Raison D'être

by mechafone

26 - Bamboo Ambush

The bamboo forest was dark. It was unsettlingly dark. Evening had set in, and the only light that the group had to go on were three lanterns that Blazing Dragonfly had provided.

Shining Armor, Lemon Pop and Emerald Skies each held one, lighting the way as they followed their guide and his Dragon companion.

While the others felt apprehensive in the dark, wondering what might be in the dark, Spark simply knew. He could see everything.

In the darkness, running about on the ground, were dozens of ponies, all wrapped up in black clothing to hide them from the lantern light.

Since finding out about his shining eyes, Spark kept his face in shadow so as not to give away this secret. It might prove invaluable sometime down the line.

Keeping careful to keep his face in shadow, Spark nudged Frostbite and whispered, "Can you hear them? Don't look around. We're surrounded." Frostbite frowned as he let his eyes casually wander about his group. He couldn't sense movement through the trees, but he knew better than to doubt Spark's eyes.

"How many?" He whispered back. Spark continued his casual pace as he whispered back, "Dozens. I don't know what's keeping them back, but they're definitely here for us."

The two were joined by Lemon Pop, putting Spark Storm in the middle. She leaned close, whispering, "I don't see them or hear them. I can sense 'em, though." She let out the cutest little sneeze and sniffled. "See?" Spark blinked at her. He had seen her do some pretty crazy things, but it wasn't the strangest.

"Lemon, you know I'm talking about -"

"The scary ninja ponies running around? Yep." She sniffled again and looked around the trees in a conspiratorial manner.

"Ok...just checking. Keep it quiet, you two. Be ready to initiate a fade-strike if things get bad." Spark said, and began to quicken his pace to catch up with Shining Armor.

Spark gave Twilight a look that was hard to read as he passed her. Whatever look he was meaning to give her, it put her on full alert. Something about his silence was unsettling.

Moving to the side to keep from coming inbetween Shining and the Princess, Spark whispered to him, "Heads up, chief. We've got company, and they're all around us."

Shining, putting his military training to the test, glanced to the sides carefully. He didn't see anything, but he had come to regard Spark's advice with respect. "What kind of company are we talking about?"

"They're...well, I don't have a better word than 'ninjas'. They're all over the place. They're just watching us for now, but that could change really quick. They're everwhere. And with all the attention I've been giving them, I'd say it's a good bet they know we've spotted them. Be careful."

Shining Armor nodded quietly, then tilted his head ever so slightly in the Princess' direction and discreetly informed her of their situation. As he did, Spark Storm slowed his pace a bit until he was at Twilight's side.

"What's going on?" She whispered, though her tone wasn't as practiced as her brother's. Spark gave her a pointed glare and motioned with a hoof to lower her volume.

"We have company, Twilight. If you have any defense spells, be ready to cast them. We're surrounded by dozens of..." He groaned. He really didn't want to call them 'ninjas', but he didn't have a better name for them. "...ninjas."

Twilight gave Spark a look that could only be read as 'Ninjas? Seriously?' Spark's reply was a look that said, 'Yeah. Seriously.'

Spark looked on ahead. It appeared that the time for action had been called for, because he could see that in the darkness the 'ninjas' had put up a roadblock, and many were gathering there.

Spark swore quietly, then gave Twilight a last look before slinking slowly to the back of the group. He gave both Lemon Pop and Frostbite pointed stares before disappearing completely into the shadows. Even his reflective irises were lost to the darkness.

Up ahead, at the front of the group, Blazing Dragonfly gave his Dragon the most subtle of glances. His partner never even bothered to make a response or a warning before it drew it's head up and let loose a ball of fire that shot towards the blockade, which quickly became visible in the flaring attack.

Dozens of ninja ponies deserted the road block and slipped back into the trees. Shining Armor braced himself and gathered his sister and the Princess closer to him. It couldn't possibly have been that easy.

It wasn't.

The night air was suddenly filled with shouts and the sounds of metal clashing as the ninja ponies started their attack. Blazing Dragonfly's wings had been attached with some wing blades, and he danced almost as well as Sapphire Snow as metal met metal.

The attackers swung small blades, but deadly enough to cause some serious damage if they hit. Shining used spell after spell to throw his attackers into the trees. The Princess used a defensive shield, while Twilight used a spell similar to her brother's.

Emerald Skies had taken to the air. Several of his attackers were Pegasi, but they had trouble keeping up with him as he darted through the trees close to the lantern light. As bookish as he was, he was highly skilled as a flier.

