think first,” Asakura said with a jest smile, her index finger spinning the tablet, so skilled she was at it that her arm barely moved while keeping the spinning electronic device balanced on her fingertip.

“Be careful with that!” Nicole gasped.

The lynx watched horrified as Asakura finger-tossed her tablet in the air. She reached up to grab it but Asakura had caught it first. Nonetheless, the construct handed it back right after that, but in a teasing way which prompted Nicole to snatch her belonging out of Ryoko’s hand.

Pulling an innocent look, she leaned forward at the lynx. “Aww, are you angry? I am sooo sorry, okay? Lighten up. I was just messing with you.”

“It isn’t funny,” Nicole said in a huff. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

I don’t like that girl even more now, the lynx thought to herself as she took off, totally unaware of the true nature regarding Asakura, and the other three.

Nicole found it uneasy to get along with Ryoko, and Yuki too boot. Ryoko appeared to be sweet and friendly at first, but in truth she is deceptive and two-faced. As for Yuki, that girl is downright creepy due to her icy detachment and she rarely wants to talk (to Nicole at least). At least Konata and Mikuru could be counted on as companions, to confide her feelings in, and to indulge with in her hobbies, however strange those hobbies may seem.

Starlight Glimmer hung up the receiver. The Unicorn stood there thinking for a while, then picked the receiver up again, dialed a number and exchanged a short conversation with her mother. After that, she went to join Moon Dancer in the kitchen to help prepare lunch. The latter was in the midst of pouring rice into the pot.

Starlight Glimmer sniffed the familiar aroma coming from the pot and asked, “Is that jambalaya you’re making?”

“Your favorite,” Moon Dancer confirmed, now adding some stock into the cooking.

“Oh,” Starlight Glimmer said and quickly went to put on the apron. “So, what do you want me to do?”

Moon Dancer prompted her at the vegetables laid on the table. “I believe you still know how to make roasted pumpkin soup.”

Just as Starlight Glimmer was putting the tray of olive oil-coated vegetables into the oven, Photo Finish came into kitchen, behind her was Forte.

“It is done,” the Earth Pony declared.

Starlight Glimmer placed a hand over her mouth in astonishment. “Oh, Luna-Celestia. Well done, Photo Finish. She now looks even more like Vinyl Scratch.”

I can’t believe I agreed to this, Forte thought bitterly. I feel like an utter fool in this ridiculous outfit.

She now sports a shag hairstyle like her Crystal Empire counterpart, though hers has more layers and curls. The hair has been dyed darker to conceal the original colors. Her all-black outfit consists of a long-sleeved jacket worn over a hoodie, and a mini skirt.

“Food will be ready within an hour,” Starlight Glimmer informed them. “By the way, I’ve already booked tickets for three. If we leave right after lunch, we can catch the train early before it departs.”

“Three?” Forte expressed her surprise. “Who else is going?”

Photo Finish pointed to her glaring eyes with a backward V-sign then at Forte: I got my eyes on you, stranger!

“Oh, great,” Forte sighed. Who’s watching over who here actually?

In the meantime, Rainbow Dash was overseeing Iris’ training in a spacious area at the flower gardens. Her human counterpart appeared to be making progress much better than what she had initially expected, as throughout the first few hours, Iris had showed great control over the use of body and legs to maneuver the hoverboard around the obstacles, rarely with the need to slow down.

Maybe we don’t have to stay here long after all, Rainbow Dash thought with a smile.

If the result at the end of today’s training session proved to be satisfactory, they should be able to make the journey to Grand Forest by tomorrow.

“Dig in, everypony,” Moon Dancer proclaimed.

Iris reminisced about her past visits to the Big Apple Orchard upon smelling the aromatic smell coming from the pots. It was only during the time she slept over at the farmhouse once in a while that she had the chance to taste Southern cuisine courtesy of Granny Smith.

While waiting for her turn to scoop the jambalaya, Iris could not help but giggled inwardly at Forte. “Hey, Forte. Nice threads.”

