> Tales of Old Equestria: 1st Saga
>  by Pending Storm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: Calm Before the Pending Storm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Equestria, a land of harmony and beauty, has known peace and friendship for centuries.  Ponies of all sorts can live without fear or hardship. However, this was not always the case.

A thousand years ago, the land was plunged into chaos by a mad spirit. An entire empire disappeared without a trace. Eternal darkness was only narrowly avoided by the banishment of one of the rulers of the land to the moon.

In this time of chaos, of an inexperienced and weakened crown, many shadowy threats had the chance to raise their heads towards the light to prey on the weak, or even pursue more dreadful ambitions.

Times of trouble, however, are the flames that forge heroes. Ponies rose to protect princess and country, some answering the call by their own choice, others forced to do so by circumstance. This is the tale of of some of those unsung heroes, without whom, Equestria would have become a very different, and darker, place… 



Chapter 1: Calm Before the Pending Storm



In a house made of clouds, a pegasus slept upon a cloud bed. Her pink mane covered her eyes, shielding them from the bright daylight that shone through her window. While other pegasi busied themselves with work or school, this little green pony continued to sleep. Her neighbors had long ago given up on trying to wake her. After hours of sunlight, however, the light of day was finally beginning to rouse her, slowly but surely.

A claw gripped the foot of the bed, followed momentarily by another. A mound of hairy flesh pulled itself up onto the bed. In her unconscious state, the pony was unable to sense the creature slowly stalking towards her. It crawled across the bed, staring at the sleeping pegasus with dull, black eyes. It reared onto its hind legs, raised its long, pointed claws, and pounced upon the helpless pony.

The pegasus screamed, instantly awake. She spun around, throwing the creature off of her.

“Ugh, dang it, Slowpoke! There are other ways to wake me, you know!” Pending Storm snapped.

Slowpoke, a sloth from a distant land, slowly rolled over. Pending had treasured the reliable pet since purchasing him from a traveling salespony years before. His daily duty complete, the sloth simply stared at Pending.

Pending Storm reluctantly got up and rubbed her eyes. She yawned, stretching like a cat. Blinking her eyes against the bright sunlight shining on her light green coat, she turned to her pet. 

Slowpoke just stared back, his empty eyes never showing any sign of emotion. They never did, nor did the rest of his face. Even Pending had to admit it was a bit creepy sometimes.

“...Next time, just tap me on the shoulder, would yah? You nearly gave me a heart attack,” said Pending Storm.

Slowpoke looked at her as if he was listening, but then began to lose balance. The sloth suddenly toppled over, asleep before it hit the bed. Waking up his owner had come at the cost of much of the sloth’s energy, which would be regained from his own slumber.

Pending Storm proceeded to her kitchen to get some breakfast, taking care not to step on any of the assorted clutter that littered the floor of her room. She opened her pantry, searching for something to eat. Nothing. She opened up the cupboards. Nothing. She reached deep into her cupboards to feel out any food hiding from sight. Nothing. She opened up all the drawers. Only the bitter leaves that Slowpoke seemed to love.

"Hm... I don't feel like eating sloth food. Again,” she muttered. There was no one else to blame, though. She was the one who put off the grocery shopping. Again.

Pending got her bag and headed for the door. “I’ll be back, Slowpoke. Gotta get some foods,” she said, but the sloth was still asleep. “Oh, and we need to get that cloudwalking spell cast on you soon, just so you don’t, you know, die.”

Cloudsdale, the cloud city of the pegasi, was a very safe place to live, so long as you were a pegasus. Pending had forgotten that non-pegasi couldn’t walk on clouds when she had bought Slowpoke, but fortunately, a unicorn in Groundsdale, the village below Cloudsdale, knew a spell to walk on clouds, even if it only lasted a few weeks at a time. The unicorn’s fee wasn’t cheap, but it was worth it to keep Slowpoke in her house with her.

Pending trotted to the market district, her eyes glancing over the various stalls with pegasi shouting about their wares. Brightly colored fabrics, foods, and other various goods all competed for her attention. But the little green pegasus was looking for one vendor in particular, a friend of hers that she could always get a good price from.

Finally, she spotted it, a small stall hovering by the edge of the next cloud over. A spinning rotor kept it airborne, occasionally belching a puff of steam. Roswell Rivet, the stall’s owner and inventor, had built it to sell his various gizmos and gadgets in Cloudsdale. When few ponies proved to be interested, he had turned to selling general goods, hoping that the charm of a flying store would be enough to stand out from the other local vendors.

Storm landed on the cloud, and walked over to the stall. Roswell was sitting in his stall, easily recognized by his trademark red trench coat. He had orange fur, and a brown and yellow mane. Above him was a sign that read 'Roswell Rations' in a stylish dark red font. He seemed quite bored as he leaned his head against his hoof. He looked up as he saw her walking over. “Pending!” he said, raising his hoof to greet her.

“Roswell!” she replied, raising her hoof as well.  

“I must say, it's quite unusual to see you awake this early in the afternoon,” said Roswell.

“Yeah, well, Slowpoke woke me up me earlier than usual,” she said, with a yawn.

“Ah, I see. And then you came to visit your good friend, Roswell?” He said with a grin.

“Actually, I came here because I’m out of food.” Roswell’s face fell. Pending smiled sheepishly; “...And to visit my good friend, Roswell, of course.” He lit up with a smile. “But mostly for food,” she said, causing his face to fall again. Pending Storm couldn't help but giggle; “I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist.”

Roswell frowned. “Hmph. So what would you like to buy, customer?” He replied, jokingly.

“Hmm... Can’t buy anything fancy; I’m low on bits right now.”

“Pending, you say that almost every time you shop here,” said Roswell. “I even give you a small discount. It's almost as if you're spending most of your money at other vendors...” He eyed her suspiciously.

“Naaah,” she said, giving him a dismissive wave of her hoof. “I just don’t get paid very often, plus I have to pay every few weeks to keep Slowpoke in Cloudsdale.”

“Well, you know I mean no offense, but maybe, perhaps, possibly, you’d have more bits if you weren’t so lazy."

Pending looked upwards, pondering with her hoof on her chin. “You may have a point there, Roswell... Nah, I'll stick to being lazy.” She got four bits out from her bag. “So what foods can I get with this?”

Roswell Rivet took a moment to think. “Do you like hay?”

She gave him a deadpan look. “I’m a pony; what do you think?”

“Er, right,” he said, realizing it was an obvious question. “I have some delicious, fantastic, small bundles of hay. For the measly price of four bits, I can give you four bundles!”

She smiled. “Great, I’ll take five!”

“Wait, what? You must have misheard me; I actually said four.”

“Oh, I know, I’m correcting you.”

“But Pending, you can only afford four.”

“Yeah, but I want five.”

“But Pending!” Roswell complained. “I cannot just give you free food! I need bits too, yah know?”

Pending Storm frowned. “Fine! And all this time I thought you were a true, true friend. I suppose I was wrong.” She shook her head, feigning disappointment.

Roswell sighed. “Alright, alright, here yah go.” He sets the five bundles of hay on the stall counter.

She grinned, set her four bits on the counter, and grabbed the hay bundles. “Thanks buddy! You really are a true, true friend!”

“Yeah, no problem, buddy,” Roswell said, clearly not satisfied with his payment.

He shook it off, and brightened up. “By the way, Pending, I recently wrote a new play! I know none of the theater’s picked up the last few, but I think this could be the one. I was wondering if you would edit it for me.”

“Um, sure, maybe later,” she replied. “Though I don’t really know much about writing… Anyways, see yah later, Roswell!”

"Till next time, my little green friend!"

She turned around and began walking towards her house, already chowing down on the hay she had just purchased.





Somewhere else in the sky, a tall, mighty pegasus stood on a cloud. Her dark grey mane and tail blew in the breeze; light shone upon her gold and ebony armor. Had she been wearing her helmet, her entire body would have been covered in armor, concealing her white coat.

She looked off into the distance, concentrating and waiting. After a while, a pegasus wearing a similar set of gold and ebony armor walked up behind her. His coat was purple, and his mane and tail were white. He also had a small beard.

“Commander Sky Fury,” he said in a gruff voice. “Everyone is ready.”

There was a moment of silence. “Excellent, Captain Inclement,” she replied, still looking off into the distance. “Make sure we remain concealed in the Shroud.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, and then flew off.  

The commander closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After a moment, she exhaled, opening her eyes. “Soon, the Sky Tribe shall strike, and everything will change.”

To be continued. . . 
> Chapter 2: Changes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Pending strolled through Cloudsdale, munching on her new hay. She passed many pegasi on her way, all busy tending to their shops, running errands, or otherwise going about their days. Some of them greeted Pending, though with her mouth full, she could only wave back without being rude.
                    
As she passed by two ponies, she overheard “There’s Pending Storm, probably heading back to bed, I bet.” Storm would have been insulted, but she had been called lazy many times before.  After a while, it wasn’t even insulting anymore… And actually, she had considered going back to bed.

She took another bite of hay; “Mmm mm!” Though not particularly exotic, hay was still one of Pending Storm’s favorite things to eat. She loved the taste and simplicity of hay and it also helped that it didn’t require preparation to eat. After swallowing the previous bite, she took one more and finished off another one of the hay bundles. She was still hungry, so she reached into her bag to grab another bundle.
            
“Oh, no.” Much to her surprise and disappointment, there were no more bundles of hay, as she had devoured them all while walking from Roswell’s stall. She was out of food and out of bits, a situation she found herself in on occasion. Usually she didn’t consider it an urgent issue as she always found a way out of these problems, but this time she was hungry, all out of food, and needed bits for Slowpoke’s upcoming appointment.
                    
Just as she was realizing her predicament, she saw a seafoam pony standing nearby. Pending Storm trotted up to her.

“Hey, Aria!” Storm said, smiling. The pony turned towards her.
            
“Oh! Hello, Pending!” she said, returning the smile while brushing aside her emerald mane from her face. Her name was Aria Sympony, a pegasus well-known for her skill with the string bass as well as her outgoing personality. “How are you doing today? It’s good to see you up so early, relatively speaking,” Aria said before giving a brief chuckle.
            
“I’m doing fine, thanks for asking. It does feel weird being up this time of day; I had forgotten the sun rose from the east,” said Storm, causing Aria to laugh a little. “So, uh, how are you?”
            
“Great! Today, I’m leaving for Canterlot to perform my music on-stage in front of hundreds of ponies! If the audiences really like my music, I could get a job there! It’s always been my dream to become a professional bassist, and Canterlot is where that dream can become a reality!” Aria said cheerfully.
                   
“Wow, that’s great!”
           
“Yep! Just imagine if Princess Celestia were to attend one of my concerts!” Aria beamed.
            
“That’d sure be something.”
            
“Mhm!”
            
There was a moment of silence between the two.
            
Aria raised an eyebrow, still smiling. “Were you by chance going to ask me something?” asked Aria.
                    
“Ah, yes!” Storm said. She gave a big smile. “Aria, my good friend... Would you be willing to spare some bits and/or foods for your good friend, Pending?”
            
“Oh, you’re broke?” Aria asked with a concerned look. “I’m sorry to hear that. May I ask what happened to all your money?”
            
Pending’s smile disappeared and she looks down at her hooves; she had been hoping Aria wouldn’t ask any questions. “... I ran out.”

Both ponies were silent for a moment.  “...So is that a yes?” Storm pressed.
            
“Aren’t there other ways for you to get money, Storm?”
            
Pending looked up, pondering with her hoof below her muzzle. “Well, there is petty theft...”
            
“Storm, no! What about your job? Yah know, the way most ponies get their money? You’re a weather pony, I’m sure there’s something for you to do.”
            
The green pony stared at Aria for a moment, her face expressionless. “Seriously, what else you got?”
            
“Oh, come on. If I’m not mistaken, your dad is managing all weather-related activities today. Why don’t you ask him if there’s a job available?” Aria asked.
            
“He is?” Pending asked, her eyes looking away.
           
“Yeah! The day is still young; maybe you’ll get a chance to make use of your special talent!” she said with a smile.
            
Her face expressed disappointment. “Alright. . . Good luck on your trip to Canterlot, Aria.” Pending smiled. “When you become famous and all, don’t forget us little ponies in Cloudsdale.”
            
Aria Sympony smiled back. “I won’t, and thank you.” She suddenly squeezed Pending with a hug, surprising the latter, who then hugged back. After a few seconds, they let go, and said their farewells.
                   
The green pegasus thought about seeking the financial aide of her other friends, but then figured she probably wouldn’t have had any better luck than she did with Aria. She still could have given it a try, but part of her was curious as to what her father, Star Storm, was doing at this time.

He was a night owl, figuratively speaking, as he loved to stare at the night sky, and he was a fan of astronomy. His job was to manage weather duties at night, which is why Pending was puzzled as to why he was managing weather jobs during the day.
            
After a short time of searching, she finally found her father. Star Storm’s dark blue coat stood out in contrast with the light blue background of the sky. He stood near the edge of a cloud, staring at a piece of parchment and quill that he held with his wings. She landed a few feet behind him.
            
“Hey, dad! Weird seeing you up during the day,” she said.
            
Star Storm turned around. There were lines under his eyes. “I could say the same for you,” he said with a tired voice.
            
“Yeah, everypony’s been saying that,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I thought you only worked at night?” She smirked. “You’re not gonna see any stars during the day.”
            
He raised an eyebrow. “You do know the sun is a star, right?”
            
Her eyes widened. “. . . R-really?”
            
Her father shook his head in disappointment. “What kind of daughter of mine doesn’t know basic astronomy?”
            
“Me, I guess. Why are you working at this hour?”
            
“Apparently the pony who usually manages the weather at this time is gone, so now I have to fill in.” He sighed from fatigue.
            
“Well, where is he?”
            
“Nopony knows. . . By the way, why are you here, sleepy head?” asked Star Storm, who was too exhausted to realize the irony of what he had just said.
            
“Slowpoke.”
            
“Ah.” He nodded his head understandingly. “Let me guess. . . You’re here cause you ran out of money and need a job.”
            
She put on a smile. “Actually, I came here to visit my beloved father, you!” Her father raised one of his eyebrows again, skeptically. Pending relaxed her smile. “. . . And because I’m all out of money.”
            
Star Storm turned his head, gazing off into the distance. “Well, you’re in luck. Incredible luck, actually.” 
            
“Oh, really?” she responded, glumly.
            
“See that?” He pointed at a large, roundish cloud off in the distance. “That cloud seems to be getting close to Cloudsdale. Too close. It’s got to go.”
            
“Wow,” she said, eyes widened. “That’s probably half the size of Cloudsdale. Why haven’t you sent anypony to disperse it?”
            
“I would have, if any of our weather ponies had returned from their tasks!” He frowned.  “Seriously, not a single one of them has returned! Absolutely ridiculous.”               

“What a lazy bunch of ponies!”

Star turned to his daughter, narrowing his eyes. “Yeah. . . Anyways, I was thinking of just getting some random pegasi from the city to do this job. . . But since you’re here, we don’t need anypony else, do we?”

“What are you proposing?” she asked.

“Usually a cloud of that size would take dozens of ponies to handle. . . But if it were to become a storm cloud, a certain somepony would be able to manage it all by herself.”

Pending smirked. “Heh, so it’s a job for the Pending Storm, is it?” she said as she slammed her hooves together.

“Quite so,” he said, turning his eyes towards the piece of parchment he held with his wings. “The next storm is actually scheduled for tomorrow. . . Let’s just reschedule that for today.” With his quill, he scribbled something onto the parchment. He then yawned while looking back at the massive cloud. “Once you’ve made it a storm cloud, make sure it drifts away from Cloudsdale; we don’t want a repeat of three years ago.”

Pending Storm flew up a few feet. “Oh, come on! One time! At least nopony got hurt!”

“That was a miracle. Regardless, be careful out there.”

“Psh, don’t worry, dad! A storm is no match for a Storm!” she said, gesturing to herself.
Without another word, she flew off toward the cloud. Pending usually hated doing work of any sort, but anything relating to storms was different. She'd always loved storms, and had always been good at wrangling them, even her cutie mark was a storm cloud with a stroke of lightning, and creating them was her specialty.

Pending slowed as she neared the cloud, circling towards the far side.  She glanced around to make sure nopony was watching.  She couldn’t see anypony, which was good.  Though pegasi had long been creating weather and storms, this little green pony could do so in a way nopony ever had before.

Pending Storm had the power to create and control lightning.

Of course her parents had taught her to always keep this power a secret.  Her ability was unlike anything her parents, or anypony, had seen before.  There was no telling how everypony would react if they knew, so the Storm family kept silent about it.

Content that nopony could see, Pending began to concentrate on building up a charge.  The air began to hiss, and small bursts of electricity began to flicker around her.  She rubbed her hooves together, focusing the voltage, and then slammed them into the cloud.

The cloud beneath her hooves began to darken as the electricity began to arc outward.  Small flashes began in the cloud, as the dark color spread in pockets along the surface.  It would take a few minutes for Pending to turn a cloud of this size into a storm cloud, but the scent of ozone heralded the clouds progressive transformation.





Commander Sky Fury observed the darkening walls of cloud around her angrily. Small flashes of lightning began to erupt as she watched, each seeming to exist just to spite her.
           
“Captain, what is going on?” she asked with an irritated tone. She didn’t like when something unexpected happened.

Captain Inclement, standing beside her, watched as the background went from white to dark grey. “I. . . Don’t know, ma’am,” he said, rather concerned. “It’s not like anything I’ve seen before.”

The commander frowned. “No. . . Have we been discovered? But how?” Her eyes narrowed. “It can’t be a coincidence that this happens right as we near Cloudsdale.”

He turned to face her, snapping a salute. “Commander, regardless of whether this is an attack or unknown phenomenon, I’d advise that now would be the time to exit the shroud. We are nearly upon Cloudsdale, and our troops are ready for the invasion.” 

Her eyes glanced at him, and then looked back at ‘the shroud’; it appeared as if a storm had started to surround them.

“Agreed,” she said, calmly. “This is it. It’s time.”
 
To be continued. . .
> Chapter 3: The Sky Tribe
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	A minute passed; the cloud was nearly fully converted into a storm. It had become dark grey; lightning flashed throughout the body. Pending Storm withdrew her hooves from the fluff of the cloud; the rest would take care of itself. She looked down at her hooves, still charged with electricity. She shook her hooves until the electricity dissipated. Glancing at the monstrous storm cloud, then at her hooves, she was reminded of her powers’ potential for destruction if they were to be misused.

