Princess Luna stood tall beneath the arbory arch that led to the gardens. Before her, Tail, Bonecrusher, Indar, and a new unicorn stallion remained at attention. “Ms. Tail,” the diarch shouted with authority. “The squad is now under your command. Your orders are to patrol until the conclusion of the Summer Sun Celebration, or until Captain Barrier or I relieve you of your duty. Is that clear?”
Tail sharply saluted with a crispness in her step that she had not quite shown before. Indar, Bonecrusher, and the newcomer followed suit, and Luna responded by smiling at the squadmates.
“Take some time to brief your new recruit,” the alicorn added, “and good luck.”
Tail watched as Luna vanished into a bright, brief pop of magic. After a moment, she lowered her hoof and turned to the fourth member of her unit. “I don’t believe we’ve met. This is Indar and Bonecrusher. My name is Tail. It seems we have a moment, so I’d like to thank you in advance for joining us on this patrol. I know it’s a little unorthodox.”
The bone-white unicorn nodded after his icy blue eyes examined each of the ponies in his company. “Lieutenant River Styx, ma’am,” he replied in an Appleloosan accent that made Tail’s ears twitch to the country timbre.
The lavender pegasus quickly scanned Styx’s frame. Not as tall or bulky as Captain Barrier, she thought. Perhaps his specialties are more speed based. Would make sense given— Her ponderings derailed and her feathers ruffled when she noticed that he was saluting her. She quickly returned the gesture.
“There’s no need for that, Lieutenant. You’re the veteran here from what Captain Barrier told me. Though, if you wouldn’t mind, could you please tell me what your specialties are? That would help me set our patterns.”
River Styx dragged the saluting hoof over his gunmetal mane. “Yes, ma’am. Air and wind manipulation, silent teleportation, and levitation are my primary magical points of interest—in addition to basic castfire, of course. I’m a bit more nimble than most of my peers, so I aim to do things with quickness and precision.”
“Air and wind?” Tail tapped the bottom of her muzzle with a gauntlet-covered hoof before her chocolate eyes glimmered with excitement. “You’ll be my wingmate then, and we’ll break in twos. I’ll take point. Styx at my flank. Indar, point of the second group. Should be a good spot to maximize the coverage of your shields.” She paused to stare at Bonecrusher. “And I’m trusting you with our backs, Private.”
A smirk split Bonecrusher’s muzzle, and she gave her jaw one of her freshly patented stretches. “You do save the best for last, Civvy. I’ll give you that.”
Tail snickered, watching as the earth pony fell into place a step to the right and back from Indar. She pivoted around and waited for River Styx to slide into his respective position close to her side. “It’s time,” she whispered, taking a single step before a raucous roar burst into existence. “Move out!”
Crowds sloshed about the streets. Admittedly, that was unsurprising considering the holiday was one dedicated to staying up through the night for the sunrise. Most ponies appeared content to give the squad jovial waves as the guards weaved their staggered column through the masses. Unfortunately, most was not all.
“Watch it, pal!” Crusher bit when a drunken reveller crashed onto her armored torso. The lime mare promptly pitched the tan assailant from her withers and spun to snatch his scruff with her forehoof.
In a heartbeat, Tail turned and stepped to the pair. Fear-filled aquamarine eyes peered up at the pegasus as heavy breaths puffed from the unicorn’s open mouth. The stench of booze hit Tail’s nostrils—apple and cinnamon to be exact—and she responded by lightly patting Crusher’s shoulder.
“He’s just a bit tipsy, Bonecrusher. No point in fussing over it. Just let him up, and I’m sure he’ll be on his way.” Tail’s calm tone drew a frustrated snort from the mare’s compatriot. It was not a behavior she intended to let fester for long. “However, Mr. Stallion, let me be clear. If my patrol catches wind that a partier is getting out-of-hoof, and that pony happens to be you”—Tail patted Bonecrusher’s shoulder again—“I won’t be stopping her from owning your flank.”
With her impressive strength, Bonecrusher hefted the stallion onto his hooves. She snickered as the wobbly and warned colt rather timidly stumbled back into the crowd. “Is it wrong that I hope we have to come back?”
Tail flicked her namesake and proceeded to her point position. “Yes,” she answered succinctly. “Yes, it is.”
She was met by the thoughtful-appearing gaze of River Styx, whose lips seemed to fluctuate between a grin and a grimace. Tail tilted her head at the spectacle, her confusion and concern driving the unicorn to actually ask the question that had obviously been sitting on the tip of his tongue. “Do you think that was too much? The statement to the civilian, I mean.”
