> Frozen Odyssey
>  by Silentpegasus
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Frozen Odyssey

By Silentpegasus

Prologue


The sound of pick axes hitting against stone filled Slate’s ears as he adjusted his hard hat that covered his dark blue hair. Slate was a stereotypical miner. He had arm muscles the size of watermelons and a thick dark blue beard that covered his mouth and chin. Black soot covered his face as he came back up to the break area and poured a hot cup of hot coffee from his dark metal thermos. The bell signaling the elevator’s descent rang through the deep caves. The large doors slid aside to show a grey winged man with dark brown hair wearing a large winter coat, making him look much bigger than he appeared.

A smile graced the miner’s face as he walked up to him with a spare mug in his hand. “Afternoon Storm.” Slate said with a hearty chuckle. “What brings you down here to my neck of the woods?” He asked as he poured him a cup.

“Oh you know, looking to move down here. Lot’s of fresh air.” The flyer grinned as he took the mug.

“Har-har.” The two clinked mugs and sipped the piping hot liquid that warmed them to the core as it cascaded down their throats.

“Damn that’s good coffee.”

“It’s always good. Aqua’s secret recipe.” The thought of his beautiful wife brought even more warmth to the miner. “So what really brings you down here?” Slate saw the man’s eyes turn a bit grim.

“There’s a huge storm coming down from the North.” Slate sighed heavily at the news. Storms were common North of the wall. A massive wall of ice that separated the mountains and the nearby village where his home was. “Our weather team is doing all we can to hold it back, but this thing is big and we’re too few. I came to let ya know.” He took one last sip of coffee before gulping.

“I hear ya.” Slate walked over to one of the radios in the break room and his voice rang over the intercom as he pressed the talk button. “Attention all miners.” Everyone in the mine froze and listened. “This is Slate Crag. Now hear this, there’s a massive storm coming in from the North. Weather teams are holding it, but it’ll be here in,” He looked over to the flyer who held up three fingers. “three hours. Stop what you’re doing, set the jacks in place and get back to the wall. Over and out.” 

The flyer took the elevator back up to get the word out to the village. Slate watched as all of his men went of the shaft that led to the surface. As the owner of the mine, he was always the first to show up and last to leave. As he watched the last man exit the cave he threw on his fur coat and walked over to his team of sled dogs that had been sleeping all day in the warm kennel where all the dogs were kept. The roads this time of year were too dangerous by carriage and the horses hated the cold, so the next option was sled dogs.

He hitched his six huskies up to the sled and whistled. The dogs ears perked up and took off as storm clouds loomed overhead. The village was easily fifteen miles away so he needed to hurry. The dogs kept running as the storm started to catch up to the miner. The snow flakes were the size of golfballs and were limiting the man’s visibility. 

As the man cleared the mountains he could see it, the wall. A massive wall of ice that stood sixty meters high and separated the wilds from civilization. Slate’s ancestors helped construct the wall to protect the rest of Equestria from the harsh wilderness. The thoughts of a warm hearth and his family filled Slate’s mind as he and his dogs picked up the pace. The six dogs suddenly halted and started growling.

“Ace? Something wrong boy?” He called out to the lead dog. Ace was his oldest and most reliable sled dog, fur black as night and eyes like two gold coins that could cut through darkness itself. The dog’s teeth were showing as he stared into the darkness of the evening. Slate heard the howling of wolves around him and gulped as he reached for his rifle.

He lit the lantern that hung on the side of the sled and stared out to see several silver eyes glaring back at him. The miner was surrounded. He raised his rifle and pulled the trigger, then nothing. He looked down at the gun and cursed as he saw that the trigger was frozen in place. As the wolves closed in he reached for his pick axe and got ready to fight. Slate felt a change in the wind and it sounded as though the entire area was roaring.

A white beam came from the sky and turned one of the creatures to dust. The wolves looked at one another in confusion as another of the pack was disintegrated by the unseen force. The surviving wolves whined and turned tail away from the man and his dogs. “Thank the Creator.” He said as he leaned against his sled and let out the breath he was holding.

The man’s ears perked as he heard his lead dog whine. Ace had seen it all with his owner; trolls, giants, wolves and hadn’t whined like that since he was a newborn puppy. The wind changed direction so the snow was now blowing in the man’s face. He raised the lantern and his heart plummeted into his stomach. In the light of the lantern he could see the white scales shine like diamonds. The large nostrils flaring white light with power and a pair of sapphire blue eyes that looked like two bottomless oceans.

He was standing before a creature only hinted in legend and stories he’d tell his daughter to prevent her, and those like her, from venturing outside the wall at night. With a loud crunch, the giant winged lizard landed a few feet in front of the sled dogs who quickly hid behind the sled in fear. Slate gulped and dropped his pick axe as his life flashed before his eyes.

“Human!” The beast yelled making the dogs whine even louder. Slate could smell the beast’s foul breath and gagged. “I have granted you safety from the wolves. Now you must return the favor.”

“Wh-what do you want?” The miner said trying to remain calm. “I-I have nothing of value on me.” The man heard a loud gurgling sound come from the dragons stomach. Oh Creator. This is the end. Aqua, Emerald, He felt his tears freeze on his cold flesh. I’m so sorry. He heard a hacking noise and heard something fall on the snow covered ground.

He opened one eye to see a mass in the snow. The man slowly approached the object with lantern in hand. The light shined and he saw what looked like a small boy, only a year older than his six year old daughter. His skin was pale and his hair was an icy blue. The child had on a pair of raggedy clothes and there was frozen blood on the clothing’s fabric and the pack on his back.

“Bring this child to your village, and see to his care.” The beast said as the man touched the child’s skin with his bare hand. He felt cold as ice. If it weren’t for the fact that Slate was watching him breathe, he’d think the child was dead. The creature’s voice caught his attention. “In time we shall meet again. If the child is not kept alive until such time, then you and your whole village will feel my wrath!” 

The beast flared it’s wings and shot a nearby tree that turned to solid ice and crumbled into ice crystals. “Understand?” The dragon showed it’s pure white teeth, they were the size of telephone poles.