“Not a word of this,” the annoyed Unicorn murmured back, “especially to Zachary!”

“You sure you wanna do this?” Iris wanted to be sure.

Forte nodded, but she was clearly uncertain whether her own decision.

“Here,” she said, handing Iris a sealed envelope. “I trust you’ll get this safely to Alkarin?”

“Sure,” Iris said and took the envelope in an act of good faith.

“No peeking,” Forte reminded her.

“What, want me to recite the Pinkie Promise for ya?” Iris joked.

“No,” Forte quickly said, remained serious, “that won’t be necessary.”

“So, what about Zach?” Iris then asked. “Any messages you want me to pass to him?”

Forte thought on it for a second and said “No.”

“Okay then,” Iris gave Forte a gentle pat on the arm, “good luck to ya.”

Rainbow Dash was reminded to ensure all the doors and windows are locked and the lights in the gardens and front porch switched on at nighttime.

“I’ll be back by late evening,” Moon Dancer then told her. “If you’re hungry, just warm up the leftovers inside the fridge. But I’ll be sure to bring back some snacks for good measures.”

Good riddance, Rainbow Dash grumbled, as she watched Moon Dancer drove her three passengers out the gate.

Starlight Glimmer gone meant no more awkward moments from this time onwards. Rainbow Dash could not take it another day staying under the same roof with a pony who loves to make her college life miserable.

“Wow, they all knew each other in Ponyville,” Iris said. “Who coulda guess?”

“So what!?” Rainbow Dash retorted, obviously irritated whenever Starlight Glimmer is mentioned or hinted. “What does it matter to us, huh!?”

She quickly went back into the house, followed shortly by Iris.

“You can’t freely let in outsiders without my father’s prior consultation,” Julie-Su was saying, “and now the other leaders have started to question whether or not he is really in charge here. Please remember, doctor. The council were all grateful for what you’ve done for us, but above all, it was my father who had convinced them that you may retain control over the generator’s possession.”

Politics, Kintobor sighed, wiping his glasses with a small piece of cloth then put them on again. “I do understand the security concerns but as a doctor, it goes against the code if I was to ignore those in grave need of medical attention.”

“Be that as it may,” Julie-Su said, “we firmly believe those newcomers are trouble-magnets. The attack by the Suppression Squad the other day, there’s only one explanation as to what the they were after.”

Kintobor regarded his guest quizzically. “Your point being?”

“Doctor,” Julie-Su firmly said, “they can’t stay here.”

A knock abruptly interrupted their discussion. Kintobor looked in the direction of the office door which was held ajar from outside by Arial.

“I’m sorry for interrupting,” his assistant said, a trace of Asian-like accent in her voice, “but I thought the doctor would like to know.”

“What is it, Arial?” Kintobor quickly asked.

“The patient, she’s waking up,” Arial informed him.

In the ICU ward, the groggy and frail Patricia ran her eyes around, trying to make out the unfamiliar environment.

Two Days later…

Moon Dancer came out the fence’ rear gate, walked down the slope and approached Rainbow Dash who was strapping the Extreme Gear on her feet.

“When will you be coming back here?” she corrected herself, “To Crystal Empire, I mean. You are planning to come back soon, are you?”

“Err, yeah,” Rainbow Dash replied indifferently, uncertain of the Unicorn’s actual definition of ‘soon’.

She had studied the map from an atlas book she discovered in the study room and therefore memorized the route she and Iris need to take. It was also her idea that they depart in late afternoon. If things go as planned, the pair should arrive at their destination by dark, a time of which the chances of encountering the border patrol is less.

With Iris finished fastening the Extreme Gear on her feet, they are now ready to go. Moon Dancer gave each a friendly goodbye hug before the pair activated their boards. Rainbow Dash said the incantation, as she held out her hand at the direction of the woods. A bright white-bluish light appearing like a flickering ball of flame shot from her hand, crossed over the stream, then flew into the woods. Moon Dancer waved a final goodbye as Rainbow Dash and Iris headed out to follow the wisp.