My powers, if they were ever wielded by the wrong hooves, could certainly be used for evil, she thought. It’s a good thing nopony else has these powers besides me, a pony with zero evil ambitions... Or do I? Heh heh… Nah, I don’t. Probably. Yeah, I don’t. I think. Why aren’t I sure?!

Her thoughts were interrupted by what sounded like voices, coming from inside the cloud. It was brief; she waited a moment to hear the sound again, but she could only hear the rumbling of thunder. Beginning to wonder if she was just imagining things, she flew around to the other side of the cloud to see if she could find the source of the sound from there. Pending put her ear near the cloud, waiting for the sound to come again.

She heard a voice from inside the cloud, again, this time more clearly than the last. Pending gasped. There was a pony inside! It sounded like a single voice, possibly feminine, yelling something indistinct.

Is she yelling for help? Pending wondered.  “Hello? Can you hear me?” 

The voice got louder for a brief moment, then suddenly silenced. Worried that she might be in trouble, Pending began to dig into the cloud in an attempt to rescue the pony, but there was no telling how far she’d have to dig to reach the stranger.

“Hey, if you can hear me, just stay calm! I’ll get you out in a-” Storm was interrupted by what sounded like the yelling of many ponies from inside the cloud. She paused for a moment as the yelling got louder.

The cloud suddenly burst beneath Pending, hurling her backwards. Bits of crackling cloud pelted her.

She opened her eyes, only to see Cloudsdale rushing toward her. She flapped desperately, trying to reverse her momentum, but to no avail. She struck a house hard, the cloud walls giving way to her. She tumbled, painfully crashing through several more homes before crashing into a hardened support column, coming to a final stop with a horrible cracking sound. She hoped that wasn’t something of hers.

Pending Storm glanced upward, her vision swimming with pain. A spiderweb of cracks was quickly running through the column. Chips of hardened cloud began to fall away, as the great column began to groan forward.

Pending dragged herself to her hooves, desperate to get out from under the imminent collapse.

A blue colt was standing nearby, staring at Pending and the descending pillar. Pending fought against the pain and dizziness, hurling herself forward and tackled the colt out of the way.

The two rolled across the loose cloud as the great column crashed to the ground where they had been a moment before.

Storm collapsed, nearly passing out from pain and exhaustion. The young blue pegasus stood, staring down.

“Wow, Pending! You saved me!” said the colt. His name was Blue Flash; Pending had known him since he was baby, and they became friends when he had gotten older and more mature. Unlike some adult ponies, he wasn’t annoyed by her sometimes silly mannerisms. Most of the time, anyway... 

Storm struggled to get up. “Ugh... Yeah, no problem, Little Blue,” she said, calling him by the nickname she had given him years ago. “Are you okay?”

“Am I okay? If anything, I should be asking you that!” he said. “Are you okay?” 

She groaned and looked back at her wings. “Maybe... I dunno. Could you help me up?”

As Blue Flash went to help Pending up, Star Storm appeared, following the path of destruction left by Pending, leading clear through to the lesser used lower levels of Cloudsdale.

“Pending! You got blasted away!” he said, with weary incredulity.

“Yes, dad... I was there.”

“Are you okay? What happened back there?” Star asked.

Pending looked back and tried to spread her wings, but it caused intense pain. She flinched, then looked back at her father. “My wings hurt really bad, especially the left one,” she said. “And I don’t know what the hay happened back there!”

“Well, you’re lucky. If those houses hadn’t slowed you down, it would have been a lot worse.” Star turned his head to the side. “There’s something you need to see, Pending.”

The three ponies trotted over to where they could get a good view of the cloud. Pending’s eyes widened: there was a gaping hole in the side of the cloud where Pending had been.

“...What?” she said, barely audible to the others.

“We’re all as confused as you are,” her father said. “What happened before the cloud… Blew open?”

She looked down. “I heard a voice… From inside the cloud.”

Blue and Star glanced at each other, eyebrows raised.

“Then… I got blown back to Cloudsdale.”

“Something else must have happened,” said Star Storm.

“What?”

“Are you sure you didn’t use too much lightning on a single area or something?” he said.

“Yes, dad. I’m sure.”

“Um, guys?” asked Blue Flash.

“Uh, yeah, you sure about that? Cause I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what happened. Sometimes you aren’t very careful.”

“That’s not what happened, dad, I’m sure,” she said irritably. 

Flash raised his hoof to them. “Guys-?”

“I’m not convinced, Pending. We all remember what happened three years ago because you weren’t being careful.”

“Ugh! Again with that? When are you going to let that go?” she said, raising her voice.

“Guys, look!” Blue Flash yelled.

“You need to calm down. It has been my observation that you sometimes aren’t careful when it comes to weather-related activities,” Star replied.

“Don’t tell me to calm down! You’re constantly bringing that up over every little thing! I make one mistake and all of the sudden I’m reckless with the weather!”

Blue Flash flew up to their height and smacked them both in the face. At first they were simply surprised, then they turned to him in anger.

“Blue Flash!”

Flash pointed. “Look!”

The Storms turned to the large cloud, and their jaws dropped. From the hole, dozens upon dozens of armored pegasi were pouring out, right into Cloudsdale. Within moments, armed forces were in the streets, forcing ponies to the ground at spear point. The three of them had gone unnoticed so far, the shadows and supports of the lower levels shielding them from some careless glance, but that luck wouldn’t hold out.

“Wh-What is happening?” Flash asked anxiously.

Pending watched as the soldiers intercepted a group of ponies attempting to flee. “This is... an-”

“An invasion,” her father finished grimly.

“We need to go! Now!” the green pony declared.

The three ponies took off into the air, but Pending immediately fell down after a surge of pain from her wings. Star and Blue flew back to her and attempted to pick her up, but she pushed them away.

“Go! I... I’ll only slow you down!” she cried.

“I’m not leaving my daughter in the middle of an invasion,” Star declared plainly.

“Do it for Blue! He needs you! I’m not going anywhere with these wings,” Pending pleaded remorsefully.

“Then what are you going to do?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I’ll be fine... Probably. Maybe…”

Star Storm hesitated for a moment.

“Come on! Yah gotta go! They’re gonna get you! Both of you, go!” she exclaimed frantically. 

He stared at her for a moment, then shook his head and turned around. “We’ll all see each other again soon... Flash, come on!” The two of them flew off out of sight.

Pending was alone. There were soldiers all over the sky now. She looked around at the ensuing chaos, frantically wondering what to do.

Slowpoke! I should make sure he’s okay, she thought.

Pending started running toward her house, a haze of pain and concern for the sloth pushing away any considerations of stealth from her mind. 

She could see her house up ahead. Slowpoke lay in the window, watching Cloudsdale descend into chaos. The sloth saw Pending Storm heading towards the house, and lifted its long arms up to get its owner’s attention.

Don’t worry, Slowpoke. I’m coming.

She was almost at the door, when suddenly a soldier dropped down in front of her. Pending slid to a halt just before crashing into the armored pegasus.

“Halt!” said the intimidating stallion, with a voice like dusty gravel. He was taller than Storm, not made any smaller by his silver and black armor. He pointed a spear at her. “You’re coming with me.”

“To where?” Pending inquired nervously.

“To the plaza,” the soldier replied. He prodded her roughly with the spear. “Now go.”

With no other choice, she turned around and started walking toward the plaza. She glanced behind her and saw Slowpoke still by the window. It slowly ran its claws on the glass for its owner, but the sloth was helpless to do anything for her as she was escorted away.





Pending Storm saw the crowd of ponies as she neared the plaza. Nearly all the citizens of Cloudsdale had been grouped up in the middle, surrounded by many soldiers. Fear pervaded the crowd, made even worse by the dull thunder of the massive storm just outside the city.

The soldier escorting Pending shoved her roughly into the throng. She winced as her wing banged into other ponies in the crowd, though they didn’t seem to notice. Storm looked around, sad to see so many of her friends and neighbors caught in this uncertain situation.

She glanced around at the many pegasi soldiers that surrounded them. They all had their eyes on the gathered ponies, waiting for somepony to try to flee. 

Looking at their faces, Pending realized, to her horror, that she recognized some of the weather ponies among the soldiers.

Are they traitors? she wondered. Or were they infiltrators all along?

Pending thought she saw a flash of a seafoam green coat somewhere deep in the crowd. She began to push through the ocean of ponies, hoping she was wrong. Her heart sank as her suspicions were confirmed.

“Oh, no,” said Pending. “You hadn’t left yet…”

Aria Sympony turned around after hearing her friend’s voice. Her expression made it clear she was terrified.

“Pending? What’s going on?” Aria asked, her eyes glancing nervously from side to side.

“Remember when you told me to get a job from my dad? Well, he asked me to make that cloud over there-” She pointed toward the storm cloud in the distance. “-into a storm. Turns out, it was an egg, full of mean armored ponies, and I hatched it. Now they’re invading. Good times.”

“...What do they want?”

“I dunno, maybe we should ask them?”  Both mares looked up at one of the soldiers. He noticed their gaze, and glared back at them. The mares looked away immediately. “Or not.”

Aria covered her eyes. “Ugh, no... And I had originally planned to leave yesterday!”

“I guess my laziness has rubbed off on you, heh?” Pending said with an uneasy smile. Aria stared at her, wide-eyed, for a moment. “Sorry, just trying to ease the tension.”

“Oh, don’t be sorry,” said Aria. “It’s just... I’m scared.”

“It’s fine. I think we all are.”

“Where’s your dad?”

Pending glanced around the crowd to see if she could spot her father. “It seems he and Blue Flash were able to escape after all; that’s good. I couldn’t go with them after my wings got hurt, but it makes me feel better that they were able to make it to safety.” She smiled, but it was bittersweet.

Aria returned the smile. Something caught her eye to the left, and her smile disappeared. “Pending... I’m sorry…Look.” She pointed to what she was looking at.

Pending turned and saw what it was. Two soldiers flew toward the herd, carrying two other ponies. Much to Storm’s dismay, the one’s being escorted were Blue Flash and her father; they clearly had failed to escape. The soldiers flew up to another who had been guarding the crowd.

“We found these two attempting to escape the area,” one of them said. 

“Add them to the assemblage. The commander is about to begin her address,” the guard said. 

The soldiers dropped the prisoners into the other side of the crowd from Pending. They didn’t seem hurt, thankfully.

A purple pony in distinctive gold and ebony armor glided down to the fountain in the center of the plaza. Though normally a beautiful display of waterworks, the fountain now sat dry. “Pegasi of Cloudsdale! We demand your attention!” Silence fell as all eyes turned to him. “The great and honorable Commander shall address you. Disrespect or attempts to escape will no longer be tolerated as of now.”

He stepped to the side and saluted. A large mare descended rapidly from above, landing next to her subordinate with a force that caused the very cloud beneath Pending’s hooves to shudder.

The armored pegasus stood to her full height, her black and gold armor glittering in the sun.  She moved seamlessly in her armor, as if she and it were one weapon, made for war.  Her eyes scanned the assembly, their piercing yellow stare seeming to dare somepony to make a move.

After several long moments, she broke the silence.  “Greetings, pegasi of Cloudsdale.  I am Commander Sky Fury.  This-,” she said, nodding in the direction of her saluting subordinate, “is Captain Inclement, my second-in-command.  We are the Sky Tribe.”

Some ponies in the audience gasped at the mention of the name, though Pending wasn’t sure why. She didn’t remember hearing anything about a Sky Tribe.

The Commander raised her head. “I see we have a reputation around here. At least some of you remember the pegasi who stood against the princesses when they demanded we leave our culture behind, and were exiled for it. Forced to live in the cold north because we refused to abandon our values as warriors. And all because they signed a peace treaty with the griffons...” The Commander glared at her audience. “A peace treaty!” She exclaimed, stomping her hoof. “With the griffons: sworn enemies of the pegasi! They’re the reason pegasi are warriors. And Princess Celestia and Princess Luna just expected us to leave that all in the past? To just forgive the griffons for the countless wars? No…” 

Pending Storm remembered learning about the treaty with the griffons in school, but she didn’t remember hearing anything about the Sky Tribe. Then again, she often fell asleep during class. It did make sense to her, though; even in Cloudsdale, some pegasi didn’t seem to like griffons too much.

“After having to form our own settlement, we named ourselves the Sky Tribe, and swore we would never abandon the old ways of the pegasi.” Sky Fury said, with Captain Inclement nodding his head in agreement. “...While the rest of you stayed here and allowed yourselves to be assimilated into their culture of ‘peace’ and ‘harmony’. To be honest, I had expected more of a resistance against our takeover. Only a few of you fought back, and those that did…” She turned toward a couple of stallions in the front of the crowd, bruised and beaten. “-didn’t stand a chance. It truly is embarrassing just how weak and pathetic you’ve all become during our absence. I intend on fixing that when this is all over...” 

Out of the corner of her eye, the Commander saw two Sky Tribe warriors pushing what appeared to be a wooden stall with a spinning rotor on top, somehow keeping itself airborne.

“What are you two doing? What is that... thing?’” Commander Sky Fury asked with razor sharpness.

The two warriors immediately turned and saluted. “We found an earth pony hiding in this thing. He calls it an ‘air shop’.”

Roswell’s head popped up from behind the counter. “Though the store name is ‘Roswell Rations’! Remember: low prices, high quality! It’s also a flying store, how cool is that? I mean, come on.” It was clear he had no idea how dire the situation was.

Commander Sky Fury eyes were wide open; she seemed disturbed. She slowly walked up to the stall, while Roswell looked around and grinned nervously. The Commander observed the air shop from top to bottom with a troubled expression. After a few moments, she finally spoke.

“This thing is offensive,” she said.

Roswell looked puzzled. “Well, sure, it may not be the prettiest shop... But it’s pretty amazing, no?”

Sky Fury glared at him. “No! Loathsome ground-dweller... The sky belongs to pegasi alone!” The Commander swung her hoof outwards, extending a long blade from her bracer.  “Return to the dirt, where your kind belongs.”

“U-uh okay! Let me just get on the controls here and, uh, l-lower the stall’s altitude and then I’ll-”

Commander Sky Fury swung her blade at the shop’s rotor, slicing right through it. The stall plummeted down, straight through the cloud below, and disappeared from sight.

The crowd gasped, listening to the fading sounds of Roswell’s unfinished plea, as the soldiers only laughed. “Roswell!” Pending shouted in dismay.

Sky Fury turned around to face the crowd. “That’s what happens when dirt-dwellers invade our skies.” She gave a short thrust of her blade upward, retracting it, returning to her previous spot next to Captain Inclement.

“You’re a cruel monster!” said a young voice from the crowd.

It was Blue Flash, staring directly at the Commander of the Sky Tribe.

Blue Flash, no! Pending Storm thought. He never knows when he should keep his muzzle shut.

Captain Inclement stepped forth. “Insolent little brat! That will not go unpunished!”

Commander Sky Fury raised her hoof. “Stand down, it is fine.” Inclement backed off, though he continued glaring at the blue colt. 

“It’s only understandable. They’ve been convinced by the Princesses that earth ponies and unicorns are their equals, but they’ll come around, and eventually join us.” Sky Fury turned to the crowd. “Or they can look forward to spending the rest of their days in a cell.”

Blue Flash continued. “How do you expect to get away with this? Do you really think Princess Celestia is going to allow you to just take over Cloudsdale?”

The Commander raised an eyebrow, slightly annoyed. “I was actually getting to that.” She turns to face the rest of crowd. “That’d be a good point, if we had only planned on taking Cloudsdale. But this is only the first step in our plan to liberate Equestria from the tyranny of alicorns.”

Pending was still thinking about how the Commander killed Roswell. Nopony could survive a fall from Cloudsdale, stall or no stall. She wasn’t the only one in the crowd grieving for the earth pony.

Sky Fury continued her speech. “This land will only be safe once pegasi are in control of it. Since Celestia and Luna became leaders of Equestria, our land has been under threat time and time again. The Princesses couldn’t stop King Sombra from casting the spell that made the Crystal Empire vanish from existence. Countless beings have attempted to take over Equestria over the years because they see it as a vulnerable kingdom ruled by weak leadership, especially after one of the Princesses had to be banished.”  

“Equestria needs strong leadership, one that rules through fear and domination. The pegasi need to take their place as rulers over the lesser ponies. For these reasons, I plan on personally dethroning Celestia.”

The crowd gasped once again, some ponies even with tears in their eyes. Many of them couldn’t imagine losing Princess Celestia; she had been a protector of Equestria for so many years and was beloved by many.

Blue Flash wasn’t done yet. “Your plan won't work! Somepony will get the news to her of what you’ve done!” Star Storm gave him a slight kick as a sign to knock it off before he got in real trouble.

Unexpectedly, Sky Fury smirked. It was surprisingly just as intimidating as her frown. “I guarantee you, my little pony... That won't happen. We have made sure of it.”

Blue Flash was at a loss for words, though it was probably for the best. 

“We’d be accepting recruits, but there’s the issue of trust, and now is far too crucial a time for us to be taking any risks. Besides, I wasn’t exactly impressed with your ‘defense’ of Cloudsdale. We had expected a bit more resistance, which is why we created the Shroud.”  Commander Sky Fury glanced back at the massive storm cloud behind her; it was completely dark, lightning flashed from it, and rain poured from the bottom. “... But now it is clear it was a waste of time. Speaking of which…”

The Commander glared around at the crowd. “One of you knew we were in there, and somehow turned the entire Shroud into a cloud of lighting and thunder. Who is responsible?”

Almost everypony looked around at each other, unsure. Star Storm and Blue Flash gave each other a nervous look, while Pending tried to act casual.

After a few moments and no reply, Sky Fury grew increasingly impatient. “I will have an answer...” Again, there was no response. Furious, she reached into the crowd, grabbed Blue Flash, and held him up in the air. A blade extended from the armor of her other hoof. “Confess now! Or the foal will suffer for your cowardice!”

Pending Storm now knew she couldn’t keep quiet any longer. She had to turn herself in, before Commander Sky Fury took any more lives. She was just about to speak up when... 

“It was me. I did it.”

All eyes turned to the confessor: Star Storm. His hoof was raised so that all knew who had spoken. Pending just stood there, stunned.

Sky Fury lowered Flash, staring at Star Storm, an eyebrow raised. “It was you, old stallion?” she asked with a hint of skepticism.

“Yes,” he said, as he left the crowd to stand before the Commander.

“How?” 

“It’s just my special talent. My last name is Storm, after all.” This much was true, as most of the Storm family had at least some talent with creating storms.

She simply stared at him. “I don’t believe you. You only wish to save the colt.” She turns to address the crowd. “For lack of responsibility, as well as his failed attempt at deception, these two will both suffer.” The Commander lifted Blue Flash up again, and prepared to strike with her blade. Many ponies in the crowd either gasped in horror, or averted their eyes.