“Y-yes.” The dragon roared and flew up to the sky punching a massive whole in the clouds. For a moment, Slate could see the night sky and the moon shining high above. He picked up the child and wrapped him in his warmest coat before setting him on the sled. For the briefest of moments, the wall was illuminated by lunar light. A massive structure made out of steel, ice and stone. It stretched as far as the eye could see and stood over sixty meters in height. The man whistled again and double timed it to his village.


~~~


On the top of the wall stood a woman with dark skin and emerald green hair that went down to her back. She looked out into the darkness with her deep blue eyes, hoping to see her husband’s sled pull into the gate before lockdown occurred. She knew that he was always the last to leave the mine, but he had never been this late before. There was tug on her long fur coat and she looked down to see her daughter, Jade Coalesce. She had her mother’s dark skin and green hair, but took after her father in both strength and attitude.

“Mom, where’s dad? It’s getting late.” The girl asked.

“I know sweetie. He’s just running a bit late and-” Her eyes focused and her heart jumped. In the darkness was a familiar sled illuminated by a lantern racing towards the front gate. The woman ran towards the nearest outpost and range the iron bell that signaled the gate keepers to open the front of the wall.

Lights in the small village lit up instantly and people ran out to greet the last miner. The woman grabbed her daughter and got in the lift that soon brought them down to the ground. She watched as people crowded around the sled and were petting the dogs. Aqua rushed towards her husband and saw that he was missing his coat, only having his warm vest, wool shirt and miner pants on. His beard and eyebrows were ice covered. 

She ran up to him and wrapped him in a warm hug, both in affection and sharing warmth. “You’re such a dunce.” She said with an annoyed sigh.

“I missed you too Aqua.” He said with a kiss. Slate then turned his attention back to the sled. “Where’s Doc?” He called out to the crowd. Soon a man in a white long coat and round glasses emerged from the crowd.

“Yes, what is it? Frostbite?” He asked as he looked at the man’s severely chapped lips.

“Not for me.” He walked over to the sled and picked up the wrapped boy. The crowd let out a gasp of surprise. 

“Where did you find him?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you Doc.” The doctor put a hand on the boy’s forehead and felt his skin tingle at the cold sensation.

“He feels like death.” The small child let out a small groan. “Let’s get him inside so I can examine him.” The group ventured to Slate’s house. It was a simple two story stone house with smoke coming from the fire place. The man brought the child inside and set him on the couch. “Aqua get some warm water.” The woman nodded and took the kettle off the wood burning stone. The doctor grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the child’s shirt off and gulped.

“Dear Celestia.” The child had three long cuts going down in a diagonal path from his right shoulder to his left side. There was also a circular wound near the middle scratch.

“What did this? A wolf?” The woman asked.

“No, the cut size is too big for their claws.” The doctor said as he looked at the wounds. “This one up here,” He pointed to the small round wound. “looks like a gun shot.”

“Who’d want kill a child?” Slate asked as he sat down at his kitchen table.

“Couldn’t tell you. Good news is that the bullet went all the way through and the wound is for the most part healed.” He said as he started wrapping the wounds to prevent infection. 

“How?” The little girl asked. Aqua spied the pack the child was wearing and started to look through its contents. She pulled out a crumpled up piece of paper and flattened it out to show a picture of two adults, a teenage girl, and a seven year old boy that fit the child’s description. The man in the picture had short white hair and green eyes, while the woman had light blue hair and piercing teal eyes. The teenage girl had long white hair and deep green eyes like her father. She looked on the back and saw four names. Sapphire, Silver, Alabaster and Cerulean.

“There’s a picture.” She handed it to her husband and continued looking. There was an old book and a metal medallion with the impression of a wolf carved into the metal. The doctor put his stethoscope away and sighed.

“From what I can tell, the boy will make it through the night.” He said as he adjusted his glasses. “He just needs some rest. I’ll be back in the morning to see if anything’s changed.” He yawned.	

“Thanks for coming Doc.” Slate said with a nod. The doctor took his leave and the family was alone with the child. 

“I’ll go get the guest room ready.” Aqua stated as she got to her feet. “Jade it’s past your bed time.”

“But mom.” The girl whined.

“No buts missy. Upstairs now.” The girl grumbled to herself as she followed her mother up the steps. The muscular man chuckled as he grabbed himself a beer and looked at the odd wolf medallion. He turned it over and saw some old runes etched into the back of the metal. Slate set the piece down and went up after his wife.

Ten years later.

The blue haired man woke from his dream as he felt the train pulling to a halt. Cerulean yawned and looked to his right to see the train station of the small town. The man was about 6’1,” donning a blue T-shirt and a white vest. He grabbed his large package from the cargo hold and slung it over his shoulder. The piece was about four and a half feet long. Cerulean was a very long way from home and he soon felt sweat on his forehead.

How the hell do these guys handle the heat? He thought with a groan. The man made his way through the small town. His boots clicked against the cobble stone streets. Cerulean sighed and walked down the road with his gear on his back. He looked over and saw a large tree that had a library sign out in front of it. As he turned back around he saw a wall of pink hair.

“HI!” A high pitched voice said. Cerulean took a few steps back and saw that it was a girl about a year younger than him. She was wearing apink shirt, pink overalls and pink shoes. Her hair was, unsurprisingly, pink. “My name is Pinkie Pie.” She chimed.

“Hi.” He said in an uneasy tone. “My name’s Cerulean. Cerulean Frostwork.”

“I’ve never seen you around before!” She said looking at his strange attire.

“Yeah I just got into town.” She then let out a huge gasp and zoomed away leaving a pink cloud of dust in her wake. “Wait....damn it.” He sighed.

“Need something partner?” Cerulean turned his head to see a stunningly pretty girl with emerald green eyes and golden blonde hair. His face went a bit red, but he shook it off. 

“Yeah, who was that?” He asked pointing in the direction the girl ran. The blonde then chuckled.

“That there’s Pinkie Pie and before ya ask, yes, she’s always like that.” She said in a southern accent. “Mah names Applejack.” She said holding her gloved hand out to shake.

“Cerulean.” He said shaking it with his own white gloved hand. The woman had an incredible grip and he made a mental not to make her angry.

“Nice to meet ya. You’re not from around her are ya?” She said looking at his attire. Which consisted of a white shirt with a blue vest, along with white gloves and his fur coat was tied around his waist.

“No, I’m from the far North close to the Wall.”

“The what?”

“Yeah, we’re pretty off the grid.” He said as he started walking with her. 

“So what brings you down here?”

“Since you live in this town I take it you’re familiar with the Harmony guild?” The girl’s eyes lit up.

“Sure do. Two of my best friends are in it.”

“You’re not?”

“Nah, it’s mostly for mages, but we got a few flyers that take on non magic needed missions. Pinkie and I do help with the food though. You’re a mage then?” Cerulean nodded and cracked his fingers. He clapped his hands together and there was a bright blue glow from his palms. When he lifted his hand there was a snowflake made of solid ice in his hand.

“Ice mage.” He smiled as the ice shattered.

“Well, that’s nifty.” Cerulean had to hold back a chuckle at the word. “The guild is that way it’s got a big sign out front.” She said pointing down the road. “But, the lady in charge is out on business. Don’t know when she’ll be back.”

“I see. Thanks Applejack. See you around.” He said with a wave. The man then made his way through the small town. Soon he came upon a tall building that looked like a miniature castle that was right on the edge of town. The man looked at the modern architecture and made his way inside to see what looked like a grand hall. The floor was stone with several tables lining the interior and several people were chatting with one another. He approached the front of the hall that looked like a bar. He rang the bell that rested on the table.

The man then felt everyone in the room eye him. Soon an indigo haired girl with a pink stripe running through her hair came out. She had amethyst eyes and was wearing purple mage robes. 

“Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle. How can I help you?” She asked with a smile.

“Yeah my name is,” Cerulean stopped as the name hit him. “You’re Twilight Sparkle? As in the personal student to Celestia and Element of Magic?” 

“Yes, that’s me.” She smiled.

“You’re quite the celebrity. Why are you working in a guild?” He asked crossing his arms.

“Well, I like learning about different kinds of magic and I figured I’d see the most diverse by working in a guild.” 

“Fair enough.” He stated. “Right, my name’s Cerulean Frostwork. I’d like to join the guild.”

“Oh Creator, not another one.” Both heads turned to see a tall muscular man wearing elegant white and gold robes. Beside him were three winged men; One had charcoal grey wings, another mustard yellow and the third had chestnut brown. Twilight rolled her eyes at the man. “This guild doesn’t need anymore weaklings.”

“Hey watch it!” Cerulean yelled at the stranger. The surrounding mages looked at him in surprise. 

“Learn your place commoner! I am Prince Blueblood. Nephew of Princess Celestia herself!” Cerulean raised an eyebrow and turned back to Twilight.

“So about the whole guild joining thing.” He asked. 

“Sorry, I really don’t have any say in the matter.” She shrugged. 

“I am talking!” Blueblood bellowed.

“And I don’t care!” The ice mage yelled back in a mock version of the Prince’s voice.

“You impudent little brat.” Blueblood said as golden electricity arced over his body. Cerulean snapped his fingers and three large snow boulders landed on the Prince, each smaller than the one before. It looked like a snow man. 

“So when will the guild leader be back?” He asked looking at Twilight.

“I really don’t know. Sometimes she’s away for days. I stay here to make sure the guild is still standing until she comes back.” The mage said as Blueblood’s head came from the snow.

“I see. Thanks, I’ll see you around then.” The man said walking out of the guild. As he walked out he accidentally bumped into a girl with yellow and red striped hair. Her teal eyes sparkled in the sunlight. “Sorry about that.” He said helping her up. She was about 5’9” and Cerulean noticed that she had a sleeveless orange shirt, a skirt that had six long strands of fabric coming out from the back, sides and front. Something black was coiled around her waist.

“It’s fine. My head was in the clouds.” She said as she saw a familiar indigo haired scholar. Twilight’s eyes shrank as she saw the woman and gulped nervously. The man yawned and made his way through the small town in search of food.
> Chapter I: Testing, Testing 1 2 3 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter I

Testing, Testing, 1 2 3 4


Ten years ago.

The child let out a groan as he sat up in bed. As he opened his teal eyes he looked to his right to see a pair of red eyes glaring at him. The sight made him jump in surprise and he pulled the covers over himself. The girl ran to the door and yelled. “Hey he’s up!” The sound of feet hitting the steps filled the home and two adults entered the room.

“Jade, what did I tell you about bothering him?” The woman said as she crossed her arms.

“To not too.” The girl grumbled. Slate shook his head and approached the bed. The boy peeked out to see the two adults.

“Sorry about her, she’s is a bit of a trouble maker.” The green haired girl crossed her arms and pouted. The child flinched as the man sat on the bed. “I bet you’re a bit confused huh?” He only nodded. “Well, my names Slate,” He turned to his wife. “the lady is Aqua and you’ve already met Jade.”

“Nice to meet you.” The woman said with a warm smile. The child only nodded. The man thought back to the photo.

“Is you’re name Navy?” The child looked down and shrugged. “Okay, how about Cerulean?” The boy instinctively looked up. “Okay now we know each other’s names, we can figure out how to get you back to your folks.” Slate said as he stood up and walked towards the door. “If you need anything then just holler. The doctor will be by soon.” The boy didn’t bother to give a nod at the words and just sat in silence.

Soon the doctor from last night came into the small home and walked up to the child’s bedroom. Meanwhile, the blue haired man walked outside to see that the storm had passed and people were hard at work clearing off their homes. 

“Where are you going?” Aqua asked.

“I’m gonna see how bad the road is.” He said as he whistled and the dogs went to the sled. 

“Just be careful.” Aqua sighed. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek. The man nodded and headed towards the gate with his sled dogs. Thankfully the road was still semi intact and headed off down the snow covered road. He stopped at three miles out and saw that most of the road was still intact.

“Well, that’s good. Better head-” He stopped as he heard his dogs barking and a metallic clicking sound of a gun. He looked towards the mine to see a tall person in a heavy fur coat holding a rifle trained on him. The strangers face was covered by a hat and scarf, but he could just make out his green eyes.

“You even think about moving and I will shoot.” The voice was male and his tone meant business.

“Look friend, I don’t want no trouble.” Slate said raising his hands up away from the sled. The dogs started to bark more as the stranger approached. Slate whistled at the dogs and they piped down, but kept their fangs showing. 

“You got any food or medicine?” The stranger asked.

“A little food, but no medicine.” Slate pointed back towards the giant wall of ice. “There’s a village and-”

“Village? Is there a doctor?” The man asked as he stepped closer making the dogs growl again.

“Yeah.” He said looking at the stranger. “You don’t look like you’re hurt.” The stranger sighed and put the rifle on his back before pulling his scarf off of his face to show his short white hair and piercing green eyes.

“My wife is injured we-”

“Your wife? You mean Sapphire?” The man trained his weapon on Slate again.

“How do you know that name? Are you with them?” He yelled pulling the hammer back on the long rifle again.

“With who?” He gulped. “That means you’re Silver?”

“I won’t ask again!” He said as he breathed heavily.

“Last night, I was coming home and we found this kid, Cerulean.” The shooter’s face softened and he dropped the gun.

“Where? Where is he?”

“He’s at the village I was talking about.” The miner stated.

“Then you’re....gonna take us there.” Both men turned to see a woman with long light blue hair. She was leaving bloody footprints and fell down in the powdery snow. 

“Damn it Sapphire.” Silver said as he ran to his wife. “I told you not to leave-”

“Screw that.” She said before coughing up some blood. The man picked his wife up bridal style and turned towards the man. 

“How far from the village?” He asked. 

“Three miles.” Slate said making room on his sled. Silver set the woman down as she clutched her bleeding arm. “What happened?”

“Less talking, more sledding.” 

“What about-” The man was cut off as the snow seemed to move around the man on it’s own accord. The snow formed what looked like a large wolf and the man climbed on the back before he took off towards the wall. “Never mind.” He said getting on the sled and double timed it back towards the wall. The massive gate opened up as the two returned to the small village.

“Now, where’s my son?” As Slate was about to open his mouth the two heard a crushing sound and looked towards the miner’s house to see several ice spikes shooting out of the windows and sides. “Oh no.” He said as he kicked down the door and startled the two green haired girls. He ignored them and climbed the stairs towards the frozen door. 

“Cerulean?” He yelled as he kicked down the door. Silver saw the boy curled up on the bed with his arms wrapped around his knees. “Oh thank the Creator.” Cerulean looked up as the man hugged him. The doctor scrambled to his feet and adjusted his glasses.

“Well, that was...startling.” 

“You the doctor? How’s my son?”

“Aside from some minor injuries that are healed for the most part, he’s fine physically.” The man gave a sigh of relief at the words. 

“You’ve got another patient doctor. She’s hurt bad.” He said pointing out towards the sled.

“Right, duty calls.” The man said running down the steps. Silver looked at the ice spikes and sighed as he made them vanish.

“I-I’m sorry.” Cerulean said as he cried. “I-I was scared....I didn’t mean-” The man wrapped him in tight hug.

“It’s gonna be okay.” He said as he gently rubbed his son’s back. 

Present.

Cerulean groaned as the sun beatdown on him. He wasn’t used to the temperature change and needed to shed another layer of clothing so he was only donning a loose dark blue T-shirt. “Ugh! I hate this heat!” He panted. The man was still looking for a place to eat in the town since the guild food was only available to members. The man saw a small bakery and sighed. Might be able to get a bagel of something. He made his way inside and saw a thin man with orange curly hair behind the register.

“Morning there fella. Grab a seat and I’ll be right with you.” He said in a cheery tone. Cerulean nodded and looked around to see that most of the seats were filled. There was still a booth partially unoccupied. He walked over and saw it was the girl that he had bumped into while he was exiting the guild.

“Hey, do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full.” 

“Go ahead.” She said gesturing to the empty seat from across from her.

“Thanks.” Cerulean set his package next to him. He then stuck his hand out to the girl. “Cerulean Frostwork.”

“Sunset Shimmer.” She said shaking his hand. Soon the orange haired man came around to them and took their orders. “So you wanted to join the guild?” She asked sipping her tea.

“Yeah. You too?” She gave a nod. “What kind of magic can you do?” She set her cup down and held out her right hand. An orange fireball with green tips then appeared from her hand.

“I’m a fire mage. What about you?” Cerulean put his finger on his cup of coffee and the girl saw it turn to ice. “Ice magic?”

“Yup.” The door then opened and a man in a dark brown coat then came up to them. Cerulean looked at the man and saw he had a set of grey wings and was one of the men that were hanging out with Blueblood.

“Hey glad I caught you two.” He said.

“Look whatever Blueblood is offering I ain’t buying.” Cerulean deadpanned.

“Yeah about that,” The man rubbed his head at the words. “he’s just angry because the last people we had completely screwed up their jobs and made the guild look bad. Name’s Endzone.” He sighed.

“How’d they screw up?” Sunset asked.

“Trust me you don’t want to know. Needless to say, Blueblood is a bit touchy about allowing just anyone in.”

“Okay, so why are you here?” Cerulean asked.

“Hey I’m here to help you.” The flyer frowned. “Look in order to get into the guild you need to pass a test. Just to let the lady in charge know you’re legit.” Cerulean looked at Sunset with a raised eyebrow.

“What’s the test?” She asked. The man looked towards the window and pointed to the mountain in the distance. 

“See that mountain? You need to get up that mountain, grab a pice of gold from the dragon’s nest and come back.” The two sputtered their drinks.

“A dragon!?” The two said.

“Relax, that thing is long gone.” Endzone reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold bit. “See, I did it no problem and I don’t even have any magic.”

“How does that prove we’re good enough to be in the guild?” Cerulean asked.

“Show’s you can brave the terrain and you’re in descent shape. You complete that and the guild leader will have to let you in.” He said standing up. “Well, I gotta bounce.” 

“Thanks.” Cerulean said getting up.

“Where are you going?” Sunset asked.

“To the mountain, duh. Want to come?” 

“I...I don’t know.” She said a she shrank back a bit. “I don’t think it’d help me get in.”

“Hey you want to get in don’t you?” Sunset bit her lip. “Fine stay here.” He said grabbing his package and headed out the door. The mage weighed her options and went after the man. The two made their way out of town and found a dirt road that lead towards the mountain.

From a distance away from the two mages, Endzone walked over to the blonde haired Prince with a smile on his face.

“They bought it?” The Prince asked.

“Hook. Line. Sinker.” The flyer chuckled. “Morons.” 

Cerulean was awed by the different kinds of trees and plants that were growing in the Summer. The sound of crickets chirping and frogs croaking filled his ears as they neared a small wetland in the forest. The gravel crunched under their boots. 

“So Cerulean,” Sunset said finally breaking the silence. “you don’t look like someone from around here.”

“Yeah, I’m from the far North. I live just inside the Wall.”

“What’s that?” She asked.

“A giant wall made of ice, stone and steel. It separates the wilds from my village Zircon. Tiny place, but business is booming now.” He said as he hoped over a log.

“Why?” She asked as she went over the same log.  

“Well, since the Crystal Empire returned, it opened up a new place to trade with.”

“Trade?”	

“Mostly pelts, recipes and jewels. My friend’s dad owns a mine that hit the jackpot a few months ago. Rubies and emeralds as big a bear skull.” The girl’s eyes widened at the words. “Yeah, you need a pair of sunglasses to look at the cave.”

“What’s it like in the North?”

“Cold. Very cold. Winter lasts nine out of the twelve months and it barely gets over sixty degrees.”

“Sounds harsh.” She said. “I’m from the far South and grew up on the coast. Sunny beaches and sand under foot.” She smiled at the memory. “Been a while since I’ve been home.” 

"Never seen the ocean myself." Cerulean stopped walking and felt a shiver run down his spine. “Sunset, don’t move.” He said as his hand started glowing with magic. The man spun around and an ice hatchet formed in his hand. He threw it in the girl’s direction and passed over her shoulder to hit a timber wolf in mid jump. As the blade hit the beast’s face, it was encased in ice and shattered into frozen wood fragments as it hit the ground. Sunset skirted away from the shards in shock.

“Wh-what? H-how did you do that?” She yelled.

“The things been trailing us for a little while now.” He said walking over to the shards. “We’d better keep going, wolves usually hunt in-” He was cut off as four more of the beasts emerged from the trees. “packs.” He sighed. Sunset reached inside her robe and pulled out what looked like a long whip. 

As the first wolf charged at her, she cracked the whip and the rope was ignited with flames. The whip struck the wolf and it was encased in flames and howled in pain. Cerulean started throwing ice knives that were hitting their target with great precision. After the first two wolves went down, the rest of the wolves ran off the two relaxed. “Nice whip.” 

“Thanks.” She said holding out the weapon. “It’s woven from a Unicorn mane. Helps the magic flow better.” She coiled the weapon back up and put it back on her waist.

“Where’d you get it?” He asked. Sunset’s eyes dropped at the words.

“It was my mother’s.” She said in a somber tone. “She...left it for me in her will.”

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.” He gulped.

“It’s fine. It happened years ago.” She quickly wiped a tear from her eye. “Let’s just keep moving.”

“Right.” He said as the two continued down the path nearing the mountain. 

“What’s that thing on your back?” She asked looking at the large object. 

“It’s-” He was cut off as the two heard a loud screeching sound. “What was that?” The girl shrugged at they followed the noise off the path to see a fox caught in a bear trap.  It’s back left paw was caught in the metal clamp.

“Awe poor thing.” Sunset said looking at the trap. “I thought poaching in this forest was illegal.”

“It is. This trap looks like its been here a while.” Cerulean said looking at the device. “It’s meant for small game like foxes and rabbits.” He tapped the metal with his finger and the animal turned it’s ears back and barked.

“That hurt you ass!” Both mages looked at the fox in surprise.

“Sunset?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you hear that fox talk?”

“Yup.”

“Good. Didn’t want to be the only one.” He said eyeing the caught animal.

“If you two are done, can you please get this fucking thing off me?” The fox’s voice appeared feminine.

“Hang on, how do we know you’re not some spirit that’s trying to trick us?” Sunset asked glaring at the cat.

“Right, I deliberately stepped in a trap that is slowly crushing my leg just so I could trick the first two people I came across.” The fox said in a dry tone. “Look, get me out of here and I’ll make it worth your while.”

“How?” The girl squinted at the animal. “What could a fox possibly have that I’d want?” 

“We should still let her out. I know if I were a timber wolf, this would be a good meal.” The scavenger started whining again. “Fine. I’ll let you out, hold still.” He said as he found the locking mechanism. “This may hurt a little bit.” Cerulean focused his magic on the metal and ice started forming on the metal. Soon the metal snapped and the jaws fell open releasing the scavenger.

“How did you do that?” Sunset asked. 

“I froze the metal which caused the springs holding it together to shatter.” He looked at the fox who was favoring the hurt paw.

“Thank you! Give me a second.” The fox walked away from them and sat down. The fox’s body started to glow bright orange and the two mages had to cover their eyes. The animals form started to shift. It grew and it’s limbs started to lengthen while the fur started to move up it’s back and become hair. Her face went to that of a normal human’s and her whiskers vanished. 

The two opened their eyes to see a human girl with long auburn hair, golden eyes and a pair of fox ears, the same color as her hair, were coming from the top of her head along with a similar colored tail with a white tip was coming from her lower back. The woman stood at 5'9” and her hair went down to the middle of her back. She cracked her back and sighed in pleasure. “Staying in that form for a long time gives me kinks.” She looked at the two mages. 

The man’s face was red as an apple while the girl was in shock. “What? Never seen a fox turn into a woman?” 

“No, but that’s not the issue.” Sunset said adverting her eyes.

“Then what is it?” She said crossing her arms under her chest.

“PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!” Cerulean said turning around with crimson red cheeks. The fox woman looked down to see that she was in fact naked.

“Right, thought it felt a little drafty.” She said turning around and heading into the bushes. Cerulean’s face was dark red, sure he’s seen naked women before, what boy his age hasn’t? He’d still like a little warning before an attractive woman show’s up naked in front of him. “There we go.” 

Cerulean turned around to see that the cat girl was wearing a black tube top and dark brown cargo pants with similar colored boots. On either hand was an armored gauntlet and a pair of metal shin bracers were on each leg. Sitting atop her head was a dark brown Stetson hat that had holes for her ears to fit through. “I usually don’t wear clothes when I go into that form.”

“Why?” 

“When was the last time you saw a fox wearing clothes?” The two mages gave a nod at the words.

“Right, so do you have a name?” Cerulean asked.

“Amber Jackal.” She smiled.

“Cerulean Frostwork and Sunset Shimmer.”The man said shaking her hand.

“Am I intruding on a date or something?” The two looked at each other and chuckled at the question.

“No, we’re just trying to get to the top of that mountain.” The fire mage pointed to their destination.

“So why are you taking the long way around?”

“Long way?” Cerulean asked.

“There’s a smaller trail that’ll cut your travel time in half.” Amber said as she pointed down the road. “Since I owe you one, I’ll show you.” She said as she lead the way into the brush. The two followed her through the foliage and kept quiet. “So why are you two out here anyway?”

“We need to pass a test to join the local guild.” The man said.

“Cool. Never been in a guild myself.” Amber smiled. 

“So what are you doing out here?” Cerulean asked.

“I’m a traveler. I like exploring different places and meeting all kinds of people.”

“How’d you transform into a fox?” The man said eying her tail.

“She uses Therianthropy magic.” Sunset explained.

“Um....what?” Cerulean never did enjoy studies.

“She uses her magic to change her form into animals.”

“Any animal?” He said looking at Amber.

“No, it’s restricted to one type. For me it’s foxes.” Her body glowed again and she transformed herself into a fox with white fur. “I can change into any kind of fox, but it’s not the best in combat and it uses up a lot of magic.” She started to change back and the two mages covered their eyes. Cerulean peeked through to see that she was still wearing clothes.

“Why aren’t you naked?” Cerulean asked.

“Would you prefer if I was?” She said batting her eyes. Cerulean’s face went red and the girl giggled. “Ha! Your face! Priceless!” She laughed. “Seriously though, it just feels more natural being naked when I transform.” The girl’s left fox ear twitch and she sniffed the air. 

“What’s going-”

“Shh!” Amber said as she closed her eyes. Cerulean did the same and the three heard a gunshot. “Someone is shooting at something in that direction.” She pointed to her left.

“Well, let’s go check it out.” Cerulean said.

“Sure going towards the gunshots sound like a great idea.” Amber deadpanned.

“It could be dangerous Cerulean.” Sunset said.

“Awe c’mon, where’s your sense of adventure?” He said following the sounds. The two girls reluctantly followed him with a sigh.

“If I get shot, I’m blaming you.” Amber groaned. The trio made their way through the underbrush. Sunset wasn’t used to bushwhacking so she was constantly getting hit in the face by branches and the like. “Sorry!” The fox girl said looking back.

“Shh!” Cerulean said as he crouched behind a large boulder. The three peeked over to see a girl standing at 5’1” run out of the bushes. She had shoulder length purple hair that was held to the right side of her face by a jeweled butterfly clip. Her dark purple sleeveless vest was torn and muddied along with her pants. She was holding two nightsticks with brass knuckle guards that had runes etched on the knuckles. 

“She ran this way!” A man said. The girl sighed and got in a defensive stance as five men with swords found and surrounded her.  The girl looked at each man and cursed under her breath. “Give it up you little thief.”

“Bring it.” She spat out as she reached for a vial on her belt. The girl heard a gunshot and moved just out of the way for the bullet to graze her side and shatter the vial. Damn! That was my last one too! She looked at the leader of the group and saw he had a standard spell pistol.

“Give up now and we’ll make the ride back less painful then it has to.” He said as he aimed for her chest.

“Go fuck yourselves! I’m never going back there!” She said panting as she held her stance.

“Defiant to the end. Take-” Before he could get a word out several things happened at once. First, there was a bolt of blue magic that froze the man’s hand and pistol. Then a girl with a hat leaped out from nearby rock and spin kicked one man into a tree, shattering it and most of his bones. A fire rune was placed beneath two mens’ feet and were sent flying as it exploded. The purple haired girl clapped both her hands together and slammed them on the ground. 

Purple sparks came from the surrounding area and the ground shot upwards in the shape of a fist that connected with the man’s jaw. He flew off his feet and fell unconscious. The gun user looked at the four fallen men and gulped as the four set their sights on him. He raised the frozen gun at the group.

“That won’t work.” Cerulean said. “The ice has completely frozen the mechanisms. It’d be more useful as a club than anything else.” The man gulped and pulled out a small purple ball.

“This isn’t over bitch!” He yelled as he threw the ball and a cloud of thick purple smoke enveloped the group. By the time it cleared the man was gone and the mystery girl started going through the fallen mens’ pockets.

“What are you doing?” Sunset asked.

“What? They’re not gonna need it.” She said as she took their bit bags and started counting. “Seriously, only twenty-five bits each?” The girl grumbled as she examined their swords. “Still might be able to hock these and get some profit.”

“You’re welcome.” Amber said crossing her arms under her chest.

“I didn’t need your help. I had everything under control.” She said standing up. 

“Sure didn’t look like it.” The fox girl mumbled under her breath. 

“What kind of magic was that?” Cerulean asked looking at the rock fist.

“I think it was Alchemy.” Sunset said tapping her chin. 

“What?” Amber said.

“Ugh, it’s the deconstruction and reconstruction of matter.” The girl scoffed. 

“Huh?” The fox girl said with a dull look on her face.

“She takes things apart on a molecular level and puts it back together as something different. Like the ground, she broke apart the earth with her magic and put it back together in a different shape.” Sunset stated.

“Oh! I get it now.”

“Took you long enough.” The brunette hissed at the purple haired girl’s words.

“Anyway, why were those guys after you?” Cerulean asked getting between the two. “They said you stole something?”

“No, they stole this from me first.” She said as she pointed to the jeweled hair clip. “I was just stealing it back.” She said turning around. “Now if there’s nothing else you need, I’ll be on my way.” She said.

“Can I at least get your name?” Cerulean asked.

“It’s Nix Orchid.” She said walking away.

“Let’s just get to the dragon lair already.” Sunset said looking at her watch. The other two nodded and went back towards the road.

“Wait, dragon lair?” The trio looked back at the young woman. 

“There’s an abandoned dragon lair at the top of this mountain.” Cerulean said pointing to the peak. “Sunset and I need to go there, grab something and go back to the guild so we can join.” The girl scratched her chin for a moment. Dragons were notorious for hoarding hundreds of thousands of bits and jewels. Cerulean could almost see her pink irises change to bit signs.

“Count me in!”

“No way shrimp!” Amber grumbled. The girl hissed at the mention of her height and in a flash vanished from sight. “Well, that was-” As the fox girl took a step she fell face down. “What the?” She looked at her boots and saw that the laces had been tied together.

“I’m good at sneaking.” The girl said as she dropped her invisibility spell. 

“You want to come? Then come.” Cerulean groaned. “I just want to get there before I’m an old man.” The man said as he went back towards the path. Sunset helped the fox girl up and the group continued up towards the mountain.
> Chapter II: Venator
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter II

Ventaor


The four mages made their way up the mountain with Amber in the lead. The sky was slowly turning orange as it neared the late afternoon. “So Nix,” Sunset asked. “what were you doing in that forest anyway?”

“Running from those punks. Been chasing me since Baltimare.” She said with a sigh.

“That’s a long way.” Amber commented.

“They don’t like it when people steal from them.”

“All that fuss over a hair clip?” Cerulean asked. 

“I may or may have not also blown up their little gang’s hideout while searching for the thing.” The man looked at her in confusion.

“But it’s just a hair clip.” Cerulean said. “Couldn’t you buy a new one?” Nix frowned at the words.

“It ain’t about the clip, it’s about the respect. If I let some idiot steal from me then some other guy will try it too.” She said putting her hands on her hips.

“Odd weapons.” Amber said eying her nightsticks.

“They’re quick, quiet and hurt.” She said twirling them in her fingers.

“What about long range?” Sunset asked. Nix smirked and the runes on the sticks and knuckles started to glow. She pointed the knuckle end of the stick at a nearby tree and a purple blast shot out from the girl’s first.

“They’re enchanted so they fire compressed blasts of my magic. Use up a lot thought.” She said as she sheathed her weapons.

“Prefect weapon for someone with a short reach.” Amber chuckled earning her a glare from the alchemist.

“Well, what about you? You must get a chill from the clothes you’re wearing, or lack of.” The fox girl’s ear twitched. Amber turned around and showed the gauntlets.

“These help pack a punch and if I need more reach.” The gauntlet glowed and two large curved blades came out of the guards’ sides. “Besides, I have this.” She said as she held her tail.

“What can the thing possibly-” The girl was cut off as Amber jumped and her tail wrapped around a nearby branch and she pulled herself up.

“My tail isn’t just for show.”

“That’s dumb.” Nix said as amber jumped down with a huff. The two got in each other's faces and snarled.

“Ladies, as much as I love a good cat fight.” Cerulean stated. “We’re here.” He said looking towards the end of the path to show a large mountain peak. The group approached to the to see that there had once been a cave, but it was now blocked by several large rocks. “Well, that’s just perfect.” Cerulean groaned.

“It’s gonna take us hours to move all that stuff!” Amber groaned. Nix rolled her eyes and walked up to the mound of rocks. She clapped both of her hands together and placed them on the rock in front of her. Purple sparks danced across the rocks and started to break down until the boulders were reduced to piles of dust. Amber walked up and tapped her on the head. “Good thinking shrimp.” Nix hissed at the words and shook the woman off her.

“It’s dark as night in there.” Cerulean said. Sunset pulled out her whip and waved her hand over it. The rope went straight and was soon covered by orange hardened wood that wrapped around a red crystal at the top. She hit the end of the stick on the ground and a ball of light appeared at the end. 

Sunset shot the ball up towards the ceiling illuminating the area. As the light filled the room the groups’ jaw hit the floor as they saw a large mound of bits, jewels and treasure.

“Jackpot!” Nix yelled as she literally dove into the bits and started filing her pockets. 

“That is a LOT of money.” Sunset said slack jawed. “How much do you think that’s worth?”

“I doubt I can count that high.” As he took a step forwards, Amber put a hand on his shoulder. “What?”

“Somethings not right here.” She said as her tail and ears started to twitch. “Something’s in here with us.” Cerulean then felt a burning sensation in his right hand. The blue haired man looked down at the light that was burning through his white glove. 

He felt a small pulse go through his arm and he dropped to the ground. “You okay?” She asked. Cerulean looked at the pile of gold and saw some coins shuffle.

“Nix!” He yelled in a hushed tone.

“What? I’m gonna buy a pool the size of a lake with all this-”

“Just shut up and get off the gold.” He gulped. As the girl opened her mouth she felt the coins beneath her feet starting to move. The alchemist quickly got off the pile just as a pair of grey scaled wings the size of sail boat sails erupted from the mound sending gems and bits flying in every direction. The rest of the pile exploded showing a wall of thick grey scales that stretched for seventy feet to form a slim tail that had a large club at the tip. There were several scars and damaged scales across the creature’s body. 

The head had several scars over it’s face and it’s eyes were white matching the two scars over it’s eyelids. The group hid behind a few nearby boulders. 

“Thieves!” The beast started trampling around the cave. “I can smell your fear!” Sunset was clamping her hands over her mouth to muffle her instinct to scream. Cerulean slowly peeked around the large rock he was hiding behind. He saw a the large lizard thrashing around the gold looking for them.

“I’ll eat you and use your bones as toothpicks!” It yelled. The beast whipped it’s head in Cerulean’s direction and the man froze. The beast flared it’s nostrils and frills on the side of it’s head opened up. Cerulean slowly went back to hiding behind the rock and gently tapped the girl on the shoulder causing her to jump slightly.

“It’s blind.” He mouthed out the words to the fire mage. He looked across the way to see the other two girls hunkered by a similar rock a few meters away. The man picked up a rock that was laying on the floor and looked towards Sunset. “When I throw this,” He gestured to the rock.   “we’re gonna run over to them.” He mouthed.

“Are you crazy!?” She whispered.

“Yes, but doing something crazy is better than staying here and waiting to get roasted.” He looked over his shoulder again and saw the beast thrashing. Cerulean threw the rock across the room and it clattered against some stone and jewels. The beast roared and spat out black flames from it’s mouth. As the rock hit the two made a mad dash for where the other two girls were.

“Well, this is fantastic.” Nix growled. 

“Hey, we didn’t know this thing was here!” Cerulean shot back.

“We can play the blame game later, let’s just focus on getting the fuck out of here.” Amber gulped.

“Oh yeah, how? We take one step out there and we get roasted.” The alchemist said.

“We do the same thing we did to get over here.” Cerulean said picking up a rock. “We each throw a rock, haul ass to the exit then Nix seals the doorway again.”

“Sounds good to me.” Amber said grabbing a rock.

“This is the worst plan ever, of all time.” The alchemist groaned picking up a rock. Sunset gulped and did the same.

“Ready?” He waited until the beast turned it’s back. The four threw their rocks and ran. Three of the four rocks hit the ground, but the fourth hit the beast’s neck. The lizard turned and let out a torrent of black flames that caused several rocks to fall, blocking the exit.

“Rats!” The beast yelled as the four stopped running. As Cerulean turned he saw the blind eyes of the dragon glaring at him.

“Okay, okay, you got us.” Cerulean said with a gulp.

“Well, well, the rat speaks.” The beast hissed as the group smelled it’s foul breath.

“What are you doing?” Amber asked.

“Trying to get us out of this in one piece.” Cerulean took a step forwards. “We apologize oh great fire drake. We know not that we took from such a magnificent and powerful creature such as yourself.” The man mentally thanked the Creator that he’d read ‘The Hobbit’ three times. The girls looked at one another in confusion. “We will gladly return what we have stolen in exchange for our lives.” The dragon grinned.

Cerulean shot Nix a look and motioned towards the wall and looked up at the ceiling The girl nodded and slowly stepped towards the wall.

“Who are you to command something from a creature such as I?” The dragon smirked. It had been years since he’d seen mortals grovel at his feet and always found it amusing.

“They call me...bender of ice and snow master.” Cerulean gulped. 

“Tell me more.” Cerulean knew all he could do was stall until Nix was ready.

“Um...I am hunter of beasts, both great and small. Wolves, trolls and beyond, I have slain all.” The beast let out a laugh. “I come from the frozen desert. Across ocean of ice and mountains that breach the sky.” Cerulean looked towards Nyx who had her hands on the wall. The beast slammed it’s claw down on the ground making several bits of coin and rock fly. One of the cold coins hit the man in the forehead.

“Damn it!” He said as he put his hand on his forehead to feel blood coming from the wound. 

“You amuse me boy.” The creature hissed. “Do not think that-” The dragon stopped and sniffed the air. The dragon leaned in towards the man and sniffed. The dragon quickly snapped it’s jaws at the man. “WRETCH! You came here to kill me!”

“Nix!”

“Don’t need to tell me twice!” She clapped her hands and purple sparks danced across the wall and traveled up to the ceiling towards some stalactites that were hanging over head. The large rocks started to fall. The beast gathered fire in it’s mouth and was about to roast the four.

“I got this!” Amber yelled as she ran towards the dragon’s chin and gathered her magic into her left hand. The fox girl delivered a quick uppercut to the giant lizard making the fireball shoot up towards the ceiling. As the fireball exploded it caused the hardened rock to crack and fall on the giant lizard.

The entire mountain shook and more of the ceiling started to give. “It’s gonna blow!” Amber gulped.

“Everyone, around me. Now!” Sunset said pulling out her staff as the rocks came in around them. She slammed the staff end on the ground and a red dome shield enveloped the group. The rocks continued to fall around the group and the dragon was getting pelted by the rocks as it roared. 

The debris kept falling until the top of the mountain was only rubble and the four were covered by rocks. The pile started to shake and an armored fist shattered the rock at the top.   

“Yes!” Amber yelled as she helped Sunset and the others out. “Nice thinking Sunny.”

“No...problem.” She panted.

“You okay?” Cerulean asked.

“Just tired. That shield spell uses a lot of magic.” She said as she sat down.

“All that gold.” Nix said in disappointment. “Jewels, money, carpets this thick. This THICK!” She said holding her hands apart.

“I’m sure there’s something left over to-” The pile of rocks started to shake again and the beast erupted from the mounds of rocks. The webbing of it’s wings were torn by the rocks.

“Did you think the great Tenebris would be beaten by stone?” The beast yelled.

“For a second there, I did.” Cerulean gulped.

“Do not test me Venator! I will burn the place where you stand until it is nothing but glass!” It said swinging it’s tail at the group.

“Who?” He said as he dodged the tail. The dragon hissed at the words and it’s frills opened on the side of it’s head. In the distance it could make out the sound of people.

“That village is next.” It hissed. The four scattered and did their best to avoid the dragon’s teeth, claws and tail. Tenebris continued it’s rampage. Trees were crushed, and boulders were reduced to rubble. The four managed to regroup at the tree line. 

“This is bad.” Sunset said. “I think that little rock trap just got him angry.” 

“Okay, I vote for running.” Nix butted in.

“What? We can’t do that.” Cerulean yelled.

“Why not?” Amber asked.

“Because if we don’t do something, then he’s going to move onto the town and turn it to ash.”

“So? I don’t live there.” Nix said. The man walked up to her and glared.

“WE woke that thing up and now WE have to stop it.”

“How?” Amber asked. “I almost broke my wrist punching that thing’s jaw.”

“Dragon scales are know to be extremely durable and have a resistance to magic.” Sunset stated. “The only way we’d be able to get a crack at him is if we find a weak point.” 

“How? Those scales are a problem and you said magic has little to no effect on it.” iyx said. Cerulean sighed and looked at the rampaging dragon.

“Where are you little rats?” The dragon said lashing out at some nearby trees.

“Man that guy never shuts up. I’d like to shove an icicle down his-” His eyes shrank and a grin grew on his face. “That’s it!”

“What are you talking about?” Amber asked.

“It’s scales are tough, but what about it’s inside? I doubt he has scales in there.”

“You do realize that means he has to open his mouth right?” The fox girl sighed. “I ain’t getting up close and personal.”

“I don’t know that many long range spells.” Sunset asked. Cerulean chuckled at the words. 

“What’s so funny? Given the circumstances, I could use a laugh.” Nix said with a grumble. 

“Ladies, fighting at a distance is my speciality.” The man reached for the object on his back and untied the wrappings to show a white long bow with runes etched into the handle. He smiled as he held it in his arms. “Ladies, meet Ivory. She fires high density arrows made of magic and,” The handle started glowing and the bow split into two single bladed axes. “she’s also a pair of axes.”

“Why didn’t you use that thing earlier? Like for the wolves or those guys?” Sunset asked.

“Those guys were hardly worth the trouble.” He shrugged. “Look, just get that thing to open it’s mouth and I’ll shoot a few arrows in and he’ll be down in no time.”

“I stand corrected,” Nix stated. “this is the worst idea ever, of all time.”

“Got a better idea short stuff?” The fox girl asked. “I’m sure that at least some of the gold and jewels are underneath the rubble.” The alchemist bit her lip and sighed.

“Fine. Let’s just kick the crap out of this thing so we can look for the gold.” 

“Okay, I’m going to find a more elevated spot while you guys distract it.”

“How are we supposed to do that?” Sunset yelled.

“I don’t know. Improvise!” He said as he ran back towards the mountain top.

“If you miss, I’ll kill you!” Amber growled.

“Me? Miss?” He chuckled. “Good joke. Make sure that thing doesn’t get to town!” He said as he vanished into the trees.


~~~


The dragon was becoming inpatient and started burning the nearby trees. He may be blind but his other instincts were as sharp as a blade. “Hey lizard breath!” The dragon turned it’s head towards the shout just in time for a rock to jut up from the ground and hit him in the jaw. It growled and shot a fireball at the alchemist. Nix dodged the blast as Sunset shot several fireballs from her staff.

The dragon shrugged the blasts off and returned fire by swinging it’s tail around. The fire mage quickly teleported out of the way of the swinging tail. Nix shot a few more blasts at the dragon. Amber rushed forwards and slammed her fists into the dragon’s throat. She bit her lip at the pain, but continued to punch. She back flipped away from the beast and rubbed her bleeding hands.

“Damn, that’s tough stuff.” She winced at the pain. The dragon seemed to chuckle at their futile attempts at hurting him. The three kept up their assault on the dragon while dodging his razor sharp claws, teeth and tail. “Where the hell is that damn snowman?” Amber yelled as she panted.

“He probably ditched us.” Nix said as she dropped to one knee. Te dragon saw an opening and shot it’s tail out towards the injured girl. As the tail came to it’s target, an arrow of ice hit the tail and redirected it away from the alchemist. Amber jumped next to Nix and grabbed her by the waist.

“C’mon shrimp.” She said jumping out of the way of the tail.

“I swear I’m gonna kill you.” Nix spat out as Amber dropped her next to a resting Sunset.

“Guys, I’m tapped out.” She panted as her staff went back into it’s whip form. The dragon roared in anger as he started to climb what was left of the mountain. “What’s it doing now?” She said looking up at it. The three noticed that the large beast’s nostrils started to smoke. 

“Run!” The three ran to find cover. As they looked back towards the tree line Sunset swore she saw a burning blue color. The dragon arched it’s neck and bits of flame started spilling out of it’s scaled lips. Time seemed to slow as the three took cover behind a row of rocks and the flames spat out in a concentrated burst of black flames. “Awe shit.” Amber groaned as she saw the fire coming towards them.

“I suggest you get down!” A familiar voice yelled. The fox girl looked to her right to see the man running with his bow trained on the giant lizard. He had the dragon’s mouth in his sights and took a deep breath. 

“Can you make that shot?” Sunset asked.

“Can I?” The woman looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Can you?”

“Of course I can!” He looked back towards the dragon and put his finger gently pulling on the bow string. The fire was racing towards them. He felt his heartbeat skyrocket and his senses grew sharper. With one final breath he released.

A light blue arrow of ice and magic erupted from the bow. The arrow hit the flames head on and cut through it like a warm knife through hot butter. The beast screamed in pain at it felt the projectile hit it’s mouth and tore through it’s throat and exited the back of it’s neck. The large lizard coughed up a torrent of black blood and fell off the mountaintop. As the body hit the earth a shockwave knocked the group of their feet. Cerulean groaned as he felt his bones shake.

