Indomitable Journey's End

by Slendy

Chp. 1 - The Rumbling

Across the wide-stretched plains between Ponyville and the Badlands border, the noon was bright and tranquil, not a creature stirred under the warmth of the day. Or until the shriek of metal and a jet engine tore through the plains, tugging at the trees. Gleaming from the sun, a large, slender dragon covered in glossy silver scales flew high. Its most notable feature is its wings, which were fused into a trident-like structure, each segment ending in an opening designed to expel dragon energy. It's back lined with fin-like projections. The head bore a small crest, and its eyes are blue. Its chest has three horizontal gaps used to take in and pressurize air like a jet engine.

The Sky Comet Dragon, Valstrax.

With a slight pivot of the wings, I found myself scrambling to wrench my Bone Rush between its wings, keeping myself from plummeting at Mach speed. Did I enjoy it?

"Yaaaaaaaah~!" That about summed up my time out here. "Tch, would you consider slowing doo~oo~wn~!?!"

Valstrax spun sharply, threshing upright to slingshot me high into the clouds, a flash of crimson parting the clouds as I came eye-to-eye with the burning blue orbs against my scarlet. It was testing me. Bringing itself back into a flip, I blocked with Quick Guard, the clear barrier shattering under the weight of the tail as I too spun. The wind was pulled around us while I gathered two Aura Spheres, tossing them toward the soaring beast as it spiralled between them, fanning out its wings to blow me away.

"Hyper-!" Sucking in the dangerous energy, I twirled, arcing the attack from left to right. "-Beam!" The whip of unstable reddish energy grazing Valstrax while it flew past my legs, knocking me downward sharply with just its velocity. "I'm getting sick...!"

Without warning, I crossed my arms, raising Protect against the sudden force of a comet against my forearms; the wind screamed behind me as Valstrax's eyes burrowed into mine, a cone of wind forming around its beak. The wind was almost impossible to brace moving at this speed; just how fast was this metal vulture attempting to go!? Then it hit me, literally. "Oh right, gravity is a thing." Noticing we were rapidly approaching the ground, I braced with what strength I could apply in the air, a blinding, silver light gathered at my paws. "Counter-Counter-Counter-Counter!"

The force applied suddenly left my body; the exhaled force slammed into Valstrax, neck flung backwards while I spun a few times, my descent continuing though without the crazed Elder Dragon on my tail as it reeled from the kinetic backlash. Holding my arms wide, a soothing, pink aura travelled down my body, Calm Mind followed by a rising fury of four swords above my head. Bringing my arms into a cross, I watched through my aura as the blazing blue flame surrounded by a silver outline zipped through the air, craning around toward me.

"Dragon Pulse!" My eyes adjusted to the tucked form of Valstrax, sending a devastating wave of white and purple energy toward his chest, filling the vents with a vibrating force of my own 'Dragon' energy, causing him to shriek, faltering enough for me to slide down the length of his body between the jagged wings while the splayed to stall its flight. Rolling down the lower back, I vaulted over the tip of the tail, descending into the small cluster of trees below. "Ack!"

I tumbled sharply, using Quick Guard to lessen the pain, my world spinning until I crashed to the solid ground once more in a heap of branches and leaves, groaning. "I think I developed a fear of heights..." My eyes were spinning.

*Fwoosh-Bam!*

A sharp gust of wind and the smell of copper stung my nose as the wind knocked me against the trunk, staring up shakily toward the burning blue irises and blood-red pupils. Valstrax kept his posture wide; wings splayed to enlarge their form as it snarled down at me. Rage and... curiosity? Bubbled in his soul. Not a muscle twitched between us; if needed, I could try another Hyper Beam, though how effective it would be left much to the imagination.

A sharp exhale from the wings' exhausts released red dragon blight into the air before it hissed once more, bringing its bladed wings high to slam down sharply, lifting it off the earth for another massive burst of wind pressure from its wings. With the roar of a fighter jet, the gleaming monster shot forth high above the plains, leaving me to stare through the hole in the trees as it left without so much as a roar. I, for one, flopped against the dirt.

"Thank God he's a nomad dragon..." I got my ass handed to me, literally. Not often, a monster left me thankful it wasn't out for blood; we just had a... disagreement.

"Zen!" Now that's a voice to pep me up when I'm down.