Rainbow Dash led the way, keeping up with the wisp which acts as a guide to lead them on the right path. Iris followed closely behind, having been warned prior to the start of the journey about White Tail Woods being a place so easy to get lost in. Halfway through the journey, no unwanted incident had occurred so far. But that was about to change because they were no longer alone from this point forward, as Iris soon realized.

Wait, what was that?

She slowed her speed down a little, glancing away from Rainbow Dash to ascertain what was that she had just glimpsed at the corner of her eye. But moving at over sixty per hour, she lost sight of whatever the thing was in an instant. Fixing her eyes frontward again, panic gripped her at the imminent collision with a tree but she reacted quick enough to steer away just in time.

After that close-call, she pulled up to take a breather. When she finally calmed down, it was then the girl realized the alarming situation she had got herself into. A moment ago, she was tailing Rainbow Dash. Now, she was alone, with Rainbow Dash nowhere to be seen.

Iris scolded herself for letting her focus flew elsewhere even if it was just for a short while. After all, the shadowy figures she saw moving among the trees might not even be real. She had just probably imagined it all. Now then, what was she going to do now that she has lost sight of her only hope of finding a way out of there?

Okay, okay! Don’t panic, Dash! You are not lost yet! Given the amount time passed, she couldn’t have gotten that far. You can still catch up to her. Yeah! If…if I knew which way to go… Aww, man...

Iris recalled a tactic taught to her long ago in a camping trip, to be used in case one got lost without a compass. She stared up at the sky then used the sun and her own shadow as a ‘natural compass’. Once the directions had been determined, she set off again, travelling westward.

Come on, Rainbow Dash oughta realized I’m missing by now, right? she thought worryingly, her eyes kept peeled for her Pegasus counterpart.

With any luck, Rainbow Dash is coming back to look for her. Otherwise, she would just have to reach until the Ghastly Gorge and maybe wait for her there.

She’s probably pissed right now. Aw man, how am I gonna explain this? What should I say when she finds me-

Iris gasped aloud. She did not know what was happening. All of sudden, she felt herself being caught in a horrible tight grasp, at the same time was shoved aside by an unknown force. With a heavy thud, she crashed and skidded across the dirt, the hoverboard dragged with her on her feet.

The mishap fortunately had not result in injury as her gears and backpack had helped cushion most of the impact. She came to shortly after, at which point she discovered herself in a the tight wrap of a strong braided rope line with small weights attached to each end.

No, no, no, dammit! Aargh, I ain’t prepared for this!

At this moment, two figures dressed in khaki camouflage outfits trotted up to her. She looked up at them who looked back with a triumphant smirk, then it became very apparent to her as to their identities.

“Hey, let me go!” she angrily demanded. “What do you want from me!?”

“There’s still one more,” the pony addressed her partner, ignoring Iris.

Her eyes narrowed as she interpreted the reading on the handheld scanner. “It’s strange though. The reader is picking up only one Moebian signature.”

“Could be an android,” the other pony opined, her determination as solid as a rock. “No problem. Which direction did it go to?”

The first pony gazed around uncertainly before pointing her hand to a direction. “I think it’s that way.”

“All righty!” her partner beamed and made taunt pose with her cannon. “The hunt is on, baby!”

“No, wait!” Iris shouted to get their attention. “I’m alone! There’s nobody else!”

In response, the first pony hissed, “Shut up, scum!” then gave her a hard kick in the stomach.

With all her senses are focused on keeping tracking of the wisp’s movement, Rainbow Dash continued to traverse through the woods without realizing the ordeal that had befallen on Iris. When she made a sharp turn around a big tree, Rainbow Dash brought her hoverboard to a complete stop. At this point, she was already several minutes ahead since Iris had went missing.

“Iris?” She looked around frantically at the direction by which she came for signs of her human counterpart. “Yo, Iris! IRIS!!!” Aww, come on! You’ve got to be kidding! Stick to the plan, Iris!

Rainbow Dash had no choice but to double back. Again and again she called out to Iris, and the lack of response was leaving her very hot under the collar.