The man groaned and slowly got to his feet as the dust settled. “Okay, who’s not dead? Sound off.”

“Ugh.”

“That hurt.”

“I hate all of you.” Cerulean managed to make out their forms and shook his head. He walked up to the crater with the three women and they looked down into the crater the dragon made when he landed. The creature wasn’t moving as the man approached the body. 

“Is it dead?” Amber asked.

“Better be.” The alchemist sighed. Cerulean put the weapon on his back. The man looked at the dragon and sighed. The dragon’s blind eyes opened and growled. The man jumped back and drew anther arrow. The dragon looked in his direction and started to chuckle.

“It has been nearly forty years since a mortal has bested me like this.” More blood spilled form the beast’s mouth. “Not since that white haired Venator. The female that took my sight.”

“You keep using that word. What does it mean?” The beast laughed again.

“The rat doesn’t even know it’s own heritage. Laughable!” The beast coughed again. “Still, there are worse ways to go out. Brilliant lights are extinguished sooner than dimmer ones.”

“I suppose there’s some truth there.” Cerulean couldn’t believe he was having a discussion about mortality with a dragon. “So, got any...last requests?” The dragon quirked an eyebrow and coughed again.

“This hole in my throat is making it very hard to breath. I’ll either suffocate or choke on my own blood.” The dragon lifted it’s head. “No way for a dragon such as I to die. Make it quick.” The beast opened it’s mouth and the girls readied their magic but the man threw up hand, stopping them. 

Cerulean sighed and made an extra long arrow out of ice and aimed so the arrow would go through the dragon’s brain. “What’s your name rat?”

“Cerulean Frostwork.” He said pulling the bow string back.

“I’ll remember it.” Cerulean let the string go and the arrows pierced the dragon’s hide. The beast gaged for a moment and breathed it’s last breath. Cerulean sighed and looked at the creature. 

“Well, that was an interesting afternoon.” Amber said. “I didn’t know you spoke giberish.”

“What? I was just talking to the dragon.” Sunset and Amber looked at each other.

“Um, Cerulean. That thing was only snarling and making weird noises the whole time.” The man looked at the fire mage in surprise.

“No, he was speaking english.” Amber put an arm over his shoulder and sighed.

“Look snow angel, I’ve been around. I have been to Draconia, Griffonia and beyond. I have never heard someone talk like that.” 

“I’ve studied hundreds of books and listened to several audio crystals on different dialects and I’ve never heard anything like that.” Sunset stated.

“Hey where’s the shrimp?” Amber asked looking around.

“FUCK!” 

“Just follow the cursing.” The three walked around the dragon’s corpse to see the alchemist face palming. “Something wrong short stuff?”

“That damn lizard scorched all the gold!” She moved a rock and the group saw a hardened puddle of gold mixed with jewels.

“Can’t you just do your alchemy thing?” Amber asked.

“No, I can’t use alchemy to transmute gold.”

“Why?”

“It's the rules.” She sighed as she turned over another rock. There was a shining light coming from the dragon’s body and the group took several steps back. A large pillar of light came from the beast’s body and pierced through the clouds. The scales started to catch flame and the dragon’s skin started to ignite. Soon, the body was nothing but ash. 

“Is that supposed to happen?” Amber asked pointing at the pile of ash.

“Not sure.” Cerulean raised an eyebrow as he saw something poking out of the ash. The man walked up to the pile and found an odd rock. It had a dark blue hue to it and looked like a sapphire. Next to it was a larger rock that was bright red and orange. He put the blue stone in the bag his bow was in and coughed. “Look what we got here.”

“Pretty.” Amber said looking at the rock. “What is it?”

“It’s a dragon heart stone!” Sunset said looking at it.

“A what?”

“Okay, dragons eat gems and jewels right?” The three nodded. “All those minerals stockpile around the heart and crystalize providing a type of shell for protection. These things are worth...like all of the gold that was there.”

“Dibs.” Nix said.

“Oh hell no.” Amber said getting up clenching her fist.

“Hey, I came here for the gold and jewels. Since that’s gone, I’ll take this as compensation.”

“Okay, compromise.” Cerulean yelled. “We take it to town, there’s gotta be a jeweler or something like that down there, we cut it four equal ways. We all did a percentage of the work, I think it’s fair that we each get a piece of the reward.” Nix bit her lip and sighed.

“Fine.” She hissed.

“Good, but before we do that,” He looked over at Sunset. “I need to talk to a grey chicken.”
> Chapter III: Living Arrangements
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter III

Living Arrangements


Endzone yawned as he stood up and stretched his wings. As he opened the door an ice covered fist slammed into his face sending him back into a table. “What the hell?” He said as he sat up to see a very angry ice mage.

“You. Are. Dead!” He said as he stormed into the hall and grabbed him by the collar. “You set us up! You almost got us killed.”

“Get off me!” The man said as the other two flyers grabbed Cerulean and pulled him off the grey winged man.

“You almost got me, and everyone here killed because of your stupid prank!” Twilight saw the confrontation and quickly stepped in to calm the situation.

“What’s going on here?” She asked.

“Nothing. This pest-” A chunk of ice formed on his lips.

“Open your mouth again and I’ll freeze your tongue off.” Cerulean warned. He then turned to Twilight. “Feather brain here, told Sunset and I that we had to pass a test to get into the guild.” He said as Sunset and the other two women walked up behind him. All the men in the room gawked at Amber and she was loving it. “So we went up to the spot and went into the cave. Turns out a goddamn dragon was taking a catnap!”

“A dragon?” Twilight asked. “Like a full grown, gigantic, treasure harding dragon?”

“Claws, teeth and fire breath included.” Amber said.

“Thankfully, we manage to stop it before it decided to host a barbecue in this town.” Cerulean said. People started looking at the group in surprise.

“So you....scared it off?”

“Nope, it’s dead.” Nix said with a shrug. The groups of people looked at one another in surprise.

“You killed a dragon?” Twilight said in disbelief. The four nodded. “How?”

“Shot it in the throat, then the brain.” Cerulean said as Blueblood stood up.

“Oh please, I highly doubt a commoner like you could beat a creature like that.” Cerulean reached into his bag and slammed the stone on the table.

“Wanna know what that is asshole? Dragon heart stone and don’t think you’re off the hook either pretty boy. Cause I know that bird boy here doesn’t have the mental capacity to cook up a little scheme like that.” Cerulean crake his knuckled. “So throw up your dukes.” Twilight bit her lip and got between the two. 

“Look you can’t do that. The guild master is upstairs visiting her sister and it would be unwise to disturb her.”

“Thought you said she was out on business?” Sunset asked.

“She came back today unexpectedly.” Twilight sighed.

“Okay then, I’ll go talk to her about this.” Cerulean said going towards the stairs with Twilight running behind him.

“No, you can’t! The guild master can be...scary sometimes.” She gulped as they arrived at the office door. He gave a hard knock.

“Twilight, I just killed a dragon. I’ve killed a bear with nothing but, an icicle and my fist and I’ve fought off a pack of wolves with a torch and a hatchet.” The door behind him opened. “So unless this chick is a combination of those things, then I’ll be fine.” The man turned and froze.

Standing in the doorway was a woman with paper white skin, deep blue eyes, and hair that looked like the night sky. She was wearing a light blue collared shirt and black pants. On her head was a small black and dark blue crown. In the room with her was a woman with white angel like wings that matched her flowing white sun dress and had flowing celestial hair. “Oh.” All his bravado just went out the window as he felt the woman staring him down.

“So, how can I help you?” She asked with a smile a cat would have. 

“N-nothing your majesty. I see you have company so I don’t want to disturb-”

“Oh nonsense. Anything I can do to help a member of my guild.”

“Y-your guild?” The Princess of the night nodded. “Oh...I see. Um, I can come back later and-”

“You look familiar.” Celestia said looking at him. 

“I-I don’t think we have.” Celestia squinted and looked him over.

“Are you Sapphire’s son?” 

“How do you know my mom?”

“Sapphire is a very old friend of mine.” Celestia said.

“She is!?” Cerulean turned his head to see Twilight and the other three women glaring at him.

“Oh now you three show up? Thanks for the support guys.” Sunset gulped when she saw Celestia and quickly made herself scarce.

“Back up, how does your mom know Celestia?” Nix asked.

“I remember my mom saying that she met her on a few occasions.” Cerulean shrugged. "She isn’t a chatterbox.”

“Anyway, did you tell her about the dragon yet?” Amber asked. Both Princesses looked at the man.

“Dragon?” Luna said crossing her arms under her chest. 

“Yeah we got set up by the blonde prick down there, pardon my language.” Amber gulped. The sisters looked at one another and nodded.

“Blueblood.” They both answered. Luna sighed and ushered the group inside. “Let’s talk.” Cerulean sighed as he, Amber and Nix entered the office. The next hour was spent describing the events of the dragon. Luna and Celestia sat back as they processed the words. “Well, that is quite a story.” Celestia stated. “You mentioned a girl named Sunset Shimmer?” The three gave a nod at the words. “Where is she?”

“I don’t know.” Cerulean shrugged. “You know each other?” Celestia bit her lip.

“We...have a history with one another.” The Princess sighed.

“May we ask something?” Luna asked.

“Shoot.” Amber asked.

“Why did you come here in the first place?” Cerulean looked at the girls and shrugged.

“Well, I wanted to join the guild.” Cerulean said. “So did Sunset.”

“I was just passing through.” Amber said.

“Same.” Nix stated. Luna raised an eyebrow at the girls.

“I’m kinda interested to join now though.” The fox girl said. “Never been part of one before.” Luna bit her lip and looked at the three.

“I see. Well, come back tomorrow and we can discuss that.”

“Good idea, I’m bushed.” Cerulean yawned. 

“I’m starving.” The fox girl said as she got up. The two heard a growl come from Nix's stomach. She frowned and blushed. “We’ll get her a kids meal.” The alchemist hissed as she got up. The other two stood up and followed the girl down.

“So Nix, what are you going to do now?” Cerulean asked a he closed the door.

“Head out. Get more money.” 

“Well, why not stick around here?” The girl looked at the ice mage. “The job board has some interesting stuff and you can earn a lot of money in time. Besides we kicked some major ass.”

“I’m only sticking around until I have my cut of the stone.” She said as they reached the stairs. As they walked down the steps the hall roared with applause. “What is all this?” Suddenly, a familiar pink haired girl popped up in front of them.

“Hey!” She smiled.

“Pinkie?” Cerulean asked.

“What is all this?” Amber asked.

“Duh, it’s your guys’ welcome to Ponyville party!” She chimed. “Also you guys killed a dragon!” 

“How’d you hear about that?” Amber asked.

“Oh Dashie told me. She saw the whole thing.”

“Dashie?” As the words left the man’s lips a flyer with cyan wings and flowing rainbow hair flew in front of him.

“Pinkie, I hate that nick name.” The girl sighed as she crossed her arms.

“Who’re you?” Amber asked. The flyer smirked.

“Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in all of Equestria.” She said in a cocky tone.

“So how did you see what happened?” Nix asked.

“Well, I was taking a nap on a cloud then I woke up cause I heard an explosion and that sucked because it was a really good nap.” She complained.

“How good?”

“I was napping so hard I was dreaming about having a nap.”

“Nap-ception?” Amber asked. The cyan flyer gave a nod. “Those are the best.”

“Get to the point.” Nix groaned. 

“Fine.” Dash said in a bland tone. “So I heard an explosion, so I followed the sound and I see you guys fighting a dragon.”

“And you didn’t help because?” The alchemist said in a dry tone. 

“I was gonna, but then ice man here shot it in the throat and it burst into flames.” She stated. The three shrugged and quickly found their way to the food table. The three filled their plates and started to chow down. 

“Oh food, you are the only one that understands me.” The fox girl said with a smile. Blueblood grunted and left the building with a huff as soon as the party started, while Cerulean was introduced to the rest of Twilight’s friends. Fluttershy, the timid yellow winged animal caretaker who wouldn’t stop admiring Amber’s ears and tail. Then there was Rarity, she did some jobs when business for her clothing shop was a bit down.

Cerulean was also introduced to Caramel, Pierce, and Comet. Three other guild members that shared his disgust of Blueblood. The banquet continued late into the night. Princess Luna offered to house the four in the guild for the night. Nix refused saying she already had sleeping arrangements and Sunset was nowhere to be found. 

The ice mage and fox girl gladly took her hospitality and headed up. Cerulean set his bag down and fell asleep in the comfortable bed. Meanwhile Luna sat in her office still talking with her sister.  

“So you know this Cerulean?” She asked.

“I’ve heard stories from his mother.” The goddess smiled.

“I’m surprised he managed to kill a dragon. Even one that is blind is quite formidable.” Luna stated as she sipped her tea.

“He certainly takes after his mother.”  Celestia rested her head on her hand and sighed. “Although it seems he’s unaware of his mother’s heritage.”

“Her heritage?” 

“Draco Venator.” The words went through the Princess’s mind and her eyes shrank.

“I thought they all died in the war?”

“There are always survivors Luna. While they are few, they are strong.” Celestia sighed. “His mother is know as the White Winged Wraith.”

“She sounds formidable.”

“She’s really scary.” Celestia said with a shiver. “That boy managed to live with her so he must be strong.” She shook her head.

“How strong would you say she is?”