The pegasus felt her heart thump heavily behind her breastplate. Of course, he would be testing her. He was one of Barrier’s trusted officer friends. Did I step over the line? I threatened a civilian. Oh my goodness, I did. She felt her feathers press against her sides as the trickle of Bonecrusher’s chuckles dripped into her ears.
“No, sir,” Tail stated with a tranquility that masked the turmoil that had brewed within her thoughts. Crusher’s cadence had set her straight. “He was sent on his way without further incident”—she leaned close to River Styx to whisper—“and it’s put a certain mare in a good mood.”
Tail firmly held her mouth shut in a desperate attempt to stifle a rather threatening yawn. The hours of venturing through the city had largely been uneventful. A few more over-exuberant revellers had crossed paths with the squad several times during the night, but nothing major had transpired.
In fact, much to Tail’s delight, things were going smoothly. Indar seemed—well, Indar was as calm as ever. Bonecrusher actually had what appeared to be a contented smile plastered to her muzzle, and Lieutenant River Styx had done little beyond prod the pegasus with a few questions whenever she made a judgement call.
“Amazing how boisterous it is out here by the wall,” Indar broke his stoic silence.
His comment prompted Tail’s gaze to wander to the stone defenses and intermittent towers that otherwise dwarfed the residential neighborhood. “Happy ponies will celebrate,” she answered over the drone of cheers. A smile graced her muzzle as a few partiers danced in the streets. The night would soon come to an end, and she hoped that the dawn would bring a new chapter in her budding career.
A few more blocks drifted past the staggered column. The harmony of citizens continued to stroke their aural senses—until the raspy squeal of a foal popped from an adjacent alleyway. Tail’s head snapped, sending her stare down the darkened backroad after her forehoof shot out horizontally to signal company halt.
“Help!” The coltish sound pulled the pegasus closer to the penumbra, and the tappings of scrambling hooves yanked her attention. A teary, red-eyed flier emerged from the shadows before he burrowed his grey coat against Tail’s armor. “Please help me!” the jet-maned youngster squealed. “Ponies are chasing me!”
Styx flinched at the spectacle, and his brow descended as he watched his C.O. wrap one of her forelegs around the colt. He mumbled something under his breath but hushed himself when Indar and Bonecrusher stepped forward to Tail.
“Sweety, you’re safe now. Nopony is going to be after you anymore,” the mare spoke in a motherly tone as she gently brushed his back. She turned her head to give a curt nod to Indar, a sign for the shieldmaster to be on alert, before re-affixing her focus upon the fluffball that clung to her kit. “What’s your name, little one?”
The colt relaxed his grip, took a step away from the relatively towering mare, and drew his fetlock to wipe his dampened cheeks. His barrel still heaved heavy breaths from his tiny frame, and Tail fought to bury the rising anger that swelled within her towards any pony that would bring this kind of harm to a child. “I’m—um—I’m…”
The kid’s fading voice drew a grunt from Bonecrusher, and it prompted a soft groan to slip from Styx’s barely open muzzle.
“My name is A.K. Yearling,” he answered sheepishly—an answer which drew wide-eyed gapes from both Tail and River Styx. Blinks soon after followed from the two guard ponies, and the colt blinked a few times as well. He tilted his head towards River Styx, and his raspy, pouty voice re-emerged. “Why does no one ever believe me?”
“Because you’re obviously pretending to use the name of a famous author as your own,” Styx challenged through his Appleloosan drawl.
The rebuttal earned a stomp from the offended colt, and his feathers ruffled to a childish fluster that reminded Tail of herself in her youth. “Nuh-uh! Aunt Daring uses my name as hers! I’m not the pretender!”
Tail crouched in front of the colt and peered into his eyes. She spoke with emphasis, hoping to cut out any further arguments with a child stemming from her lieutenant, “Well, Mr. Yearling, do you mind telling me where you’re staying? It’d be my unit’s pleasure to escort such a renowned author home—”
“Explorer!” he corrected. “I’m staying with my aunt for the holiday, but we got separated.”
There is no way this colt can be telling the truth, but he seems so convincing when he speaks. The pegasus scrunched her snout and let out a soft sigh. A tender, age-appropriate coaxing was on the tip of her tongue. Somewhere, she imagined, Captain Barrier was checking in on this scene with a smug grin on his face. Then again, a guard’s duty was to her ponies.
“Where is my damn amulet, you impudent brat?” a booming voice ensnared the guards’ attentions and dragged them into the darkened depths of the alley.
Fire sparked across Tail’s chocolate irides as they reflected the orange blaze of an incoming spell. Her breath hitched, and she snatched the colt with her forehooves before tumbling away from the approaching bolt. “Indar! Hex, shot high!”
