A Close Call

Thwack

“I hate swamps! Why do we have to be here?” A small unicorn colt complains as they use a machete to cut through a set of vines on a fallen tree. “And why do we have to make the path?!”

“We have to make the path because Ranger Bowie has gone missing and we’re still waiting for someone to come and take over the job.” A taller earth pony filly replies as she tries to wipe some mud off of her blue coated face, eventually just using her red crusader cape to do so. “Stop whining Razor, the sooner we get this path done, the sooner we can sell mangos easier and buy better treats for the crusaders.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say Blue Iris.” Razor says as he wipes the sweat from his head with his silver-turned-brown hoof, spreading mud across his brow more than cleaning away the sweat. As he continues to cut away at the vines he mutters, “Totally not because Lilac Wind wants more mangos.”

“I heard that Razor!” Iris says as she bucks one end of the tree cracking the dead wood open.

“So what?! It’s not like she isn’t benefiting from this. Plus there’s that ‘cute bat crusader’ that she likes.” He shoots back, punctuated by another thwack of his machete. “You can’t tell me that’s not part of why she wants this!”

“Less jibber jabber and more chop chop, Razor.” She calls back as she starts pushing the broken part of the tree away from the place where the path will be. “You can have a treat when we get back to the lodge.”

Razor doesn’t speak again, but the thwacks of his machete come quicker than before. Slowly, the pair of them are able to de-vine the tree, break it up, and move it out of the way of the path. With that tree cleared away they continue down the planned path between the mango grove and the edge of the swamp. A couple of smaller trees block the best way through for carts, however, they look to be less daunting than the massive one that they had spent the morning removing.

Each tree that needs removing is marked on Iris’ map as they walk. The quiet ambiance of the swamp fills the silence between the two of them as they reach the edge of the swamp. The trees thinned out a while ago and the horrid smells of the swamp bogs fade as they come to a stop.

“Here we go, the path we’re making ends here.” Iris says to Razor as she takes a seat on the ground.

“Finally. Can we rest here for a while—like all night perhaps?” Razor says as he flops down onto the non-swampy ground.

“You know we need to head back, Razor. They’ll get worried about us if we don’t.” Iris replies as she scoots over to him and lays against him. “Plus we can have a nice treat when we get back to the lodge.”

“I know, I know. I just don’t like it in the swamp. It’s scary.” Razor shivers. “Those mole creatures almost got me once before we blew up their home.”

Iris makes a gentle shushing sound as she shifts and pulls him into a hug. “They’re gone now, they can’t hurt you and we got revenge for Bramble.”

“I miss him…” Razor says with a sniff.

“So do I, but we can’t do anything for him by crying. So we’re going to make this path out and sell a million mangos for him, okay?” Iris asks as she wipes away the tears from Razor’s face.

“Yeah, we’ll make him proud.” Razor says as he sniffles and reigns in his tears. “...do you think he’s happy in the treehouse in the sky?”

“Yeah, I do. I bet he’s watching us right now, happy to see that we’re going to be selling the mangos across the wasteland.”

“Thanks for being here Iris.”

“You’re welcome Razor, now let’s get back to the lodge before we miss dinner.”

The pair of them get back up and start off towards the lodge only to be stopped in their tracks by a mighty roar. The ground shakes as on the horizon looms a massive hydra. The beast charges through the swamp, not exactly in their direction but close. The pair of them dive for cover, using their small forms to hide from the lumbering beast. The behemoth of a creature stomps along not a hundred feet from their hiding spots and as they watch it, they realize that it’s not rampaging, it’s fleeing.

Following behind it is a tall—dark coated—unicorn stallion wielding a scythe in his magic while also firing off massive bolts of lightning. Each one making the beast roar in pain. All the while Razor shivers against Iris, his teeth chattering and his horn sparking a little. The stallion occasionally sends his scythe out to cut into the massive beast as they continue to drive it forward.

Slowly the roars and sounds of magic fade, but Razor doesn’t stop shaking like a leaf in the wind. Even with Iris holding him tightly it takes a while for him to calm down and all the while his horn sparks with magic.

“T-that s-st-stallion.” Razor stutters, his teeth chattering. “He’s… a god.”

“What do you mean, Razor? Are you okay?” Iris asks as she checks him over. “Your horn was sparking like you were going to have a wild magic burst.”

“Didn’t you feel his magic? The pressure of it?” He asks with a shiver. “It was like a tsunami, like in the story we read the other night.”

“I didn’t feel that, it was beyond impressive though.” She says as she lifts him onto her back. “Let's get you back to the lodge, okay?”

“Y-yeah.” Razor says as he holds tight to her back.

The trek back to the lodge is slow and by the time they arrive it’s well into the evening. When they step into the lodge the buzz of talk is almost overwhelming, all of which comes to a stop when they see Razor clinging to Iris’s back. Half a dozen crusaders rush over to them and take Razor over to a table to check him over. As they look him over Iris walks up to their group leader.

“Summer Days, what was all that chatter about?” she asks as she sits next to said pony, a colt with a yellow coat.

“Did you two see the hydra?” Summer asks as he turns to look at her.

“Yeah, it passed within like a hundred feet of us. Some kind of navy or black unicorn was driving it out of the swamp.” Iris says. “His presence had some kind of effect on Razor.”

“Razor’s not the only one. Three of the other crusaders are suffering the same effect. One of them said it was like their voice was being drowned out in a crusader meeting, but with their magic.” Summer explains. “We have no idea who this pony is, but if he’s removed the hydra from the swamp like you say, then we need to be careful. I want you to spread the word not to mess with him.”

“Will do Summer.” Iris says with a salute.

“Once you’re done, grab some treats and share them with Razor. You two deserve them after that.” Summer says leaning over and hugging her. “And thanks for bringing him back safely.”

Iris blushes at that and heads off to spread the word. Stay away from the mysterious stallion with a scythe, whoever he is...

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