Where is she!? That girl better not mess up again! Stick to the plan, is that so much to ask???

As Iris still have not show up, Rainbow Dash stopped to think. This isn’t going anywhere. I need to find another way.

She could use her magic to make a signal flare of sort, that is one idea. If Iris saw it, she would be led to her position no problem. Of course, that might drew some unwanted attention from the keen eyesight of border patrol scouts should they happen to pass over this portion of the woodlands. As she tried to figure an alternative, a fast-spinning object came out of nowhere shooting towards her.

“Whoa!”

Rainbow Dash bolted sideways as a projectile missed her by inches and got entangled around a tree branch behind her. The flying object turned out to be a type of throwing weapon called bolas. Had she mistimed her move just now, that would have spelled serious injury caused by the weights. After dodging a second, she sped away from there. But soon she came under attack by a salvo of bolas, thus quickly went to hide behind a tree big enough to conceal her.

“The hay’s going on here!?” Rainbow Dash wondered aloud. “Who did I just run into!?”

The bolas was not a standard battle equipment for any branches of Crystal Empire’s security enforcers. As a matter of fact, the only entity known to use such weapon are bounty hunters.

“Urgh, this day is getting better and better, isn’t it!?” she said in exasperation, upon remembering that Moon Dancer had mentioned about Ponyville mercenaries arrived in Illumina to hunt down Fortepiano’s counterpart.

A lot of questions and theories popped up in her mind at that moment on how they came to cross each other’s path.

The shooter reached inside her ammo bag to reload her cannon only to find that she had used it all up. Then an idea struck.

“Heh, they don’t me call me a rockhead for nothing,” she grinned.

It has been a while since the last shot was fired. Rainbow Dash peered out of her cover- an Earth Pony who did not look or dressed anything like Southerners was frantically searching for something on the ground.

She’s distracted, Rainbow Dash realized. Aw right! This is my chance to get away!

She made a break for it but barely made it far when a fist-sized rock struck her in the arm. The shock from blow caused her to lose her balance, spun uncontrollably in midair and finally crashed onto a tree. Even as she struggled to get back up, an ecstatic voice coming from behind gave away her attacker’s identity.

“Rock on! Maud Pie got you good!”

Such an unexpected turn of events, Rainbow Dash thought in disbelief. Rage overcame her, the injury on her forearm adding fuel to the fire. Aargh! This can’t be happening! I am not going to lose to a bunch of weirdos!

She inadvertently spread her wings through which a black aura emanated from them and hit Maud Pie. Subsequently, the unfortunate Earth Pony keeled over and fell flat on her back. Rainbow Dash immediately turned her head to look, so shocked at what she had done. Not quite understanding what had really happened, somehow her emotion had triggered the magic’s release on impulse. And because she did not say the incantations when it happened, there was no telling what spell Maud Pie had been succumbed to.

Rainbow Dash cautiously glided towards the unconscious Maud Pie to examine the extent of the damage done.

Oh, no. I didn’t mean this to happen, she thought worryingly. I studied Black Magic in secret only so I could get back at Starlight Glimmer. Not this…

Suddenly the Earth Pony sprang up, forcing Rainbow Dash to flee.

“Oh how,” Maud Pie moaned, rubbing on her temples. “That was totally weird. It felt like a breeze had just passed through my insides. And what’s with this headache all of sudden?”

After the headache abruptly vanished, she said, “Huh, I’m okay now.”

She pulled herself up to her feet and gazed around. “Hey! Where did the android go!?”

“Tell me what I want to know!” Muffins stomped a foot on Iris’ chest. “What are your orders!? What were you doing in Illumina!?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Iris persisted. “I strayed here after I got lost in the woods! Now I just wanna find a way back home! Ya hafta believe me, it’s the truth!”

“You really think I’m that stupid!?” the Pegasus retorted.

She gave another kick for the clumsy lie, evoking a strong feeling from her prisoner.

Damn you! Iris thought fiercely. If I could get outta this ropes, I’ll show you! I’m not the type of person you can freely mess with!