Pending raised her hoof. “Wait! Stop! It was me!” Everyone turned to her.

Sky Fury then stared at her, just as skeptical of this confession.

The green mare slowly made her way through the crowd toward the Commander. It took much of her willpower to resist her urge to cry. “It was me, I swear! I made the Shroud into a storm cloud… But it was an accident! I had no idea you were in there! I’m sorry!”

The Commander found this confession to be a bit more convincing. She looked up at one of the Sky Tribe warriors floating above, as he had been undercover as a weather pony for years and knew almost all the ponies with any connection to weather or storms. “What say you, Private Cyclone?”

The Private was startled from being suddenly called on. “That’s Pending Storm, that old stallion’s daughter. She also has a talent for making storms, but it far surpasses any weather pony I know of. If anypony could have done it, it’s her, ma’am.” 

Sky Fury thought to herself for a moment. “... I see. Well, then… Normally, you’d pay dearly for such a mistake, but... Considering my potential uses for your talent, I’ll allow you to live. And since you claimed responsibility…” She tossed Blue Flash back into the crowd. He landed on his stomach, though he wasn’t seriously hurt. “The colt lives.” Pending breathed a sigh of relief.

“However…” The tall pegasus commander turned to Star Storm. “You, on the other hoof, attempted to deceive me, and I will not tolerate that from anypony, for any reason.”

Pending’s eyes widened. “Wait, no!” She moved toward them to intervene. 

Commander Sky Fury swatted her away with her hoof, sending Pending flying back several feet. “Silence, mare! Your father must pay for his sin!” Once again, she readied her blade.

Pending lay on the ground, biting back the renewed pain in her side. She could only watch helplessly as the deadly blade lifted... She reached out toward them. “No!”

A lightning bolt suddenly shot from Pending’s hoof, knocking Commander Sky Fury off her hooves with a great CLANG. Pending was shocked. Everypony just stared, mouths agape, even Captain Inclement.

Not only had she not meant to use her powers, not only had she never used her powers to harm anypony before, but now everypony in Cloudsdale knew her biggest secret.

“What the... Seize her!” barked Captain Inclement. The dozens of Sky Tribe warriors already in the air readied their weapons. 

Pending backed up, and noticed the crowd pressing to keep their distance from her. She bolted, running as fast she could, as the crowd made way for her. It crossed her mind that she could try throwing lightning at the pursuers, but there were too many of them, and she wasn’t confident enough in her powers.

She turned the corner, and suddenly two Sky Tribe warriors landed right in front of her. Pending gritted her teeth, recognizing one of them as the same one who captured her before.

“Halt!” he yelled.

“No!” She yelled, extending her front legs out in defense. Two lightning bolts struck the warriors, blasting them aside. Pending glanced at them as they lay on the ground; they appeared to be stunned. 

She continued running until she had reached the edge of Cloudsdale. Pending looked down; they were thousands of feet in the air.

Dang it! With my wing injured... No, I have to try! She thought to herself.

Pending pushed herself to fly, trying to ignore the unbearable pain, but without success. She tried again, willing her wing to flap, but the pain weighed it down like a lead weight.

Hearing the flap of pegasi wings, Pending turned around. The pursuing warriors had caught up to her, pointing their spears at the little green pony.

Pending sat up and raised her hooves at them. They backed off a little, wary of the power their leader and comrades had just been taken down by.

Commander Sky Fury dropped out of the sky next to Pending, per her typical dramatic entrance. She didn’t appear to have been seriously harmed by the lightning.

Her eyes were filled with rage. “You! How did you do that?!” She walked closer to Storm.

Pending, scared for her life, pointed her hooves right at the Commander. “Stay back!” She yelled. 

Sky Fury struck out, kicking Pending hard off the edge of the cloud, strongly desiring to avoid being struck by lightning a second time.

The Commander glanced over the edge of the cloud, wanting to see where her quarry would try to fly off to. To her surprise, the green pony simply plummeted. The fool must have been knocked out when she kicked her.

The Commander watched as Pending disappeared into the distance below. There was no way a pony could survive a fall like that.

Inclement caught up to her. “Commander, what happened?” he asked.

“That freak of nature is dead,” she said coldly, walking past the Captain.

“I see... So, shall we proceed with the plan, ma’am?”

“Yes. Incarcerate the Cloudsdale pegasi. Then, we capture Groundsdale.”

To be continued...
 

> Chapter 4: Groundsdale
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The zebra casually looked over his merchandise settled into his shop’s gloom, making sure all of the items were in reasonable condition. His goods ranged from masks crafted in his homeland, to various potions, to miscellaneous exotic items. Most of his products weren’t quite as valuable as he would have his customers believe.

The shop was briefly illuminated with sunlight as a pony entered through the door, then returned to its usual darkness. A light gray earth pony, a rapier sheathed at his hip, walked toward the zebra, carrying a very large and heavy bag upon his back. He stopped at the counter, and stared directly into the shopkeeper’s eyes.

“Zavanno,” the stallion greeted the zebra coldly. “You still have it, right?”

The zebra grinned. “Ah, Hardy, it is good to see you again. How many weeks has it been? Nine, maybe ten?”

The stallion narrowed his eyes. “Cut to the chase,” said Hard Counter. “Do you still have it?”

“Hmph.” The shopkeeper reached under the counter, and pulled out a small box, securely sealed by a combination lock. Carefully spinning each of the six small wheels, he entered the combination. Opening the lid, Hardy could see a small vial within, filled with purple liquid.

“I still have it, as you can clearly see,” Zavanno said, closing the box and locking it. “I will give it to you, for the negotiated fee.”

Counter sighed, then swung the bag off his back and onto the counter. The bag opened up, causing an assortment of bits and gems to spill out. Zavanno beamed at the sight.

The zebra grabbed a coin and inspected it to make sure it wasn’t counterfeit, then began to laugh gleefully. “Yes, yes, this will do! I can retire now, thanks to you!” he said, handing the box to the stallion.

Hard Counter took the box. “Yeah, I bet,” he replied scornfully, turning the box to the side with the lock. “What’s the combination?”

“2-0-1-5-5-3. Then flip this catch, and your purchase you will see.”

Hardy repeated the numbers in his head while setting them into the lock. He flipped the catch as instructed and opened it, revealing the small vial of purple liquid; his eyes lit up when he saw it. The gray-coated stallion removed it from the box and examined it, being extra cautious not to drop it.

He tried to restrain himself from getting too hopeful, but he couldn’t help but feel a little emotional. The vial he held was quite possibly his last hope... 

“Why do you look so blue, even though this item finally belongs to you?” a perplexed Zavanno asked.

Hard Counter turned to Zavanno. “Do you always have to speak in rhymes? Seriously, don’t you get tired of it?” The merchant frowned for a moment, then went back to counting his bits.

This could have been a potentially joyous moment for Counter, but he reminded himself that even if it worked, his problems were far from over.

Hardy returned the vial to his box, before putting the box in a pouch on his sword belt. “If this doesn’t work... “

“I guarantee it will, otherwise I will refund your bill... Mostly.”

Counter raised an eyebrow. “Mostly?”

“You owe me for reserving that item for as long as I did. Not negotiable, I’m afraid,” he stated.

The earth pony frowned, pointing his hoof at the merchant. “You... Didn’t rhyme that time,”

Zavanno smiled. “Because you’re right, I do get tired of it. And now that our transaction has concluded... “ He pointed toward the shop door. 

Hard Counter exited the shop. Outside, the warmth and brightness of the sun was refreshing after being in Zavanno’s dark hut. He brushed aside his purple mane as he looked up at the sky, admiring its beauty. 

Cloudsdale, home of the pegasi, hung high in the sky. Hardy knew some earth ponies and unicorns who wished they could see the cloud city, but he personally wasn’t interested; from what he’d heard, it was just a bunch of clouds with a couple of rainbows here and there, nothing too interesting. Not to mention, he didn’t care for the idea of being miles above the ground.

There appeared to be a dark cloud near Cloudsdale; no doubt the pegasi were working on something weather-related.

Looks like a storm cloud, he thought, then sighed. And it was such a nice day... 

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun. This was a new day, one with promise. Hardy wasn’t really the optimistic type, but it seemed as though things were starting to look up. He took a few more moments to relax before beginning the next step of his journey.

His eyes opened wide as he was startled by a loud crash nearby. Hardy looked around and saw a cloud of dust rising from the other side of the village. 

“...The hay?” He ran toward the commotion, joining the growing crowd of onlookers.

Counter waded his way through the crowd of mumbling ponies to get a better view. Choking dust partially obscured somepony’s newly ruined home. Though the walls were mostly intact, the entire roof had been caved in.

“My house!” a mare exclaimed, pushing her way through the mass of ponies to her home. She opened the door, releasing a puff of dust, causing her to cough. The mare looked inside, only to see it filled with rubble and debris. She started to tear up.

Hardy’s curiosity got the better of him. He went up to the door, looking past the mare to see what had happened within. Much of the debris was clearly once part of the roof, as well as some wreckage he couldn’t identify. “Sorry about your house... No one was inside, right?” 

The mare wiped away some tears. “No, I live alone... How could this have happened?”

“It looks like something crashed through your roof; no idea what it was, though.”

She took a deep breath as she tried to calm down. “Must have been the pegasi, then. But why?”

“Well, I doubt they did this on purpose.” He noticed the mare wasn’t really comforted by that. “Don’t worry, I’m sure your fellow townsponies will be more than happy to help you clean this mess.”

She looked at him with a smile. “Thank you. I’d really appreciate it,” the mare said with a sniff.

“Um, well, I-I didn’t mean me... I actually live in Hoofington, and I’m going to be heading back there real soon,” Counter said with a sheepish grin. She looked at him skeptically. “So, uh... Good luck with your... uh... house.” 

Hardy turned around and starting trotting towards his next destination. Usually, he might’ve taken some time to help out a pony like that, but the last thing he wanted to do today was waste any more time. There was only one thing he had to do before leaving for his hometown of Hoofington. 

He soon arrived at another house, opened the door and entered inside. “Crashy, I have it!”

A white unicorn entered the room, her green eyes widened. “You have it?” she asked in astonishment.

Hardy patted the pouch on his sword belt. With a smile, he repeated, “I have it!” She ran up to him, her fiery red and orange hair bouncing up and down, and the two embraced.

Her name was Crash Landing, or Crashy for short. Hard Counter met her when he first visited Groundsdale several months before, and since that time they had become more than just friends.

“You ready to go? Cause I’m hoofing it to Hoofington right now,” said Hard Counter.

“I can’t leave just yet,” she replied, her smile disappearing.

“Huh? What?” Hardy asked, surprised. She knew the significance of this occasion, so he wondered what could possibly be so important that she had to delay their departure. 

“Something’s come up... Or should I say down.” 

Crashy led Hardy to her room. An injured pony lay, unconscious, in her bed, tucked under a blanket.

“Who the heck is this?” Hardy inquired, puzzled.

“Her name is Pending Storm,” she answered. “We’ve met a few times before, but I don’t really know her that well.” 

“Okay, why is she here?”

“I was outside watering my flowers, and despite it being a sunny day, I thought I heard thunder. I looked up at Cloudsdale, and noticed the dark cloud next it.”

“I saw that too.”

“Having not much better to do, I stared at the sky for a bit, curious to see what the pegasi were going to do with it. Not much happened, and I was losing interest. Just before I went back to my flowers, I noticed a dot in the sky. I correctly assumed it to be a pegasus, but then I noticed she wasn’t flying, she was falling. I grabbed my net, and dashed off to catch her.”

“The one you use to catch Wonderbolts with?” Hardy asked.

“Yes, that net,” Crashy answered. “But what’s important, is I managed to catch her!”

He smiled. “Nice job, Crashy! Saving lives; that’s my girl!”

She blushed. “Thanks.”
        
Crash Landing was known as Groundsdale’s local safety expert, mostly when it came to flying for pegasi. It was often her job to instruct young pegasi about flight safety, and on some occasions oversee the Wonderbolts while they practiced dangerous stunts. Needless to say, Pending wasn’t the first pony she’d saved from certain death.

Hard Counter walked to the side of the bed, examining the pegasus. “So... Did she just forget how to fly or something?”

Crash Landing snorted. “Doubtful. I don’t know what happened, but her left wing was really beat up. It looks pretty recent. I doubt anypony could fly with a wing in that kind of state.”

Hardy lifted an eyebrow. “She was in a city of fluffy clouds... How could one injure themselves that badly in a city of fluffy clouds?”

The green mare began to groan, slowly shifting her head from side to side. “Uuugh. . .” 

Crash Landing quickly went to the side of the bed, looking over her patient. “I think she’s waking up,” Crashy told Hardy. “Ms. Storm?” she whispered.

Pending groaned even louder. “...Today’s forecast... M-me...”

Hard Counter looked perplexed for a moment, before looking up. “Ah.” He smirked. “Heh, I get it.”

“Ms. Storm?” Crashy asked again, a little louder. She placed her hoof on Pending’s shoulder. 

Her eyelids flickered for a moment, then slowly opened. She sluggishly sat up, then looked up at Crash Landing. 

“Ugh... Oh, hey Crash, err, Landing?..." Pending turned to the other side. “... Hey... You?”

He smirked, and extended his hoof towards her. “Hello, the name’s Hard Counter.”

“That’s nice,” Pending said. She turned back to Crash Landing, apparently too drowsy to notice Hardy’s offering of a hoofshake. “What... Am I doing here?”

“Well, I brought you here after I caught you.”

“Caught me? Caught me doing what?” Pending glanced at Hardy then lowered her voice. “Was it something I wouldn’t want ponies knowing about?”

“No, Ms. Storm, I mean I actually caught you. With a net. While you were falling. From the sky.”

Pending was stunned for a moment. “Falling... From the sky?” She looked down, contemplating what Crash just said.

“Yes. Can you remember what happened? What made you lose consciousness? What happened to your wing?” Crash Landing asked.

Pending Storm continued to ponder it. “I... Maybe? But I think it was a dream, wasn’t it?” she asked herself. “It had to be... “ To verify, she touched her left wing, pressing against it, which caused her significant pain. “Ow!” 

“Are you okay? How bad does it hurt?” Crashy asked, concerned that Pending’s wing might have been broken.

Storm didn’t hear her, too lost in the rising panic of realization. “But then the other stuff... Oh, no…” She hid her face in her hooves. “Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no... “

Hardy and Crashy looked at each other, unsettled by the pegasus’s reaction.

“What is it, Pending?” Crash Landing asked.

Storm lowered her forelegs, staring down at the blanket. “Cloudsdale... A bunch of mean ponies came... They took it over... They almost killed me... ” 

Hard Counter leaned forward. “Who?” he asked with a hint of impatience. 

She turned to him; he could see the dread in her eyes. “The Sky Tribe.”

He stared at her, then leaned back, lifted his hoof up to his chin, thinking. “The Sky Tribe... Are you sure?”

“Trust me, they made sure we knew who they were and what they wanted.”

“But they’ve kept to themselves in the northern part of Equestria for decades... For them to suddenly attack now... They can’t still be mad about the treaty with the griffons, can they?”

Storm’s eyebrows raised. “They are. How do you know about them?”

“I used to be a soldier; it was part of my job to know Equestria’s enemies. They’re crazy, war-mongering, supremacist pegasi, and were banished for good reason.”

“Wait, hold on!” Crashy said with a raised voice. “You’re telling me that Cloudsdale, the city right above us, has been invaded by these ponies?! What about the citizens, are they okay?” 

Pending looked back down, a somber look on her face. “I don’t think any pegasi were seriously hurt... But my dad... I don’t know if he’s going to be okay... And Roswell... Roswell’s gone.”

“Gone?” Crashy said, startled. “What do you mean ‘gone’? Did something happen to Roswell? Is he okay?”

“The leader of the tribe broke his air shop. We last saw Roswell and his shop fall through the clouds... ”

“Air shop?” Hardy was confused at first, but then he remembered Crashy telling him about a pony in town who owned a flying shop. “Oh.” Then he thought back to what happened after he left Zavanno’s shop: the mysterious object that crashed into one townpony’s house. “Before I came here, a large object crashed into somepony’s house; I’m sorry to say, but I think it was the air shop.”

Tears began to run down Pending’s cheeks. She wiped them away and tried to refrain from sobbing. “You didn’t see him there? Where it crashed?”

Hardy sighed. “No, but there was a lot of rubble... “

“Oh.” she said sorrowfully, looking down at the bedclothes. 

Crash Landing covered her face, trying not to cry. Hardy went over to her side to comfort her.

“You mentioned that the Sky Tribe made it clear what they wanted. What was it?” Hard Counter asked urgently. 

Pending wiped away her tears, and sniffled one last time; the mourning would have to wait. She suddenly became more alert, looking at Hardy straight in the eyes. “They plan to take over Equestria; they plan on overthrowing Princess Celestia.”

The unicorn and earth pony gasped. 

“Overthrow the Princess?!” Crashy said, shocked and horrified.

“H-how?! How do they plan on doing this?” Hardy questioned.

“They didn’t say how! It was obvious they didn’t trust us.” Pending Storm got out of the bed, still a little sore after being kicked by the Commander. “But we can talk about that later! What we should do now is warn Groundsdale that there’s an army of evil pegasi right above us all!”

The three ponies suddenly heard shouts and screams coming from outside. They ran to one of the windows, looked out, and were horrified at what they saw.

Dozens upon dozens of pegasi, all clad in black and gold armor, rained down from the sky, chasing and arresting the citizens of Groundsdale. They began to knock down doors, apprehending the ponies inside. 

Hardy glowered. “I think they already know.”

“No! This is like Cloudsdale all over again!” Pending choked, eying the chaos.

Crash Landing became visibly distressed. “W-what do we do now?”

“We can’t stay here!” declared Pending. “They’re gonna kick your front door down any second!” 

“Good thing we have a back door,” Counter replied.

The three ponies hurried to the back door, leading to the small alley next to Crashy’s house. Hard Counter slipped into the alley, checking both directions. Seeing nopony, he motioned for Crashy and Pending to follow. As they neared the end, Hardy motioned for the other two to stop. A Sky Tribe soldier hovered just around the corner, still unaware of their presence. Counter drew his rapier, preparing to make the first strike if seen.

Suddenly, across the street, a shadowy figure darted down an alleyway. The pegasus flew to investigate and pursue, disappearing from sight. 

Hardy glanced both ways down the road, before turning to the others. “Alright, stick together, don’t let them see you, and we might just escape. Luckily for us, we’re not too far from the edge of town, right, Crashy?” 