“Ask Captain Armor the next time you see him.” Celestia said standing up. “Well, it’s been fun catching up Lulu, but I must return to Canterlot.” Luna smiled as Celestia vanished in a flash of light. 


~~~


Cerulean woke up the next morning as the sun shined on his face. The man stood up and stretched as he yawned. The man stood up and went to the restroom. He splashed some water in his face and sighed. He quickly got dressed and packed his things up before heading towards Luna’s office. He saw a familiar fox girl sitting outside swishing her tail. “Morning.” He said.

“Meh.” She grumbled.

“Looks like someone isn’t a morning person.” He said sitting down next to her.

“The shrimp is in there right now.” She yawned as Sunset hesitantly walked up. 

“Hey Sunset. You missed a hell of a party last night.”

“I’m not much for parties.” She said sitting down across from them. The door opened to show the alchemist.

“I’m in.” She smirked. “You’re up next mutt.” She said looking at Amber.

“I’m a fox not a dog!” She hissed before entering the room. The alchemist then took her seat. 

“The Princess wanted me to wait out here for some reason.” She said crossing her arms. “Any luck on breaking the stone?”

“I’m gonna bring it to Pierce after I’m done here. His dad is a jeweler and owns a shop in town.” Amber then came out with a triumphant look on her face. “She let you in?” Nix groaned.

“Duh, hey hot stuff you’re up.” Sunset and Cerulean both stood up. Amber chuckled. “I meant Sunset but,” Amber gave cerulean a once over. “eh I’ve seen better.” She commented as Sunset walked into the room.

“Ya know, I know an excellent recipe for fox stew.” Amber crossed her arms and brushed her tail in his face. 

“I’d like to try it.” Nix chuckled as Amber sat across from them. 

“So where’d you sleep last night?” Cerulean asked looking at the alchemist.

“I stashed most of my stuff in a cave nearby.” She said in a flat tone.

“Seriously? A cave?” Amber sad with a raised eyebrow. Sunset then came out and let out a sigh of relief.

“Cerulean, you’re up.” The ice mage got to his feet and walked inside to see the Princess of the night sitting behind her desk.

“Good morning Cerulean.” She said in a chipper, yet still business oriented tone. “Have a good rest?”

“Yeah, taking down legendary creatures is hard work.” He said taking a seat in front of her. 

“So, you wish to join my guild?” The man gave a nod. “Please enlighten me why. From what I hear you grew up in the north.”

“Correct. I spent my childhood in the wilds. When I was seven, I moved to Zircon with what was left of my family.” Luna gave a gulp.

“Yes, we heard about that incident. We are most sorry.”

“It’s in the past, only thing you can do is move forwards.” He said in a flat tone. Luna gave a nod at the words. “As to why I want to join your guild,” He took a moment to think. “I figured I could do some good and if I make some coin on the side, then it’s a win-win. I’ve spent my whole life in the North and I waned to see what the world has to offer.” Luna leaned back in her seat and nodded. “Mind if I ask a question?”

“Of course.” Luna said intrigued by his words. It wasn’t everyday someone had the courage to talk to her.

“Why is a Princess of Equestria running a guild hall? Shouldn’t you be in Canterlot ruling over the courts and important stuff like that?” Luna folded her hands and sighed.

“You have no doubt heard the legend of Nightmare Moon?”

“You mean the old wive’s tale? Of course.”

“It is far from a tale, it’s the truth.” She sighed. “One-thousand years ago I grew jealous of how our subjects worshiped our sister and treated me as if I wasn’t there.” 

“Being compared to your older sibling? I can relate.” He said with a sigh. “So what exactly happened?”

“Our anger and jealousy grew until it consumed us and we became Nightmare Moon. We tried to usurp the throne from our sister. We lost and were sent to the moon for a millennium.” Her tone grew somber.

“Well, you look really good for being over one-thousand years old.” Cerulean said rubbing the back of his head. Luna gave a small smile at the words and chuckled.

“Two years ago, I broke free from the prison and came to cover Equestria in eternal darkness. Thankfully, Twilight Sparkle and her friends wielded the Elements of Harmony and freed us from Nightmare Moon’s influence.” She stated. “After that, we had difficulties adapting to the modern age.”

“Well, you have been out of the loop for a while.” The ice mage stated.

“Quite. So, in order to help us get accustomed to the citizens, so we started a guild.”

“Makes sense.” He said sitting back in his chair. “What about all the important Canterlot business?”

“Our sister can send us any paperwork we need to sign through magic.” She said. “Let’s get back on track. We think our guild will benefit from having a mage as skilled as you on our side.” She said reaching out her hand. Cerulean smiled and shook it. “Can you call the other three in here? I have something to say to all of you.” The man nodded and called the three inside.

“What’s up?” Amber asked as the group stood in a line.

“You all have shown considerable talent and your convictions suit you.” Luna stated. “Before your group can begin taking missions-”

“Wait, group?” Nix said.

“For the first month you're in the guild, we require that new members work in three or four person cells. Just until they get used to things around here. You can pair up with anyone you wish. Only after your probation is up can you take up missions on your own.”

“Okay and how do we prove ourselves?” Amber asked.

“The more jobs you and your group do, the quicker the process will be.” Luna then reached down and pulled out what looked like an ink stamp. “You’ll be given a guild seal that will identify you as a member of the guild.” 

“Won’t that wash off?” Amber said as Luna giggled.

“No, it’s magical ink. Think of it like a tattoo and the the only way it’ll come off is with a spell. Now, who’s first?”

“Is it gonna hurt?” Sunset asked.

“A little less than a cattle prod.” The four gulped. “We are only pushing your arms.”

“I think you mean pulling our legs.” Nix said. Cerulean stepped forwards and he rolled up his sleeve to his right shoulder. Luna pressed the stamp against his skin and it glowed.

“Oh god it hurts!” The man yelled as he clutched his arm making the three women jump. He looked back at the trio with a smirk. “Sorry, couldn’t resist.” Nix then slapped him upside the head.

“Jerk!” Nix hissed. He removed his arms to show a dark blue symbol. The three girls got their symbols, each in a different place and different color. Sunset’s was orange and got hers on the top of her left hand. Nix’s was dark purple and hers was on her left upper arm. Amber was last, her’s was a dark red and got it on her stomach near her belly button.

“So do we get our own rooms?” Nix asked.

“The rooms in the guild are available for renting out, but they are quite pricy.” Luna stated. 

“Great.” Cerulean groaned. He didn’t have enough money for another night’s stay. “Well, I’m off to the jeweler’s.” He said standing up.

“Time to get paid.” Nix said as the others stood up and followed the man out into the streets. The small town had several stalls set up and people were selling food and their wares. The group came upon a building that had jewels being shown in the window. The group walked in to see a silver haired man with a dark blue shirt on. 

“Hey Pierce.” Cerulean said. “We came here to see about this rock.” He said pulling the gem out of his bag. Pierce nodded and picked the rock up and put it on the scale.

“It’s dense, but light.” He said as he put on a pair of glasses and started examining it. 

“So how much is it worth?” Nix asked.

“A lot. I’d say over 25,000 bits.” Amber whistled at the words.

“Can you cut it?” Pierce smiled and brought out a magical stone cutter. He activated it and the device snapped. 

“Okay, that shouldn’t have happened.” Pierce said in surprise. He took out another tool and it was met with the same result. “So that’s how it’s gonna go down?” Pierce frowned. “Occam’s razor: Sometimes the simplest answers are the best.” He said pulling out a hammer and chisel.

The jeweler place the chisel on the stone and brought the hammer down, hard. The chisel and hammer broke in the man’s hands. “This thing is pissing me off.” He grumbled. 

“It did come from a dragon.” Sunset said. Pierce sighed and handed the rock back to Cerulean. 

“I’ll have to look into this some more. I’ll send you a message when I figure something out.” The man nodded.

“Hey, what can you tell me about this?” Cerulean pulled out the blue rock he took from the dragon’s ashes. 

“What the hell is that?” Nix asked.

“Something else I found in the dragon’s ashes.” Cerulean said in a meek tone.

“You been holding out on me punk?” Nix hissed.

“Hey I killed the thing and I didn’t know what it was. It looked like some sort of stone and I wanted to see how much it’s worth.” Pierce took the stone and weighed it.

“Odd. It doesn’t feel like a gem or any rock.” The man said as he tapped it. “Harder than that jewel.”

“So is it worth anything?” Amber asked.

“Nah, it’s junk. I think it might just be crystalized refuse.” 

“Junk or not, I’m keeping it.” Cerulean said grabbing the stone. The object glowed slightly at his touch and the man felt a pain in his right hand. He quickly dropped the stone and it landed with a crash.

“Okay, that’s weird.” Amber said as he put it in his bag. The door then opened to show Rainbow Dash.

“Hey Frosty, the boss wants to have a word with you.” She said. 

“Why can’t I ever have a normal day?” Cerulean groaned. “Thanks anyway Pierce. When you find out you know where to find me.” He said as he left the building and made his way back to the guild. The man climbed the steps and walked into the woman’s office. There was a crystal ball on the stand. Luna was standing behind her desk and smiled.

“Ah Cerulean.”

“What’s up?” Luna then gestured to the crystal ball. “Thinking of buying some tarot cards to go with that set up?” Luna frowned and the crystal ball ignited with swirling blue magic. 

“Cerulean?” The ball spoke in a familiar voice. It sounded jaded, yet had a certain warmth to it.

“Mom?” He said in surprise. “This is unexpected.”

“I received a call from Celestia saying that you killed a dragon.”

“Well, me and three others. Why?” The ball fell silent for a moment.

“Did you feel strange?” Cerulean took a moment to ponder her words.

“Now that you mention it, before the dragon got woken up I felt a pain in my right hand and again when I was getting a stone looked at.” The man looked down at his hand and flexed it. “Gone now.”

“Stone?”

“Something that came out of the dragon.” He said pulling out the blue stone.

“Is it oval shaped and an odd color?”

“Yeah, it’s bright blue.” He said looking at the stone. “I took it to see if it was worth anything. The jeweler couldn’t identify it and none of his tools could scratch it.”  The pain was back in his hand as he looked at the rock. “Okay, the pain is back.” 

“It’s not a rock Cerulean. It appears that you have inherited my burden.” The man looked at the ball in confusion. “I thought only Alabaster had it. I never suspected that both of you would bear this.” The man’s eyes shrank at the words. “You’re a Draco Venator Cerulean.”

“The overgrown lizard kept calling me that. What’s it mean?”

“It’s the ancient language of the dragons. It translates to Dragon Hunter.” The ball sighed. “There is much you don’t know and I lack the time to say.”

“Wait, what is this thing? If it’s not a rock then what the hell is it?”

“The next time you’re alone, run your magic through it and don’t tell anyone about what we talked about. You can never know who might be listening.” 

“But-” The crystal ball cut out and the man sighed. “Cryptic as always.” He said looking at the Princess. He grabbed the rock and put it back inside his bag.

“If you wish I can request a book from the Canterlot archives that can help.” Luna said.

“Whatever can help. Thanks.” He said as he made his way out of the guild and back into the town. The man made his way towards Sugar Cube Corner and saw Sunset moping with Amber. “Why so glum ladies?” He asked sitting down.

“Money.” Amber groaned. “We’re broke.”

“Not broke. Neither of us have enough money for a motel room or anything like that.” Sunset sighed. The purple haired alchemist then sat down.

“This place is too expensive.” She groaned as she sat down. “Even when I sold those swords.”

“Here, here.” Amber said. “Wait, how’d you hock weapons?”

“I transmuted them back into ingots.” She sighed. “Only got fifty bits each.” She grumbled.

“Well, you could always camp out?” 

“We weren’t all raised out in the woods.” Nix said as she looked at Amber and Cerulean.

“Well, why don’t you guys just pull your money together?” The blue haired man groaned.

“Be this shrimp’s roommate? No way.” Amber grumbled.

“Not permanently. Just until you each scrape together enough money for you guys to live on your own.” Sunset said catching onto the man’s idea. 

“I think we’d end up killing each other by day’s end.” Amber said. 

“So then I’ll make sure you don’t.”

“What?” Nix said.

“Hey, I need to find a place to stay. Don’t wan people to think I’m homeless or something. Besides, more people paying rent means the more you can keep and put aside.” Nix gritted her teeth and couldn’t fight that logic.

“Fine.” She said crossing her arms.

“I may need to get in on that, if you guys don’t mind.” Sunset said.

“More the merrier!” Amber smiled. “Let’s get shopping!”

“I have a terrible foreboding about this.” Nix grumbled as she stood up and followed the group around town. The main problem about shopping together is that everyone has a different idea about what they think is acceptable living arrangements. Amber wanted a place in the middle of town that was next to a musician’s house. The walls were vibrating from the sound output of the DJ neighbor. 

She was outvoted three to one.

The group spent the rest of the day looking at possible choices, but they were either too expensive or had something one of them didn’t like. The four approached the final house on the list. It was a simple two story house with a basement, fire place, three bedrooms, a kitchen and living room. In one of the bedrooms was a smaller bathroom. It wasn’t too far from the guild or the center of town, just on the fringes of the small town. “How about this place?” Cerulean said.

“It’s spacious.” Sunset said looking around.

“There’s only three bedrooms.” Amber said. Cerulean turned his head to see Nix coming up form the basement.

“If we pick this place, dibs on the basement.” The alchemist said.

“Why the basement?” Cerulean asked in surprise.

“It’s cool in the Summer and warm in the Winter. Plus it’s bigger and out of the way. Just my style.”

“Well, that takes care of the living arrangements.” Sunset said.

“Wait, who get’s the room with the private bathroom?” Amber asked.

“I think I should.” Cerulean said.

“Why?” Amber narrowed her eyes on the man. 

“Would you rather me walk in on one of you while you’re in the shower?”

“No.” Sunset said in a dry tone.

“I’ll kill you.” Nix hissed.

“Now there’s an enticing thought.” Amber smirked. Cerulean rolled his eyes at the words.

“Look, there’s only one way we do this fairly.” Sunset said. 

"You don't mean...that!" Amber said as she saw the seriousness in the fimre mage's eyes. 

"Yes, the straws!" The group gasped. Everyone knew that many decisions of life and death had been decided by the ancient tools. Sunset walked outside and brought back in three sticks. She broke one a third of the way down and held them together so the tops matched their height. Shortest one gets the room and no do overs. Agreed?”

“No problem.” Cerulean said taking a stick. Amber chose next and then the three compared. The ice mage was victorious. 

“Ugh, no fair!” Amber groaned.

“Yes, it was. Now quit griping.” Cerulean said as he walked into the room.
> Chapter IV: Hatchling
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter IV

Hatchling


The four settled in and the place felt like home soon enough. Cerulean woke up early and decided to head to Sugar Cube Corner for breakfast. He was one of the first customers in that day. The ice mage sighed as he rolled over the information he’d received from his mother the previous day. “Something on your mind Frosty?” The voice snapped the man out of the trance and he looked at the pink haired pastry chef.

“Oh, morning Pinky. Why did you just call me Frosty?”

“Cause you seem cool and you can use ice magic.” She smiled. Cerulean chuckled at the girl. She sat down across from him. “So why don’t you tell auntie Pinkie Pie your problems?”

“Two things; I’m fairly certain I’m older than you. Second; it’s not a big problem. I just need to find out some information.” Pinkie sat back humming to herself. 

“If you need to look something up, try the library. I’m sure Twilight would help.”

“Twilight? I thought she ran the guild?”

“No, that’s only when the Princess is away on royal business. Rest of the time she’s a librarian.” Cerulean finished his coffee and stood up.

“Thanks Pinkie. Where is it?”

“Just down the road. Look for a tree house.” He raised an eyebrow at the words.

“A tree house?” The man repeated in disbelief.

“Trust me. You’ll know it when you see it.” Cerulean shrugged and made his way out of the bakery. The small town was just beginning to wake up. Stores were switching their signs to open and the smell of fresh coffee filled the streets. After a few minutes of walking, he came across a large tree that was hallowed out into a house.

“Well I’ll be.” He said as he saw the Golden Oaks Library sign out front. He made his way inside and saw several shelves filled with books. The smell of oak was present in the library.  Cerulean spied a vacant wooden desk with a bell resting on top. The archer approached the bell and gave it a ring.

“Be right there.” An adolescent male voice said. A door on the side opened to show a young boy, about the age of twelve with spiked green hair, spliced emerald eyes, pointed ears, several of sharpened teeth and nails. He was donning a purple hoodie and dark green pants. There were also a few purple scales scattered across his face and arms. Cerulean’s hand began burning again. “Need something?” The boy asked.

“Yeah, I’m looking for Twilight.” Cerulean said looking around at the bookshelves.

“She’s in the back. Should be down in a few minutes.”

“Thanks and you are?”

“I’m Spike. Twilight’s assistant.”

“Cerulean Frostwork. I work at-”

“Oh everyone knows about you. They say you killed a dragon.” The boy said in amazement. Fear quickly filled the young boy's eyes. “Gale is gonna have a few words with you about that.”

“Who’s-” He was cut off as he saw the woman he came to talk to come down from upstairs.

“Oh, hello Cerulean.” The scholar smiled.

“Hey Twilight. I was wondering if you could help me look up something.” Twilight smiled.

“I didn’t know you were a scholar.”

“Hardly. I tend to stick to fiction when it comes to books. More interesting.” The girl sighed and put on a pair of horned rim glasses. The man chuckled. “Okay, what up with the glasses?”

“These are enchanted glasses that help me search the library for specific books in seconds.” She said in a proud tone. “Watch. Spike name a book title.” The child put a clawed finger to his chin and thought for a moment.

“Um, ‘Cooking for Dummies.’” The glasses flashed for a moment and Twilight pointed towards the top shelf. The book then flew into her hand. “Might want to give that one a read through Twi.” The girl furrowed her brow at the boy.

“Har-har.”

“That’s handy. So you just say the name and then it’ll show you where it is?” Twilight nodded. “Okay, try Draco Venator.” Twilight repeated the words, but nothing happened.

“Odd. It usually works. It doesn’t sound like Equestrian though.”

“Okay, dragons.” As Twilight repeated the word several books glowed and Spike used a ladder to grab them. Cerulean looked at the covers. “‘Sword in the Lake’, ‘The Legend of the Red Dragon’, ‘The Adventures of Gabriel the Gallant.” The man sighed. “I’m looking for non-fiction books.”

“Sorry Cerulean, but I’m not sure if we have any. Dragons are usually too dangerous to approach and gather intelligence on.”

“Trust me, I should know.” Spike said.

“How?”

“I went to the dragon migration three years ago.” The boy said.

“Now why in the name of Celestia’s beard did you do that?” Cerulean said shaking his head.

“Because I am a dragon, well at least partially.” The man raised an eyebrow at the child. He certainly looked human, but there were the odd parts about his body.

“You see,” Twilight started. “when I was eight I had to pass an entrance exam to get into Celestia’s School of Gifted Mages. That exam was hatching an egg, but my magic kinda went...out of control and I turned a baby dragon into a fifty foot monster.”

“Remind me never to piss you off.” Cerulean gulped.

“Anyway, Princess Celestia calmed me down and the magic wore off, but when Spike went back to normal size he turned into a human with some of his dragon traits still intact.”

“Huh, go figure.” He said standing up. “Thanks anyway Twilight, let me know if you ever get any non-fiction dragon books.”

“Come back any time.” Twilight smiled as he exited the house. Cerulean rubbed his chin and remembered what his mother had said to him yesterday. He decided to make his way back to the home he shared with the three women. 

“Hey...um....Mr. Cerulean?” He turned around to see a blonde woman with grey wings and off center golden eyes. She was wearing tan slacks and a grey short sleeved collared shirt with the Equestria Mail Logo embroidered on her shirt. She was carrying a dark tan messenger bag filled with letters.

“Hey...Derpy right?”

“It’s Ditzy.” She said in a flat tone.

“Sorry. I’m still learning everyones' names in this town.” He said rubbing his head. The woman gave him a smile.

“It’s okay.”

“So, did you need something?” The woman then fished in her messenger bag and pulled out a letter. 

“It’s for Sunset Shimmer. I figured since you live with her, you could deliver it so I could get a quick muffin.” He pocketed the letter and nodded.

“Sure. See you around.” The flyer spread her wings and took off towards Sugar Cube Corner. The ice mage made it back to his home and opened the door to see Sunset brewing coffee, Nix was reading the paper and Amber was brushing her tail. “Morning ladies.”

“Morning.” Sunset said with a smile. 

“Where were you?” Amber asked.

“Just out for a small stroll. Morning air is good for you.” He reached into his pocket and set the letter on the table. “Ran into Ditzy.”

“Blonde hair, grey wings and off center eyes?” Amber asked.

“Yup. Letter for you Sunset.” The woman set her mug down and picked up the letter. 

“It’s from my uncle in Vanhoover.” The girl smiled as she opened the letter. A slip of paper with a seal fell out of the envelope and landed on the table. The group crowded around it and Sunset quickly ducked under the table. “Hit the deck!” The seal glowed orange and there was a loud banging noise accompanied by a puff of white smoke. The other three jumped back in surprise.

After the smoke had cleared the group saw a large bird standing on top of the seal. The bird was covered in white feathers with the tips a blazing orange, the same as it’s eyes. It was bigger than an eagle and had talons sharp as knives. “Snow!” The bird squawked and hopped on the fire mage’s shoulder as it heard it’s name.

“He sent a bird?” Fox yelled.

“In the mail?” Nix said.

“Oh he does this sort of thing all the time.” Sunset said as she scratched the bird’s chin.

“Your uncle or your peacock?” Cerulean said as he looked at the bird who tried to nip at his hand.

“Snow is a phoenix.” Sunset corrected.

“Interesting.” Nix said. 

“You know about them?” Amber asked.

“Phoenix tears have healing powers, they can carry twenty times their body weight and they turn into ash when they reach the end of their lifecycle and are reborn by the ashes.”  She smiled. “They also bond to one person and hate everyone else.”

“Nerd.” The alchemist glared at the fox girl’s remark.

“She’s house broken right?” Cerulean asked.

“Yeah, his refuse burn up anyway.” She fed the bird a grape. “What about you guys? Any pets?”

“No, and I assume Amber could be her own pet.” Nix grinned at eh brunette. The fox girl whipped the alchemist with her tail. Sunset then turned to Cerulean.

“I had a dog a few years ago.” Cerulean said. “We had a bad winter and he died.”

“Oh, sorry.” Cerulean waved it off.

“It’s in the past. Right now, lets focus on finding some work. The rent won’t pay itself.” Amber immediately got to her feet.

“Finally, let’s get going!” The other girls nodded and got ready. The four exited their home and made their way to the guild hall. Once inside, the group started to look at the different job postings. Cerulean noticed that on the job listings there were letters stamped on the top left corner of each job description. “Oh come on, there has to be something here.”

“What about this? Farm work?” Sunset said as she took a posting with the letter E marked at the top.

“We have to split the pay and it’s not that much to begin with.” Nix said.

“No, but it’s something.” Cerulean groaned as he took the request. “Meet at Sweet Apple Acres. I think thats Applejack’s farm.” The four left the guild and made their way towards the farm on the edge of town. They saw a sign in front of a picket fence that lead to a large red barn and an old farm house beside it. 

In front of the barn was a hulking man a few years older than the four guild members. He was wearing a red plaid shirt with the sleeved rolled up to his elbows and a pair of dark blue jeans that had been muddied. His hair was a rusty shade of orange and his eyes were like two emeralds. Amber licked her lips as she saw the man. Cerulean walked up to the farmer. “You must be Macintosh?”

“Eeyup. Just call me Mac, everyone does.” Cerulean stuck out his hand and he shook it. He was even stronger than Applejack. 

“Cerulean. We saw your post in the guild hall.” The large farmer nodded.

“Okay, how many ya’ll know about farming?” Cerulean and Sunset raised their hands.

“I’ve grown potatoes and a few crops.” Cerulean said.

“I’ve read several books on the subject.” Sunset said. Mac gave a nod.

“Okay, you three go find AJ in the barn, she’ll give you something to do.” He then turned to Cerulean. “You and I are gonna chop some wood.” Cerulean nodded and followed the farmer out into the barn and got an axe before following him into the thicket of trees. The three went into the barn and found the blonde haired farmer.

“Morning gals.” She smiled.

“Tell me we’re not going to be dealing with pigs.” Nix huffed.

“Nah, ah got something better for you girls to do. We’re gonna be apple bucking.”

“What?” Amber asked. Applejack lead them to a thicket of apple trees with barrels beside the trunks. The blonde found a tree and walked up to the trunk. She marked the center of the tree and stood back. Applejack ran head first at the tree and slammed her boot into the trunk. The tree shook and several apples came falling down.

“Interesting way of doing things.” Nix said. 

“It makes sure that only the apples that are ready fall.” She smiled. “Well, let’s get to it.” Sunset gave it a try, but no apples fell.

“Ow.” She said rolling her ankle. Amber stepped up and slammed her armored fist into a trunk. The three shook from root to branch and the apples fell.

“Easy.” She smirked. Nix rolled her eyes and started picking up the stray apples that missed the barrel. Meanwhile, Mac and Cerulean were at the chopping block and were splitting the wood from a fallen tree. Cerulean, felt the heat bearing down on him and removed his shirt. Mac had already done so.

“Not used to your guys’ heat yet.” He panted.

“I heard you grew up in the North.” The man said as the axe came down on another piece of wood. “What’s it like?” 

“Cold, harsh, unforgiving. Make a mistake and it’s your head.” He said as he brought down the axe. The farmer looked at the man’s torso and saw several scars across his chest and back. The two heard a whistling sound coming from the trees. Cerulean looked over to see the fox girl ogling them. An apple then hit her on the side of her head.

“Get back to work mutt.” Nix said as she grabbed another basket of apples. Amber grunted and followed the girls. Mac chuckled.

“Lively bunch.” The farmer stated.

“Yeah, not even a day and they’re getting on my nerves.” He sighed. 

“Ah’m the only guy working on the farm most of the time, ah feel your pain.” The farmer chuckled. 

“So, just you and AJ?”

“Nah, ah got another sister, Applebloom. She’s about eight.”

“Where’s she?”

“Off playing with her-” 

“Macintosh!” A high pitched voice yelled. The two looked back to see a girl wearing a yellow shirt, blue overalls and a red bow that kept her red ponytail on place came bounding out of the forest. Beside her was a girl with curly white and purple hair. Finally there was a flyer with orange wings and dark purple hair. The three ran towards the two men with fear in their eyes.

“Bloom? What happened?”

“W-we were playing and-” The girl’s words were cut off as the bushes the three came out of were crushed by a large manticore. The three girls hid behind the two men as the beast locked eyes with them. Cerulean put his shirt and jacket back on.

“Mac, stand back. This I can handle.” The ice mage said as he cracked his neck. The beast charged at the group. Cerulean kept his eyes on the barbed tail and dodged a strike. The man dodged a swipe from the beast’s claw and a large icicle formed in his hands. With a sharp thrust, he slammed the large shard of ice in the beast’s jaw and pierced through it’s skull. 

The monster dropped like a sack of bricks and the icicle vanished. Applejack and the other three came running up to the group.

“Are ya okay Bloom?” AJ fussed over her sister.

“Yeah, just a scratch.” The girl held her palm out. “It’s from a rock when I tripped.”

“Let’s clean that cut and get a bandaid.” Mac said. Cerulean walked over to the manticore and scratched his chin.

“Hey Mac, if no one’s officially called dibs, can I have this thing?” The farmers looked at him in confusion. “What, I always wanted to taste manticore meat,” He put his hand on the fur. “and it’s fur would make a warm coat.”

“Um, sure?” A curved icicle blade then formed in his hands.

“Okay, time to gut this thing.”

“I’ll help.” Nix said. “I want to see it’s poison gland and synthesize an antidote.”

“Fine, then you’re helping me lug this thing into the forest so I can gut it.” He said as he grabbed it by the scruff of it’s neck. Nix sighed and attempted to pick up it’s rear by it’s legs, but it was a bit too heavy for her. Amber chuckled and grabbed it by it’s tail.

“Leave this to the grown ups.” Amber said as she patted Nix on the head.

“I will strangle you!” She hissed.

“Can you even reach my neck?” Purple sparks came off the alchemist’s hands. Suddenly a pile of snow fell on the two women.

“You two need to chill out.” Cerulean sighed.

“Only an ice mage could make a pun that frigid.” Nix deadpanned.

“I wasn’t making a pun.” He groaned. “Let’s just cut this thing up before it spoils.” The two freed themselves from the icy mound and carried the beast off of the farm, so the gut pile wouldn’t attract more animals. Cerulean successfully cut into the beasts gut and started removing the organs.

“So you’ve done this sort of thing before?” Amber asked.

“Not to a manticore, but plenty of wolves, bears and dire wolves.”

“Dire wolves?” The fox girl said in confusion.

“Think of a wolf that’s three feet tall and teeth like butcher knives.” He said as he continued to remove the organs. “It’s rare they come towards people, and they’re intelligent.”

“Really?” Nix said in disbelief.

“They coordinate attacks with one another and formulate strategies to take down larger prey.” He said as he finished taking the last organ out. His hands and clothing were stained red with the beast’s blood. “Now, we need to haul this thing back to the house.”

“I am not hauling this thing back to the house.” Nix said in a flat tone. The bushes started rustling and Sunset came out of the thicket.

“Hey AJ has a carriage with two horses outside for the manticore.” 

“Well, that solves that problem.” Amber said as she and Cerulean grabbed the beast. They made it out with the animal in tow and threw it in the back of the cart.

“Thanks Applejack.” Cerulean said.

“No problem. Least we could do for ya after you killed it for us. That thing’s been skulking around the farm for a few weeks and all we’ve been able to do is scare it off with Lil Mac.”

“Lil Mac?” Sunset asked.

“Mac’s shotgun.” The farmer said. “It’s a bit old, but it works well enough and scares the tar out of anything that tries to sneak on our farm.” She chuckled as the carriage clunked along the dirt road of Ponyville. They soon arrived in front of the house and the stronger three of the group lugged it to the backyard.

Cerulean clasped his hands together and made a large ice shelter. He lead the others inside and set the manticore down on an ice table.

“Okay, this next part gets messy. Thanks for the muscle Applejack.” He said as he formed a smaller knife and started to skin the beast. AJ and Amber left the shelter as the man started. The farmer reached into her pocket and pulled out a bit bag. 

“Heres today’s pay.” She handed it to Sunset. “Plus a little extra for the manticore.”

“Thanks for your generosity.” Sunset smiled. Applejack squinted at the fire mage and adjusted her hat.

“Hmm....Don’t you know Twilight from somewhere?” Sunset gulped and vanished in a flash of orange light. The farmer blinked in surprise. “Well, that was odd.”

“Probably just wanted to tell the Princess we completed the request.” Amber said with a shrug.

“I’m gonna be a while.” Cerulean called out from the ice shelter. Amber shrugged and decided to head towards the guild with the short alchemist trailing behind. The two soon caught up with Sunset at the guild hall and she handed them each a small bit pouch. 

“This is all we get?” She grumbled as she looked at the small amount of coin.

“Well, there were four of us and the guild does get a cut of the profit for the upkeep of the place.” Sunset said as she sat down across from the group. Nix looked at other jobs and noticed the other jobs had the letter stamp.

“Hey what does this mean?” She pointed to the letter. Sunset and Amber walked up to the board and saw the letter. 

“I don’t know.” Sunset said. 

“Need help with something?” The three turned to see two women standing before them. One had short lime green hair with a white stripe running through it and was wearing matching mage robes. On her hip was a golden lyre. Beside her was a woman with pink and dark blue hair.  On either side of her belt were a pair of brass knuckles.

“Lyra and Bon-bon right?” The two nodded at the fox girl. “What’s the deal with the letters stamped on the jobs?” 

“That’s their rank.” Lyra said.

“Rank?” Sunset asked.

“You see,” Bon-bon started. “every job that gets submitted has to get rated by the guild council.”

“The what?” Nix said.

“A group of nine of the strongest mages in Equestria. They make sure all the guilds are following the rules. Princess Luna is on this council.” Lyra said. “If any guild get’s out of line.” She clenched her left hand into a fist and slammed it into her right hand’s open palm. “They take care of it.”

“Back to the whole ranking thing.” Amber said. 

“Right, well every job that gets submitted, goes through them. They rank them based on the difficulty, pay and location. They rank them E to A; E being the lowest and A being the highest.”

“So higher the rank, higher the pay?” Nix asked.

“Correct, but you can only take higher ranked missions on if you have someone of the same rank in your group.”

“Wait, we get ranked?” Amber asked. Lyra had a confused look on her face.

“You haven’t been ranked yet?” The trio shook their heads.

“How do you-” The alchemist was cut off as the group saw a large pillar of light shoot into the sky. Several people raced outside and saw the pillar was coming from the new member’s home.

“Rain check on that test.” Amber said as they raced towards the house. The light was gone by the time they reached the home. The house looked intact but the top of the ice shelter Cerulean had made had been blown off by the blast. Sunset rubbed her arms and saw her breath.

“It’s cold.” She said as she saw the grass frozen.

“Did that moron make it snow?” Nix hissed. There was cold air coming from inside the small shelter.

“Cerulean? Are you okay?” Sunset asked as she poked her head inside the shelter.

“Yeah, just um...don’t freak out.” He said as he coughed. The blue haired man emerged from the ice shelter his hair was a mess and his clothes were scorched. Cerulean stumbled out and fell to his knees. Amber and Sunset quickly helped him up.

“What happened to you?” Amber asked.

“Remember that blue rock I picked up from the dragon?”

“Yeah?” Nix said. The group then heard a small squeaking noise.

“Well,” He said as he stood up and went back inside the small shelter. The trio looked at one another with perplexed looks on their faces. “it wasn’t a rock.” When he came out he had something in his arms. It looked about the size of a full grown house cat, instead of fur it had bright blue scales and a long tail with a blue crystal like spike at the end.

Two leather like wings sprouted from it’s back and it’s eyes were like two emeralds of the deepest green. At the end of it’s legs there were sharp claws. It’s front two hands seemed to have thumbs. On top of it’s head were two horns pointing towards it’s back. “It was an egg.” Cerulean groaned and dropped to the ground. The small hatchling scampered out of his arms.

“Cerulean!?” Sunset got to his side, but froze when the small creature hissed and snapped at her.  Purple sparks arced around the small beast and a cage formed around it. Much to it’s dislike. Amber saw blood coming from his right hand and quickly wiped the blood away to see a symbol etched into his hand.
> Chapter V: The Oncoming Storm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter V

The Oncoming Storm


Cerulean wiped the sweat off his forehead as he finished skinning the manticore and set the meat inside the freezer. He went into his room and yawned. “I guess I should join the others at the guild.” As he sat up, he noticed the stone he’d collected from the dragon’s corpse. He picked up the stone and weighed it in his hand. 

“The next time you’re alone, run your magic through it and don’t tell anyone about what we talked about. You can never know who might be listening.” His mother’s words echoed in his head. Cerulean stood up and made his way outside into the ice shelter. He sealed the door behind him and sat on the ground with the rock in his hands.

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Cerulean gripped the object and poured his magic into it. The small object started glowing. The amount of magic it was taking was immense. He could feel the object cracking. Light shined through the cracks. 

The stone started to expand before it shattered and a beam of blue magic shot through the roof of the shelter. The blast knocked Cerulean back against the wall. He shook his head and opened his eyes to see shattered pieces of the stone around a ball of light. The light started to take shape. The light shined a final time and he shielded his eyes.

When he opened them agin a small blue winged dragon was looking at him. “Okay, I did not see that coming.” The small lizard walked up to him and cocked it’s head to the side. The dragon sniffed the air and hobbled towards him, stumbling a times. The ice mage chuckled slightly at the small lizard. Cerulean slowly reached his right hand out towards the animal. The creature sniffed his hand. “I guess you’re just a little-” The creature then bit his hand. “OW!” He said as he shook his hand and the creature let go.

“Cerulean? Are you okay?” He heard the fire mage say from outside. He felt woozy as he got to his feet and steadied himself.

“Yeah, just um...don’t freak out.” He said as he coughed. The blue haired man emerged from the ice shelter his hair was a mess and his clothes were scorched. Cerulean stumbled out and fell to his knees. Amber and Sunset quickly helped him up.

“What happened to you?” Amber asked.

“Remember that blue rock I picked up from the dragon?”

“Yeah?” Nix said. The group then heard a small squeaking noise.

“Well,” He said as he stood up and went back inside the small shelter. The trio looked at one another with perplexed looks on their faces. “it wasn’t a rock.” When he came out he had something in his arms. It looked about the size of a full grown house cat, instead of fur it had bright blue scales and a long tail with a blue crystal like spike at the end.

Two leather like wings sprouted from it’s back and it’s eyes were like two emeralds of the deepest green. At the end of it’s legs there were sharp claws. It’s front two hands seemed to have thumbs. On top of it’s head were two horns pointing towards it’s back. “It was an egg.” Cerulean groaned and dropped to the ground, the small hatchling scampering out of his arms.


~~~


That was the last thing Cerulean remembered before he passed out. He opened his eyes to see that he was in his room. “Ugh my head is killing me.” 

Come downstairs and let me out! The man looked around the room, but saw no one.

“Who said that!?” The door opened to show Amber.

“Well, look who’s up.” She smiled. He rubbed his head as it pounded.

“Ugh, what happened? Why’d I pass out?” Sunset hear their voices and walked inside the room.

“Magic deficiency.” She said. “You used up too much magic and you passed out.”

“How long have I been out?” 

“About three weeks.” The fox girl said.

“WHAT!?”

“Amber, stop.” Sunset sighed. “It’s only been two days.” The man gave a sigh of relief. Cerulean heard a racket coming from the basement.

“STOP FREEZING SHIT!”

“Well, Nix is awake.” The alchemist stumbled through and her hair was partially frozen. Amber snickered at her appearance.

“I know I said you should chill out, but that’s going overboard.”

“I’m going to kill you and use you a pelt.” She hissed. Nix then shot Cerulean a glance. “You! Tell your flying handbag to quit freezing stuff.” Cerulean raised an eyebrow at the words and heard a screeching sound. The man got to his feet and followed the three women to the basement. The walls had patches of ice on them and there was a faint flapping noise.

Cerulean turned on the light to see the baby dragon in a cage made of transmuted stone. The dragon noticed the ice mage and banged against the bars.

It’s about time! Let me out! 

“Why is it in a cage?”

“It’s a dragon. Why do you think?” Amber said.

“He’s been a real handful.” Sunset said as she thawed Nix’s hair.

I’m a girl! It hissed.

“I think it’s a girl dragon.” Cerulean said. The three looked at one another in confusion.

“How do you know?” Sunset asked.

“It...told me?” Cerulean shrugged. “Anyway, who else knows about this?”

“We figured it’d be best to keep it quiet.” Sunset sighed. Cerulean looked at the caged beast and bit his lip. 

“I’m letting her out.”

“Are you crazy? It’s a dragon!” Nix protested.