“Fine!” Muffins scoffed the girl. “I’ll just hand you over to the army, let them be the ones to break you. Whatever you are up to, you won’t get away with it. That’s for sure! Sooner or later the truth of your leader’s conspiracy against the world, will be unraveled and I’ll sure be there to witness your fall!”

Aw gawd, Iris grimaced at the Pegasus’ declaration. Are all the ponies of this world really that paranoid!?

Just then, Rainbow Dash appeared finally but kept a distance away from them. To prevent her identity from being known, she wore a piece of cloth to conceal her lower face. Her hair had been tied neatly into the helmet, and her wings folded behind the backpack at all times.

“Hey, where’s Maud Pie!?” Muffins demanded, not recognizing Rainbow Dash as the person on hoverboard. “What did you do to here!? Darn it! If harm comes to my friend, you’re definitely asking for it!”

She drew out from her back holster an automatic crossbow weapon and took aim.

Okay, now she wants to kill me, Rainbow Dash thought. This’ll be harder than I thought.

She took off to lure Muffins away from Iris and a chase ensued throughout the woods. Trailing behind, Muffins loosed several shots. Predictably, moving in fast motion had an impact on her accuracy, even if she is a good shot with the crossbow.

Rainbow Dash evaded them easily but when explosions went off around her, she cast a baffled glance at her pursuer. Luna-Celestia! Where did that deranged Pegasus managed to get her hands on explosive arrow tips!?

One arrow hit a tree, blowing its trunk off into two. Rainbow Dash swerved to avoid from getting crushed by the toppling tree then sped off in another direction. She put her Extreme Gear on accelerate, just as Muffins fired another salvo of the explosive-tipped arrows.

Rainbow Dash zipped all around the place in a zigzag fashion in order to shake Muffins off her trail, which eventually paid off. Amidst the confusion caused by the haze of smoke, dusts and debris, Muffins slowed down and pulled to a complete stop when it had become apparent that she had lost her target. She hovered about, scanning around for signs of movement.

Rainbow Dash saw her chance when Muffins went on the move again, away from her position. She broke from hiding and ambushed Muffins, using the board’s hard frame in an attempt to knock her out. Unfortunately, the sudden whirring sound coming from the underside fans had alerted the latter in advance. Muffins ducked down to cause her attacker to miss and subsequently collided with a tree.

Rainbow Dash lay on the ground in a prone position, a groan escaped her throat. She turned her head to see Muffins had finished reloading the crossbow and was now approaching on her position with cautious steps. She momentarily shut her eyes, thinking hard. Upon saying “Blind,” black aura enveloped her hand.

Muffins saw that her attacker was attempting something. She aimed for a headshot but Rainbow Dash’s black magic got to her first. She jerked from the searing pain in her eyes, causing her shot to go wide of the mark. The arrow struck a nearby tree, but there was no explosion. Instead it had buried itself deep in the trunk, with the pointy metal tip coming out on the opposite side.

Muffins was down on her knees, clutching her eyes and squirming, the crossbow lay next to her on the grass.

Her cries aroused a small deal of sympathy from Rainbow Dash. Sorry, Muffins, but you’d left me no choice.

She glided away from there, aware that the burning pain, a side effect from the spell, will wear off sooner or later. While admitting that leaving Muffins be in her current state is heartless, Rainbow Dash maintained hope that Maud Pie would eventually come to the aid of her friend. She later on located Iris who was still struggling to get free from her bonds to no avail.

“Rainbow Dash!” the latter implored. “Gimme me a hand here!”

“Hold still,” the Pegasus instructed.

A small energy blade materialized in her hand, which she then used to cut through the ropes.

“What happened to those guys?” Iris asked after she was free.

“They won’t be bothering us anymore,” Rainbow Dash sternly replied.

Iris decided to leave it at that. Then she noticed blood trickling down on the Rainbow Dash’s other hand. “Rainbow Dash, your arm!”

Pulling up the sleeve revealed a deep bluish patch surrounding the wound on the forearm, the result of Maud Pie’s attack earlier.