“Well, yes, but are we just going to abandon our town to the Sky Tribe?” she asked.

“Sweetie, I’m flattered you think I could face dozens of soldiers by myself,” Hard Counter said. “But I’m not that good. Besides, there’s no way I’m gonna risk you, her, or this-” he patted the pouch on his sword belt. “-falling into their hooves.”

“I can defend us, too,” Pending said timidly.

Hard Counter looked at her skeptically. “Uh huh...” He looked both ways of the road again. “Okay, coast is clear.”

The three ponies dashed across the thoroughfare to another alleyway. Hidden by the closely clustered houses, they made their way towards the far end.

Ducking between the last few buildings, the three ponies arrived at the edge of Groundsdale.  A short courtyard, and a small field beyond, was all that separated them from the safety of the northern woods.  That, and the two soldiers keeping guard, hovering at the courtyard’s edge.

Hard Counter clenched his teeth, hearing the two mares sigh in dismay.  They were so close… They could try to circle around, but every moment in the city meant more danger.  He couldn’t rely on Pending and Crashy knowing how to move stealthily, so the only option was forward.

“We need to make it to the woods,” he said. “Trust me.”

The mares nodded, and followed behind him into the middle of the courtyard.

“You there, halt!” The Sky Tribe soldiers advanced, leveling their spears at the ponies.

“You three are coming with us,” said one of the soldiers, a mare not much older than Pending.

Hard Counter drew his sword and pointed it at the warriors. “No, thanks.”  

The other soldier, a stallion, chuckled. “You don’t want to do that.”

Hardy turned his head to the side, his eyes shifting between the Crashy and Pending, and the Sky Tribe warriors. “You two, go without me,” he said, just quiet enough for the soldiers not to hear. “I’ll hold them off.”

Crash Landing shook her head. “No, I’m not leaving without you. I can help, and so can Pending, maybe.”

“I can? Y-yeah, I can,” Storm claimed.

“No, seriously...”

“This is your last warning,” the warrior stallion said. “Surrender now, or else we can’t guarantee we’ll be taking you alive.”

Hard Counter sighed anxiously. He turned to Crash Landing and whispered: “Fine, but stay back. Crashy, you use your magic to hold one of them in the air while I take care of the other one. Pending, uh, moral support.”

“I can do it,” Crashy assured. “Well, maybe…”

“So, am I supposed to cheer? Or say ‘good job’? Or…?” asked Pending.

Hardy face-hoofed. “Dear Celestia…”

“That’s it!” the armored mare snarled. “You were warned!”

Counter steeled himself. Though it was three against two, the odds were still in favor of the two soldiers, who had likely trained their entire lives. Hardy knew he couldn’t rely on Crash or Pending in this fight.

If we get through this alive, I’m definitely going to give Crashy fencing lessons.

The soldiers pointed their spears at the earth pony armed only with a rapier. “Alright, dirt pony, we warned you!”

Hardy braced himself as his foes charged, when suddenly a black shape came flying out of the shadows. 

The black-clad unicorn delivered a flying kick into the armored stallion, knocking him into his partner and sending both Sky Tribe warriors sprawling through a nearby house.

The stranger landed on her hooves, then turned to the three shocked ponies. She gazed at them with her red eyes, the same color as the shock running through her black mane and tail. The pony wore tight, black garments, which covered nearly all of her, allowing only a few glimpses of her tan coat underneath. Around her neck she wore a light gray scarf, a bit torn at the end.

After a moment, she suddenly disappeared in a flash of red magic. The Sky Tribe warriors the stranger ambushed appeared to have been knocked unconscious.

Hardy, Crash, and Pending were stunned, eyes wide.

“So... That just happened,” said Hardy, a little relieved.

Crashy looked upwards and poked at Counter with her hoof. “Look.”

The three of them looked up. It was the mysterious pony again, standing on the roof of a nearby house, her scarf waving in the breeze. She looked down at them.

“I wouldn’t stay here if I were you,” she said, her voice muffled by her outfit. 

“Who are you?” Hard Counter asked.

“There are still others who need my help. I’ll distract the soldiers long enough for you to escape. Good luck.” And with that, she teleported away, disappearing in a magical flash.

“She reminds of me of somepony... But I can’t put my hoof on it,” Pending mused aloud.

“That’s great and all, but I’d suggest that we now take her advice,” Crashy urged.

“Agreed,” Hardy said, sheathing his sword.

The three ponies fled Groundsdale, running as fast as they could. They didn’t spare even the moment to look back until they had reached the northern woods. The woods were certainly no forest, but were still at least dense enough to help conceal them from aerial patrols.
        
Exhausted, the group took cover under a tree to rest.

“Okay... Now that we’re finished running for our lives... Who the hay was that?!” Counter asked.
        
“I’m...  not sure...” Crashy said, trying to catch her breath. “But if I had to guess... I’d say that was...  the Shadow Ninja.”

Pending, slumped against the tree, breathless, turned to her. “Of course... the Shadow Ninja! I’ve...  only heard the stories... but she definitely fits...  the description.”
        
Hardy raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me, what? Shadow Ninja?”

“There have been stories around Groundsdale-”

“And Cloudsdale,” Pending interjected.

“-and Cloudsdale, of a ninja pony, who defends the village against threats. A few years ago, when a pack of Timberwolves attacked the village, it is said that she destroyed each and every one of the monsters and then scattered the remains so that they couldn’t reform.”

“I heard she once fought a cragadile that had gotten too close to town, and that she kept blasting it with her magic until it fled back to the Everfree Forest.”

Crashy turned to Pending. “Well, I heard-”

Hardy raised his hoof. “Okay, I get it. But who is she?”

“Nopony knows. The Shadow Ninja has never revealed her true identity. She could be any unicorn in Groundsdale…” Pending looks at Crash Landing with suspicion. “Any unicorn.”

Crash narrowed her eyes. “Storm, I was right next to you when she appeared.”

“Oh...  Okay, so maybe it isn’t Crashy.”

“Maybe?”

“Okay, moving on from the ninja pony,” Hard Counter interjected. “What the hay are we going to do, now? The Sky Tribe’s captured both Cloudsdale and its sister city, and they could be sending scouts to look for anypony who might’ve escaped.”

Crashy looked down and gave a dejected sigh. “Oh, I hope everypony in town are okay... Pending, why did they kill Roswell?”

Storm shuddered as well. “He was an earth pony. The Commander, Sky Fury, said the skies belong to pegasi, and pegasi alone.”

“And most of Groundsdale are earth ponies... I fear for them,” Crashy said grimly.

“Pending, I’m sorry to bring this up, but I must ask,” Hardy said. “You mentioned you weren’t sure if your father was going to be okay. Why?”

Storm got uneasy. Her father got in trouble because she was initially too scared to take the blame. She would also have to explain her powers to the two of them, though Pending wasn’t sure if it was worth keeping a secret anymore.

Her eyes looked away; she nervously rubbed the back of her head. “It’s... Complicated.”

“Complicated?”

“I’m sorry, it’s just-”

She stopped. While she averted her eyes from Hardy, she had been looking off in the distance, and in the distance she saw something strange.

“What is it, Storm?” asked Crash.

“I think... I think I see another pony!”

“Sky Tribe?” Hardy asked, gripping his sword.

“I don’t think so; doesn’t look like they’re wearing armor. It looks like they’re hiding in a tree!”

Without another word, Pending ran off. Counter and Crash immediately followed right after her.

The tree wasn’t far away, on the edge of a small meadow. Pending skidded to a stop, followed closely by Crash Landing and Hard Counter. The three looked up and gasped.

Suspended from the tree was the limp form of a pony. The pony swayed slightly in the breeze, hanging from several threads tangled up with a large blanket-like cloth in the tree’s upper branches. The pony didn’t move, and his eyes were closed.

“Roswell?!” Pending cried.

Suddenly, his eyes flashed open. “Whoa, what? What? What’s happening?” He asked as he looked around in confusion. 

“Roswell!” Pending said again, her face glowing with relief.

He looked down and smiled. “Pending!”

“Roswell!” she repeated excitedly.

He chuckled. “Yes, it is I, Roswell... Now can somepony get me down from here?”

“Wait a second,” Hardy said. “You’re Roswell? As in the guy who’s air shop fell from the sky? As in the guy who’s supposed to be dead?”

“Yep, that’s me.”

Crash Landing smiled up at Roswell. “Mr. Rivet, I’m really glad to see you’re alive!”

“Heh, thanks guys, really, I appreciate it! But this isn’t as fun as it looks…You, with the sword? Would you kindly cut these strings for me?”

Hard Counter took a look at Roswell, and the threads he was trapped by. “I could; why don’t you just take off the coat?” 

“Oh haaaaaaay no!” Roswell exclaimed. “I don’t go anywhere without my trench coat.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“He’s not,” Pending said, shaking her head.

Hard Counter groaned. “Fine.” He turned to Crashy. “Mind giving me a lift?”

She nodded, took a deep breath, and began concentrating on Hardy. He started to levitate, ascending up to where Roswell was. Once they were on the same level, the stallion drew his sword and began cutting the threads, his rapier’s point dancing between the branches.

Roswell bobbed slightly as his weight shifted with each cut strand. He began tilting forward…

“Wait, no, no, no, no, no…!”

Counter cut the final thread, sending Roswell plummeting to the ground, landing face first in the dirt.

“Ow…” he said, glancing at Storm. “Pending, you could have at least tried to catch me.”

“Yeah... sorry...” she said, helping Roswell off the ground and brushing the dirt off his coat. “I still can’t believe you survived.”

“Of course I did! Did you think I wouldn’t have a back-up plan in case Roswell Rations ever decided to drop from the sky?”

“Well, I wasn’t sure if you had ever considered that possibility.”

“Are you kidding me? That thing was a deathtrap! Once I made the air shop, first thing I did afterwards was install a parachute in my trench coat.” 

“What’s a parachute?” Hardy inquired.

“Oh, just something I invented,” Roswell said, smiling proudly.

Hard Counter raised an eyebrow. “Right... Anyways, now that that’s taken care of, we should get-”

“Stop right there, ground-dweller scum!”

Startled, the four ponies turned around, and to their dismay, found themselves surrounded by a squad of Sky Tribe warriors, each one glaring at them from under their silver and ebony armor.

Pending turned to the others. “I think they’re talking to you guys…”

To be continued... 

> Chapter 5: Stand Off
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The group of ponies froze, eyeing the soldiers surrounding them. Hard Counter quickly drew his blade, not that it would do them much good. Not only were they outnumbered by the ebony-clad pegasi, but he was the only one with a weapon, let alone any combat experience.  Though he had only just met the pony known as Roswell Rivet, he didn’t seem like the fighting type to Hardy.

Hard Counter considered having them make a break for it past the tree, back the way they’d come, while he stayed to fend off the Sky Tribe. He glanced behind them, watching two of the soldiers, a mare and a stallion, circling around behind them to cut off their escape route. 

A half-dozen armored pegasi stared back at him, their spears at the ready. A blue-coated stallion hovered in front of the rest of the squad. He called out again, “You four may have managed to make it this far, but it ends here!”

Pending raised her hoof. “By ‘it ends here’, do you mean you’ll take us prisoner... Or we die?” she asked hesitantly.

“That depends on whether or not the earth pony surrenders.”  

“Me?” Roswell Rivet asked. “Why me? Although, I suppose I am rather intimidating, so it is understandable why you would deem me a threat, however if you knew me personally, you would know that I’m not a fighter, no, but a thinker, a ponderer, an inventor! So while I may disapprove of your capturing of us sweet, innocent ponies, you should expect no violent resistance from me, unless you intend to harm my friends and acquaintances; in that scenario, I would have no choice but to use the authentic fighting moves I’ve learned from watching various action plays! Furthermore-” 

Hardy sighed in exasperation. “He was referring to me…”

“Oh... Yes, that does make more sense.”

Storm hid behind Crash Landing. “Maybe we should just do what they say...”

“Some moral support you are, Pending!” Counter growled over his shoulder.

“Pending? Pending Storm... ?” asked a warrior in the rear.

She gave a confused look. “Huh?” 

As the warrior circled around to the front, Pending immediately recognized him. His coat was a familiar dark green; his mane and tail a fiery orange. It was Tropic Cyclone, or ‘Private Cyclone’, as he was referred to earlier by Commander Sky Fury. 

Storm knew him as a fellow weather pony for many years after he moved to Cloudsdale from Manehattan, or so he claimed. He was rather unfriendly for the most part, and rarely talked much about himself.

Pending stepped out from behind Crashy. “Tropic Cyclone!” she shouted, forgetting for a moment he was in league with the Sky Tribe.

The warrior’s eyes narrowed. “That’s Private Cyclone. ‘Tropic’ isn’t even my real name.”

“Oh, um, sorry?”

Cyclone rolled his eyes. “Whatever,” he said, shaking his head. “More importantly, though, how the hay are you still alive? Word on the cloud is that you were killed by the commander.” He looked at the group behind her. “And is that... Roswell?! Roswell Rivet?!”

Roswell shifted nervously. “Uuh, no! It is I... Other Roswell! Completely different from... Roswell Rivet, yes! Common mistake, but we’re completely different ponies, with similar tastes in fashionable coats, yes, that is true, what I just said, yes...”

Pending was silent for a moment. Seeing Cyclone again had forced her to remember what she had left on Cloudsdale, and who she had left there. “It’s a long story, but Trop- Private Cyclone... How’s my dad?! Is he okay?!”

He crossed his forelegs. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” he replied tauntingly.

“Yes, I would!” she exclaimed.

“I wasn’t- Ugh.” The private face-hoofed in disbelief. “Nevermind!” 

“Hold on, you mean she’s the daughter of that Star Storm guy during the assembly?” asked the blue pegasus.

“Yes, sergeant, that’s her: Pending Storm.” Private Cyclone replied. “Watch yourselves,” he said quietly. “She could potentially strike at any moment...” 

The squad began to spread out, their focus fixed on Pending.  Crash Landing and Hard Counter traded puzzled looks.

“Ms. Storm, what’s going on?” asked the confused Crashy.

Pending didn’t answer. The soldiers were obviously concerned about her lightning powers, and those would take way too long to explain. Fanning out, watching her cautiously, they were clearly expecting her to attack like she had up in Cloudsdale…

They’re afraid I might zap them, like I zapped those other soldiers… Pending thought.  They’re afraid of me...

She stepped closer toward the hovering soldiers, causing a nervous flutter of wings. The soldiers pointed their spears in her direction, but none of them dared to get any closer.

“Pending?” Crashy asked with alarm. “What are you doing?”

“Pending, no! Those are the bad guys!” Roswell shouted.

“Don’t worry,” Hard Counter said, intrigued. “I’ve seen moments like this before; she has a plan. ... Let’s just hope it’s not a crazy one.”

Pending stared at the soldiers as she tried to gather her courage.

“Stand down, girl!” the sergeant ordered.

She stomped her fore-hooves. “No! You stand down!” Pending Storm raised her right hoof and pointed it towards the Sky Tribe soldiers. 

The warrior pegasi backed up, holding up their spears in a vain attempt to shield themselves from a lightning bolt, gritting their teeth.

“You meanies think you can just go around bullying everypony?!” Storm shouted, taking a few steps closer, causing the soldiers to back away even more. “No! I’m done running away from you Sky jerks! Now it’s your turn to run!”

The other three ponies watched, mouths agape. They had no idea why the warriors would be even slightly intimidated by her.

“I am Pending Storm! And you will fear my lightning power!” She thrust her hoof forward. 

Nothing happened. 

“Huh?!” Pending glanced at her hoof, confused by the lack of lightning. She thrust her other hoof at the armored warriors. Again, nothing happened.

“Um... Hang on a sec,” Storm said with a sheepish smile. 

Everypony looked on as she desperately tried in vain to summon up her powers. She struck a gallant pose. She flipped around, using her hind hooves. She began rubbing her hair to build a static charge.

The Sky Tribe soldiers were confused, then began to howl with laughter at Storm’s antics.

“...And she went with ‘crazy’,” Hard Counter sighed.

“... Perhaps her wing isn’t the only thing that got injured.” Crash Landing covered her eyes.  “I can’t watch anymore.”

“Yah know, this reminds me of a time she drank too much cider,” Roswell remarked. “She tried to do something similar when I wouldn’t give her a discount on shortbread cookies.” 

After half a minute of desperate attempts, Pending had exhausted herself. Out of breath, she reluctantly looked up at the soldiers; “...This has never happened before, I swear!”

Private Cyclone laughed. “I have to hoof it to you, Pending, you actually had us there for a moment. To think, you managed to trick the entire Sky Tribe into thinking you had some sort of supernatural powers, but in reality, you’re still the same worthless pony. I’m impressed; I didn’t think you were capable of such deception.”

“I… I don’t understand…” She gazed at her hooves. “Why can’t I...?” 

“Cut it out, Storm! It’s obvious you were trying to scare us off with your ‘lightning powers’. Unfortunately for you, we saw right through your thinly veiled ruse!”

“What about back in Cloudsdale? How did she attack the commander?” one of the other privates chimed in. 

“She makes storms for a living, and we were all on a giant cloud. She probably just made a small storm cloud beneath her, then used it on the Commander, or something.”

Pending had never been so embarrassed. This was her moment to defy the Sky Tribe and help her friends escape, and she had failed.

Private Cyclone grinned. “What’s wrong, Storm? I’d think you’d be used to failure by now.”

Storm looked up at them again. “Cyclone, please... Just tell me if my dad’s okay!” 

“Don’t worry, you’ll find out soon enough. ... After we bring you to Sky Fury.”

Storm gulped. “To Sky Fury?”

“Ever since you zapped her, she’s been in a bit of a foul mood... Well, a worse mood than usual. I’m sure she’ll want to have a word with you. ... And you, ‘Other Roswell’.”

Roswell shrugged nervously. “I’m not sure what Roswell Rivet did, but I can assure you that Other Roswell, who is me, is completely innocent! I, for one, welcome our new pegasus overlords!” Cyclone simply rolled his eyes.

“H-hey, Cyclone, come on, w-we’re friends, right?” Storm stammered.

“No.”

“How about acquaintances?” 

“No.”

“...We’re both green!” 

“N- well, yeah.”

“That’s gotta count for something right?”

“No...”

“But Cyclone, a-after all the years we’ve known each other, y-you can’t just-”

“Shut up! Shut up!” the private shouted in annoyance. He pointed his spear towards her. “For five years, five years, I’ve had to play nice with idiots like you. Five years, surrounded by the weak and foolish pegasi of Cloudsdale, having to pose as a lowly weather pony! A job, I might add, made worse whenever a certain mare decided to take the day off, leaving more work for everypony else. And yes, Pending, I’m talking about you. Lazy and ignorant... There is nothing I would enjoy more than watching Commander Sky Fury tear you apart with her blades! You as well, Roswell! After that, I will take comfort in knowing I’ll never have to suffer your idiocy ever again! Does that make it clear where I stand on the issue?”