“A baby dragon that’s probably scared out of it’s wits and is pissed that it’s in a cage. Do you want to deal with an angry dragon?” Nix bit her lip and sighed. Cerulean walked up to the cage and the dragon sniffed his hand. Nix rolled her eyes and made the cage crumble. The dragon stretched it’s wings and jumped into the ice mage’s arms.

The creature hissed at Nix. The alchemist stuck her tongue out at the lizard. Cerulean sighed and walked upstairs to the living room. The creature hopped on the couch. “So....what do I do?” He said looking at the girls.

“Why are you asking us?” Amber said.

“It’s your little abomination.” That remark earned her another case of frozen hair, courtesy of the dragon. “I am gonna make you into a wallet!” She hissed at the creature. The creature growled at the girl.

“Great.” Cerulean groaned. “Well, I suppose I should give it a name.”

“How about Gucci?” Nix snickered.

“Absolute Zero?” The group looked at the fox girl. “What? It spits ice from it’s mouth.” Cerulean bit his lip and looked at the small creature. The dragon used it’s back leg to scratch behind it’s horns.

“Hmmm. How about Lapis?” The man suggested.

“What’s that?” Amber asked.

“It’s a blue gem.” Cerulean said as he turned his attention back to the dragon. “Like that?” The lizard then nodded it’s head in satisfaction. “Lapis it is.”

“Not to burst your bubble or anything,” Sunset started. “but how are you going to handle her? I doubt there’s a book that teaches you how to train a dragon.” The fire mage said.

“Relax Sunny, we’ll figure something out.” Amber said walking over to the dragon. “Besides it’s cute.” She scratched behind it’s head and the dragon rubbed it’s head against her.

“Yeah, but what are we going to do when it turns into a fifty foot behemoth?” Sunset stated. Cerulean bit his lip and looked at the lizard.

“Either way we can’t ignore it.” He sighed. 

“I think I remember Applejack saying that one of her friends is an animal specialist.” Sunset said. "Fluttershy I think."

“Ugh, the one who kept petting my tail.” Amber grumbled.

“Okay, I’ll head to Fluttershy’s house and see what I can find out about our new guest.” Cerulean said as he grabbed his bag and put the lizard inside. “Meanwhile you three head to the guild and see if there’s anything good.” Lapis hissed as she was placed in the bag. The cloth walls were pushing against her wings. 

I hate this. 

“Hey it’s better than letting the whole town go into a panic seeing you.” Cerulean said as he walked out of the house with Lapis squirming in the bag. She poked her head out the top and sniffed the morning air. Fluttershy lived on the outskirts of town close to the everfree forest, a short ten minute walk is all that was needed to arrive at her doorstep. The cottage was smaller than most of the houses and looked like it was made out of a hollowed out hillside. It reminded Cerulean of a Hobbit hole.

He walked up to the wooden green door and knocked on it three times. He waited a few seconds before the door opened to show rainbow with a cyan T-shirt and black sweat pants on. Her usual straight rainbow colored hair was sticking out in all directions, her wings seemed ruffled and she had large bags under her eyes. She was definitely not a morning person. Cerulean had to fight back a chuckle as he took in her appearance.

“What do you want ice man?” She hissed.

“Thought this was Fluttershy’s house?” 

“Sometimes I’m so worn out from practicing, that I can’t get home. So I crash on Shy’s couch.” She yawned. “What are you doing here?”

“I have a pet issue I was wondering if Fluttershy could-” The sounds of a slamming door and fluttering wings filled the small cottage. A pink blur raced down the stairs and halted in front of the two.

“An animal! What kind?” The woman asked in a giddy tone. Cerulean’s face went red and dash burst out laughing like a mad woman. Fluttershy looked perplexed at their behavior.

“Um Fluttershy, I think you forgot something.” Cerulean said pointing at her. As she looked down, the animal caretaker remembered that she frequently slept in the nude. 

“Eep!” she slammed the door and zoomed back up to her room.

Well, that got my blood pumping. Even if it’s going down South. He thought as Dash opened the door still laughing. “That happen often?”

“Less than you think, more than you know.” Dash said as he walked inside. Cerulean sat on the couch and waited for Fluttershy to come back down. She came back down wearing a yellow turtleneck and green pants. Her blushing cheeks were hidden behind her pink hair.  She had three cups of coffee balancing on a platter. They each took a cup and sipped the beverage.

“S-sorry.” She peeped out.

“It’s no problem. I didn’t see anything.” He lied.

“Bullshit.” Dash coughed out. Cerulean scowled at the flyer. “Dude, why is your bag moving?”

“Right,” He reached inside and pulled out Lapis for the two to see. Dash spat out her coffee in surprise while Fluttershy gasped. The lizard looked at the two perplexed and examined the new surroundings. “I need help with her. I know nothing about drag-” Once again the yellow winged girl impressed the two as she quickly scooped up the small lizard and gave it a tight hug.

“She’s so cute!” Fluttershy cooed.

Can’t.....breathe. Cerulean heard the words in his head and mentioned it to the caretaker who quickly loosened her grip.

“So someone just gave you a dragon?” Rainbow asked wiping her chin with her wrist.

“Long story short I hatched it. Her name is Lapis.” Cerulean said with a sigh. “I’ve never even considered this happening and I heard Fluttershy knew the most about animals around here. So here I am.” Fluttershy put a finger to her chin and thought for a moment.

“Sorry.” She said retracting behind her pink hair once again. “I don’t know that much about dragons. I only know that they mostly eat gemstones.” The girl whined through her hair.

“I-it’s okay Fluttershy.” Cerulean said trying to cheer her up. The small dragon hoped up next to the caretaker and sniffed her hand. Fluttershy gently petted her head and smiled.

“Oh her eyes are so pretty. They’re almost hypnotic.” She cooed.

Yes, do my bidding mortal.

“I heard that Lapis.” Cerulean said as he glared at the dragon.

“Um dude, all the dragon did was screech.” Dash said. Cerulean face palmed and groaned.

“Ugh, I don’t understand what’s going on anymore.” The group then heard Fluttershy’s coo-coo clock go off. 

“Oh man! I’m gonna be late for weather duty!” Rainbow said as she jumped up and zoomed out the door. Cerulean then turned his attention back to Fluttershy.

“Sorry I wasn’t much help Cerulean.”

“Don’t worry about it. Twilight herself said that there’s not that much information on dragons.” He sighed. “Frankly the only person in this town who might know about them is Sp-” The blue haired man blinked and face palmed. “I’m an idiot. I should have gone to Spike first.” Cerulean stood up and put Lapis in the bag.

Don’t put me back in there! The dragon hissed.

“It’s better than the town going into a panic.” He said as he shoved her in the bag. “Thanks for the coffee Fluttershy.”

“If you need help with Lapis then you know where to find me.” She smiled as he went out the door towards the guild. He looked at the sky and saw dark clouds rolling in. 