A lattice of hexagonal shield planes burst into existence at the behest of Indar’s glowing horn. The barrier protected Tail and A.K. from the assault, and it deflected the jarring, hellfire beam into the sky to produce a rather dramatic explosion. “Not good,” the stallion huffed just loud enough for Tail to hear after the shattered panes dissolved into the night.
Two storeys up, two-tenths of an A.E.U. The uncovered parts of Tail’s coat stood on end. She tightened her grip on the colt while snapping her sights to each one of her ponies. Debating the kid’s identity had to wait for later. The alley—the street—they were both dangers. That shot came from a rooftop, which meant that they had to get off the grid unless they wanted to become the victims of an ambush.
“Above!” Bonecrusher’s roar redirected Tail’s focus to a maroon pegasus whose dropping trajectory was on a collision course for Styx’s neck.
“Off the road!” Tail spat. “House right!” She lunged through the opened window of the nearest home and came crashing into a thankfully empty living room. Her squadmates flashed into position at her sides—with River having teleported himself, and with Indar having taken care of the additional burden known as Bonecrusher.
The pegasus flipped the sobbing colt onto her saddle-spot and rose to her hooves. There was no time to linger. She had to get the little one to a safe place. They needed to get some separation. Then she could think. You can think on the run! “Indar! Styx! We’re jumping house-to-house! Short-range ports!”
Tail started sprinting towards the opposite wall, pulling the stares of her compatriots just long enough for their brains to switch gears. She felt River’s magic engulf her in an oddly familiar warmth, and the earthly tones of the dwelling quickly stretched beyond the limits of her senses.
Three of them popped into a crowded kitchen filled with a family of startled ponies whose shocked, frozen poses and expressions drew an apologetic squeak from the marginally queasy lavender pegasus. “Sorry! Just passing through!” She twisted, regaining her balance atop the homeowners’ wooden island, and scrambled in the direction of the nearest friendly establishment her mind could register.
Shouts from those inside joined a cacophony from the ponies in the streets—those whose nights had been perturbed by the chaos her unit was undoubtedly tugging along. “Buck, I think we’re being tagged! Lieutenant, what’s your silent teleportation range?”
“Five blocks, ma’am,” Styx answered as he ran behind a cluster of equines who had been baking.
More screams came from the next room—certainly due to the intrusion of Bonecrusher and Indar. “Keep the pattern! We need to head two blocks towards Central, and then we’ll double-back to the wall!”
Bonecrusher’s agonized groan filled the house. “Why are we running, dammit? I fuckin’ hate teleportation!”
“Because,” the pegasus replied as Styx and Indar warped the quintet into the darkened bedroom of yet another abode. The soft landings upon an elegant violet silk bed were each met with brief, yet relieved grunts from the guards. “I want to get this colt to the Phoenix Fire.”
“You want to drop off a foal you just met at one of the busiest bars on the morning of the Summer Sun Celebration?” Styx once again prodded.
“Yes!” This time, Tail shouted her succinct answer. “We need to get the kid out of danger, and a bar full of the toughest guards in Equestria is just the place. Plus”—she glared at the lieutenant with that passionate inferno Bonecrusher, Indar, and Captain Barrier had come to know very well—“I can’t fight all-out with him on my back.”
...Please let the goons after the colt be dumb enough to go in the bar. It would be glorious.
8279301
We'll find out next week... on the next exciting episode of
DBZNLD!Hmm... I wonder just how much of this is a 'test.' Is this a test, or a setup? Maybe both? Wouldn't surprise me for Barrier to kill two birds with one stone. Hmm... given he wants no question of Tail's competency, I say its both; test Tail, protect a defenseless civilian and artifact, and deal with a bad guy. Real consequences. It can't look like he set anything up, after all.
8279336
Apples.
8279347
8279372
Exactly.
Were I a pony, my ears would've twitched more at his name than his accent.
I suppose I should be grateful that his name isn't "River Tam."
camo.derpicdn.net/7b5f0c924a8826fb8da34825ff89de13d6dd8736?url=http%3A%2F%2Fpinkie.mylittlefacewhen.com%2Fmedia%2Ff%2Fimg%2Fmlfw8357-mlp_cliffhanger.jpg
Gah! Some action and it leaves me wanting more><
Also did you guys know your on the featured list right now?!?!?!
8279536
Dun dun dun!
8279581
I love combat writing. :3 It's one of my favorite things to do.
Um, Because A.K. is, one a mare and two an adult.
Well that works too I guess.