Storm couldn’t help but have her feelings hurt. She hung her head low, looking dejected.

“That’s enough,” the sergeant said evenly. He directed his eyes at Hard Counter. “I’ll only say this once more: drop your sword, or perish.”

Hard Counter gritted his teeth, unyielding. It wasn’t in his nature to give up without a fight. He flinched as Crash Landing placed her hoof on his foreleg, shaking her head. “But Crashy… The potion…” he whispered, briefly glancing at the pouch on his sword belt that contained the vial of purple liquid. 

“What good will it do for her if you’re dead?” she asked, looking into his eyes.

Hardy grimaced. He had come too far to just give in, but nevertheless, Crashy was right. He couldn’t take on this many soldiers by himself. He sighed, tossing his rapier away. He flinched as he heard the hilt hit the dirt with a dull thud, and looked away in shame.

The sergeant smirked. “Wise decision.” He turned to his squad. “Cyclone, escort Storm back to Cloudsdale, so that she may be punished for her crimes.”

“Yes, sir,” Cyclone replied smugly.

“The rest of you, take the ground-dwellers back to their pitiful excuse for a village. If any of them resist, dispose of them.”

Private Cyclone hovered down near Pending, his spear pointed at her face. “Come on, move it.”

Suddenly, a red and black kunai flew down out of the branches, slicing Cyclone’s spear in half before burying its point in the ground.  Cyclone whipped around, only be to be slammed into the dirt by the descending Shadow Ninja.

The black-clad unicorn glared up at the Sky Tribe soldiers with her piercing red eyes as she stood upon their comrade, daring them to attack. 

“To arms!” the sergeant shouted, taken aback by the sudden ambush. He and the rest of the squad aimed their spears at her.

“Hey, look, it's the Shadow Ninja,” Roswell casually remarked. “...Jumping gyros! It's the Shadow Ninja!”

“Shadow Ninja? What nonsense is this?!” the sergeant demanded.

The ninja leapt lightly off the unconscious private, snatching her blade out of the ground. Seizing the distraction, Hardy rolled to the side, grabbing his own sword out of the grass.

“The three of you, run! The ninja and I will hold them off,” Hard Counter shouted to the ponies behind him.

“No, I’m staying. I can assist you,” Crash Landing replied. “Mr. Rivet, Ms. Storm, you two get out of here.”

“Okay!” said Pending as she bolted between the distracted soldiers behind her.

“Don’t need to tell us twice!” Roswell added, following Pending’s lead.

“Let them go!” the sergeant barked. “We can catch them after we deal with these fools! This won’t take long…”

There was no time for Hardy to argue with Crashy as the five pegasus warriors descended upon the group. 

The Shadow Ninja unleashed a red beam of magic from her horn, striking the sergeant in the chest, and knocking him to the ground. She turned to face the pair of soldiers flying in from behind, leaving the remainder of the main group to the swordspony.

She dodged as the pair of spears repeatedly stabbed at her. Teleporting between the attackers, she punched one of her attackers in the face, and kicked the other in the side. Having knocked the two off balance, the Shadow Ninja grabbed them by the edges of their armor plates, and hurled them to the ground.

The soldiers stood quickly, shaking off the blow, as the unicorn landed softly. They braced themselves, renewing their attack.

Crashy stood behind Hardy as another spear thrust past his side.  Swinging his sword left and right, he defended himself, and Crashy, against the relentless onslaught of the two warriors, blocking and countering with swift swings of his rapier.

“Crashy, how about that-”  Hardy grunted, deflecting a spearpoint within inches of his face. “How about that ‘assistance’ you mentioned?”

“Oh, um, right…” She looked left and right, searching for something, anything, that could be used against the Sky Tribe. What was I thinking? Assistance? I don’t know any spells that could be used in a fight! Crashy thought as she frantically looked around, but the only things around them were grass, small twigs, and the tree…

The tree!

Crashy glanced up at the tree above, and spotted a sizeable branch. Concentrating, she pulled at it, putting all her effort into wrenching it free. With a groan and a crack, she tore it loose from the tree, swinging it down to bash the soldiers away from Hard Counter.

One of the soldiers saw the descending limb, banked left, and dropped to the safety of the ground. The other soldier, already committed to a thrust, was caught full in the side by the swinging wood, hurled aside by the force, crashing into the ground with grinding of metal and snapping of twigs.

As the soldier clambered back to his hooves, Hard Counter swept his hind leg under the unstable foe, dropping him to the ground once more. Hardy stood over him, his rapier aimed at the warrior’s neck.

Hard Counter pressed the swordpoint closer to the enemy soldier. No… he thought. Not in front of Crashy. He pointed the blade away, provoking a sheepish grin from the soldier at his mercy. Hardy responded with a pommel strike to the face, knocking the Sky Tribe warrior out cold.

He glanced back, taking note of the state of the battle.  

The Shadow Ninja was holding her own, dodging a thrust here, deflecting a blow with hoof or blade there.

A shadow fell over the unicorn. She rolled to the side, bringing a kunai up to block the sergeant, swinging his spear from above.  

Pressing the attack, one of the soldiers swung at her exposed side. The ninja reared up against the sergeant’s locked blade, stopping the soldier’s attack with her off-hoof. Her hooves crossed, each straining to maintain their own deadly struggle.

The third soldier charged straight for her exposed side, the sharp point of his spear gleaming in the sun. At the last moment, the spear jerked to the side, deflected by a kunai held in the red, glittering grip of magic.

The unicorn grunted with exertion, forcing all three spears away, and teleported back before the assault could renew, all three kunai held ready.

The three soldiers regrouped, going on the offensive once more. The ninja’s three blades flashed, parrying and deflecting the rapid stabs and strikes. She ducked and weaved, forcing the soldiers’ spears to cross each other to attack.

Forcing one of the privates’ spears down into the soft ground, the Shadow Ninja leapt over the spear. As she delivered a roundhouse kick into the soldier’s side, her tail whipped into the face of the other private. Stumbling back, he managed to catch his kicked comrade.

The sergeant pressed the attack against the ninja as she landed. She rolled out of the way as the spear buried itself in the dirt where she had just been standing. Whirling around, she caught the sergeant’s descending spear head on the crossed blades of her kunai. The sergeant put his weight into the blade struggle, forcing the point of his spear down towards the masked unicorn.

The third kunai flashed across the sergeant’s spear, bisecting it. As the warrior tumbled forward, the ninja delivered an open-hoof strike straight to his face, sending him sprawling.

With a groan, the sergeant picked himself up and scanned the area to get a better sense of the situation. The privates had recovered and were taking the fight back to the ninja, but the unicorn seemed to have barely broken a sweat. On the other side, his forces were already down.

The situation has deteriorated considerably... Humiliating. Perhaps I should call for a retreat...

A flash of red caught his eye. He glanced to the side, in time to see the red-clad stallion disappear back behind a tree. And next to him: a tuft of pink mane visible from behind the trunk.

Cowards, thought the sergeant with disgust. Hiding while their allies fight their battles for them…

The sergeant picked himself up off the ground, tossing the useless, shattered shaft of wood in his hooves aside. Still, they do seem to be defenseless… Perhaps if I were to bring that Storm mare back to Commander Sky Fury, she’d forgive my failure in capturing the others...

As Hard Counter rose from the unconscious soldier, he spotted the Sergeant flying away from the battle.

“Hey, where’re you going, feather brain? I didn’t say you could-” Spotting the glint of a Sky Tribe spear out of the corner of his eye, Hardy managed to roll duck and roll away just in time to dodge the attack. Coming to a stop on his back, he saw the other soldier advancing on him, twigs and leaves still stuck in the joints of the black armor.

The warrior raised her spear, took aim at Hardy, and… nothing. She jerked it toward Hardy, but it wouldn’t leave her hoof. She tugged on her weapon with mounting frustration, but it wouldn’t budge.

The soldier rounded on Crashy, who was concentrating on the spear, her horn sparkling.  “You…!” the soldier growled.

With a sudden jerk, the spear flew out of the soldier’s grip.  Before she could react, the warrior was yanked into the air by her tail, held in Crashy’s magical grip. She struggled, beating her wings furiously, trying to break free.

“Hardy! The blue one is heading for Rivet and Storm!” Crashy said, straining to hold on to the soldier. “You have to stop him!”

Hard Counter rose cautiously. “What about this one?”

“I’ve got her, just hurry up!” 

“Are you sure?”

“Save them, Hardy!”

Hard Counter grunted in vexation and dashed off to intercept the sergeant. His gut urged him to go back and deal with the soldier Crashy had seized, but she insisted he help them first. After all, Pending and Roswell were defenseless, Crash Landing was not.

He just hoped he wasn’t too late...

To be continued...
> Chapter 6: Hero of the Hour
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“So why exactly did we stop running?” Roswell asked Pending as they hid behind a tree, watching the battle from afar.

“Well, we can’t just leave them to fight the Sky Tribe by themselves!” said Pending.

“What are we supposed to do?” asked Roswell, waving a hoof. “The two of us aren’t really renowned for our fighting abilities. Why, I bet even Blue Flash could kick our flanks!”

“Um... moral support?”

“I don’t think moral support is going to be much help to them.”

“B-but Hardy said that’s how I could be helpful! Are you saying it was all pointless? Is my whole purpose based on a lie?” Storm said with a hint of dejection and a quiver of her lip.

“No… of course not. But nevertheless, it would appear our friends are winning!” he said, pointing toward the battle. “Huzzah! We’re going to be saved!”

The two ponies were suddenly startled by an armored, cobalt pegasus flying in from the left. It was the sergeant, glaring at them fiercely.

“You!” he said, pointing at the green mare. “You’re coming with me!”

“Never!” she shouted, picking up a twig and throwing it at the sergeant. It bounced harmlessly off his armor. He raised an eyebrow bemusedly.

Roswell looked at her. “Really, Pending?” he said flatly.

“I tried, okay?”

The sergeant hovered toward Pending, ready to grab her and ‘escort’ her back to Cloudsdale. 

Roswell stepped between them. “Leave my buddy alone!” he shouted, splaying his forelegs out to the sides.

The sergeant barely slowed as he continued toward them. “Step aside, fool, before I-”

Just as the soldier got within a few feet of them, Roswell extended his hoof, and from it came a cloud of hot steam, spraying directly into the sergeant’s face. The pegasus fell to the ground, yelling in pain and covering his eyes.

“What the- GAH! AAAH!” the sergeant bellowed, rolling on the ground.

Pending looked at Roswell, her jaw dropped. “Roswell, you have... steam powers?!”

“Powers? Oh, no, my coat’s filled with steam, you see, which I can spray onto my enemies... through my sleeves! Pretty nifty, eh?”

She was tempted to ask if he actually had any enemies, but decided against it. “...Why?”

“In case someone tried to rob me of my inventions, or worse, my coat! There’s a lot of ponies out there who’d kill for a coat as stylish as this.”

The sergeant slowly got to his hooves, his legs trembling with rage and pain, and began inching his way toward Pending and Roswell, tears streaming from his red, bloodshot, eyes. “Graah.... It hurts so bad... You are going to pay dearly for that!” 

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see the purple-maned swordspony. “I have a remedy for that pain,” Hardy just before turning and kicking the sergeant into a nearby tree. The warrior collapsed face-first onto the woodland floor, only to be covered with falling limbs and leaves.

Pending gave a sigh of relief. “Hard Counter, you saved us!”

“Hey, so did I!” Roswell exclaimed.

“Hardy’s the one who knocked him out.”

“Well... I would have done that too, but our friend here robbed me of the chance. Besides, if I hadn’t courageously blasted the ruffian with my steam, he would have made off with you!” 

Roswell spotted a blue feather on the ground, a match to the unconscious soldier, and picked it up, holding it up high in the air. “I claim this feather as a memento of my victory! After all, I did just defeat my first villain, and you never forget your first."

Hardy stared at him. “Right... I need to get back to Crashy.” He began running for the treeline. Suddenly, the Shadow Ninja appeared in the sky with a red flash, holding a Sky Tribe soldier in her grip. She flung the soldier downward, slamming the armored pegasus to the ground with a loud clunk. The Shadow Ninja landed next to her unconscious foe on all fours, and turned to Hard Counter.

“That’s all of them,” she said, her voice muffled by her mask, motioning her head to a tree at the edge of the meadow where her other opponent could be seen stuck in the branches.

Hard Counter pointed back toward the meadow. “No, there’s still one left over th-” He gasped.

On the other side of the meadow, the remaining warrior, now free from the unicorn’s magic, hovered in the air. Squirming in her grasp was Crash Landing.

“Hardy!” she cried out as the soldier turned and began to fly in the direction of Groundsdale.

“Crashy! No!” yelled Hard Counter and began sprinting after them, the others following closely behind. By the time they had reached the other side, it was clear they wouldn’t be able to catch up on hoof.

Hard Counter rounded on the ninja, stabbing his hoof at her. “You! Save her!” 

“They’re too high up; I can’t teleport that far!” 

He groaned in exasperation and turned to Pending. “Storm! Fly after them!”

Pending Storm tried to spread her wings, but the pain was too much for her to bear. “M-my wing is hurt, remember?” Storm replied timidly.

“Ugh, you’re useless!” he growled spitefully, turning away; Storm started to tear up.

“Hardy!” they faintly heard Crash Landing cry out.

Hard Counter repeated her name once more, but no response was heard. He watched as the soldier flew farther and farther away with Crash Landing. Hardy desperately brainstormed for ideas to stop them, but he realized it was too late when their shape was nothing more than a dot in the sky. He took his rapier and thrust the blade downward into the ground.

“NO!” he screamed before slumping against his sword, his head hung low, and tears streaming from his eyes. Pending turned away, unable to watch such despair in the stalwart pony.

Roswell looked between the angry stallion and his distraught friend, utterly lost. He turned to the Shadow Ninja for help but she was busy searching the fallen Sky warriors for anything of use.

After a moment of silence, the gray stallion stood up, sheathed his sword, and began running toward Groundsdale. He made it a few yards before the Shadow Ninja teleported in front of him, bringing him to a grinding halt.

“It’s too dangerous.” the Shadow Ninja said.

“Out of my way, now!”

“Groundsdale is completely overrun with soldiers; you would surely be captured, or worse.” 

Roswell snapped to attention. “What?! Since when did Grounds... You’re not thinking of Cloudsdale, are you? I mean, I know that Cloudsdale was invaded, they even knocked my shop out of the-”

Hard Counter stomped his hoof. “Are you saying I should abandon her? Huh?! If you’re such a hero, why don’t you help me rescue her?”

“Trust me, there’s too many of them, even for me. I would have stayed and defended the town otherwise: no point in getting yourself killed if it won’t accomplish anything.”

Hardy opened his mouth to argue with her, but hesitated. Whether or not the Shadow Ninja was right, he still had the potion. He didn’t trust anypony else to carry it, and if he were to lose it while trying to rescue Crashy... 

Enraged, he turned on the nearby tree, slashing at it furiously, sending chunks of bark flying in all directions. After a few moments, he stabbed the blade deep into the trunk and collapsed against it, breathing heavily.

A couple seconds passed before Roswell decided to break the silence. “So... the Sky Tribe took over Groundsdale?” he asked again apprehensively.

“Yes, just like Cloudsdale,” replied Pending Storm. “If it weren’t for the Shadow Ninja, we might not have escaped.”

“Ah, I see,” he said with unusual seriousness. He turned to the garbed mare. “Shadow Ninja, eh? Wasn’t sure if you were actually real... Um, did anypony else happen to make it out of Groundsdale?”

She grimaced. “No... I tried as best as I could to give the townsponies a chance to escape, but I think you’re the only ones who made it out.”

Roswell looked down at his hooves. “Oh, that’s... unfortunate.”

“Great job,” Hard Counter said sarcastically, his back still turned.

The ninja glared at Counter. “Excuse me?”

He turned to face her with fire in his eyes. “Some ninja you are. You should have saved her!”

“I-” she began to retort defensively, then sighed. “...I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, well, that doesn’t help much, does it?” Hard Counter turned to Pending Storm and Roswell Rivet. “Do any of you know what the Sky Tribe does to non-pegasus prisoners? I don’t, and I’m not gonna leave her fate to those barbari-”

The Shadow Ninja held up a hoof, hearing a faint groan coming from nearby. She looked in the direction of the groaning, and saw that it was Private Cyclone, still collapsed on his stomach, and slowly regaining consciousness.

“He might know,” the ninja said as she walked toward the fallen warrior.

Cyclone’s body shifted as he came to, and began to slowly open his eyes. Though his vision was a bit blurry, he could tell that a pony in black was standing over him, staring right at him.

Cyclone groaned again. “...What… what happened…?”

“You’re awake. Good.”

“...Oh, no…” he said, having just realized what was happening.

The Shadow Ninja grabbed Private Cyclone by his armored collar plates and lifted him up to eye level, his forelegs dangling in the air. “I have questions, you have answers. Let’s trade, shall we?”

“Go to Tartarus!” he sneered, and spat at the Shadow Ninja. It froze in a haze of red magic, and flew back toward Cyclone, landing on his cheek. “Ugh, gross!” he shouted.

“A friend of ours was captured by one of your comrades; what does the Sky Tribe intend to do with her?” she inquired, her crimson eyes boring menacingly into his.

Hard Counter went up next to them, his hoof on the hilt of his sword. “And where did they take her?!” he demanded.

Private Cyclone recoiled slightly, but remained firm. “I’m not telling you dirt ponies anything, so you can just kiss my flank!”

The garbed unicorn got up on her hind legs, and effortlessly lifted Cyclone completely off the ground, holding him high in the air. She plucked one of her fallen kunai from the soft earth, and levitated it to his face. “You should reconsider. Or else.”

“You’re... you’re bluffing!”

“Is that a fact?” The kunai began to spin in her magical grasp mere inches from his muzzle. The stallion tried to lean away from the whirring blade, but he was trapped in her iron grip. “Want to test that theory?”

Cyclone began to sweat as he turned his head away from the spinning blade. “Okay, okay, okay, okay, stop! Alright, I’ll talk!” he said, breathing heavily. “But, uh, you didn’t hear any of this from me!”

The blade slowed to a stop. “Just hurry up.”

He gulped. “To answer your question, she, er... was most likely taken back to Groundsdale where she will be, uh, imprisoned along with the other citizens.”