“Why do I have a bad feeling all of a sudden?”	


~~~


The fox girl’s ear twitched and turned her head to the East to see several dark clouds cracking with dark lightning crackling along it’s edges. “Weird. I thought the forecast was supposed to be sunny all day.” Sunset said as she scratched her head. Nix squinted and looked at the sky.

“Since when is lightning black?” The alchemist pointed out. 

“Maybe the weather machine is broken?” Amber suggested as they walked into the guild hall. Pierce, Comet and Caramel were already chatting about who knows what. The three women each ordered some breakfast as the doors to the guild burst open to show Rainbow Dash completely out of breath. Nervousness filler her usual proud magenta eyes as she spoke.

“Head’s up everyone! Gale is in a town!” Everyone turned their heads to look at the doorway.

“So?” Comet said with a shrug.

“This town!” Like lightning bolts, everyone scrambled to find some form of cover. Whether it be behind the bar, under the tables or up in the rafters. Sunset, Amber and Nix looked at one another in confusion. Amber poked her head under a nearby table to see Pierce.

“Um dude, what’s with the dramatics?”

“What are you new?” The woman deadpanned at the question. “Oh right. Sorry. Gale is....the only way to say it is a monster. She-” He froze as the sound of steps filled the room. Everyone’s head turned towards the entrance. The door slowly opened to show a woman with dark skin and shining white braided hair standing at 5’9.” “she’s here.” He gulped.

The woman’s white braided hair went to the middle of her shoulder blades where a pair of black scaled wings that were each easily three feet long their webbing was more of a grey color were protruding from her back. Sticking out of her white locks were two black horns that started at the base of her hairline and went back before split to three on each side, with a crest at the conversion point on her forehead. Her eyes were the pristine color of orange that shined like burning embers. A tribal tattoo, colored in white was over her right eye and gave her a fiercer gaze, but didn’t detract from her appearance. Her wrists to her deltoids were covered in jet black scales that had many scratches, yet shined like obsidian in the light. On her left shoulder showed the guild seal colored in pristine orange.  

Her attire consisted of a sleeveless metal chest plate that showed the guild seal and the same tribal symbol in the center. Gale was also sporting an armored waist guard skirt that went to her knees. The woman’s legs also appeared to be covered in jet black scales that seemed to vanish as they met her sturdy black combat boots. A long black scaled tail with a grey under side was also protruding from her lower back. She had a long katana sword on her left side and a smaller looking curved blade hitched to the right side of her belt. 

In her right hand was a large sack with something inside. Her orange spliced eyes bounced around the room and took in everything. The hall was completely silent, safe for her footsteps. The air around her was thick with magic and a sense of foreboding and commanded respect. She slowly strode towards the bar as Twilight came out from the back room. The scholar smiled at the woman and greeted her as if she’s known her all her life.

“Nice to see you again Gale. Everything went well I presume?” She said with a smile on her face.

“Yes, sorry it took me a little longer than I expected.” Her tone was flat, yet had an encouraging feel to it. Comet slowly stood up from his hiding place shaking a bit.

“What’s in the bag Gale?” The woman set the bag on the table and opened it to show a Taxidermied Griffin head. Beasts such as Griffins were common in high mountain areas and usually preyed on livestock and smaller animals. However, if the food supply happen to run short then it wouldn’t think twice about going after humans to fill it’s belly.

“The town was so grateful for clearing out it’s nest they gave me the head as a gift.” Her eyes suddenly sharpened like two knives that could slice through diamonds. “Any issues with that?”

“Nope!” The crowd yelled out in unison. The armored woman took a seat at the bar and sighed. She ordered a drink as the people came out from their hiding places.

“So what has been going on since I left?” Gale asked as she took the drink in her hand and put a bit on the table for her drink.

“Well, quite a few things.” Twilight said as she took the woman’s coin. “We have four new members.” That got the armored woman’s interest. 

“Oh? Who?” Twilight gestured to the three girls. Sunset felt a shiver as the woman’s silver eyes fell upon them. The black scaled knight walked over to them and looked up and down each one of them. Examining their appearance. Amber’s ears and tail twitched slightly as she looked at the woman. She stuck out her black scaled.

“Gale Slate.” She said with a smile. 

“I’m Amber, mind telling me why everyone is jumpy?” The fox girl said. Gale looked around the hall and shrugged.

“Haven’t a clue.” The woman shrugged. “I see you practice therianthropy magic. Odd form of magic.”  She then put her eyes on Nix. 

“The name’s Nix. I’m an alchemist.” 

“That requires a lot of brain power. I’m sure you’ll make a fine addition.” Gale then squinted at Sunset. “You look familiar. Have we met?”

“I don’t believe we have.” The fire mage gulped. “My name is Sunset Shimmer. I’m a fire mage.” As Gale stroked her chin, the doors opened to show Cerulean entering with his bag slung across his shoulder.

“Morning.” He said as he walked up to the group of girls. Gale startled him a bit as he saw her. “Who’re you?” He asked as he looked her up and down.

“Give me your name archer and I’ll give you mine.” She stated as she looked at his bow.

“Right, where are my manners? Cerulean Frostwork.” He said as he put his hand out to shake. “I’m an ice mage.”

“Gale Slate.” She gave his hand a hard shake. “You don’t look like you’re from around here.” She said as they took a seat at the table. 

“I could say the same for you.” Cerulean said as he looked at the woman’s horns and wings. “Since you asked first, I’m from the far North.” The archer said.

“I suppose that explains the ice magic. I’m from Draconia.”

“Wow, that’s like way far.” Amber said.

“You’ve been there?” 

“Mhm. I went there last year, really pretty mountains.” Amber stated. “Granted most of them were dragon dens.” She sipped her drink and a thought came to Gale.

“Yeah, that reminds me.” Gale faced the majority of the hall. “I heard a rumor on the road. Apparently, someone or something managed to kill a dragon that was help up in the mountain not too far from here.” She said looking around the room. “I want the truth of the matter.” The hall fell silent and they started whispering to one another. “Well?” She stammered impatiently.

“That was us.” Cerulean said. The woman turned her head back to the ice mage and the three women. 

“What!?” Gale looked at them in disbelief.

“Yeah, we totally killed that thing.” Amber chuckled. The white haired woman glared at Cerulean. He gulped as he felt the woman’s spliced eyes on him. He could feel the air become intense around the woman.

“What did it look like?” She said in a serious tone.

“Um what?” 

“What. Did. It. Look. Like?” She repeated.

“It was grey and blind.” Sunset answered. Gale let out her held breath and sat back down.

“I see.” The tension around her seemed to vanish. “Tell me, what did you do with it’s corpse? Did you make use of it?” Her eyes scanned the four carefully.

“Yeah....um the dragon’s body kinda turned to ash after it died.” Nix said. “Pity, dragon scales sell for a lot.”

“Is money all you ever think about?” Nix stuck her tongue out at the fox girl.

“It did leave behind it’s heart stone and-” Sunset felt Cerulean lightly kick her under the table. She scowled at the ice mage who shook his head.

“Well, it sounds like you really did kill a dragon.” Gale said in a surprised tone.

“You didn’t believe us?” Nix said in an offended tone.

“You’ll me a lot of ‘dragon slayers’ who claim they killed a dragon when they’d actually wet themselves seeing a timber wolf.” Gale said in a bland tone. “People who boost their reputation like that make me sick.”

“So you must have seen a dragon die yourself.” Cerulean said. 

“No, but my father has killed many and he’s told me about his hunts.” She said as she took a sip from her drink. “Dragon slaying is common among my family.” Cerulean gulped and gently gripped the bag causing it to squirm. Gale’s ear twitched and looked at the ice mage. “You seem Nervous Cerulean. Why?”

“Me nervous? Nah.” He said hoping she didn’t see the sweat n his forehead.

“In my experience there are only two reasons why someone’s nervous; they’re either scared, or they have something to hide.” She squinted at the man. Cerulean gulped and tried to find an excuse so he went with something his dad would say.

“Well, I get nervous around pretty girls.” He said with a slight laugh. Gale only frowned at the man’s vain attempt at flattery.

“Funny. Still you have my respect for disposing a dragon.” She said as she stood up. “If you see a large green one with yellow eyes, I’ll let you tag along when I take it’s head.” Gale started walking away from the group as Cerulean had a thought.

“Isn’t that kind of ironic?” He said as the room went dead quiet. “I mean, Draconians are technically half dragon aren’t they?” Gale pause and took in a deep breath through her nose and exhaled as she turned around and glared at the man.

“Nice knowing you Cerulean.” Comet whispered as he dove under the table.

“Yes, Draconians do have ties to dragons when it comes to history and magic.” She said as she grinned like a panther about to pounce on it’s prey. “Also, since you faced a dragon and dared to compare me to one of them then I doubt you’re a coward. Which means you’re hiding something.” Her silver eyes looked at his bag as it moved slightly. “What’s in that bag?”

“Nothing.” He said as he put it on his back.

“Really?” She said in disbelief.

“I’m serious. There is nothing you’d find valuable in this-” He was cut off as the top of the bag opened and Lapis’s head poked out.

FRESH AIR! The dragon cawed as it breathed. Several people in the hall did a spit take as they saw the small blue lizard. Cerulean leaned his head back towards Lapis.

“Get back in the bag.” He whispered. The dragon looked around at all the shocked faces. She heard the unsheathing of a blade and saw the Draconian pointing her long blade at her and Cerulean. The blade was curved and was a pristine steel color with a black lightning bolt design coming from the handle to the blade’s edge.

“What is the meaning of this?” Gale hissed.

“Okay so maybe the dragon dropped an egg and I hatched it.” Cerulean gulped. There was a purple flash and Twilight got between the two.

“Guys, the guild hall isn’t for fighting and I don’t think it’ll survive a slash from your blade Gale.” The scholar said hoping to calm them down. Gale bit her lip and sheathed her blade before she stormed off. Twilight then turned to Cerulean and stared at the dragon. “Why in the name of Celestia do you have a dragon?” She yelled.

“It’s a long story.” Cerulean sighed as the dragon crawled up onto his shoulder. “Claws.” He said as he bit his lip. The lizard tilted it’s head and looked at the guild members. Several girls gave an ‘awe’ at it’s cuteness. Lapis spread her wings and screeched. “Show off.” Hearing the screech a blue light filled the hall and Princess Luna appeared before the group.

“What was that horrendous screech?” Luna’s eyes shrank as she saw the perching dragon.  “What in the name of the moon is that?” Luna pointed at the blue drake.

“It’s a baby dragon.” Cerulean said as Lapis crawled on top of his head.

“Why is it here?”

“Can we please talk about this in your office?” Luna nodded and lead Cerulean up to her office. He had a seat and the dragon started exploring the new surroundings as Cerulean explained how he hatched Lapis from the egg. Luna sat back in her chair and looked at the dragon as it walked around. “So that’s basically the whole story.”

“I see. I am still concerned about the safety of the town.”

“Oh come on, Lapis is a baby. Less threatening than Spike.”

“For now. What happens when she matures?” She raised an eyebrow at the dragon.

“We’ll....cross that road when we come to it.”

“I am not going to endanger this town because you’ve found a new pet.” She said in a stern tone.

“So what are you going to do? Kill her?” He stepped between Luna and the dragon.

“Do you honestly think you can out match me?” She raised an eyebrow at his action.

“Probably not, but still, she hasn’t done anything bad and you can’t judge her for things that may or may not happen.” He gulped as he felt the air around her grow tense.

“It is a huge risk that could easily backfire.” Cerulean gulped and could feel the air around the Princess become thick with magic. He had and idea, but it may just make things worse.

“So was making you a guild leader and a Princess when you came back from your one-thousand year stay on the moon.” Luna’s eyes shrank and pursed her lips. The desk in front of her started to wobble and magical energy started cracking around her.

“You are treading on very thin ice boy.” She said in a tone so cold it gave Cerulean chills.

“All I’m saying is that if what you told me is true, then Celestia could have easily locked you away the minute Twilight and the rest used those element things, but she didn’t. She looked past all the wrong you did and gave you back your title. On top of that, she let you open up and run this guild.”

“That is different. Nightmare Moon’s presence is extinguished.” She hissed.

“Is it? Are you one-hundred percent sure that there is no way in Equestria that she could come back, or you could go nuts again?” Luna clenched her fist and the magic started leaking out of her. Her eyes bore like blue daggers at the man. Through grit teeth Luna gave an answer.

“I don’t know.” 

“It’s pretty big risk if you ask me. A way bigger risk than a baby dragon, who can’t even fly yet.” He said looking at Lapis. Luna took in a deep breath and looked at the dragon before exhaling.

“Very well. No harm will come to her, but she is your responsibility.” Cerulean gave a relaxed sigh at the words. “If she becomes a monster, than I will not hesitate to defend this town and the people living here by any means necessary.” The magic around her was gone and the tension left the room.

“If it comes to that. Then I’ll deal with it myself.” He said in a firm tone. The dragon crawled back onto his shoulder and opened the door to leave. As the wooden door swung, Amber, Sunset and Nix fell back. No doubt they had been listening. Standing a few feet away from them was Gale. “Really guys?” He face palmed.

“What? We got bored down there.” Amber said as she and the others got to their feet.

“How supportive.” He droned sarcastically. “So Luna gave Lapis a free pass provided I keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn’t freeze the town.”

You never let me have any fun. The dragon whimpered. Cerulean then heard Gale speak.

"Try it and I’ll end you." Lapis and Cerulean both looked at the white haired woman.

“You can understand her?” Cerulean asked.

“Of course. I’m draconian we're taught how to speak to dragons when we're young.” She stated in a bland tone. The group walked back down the steps an awkward silence hanging over them. 

“So Gale,” Sunset said. “do you know how this ranking thing works?”

“Ranking?” Cerulean asked.

“Everyone in the guild gets ranked on their skill. It lets the guild master know which people are strong enough to take on missions.” Nix explained. Gale lead them to a storage closet and pulled out what looked like a crystal ball on a three legged stand. She brought it out on the table and stared at it.

“Run your magic through it an it’ll give you a rank.” She put her hand on it and it glowed before the letter A popped up.

“Me first!” Amber said. She placed her hand on the orb and focused her magic. A letter D appeared. “Oh come on.” She whined.

“Ha ha.” Nix said as she went. Her results were a letter C. Nix only smirked while amber stuck her tongue out at her.

“A lot of people here are C and D rank.” Gale stated. Cerulean went forwards and put his hand on the sphere. A letter B popped up inside.

“I’ll take it. You’re up Sunset.” 

“Um....I think I’m good.” The fire mage gulped as she looked at the orb.

“Nuh uh, we all did it. You’re up.” Amber stated. Sunset gulped and hesitantly put her hand on the orb. The sphere flashed and a letter A appeared.

“Well, that’s surprising. We don’t get many A rank mages around here.” Gale said. “Including myself and you there are five.”

“Who’re the other three?” Cerulean asked.

“Twilight for obvious reasons. We have a newer mage who is also A rank but she’s not that well liked, mostly because of her ego.” Gale sighed.

“Who’s the last one?” Nix asked.

“Blueblood.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Cerulean groaned. “That jerk is an A rank mage?”

“While I don’t like him that much either, he is Princess Celestia and Luna’s nephew.” The draconian said with a huff. Cerulean rolled his eyes and was beside himself at the words.

“This is gonna be a long day.”
> Chapter VI: Escort
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter VI

Escort


Little by little, people got used to seeing the small dragon walking behind Cerulean when he pulled small jobs around town. He learned that Lapis liked most meat and managed to feed her some of the left over Manticore meat. He still got chills whenever he saw Gale, but Comet assured him that’s how everyone reacted around her at first. It had been about three weeks since Cerulean and his group had joined the guild and they were only getting bottom of the barrel work. They needed some serious money with the rent just around the corner.  Cerulean looked at the job board with the dragon on his shoulder and groaned as he saw the lack of high paying jobs.

“Hey Twilight,” He said as he looked at the indigo haired mage who was currently reading a book. The woman looked up and set her book down. “why are there never any good jobs?”

“It works on a first come first serve basis.” She stated. 

“You can’t reserve certain missions?” 

“Not unless you get special permission from the client.” The door to the hall opened to show a familiar grey winged mail woman. 

“I got a few new jobs Twilight.” Ditzy said as she approached the job board. She pulled out a few tacks and attached them to the cork board. Cerulean quickly scanned them as he felt the guild members eyes lock onto the board. He quickly snatched one and dove out of the way as the masses crowded around it. Cerulean looked at the job and gave it a quick skim. He grinned and walked over to where Sunset and the others were sitting.

“Good news girls and Nix.”

“Hey!”

“I just got us a good job.” He put the piece of paper in front of the three. Sunset scanned it and bit her lip.
\
“Seems kinda...risky.”

“Hey this one job has better pay than the last three jobs we did combined.” Nix said.

“All we got to do is escort some merchant from point A to point B and It’s only Rank C. We got this.” Amber said in a cocky tone.

“So it’s decided.” Cerulean said. “I’ll go tell Twilight that we’re taking this job.” He stood up and walked over to where Twilight was. Unfortunately, Gale was over there as well looking at the job board. “Hey Twilight, we’re going on this-” Gale quickly snatched the piece of paper from him. “Hey!” Her eyes scanned it gave it a once over. 

“Interesting.”

“Hey that’s our job.” Cerulean said. Gale looked at him with a raised eyebrow before handing him back the post.

“I know. I’ll be coming with you on this mission.”

“No way!” Nix said. “We need the money to pay the rent!”

“Then take my share.” Gale stated.

“So why are you coming if you don’t care about getting paid?” Amber said in a confused tone.

“I want to see for myself how strong you four are.” She narrowed her gaze at them.

“Tag along if you want, but don’t be whining that you didn’t get paid.” Nix said. 

“I’ll let the client know his job has been accepted.” Twilight said as she went to the back room.

“So where do we have to bring the guy to?” Nix asked.

“The job said to some small town outside Baltimare.”  Cerulean shrugged. Twilight came out from the back room. 

“Okay, he’ll be waiting in front of the guild hall in an hour. That should give you all plenty of time to get your gear together.” With that, the five dispersed and got their equipment ready. Cerulean settled on a small pack with a sleeping bag some spare food inside. The small dragon looked at him curiously.

This is going to be so cool! Adventure!

“You’re staying here.” He said in a dry tone.	

What? Why?

“Because this is our first real mission and we can’t afford any slip ups.”

I’ll be fine! She hissed.

“No. I’m going to get Fluttershy to keep an eye on you.” Lapis hissed at the man. “We’ll only be gone a few days. You’ll be fine.”

Oh come on! I can help.

“By freezing everything? Not gonna happen, besides Gale will be there. You know she has it in for you and me.”

Why? What’d I do to her?

“I don’t know. It’s none of my business.” He said as he grabbed a duffle bag and started packing. A bit of meat on ice, his weapon and a sleeping bag made of wolf fur. It repelled rain and was very warm. He put on the new coat Rarity made for him to use during the warmer months. Cost a bit of coin, but it was worth it. The coat was colored a navy blue, had no sleeves and a hood. The length went down to his calves. 

The material was light, but it walk also enchanted to deflect small offensive spells.  It wouldn’t stop a bullet, or a large bolt of magic, but enough to keep him alive. She put similar enchantments on most of the other guild members’ clothes and gave her quite a bit of business. Lapis groaned as she hopped up on his shoulder. Cerulean walked towards the animal keeper’s home and knocked on the door. The yellow winged flyer opened the door and smiled as she saw them. Cerulean set his bag down and Lapis went off to explore the home while Cerulean talked to Fluttershy.

After explaining the situation, Fluttershy was more than happy to look after Lapis. Cerulean gave her some of the Manticore meat, with Fluttershy being a vegetarian she was a little nervous about it. Cerulean took his bag and headed off towards the guild to meet up with the girls.

Great, I’m on a mission with a flirty fox, a fire sorceress, an alchemist with an attitude and an angry dragon swords-woman. He thought with a sigh. He soon came upon the guild hall and saw the others. Gale’s spliced eyes were immediately focused on him as he approached. “What happened to your pet?”

“Left her at Fluttershy’s. She’s got a knack for animals and is the only other person Lapis seems to like.” He said as he leaned against the wall of the guild. Cerulean looked down the road to see a carriage being pulled by two horses coming towards the guild. The man at the reigns was older, in his mid thirties at the latest. He had a scraggly beard that matched his messy brown hair that was covered by a new flat brimmed hat. He ordered the horse to stop in front of them and he stepped off the carriage. Cerulean saw that his clothes or shoes didn’t have a speck of dirt on them. His dark brown eyes looked at the group before him and raised an eyebrow.

“You lot are my escort?” He said in disbelief.

“Yeah, what about it?” Amber snarled.

“I’d better get my money’s worth.” He sighed. “Anyway, the name is Arbor. I need to head back to my village without any trouble. Bandits almost got me my way into Canterlot.” He sighed.

“That’s a long ways from here. Why come to this guild?” Gale inquired.

“You’re cheaper than hiring someone in Canterlot. No to mention they’re a bunch of snobs.” 

“On that we can agree.” Cerulean said as he thought of Blueblood.

“So what are ya hauling?” Nix asked.

“Bags of flower, bales of hay and barrels of rice. The usual.” Gale opened the back of the wagon to see the contents the trader mentioned. Seeing everything was in order the group set off towards their destination. The group would take turns sitting in the wagon whenever they needed a break. Due to her height, Nix needed a little help getting up. Something that Amber found hilarious. For some reason, Gale chose to walk or fly a few feet above the ground as they traveled. 

Desperate to break the silence, Sunset poked her head out of the wagon and looked at the dragoness. “So Gale, what kind of magic do you use?” Cerulean and the others turned their heads. They all had been curious about her.

“I use lightning based magic.” She held out her hand and a ball of crackling lighting formed on her palm. “Took me years to get it down.”

“Lightning magic is hard?” Amber asked.

“Yeah, it’s in the tier two magic.” Sunset stated. Amber raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“Tier two?” Nix face palmed at the comment.

“There are five tires of magic.” Sunset started. “Tier one is basic spells such as elemental, barriers and glyphs. Elemental is based on the four basic elements; fire, wind, water and earth. Lightning is a branch of wind magic. Cerulean’s ice magic is also tier two.”

“It is?” The archer asked.

“You don’t even know what rank your magic is?” Gale said in a bland tone.

“Hey I’m no sorcerer. I just shoot stuff.” He said crossing his arms. “I’ve just always been able to use ice. I can use a little bit of water magic as well.” Cerulean shrugged.

“So what is considered tier five magic?” Amber asked.

“They type of magic that can blow up a town, raise the dead, or any other type of cataclysm.” Gale said. “Lightning magic is just really powerful and really hard to control.” She pulled out her longer blade. “This helps me focus my magic and keep it under control.”

“So what exactly can that do?” Jenkins finally added his two bits to the conversation. Gale walked over to a large rock and braced herself. Her right hand over the sword handle. Cerulean took note of her stance and the tension in her body. In a split second, she unsheathed her sword and sliced in front of the rock. Her blade was only a blur before she stopped. Gale started to sheath her blade but paused before she pushed the handle flush with the shield. Upon hearing the guard make contact with the sheath, the rock split into six pieces.

“Remind me to never piss her off.” The farmer gulped.

“Agreed.” Amber said as Gale returned to the group.

“We should keep moving. It’s already noon and we should cover as much ground as we can while there’s still daylight.” With that, the group continued down the path. Sunset sat in the cart and looked at the road behind them. The carriage stopped suddenly and whinnied.

“Easy girl.” Arbor said. Sunset got out and walked up to the front of the cart.

“Something wrong?”

“Something spooked the horses.” The farmer said as he tried to calm the animals.

“Hey fox, why don’t you talk to them? You’re part animal.” Amber hissed at Nix’s words. Cerulean’s eyes darted to the left and heard rustling bushes. Gale’s ears twitched as she heard something in the tree branches. She slowly reached down and put her hand on her sword’s handle.

Cerulean’s eyes caught a glint of silver shooting from the bush and quickly tackled Sunset as the arrow buried itself in the wooden cart’s side. Gale quickly charged towards the bush with her sword drawn. A masked figure shot down from the branch with two daggers drawn. Amber jumped up high and slammed her fist into his face before kicking him to the ground.

One form either side of the path charged with steel swords drawn. Cerulean quickly pulled out his bow and shot two ice arrows. The attackers’ tripped as the arrows formed ice around one of their feet. The archer then bound their hands and other feet with ice. Arbor managed to get the horses under control. Another jumped out from the bushes and charged at Sunset. The fire mage froze as she looked into the man’s murderous eyes. 

A flash of silver crossed her field of vision and a knife buried itself in the figure’s leg. The attacker immediately dropped to the ground. She looked back to see the farmer holding a few more knives between his fingers. “Nice shot.” Cerulean said as he sealed the stranger’s wound with some ice.

“Why bother helping them?” Arbor said.

“Can’t interrogate them if they bleed out.” He said as he pocketed the knife. Gale walked out of the bushes carrying one of the men by their hood. The group tied them up around a tree. Nix quickly removed their masks and glared at them. 

“Who are you and what do you want?” She hissed. None of them opened their mouths. “Okay, hard way it is.” Purple sparks arced between her fingers. Gale gripped one by the shirt and pulled out her sword.

“Either you start talking or I start cutting.” The man gulped a she looked into her spliced eyes that held no mercey.

“W-were just highway men. We saw your caravan and made a trap.” He gulped.

“How many more of you?” 

“J-just us I swear!” Gale squinted and dropped the man. 

“These guys are amateurs.” Amber said shrugging. “Seriously, I’ve seen seagulls have better coordination than these idiots.” The group grunted at her.

“So what should we do with them?” Sunset asked.

“I say we get rid of them. Permanently.” The farmer suggested.

“I don’t kill people.” Cerulean said. 

“I agree.” Gale said. “How about we just leave them here; let them think about what they’ve done?” Fear shot through the group of bandits.

“Wh-what?”

“You got yourselves into this situation, you can get yourselves out of it.” The dragoness said as she turned her back. As they walked away Cerulean left them a dull blade a few feet away from the tree they were tied to. 

“Well that was an eventful afternoon.” Amber said as she put her hands behind her head.

“You’re telling me.” Arbor commented.

“That was a good shot with the knife.” Cerulean said. “Tricky shot even for an expert like me.”

“We play a lot of knife throwing games back on the farm. What of it?”

“Nothing, nothing. Just making an observation.” The ice mage shrugged. “What kind of crops do you harvest?”

“Grain, vegetables and some herbs.”

“Have any sage-foot?”

“Yeah, we got that growing in the fields.” Cerulean poked the side of his cheek with his tongue and nodded.

“Good cure for athlete’s foot. Valuable to have.” Nix raised an eyebrow at the words.

“But-” Cerulean gave her shoulder a quick nudge. The alchemist frowned and hissed at the archer as they sat in the wagon. The day pressed on and noon soon turned into evening. The group found a spot to settle down for the night and started making camp along a stream bed. 

The guild members delegated into three groups; Cerulean and Gale went out to form a perimeter a few meters away from the campsite and collect some fire wood along the way. Amber would help Arbor set up the camp while Nix and Sunset got some water from the stream and purify it. While the two collected some wood, Cerulean pulled out the dagger that was embedded in the bandit’s leg and examined it. The blade shined in the orange light of the afternoon.

“Find something?” Cerulean handed her the blade. “Four inches long, forged by hand,” She balanced it on her pointer finger and it stayed still. “perfectly balanced, and the metal is Griffonian. Must have paid quite a bit for this blade.” She said as she tapped the metal with her finger.

“You a blacksmith?”

“I know a good knife when I see one.” She aimed at a tree and gripped it on the blade and  threw it. The knife spun end over end until the handle hit the bark and fell to the ground. Cerulean chuckled softly. “Let’s see you do it then.” She said as he picked up the knife.

“Gladly. I-” The two stopped what they were doing as they heard a yell come from the camp. Gale quickly took to the skies as Cerulean ran through the woods. They arrived back at camp to see the farmer holding another knife, his arm like a tightly coiled spring as he walked over to their bags. “Something wrong? More bandits?”

“Saw something shuffling near the bags. I ain’t taking chances.” Cerulean puled his bow out and readied an arrow as Gale gripped her sword handle. Cerulean saw one of the bags moving. His bag.

“Oh no.” He said as he put his bow and arrow away. “I hope it’s not what I think it is.” He walked up to the bag and opened it. A familiar dragon’s head popped out of the sack. “Creator damn it.”

“What in the name of Tartarus is that?” Arbor said not sheathing his blade. Sunset, Amber and Nix came over to see what the commotion was about. 

“It’s my pet dragon. A dragon who is a lo of trouble.” He said as he picked Lapis up by the scruff of her neck.

I didn’t want to be alone! Lapis whined.

“I thought my bag was heavier when I left.” Cerulean sighed.

“Where the hell did you get a dragon?” The farmer asked sheathing his knives.

“Long story.” Gale glared at Cerulean.

“We’re on a dangerous mission filled with danger, bandits and who knows what kind of wildlife, and you brought a baby dragon?”

“I didn’t mean-”

“It’s actually rather smart.”

“What?” The others said in unison.

“Dragons have heightened sight, smell and hearing. They’re excellent hunters even ones as young as her.”

“I’m smart.” Cerulean said with a hint of pride. Everyone else only face palmed and sighed. 

“Just keep that thing away from my crops.” Lapis stuck her tongue out at the farmer.

Rude. Sunset got a fire going and Cerulean started making some stew with Nix’s help. It was a simple stew with some carrots, potatoes, onions and Manticore meat. The evening sky soon turned dark and the stars were shining.

“Never seen the sky so clear.” Sunset commented. “The lights from Ponyville and Solaris are usually so bright that it makes it difficult to see.”

“What’s Solaris?” Cerulean asked.

“It’s where I’m from. It’s on the southern most tip of Equestria. Practically on the equator.”

“Blistering heat and humidity. Great.” Cerulean shuddered.

“Beats being cold.” Amber said before taking a spoonful of stew into her mouth.

“Yeah, how far up north are you from?” Gale asked. Cerulean walked over to the wagon and pulled out a map of Equestria.

“Let’s see. Ponyville is here.” He pointed at the small town bellow the mountain of Canterlot. He moved his hand north towards the Crystal Empire, but didn’t stop till he was just on the edge of the map. “Zircon is right here.”

“Really off the grid. Doesn’t even show up on the map.” Gale said.

“We like our privacy.” He said as Lapis jumped up on his shoulder.

“Hey fire spitter, why’d you freeze up when those punks jumped us?” Nix said glaring at the fire mage. Sunset hung her head and stared at her bowl.

“I panicked.” She said in defeat. 

“You panicked?” Nix said with a raised eyebrow.

“Leave her alone shrimp. Girl just isn’t used to people wanting to kill her.” Amber said as she glared at Nix. The alchemist grunted and went back to her meal.

“Hey I didn’t sign on to kill people. Beat them senseless maybe, but nor kill.” Cerulean said. “But maybe you should learn how to defend yourself properly.” The mage shot a glare at him.

“I can defend myself just fine!” There was a rustling in the bushes behind her and she shot a fire spell while the others put a hand on their weapons. Amber walked over, fists ready to bash who or whatever it was, that was spying on them. She parted the bushed and shook her head.

“Nice one Sunny, you caught a rabbit.” She held up a rabbit that had fur white as snow with a little bit of it’s back right leg singed. Sunset immediately started fussing over hurting the defenseless animal.

Rabbit stew anyone? Lapis suggested as she drooled at the mouth.

“Cut the waterworks Sunset. I’ll handle this.” He took the rabbit from Amber and set it down on the ground in the light of the fire. “The rodent isn’t dead. It’s just stunned from your magic blast, but it won’t get far on that leg.” Cerulean took out his canteen and moved his hands around the container. Water slowly came out of the container and seemed to move with his hands.

The archer’s hands were soon coated in the liquid and pressed them against the burn on the rabbit’s leg. The wound glowed and the burn slowly started to fade. The rabbit snapped out of it’s stunned state and scurried off into the woods. “A wasted opportunity for some meat.” Nix huffed. 

“What the heck was that?” Arbor said.

“Just a little healing trick my dad taught me. Works well on small burns and cuts.” He shrugged.

“I’ve had enough weirdness for one day. I’m going to bed.” Nix said as she walked over to her sleeping pad and laid down.

“I’ll take first watch.” Cerulean said sitting back down and the dragon sitting in his lap. As the rest laid down to sleep, Cerulean couldn’t shake the feeling he was being watched from afar.
> Chapter VII: Among Thieves and Troupers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter VII

Among Thieves and Troupers


The group broke camp early the next day and got a move on towards their destination. Thankfully the sky didn’t have a cloud in the sky and everything was quiet. The wagon wheels clacked against a few stones in the dirt road. Lapis kept on the archer’s shoulder and occasionally spread her wings and yawned. 

So tired. Cerulean rolled his eyes at the comment. Amber was in a similar situation as she trudged along beside him. Sunset was sitting beside Arbor on the wagon while Nix sat in the back with a book in her hands. Gale walked behind the wagon her hand resting on the handle of her blade. 

The wheels clicked along the dirt road as they passed by rivers and lakes. Lapis’s head suddenly shot up and looked around while growling. Cerulean motioned for the wagon to stop and the guild members went on alert. “See something?” Gale asked as she walked in front of the wagon. Cerulean gestured to the growling dragon.

“I’m going to scout ahead for a bit, you fly around and see if you can see anything. Amber, go left then circle around. I’ll meet you halfway.” The fox girl saluted while Sunset and Nix looked at one another.

“What about us?” Nix said as she glared at the man.

“You two stay with the cart. Someone has to protect this thing.” He said turning his back and Lapis hopped off after Cerulean whispered something to the baby dragon.

“But-“ Sunset’s protest wasn’t heard as Gale took to the skies and the other two disappeared into the bushes. Sunset sat back down and huffed as she crossed her arms. 

“Where does he get off ordering us around like that?” Nix grumbled to herself. Sunset only shrugged at the comment not giving it much mind. The dragon then jumped up into the cart beside Nix who nudged her away with her foot like you would a puppy who was thinking on gnawing on your shoes. Lapis hissed and found a cool corner in the cart to nap in. The three waited for over an hour and while none of them said it, worry was slowly starting to creep into their minds. 

The canvas suddenly tore open as an arrow buried it’s iron head into the wood beside Sunset’s shoulder. The two girls sprung into action and jumped out of the cart to see two arrows shot out from a few branches a few feet away from the path. Sunset raised her staff and the arrows broke against a barrier clothed in flames. A few figures wearing dark hoods charged at them. Nix slammed her hands on the dirt in front of her and the ground sprouted up in the shape of fists to pelt one of the attackers. After he lost his footing, two large hands made of rock sprouted from the ground and clamped around the man. The others in the group veered off and went straight for the cart and the farmer. Suddenly, one of them was tackled to the ground by Amber as she shot out of the bushes like a bolt from a crossbow.

After getting to his feet, the man pulled a long jagged dagger out from under his cloak before trying to bring the blade down onto her. She caught the man’s wrist and slammed her free hand into his jaw. The man spat a tooth out and attempted to slash at the woman’s stomach. The fox girl charged in and lashed out with a series of kicks and punches. Each hit their mark on the assailant’s chest. With a final hard kick, the thug crashed against a tree and fell unconscious.

Another man had a longsword drawn and had his sights on the farmer who was throwing more of his knives. Some of them just missing their mark by a hair. With blinding speed, Gale came down from the skies with her blade drawn. She eyed the bandit and tightened her grip on her blade’s handle. The man slashed at Gale who parried several blows and used her natural thick scales to protect the few slashes that managed to slip through. Her blade crackled with lightning and ended up breaking her opponent’s blade before the magic shocked him and he crumpled to the round in a pile.

Sunset pointed her staff at the rushing bandit and shot several fire balls at him while she waved her free hand over her head. The assailant dodged them and closed in close on the cart. Sunset smiled as he stepped on the trap she’d set. The ground glowed with runes and exploded in shining sparks of flames, sending the man flying backwards. During the confusion, Cerulean saw the arrows coming from a nearby tree top. He shot two ice arrows that hit their mark and he heard the archer’s shouts of pain as they fell from the tree. He shot one more arrow that buried itself in the attacker’s ankle and was pinned to the tree.

“Well, that’s one way to start the morning.” Amber said as she tossed the man she’d beaten up in a pile with the rest. Once they were all gathered Nix bound them together the ground to immobilize them. The alchemist marched up to Cerulean and slapped him across the face.

“What the hell was this about?” She yelled as Cerulean steadied himself. “Where did you three run off to?” Cerulean rubbed his stinging cheek that now had a red hand print that was vibrant against his pale skin.

“These guys have been tailing us since this morning, maybe even yesterday.” The other members  had now gathered to listen. “I wasn’t gonna wait for them to get the drop on us, so I set a trap.”

“And you didn’t think to tell us because?” Sunset put her hands on her hips and stared at him incredulously.

“You can’t have a trap without bait and you two looked just harmless enough to fit the bill.” The two women and farmer glared at him with angry eyes. “If they’d seen me, Gale or Amber around then they would have waited or gone to get more of their friends.” He gestured to the five beaten bandits. 

“What if you’d missed?” Nix huffed. Cerulean thought long and hard as if the possibility had never even occurred to him. He answered with a shrug that made Nix’s blood boil. Gale then stepped forwards.

“While I don’t agree with the method, we learned quite a bit from this little plan.” Sunset looked at her quizzically. “They seemed more concerned with the cart than us. That means that they’re not just bandits or highwaymen. They were looking for something,” She shot a glance to Arbor. “or someone.” All heads turned to look at the farmer who had a confused look on his face.

“Me? What would they want with me?”

“That I don’t know.” She walked over and picked up one of the knives he threw at the attackers. “I also don’t know why you have these high quality blades either.” He held it in front of him. “These knives are pure griffonian steel. It is strange to come by in these parts and very difficult to forge. To have as many as you do must have cost you quite a lot.”

“How much?” Nix asked as she eyed the knife.

“Unless you he’s growing a tree that has leaves of silver, I can’t see how you could afford all of them.” Arbor felt a small bead of sweat form on his brow.

“Not to mention you seem pretty good with them.” Amber said as she remembered the times he threw them at their attackers. 

“I play a lot of games like that on the farm to help pass the time.” He said as he folded his arms. The mention of the farm made something in Nix’s mind click. She flashed a look at Cerulean who had the same look on his face.

“You said you grew Sage-foot.” Arbor gave a slow nod. Unsure of where nix was going with her exclamation. “Sage-foot only grows in high altitude climate like on the edge of cliffs or high hills and any farmer with a half a wit in their head will tell you that it has no medicinal properties. It’s useless, most people just feed it t their livestock.” The farmer gulped nervously as the group all eyed him.

The man that Amber had bloodied started chuckling to himself. “Interlopers, the lot of you,” He said glaring at the group. “we were paid to reclaim what was taken.” 

“Taken?” Sunset asked as she fixed her eyes on Arbor who was looking more and more nervous. The group heard a loud screech come from the cart.

You better come and see this! Lapis cried out. Cerulean walked over to the back of the cart and saw the dragon sniffing at several bags. She then slashed the bag open with her claws and rice started spilling out. Cerulean got in the cart and saw something sparkling in the white grains. He reached his hand in and pulled out several gold coins. He dug deeper and there were more coins than he could count.

The girls walked over and Nix’s jaw dropped as she jumped into the cart and started going through the bags. Arbor slowly started to step back away from the group. Gale clamped a firm scaled hand on his shoulder and pushed him against the side of the cart. “Talk, now.” She said in a commanding tone. Arbor gulped as she snarled and showed her large canines. Amber cracked her fingers and Sunset was glaring at the man with her hand on her staff.

“Okay, okay fine.” He said as he cleared his throat. “I’m not a farmer. I’m just a guy trying to start a new life.”

“Where’d you get all that money and supplies?” Sunset said as she narrowed her eyes.

“I came across a dig cite a few weeks back loaded to the brim with gold and other things. The whole place was deserted so I helped myself.” He said as he rubbed his head. “I bought the supplies off a trader and the knives off of some griffonian mercenaries and they taught me how to use them.”

“What dig site?” Sunset asked. Arbor shrugged.

“Some random place in the West. I forget where, but the whole place felt,” He paused as if trying to find the right word to describe it. “wrong.” He shivered.

“How so?” Gale asked as she quirked an eyebrow.

“It was like everyone left right in the middle of eating. The fires were still burning and there was warm food on the plates. Then everything started burning, like a wild fire just broke out in the middle of camp and there was something weird about the flames.” The group looked at him expectantly. “The flames in the fires were black as night, some were purple too.” There was some shuffling in the cart and Cerulean came out carrying a box.

“What the hell is this thing?” He asked as he looked at the box. It was a pristine black yet it was not made out of metal. Cerulean could feel the grains of wood under his fingers. The lid was held shut by a large silver lock.

“Don’t know, just found it in one of the tents.” Arbor shrugged.

“What is inside?” Gale asked as she eyed the container. He gave another shrug.

“I broke all my lock picks trying to get the blasted thing open.” Cerulean put his had on the lock and ice started to form around and inside the lock. He could hear the metal starting to creak as the ice started to expand. Suddenly, magical shapes and  lines glowed red on the box’s surface and the ice shattered as the archer yelped in surprise and dropped the box.

“What?” Sunset asked as she saw him shaking his hand as if it were just burned.

“It stung me!” He said shaking his hand. “Feels like it went numb.” Sunset crouched down and looked at the fading marks.

“These are ward marks.” She said as she rubbed her fingers along the glowing runes. “I think this can only be opened by the key it was made for.”

“And before you even ask, no, I don’t have it.” Arbor said crossing his arms. Cerulean eyed the box and felt a cold shiver run down his spine.

“Let us not worry about it.” Gale said in a matter of fact tone. “We have more pressing matters.” She turned back to the farmer. “Like what to do with you.” Arbor gulped as he felt the dragoness’ gaze on him.

“Look, I know I lied to you, but if you help me get to where I’m going, then I’ll let you each take a bit of the gold I got on top of what the mission cost.” Nix’s eyes grew wide at the thought. Cerulean closed his eyes and let out a breath.

“Conference!” He said as if he were a judge calling the court to order.  He walked behind the wagon as the others followed. He went over to Lapis and pointed to the man. “If he tries to run, then bite his leg.” Arbor gulped as the small dragon showed him her razor sharp teeth. The five guild members stood in a circle. “What do you guys think?”

“I say we take the deal.” Nix said in a firm tone. “We’re already halfway there. Might as well finish the job with some extra coin in our pockets.”

“What about the fact that he lied to us since we met him?” Sunset pointed out. Nix just shrugged.

“So what? We’re not being paid to trust him, just make sure he gets to where he’s going.” Amber rubbed the back of her head before speaking up.

“As much as I hate to say it, I agree with the pipsqueak.” Nix furrowed her brow at the fox eared girl. “We’ll probably get triple of what the job request was. Cut that four ways? That’s enough to pay for three month’s rent with some to spare.”

“Oh no, don’t tell me you’ve picked up her money grubbing habit.” Cerulean said as he pointed a finger at Nix.

“The sooner one of us gets enough money, the sooner one of us can move out and get out of the other’s hair.” Amber said. “I’m willing to compromise if it gets me some peace and quiet.” Gale leaned against the cart and shook her head.

“I do not like this.” Gale said in her draconic accent as she crossed her arms. “He’s hidden much from us already. Who knows what else he’s hiding.” She said as she looked inside the cart. “He could have stolen that money from a duke or a town. I say we turn back, bring him with us and let the Princess decide on what to do with him.” Cerulean bit his lip and gave a nod.

“I agree with Gale. There are too many unknowns. I signed on to protect him from idiot bandits and wild animals, not professional killers.” He shifted his gaze back over to the black box. “There’s something weird about that box too. Why such a strong lock and wards to protect it?”

“Because there’s obviously something valuable inside,” Nix said in a bland tone.

“Or something dangerous,” Cerulean stated as he turned to Sunset who was glaring at the box. “You felt it too?”

“I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s definitely something odd about it.”

“Well, it seems we’re at a disagreement.” Nix said in a snooty tone. All eyes turned to Sunset for the tie breaker. The fire mage twiddled her fingers and weighed all the options. 

“You think they’ll be more of those bandits?” She looked at the veteran guild member.

“Probably and there’s a good chance they’ve laid a few surprises in store for us.” Gale stated. “We also don’t know how many there are. These five could just be scouts while the other twenty are waiting for us down the road.”

“You don’t know that.” Amber protested.

“It’s what I’d do if I were in their shoes.” Cerulean said. “By now they’ve probably guessed where we’re going and once they find out their friends haven’t come back they’ve assumed the worst and will make things even more difficult for us.” Sunset pondered the words and thought carefully. After a span of minutes she finally let out a sigh and made her decision.

“Let’s turn back.” She said in a reluctant tone. “We aren’t properly equipped to deal with a full band of organized bandits or whatever sort of traps they have in store for us.” Cerulean and Gale nodded as Nix gritted her teeth and Amber kicked some dirt with her boot.

“You three can go back, I’m finishing this.” Nix piped up.

“Oh sure, by all means go and fight a whole company of bandits with just Amber to help you.” The fox girl frowned at Cerulean’s mocking tone. “That is if you two don’t throttle each other first. You two have been like cats and dogs since you met and it’s only because of Sunset and my intervention that you haven’t killed each other yet.” Gale then stepped forwards with a serious look on her face.

“Once we get back I’ll have report you two to the guild master and believe me, she won’t be pleased that you two went off on your own.” Gale said in a serious tone. That made the color form Amber’s face drain away.

“I’m changing my vote.” Amber said as she held up a hand and stepped next to Cerulean and Gale. 

“Traitor,” Nix hissed as she glared at Amber.

“Bandits are one thing, but I do not want to get on the bad side of a Princess who can control the moon with her mind.” Outnumbered four to one, Nix hung her head in defeat and agreed with the rest of the group. The group went back to where Arbor and Lapis were having a stare down. The dragon was positioned like a cat about to pounce on a mouse and although she was still small, her teeth would go through the man’s leg like a hot knife through butter.

“Pack it up, we’re going back to the guild.” Gale barked at the robber. He was about to protest but was shut down as Gale put a hand on her sword. “If you won’t come willingly, then we’ll drag you back.” He closed his mouth and hung his head in defeat. There was a sudden outburst from Cerulean and the others went around the other side of the wagon to see the man inspecting the now empty space were the bandits had previously occupied.

“How’d they’d get loose?”

“Must have been when We were taking a vote.” Nix said in a vexed tone as she looked at Cerulean. “Great, now they know what we plan to do.”

“For all we know they didn’t hear the end of our discussion, they could still think we’re forging ahead.” Sunset stated. “By the time they figure out whats happened, we’ll already be back to the guild, if not close.” Cerulean gave her a nod and the group head back the way they came. Most of the trip was spent in silence Gale hovered a little above the cart while the rest of the group waited inside.

They passed the camp they’d made the previous night by mid afternoon and made camp soon after. Tension was still high by the time dinner came around. The silence was so thick you could hack at it with a butcher’s cleaver. Amber finally broke the silence with a loud groan. “I’m bored!” She exclaimed as she threw her arms up in the air. “Someone better do something soon or I’m gonna go ballistic.”

Everyone looked at one another. They had only talked of small things before their encounter with the bandits and found out about Arbor’s origins. The thief cleared his throat. 

“I have an old lute in the back, but I can’t play it.” Cerulean turned to look at the man. A small glimmer was shining in his eye.

“Mind if I give it a shot?” It’s always customary to ask a musician, even a beginner, to hold their instrument. Arbor gave him a nod. Cerulean’s eyes widened and he quickly went to the cart. The group all looked at one another as they heard him rummaging before he gave a cry of victory. He cam back to the fire place holding a seven string lute. It was made out of fine brown wood and the strings looked new. He started to tune the instrument when Gale spoke up. 

“Do you really think that’s a good idea? You’ll lead the bandits right to us.” Cerulean nodded in understanding and set the lute down before he went through his travel sack and pulled out several wads of cloth and stuffed it inside the lute’s bowl. He strummed the strings and the sound became muffled. Not muffled enough to mute it, but enough so that the sound wouldn’t carry anywhere beyond a few feet from the camp.

Once he was done he picked up the lute and finished tuning it. “Fair warning, I’m a bit rusty. Any requests?” He said as he looked around the camp.

“Can you play the Merchant’s March?” Amber asked. Cerulean grinned. The Merchant’s March was older than the founding of Equestria, maybe even Celestia herself.  He cracked his knuckles and strummed the instrument’s strings. Notes rang out in a harmonious symphony. The tale was about a traveling merchant who walked all over the world selling his various goods.

The original lyrics to the song had long since been lost or forgotten, so many people just made up their own verses to it. Cerulean told a version where the merchant had an unfortunate encounter with a troll, but he managed to trick him by giving him a box filled with sunlight and when the troll opened it, he was turned into stone.

Once the song was done, Amber cheered while Sunset, Gale and Arbor gave a few claps while Nix just stared at him in disbelief. Cerulean walked over to Arbor handing him his lute back. “Keep it. I could never figure out how to play the blasted thing.”

“Thank you for the generous offer, but I already have one and I if I were to take yours, it’d feel like I was cheating on it.” He said in an embarrassed tone.

“You make it sound like you’re talking about a woman.” Gale said in her heavy draconian accent. Cerulean gave the lute back to Arbor before turning to face Gale.

“Listen, the bond between a musician and their instrument is a sacred thing. Some would even say more sacred than between lovers.” He thought for a moment. “Legend says that the great Clef Tenor was buried with all his instruments so that he could play his music to the wandering souls and they’d find their way to the afterlife.” Clef Tenor was a legendary traveling performer. He could play any instrument and had a voice so sweet it would calm a stormy sea. He could make a heart made of ice break and could swoon any woman by just playing a few notes from one of his many instruments. Arbor nodded.

“I think I heard an old story teller say the same thing in some tavern.” Cerulean sat back down and Sunset spoke up.

“Where’d you learn to play?”

“Well, when I was six I broke my leg and was bedridden for over a month. My options were either go mad with boredom or find a hobby. I picked up my dad’s old lute and the rest is history.” He shrugged and he noticed that Nix had been staring at him the whole time.

“I get it now,” She said as she squinted at him. “you’re one of those traveling troupers aren’t you?” The camp went quiet and all eyes turned towards Cerulean who’s mouth was now a thin line. Traveling troupers were not the most popular people in the more populated areas of Equestria.

“I was born into the White Wolf Traveling Troupe.” He said in a stern tone. Nix lifted her cup of tea to her lips.

“So you’re a wandering vagabond.” As he lips touched her cup she felt a burning sensation and piercing cold. She looked down and saw that her once warm tea was now a block of ice that her lips were now stuck to. She was about to glare at Cerulean but stopped when she saw his hard teal eyes focused on her.

“Why is it that the shorter someone is, the bigger mouth they have?” Nix narrowed her eyes on the man and tried to say something very un-lady like. Cerulean pointed a finger at the girl. “Listen here you little slip stick, the next time you call me vagabond I’ll freeze you to a tree and leave you out for bears to snack on. Got it?” Nix grunted at the man. “I’ll take that as a yes.” He waved his hand and her frozen block of tea returned to liquid form.

“Not for nothing,” Arbor said piping up. “but I’ve herd some concerning rumors about those kind of troupes.” He shivered as Cerulean fixed his gaze on him.

“Let me make this clear to everyone,” His tone was sharp enough to cut through tempered steel. “we don’t meddle with dark magic, we don’t kidnap children, and we don’t steal. To do that would go against everything being a trouper stands for.”

“And what does it mean to be a trouper?” Sunset asked trying to calm the situation. Cerulean took in a deep breath and exhaled.

“It means we breath the free air. We go where we want, when we want and if we meet some weary travelers along the way, we invite them to share out fire and revel in our songs and stories. Most people start those rumors because they don’t understand or have their noses pointed so high that their heads are stuck straight up.” He huffed.

“I agree.” Amber stated. “I spent some time with a troupe when I was traveling and they were really nice.” That got Cerulean’s attention.

“Which troupe?” He inquired. Amber rubbed her head as she tried to remember.

“The name escapes me, I was only with them for a few nights, but man did they know how to throw a party.” She smirked.

“Thank you.” Cerulean said before he gazed at the fire. “I’m turning in, we got a long day of walking tomorrow.” He said as he walked over to his spread and laid down with Lapis curling up beside him. “Wake me up when it’s my turn to watch.”