"Heeeey, love," I waved lazily, staring forward as the familiar, one-winged Treasure Hunter finally caught up to me, panting for all her worth. "Enjoy your run?" I mused.

Yui tugged her hood down, shaking out her lilac bangs with a smug snort. "Enjoy your flight?" Okay, that's fair. Once by my side, she sat her saddlebags down, inspecting my body as I winced from the bruises, internal or otherwise. "You really overdid it this time..."

"Like that's anything new with me." She lightly struck my forehead. "Shutting up now - ah."

She applied one of the remedies we knew to my stomach in the form of a roll of bandages applied with aloe vera, it was painful, and without any energy for Life Dew, I was left unable to lift a finger, watching how her face scrunched up with that concentration of hers. The silence was nice among the trees; with Valstrax long gone, the wildlife returned to its chatter.

"What do we do now?" She finally spoke, scrutinizing my arms. "Valstrax isn't going to mistake you for a 'harmless creature' again, if it's even still in the country."

"Very true - ngh!" Okay, that arm hurts. "I can't track them as easily without my ruby, despite the remnants still in my aura." Beggars can't be choosers.

"Guess we should head back home," Yui sighed, rubbing her head with her wing, looking slightly unnerved. "You know, it doesn't matter how many times I see it, you fighting these monsters still..." I looked at her funny until she blinked wide, smiling anxiously while waving her hooves. "N-not that I doubt your abilities, hardly, it's more um... ah how do I put this..." She started muttering under her breath, or until I leaned over to peck her snout.

"Love you too," With a wink, she dropped the deep-thinking face for a relaxed smile, nuzzling my cheek.

"Sweet - well, up you get," She pulled on my scarf, helping me roll to my knees to rise myself. With some effort, I managed to stand, scanning the hills that spanned the world. "So! I suppose we should rethink this strategy for chasing down Valstrax; any ideas?" Yui, never one to put off what can be done today.

Rubbing my chin, I gave it some thought. "He's nomadic but tends to perch himself in secluded areas or high altitudes..." That led my mind astray. Why was it here then? The plains were vacant of ponies, but that still didn't seem right, and why did it just leave us alone? "I dunno, the behaviour of this one seems almost too complex; I could just be overthinking it."

"You always do," Yui giggled at my frown, looking over her shoulder. "Maybe it's the universe's big test; it has almost been two years since you arrived here, when... we met," She rubbed her left forehoof shyly, returning her gaze forward. I didn't want to search her emotions; something was telling me not to right now. "Heh, two years, and you still have a reckless streak."

"And how are you any better? How many traps have I had to 'deal with' cause I'm the 'guy with the super cool muscles', thanks, by the way," I teased, seeing her stammer a blush.

"H-hey! I'd do it myself, but my Moon spells aren't diverse for combat!" She attempted to hide her true intentions, looking away while her pace quickened. "B-besides, you enjoy it, so no harm, no foul," Yep, she's hiding something.

With a devilish grin to rival Taka's, I leaned down. "Oh? Is that all? Suppose I'm not as 'super cool as I was when we first met, shame..." She knew my lies were as thick as paper but still refused to budge on the subject. "Tsk-Tsk, must be losing my touch, whatever shall I do? I mean, compared to the amazing, talented girlfriend of mine, I'm losing my edge; Oh, smart too, and funny, did I mention beuti-"

"Alright, I get it! You're really sexy when you fight; I admit it, universe!" She flailed her hooves into the sky, face crimson as I stood over her with a toothy smile stretching my muzzle. "You're insufferable,"

"You say that..." I hummed, leaning closer

Her breath hitched, parting her lips a little. "But...?" Yui whispered, bangs concealing her left eye falling back when she tilted her neck.

*Rumble... Rumble!*

Suddenly, the two of us fell atop one another, myself spinning so that she landed on my stomach, bracing the sharp shift in the crust. It came like a seismic kick to my chest, a tsunami of... power. I shuttered a breath, feeling the ground slowly subside under us, Yui looking down at me in worry. My face was a mixture of terror and confusion over whatever I just felt; brief as it was, Valstrax was akin to a toothpick to what I felt.

"Zen? Zen, look at me," I did, finding my uncertain gaze on the mare above, expression soft and reassuring. "Are you... still there?" Ah, right, overloaded senses due to aura caused a few episodes where I lost myself to my more animalistic instincts. It happened with Acidic Glavenus way back when and when Safi'Jiiva injured Yui.