“Just imprisoned?” Hardy pressed. 

“Rather merciful of the Sky Tribe, no?” inquired the Shadow Ninja, showing no signs of fatigue despite holding up a fully armored stallion.

“Commander Sky Fury told us to avoid killing during the initial invasion, so that we could, er... use the ground-dwellers as slaves...”

Pending Storm ran up to them. “Hey, what about my dad?!”

“He was fine last time I saw him, but, uh... the Commander ordered he be imprisoned separately from the other pegasi… probably for questioning.”

Storm breathed a short sigh of relief, but remained tense. “Questioning? About what?”

“Hay if I know! But, if I had to guess… They’re probably gonna wanna know how you were able to, er, create lightning.”

The Shadow Ninja, eager to get the interrogation over with, decided to move on to a different topic. “You’ve been cooperative so far; keep it up. The invasion plan: What is it? Start from the beginning… and no lying. I’ll know.”

Private Cyclone coughed nervously before continuing. “Starting early this morning, several squads were sent to patrol the area around Cloudsdale and intercept anypony going there, or trying to leave, especially toward Canterlot; that way, nopony would be able to report our presence in the region. The next step... using a giant cloud called the Shroud, the bulk of our forces were to sneak up to Cloudsdale undetected... that is, until somepony created a storm inside of it.”

The ninja pony was surprised by how cooperative Cyclone was being, and it didn’t seem like he was lying. “Why Cloudsdale?” she pressed.

“Because it’s where most of the pegasi are, and word of an invasion travels fast when one can fly from town to town.”

Hard Counter interjected; “Wait, you said ‘especially towards Canterlot’; that’s your next target, isn’t it? So that your Commander can kill Princess Celestia, like she said she would?”

Cyclone looked away. “Uh…”

“Kill Princess Celestia?!” the Shadow Ninja asked in surprise. “...If the Sky Tribe is so worried about word getting out, why didn’t you just head straight for Canterlot?”

The Sky soldier started shaking, his body getting tense. “I... I’ve said too much…”

She started spinning the blade again, faster this time. “Answer!”

“No... I’ve told you enough!” he shouted, closing his eyes tightly. “I refuse to say more! Do what you will!”

The ninja brought the blade slightly closer, hoping to frighten him into revealing more, but after a few moments, it became clear he was done being coerced. She halted the spinning blade, and tucked it away in her garments. No longer hearing the whirring of the blade, Cyclone opened his eyes and looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“Thanks for sharing with us, Cyclone,” she told him, a smirk just barely visible beneath her mask. The private had no idea how to respond to that, and he was too injured to fight back, so he merely dangled there, filled with uncertainty. The ninja mare continued; “I have a message for Sky Fury.”

Cyclone was taken aback by this, and hesitated for a moment. “Uh... okay? What do you-” 

He was interrupted when the Shadow Ninja suddenly slammed her hoof into the side of his head, knocking him out. The rest of the group recoiled at the sudden ferocity. She threw his unconscious body to the ground and turned to the others.

“Our objective is clear: we need to head for Canterlot and warn Princess Celestia of what’s happening, as their entire plan seems to hinge on it being a surprise attack. If we hurry, we can make the trip in a day.”

“Wow, wow, wow, speak for yourself!” Hard Counter interjected. “I haven’t decided what I’m going to do!”

“Decide? What’s there to decide? Celestia needs to know about this as soon as possible! The Sky Tribe is ruthless, and they’ll rule Equestria with an iron hoof if given the chance.”

“I know.”

“Then why isn’t your path clear?”

“I... realize I can’t help Crashy now... but I still have important business in Hoofington…” he said as his thoughts drifted to his precious cargo. “Perhaps...  I’ll be able to make it back in time for the battle to retake Groundsdale. Why do you need me to go with you?”

“The journey will be perilous, rife with danger,” the Shadow Ninja replied. “No doubt the Sky Tribe will send squads to look for us when they find out what happened here. We need you, as does Celestia, and all of Equestria.”

Hardy sighed, shaking his head in confliction. “I don’t get it, how does Sky Fury even plan on killing Celestia? As strong as the Sky Tribe is, an attack on Canterlot is a fool’s errand. Believe me, the E.U.P. Guard is nothing to laugh at. Even if they make it past the royal guard, defeating an alicorn princess will be no easy feat.”

“And why didn’t they just head straight for Canterlot in the first place?” she added. “I’m beginning to suspect there’s more to this invasion than meets the eye, that’s why it’s important that you come with us. Whatever business you have in Hoofington, it can’t possibly be as important as the fate of Equestria.”

Hardy frowned at her. “I decide what’s important to me,” he said defensively. The swordspony closed his eyes, contemplating his options. After a couple of moments, he looked back at the ninja. “Fine… I’ll accompany you... for Equestria, and Crashy.”

The Shadow Ninja nodded her head. “Thanks.”

Roswell stepped forward. "Well, this has been a lovely discussion, and I mean that in a totally sincere way, but maybe if we wanted to get there we should hit the ol' dusty trail now? I mean, not to rush you or anything, but the Sky Tribe could be returning here as we speak..."

“Agreed.” The ninja looked to the surrounding woods. “Canterlot is northeast from here; we need to head in that direction.”

With a smile, Roswell reached into his trench coat and pulled out a gear-shaped compass. He glanced at it and then pointed in the direction it indicated. “That way!”

“Excellent work.” She turned to Hard Counter and Pending Storm. “Alright, everypony, let’s go!”

And with that, the four ponies darted into the woods, beginning their quest to save Equestria.

To be continued...
> Chapter 7: Beneath the Mask
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Can we please stop for a moment?!” Pending called out, panting.
 
Hard Counter, Roswell Rivet, and the Shadow Ninja ground to a halt. They turned around to see Pending Storm struggling to keep up. It took a few moments before she finally caught up to them.
 
    “Can you not shout?” Hardy scolded. “Or do you wish to alert their scouts?”
 
    “What’s the problem?” the Shadow Ninja asked with a hint of urgency as she turned around.
 
    Storm panted with her head hung low. “I need…to catch... my breath... We’ve… been running... for, like... ever... “
 
    “Our journey only began a few minutes ago. Surely, you aren’t serious?”
 
    The pegasus collapsed to her stomach with a slight thump. “Pleeeease...?” she moaned, staring up at the ninja.
 
    The Shadow Ninja closed her eyes and sighed. “Fine, but only for a moment; we cannot afford to dawdle long.” 
 
    Roswell Rivet glanced down at her. “Come on, Pending, no lollygagging. We have a lovely princess to save!”
 
    She laid her face against the grass. “Can’t save her... if I die... from exhaustion...”
 
    Perhaps it was a mistake bringing her with us, thought the Shadow Ninja. But then, where else would she go? We can’t just leave her… she’d likely be captured. Or worse.
 
    “How are you that out of shape?” Hard Counter asked with a scowl.
 
    Pending frowned slightly. “I don’t run a lot... prefer to fly... or lie...” After resting for a few more seconds, she reluctantly got to her hooves, one at a time.
 
    Roswell walked over next to her. “Then fly, silly!” he said before lightly smacking her on the wing.
 
    She cringed in pain. “OW!” Storm shouted, backing away from him.
 
    Roswell frowned, perplexed. “I didn’t hit yah that hard…”
 
    Pending rubbed her wing. “I can’t fly, Roswell. My wing was broken during the invasion.”
 
    “Huh, explains why you didn’t fly away from those soldiers earlier.”
 
    “You’re just now wondering that? What did you think was her reason?” Hardy asked.
 
    Roswell Rivet shrugged. “Her usual laziness, maybe? Though to be completely honest with you, I was a bit preoccupied with trying not to spring a leak in my steam works…”
 
    Hardy started forward again, followed quickly by the rest of the group.
 
“How did you break your wing, Pending?” the Shadow Ninja inquired.
 
“How I broke it? Well, it all started when I woke up yesterday - or was it today? - after having this crazy dream where I was in a volcano, hiding from flying cows while I ate a lot of macaroni. Oh, and I was Princess Celestia for some reason. Anyway, once I got out of bed I realized I was out of food, so I went to Roswell and bought some hay, and for a really good deal, too! Though I gotta say, Roswell, some of the hay was a little on the green side. Then I went for a walk and saw a bird that-”
 
    Hard Counter sighed. “Pending, please…”
 
    “Oh, right, my wing. Well after my dad told me to turn a big cloud into a storm cloud, cause that’s my job, and I did just that, except it wasn’t just an ordinary cloud, it was filled with evil ponies! The cloud exploded open and I was sent flying back to Cloudsdale and landed on a stupid pillar, which is dumb; why would somepony put a pillar there? That’s how I broke my wing. Then the stupid pillar was about to fall on a defenseless foal, but I managed to heroically save him. Then the Sky Tribe attacked and before I could get home, one of the soldiers rudely grabbed me. Then a commander lady was talking for awhile, I spaced out on some of it, then she broke Roswell Rations and tried to hurt my dad, so I shot LIGHTNING at her and she exploded!”
 
    The Shadow Ninja blinked. “...Exploded?”
 
    “Yeah but she got better. Then I ran away as fast as I could, since I couldn’t fly, and some soldiers tried stopping me so I blasted them with more LIGHTNING, but before I could escape, the commander lady kicked me over the edge and I fell to Groundsdale, where Crash Landing saved me with a big net! And then I met Hard Counter, and we became friends instantly. Some other stuff happened, too, like when you saved us from those soldiers! Thanks for that, by the way. But yeah, I think that’s everything before you showed up.”
 
    The ninja blinked, staring blankly at Pending. "I see...fascinating... assuming most of that is true, and I hesitate to make that assumption, it's clear you've been through quite a lot today," she said before turning her gaze forward. "To survive an encounter with the commander of the Sky Tribe no less... surely luck was on your side. However, the part about 'lightning powers'... sounds a bit dubious, at best." 
 
    “But it’s true!” Pending exclaimed. 
 
    “Not so loud!” the Ninja scolded.
 
“Didn’t you hear the soldiers earlier?” Pending continued, quieter. “They were scared!”
 
    “Yeah, until you failed to actually use these ‘powers’,” said Hard Counter scornfully. “After that, you’re still pretending to be some sort of supernatural pony?”
 
    “Yes! I mean, no! I mean, I’m not pretending, but yes, I am a supernatural pony!” 
 
Roswell slowed down to trot alongside Pending. “I hate to say it, Pendo, but I’m not exactly convinced either. I mean, you’re fantastic at making storms… but lightning powers? That’s a bit of a claim… And assuming you did, why is this the first time I’ve heard of it? Having lightning powers would be wondrously amazing, and you wouldn’t keep something wondrously amazing from me, would you? I think not! Sorry buddy, but the math just isn’t adding up, and I’m an engineer, so I think I know a thing or two about math…”
 
Pending pouted. “The reason you don’t know is because it’s a secret to everypony! My parents said not to tell anyone about it, ever. Seriously, guys, I can make lightning, really! I don’t know why it wasn’t working before…”
 
The garbed unicorn shook her head. “It’s simply not possible. You’re a pegasus, and only clouds can produce lightning.”
 
“Are you a cloud, Pending?” Hard Counter inquired sarcastically. 
 
“No... but when I was a filly, I had a habit of eating clouds. Could that be it?”
 
The Shadow Ninja stared at her, baffled. “W-what? No, not a chance.”
 
“Well, you are what you eat...” Roswell proposed. 
 
“That doesn’t really apply to this.”
 
Roswell shrugged. “Admittedly, I’m not a biologist.”
 
“Clearly.”
 
Hard Counter raised a hoof. “Wait a second, why were you eating clouds?”
 
“Dunno, I was kinda weird back then.” 
 
Hardy raised an eyebrow. “Just back then?” 
 
“Hey!” exclaimed Storm before nearly tripping over a root. “I’m not weird! Right, guys?”
 
“Oh, on the contrary, my friend, you are quite weird, not that there’s anything wrong with that,” Roswell stated with a friendly smile. “In fact, it's part of your charm.”
 
“Right, like any of you should talk,” Hard Counter commented, rolling his eyes. “I’m the only one here who’s even close to being normal.”
 
“What’s wrong with being unusual? You should applaud the odd!” Roswell retorted.
 
“Whatever,” Hardy snarked before trotting ahead of the group. 
 
Roswell looked at Pending with a troubled expression, then looked back at Hard Counter. “Is something wrong, Hardy?”
 
Hard Counter stopped in his tracks and spun around, his eyes livid. “No, and don’t call me Hardy! We’re not friends!” 
 
He turned away from them, and resumed in a calmer tone. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten that if it weren’t for you two, I never would’ve had to leave her alone... Crash Landing would still be by my side.” Hardy shot them a sidelong glance. “Next time I give you an order to run, you had better run.” 
 
    The Shadow Ninja teleported in front of Hard Counter as he tried to start forward again.
 
    “Are you going to continue with this attitude?” 
 
    He glared at her. “Excuse me? Given the circumstances, my ‘attitude’ is more than justified.”
 
    The ninja sighed, her crimson eyes drifting away from his gaze. “Listen... I’m sorry I wasn’t able to save Crash Landing,” she said sorrowfully. “My heart filled with remorse when they took her, for I knew I could’ve stopped them.” She turned to Pending Storm and Roswell Rivet. “It’s not their fault I couldn’t stop the Sky Tribe.” She returned Hardy’s glare with her own. “That said, I suggest, for now, we focus on the task at hoof. Our journey may not be an easy one, and group morale is crucial if we are to succeed.” 
 
    The grey pony chuckled derisively. “You want to talk to me about morale? I lost my marefriend to those barbarians and I have no idea what they plan to do with her! And you’re worried about their morale?”
 
    “Are you always this selfish?” the Shadow Ninja snapped.
 
    Hard Counter stomped his hoof. “Watch it! I was in the EUP Guard defending Equestria against evil while you were just a filly. I’ve lost enough for this kingdom, and I have a right to be upset.”
 
    “You think you’re the only one who’s had to make sacrifices?”
 
    “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize being a part-time vigilante in Groundsdale came with such a price. I’m sure you’ve lost countless friends to those small-time pickpockets!”
 
    Before the ninja could respond, Roswell stepped between them, using his hooves to separate them. “Hey, come on, really, guys? While a gaggle of evil pegasi attempt to take over Equestria as we speak, you choose to fight each other? Where’s the sense in that?”
 
    He turned to Hard Counter. “Nopony is blaming you for being upset, and we’re all sorry for what happened, but haven’t you realized it yet? You lost Crash Landing, but the rest of us... we lost our entire villages to those guys, and none of us have any idea what’s going to happen to them! You’re not alone, Hardy, far from it! We’re all on the same side, and we should be supporting each other!”
 
    The swordspony began to protest the use of his nickname, but reconsidered. “I…” he started. He gave a heavy sigh, and hung his head low. Hard Counter pulled his rapier from its sheath. He knelt, resting his sword point-first in the earth. “My most sincere apologies. I allowed my heart to be consumed by anguish, and in doing so, displayed a conduct most... unbecoming of an Equestrian knight,” he said in a calm but dignified tone. “Forgive me.”
 
    The other three stared wide-eyed, their mouths agape, at the sudden change in attitude. The Shadow Ninja was quick to regain her composure, followed by Roswell, then Pending. 
 
Odd, his speech was much less formal before now, the ninja thought to herself. It seems my impression of him as an insolent lout was premature. Perhaps I, too, have something to learn from this.
 
    Hard Counter felt a hoof upon his shoulder; he looked up to see Roswell, with Pending Storm beside him, both smiling. 
 
    “Of course we forgive you, Hardy,” Roswell said affably before giving him an abrupt hug. Hard Counter stood there awkwardly, occasionally attempting to nudge Roswell off of him, but to no avail.
 
Pending Storm soon joined in, wrapping a foreleg around each of them. “We’re all in this together,” she said, pressing her face against the side of Hard Counter’s head, much to his discomfort. ”You are not alone.”
 
While they held him captive, Hard Counter turned to the Shadow Ninja for her response, prompting her to rub the back of her head uneasily. “U-um, I also forgive you…”
 
He nodded his head to her, then looked at the two ponies still hugging him, and began nudging them more assertively. Roswell released his grip, but the small pegasus refused to budge. Hardy placed his hoof on her shoulder and began pushing away.

    “I thank... you all... for your-” Hardy grunted before finally managing to free himself of the green mare’s embrace. “...understanding.” He narrowed his eyes at her as she grinned sheepishly.
 
He brushed himself off and walked a few steps from the group. “If I am to save Crash Landing from the clutches of the Sky Tribe, I must first cast aside my doubts…” he said, then turned toward the group. “...and place my faith in you three... even if it isn’t easy...”
 
The Shadow Ninja’s eyes lit up. “Great, then it’s settled!”
 
“That’s right! We have a mission! For the princess!” Pending exclaimed. “I’m so motivated, I feel like I could run the whole way to Canterlot!”
 
Roswell patted her on the back, taking care not to touch her broken wing. “Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves now.”
 
    A hint of a smile crossed Hard Counter’s face, before he quickly replaced it with a stern expression. “Quite. But before we head off, there is something I must ask…” His eyes met with the Shadow Ninja’s. “Who are you?”
 
    The garbed unicorn blinked and she tried to find the words. “Who... am I?” she asked.
 
    “Yeah, your name, what is it?” he asked in a decidedly serious tone.
 
    “I fail to see why that matters.”
 
    “If I am to put my trust in you, then I would expect you to do the same. It is difficult to trust somepony if you do not know their name.”
 
    The Shadow Ninja frowned slightly. “I understand that, but I wish to keep my identity private for reasons I cannot get into. I ask that you respect that.”
 
    Roswell stepped forward. “Come on, we won’t tell a soul! You do trust us, right?”
 
    “I…”
 
    Pending jumped in front of The Shadow Ninja. “Please! You gotta tell us! We’ve been dying to find out!” . 
    
    They aren’t going to let up on this, are they? The unicorn thought to herself. Perhaps I could give them a false name... no, I shouldn’t. It must be the truth, or they may never trust me again. It may be risky, but if I am to expect them to trust me... perhaps it is only fair I trust them as well. 
 
    The Shadow Ninja shook her head and sighed. “Okay... I will tell you, not because I feel I have to, but because... I trust you. All I ask is that this kept between us... do I have your word?” The rest of the group nodded their heads in response. “Alright…”
 
    “My name is Sheila. Sheila Shadowmane.”
 
    To be continued... 
> Chapter 8: Shifting Winds
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

High up in the bright blue sky, Cloudsdale was a hive of activity.