Now that raises some questions. Either A) he is lying or B) Is really telling the truth.I really hope that it's option B) because that would be pretty cool.
Okay this little colt is almost certainly A.K.'s nephew.
ME-"The Phoenix Fire?"
Me- "Oh Never mind."
Hmm I would not have thought of that. Good call Tail!
Now this is just screaming epic to me that an epic fight is coming. And I do so love epic fights.
Great chapter. Can't wait for the next chapter.
-BFBL
8280339
I have been looking forward to CH26-CH28 for so long. :P It's great, and a little bittersweet, to finally be here.
8279588
So will the next chapter be lengthy?
8280371
The last three chapters have the following word counts: 2609, 2222, 3018. And the story of the final chapter, lol, I will have an AN about. It's actually pretty damn funny.
8280345
Bittersweet? What is the story coming to a close soon? Or is it just a major turning point for the story that's going to drive the story forward
8280399
NLD has 30 chapters in it. It's not quite bittersweet because we're nearing the end of NLD. As I'll mention in the AN of Ch 30, Sober and I wrote NLD to get us to the beginning of the RP log between Tail and Barrier. It... for all intents and purposes... is an origin story. There's a lot more to cover, and we've already started working on the sequel, No Longer Alone. The bittersweet is that once we hit the end here, this experience will likely be paused until NLA comes around. I love the comments. I love the communication. I love talking to folks on Discord who like this story. I love hearing about what they're working on. I love growing the friendships. Hell, Sober and I started talking to one another because of our stories, and eventually it led to this. Interactions are just damn awesome.
What's "PR"?
8280416
RP = role play. Sober and I write the characters real-time on Discord/Skype/etc.
8280425
Sounds like a fun time.
8280428
It's a magical thing.
8280377
Nice.
8280754
Now if you join the Discord server, your journey will be complete. ;)
Who knew that Daring Do had a nephew.
Also is River Styx your character or someone else's?
I must additionally apologize for the delay in my response but I've been on vacation in the Colorado Rockies and the cabin my family and I have slept in has literally zero Internet reception.
8281963
River Styx is one of the chars from back in the day. Probably one Alticron came up with for an iteration of APD. I'm sure he'll add input.
As for the other questions, I'll give the same hint I gave to cold. Apples.
8281988
You know when first read that name, I initially assumed that the character's special talent involved something of a morbid nature. Because the name Styx is one of the five rivers of the Underworld and where the spirits of the dead venture to the afterlife (according to the Greeks).
On the other hand, the stallion was possibly given that name to show that he has potential of becoming a great warrior like Achilles, who as a baby was dipped into the River Styx by his mother to give him absolute invulnerability (excluding his heel of course).
8282180
Hehe, well things will be clear next week.
8282194
Fair enough.
8282264
But seriously... apples. :P
8282267
You mean Daring's nephew is related with Applejack's family?
8282418
Shakes his head. Nope.
And things go wrong... Now
8281988 Actually, Sober made River Styx and his cutie mark as far as I know. He was shown in a flashback in APD:AP, and may be been mentioned a couple times outside of that. His picture was included with the rest of Barrier's team seen in the picture I made for chapter 45 of that story. I can't really say anything about this version of him because I wasn't involved with the writing all that much. For all we know, it's entirely different in this universe. Basically all I did when make the design for Bonecrusher and a couple of background details about her.
8282486
rofl. :3
8282491
Woot, more info. :P
8282532
Ha
8282591
Next week will be fun. :P
8282491
That does make some sense.
8282483
So why did you suggest apples? Wait, you don't mean the Golden Apples from Assassin's Creed, do you?
8282611
Good Info to know
8282756
The answer is in the words. :3 ;)
8282802
Very well, but it still sounds vague.
8282894
That's because I'm being a vague Wing. :P
8280764
link?
8282910
Alright, aside from the vagueness, I really like how Bonecrusher is being more respectful of Flicker Tail in this chapter.
8283179
In the last few author's notes. But... https://discord.gg/4u8h8Z6 There it be!
8283188
She and Tail duked it out. Bonecrusher's biggest gripe with Tail was that she didn't think Tail was a fighter. That got thoroughly dismantled.
8283228
Crusher would be floored to find out about the weapons Tail's developing and testing.
Nnuuuuu, I caught up! How dare you suck me into this story with your constant
harassmentspammingposting of regular updates in our Discord channel, Wing!Also, River Styx is definitely Magic Barrier, since he created a river of death first in the midst of the griffons and then among his cadets.
8292603
ROFL, is it really spamming? Also. you get a gold star. There is another gold star to earn though.