“Looks pretty bad,” Iris said, alarmed.

A piece of cloth torn from Rainbow Dash’s jacket was used to cover up the wound. Later, the two glided through the woods side by side, matching each other’s speed until they caught up to the wisp waiting for them. It shot off in the direction of its intended destination and they proceeded to follow it.

Sometime later, Maud Pie found Muffins, the latter was acting like a blind person trying to find her way around the place.

She approached her, hands waving up high. “Yo, Muff!”

“Maud, where are you???” Muffins hollered.

“Follow my voice,” Maud Pie said. “Turn around.”

Muffins whirled around, but was facing at the wrong direction.

“To your left.”

Muffins turned again and frantically reaching out for her friend, moved forward, until she bumped into a tree.

“Nope, that’s a tree,” Maud Pie intoned.

“MAUD!!!” So disappointed was Muffins at the Earth Pony for being unmindful of her predicament, she began to cry.

The wisp stopped to hover in midair over the Ghastly Gorge. Rainbow Dash pulled up by the edge of the deep ravine, followed by Iris. The wisp shrank, then dissolved into nothingness.

“Over there,” Rainbow Dash said, her hand pointed at an opening on the opposite cliff. “There’s a crevice big enough for both of us to fit in at once.”

They made it across the gap. Rainbow Dash entered first. She used her magic to light up the passage and led Iris in. The passageway stretched deep, probably miles before it began to bend upwards in a low slope. Iris became very uneasy at the gradually constricting space, not to mention the pitch-black darkness at both ends of the passageway. If she did not know what it feels like to lose her mind to claustrophobia, she does now.

They later exited into a deep shaft which looks to be of natural formation. True enough, when they got to the top of the shaft, she found it is connected to an extensive network of limestone caves. It did not take long for the two to reach the cave’s entrance after that. By the time they went out in the open, the sun had already set.

“How much further do we still need to go?” Iris asked.

Rainbow Dash simply gave a vague answer. “Not much.”

Throughout the remainder of the journey, they travelled high above the forest canopy, heading west.

Godslayer Kurogane handed a flash drive to Super E-Sat. Looks like the fight with Nagato previously had resulted in more than the tampering of the mech’s weapon systems. Throughout the duration of his stay in Moebius, he had to remain as a giant mech, unable to revert back to his original form.

“Once you arrived, first things first,” Aegnor told him. “I want you to make an inquiry of Magister Perris’ status. Say it’s urgent. Get the data to TECH, then report to the repair ward.”

“Affirmative,” Super E-Sat said, as he inserted the storage device into the internal compartment in his body.

Iris braked in midair and Rainbow Dash promptly did the same.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” the latter asked in surprise. “Why’d you stop?”

She looked in the same direction as Iris’ gaze. Beneath them is a small open space in the forest where all four Godslayer had gathered.

“I get it,” Rainbow Dash said understandingly. “You wanna see your friends. Let’s go.”

They made their descent, heralding their arrival to the Godslayers. Iris detached from her Extreme gear, even as Zach ran up to her. Then the two caught each other in a heartily embrace. They just went ahead, neither had given any thoughts in advance. Their action however did elicite a green-eyed stare from Godslayer Kurogane.

“So good to see you again, Dash,” Zach said, joyous of their reunion. “Oh man, I was so worried. I mean, when E-Sat showed up without you, I thought…”

“That’s understandable,” Iris said, with a gentle smile. Yeah, even Fortepiano thought I was dead.

Zach smiled back at her. “Dash, you might not realize it yet, but you have a strange way of surviving a great fall- every time.”

“Yeah, it has strangely become routine in my life,” Iris acknowledged. “But hey, what matters is that I’m a-okay now, right?”

“Err, so what’s going on here?” she asked him, whilst waving meekly at the other Godslayers.

“E-Sat’s going back for system repairs,” the feline explained to her. “This’ll also be a good opportunity to get the data we retrieved from your SHADE analyzed back home. There’s a chance they could find information on Gazleen’s whereabouts, and what’s current status of your homeworld.”