Commander Sky Fury stood, perched atop the tallest point in the city. Far below, legions of Sky Tribe soldiers labored to transform the city into a defensive bastion. She observed the quaint little homes getting pulled down for raw materials, the air thick with vapor from the demolished structures. Shops were demolished to make way for barricades and guard towers.

She glanced to the south, checking on the progress of the larger renovations. Hundreds of ropes strained in unison, dragging an entire district of the great city to a more convenient location. As she watched, the massive section of cloud was tugged into place with a tremor even Sky Fury could feel, despite the distance.

To the east, hundreds of local pegasi wandered under guard toward one of the dozens of new dungeons. Flashes of lightning from the still raging Shroud provided a backdrop to their march.

She heard somepony land behind her. “Commander.” It was the voice of Captain Inclement, her second-in-command. His arrival prompted not even the slightest movement from Sky Fury, her posture remained still as a statue. For a brief moment, he suspected that she had not heard him.

Their manes and tails shifted in the whistling wind. “Captain,” she replied, unenthused.

“We’ve made significant progress on restructuring Cloudsdale. Despite the setbacks, it is quite likely we’ll be able to complete the final step of our plan on schedule.”

“Good.”

Though she often gave the impression of being in a bad mood, it was clear to him that the commander still felt humiliated about what had happened during the assembly. The differences were subtle, a certain set to her jaw, the flare of her nostrils, but Inclement had developed a sense for such things during his time with Sky Fury.

“Commander, are you sure you’re not hurt?” he reluctantly inquired.

Silence stretched between them, only the twitch of an ear signaled she even heard him. “I’m fine,” she said, still facing away from Inclement.

“Are you absolutely certain? If you are unable to fight Celestia at peak condition, this whole plan may very well-”

Sky Fury turned her head to the side, glancing at him with one of her yellow eyes. “I said I’m fine,” she retorted harshly, then went back to looking at the city down below.

He paused, and decided it was best to drop it; he had seen what happened to ponies who made her angry. “Yes, ma’am, my apologies. I meant no offense.” Inclement wasn’t sure which was colder: the commander’s icy glare, or the chill wind that was rapidly gaining strength.

With a deep breath, she regained her composure. “The Shroud, can it be salvaged?”

The purple stallion quietly sighed in relief. He lifted his bearded chin up high as he formed his response. “Perhaps, though it’s still quite hazardous. If we wait for the storm to die down, there won’t be enough time to finish construction.”

“I see. Nevertheless, we may still have use for it.”

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard the flap of wings behind her, followed by the sound of hooves landing on cloud. She pivoted to see Corporal Freezing Rain and Private Cyclone, the latter of which hung his head low, appearing weak. Sky Fury’s eyebrow lifted as her nostrils flared in disgust.

“Commander Sky Fury! Captain Inclement!” the corporal said with a salute, breathing heavily. “I have urgent news to report!”

“Speak.”

Freezing Rain cleared his throat. “Not long ago, one of our soldiers returned with a captured unicorn; she informed us that her squad had gotten into a skirmish with some Groundsdale escapees. When I arrived at the scene with reinforcements, we discovered the entire squad to be unconscious, save for the private here.” The corporal directed his gaze toward Private Cyclone, whom continued to avoid eye contact. “According to him, he was knocked out shortly after the rest of his squad were defeated, though I suspect there’s something he’s not telling us. With the exception of the unicorn that was brought to us, all the escapees had, uh, escaped without casualties.”

“Escaped…?” Sky Fury growled, her voice laced with quiet rage. She stomped her hoof, causing the cloud underneath them all to shake. She glared down at Cyclone, as if daring him to look up at her.

Inclement gave a disapproving frown. “And what did the rest of the squad say?”

The corporal shrugged. “We’ve been unable to wake them. Can’t say for certain when they’ll regain consciousness. Could be days, sir.”

Commander Sky Fury took another deep breath, her anger seemingly pacified. She nonchalantly walked toward Cyclone before stopping directly in front of him. She towered over the green stallion, staring at him with unsettling intensity. “Tell me, how many did you let escape? How did a couple of villagers manage to defeat you?”

Cyclone gulped nervously. “F-four... only four of them... Commander, please, i-it wasn’t our fault! One of them was a ninja, and another was a highly skilled soldier, and the others-”

Sky Fury turned to Inclement with bemusement creeping across her face.

“Ah, yes, there were several reports of a unicorn in strange garb attacking our troops during the invasion of Groundsdale,” Inclement informed her. “Apparently, the locals call her ‘The Shadow Ninja’.”

“There’s s-something else,” Cyclone said uneasily. “The other two ponies that escaped…” he hesitated, shifting his weight slightly, subconsciously bracing himself for the worst. “One of them was Roswell Rivet, the earth pony in the flying stall you brought down during the assembly... and the other one… was Pending Storm.”

The Commander’s eyes widened. “Her?” She frowned at him as she clenched her teeth. “You must be mistaken, Private... I killed her. I killed both of those ponies.”

He shuffled nervously. “W-with all due respect, Commander, I-I’d recognize those ponies anywhere! I assure you, they are alive and on the loose!”

Cyclone noticed one of her eyes twitch, and the next thing he knew, she had grabbed him by the collar of his armor with her right hoof, lifting him in the air. Even Captain Inclement and Corporal Freezing Rain were startled by the sheer speed of the action.

“Do you even realize how much your incompetence has jeopardized our plan? Can you even comprehend the magnitude of your failure?” she snarled. The breeze picked up to a bursting gale, almost as if to punctuate her words. “If they manage to get word out about our invasion of Cloudsdale before tomorrow, we are finished!” Sky Fury swung her other hoof out, unsheathing the blade in her bracer. “Do you know where they’re heading?!”

Inclement and Freezing Rain raised their forelegs to shield their eyes from the blasting wind, as well as to conceal their visible alarm. Their hearts sounded in their chests as they watched the scene as if from a hundred miles away.

Private Cyclone had broke into a sweat, trembling in the commander’s grasp, her mane whipping his face. He knew he couldn’t tell her about his interrogation at the hooves of the Shadow Ninja, and how he had revealed most of their invasion plans to her. At the same time, he also knew that withholding the truth of what had happened could result in the downfall of the Sky Tribe.

“B-before I was knocked unconscious... I saw where they were heading! They... I-I think they went northeast, toward Canterlot!”

“You think?!” Sky Fury roared, inching the blade closer to his throat..

“I-I know they went northeast!”

The Commander was silent for a few moments, her blade still aimed at the private.

Inclement realized that she had nearly finished contemplating the young stallion's fate. "Commander..." Inclement began, his voice drowned out by the wind. He took a step forward, raising his voice to compete with the roaring winds. "Commander, with all due respect, I would advise against executing Private Cyclone. While we're on an active campaign, and especially considering those who were wounded in today's invasions, we cannot afford to lose any more warriors, especially so close to our invasion of Canterlot..."

Sky Fury paused, her piercing gaze drilling into the private. A bead of sweat drifted down the side of his face in the eternity before she spoke. “You’ve always been far too forgiving, Captain.” There was silence as Sky Fury held Cyclone up in the air, his face frozen in fear. After a few more seconds of consideration, she tossed him aside, and turned away. “This time, however, you make a fair point.”

The private landed with a grunt, letting out the breath he had unknowingly been holding. He took a deep breath, letting it out with relief. “Thank you... You will not regret this, Commander. I promise, I won’t fail again.”

“Be gone,” she said irritably.

Corporal Freezing Rain and Private Cyclone departed quickly in case she decided to change her mind, flying off in the opposite direction before making their descent.

Cyclone adjusted his collar. “Mares just can’t keep their hooves off me today,” he muttered. “...Never would’ve thought that would be a bad thing.”

Inclement watched as the two departed, then shifted his attention to Sky Fury. Lowering his hoof as the wind subsided, he was reminded of how often she would stare off into the horizon. Many in the tribe found the behavior strange, but he understood why.

She can be tyrannical, even cruel. It's disheartening at times, and yet, she has my undying loyalty, as well as... my admiration, he mused, the thought causing his features to relax. Strength. Speed. Courage. Intellect. Beauty. If only you still had a heart, I might consider...

His thoughts were interrupted as she began to speak. “So, they’re heading for Canterlot...to warn their princess, no doubt. And it would seem they’re capable fighters, at least for ground-dwellers.” Her piercing gaze settled on him, as cold as the scowl on her face. “The situation is quickly deteriorating. We cannot take any more chances; send in the Night Terrors,” she instructed.

“The Night Terrors?” His face crinkled with distaste. “Commander, with all due respect, there is no need to resort to them, especially at this time of the day. Allow me to send a detachment of soldiers I know will get the job done. They will not fail us.”

There was a brief pause. “Very well, Captain. I trust you are right about that. Oh, and Inclement…”

He blinked, surprised by her sudden informality. “Yes, ma’am?”

“I’m moving our timetable forward. Finish the preparations on the city as soon as possible; no more delays. Also,” she added. “...as soon as you’re finished, interrogate Pending Storm’s father. I want to know the source of her abilities.”

“Of course, Commander,” he said with a nod. “I’ll oversee both tasks personally.”

Sky Fury turned away once more. “Dismissed.”




The air was filled with the sounds of chirping birds as the four ponies trotted through the woods. After their last discussion from a few hours prior, they had spent much of their journey galloping at top speed; their stamina fortified by their determination to save their loved ones. Even Pending Storm had managed to keep up with the others, much to everyone’s surprise.

Eventually, vigor turned to fatigue, forcing the group to slow to a trot, but even that had become draining.

Pending Storm was lagging behind Roswell for awhile before stumbling upon a rock and falling chin-first to the ground. The rest of the group stopped in their tracks and ran over to her aid.

“You okay, Pendo?” Roswell asked, looking down at the collapsed pegasus.

She looked up at them from the ground, exhausted. “Would now... be a good time... for a break?” she inquired between breaths.

Roswell reached down and helped her off the ground, grunting slightly from exertion.

“Thanks, Roz,” Pending muttered gratefully.

He nodded wearily, the fatigue sapping his will to speak.
Sheila Shadowmane, formerly known as The Shadow Ninja, closed her eyes and sighed; she too had grown weary from their travels. “Yes... perhaps that would be for the best.”

“We must keep moving,” Hard Counter asserted, doing his best to hide his exhaustion. “For now, let us walk.”
As they began to saunter, Pending noticed Roswell was sweating more than anyone else. “Are you okay?”

“Who, me? I’m fiiiiine… it’s just this heat, it’s killing me!” he said before pulling out a odd-looking doodad. Storm could only describe it as a miniature brass windmill. A small crank sat in its side among various glittering bits and pieces.

“Wearing a coat full of steam certainly isn’t helping,” Hard Counter remarked dryly.

Sheila tugged lightly on Roswell’s coat. “You might want to consider taking this off for now. We wouldn’t want you passing out on us.”

The orange stallion stared at her in bewilderment. “Take it off? My beloved coat?” Roswell turned forward, focusing ahead. “Perish the thought.” He sat down for a moment, fiddling with the crank. A sharp metallic clicking echoed from deep inside the device. As the clicking ground to a halt, he released his grip, and the tiny 'windmill' sprang to life, a light breeze wafting from its twirling blades. Roswell resumed walking with the rest of the group, holding the gadget with one of his forelegs. “Besides, I invented this gadget especially for just such an occasion. I call it the Gust Grinder.”

“Well, if you insist…” Sheila replied before shifting her attention forward.

Pending Storm began trotting until she had caught up with the ninja. “Dang, I still can’t believe you’re actually Sheila,” she said.

Sheila gave a perplexed look. “This again? I thought we had moved on from that.”

“I know, I know, but it's not everyday you learn that the Shadow Ninja is the same pony who casts cloudwalking spells on your pet!” Pending exclaimed in astonishment. “Now that I think of it, though, you do look kinda like her, except now your hair is red and black, and it's styled differently.”

“What’s this about a cloudwalking spell?” Hardy asked.

“I have a pet, he’s a sloth named Slowpoke. Normally, he wouldn’t be able to live with me in Cloudsdale, but thanks to Sheila’s spells, he’s able to walk on clouds like a pegasus would. Too bad she doesn’t cast them for free, though...”

“What in Equestria is a sloth?”

Pending smiled. “Oh, you’ll see. I’ll have to introduce you two-” her face darkened. “I mean, assuming we ever get the chance...”

“Of course we will,” Sheila said matter of factly. “This ordeal will not be the end of us. I promise you.” From the corner of her eye, she noticed Hard Counter turn his head to her with a wary stare.

I know, I know, Shadowmane thought. I shouldn’t make promises I can’t keep... 

“You hear that, Pending? This whole situation will be over in no time,” Roswell assured, putting on another smile for her. “We’ll make it to Canterlot, warn Princess Celestia of the Sky Tribe, and before you know it, we’ll be back in Groundsdale, celebrating our victory against those ruffians! Slowpoke will be there, Crash Landing will be there, and Roswell Rations- oh... “  His smile vanished, replaced with a look of concern.

Placing the Gust Grinder in one of his pockets, he moved to walk alongside Hard Counter. “Excuse me, Hard Counter-”

“It’s fine if you call me Hardy,” he responded, his eyes fixed on the path ahead.

“Oh, alright, Hardy, I believe you mentioned something about my air shop earlier? The one that fell from the sky?”

“Yeah, I saw it.”

“Ah, excellent,” said Roswell with a hopeful smile. “I hesitate to ask, but what sort of condition was it in?”

There was a pause before his response. “...Condition?”

“Yeah, you know, what kind of shape was it in? I’m trying to get an idea of how long it will take to restore to its former glory.” Roswell gazed upwards, visualizing the air shop in the sky. “It’s my greatest invention, and I can imagine it was a little roughed up when you saw it.”

Hard Counter briefly glanced at him. “Uh, yeah, you could say that…”

Roswell’s face twisted with concern. “P-pardon?”

“Let’s just say I never would’ve guessed it was an air shop.”

The inventor made an audible gulp. “...where did it crash?”

“A house. It was reduced to little more than debris.”

“The house or the shop?!” the inventor asked, worry creeping into his voice.

“Yes...”

There was a brief silence. “Oh… I see.” Roswell Rivet sulked, his eyes downcast. “I guess I can just rebuild it, but... it’ll never be the same.”

The swordspony patted him on the back. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure your next shop will be even better, improved,” he said with a subdued smile. “Maybe next time, the shop will have its own parachute.”

The melancholy faded from the orange stallion’s expression, exchanged for a smirk. “Yah know, that’s not such a bad idea. Thanks, Hardy.”

“Really?” Hardy asked in bemusement. “I was just joking about that last part, but hey, glad to be of service.”

Roswell chuckled. “Heh, if this were onstage, this would be the part where the protagonists, most of whom began their journey together as strangers, bond with one another during their journey, becoming more comfortable as they get to know each other. These bonds develop into lasting friendships, and together, they can overcome any obstacle that stands in their way.” A nervous twitch crept into his smile. “I mean, assuming we aren’t in a tragedy, that is.”

“I take it you’re a fan of the theater?” Sheila asked, grateful for an opportune change of subject.

“Quite so!” he replied enthusiastically, taking his mind off his uneasiness. “I’ve long been a devotee to such productions since I was but a small colt. Ever since my parents brought me to my first play, my dream has been to become a playwright; to create stories and characters that will be remembered for centuries to come. I want ponies of all ages to see my productions, and hopefully even inspire a few to craft their own stories. Truly, if this dream were to become a reality, I…” His eyes gleamed with wonder. “I would be truly fulfilled.”

“So, what’s stopping you?” asked Hard Counter as he stepped over a large tree root.

“Well, I’ve been sending copies of my scripts to theaters across Equestria, but I haven’t had much luck so far. It’s always something! They’ll complain that some themes were too subtle for general audiences, or the stories were too unusual and unpredictable... can you believe that?! Ponies like that are the reason theatrical productions have become so stale! I try to introduce some fresh ideas, and they tell me it's too risky. At least they admitted my writing was top-notch.”

Pending Storm burst forward to trot alongside Roswell. “I told you, Roswell, they’d accept your scripts every time if you just used MY ideas.”

He sighed. “For the last time, Pending, I’m not going to write a story called ‘The Epic Adventures of Princess Storm’! How would we even depict her dragon-sized pet, Titanisloth, on stage?”

“Don’t ask me, you’re the inventor,” Storm replied. “Ooh, ooh, wait, Sheila? Do you think you could cast a spell on Slowpoke to make him really big?” The ninja stopped in her tracks, looking fixedly in another direction, prompting the rest of the group to halt as well. She remained perfectly still, the only exception being the occasional twitch from her perked ears. “Uh, Sheila?” The unicorn shushed Pending in response.

Storm frowned at this. “Rude! I hate it when ponies-!” Sheila raised a hoof and shushed her again. Pending’s frown transitioned to a pout. “Knock it off, Sheila!”

Hardy placed a hoof on Pending’s shoulder to placate her. “Is there something wrong?” he asked quietly.

Sheila Shadowmane turned her head slightly. “Listen... do you hear that? Do you hear it, too?” she inquired in a low tone of voice.

The other three tried listening for any unusual sounds, but heard nothing. Only after concentrating on filtering out the sounds of nature could they hear it; a metallic clang that repeated every other second. There was a subtle rhythm to the sound as every third beat had a slight delay and was louder.

“I hear it,” Hard Counter replied.

“Same here,” added Roswell.

“Me too!” Pending rejoined.

Sheila relaxed, rotating herself to face the others. “I’m not sure what could be making that sound, especially way out here in the woods.”

“I’m not sure either, but it kinda reminds me of a hammer, as though striking steel over a forge,” stated Hard Counter. “I often heard it during my days as a knight.”

“B-but what if it’s the Sky Tribe?” Pending Storm questioned timidly.

Roswell stepped forward. “We won’t know till we investigate. Come on, gang, once more unto the breach!”

To be continued...
> Chapter 9: Cottage in the Woods
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


	Chapter 9: Cottage in the Woods



The metallic sounds grew louder as the ponies cautiously approached the source of the noise. Hard Counter and Sheila Shadowmane took the lead, the former keeping a forehoof on his rapier, and the latter levitating a kunai, wrapped in a red aura. Pending Storm and Roswell Rivet kept pace close behind them. 

“W-what do you g-guys think it could b-b-be?” stuttered Pending as her teeth chattered. 

Sheila kept her scarlet eyes forward. “Sky Tribe. Must be.”

“Are you certain?” Roswell inquired, gently patting Pending on the shoulder to comfort her. “What would they be doing out here, making all this noise?” 

“What would anypony be doing out here?” retorted Hardy, his purple eyes scanning left and right. “We’re in the middle of nowhere. For all we know, we’re being lured into a trap.”