Dragonfly's Dragon was the biggest threat. It swung it's body around like a rope, lashing at several of the ninja ponies and sending them flying at the same time. The attackers had wisely started attacking from behind it, from the heroes' direction, keeping the Dragon from sending fire their way.

While this was all happening, none of our heroes seemed to notice the figure that was slowly, slowly making it's way down a tree, steadily getting closer to the Princess. Suddenly, the figure flung itself at her, forelegs spread wide.

Forgetting that the Princess had a shield up, Shining sprung into action and disregarded his opponents, starting a spell to protect her. This was what the enemy was waiting for, unfortunately.

Shining took a sudden blunt object to the horn, stunning him. He was quickly pinned down and tied, while a circle of metal was placed over his horn. He suddenly felt cold and weak as the spell canceler took it's hold.

Things quickly took a turn for the worse as Twilight let out a panicked scream as she went to help her brother. She, too, was brought down in a similar way.

The Princess looked on in shock as two ninja ponies each made to kill Twilight and her brother. The blows never came, however, as their weapons were suddenly no longer in their hooves. They looked up to see Lemon Pop waving at them with their own weapons before throwing them to the trees.

"Sorry guys, no-kills only tonight!" She giggled and flew off into the night air as several knives were thrown her way.

Seeing that their chance to make this assassination was growing dimmer, one pony with a large sword swung down, aiming to cut Shining's head right off his shoulders. He didn't get a chance as he suddenly found his forelegs frozen, encased in ice. A second ice beam caught him in the chest, knocking him into the woods. There was a scream from the dark as the sound of ice shattered.

Suddenly, all through the night air, light lit up from the trees surrounding the envoy group. They saw shadows and silhouettes of ponies getting shocked and/or thrown through the air. Some of them even flew over the group, their bodies flying like ragdolls.

Finally, the attack seemed to be over. The enemy retreated, what was left of it, anyway. The night air was soon quiet again.

Blazing Dragonfly and his Dragon remained guarded, surveying the area for a few moments more.

From out of the darkness walked Spark Storm. He walked to Twilight first and zapped her ropes free. She looked up at him with awe, having never seen his powers before.

She had to suppress a blush as he gently grasped her horn and worked the spell canceler off. She sighed as she felt her magic surge through her body once more. "Thanks, Spark Storm...that ring made me feel terrible."

Spark smiled down at her, then looked to Shining. The Princess was helping him, but she wasn't having it nearly as easy as Spark was, and it was a bit of an awkward scene for the two of them.

Spark whistled low as both he and Twilight turned away from the scene. He let out a little gasp as he found Emerald Skies on the ground, surrounded by Frostbite and Lemon Pop. His partners were both a bit dirty, but unhurt.

Emerald, however, looked like he'd taken a cut to his right wing. It bled, but it didn't look like a severed wing.

"Emerald!" Spark called as he approached. Emerald looked up with pained tears in his eyes, but he grinned like an idiot.

"Don't worry yourself, Spark. They were fast, but I was...almost faster. Heh." Spark smiled and punched Emerald on the shoulder opposite his cut. "Good job, Emerald. You've got some great flying skills."

"Not good enough not to get taken down and nearly - " Emerald was cut off as Lemon Pop shushed him with a big smile.

"Don't even do that, Emerald. You've never been in a fight before, right? You're amazing to get off with just a scratch!"

Emerald blushed at Lemon's praise, then looked at Spark Storm for confirmation. Spark nodded. "Totally, dude. You've got my respect."

The four of them laughed and spoke quietly amongst each other until Blazing Dragonfly approached them. He eyed them all quietly for a moment until he finally spoke.

"It appears you are all relatively unhurt. Please, we must continue. We will have you treated once we reach our destination, Master Skies. Please." He gestured for them to move along, whereupon he took the lead once again into the dark of the night.

As Spark retook his position in the middle of the group, Twilight made her way to his side. She was getting tired from all the walking, and it was well past her usual bedtime. Spark noticed her slowing down, then moved close and pressed against her side, partially propping her up as they walked along in the darkness.

A little dazed from a lack of sleep, Twilight pressed closer against Spark. In her mind, she was walking with her brother. He usually helped her along like this when she was younger and too tired to keep going on her own.

So while Spark gave her balance, she closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder as the Pegasus acted as Twilight's walking guide pony. The night wore on, peaceful for the remainder of the trip through the woods.

Comments

[Jacensolo43]

Epic fight scene and d'aww moment?! THAT'S AMAZING!

[mrmayortheiv]

So, the dragon's not a big red meanie mcmeanie pants? And I liked the end, both the fight and the Dawwwws