My homeworld…

Iris has always been apprehensive of her home’s wellbeing ever since she came to know about the world-cleansing operations led by the Sinned Godus. In her flashbacks, she only saw signs pointing to the Nanite-carrying cargo container’s crash site. Whether or not Gazleen Perris had ensured the payload’s destruction is still open to question.

Iris stepped up to Super E-Sat and gestured a fist bump at him. “Hey, save my world in case something bad happens to it, ‘kay? I’m counting on ya.”

“I won’t necessarily be assigned should the need for the mission arises,” Super E-Sat said, being cautious about the matter.

“Come on,” Iris insisted. “Just in case. Also, think of this as a good luck gesture for your way home.”

“Very well,” Super E-Sat finally agreed after some consideration.

He extended his massive fist, which Iris then lightly tapped it.

Later, they all witnessed the mech going into the Void, after which the dimensional gateway collapsed into a bright yet harmless flash. Rainbow Dash in particular was intrigued by this phenomenon.

Wow, interdimensional travel looks kinda cool, she thought.

***

What was days and weeks in Moebius, years have elapsed on Earth. What Iris feared for her homeworld has finally materialized. The Battle of Mainhattan is currently underway in Earth’s Equestria.

Facing the cityscape, an enormous column of light projected upwards past the clouds. Contained within this light is a flower-shaped crystal, that referred to as the Crystalline Galanthus by the Fates, surrounded by a swarming mass of Nanites. From this mass, various machine parts were continually being fabricated, which in turn self-assembled into bigger, more complex machines as they rose up in a slow spiral through the light column.

While this was happening, a squadron of F/A-6 Griffin strike fighters began the approach towards Mainhattan from the outskirts. After getting within weapon maximum range, the canard delta-winged fighter jets unleashed their precision-guided air-to-surface payloads all at once. Unfortunately, the Nanites remained unscathed despite enough firepower to wipe an entire town off the map.

After receiving the sitrep from the ground forces stationed in the city, the female pilot leading the squadron cursed in her breath. Even though the column appeared to be consists of pure light, the surface is actually solid, acting as a shield to prevent the cruise missiles from penetrating through it. She reported back to central command in Canterbury before ordering the rest of the pilots to get closer and pound the alien object with their remaining air-to-ground weapons.

A miniature twin-rotored drone surveyed the devastated downtown area of Mainhattan, having been abandoned after an intense battle between the Godslayers and Nanite constructs earlier on. The battle has moved to other locations, yet that is by no means that Twilight and friends are now safe. As they worked hard to save Trixie trapped under piles of rubbles, machines began forming in the light column, their growing outlines clearly visible over the skyline. Once the machine’s assemblage is complete, it will spell the beginning of the end for Earth.

“I’ve found Twilight,” Brooke announced, eyeing on the display on his arm guard. “Just off the Equitable Tower. They seem to be trying to get someone out from the rubbles. I can see a bronze statue toppled nearby.”

Fashion Avenue! “Ah know where dat is!” AJ said. “Ah gotta go help dem!”

“Unfortunately,” a familiar robotic voice spoke from behind them, “you won’t be able to do that unless you get past Yggdrasil.”

They were with Super E-Sat, one of the Godslayers whom had made their appearances shortly after the Battle of Mainhattan began. Thanks to Perris’ data, having been restored from its corrupted state by the Godslayer Corp’s TECH Division back in Hallow’s Victory, they were finally able to pinpoint the exact city where the Nanites are going to strike after being dormant for several reasons.

The ground around them shook like something big and heavy was pounding on it. Then the three witnessed a walking siege tower, fifty-stories high, maybe a little more than that, came plowing through the buildings few blocks away from their position. The remains from the demolished buildings affectively blocked all of AJ’s intended path, save one but that means she has to go underneath it. With its massive limbs, numerous gun turrets and mortar cannons, there was no way for her to approach the giant construct without danger.

“It has a strong energy shield surrounding its shell,” Super E-Sat informed them, “that’s why none of our weapons can affect it.”