“Who lures ponies into a trap with loud noise?” the inventor replied bemusedly, raising an eyebrow. “It would make far more sense if they posed as a traveler, or a citizen who escaped Cloudsdale, or as a kind stranger enticing us with the promise of delicious cookies!”  

“Mmm, cookies…” Pending muttered as she stroked her growling belly. “I really hope it’s cookies.”

Hardy sighed in exasperation. “It’s not cookies!”

“Quiet!” hushed the shadow ninja. “We are near. It’s just ahead.”

As the ponies advanced, they could faintly make out the shape of a wooden structure through the obstructing greenery. A large clearing in the woods opened up, revealing the previously hidden structure to be a cottage. The gang came to a stop behind a towering bush at the edge of the glade, peering through the branches in order to get a better look.

The cabin sat dead center in the middle of the clearing, standing alone except for a nearby outhouse. Between the two buildings was a fairly typical vegetable garden, full of large, healthy crops. 

Near the front door of the cabin was a large earth pony, sitting at a cobblestone forge, hammering away on a chunk of metal, his long grey mane tossing with each strike. The forge was built right into the cabin’s structure, with a chimney directly above it, likely serving both to power the smithy and provide heat to the house.

“A blacksmith?” Hardy whispered loudly enough so they could hear him over the beating of metal. “What would he be doing out here?”

“Well, seeing as how he lacks wings, he can’t be Sky Tribe. Let’s go talk to him,” Roswell said with a relieved smirk.

Sheila blocked Roswell with her leg as she surveyed the lone cabin in the glade. “Wait. This could be a trap.”

The inventor frowned wearily. “What makes you think that?” he asked, eyeing the stallion’s worn apron and confident strokes. 

She turned to him, her eyes piercing his. “The Sky Tribe made a point to survey the land between Groundsdale and Canterlot, kidnapping anypony they could find, and yet he remains? That doesn’t seem odd to you?” 

Hard Counter brought a hoof to his chin as he thought about it. “Hmm… It’s possible the scouts simply missed this spot; we are in the backwoods, after all. Even then, they would’ve had to have been very sloppy to miss this entire glade, or the sound of metalwork.”

Sheila turned to Counter. “Exactly. And look at him…” she said as she eyed the blacksmith. “Doesn’t look too friendly to me, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was a sellsword, paid by the tribe to pose as a local in order to lure ponies like us into a trap. And he’s a big one, even for a blacksmith; I can sense he’s more than meets the eye.”

“How do you sense that?” Hard Counter inquired.

“Not sure. All I know for sure is that he’s definitely a skilled fighter, more than even a blacksmith should be. I say we go about our business.”

Pending held up her hoof. “Um, d-don’t you guys think you’re being, well, a little unfair? Maybe the Sky Tribe did miss this spot, and maybe he’s a nice guy,” she said with timidness. “I think we should talk with him.” 

Shadowmane sighed under her breath, much to Storm’s chagrin. “Look, we can’t take any chances. We’re on a mission. All of Equestria is depending on us!”

“But maybe he could help us? He might have stuff we can use, or know the quickest way to Canterlot, or-”

“No,” Sheila said in exasperation. “We’ve got this under control, Pending. If we want your input, we will ask for it.”

Storm gasped, visibly stunned by the ninja’s words. She turned to Hard Counter expectantly, to which he replied with a passive shrug. Pending turned her head from them, proceeding to bury her downhearted expression in the foliage of the bush they hid behind. 

Roswell raised a hoof in objection. “Now, okay, hold on... I think Pending makes a valid point.”

“Roswell, this is nothing personal with either of-”

“Do any of us know the fastest route to Canterlot from here?” Roswell inquired, cutting Sheila off mid-sentence. “Do we even know for sure how long it’ll take to get there? If it takes us too long, we may very well be too late to stop the invasion.” The dejected pegasus, still hiding her face, gave her friend a sideways glance, surprised to have somepony siding with her.

Hard Counter pushed a branch aside, observing the strange stallion, before turning back to the others. “We don’t know for sure when they plan to invade Canterlot. Could be days.”

The orange stallion shook his head. “Unlikely. I can’t claim to know much about military tactics or strategies or anything like that, but I highly doubt the Sky Tribe could keep all this secret for long, and they must know this,” he stated, his face stern and his voice confident. “It’s just a matter of time before word gets out, and they need to invade before that happens. And when you consider how fast they can travel by air…”

The ninja’s eyes widened. “...It could be as soon as tomorrow.”

He nodded in response, his eyes locked with hers. “With that in mind, how can we afford not to seek help from this stranger? He could be the only one who knows the best route to Canterlot.”

Hardy grimaced, uneasiness seeping through his stoic demeanor. “And even if it is all a trap, we probably wouldn’t have been able to make it anyway…” 

“In that case, I suggest one of us go out there while the rest watch from afar, at least until we can verify that he is one of virtuous character,” Sheila said uncertainly. “I would propose sending myself, but we might consider-”

Pending Storm cleared her throat audibly. “Guys?” she whispered. “The hammering stopped...” The others each took a sharp breath in realization: the ringing beats of the hammer had ceased.

Hard Counter snapped back to the bush, pushing aside the leaves that blocked his view of the cabin. Past the leaves, he saw the face of the blacksmith staring back at him from the other side of the bush. The others watched as his cautious but calm expression quickly turned to one of alarm, as he stumbled back from the bush. 

“What?” whispered Pending. “What happened?”

Before Hardy could muster the nerve to speak, the blacksmith parted the upper branches of the bush, his tan coat clear against the dark leaves, and peered down at the four startled ponies. He shifted his scrutinizing gaze from Hardy to the others one by one with a stony frown, his pace unhurried with a steady composure, seemingly unfazed by his discovery. 

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” he said dryly with a voice that was as deep as it was placid. 

The group he spoke to stared at him warily in silence. 

Pending spoke up. “H-hello there! Um, how are you?” she asked with a sheepish smile.

The stranger’s face remained fixed. “Fairly well. And yourself?” he replied evenly. 

Storm bowed her head as she gave it some thought. “...I’ve had better days.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” the blacksmith replied, genuine sympathy in his voice, in stark contrast with his cold exterior. 

Hard Counter nervously rubbed the back of his head. “...You’re probably wondering what we’re doing here... “ He attempted a friendly smile similar to Pending’s, but only managed an awkward grin. “We were just… passing through.”

“Uh huh,” said the towering stallion, his green eyes flitting back and forth between the newcomers. “And that was before you started spying on me?”

“Yeah, well… this, uh, must seem quite strange to you…” Hardy replied with a shrug of his hooves.

“Very,” the blacksmith interposed. “Not quite as strange as your choice of apparel, though...” He gave another lasting glance at Roswell and Sheila before settling on Pending, the only undressed pony in the group. “You seem normal enough.” He arched an eyebrow when the mare blushed in response, but he couldn’t stop a hint of a smile to form to the side of his mouth.

Roswell stood up tall and cleared his throat, greeting the blacksmith with a friendly grin. “Allow me to explain everything, good sir! We are a herd of traveling performers, making our tour across Equestria. Perhaps you’ve heard of Roswell Rivet and the, uh, Rousing... Rapscallions? Or our slogan... 'Rated R for Riveting'?”

This raised an eyebrow from the stranger. “No?”

Roswell feigned mild disappointment in response. “Ah, well, we have yet to make it mainstream, so it's understandable you haven’t heard of us. More to the point, we were making our way through the woods, where we then stumbled upon you. Apologies for not approaching you sooner, but we wanted to be sure it was safe; you wouldn’t believe how often bandits pose as regular ponies these days!”

The smith’s face was impassive. “I see. In that case, your caution was justified. Equestria isn’t as safe as it used to be,” he said before extending a hoof to Roswell. “The name is Hammer Drop. I take it you’re Roswell?”

The orange pony shook hooves with Hammer. “Indeed, I am.” He gestured to the others. “And these are my Rapscallions: Handsome Hardy, Shady Sheila, and Pending the Puerile.”

“Hey!” Pending objected in a whiny manner. Her face softened as she pondered something. “...What does ‘puerile’ mean?” 

“You see?” Roswell asked the blacksmith. “So puerile.” 

“...I can’t imagine why such an all-star cast would flounder in obscurity,” Hammer Drop replied dryly. “Anyway, feel free to hang around if you’d like. You’re probably quite exhausted from your travels.”

The thespian-loving pony nodded his head with a grateful smile. “Oh yes, quite so. Much appreciated, good sir!”

The blacksmith, Hammer Drop, made his way back to his cabin, leaving the four to gather themselves. Hardy waited for the large stallion to return to his forge before murmuring, making sure to be quieter than they were before.

“I’m having a hard time getting a read on him. As far as I can tell, he seems harmless, but a few things aren’t adding up.”

The ninja nodded. “Like what a blacksmith is doing all the way out here.”

Roswell chuckled quietly to himself. “Guys, come on…” he said in mild amusement. “You think the Sky Tribe set all this up in the short time we’ve been on the lamb? His forge is built right into the cabin, and it doesn’t look like a new addition.” 

“True,” Hard Counter conceded. “And even if it were all a hoax, there are far more believable setups they could’ve gone with. Thoughts, Pending?” He turned to the side where the green mare had been sitting, but she was gone. “What the...?”

The three of them quickly looked around them, and noticed that Pending Storm had already made her way towards the cabin.

Sheila sighed as she face-hoofed. “Naive girl. She’s far too trusting for her own good.”

Roswell chuckled again. “Say what you will, but in my experience, Storm can sense the goodness in others,” he said, following it with a wink. “I am her best friend, after all, so you can tell she’s a great judge of character.” He trotted over to meet up with Pending and Hammer, kicking up a few dried leaves as he went.

With a shrug, Hard Counter began to follow, but Sheila grabbed his sword belt to keep him still. He turned his head toward her with a bemused expression. “Can I help you…?”

“Listen,” she said, looking at the ground. “Those two aren’t warriors like us, and we’re on a dangerous mission of utmost importance. They’re slowing us down.”

He brushed her hoof off of his belt. “We can still make it there by tomorrow’s dawn, even with them tagging along.”

She frowned, nearly stomping her hoof in frustration. “We don’t know that for sure. Are you truly willing to risk Canterlot for them?”

He pivoted towards Sheila, their murmurs now slight whispers. “And what did you have in mind, pray tell?”

“Assuming this isn’t a trap, the blacksmith might be able to give us directions. Once we’ve confirmed his trustworthiness, we should consider leaving those two here.”

Hard Counter audibly scoffed. “Seriously? And what if the Sky Tribe finds them? This place isn’t exactly camouflaged.”

“Would they truly be safer with us? The Sky Tribe are searching for us, and they may very well know our destination by this point.”

“If that happens, we’ll protect them.”

She tilted her head slightly. “Like Crash Landing?” 

The ninja was met with a threatening glare. “Watch it,” he growled.

She took a moment to consider her words. “Look, that last fight was intense, and it was up against a common squad. We don’t know what else they might have sent after us.”

He shook his head, refraining from looking at her. “No,” he said definitively. “If the tribe finds them here, not even the blacksmith would be able to protect them. We’re not losing anypony else, and that’s final.” With that, the knight walked away from the scowling Sheila, meeting up with the others at the cabin.

The ninja closed her eyes with a tired sigh. In times of intense frustration, she had been trained to clear her mind, or risk compromising her judgement.

I would’ve thought he of all ponies would understand. The mission comes first. She observed as the others threw caution to the wind as they conversed casually with Hammer Drop. Exhaling again, she continued the thought. I suppose I should’ve expected an earth pony to put emotion before reason... perhaps I should depart without him.  

After confirming for sure nopony was looking her way, Sheila teleported into the trees above, perching herself atop a branch.

I’m a Shadowmane. Why would I need them?





Though she tried to hide it, the mint-colored pegasus was more than a bit nervous as she approached the strange stallion at his forge. 

They probably think I’m a useless scaredy-cat… Pending thought as she tried to stop her legs from shaking. I’ll show them. I’m better than I seem.

  The burly stallion moved a few things around on his forge, preparing to switch to quieter tasks while these so-called performers visited. 

“I apologize for not having anywhere for you all to sit,” he said, eyes fixed on moving his equipment out of the way. “I don’t often have guests.” 

Storm dropped her plot to the ground with an audible thud, and gave a tired sigh. “That’s okay; when you’re as tired as this pony, you can sit anywhere and it feels like a bed of clouds. I don’t even care that dirt is getting in my-” Her train of thought halted as she sniffed the air, prompting the just arrived Roswell to raise an eyebrow at her. “-tail… What is that amazing smell?! It’s... heavenly!”

Hammer Drop stared off blankly as he took a sniff. “Oh!” he uttered, rushing slightly to the furnace, placing an oven mitt over his hoof while opening the slide, and pulled out a metal pan. He brought the pan over to Pending and Roswell, revealing it to be lined with chocolate chip cookies. “Almost forgot about these. Feel free to help yourself…” he placed the baking pan on the rim of the forge. “-once they’ve cooled, of course.”

She gave a delighted squee as she eyed the baked goods. Her tongue hung from her mouth as she fought the urge to eat them off the tray immediately. 

“Pending…” Roswell warned. “Remember what happened last time you didn’t give it a minute to cool.”

“Hey, I survived it once- and twice- maybe a few other times... point is, I’ll be fine!”

The corner of Hammer’s mouth curled in amusement. “I assure you, they’ll taste far better if you can actually feel your tongue.”

Hard Counter arrived from his prior discussion, wearing a cautious smile upon his face. After catching a whiff of it, he soon noticed the batch of cookies resting on the forge. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“See, Hardy?” Pending gestured to Hammer Drop. “Told you I had a good feeling about him-”

“So, Hardy…” Roswell interjected quickly. “Where’s everypony’s favorite ninja?

“Well, she should be-” The swordspony turned behind him, but Sheila Shadowmane was nowhere in sight. He looked to the bush they had been hiding behind, but he saw no sign of her silhouette through the leaves. 

No... she wouldn’t… Hard Counter thought to himself. She wouldn’t leave without me, would she? His teeth gritted, and he grew increasingly tense the more he stared at the bush. No, she did... stubborn fool! Should’ve expected this from an arrogant horn head…

“Hardy?”

He briefly jolted as he snapped back to reality. “She... I don’t know,” he said in defeat, still looking behind him.

“What do you-” Roswell stopped himself, his face lowering. “Sh-she is coming with us, right?” The swordspony replied with deafening silence. 

Hammer Drop glanced at the group, before going back to preparing for his next project. “So... how are things back in civilization? Not much happens around these parts.”

“You’re completely cut off from everypony else?” inquired Hard Counter.

“Not completely. The mailmare brings me mail every once in a while, usually from family, or folks looking to commission me. For the most part, she’s my only source for the ongoings of society. Come to think of it, she never stopped by today,” he said, scanning the sky above. “Wonder if something went wrong...”

“Don’t you get lonely being all by yourself?” asked Storm. 

“I’m not by myself,” he stated matter-of-factly, lifting up his forging hammer. The tool had a shiny, silver head, and despite how heavy it appeared, Hammer Drop handled it seemingly without effort. “I have Graveil here, the only companion I ever need.”

The swordspony gave an involuntary snort. “You named your hammer? It doesn’t... talk to you, does it?” he asked with mock hesitation. 

The blacksmith looked directly into his eyes, replying in a sober tone. “Don’t be ridiculous, Handsome Hardy. Graveil would need a mouth to speak.” He turned his head to face Graveil, inspecting the head. “...That’s why she communicates through telepathy.”

Hard Counter looked at Hammer Drop blankly. “...That’s a joke, right?”

“Ooh, ooh!” Pending lit up, raising her hoof like a filly in a classroom. “Do you have a restroom?!”

“Pending, why didn’t you go in the woods?” asked Roswell.

“Uh, cause I’m not an animal, Roswell! Gosh.” 

Hammer Drop sighed. “It’s over here.” He pointed towards the outhouse across the garden. “I’m used to travelers asking for it.”

“Thank Celestia!” she exclaimed as she ran into the outhouse, slamming the door shut.

Hard Counter rolled his eyes with a mildly entertained smirk. “Anyways... Do you happen to know the quickest way to Canterlot from here? We’re sorta in a rush.”

“I do. How soon do you need to be there?”

“Tomorrow, preferably no later than morning, if we can.”

“Oof...” Hammer Drop muttered. “I suppose it might be possible to make it, but that’ll require going through the mountains. I’ve made note of several paths that allow shorter travel time-”

“Hey, that’s great!” said Roswell excitedly. 

“...however, without a guide, the journey could be quite treacherous. You may very well get lost, injured, and perhaps worse. By yourselves, it would be foolish to attempt, I’m afraid.”

“Okay, so why don’t you lead the way?” Hardy asked assertively. “You would be well-compensated for your help, I can assure you.”

The brown stallion’s eyes narrowed at Hardy. “Sorry, but I simply can’t drop everything to help you. I have deadlines to make for these commissions, and I never miss a deadline.” 

Hardy’s eyes widened as his face became a fierce scowl. “To Tartarus with your deadline! This is of utmost importance!” He took a few aggressive steps forward. “Help us, and you’ll never need to make another deadline ever again!”

Hammer Drop tilted his head slightly, and gently placed Graveil on the rim of the forge. He gave Hardy and Roswell a curious look. “What could possibly demand such urgency? Hm?” The blacksmith sat upright, his expression changed to that of a stony frown. “Who are you ponies, really?”

There was another pause, but before he could reply, the inventor noticed Hammer’s eyes glance up to the left of him. Roswell turned his head, following the line of sight, and his eyes widened. Hard Counter took notice of his change in expression, and turned his head as well. 

In the distant sky, a dozen or so black shapes were seemingly hovering in the air. It took a moment of observation before Hardy realized they were getting bigger- no, closer.

No... no way, please, not here, he thought as he gripped his rapier. Curses, Sheila, where are you?

    The swordspony pivoted at Hammer Drop. “Did you set us up?! Was this arranged?!”

Hammer raised an eyebrow, seemingly taken back. “I beg your pardon?”

Roswell Rivet placed his hoof on Hard Counter’s chest. “We don’t know if he’s involved! We need to take cover! They might not have noticed us yet!”

Hardy pushed the hoof away with a low growl. “Fine, but we can’t leave without Pending! There’s no time to pull her out of there!”

“Maybe we could-”

“Get inside,” Hammer interjected before Roswell could finish. “I don’t know what’s going on, just get inside the cabin now.”

The gray and purple stallion was prepared to argue, but stopped himself. He patted Roswell on the back and gestured toward the cabin. “There’s the door, come on!”

The two ran inside swiftly as the blacksmith resumed work on an unfinished blade. 

To be continued...