~~~


Several miles away the bandits who had been beaten by the guild members waited in a tent with ashen faces and sweat on their foreheads. They sat before four figures wearing thick black cloaks and their features were hidden by the shadows cast from the fire light. “You failed?”   One of the figures said in a deep tone.

“The thief had help sir.”

“How many?” The figure on the far left asked. The bandits looked at one another and gulped.

“Five.” The bandit leader said meekly.

“Only five?” The third figure said in a condescending tone. One of the bandits got to their feet and glared at the four cloaked figures.

“You said they’d just be idiot Canterlot Guards, not mages!” The four shifted their gaze to the now standing bandit. The bravado left him and he sat back down.

“This is why I told you we shouldn’t have hired them.” The other figure said.

“We know where they’re going,” The leader spoke up again. “they’re going back the way they came. I guess the guy didn’t tell them what he was really carrying.” He said with a gulp. “We won’t fail you again sirs.” The cloaked figure in the middle stood up. 

He stood at seven feet tall and his face was completely covered in shadow. The bandit leader felt something cold and dark grip his body. His feet felt as if they were rooted to where he stood. The shadowed one stretched out an armored hand. “No, you will not.” With a sharp turn of his wrist, the five bandit’s necks let out a loud snap and they crumpled to the ground lifelessly. 

The tall figure turned to the other three who sat motionless. “Talis, Siren,” The figures on the left dropped to one knee and bowed. “you will retrieve what was taken.”

“It shall be done my lord.” The larger one answered with a twisted pleasure in his voice. The leader turned to the figure on the right.

“Shax, you will burn the bodies and cover our tracks.” He nodded and he piled the bandit’s corpses onto the fire. He waved his hands over the fire and the flames turned a dark purple. Within an hour the only thing that remained of the five fools was white ash. The tall man then approached the hulking Talis. “No mistakes this time.” He hissed.

“I won’t fail you sir.” The mountain of shadow stated in a decisive tone.

“Good,” He said as he turned. “you know what happens if you do.”
> Chapter VII: Flame and Shadow
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter VIII

Flame and Shadow


The guild members got up early and quickly packed up their things and start on the road. Nix was still angry with Cerulean for the incident around the fire pit and Cerulean ignored her glares for the most part. Gale kept flight overhead or walked beside the cart while the rest rode inside. Arbor let out a sigh and looked back at the guild members. “I’m sorry,” He began causing them to look up. “for lying to you I mean. I haven’t had an easy life and when I saw all that money just sitting there,” He shook his head. “I figured my luck had finally change.” Gale touched down and walked next to the cart.

“Apologizing won’t change our decision,” She said bluntly. A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, but she turned her head away from the man. “but thank you and it will your case knowing you agreed to come back willingly.” Sunset looked out in front of the cart and her eyes widened in shock.

“Stop the cart!” She yelled as she gripped Arbor’s shoulder. He pulled on the reigns roughly and the horses came to a sudden halt that made the other’s stumble. Gale toppled on top of Cerulean with Nix on top of her. 

“What’s the big idea?” Nix yelled as she stood up. Sunset walked out of the cart with the others following. She stared at the ground as if she were looking for something she lost. 

“There!” She pointed her finger at a patch of earth ten feet in front of the cart. She shot a small fireball from her fingers and the patch of earth exploded upwards. The horses were startled and neighed.

“Someone’s put magic seals here.” The guild members all put their guard up. Sunset took in a deep breath and focused her magic. Her stomach dropped when the entire road in front of them was laid with more of the mines. “We can’t get through this way!” Amber’s ears twitched and she turned towards the side of the road.

Talis stepped out of the trees wearing his dark cloak. “Who are you?” Amber yelled out as the others turned to face the new threat.

“Who I am is of no concern of yours, what I want is another matter.” The voice was deep and grim. An armored hand pointed to the cart. “Return what was taken and I will make your deaths as painless as possible.”

“Tempting offer, but I’m afraid I’ll have to decline.” Cerulean said as he pulled out both his axes. The stranger reached inside their cloak and pulled out a large double edged sword. If it could even be called that, the blade alone was taller and wider than Talis. The metal was black as night and seemed to match the armor on his hand. The sword was more like a massive piece of sharped metal. Talis pointed the sword with one hand at the group.

“So be it.” He raised his sword and brought it down. A bright line of magic erupted from the edge. The group quickly dodged the blow, but the horses were not so lucky. The slash cut through them like a knife through cheese. In the blink of an eye the stranger was in front of Sunset with her sword over her head. As she brought her blade down, Sunset made a barrier in front of her. The barrier was cut down as if it were no stronger than paper. Amber then charged in and went to lad a right hook.

Talis simply reached out a hand and caught her wrist. Amber tried to wiggle free, but the man’s grip was like an iron lock. Talis applied more pressure and Amber cried out in pain as she felt her metal gauntlet starting to bend and dig into her skin. Talis raised his sword just as the ground from underneath him opened up and pieces of rock went flying. He released Amber’s wrist and jumped up high into the air.

He turned his head to see Gale ready with her sword, it’s blade crackling with electricity. Once again Talis raised the massive cleaver as Gale brought down her blade. Talis was thrown to the ground by the force of the blow, yet landed on his feet, barely a scratch on him. Talis laughed in a low cruel voice. Cerulean shot several arrows at him which were deflected with ease. Talis slashed at the air and the arrows were cut before they got within three feet of the man.

Once again Talis vanished from sight and the group was on the defensive. Cerulean turned as he felt a hard fist crash into his chest. The blow sent him flying through the cart and into the woods beside the road. Nix pulled out her batons and started shooting out purple bolts of magic at Talis. He batted them aside as if they were nothing more than flies. He reached out and wrapped his fingers around her face and picked her up. 

Nix clapped and pressed her hands on his arm. Purple sparks flew and the shadows vanished revealing an arm covered in dark armor. Talis slammed Nix’s had into the hard earth several times before her body went limp. He tossed her aside just as Gale charged with her blade. Talis caught the sharp edge with one armored hand. Gale let go of the sword handle and slammed her scaled fist into his face. 

Talis’s face jerked to the left as her fist collided with the side of his face. He hissed as she whirled around to land a kick. Talis wrapped his hand around her leg three inches in front of his face. He gave a hard twist and a loud snapping sound filled the air accompanied by a pained cry from the draconian. Talis went to throw her, but her wings flared and she balanced herself on her good leg. The right one was twisted in an unnatural way. 

Talis charger at her and gripped her arm as she tried to get another punch on him. With another quick movement, he broke her right arm before kneeing her in the stomach. Gale dropped to the ground and vomited blood. Talis was then tackled to the ground by Amber who started smashing her fists into his face and chest. Talis grunted and caught both of her fists before forcing her off him. He gripped her wrists roughly and went to slam his head against her’s. Amber moved swiftly and slipped out of her gauntlets and backed away as his head came forwards. Amber then slammed her bare fist into his gut and grunted in pain as she felt her fist hit hard metal.

Amber looked to see the attacker stagger back, then toss her gauntlets aside and started wailing on her with his armored hands. Her world became one of pain as fist after fist collided with her face, chest and stomach. She crumpled to the ground and could barely move. He was about to step on her neck when a large fireball crashed into his back. He grunted in pain to see Sunset with her staff glowing and tears in her eyes. She let loose a volley of fire and rage at Talis. 

He pulled out his sword and deflected the blasts away from him as he made his way closer to the fire mage. Sunset reached out and pulled the three injured women closer to her. She then put all her concentration into making a massive firewall separating him from them. Talis simply walked through the flames as if it was nothing more than a warm breeze. The shadows surrounding him were burned away revealing jet black armor and a helm that looked like death. 

She fired off more and more fireballs as he wrapped a hand around her throat and squeezed. Sunset was gasping for air and could feel his grip tighten as she continued to struggle. “Stop!” Arbor yelled as he came out with the black box. Talis seemed to focus on the box and Sunset gasped for breath. “This is what you want right? Let them go and you can have it.” He gulped. “They got nothing to do with this!” Talis looked at the box and then back to Sunset and tilted his armored head to the side before dropping her.

Sunset hit the ground and grabbed her staff as Talis walked over to Arbor and stared at him, he could see the shine of sweat on his brow and the fear in his eyes. Talis leaned forwards and Arbor could hear him sniff like a dog would to another dog.

“You stink of fear.” The gruff seething voice said. Arbor gulped and eld out the box to the man. Talis ripped the box from Arbor’s hands and inspected it for any signs of damage. He chuckled and put the box underneath one of his massive arms.

“So,” Arbor said as he felt the sweat starting to seep through his clothes. “do we have a deal?” Talis looked back at the man and laughed.

“Yes,” He hissed as he put out his hand to shake. Suddenly, every survival sense he had told him to duck. In an instant he was flat on the ground just as an ice arrow past overhead and buried itself in Talis’s helm through one of the horizontal slots. The hulking man cried out in pain as he staggered back and dropped to one knee as he dropped the box. Arbor looked behind him to see Cerulean standing with another arrow drawn.

“Get the others!” He hollered. Arbor scrambled to his feet as Cerulean shot three more arrows into the man. Two into each shoulder joint and the third shattered against the breast plate. Arbor got over to Sunset where she was checking on, Gale, Nix and Amber. Despite the pain, Gale was still conscious, but barely. Arbor checked Nix and Amber’s vitals and breathed a sigh of relief when he realized they were still alive.

Talis roared and pulled the shards of ice from his body. Talis pulled off his dented helmet to show his snow white skin and shaved head. His left eye was shut and bloodied from his arrow and his right cheek was bruised from Gale’s punch from earlier. What was most striking was his right eye, the iris was a dark shade of orange and the surrounding part that was supposed to be white was pitch black.

He tossed the helmet aside and charged at Cerulean. The archer let several arrows fly that the man deflected with his arms or dodged. Cerulean kept firing and ran off the road away from the wrecked cart. Talis followed him into the trees in a blind rage. Talis kept after him and jumped down into a narrow river bed. He turned to see Cerulean grinning like a cat as he made a large ice arrow and let it fly from the bow. 

Talis simply moved his shoulder and the arrow flew past him. “I am going to take you apart piece by piece boy.” The grin didn’t leave Cerulean’s face as he pointed behind the armored man. Talis turned and saw the water around his legs starting to freeze. The frost slowly creeping up his legs and around his neck. He turned his head to see that the archer was gone.

Cerulean dashed back through the trees and knew that wouldn’t stop the hulking mass of muscle for long. He quickly got back to the road and dashed to the cart on it’s side. As he turned he saw Sunset gripping her staff and Arbor with one of his knives out. The two relaxed as they saw the man and they lowered their weapons.

“Did you get him?” Sunset asked in a panicked tone.

“No, just slowed him down.” He as he knelt down next to Gale and set his hand on her injured arm. Gale cursed as he encased it ice.

“Gale, can you still hold a sword?” Gale bit her lip and nodded before she gestured over to where it lay. Arbor ran out and grabbed it just as Talis ran out of the trees with his sword firmly gripped in hand. Arbor tossed Gale her sword as Cerulean shot more arrows at the man. He quickly deflected them as he started to charge. 

“Now!” He yelled as Lapis jumped out of bushes. Talis stopped his attack and just stared at the small dragon. He seemed mesmerized by it, so mesmerized that he didn’t notice the three arrows shooting over head. Two slammed into the man’s feet and froze him to the ground while the third buried itself in the man’s chest. 

The dragon then breathed a breath so cold it made Talis’s skin freeze and crack like dry clay. He slowly moved his leg as he tried to break free from the ice restraints. Lapis pulled back as a large bolt of lightning came down from the sky and struck him. He cried out in pain as the electricity shot through his system. He dropped to his hands and knees as he coughed up a torrent of black blood.

He looked up at the group and cursed violently. He saw his shadow on the ground and turned his head to see a large spell circle above him. He looked past Cerulean and saw Sunset focusing her magic with her staff raised. The air around him crackled and sputtered as he was encased in a pillar of flames. The fire roared on for several minutes before the flames subsided.

Sunset dropped to her hands and knees as she panted heavily. As the flames sputtered and died Cerulean cautiously approached the charred man. He grunted heavily as he heard Cerulean’s footsteps. “You are one tough bastard.” Cerulean said as he aimed an arrow at the man. Arbor walked over with the black box in his hands.

“What’s so important about this damn thing?” He yelled as Talis let out a low chuckle that soon grew into a loud menacing laugh. Cerulean felt something crash into his already damaged chest and flew onto his back. He looked forwards just in time to see a long sword pierce through Arbor’s chest. Sunset screamed as a tall man who’s face was wrapped in shadow held the blade. Cerulean tried to get up, but felt a metal boot press on his chest.

He looked up to see a shorter figure clothed in shadow. The taller man then looked towards Talis who was slowly getting to his feet.

“Thank you sir,” He was cut off as the tall man made a motion with his hand as though he were squeezing something. Talis dropped to his knees and clutched at his chest. “Lord Cinder?” He said through gasping breaths.

“Be silent.” Cinder hissed. “I will deal with you in a moment.” The feeling in the man’s chest grew tighter. He then pulled the sword out of Arbor’s back and Cerulean saw him trying to crawl away from the stranger. Sunset screamed again as he buried the blade through the farmer’s head. His clawing at the ground came to a sudden halt.

Cerulean struggled to get free as the one pinning him pulled out a rifle with a long bayonet and pointed it pointed right at his chest. The man flicked the blood from his blade on the ground and took one knee before muttering something almost as if he were praying. “Shax,” The fourth man gave a nod and Arbor’s body became wrapped in purple flames. The smell of burning flesh filled the air as Shax picked up the box that was at the burning man’s side. He examined it as if it were a piece of art before handing it to his master who reached inside his cloak and pulled out a large iron key. The metal was dull grey, but runes danced across the surface of it.

He inserted it into the lock and the loud sound of the lock opening echoed. Cinder opened the lid and he reached inside. He pulled out something that made Cerulean’s blood go cold. A large oval shape that was a deep maroon color, just like what he had found in the ashes of the black dragon he killed.

“I completed my mission sir.” Talis said as he still gasped for breath.

“Indeed you did Talis, however you went against my orders and attacked on your own.” Cinder said as he put the egg back in the box. “On top of that rather than dispensing them quickly, you drew it out and now look at you,” Cinder’s tone was cool and calm which made it all the more terrifying. “on the ground whimpering like the dog you are.” 

Talis bared his teeth as he grunted. “Dogs that can’t obey get put down.” Cinder twisted his hand and loud snapping sounds were accompanied by the large man screaming in agony. His chest plate burst open and a heart colored black flew into Cinder’s hand. Cinder looked down at his dead subordinate and shook his head. “Such a waste,” He said before he crushed the organ in his hand and the body was wrapped in purple flames.

Cinder turned his attention back to the guild members. His eyes narrowed. “Kill them.” He said in a calm tone. The one above Cerulean nodded and cocked the rifle, but before they could pull the trigger, Lapis latched her teeth into Siren’s arm. A cry let out as her shot missed Cerulean’s head, but her bayonet dug into his shoulder. Cerulean kicked Siren's feet out and rolled away. Cinder and Shax were frozen as they glared at the tiny blue dragon who stood to protect her owner.

“So, the dragon blood still flows.” Cinder mused to himself. “Take the boy and his pet, kill the rest.” Shax pulled out a long handled mace and stood next to Siren as Cerulean got to his feet clutching his heavily bleeding shoulder. Hot air started to billow at his back and the wind seemed to tear at the trio’s cloaks. Cerulean and Lapis turned around to see Sunset, levitating off the ground while flames poured out of her eyes and mouth.

The fire encircled her entire body as the fire singed the trees and the cart started to catch fire. The killer’s cloaks turned to ash and both henchmen were blown back while their master stood tall against the inferno. The flames danced and whipped at his shadows which seemed to be eating up the fire. Sunset started to chant an incantation a tongue foreign to Cerulean. With a blinding flash of red light, the sorceress and her companions vanished. 

After a long moment Cinder clicked his tongue and huffed. “Shall we go after them sir?” Shax asked eager to ease his master’s temper. “They can’t have gotten far.”

“No, we must depart immediately.” He said in a firm tone. “We have what we came for and we must leave, else wandering eyes may turn to us.” Cinder waved his hand and a portal opened in front of the three. As he stepped inside, he couldn’t help but smile maliciously.
> Chapter IX: Patchwork and Wardens
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter IX

Patchwork and Wardens


Cerulean hit the ground hard and tumbled down an unfamiliar hillside lined with trees. He dug his hand into the earth to help slow his tumble, but it did little good against the loose forest soil. He came to a halt as the ground leveled out. He rolled onto his back and groaned in pain as he felt all the injuries he didn’t know he’d gotten burn and scream at him. He laid there for minutes on end and was about to nod off when he felt something wet drag across his face. He looked to his left to see Lapis looking at him with her head cocked to the side, wondering if he would wake up. He smiled as he saw the dragon’s face.

“Good girl,” He said as he scratched the middle of her head.

I know. She said as he slowly sat up. He took off his coat and tore it into strips of cloth before tying them around his armpit to cover the wound in his shoulder, he also froze it to stop the bleeding. He pulled his bow from his back and disassembled it back into his two axes and hung them at his sides.

“Let’s see if the others are around here.” Lapis nodded and trotted ahead through the thick green brush of the unfamiliar forest. Cerulean broke off a large branch and used it as a makeshift walking stick. He heard a familiar screech and hurried as quickly as he could towards Lapis. He soon came across the dragon and Amber who had bruises on almost every part of her stomach and chest. The fox girl was unconscious as Lapis nudged her head with her nose. 

Cerulean checked her pules and was relieved to find that she was alive. He groaned as he bent down and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. After walking through the brush for what felt like over an hour, making sure not to drop the girl on her head, he came across a small clearing in the trees and saw Gale facedown on the ground, her hand still gripping her sheathed sword. Cerulean set Amber down gently on the soft earth and did the same with the draconian before setting her damaged leg and arm in ice to keep it still.

Lapis came through the bushes with a familiar hair clip between her teeth. Cerulean followed the dragon and found Nix sprawled out on the ground, her face covered in bruises from the beating she had received from their attacker. He brought her back to camp and laid her beside Amber. It wasn’t long until Lapis came back with the fire sorceress’s location. Thankfully she had landed close to camp and on some soft moss. The area around her looked like someone had lit a roaring fire. Scorched earth and vegetation was all around her.

Cerulean carefully inspected her unconscious body and found that her skin was hot to the touch. He wrapped his hands in ice as he gently moved her body. Apart from some bruises from when she landed, she was fine, but refused to wake up. Once he got back to camp, he leaned against a tree and looked up at the green canopy of trees that shaded them from the sun. Eager to keep his mind off of what happened, Cerulean started gathering twigs and sticks for a fire. After it was lit, he started counting all the wounds he’d collected in the past few hours. 

He guessed he had at least three broken ribs and several bruises across his back from when Talis had kicked him through the wagon and a deep cut in his shoulder he’d gotten from the bayonet that had stuck him. Gale’s right arm and left leg were broken, or at the very least fractured. Amber and Nix both probably had concussions and several bruises across their bodies. Sunset’s condition remained a mystery to the man. Physically she was fine, but he couldn’t find the source of her fever or understand why she wouldn’t awaken. 