"I-I'm good, that feeling though," Rubbing my paw to the grass, I sensed nothing but a dull, almost ghosty tremor of what hit me. "It wasn't normal, not in the slightest."

"We should really get back to Ponyville." I couldn't agree more. What did keep me pensive was the tremor itself, not just the vibrations in the soil; rather, my aura sensed a strange, eerie melody, like a song.

---

[Ren's POV]

Across the highlands along the outskirts of Canterlot, I can say nothing beats a collect quest that devolves into a battle! "Hmph, someone's frisky today? Sweet," I grinned, lunging to cut down the second Jaggi with a long slant of my blade, Hidden Saber. Jaggis were quite the nuisance from the Old World; how they ended up in Equestria probably has something to do with those lingering rifts Zen goes on about, nice guy for a bipedal wolf thing. "How's it go again...? Ah, right! Have at thee!"

The Jaggi are mostly pink, with purple foreclaws, back-stripe, head-frills, and cream-coloured underbellies. Their tails are barbed along the length of the appendage, and they sport sizable frills. The pod of them gathered, one rushing me from either side, so I grinned, sheaving my longsword against my hip, slashing out once their bodies were low enough to the ground. In a wide, crimson slash, windswept behind me, the two falling to the ground in a heap.

Three remained; one lunged and kicked, so I blocked with a rising slash, knocking it back before rolling away to evade the second, firing a scattershot pellet from my slinger, the ball disorientating the third for me to send flying into the side of the mountain. Running toward the wall, I hopped up and over the two lizards that charged my heels. Once high, red light coursed through my blade as I came crashing down with a single, vertical chop, cleaving stone and scales alike.

The burst reaction to my weapon's ability finished them off, not that they could really fare against a seasoned Huntress with Nargacuga equipment. "Points for effort, buuut you guys are worth a little Bits here, lucky me, hehe - Wah!!"

To say I expect the mountain to let out an all-powerful tremor from deep under the surface was an understatement. Whatever it was lasted a couple of seconds, leaving me dazed and a little wary of how close I was to the edge. "What the heck?" Looking around, the air was; still, no monster was nearby or made itself known. Was this what made those Jaggi all frazzled, to begin with?

Packing up my sachel full of herbs, I just called it a day. Maybe the higher-ups at Canterlot know what's got the earth-shaking up a storm...

---

[No POV]

Somewhere in Equestria, a small pony stopped to feel a faint tremor vibrate under their hooves, forcing their head up sharply in fright, hearing a strange calling, a song that made their eardrums twist. It was an unpleasant sound that made their fur stand on end, tail flicking sharply in protest. Turning left, their big eyes faced the vast expanse of the twinkling ocean. The sight made a smile return; it was a comforting remedy when their instincts were disorganized.

"Stupid song..." She huffed under her mane, biting her lip while the tide tickled her forehooves. She had to know what it was, why it kept persisting despite a sickening feeling curling in her heart.

[centre]"-don't for a second hesitate, and who knows, maybe we can explore another temple again or fight a monster?" She nodded with bubbling anticipation, her nose pressing back against the king wolf's palm as he closed his eyes. "...Goodbye."Inhaling through her nose, she let her eyes stare across the waves, stepping deeper into the waters that glossed her fur, scales beginning to glisten underneath. "Don't hesitate." She repeated, diving under the cool kiss of the ocean once more.

To Be Continued...

Author's Note:

It's time to wrap up the whole story. Renegade's over, and Indomitable has room for a sequel, though I didn't want something super long for fear of losing interest so here we have a 'movie' of sorts to finish off Zen and Yui's story.

Get ready for a final confrontation for our characters, a monster that threatens the world of Equestria as a whole. I hope you enjoyed, appreciate the support as always, seeya hopefully in the next chapter Hunters!

Chp. 2 - The First Song
The tremors grow increasingly frequent, so much so that Zen and Yui are summoned to Canterlot. There, the pair, alongside Ren and Topaz are told of an old tale from Princess Celestia's youth. Of when the world first sang.

Comments

[Veo Skride]

I am excited! This looks like its going too be fun! Thanks for writing Slender~

[Slendy]

10902286
I always appreciate your kindness, this’ll hopefully be a good special

[Thebobkiller]

MIRA'S BACK! YAY!

[Slendy]

11233742
The bubble pony returns!