“Then how do we destroy it?” Brooke queried.

“With this,” Super E-Sat said, produced in his hand is a grenade-like device he called the ‘Small NUKE’.

“You sure dat teensy small thing is gonna do it?” AJ asked skeptically. “Ah don’t s’pose it’ll bring de whole city down with it too?”

Super E-Sat said, “Not even close. Rest assure. Anyhow, if we could get inside and detonate it at the power core, the resulting meltdown would disable the energy shield and immobilize Yggdrasil, leaving it vulnerable. Your fighters should able to finish it off then.”

“Right then,” Brooke resolved, “I’ll do it.”

“What!?” came immediately AJ’s shock reaction. “Ye crazy! What do ya think ye are!? Special forces!?”

As a matter of fact, she was right- in a way. He does look like he came from some sort of specialized paramilitary unit. Clad in an all-black body armor, the fabric of the undersuit is supposedly made of anti-cut fibers. Integrated onto the back of his hard vest is a small pack that appeared to be designed to open mechanically.

“This is a battle to save Equestria from total annihilation,” Brooke affirmed her. “It’s worth the sacrifice.”

Having secured the NUKE to his utility belt, Brooke informed Super E-Sat, “I am going in. Upload the floor plans to my slate as we go,” before reassuming his Vigilante persona.

The plan: Super E-Sat would divert Yggdrasil’s fire towards him, at the same time lure it to a nearby skyscraper from where the Vigilante would attempt to jump and board the giant construct via its top structure. In the meantime, AJ will take an alternative route out of Yggdrasil’s way to where Twilight is. Simple? Yes. Is it a good plan? Maybe and they were about to find out.

“Wait,” Super E-Sat instructed AJ, “you will need protection. This armor will complement your elemental ability.”

The compartment on his body opened up whereby armor pieces glided out, assembled itself around AJ and fused together into the Arcanist SHADE.

Before the three separate, they returned Super E-Sat’s fist bump gesture as a sign of good luck.

Things were not going well for Gazleen Perris. Right now she felt seriously beat up as the prolonged sword fight with one of the Fates seemed doomed to go on forever. She had slashed, pierced and cut through Verdandi so many times. Yet rather than the machine construct destroyed, the battle damages would ‘heal’ itself on its own.

The same goes with the rest of the Fates. The combined effort of Equestrian armors and her comrades should have reduced them to dusts. Yet, the enemy would always come away from the massed assault with full strength after their body regeneration completes.

“Fuck this shit!” cursed the distraught Godslayer. “Where the hell is the extra energy coming from!?”

Apart from their mysterious regenerative capabilities, the Fates also possess elemental attacks such as those of the Battlecaster Godslayers and worse, their power level and battle endurance are on par with the Guardians. This makes them the most difficult opponents encountered by the Godslayers yet.

Sometime later, all the machines necessary for the completion of the final weapon had been fabricated. They started coming together around the Crystalline Galanthus, held together in place by energy generated from the crystal. Once it reaches sub-orbital altitude above Mainhattan, the Ethereal light vanished. At last, the weapon’s final form is revealed: a warped version of the Ethenian Terraformer, the Orbital Focus Cannon.

As the OFC began powering up, the Fates proclaimed:

Hatred shall darken the skies

Rage shall consume the lands

Your doom has been the willed by our masters

For your existence is the greatest of sins

Beams of energy fired down from the underside rotary cannon. Multistory buildings beneath crumbled flat as a result of the great pressure exerted by the beams. Gaining strength, the energy beams pulsated brightly, pounding on the surface with a force that sent tremors all over Mainhattan, the same time as the rotary cannon started spinning around its axis. At the impact point, clouds of heated dusts billowed into the skyline, higher and expanding outwards, as the beams bored into the Earth’s crust.

Perris had seen all this before. The OFC is a carbon copy of the very weapon that destroyed Fortepiano’s homeworld. Unless she learned from the mistakes made, find a way through the megaweapon’s impregnable shield, Earth is surely doomed.