He threw away the notion of getting any sleep and instead found a suitable source of drinking water from a nearby stream. He tore up more of his and the girls’ clothing and used them for some makeshift bandages and rags. Cerulean also found some useful herbs he could use to dull his and the other’s pain when they woke up along with some other medicinal plants. He reached into his boot and pulled out a something wrapped in a bit of cloth. It was one of Arbor’s griffonian steel knives.

He set it near the flames and waited for it to glow orange hot. Cerulean took the burning piece of metal in ice wrapped hands and pulled back the cloth that covered the wound that was sealed by dry blood and ice. With a deep breath, he pressed the hot metal flat against his stab wound that seared shut. He cursed loudly as he tossed the blade into the dirt that sparked as the hot orange metal hit the earth. Normally he would have used him magic to seal the wound, but he didn’t have much of that left. After the pain had lessened, he got back to work.

Cerulean set up several sharpened sticks and a few traps around the campsite to ward away any animals that might come snooping along with a leaning shelter he made over the four unconscious girls out of some branches, leaves and twigs. He and Lapis stood guard over the four women for two days and two nights. It was late into the third night when Gale finally woke up. As soon as her eyes opened she was met with pain and the cold touch around her arm and leg that were encased in ice. “Easy,” Cerulean said as he crouched next to her. He put a hand on her back and helped her sit up straight. “you’ve been out of it for quite a while.”

“What happened, where are we?” She asked as she looked around and her eyes rested on the other three girls. “Are they?” She couldn’t form the last word.

“They’re alive. Just unconscious and have been that way for two days now,” He said as he reached into his pocket and  pulled out a few roots. “Here, chew on this, it’ll help numb the pain a bit.” She took the root and chewed it slowly, shivering at the foul taste. 

“I don’t know where we are.” He hadn’t strayed too far from the camp in case he needed to hurry back. “What’s the last thing you remember?” Gale rubbed her head and thought for a moment.

“I just called down the lightning on that,” She paused. “thing.” Cerulean sighed and told her what happened after they had seemingly defeated the assailant. Arbor’s death, the dragon egg inside the box and how Sunset had miraculously saved them. Gale slammed her good arm into the earth and cursed.

The bushes shook and Cerulean was on his feet in a second with both of his axes in hand ready for a fight. He set his weapons down when he saw it was Lapis dragging two frozen rabbits in her mouth. “Nice catch.” Cerulean said s he took the rabbits and started to gut and skin them. He used Arbor’s dagger to gut the small rodents. 

He ran a stick through them from end to end and set them over the fire to cook. Cerulean tossed Gale his canteen and she drank from it slowly. The cool water was a relief to her two day dry throat. The smell of the burning rabbits washed over the camp and it’s occupants. Amber’s eyes slowly opened and she let out a loud groan as her body let her feel every bruise and damaged piece of flesh.

“Welcome back from the brink.” Cerulean said as Amber slowly sat up. The fire light caught her face and Cerulean winced as he saw several black and blue marks across her stomach, chest and face.

“My everything hurts.” She said as she looked down at her pants that had been cut to just above her knees and her shirt covered no more skin than below her chest. Her brown vest was also gone as well, yet her hat remained somewhat intact. “What happened to my clothes?”

“I had to cut them up for our bandages.” He gestured to her arms and the other injuries the group shared. His clothes were in tatters as well, he had several days worth of stains and it was in torn in ways that would make Rarity’s face go pale and faint. Amber slowly moved closer to the fire and warmed her hands. “At least you’re awake now.”

Amber joined them in eating the rabbits as Cerulean explained what happened after she was knocked out. Her fox ears went flat against her head and she stared at the ground between her feet. Cerulean gazed wearily at the fire and he was starting to nod off. He’d been up for close to three days with almost no sleep. Gale noticed this as she ate and assured him he could rest while she took the watch. He didn’t argue. He laid his head down in a soft patch of earth and let sleep take him.

Cerulean could smell the fires, hear the screams of his friends and the only family he had ever known. He remembered the stinging cold of the snow against his face. He knelt down in the snow unable look away from the horrible scene. People being slaughtered and burned. More than anything he recalled the flames that lit his family’s tent and carts. Those purple flames that would never go out until nothing but ash remained. He could feel the heat on his skin and the flames lick at his face He looked down and he screamed as he burned.

His eyes shot open as he felt an incredible heat radiating on his back. He looked to his left and saw a massive torrent of fire covering Sunset’s body. Lapis was already breathing frost on her in an attempt to quell the flames. Amber was on the ground doubled over, whimpering softly. Thankfully Nix and Gale were out of danger from the blaze, but the draconian was just staring at the flames. Cerulean bolted to his feet and approached the inferno as frost came from his hands. The flames died back quickly and Sunset seemed unhurt. When the last of the surrounding flames were extinguished, he turned his attention to Amber who was now cursing and weeping.

“Let me see.” He said in a gentle tone as he knelt in front of her. She nodded and slowly spread out her hands for him and in the faint glow of the fire, Cerulean assessed the damage. Amber must have tried to smother the flames with her hands while they were still small and she now had second degree burns on her palms and fingers.

“How bad is it?” Gale asked as she limped over to the two.

“Not as bad as it could have been, but definitely not good.” He said as he looked at the girl’s raw hands. “What happened?”

“We don’t know.” Gale said. “One second, everything was fine and then the next it was a raging inferno.” She cast a look at the unconscious sorceress. “She used magic in her sleep.”

“This day just keeps getting better and better.” He said as Lapis walked over to them and she looked at amber’s hands.

Could one of us freeze them to help the pain? Lapis suggested.

“No, I can’t use my ice magic on them.” Cerulean stated.

“Why not?” Amber asked with tears in her eyes.

“Any kind of rapid change temperature to a body part could permanently damage your nerve endings or worse, we’d be forced to amputate it.” He said as he let go of her wrists.

“You’ve done this before?” Gale raised an eyebrow.

“Sort of, I knew someone who’s foot was frost bitten, so the idiot stuck it in the fire to try to get it warm. Not only did it burn him, several of his toes snapped off like dry twigs.” Amber gulped and her heart started pounding. Cerulean sighed and looked at her hands. “However, if we don’t do something then they could become infected and then we’ll have a whole slew of problems.”

“So what do we do?” Cerulean thought for a minute before he stood up with his canteen and went to the nearby stream and collected some water. Once he was by the fire again, he unscrewed the cap and moved his hand in long sweeping motions over the mouth piece. Slowly, water rose out of the canteen and he moved it close to the fire. Gale watched as some of the liquid slowly started to bubble.

Before it came to a boil, Cerulean pulled it away from the flames and the water slipped on his hands like a pair of gloves. The water was warm like a bath you’d soak in. He knelt down in front of Amber again and looked her in the eyes. “This is going to hurt,” He stated calmly. “but I need you to keep still while I try to slowly cool your hands down. Understand?” Amber gulped and looked down at her raw palms, she was next to useless without her hands. She looked back at Cerulean and nodded.

Cerulean slowly put his water covered hands on hers and Amber winced as she felt the lukewarm liquid on her burned skin. She clenched her teeth and whimpered as her tail thrashed around at the pain. The water slowly started to get cooler as the minutes went by. Cerulean pulled his hands back and panted heavily. Amber slowly flexed her fingers and winced. There was still a lot of pain in her hands, but definitely less than there was. “That’s the best I can do for now.” He panted. “Keep them covered with cloth, but let air get in every once in a while.

Amber nodded before wrapping her arms around him as best she could without touching her hands to his dirty clothes. “Thank you.” She said before giving him a small peck on the cheek as a token of her gratitude. Cerulean returned the hug before he sat back and panted.

“If Sunset goes all inferno again, wake me up.” He said before his eyes rolled back and he fell back onto the earth. Amber quickly got beside him, but relaxed as she saw his chest fall and rise. Gale just stared at Cerulean. He’d been up for three days straight, made a fire, a small shelter for them while they were unconscious and he’d just healed a serious burn. He certainly earned his rest.

The next morning, Cerulean awoke to a somewhat pleasant surprise. Nix had awoken and Gale was catching her up on what happened after she was knocked unconscious. The alchemist bit her lip and huffed. “Well, that was a waste.” She turned as she saw Cerulean get up and make his way over to them.

“How’s the head?” He asked as he stood up and looked at the bandage.

“Ringing like a church bell, but otherwise still working.” She said as she rubbed her temples. 

“Good, you can never tell with head wounds.” After a small breakfast of cooked squirrels, courtesy of Lapis, Cerulean started to draw a few symbols in the dirt. He pointed to the X he made. “We’re here and there’s a fresh water brook here.” He pointed to a few squiggly lines. “I haven’t done too much scouting, but now that most of us are awake we can start covering some ground.”

“Which way?” Amber asked as she looked around.

“If we follow the stream, we could find a river and that usually means people.”

“We don’t know how long that will take, or if they will be willing to help.” Nix pointed out. “We could run into those,” She pause as she looked for the correct word. “things again.” They all had barely escaped with their lives and they were in no condition to fight.

“Besides, what do we do with her?” Gale pointed over to the still unconscious fire mage. 

“Does your alchemy work on wood?” Nix nodded, but held up a hand.

“I know what you’re thinking and it won’t work,” She sighed. “Alchemy requires precise calculations and a steady mind. If I try to use it in my condition, it could backfire and my hands will end up like her’s, maybe worse.” She gestured to Amber’s bandaged hands.

“Okay, so we do it the old fashioned way.” Cerulean put a hand to his chin as he thought. “We’ll need two strong sticks about six feet long, maybe about eight or ten shorter sticks and something to lash them together.”

“Where are we going to get rope?” Amber asked.

“These trees have vines in them.” Gale said pointing up to the canopy of trees. “I could get those.” She said putting a hand on her blade. Gale flew up to the trees and cut down several vines while Cerulean went out and chopped some green branches and trimmed the nubs with his axe. Nix got to work on lashing the whole assembly together, she was surprisingly very good at knots.

Without her hands, Amber was forced to watch over the camp and Sunset while the other three toiled away. The stretcher came together within an hour and they even had enough left over to make Gale a proper splint for her arm and leg along with a crutch. Since Amber and Gale were hobbled, the task of carrying Sunset fell to Cerulean and Nix while Lapis scouted ahead. They trudged through the underbrush as the sun rose high overhead. The air grew humid under the damp canopy and Cerulean’s shoulder stung as his sweat dripped onto the cauterized skin.

“So where did you learn all your little tricks?” Nix asked as she looked back at Cerulean.

“I have been wondering that myself.” Gale said in her accented voice. She when her good arm started to ache from the crutch she had taken to leaning on Amber for support. 

“I learned a lot of things from my vagabond troupe.” He answered in a pointed tone as he glared at Nix. “We had close to two hundred people, actors, singers, craftsmen. Even merchants would travel with us for protection.”

“Protection? Do they all know how to fight?” Amber asked. Cerulean shook his head.

“No, the road can be a dangerous place when you’re alone, so it’s safer to travel in large groups.” He paused. “Even some mercenaries traveled with us. They’d get a roof over their heads after a job and they’d help deter any bandits that were stupid enough to try to attack us.” A small smile cracked across his face. “We traveled a lot and performed in the towns that let us.”

“Where is your troupe now?” His expression turned stern and he brushed the question off as he looked up at the afternoon sky.

“We should make camp, it’ll be dark soon.” He said as Lapis came bounding through the bushes.

There’s a road up ahead! Cerulean nodded as he relayed the message and the group quickly made their way through the trees. A clearing came into view and Cerulean had never been so happy to see a dirt road in his life. The group stopped in their tracks as they came across an all too familiar bit of road that still had the shattered cart and two dead horses who’s corpses had started to rot. The surrounding area was charred black by Sunset’s flames and several of the trees were singed.

“Let’s look around a bit and salvage what we can, then make camp.” Nix said as she and Cerulean set the stretcher down.

“Are you crazy?” Amber said in a panicked tone. “Those things could still be out there.”

“If they were looking for us they would have found us.” Gale piped up. “Our camp was not six miles from the road and our fire would have drawn them in.” Nix, Cerulean and Amber started looking through what was left of the ruined cart. Much of the food was destroyed but there were still goods to be used. 

Some iron pots and pans made it through along with a good bit of gold from the haul that hadn’t been turned to ash by Sunset’s magic outburst. They moved the broken end of one cart on it’s side so it was against the wind to use as a shelter. They filled the pot over the fire with some vegetables and some of the rabbit meat Cerulean had frozen back at camp.

As she continued to search, Nix came across her batons, Summer’s staff and Amber’s damaged gauntlets. They all had been burned by Sunset’s fire before she had teleported them away from the trio of monsters. Gale lamented at the loss and tossed them aside while Nix kept her batons. They had also found some fresh cloth and re-bandaged their wounds with a few ointments that were in the cart. Amber’s hands were still throbbing in pain, but the ointment and fresh bandages were an improvement. 

After some fresh bandages and ointments being applied by all, Cerulean grabbed two pieces of wood and made a cross before he scratched Arbor's name on the wood. He stuck it in the ground where the former thief had died. 

“Does anyone want to say anything?” He asked as the three girls all looked at one another and shifted uncomfortably.

“He was a guy trying to live his life as best he could.” Amber stated. “We can’t blame him for that.”

“He had good taste in materials.” Nix said as absentmindedly felt a few gold coins in her pocket. Gale then said something in draconian that made the other three look at her oddly.

“I think in your tongue it means may his soul find peace.” She shrugged. Cerulean sighed and looked at the marker.

“He may have not been an honest man, but he tried to save us and I won’t forget that.” Cerulean and the three sat back down near the fire as the pot of stew finished cooking. A few hours passed and the sky turned from a light orange to black. 

“Hello?” Cerulean whirled around at the voice with his axe in one hand as Gale pulled her blade out. His teal eyes fell upon a man in his forties. His black silver streaked hair was long and unkempt. His cloak had several patches sewn into the fabric. What was most notable was his large pack, it looked like it had been with him since the day he was born.

The older man let out a yelp as he saw the axes gripped in Cerulean’s hands. “I saw your fire and I was wondering if you’d let an old man share it.” Cerulean’s eyes took in his form and he relaxed. It was a traveling merchant, a peddler. Nix spat into the flames.

“Take a hike.” Cerulean glared at Nix and made the motion for her to shut up. Cerulean held out a hand and helped the older man to his feet. If it was one thing Cerulean knew it was to always be polite to a peddler. You never know if they might have something useful. “We don’t have anything to spare.” Nix stated.

“Can it. I made the fire, so by right it’s mine. I will allow him to share it just as I am allowing you to.” Nix huffed and crossed her arms as Cerulean turned back to the merchant. “I’m sorry for that,” He said as the man stood up. “my friends and I have had a rough couple of days and are on edge to say the least.” In the light of the fire the peddler got a better look at the group and the state of their injuries.

“It seems that way.” He gulped as he sat beside the blue haired man and set his packs down. “Bast, peddler for the equestrian merchant guild,” He said as he shook Cerulean’s hand. Cerulean introduced himself and the other girls, barring Nix and the unconscious Sunset, did the same. “If you folks need anything, I’m always willing to trade.” Nix then straightened her back.

“Let me see your proof of trade.” She said holding her hand over the flames. Cerulean was about to protest, but Bast removed a pendant made of iron from around his neck. The iron had the etching of a horse on it. He tossed it over the flames and Nix caught it in her hand. 

She stared at the pendant closely and rubbed on it with her fingers. Cerulean saw he hands tense and she nodded. “It’s legit.” She tossed it back to the man.

“What is that?” Amber asked as she sipped from her bowl.

“Proof he’s no con man, it’s the merchant guild emblem.” Nix took a sip from her stew. “You’ll meet a lot of traders, or peddlers trying to sell you junk to make a quick coin, but the Equestrian Merchant guild peddlers are legitimate businessmen and they’re marked by that medallion.” She pointed to the iron disk that once again hung around Bast’s neck.

“So it’s like out guild marks?” Nix nodded at Amber. 

“It’s better to be cautious.” He said as the group heard a groan coming from the fire sorceress. Nix leaned over and saw her eyes opening up.

“Ugh my head is killing me.” She groaned as she sat up.

“Well, look who’s up.” Amber mumbled into her bowl. Sunset shook her head and looked around in a confused panic.

“Where are we, what happened, where are those things?” Her chest started heaving.

“Take it easy Sunset,” Cerulean said as he cautiously approached the mage. “you’ve been out for a few days.” The last thing he wanted to do was startle the mage especially with that fire of hers. He noticed that Nix and Amber were slowly inching themselves away from her. Her eyes then fixed on the stranger. “This is Bast, a peddler.” The man tipped an imaginary hat to her.

“Miss.” He said with a smile as Cerulean poured her a bowl of stew. 

“Eat this and we’ll talk. Calmly.”

“We don’t need you burning down the camp, again.” Gale kicked Amber with her good leg and gave her a pointed look. Amber rubbed the sore spot and returned the glare. Sunset’s head dropped and ate the stew mechanically as she saw Amber’s bandaged hands.

“I’m sorry.” She said as she began to shake. Amber just stared into the fire actively ignoring the apology. Cerulean rubbed his eyes and went back to his seat beside Bast.

“You kids have been through a lot.” Bast said. “I’m not gonna ask, ain’t my business, but if you need anything, my store is always open to those on the road. Some new clothes perhaps?” He said as he noticed their raggedy clothing.

“We don’t have much.” Cerulean stated in an exasperated tone. He couldn’t blame the man for playing his trade, but he wasn’t in the mood to barter.

“I’m willing to trade.” The group turned out their pockets and rifled through what was left of the cart as Bast rifled through his packs. He produced several different articles of clothing and laid them out. The group of mages produced a small bag of salt, the bloodied scraps of clothing that were next to useless, some silverware, the iron pans they were using and a few other bits and bobbles. Bast rubbed his chin and examined the goods.

“I can give you four shirts for the silverware.” Nix frowned at the offer.

“These are good steel and you expect us to trade them for used shirts that the moths have been at.” Her tone wasn’t malicious, more of a challenge. This was a game to her. Bartering was an essential part of traveling and while Cerulean was good, he didn’t have half the energy or business knowledge Nix had. They bartered back and forth in a friendly argument. She managed to talk him into five shirts and pants, some fresh bandages for the silverware along with a small bag of salt.

The deal was done, and they all had new clothes to wear. They took turns going behind the wagon and changing. Amber smirked as she called out for the archer’s help due to her hands. Cerulean was about to walk over when the other three girls gave him a pointed look. Seeing the implications he sat back down next to Bast with an embarrassed blush on his face. The peddler chuckled to himself as Cerulean blamed the color of his cheeks on the firelight. Sunset was delegated to assist Amber and Gale with their clothing.

Gale’s armor was easy enough to remove once she pointed out where the buckles and straps were. She hobbled back out wearing along sleeved red shirt under her chest plate, bracers and a pair of pants. Cerulean was about to get changed when Bast pulled out a few good cloaks. Cerulean’s eyes widened. A good cloak is possibly the best thing one could have on the road. It would keep you warm if there was a chill and you had no blanket and would keep the elements off your back as you traveled.  “What about that cloak?” Cerulean asked as he pointed the darkest one of the five.

“Ah yes, I got this off a lavish merchant in the West.” He opened the cloak and Cerulean saw it had several little pockets on the inside. “A fine make too, feel the fabric.” Cerulean felt the fabric and it was quite good and there were no holes in it. It didn’t even look like it had been worn.

“It is quite good. How much?” Bast threw on his best injured look.

“This is quite expensive.” Cerulean grinned and pulled off one of his boots and pulled out something wrapped in cloth. He rolled open the fabric and Arbor’s dagger shined in the fire light. Bast’s eyes widened as he looked at the small blade. “Is this real griffonian steel?” 

Cerulean nodded. Bast picked up the blade in his hands and examined it. “The blade is a little blunt.” He said as he ran his finger along the edge, but pulled his finger back as he reached the tip and a small bead of red appeared on his finger. “Still, it is good steel. Do we have a deal?” He said before he put his finger in his mouth. Cerulean pursed his lips and he thought.

“Might I try it on, just to make sure it fits?” bast nodded and Cerulean unbuttoned the remains of his white shirt. Bast let out a gasp and practically jumped out of a skin as he pulled off the shirt. Cerulean had a good collection of scars along his chest along the cuts and bruises from the last few days. Cerulean looked down and sighed.

“It looks worse than it is.” Bast wasn’t staring at the scars, his eyes were focused  a silver medallion hanging around Cerulean’s neck. It looked similar to Bast’s own medallion except it had a wolf’s face etched into the metal.

“What’s that?” Gale asked as her eyes focused on the metal. Bast gently reached out and gripped the metal between two fingers. He let the metal go as he yelped slightly and the metal went back against Cerulean’s skin.

“I didn’t know you lot came this far south.” Bast gulped. He looked at the other girls who all shared the same look of confusion on their faces. “Beg your pardon my ladies, bargaining is my nature and I didn’t know.” His tone was shaky.

“Bast,” Cerulean said putting a hand on his shoulder. “you didn’t know and you didn't do anything wrong.” Bast nodded and ate his soup with shaky hands.

“Okay, what is going on?” Amber said throwing her bandaged hands up. “You take one look at his jewelry and suddenly you’re as nervous as a whore on her first night.” Sunset squinted and her eyes went wide.

“That’s a Warden’s emblem,” She said as her face went ashen. “Where did you get that?”

“I am not familiar with your country’s politics. What is Warden?” Gale asked in her draconian accent as she looked at Gale and Nix who both just shrugged. Cerulean rubbed his head as he thought of a way to explain it. He looked back to Bast.

“Do you have a map I can borrow?” Bast nodded quickly and pulled out a map of the country. The group leaned closer to the fire as Cerulean set his hand on the country. “Equestria’s a big place, but the Princess’ guards can only travel so far at a moment’s notice. To solve this little problem, there are people stationed in the more remote reaches of Equestria to enforce the throne's laws.”

“But what do they do?” Amber asked.

“Wardens have the authority to levy taxes, form an army and almost as much political power as Celestia herself.” Sunset stated. “The only people who can challenge their authority are the other wardens or the Princesses themselves.”

“So they are constables?” Gale asked.

“No,” Cerulean said as he thought how best to explain it. “Celestia and Luna are Captains of the ship, the Wardens are the first mates while the other nobles like Barons and Counts work for the Wardens.” Gale nodded in understanding. Cerulean then gestured to his medallion. “This marks me as one of the warden of the north’s rangers.”

“Rangers?” Nix snorted. 

“We go out and provide protection for people who live inside the warden’s jurisdiction from creatures, bad people, anything that ruffles the boss’s feathers.” He said with a shrug.

“So how much territory does your boss own?” Amber asked. He pointed from the edge of the Crystal Empire, dragged his finger north and then made a line with his across until he hit the edge of the continent. Nix whistled at the large expanse of land. Cerulean gave Bast back his map and tried on the cloak. He smiled at the warmth and feel as it hugged his damaged body. 

“That’s fine work.” Cerulean said looking at the coat. “We got a deal? If that doesn’t cover the cost, then I have something else to trade,” He said with a wry smile. “something rare.”

“What?” Nix asked.

“A story,” Bast raised an eyebrow.

“I’ve been traveling for a long time, I know most stories from these parts.” He said proudly.

“This isn’t one of your southern stories of princes rescuing damsels in distress from trolls or dragons. It’s a story from the north so you can expect three things; snow, pain and a lesson.” Bast sat back and pondered his words. “And if you don’t like it, I’ll give you the dagger free of charge.” The merchant smirked and held out his hand to seal the deal. Cerulean shook it before he went to go change into his new, clean clothes. Once he sat back down, Lapis sat in his lap and settled down before he began his tale.
> Chapter X: The King of the North
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter X

The King of the North


There are several terrifying monsters that live in the cold, frozen forests of the North. Bears that stand twelve feet high, Elk with antlers long enough to stick a man from end to end and trolls who can crush a man with their bare hands. Among all the creatures only one reigns supreme, the dire wolf. Wolves that stand six feet tall, they’re faster than anything on land, fiercer than any bear and have instincts greater than any creature that walks this world.

One dire wolf in particular is especially dangerous. Unlike the rest of his kind, his fur is a pristine white and his eyes were red as blood. He was larger than his kin by a full head and his teeth were sharper than blades of grass. No one knows where he came from, but all knew his name, Sanctus. He’d wandered the North for dozens, possibly hundreds of years and in that time he learned a great many things; he could see in the dark as if it were day, he could track anything across land, water or air and when he howled he could call the winter storm to his side.

All knew of Sanctus and his pack of wolves and had named him The King of the North. Many hunted and challenged him for his title, but all failed when they faced the white king. He ruled over his domain with fairness for all, but his second and brother, Sable, a wolf with fur black as night and eyes like gold grew jealous of the love his lord had gathered while he was the one enforcing his law. So he hatched a scheme to kill the king, for all knew whoever killed the king and ate his heart, would gain his strength.

Sable led Sanctus to the highest cliff, one night that over looked every expanse of land he ruled over. “Tell me brother, why did you call me out here at this time?” He asked as he looked at the trees below. While he was distracted, Sable leapt at him and a fierce battle ensued. They fought with tooth and nail and magic. Sable called the shadows and they started chipping away at the surrounding cliff. With one final howl, the cliff broke and Sanctus fell into the abyss. 

He did not know how long he fell or how far, but when he awoke he felt a blanket on his bloodied back, the smell of burning flesh and  a man sitting across a fire in front of him. Sanctus had heard of his kind, violent, selfish and proud. His kind had hunted the king’s servants for their pelt and meat. However, this one had not made any action to cause him harm. Sanctus had lived long enough to learn the way humans speak so he asked the man. “Who are you human?”

“I am but a hunter my lord.” The man said before he coughed. “I was with a party of men, but they felt it better to leave me here when I was injured and became ill.” The hunter pulled back his cloak to show a wound deep knife on his chest that had frozen over. “I know of you my lord. My kind has killed your and yours has killed mine.”

“Why did you not take my fur whilst I was unconscious?” Sanctus narrowed his red eyes and glared at the man. The hunter shrugged.

“It would not be right. I did not earn it.” The old hunter only took the pelts and meat of the animals he’d killed himself. The hunter reached into the fire and picked out a long stick that held a cooked hare on it. The hunter tossed the meat in front of Sanctus who looked at him in surprise. “It is too late for me, my wound has gone rotten and I’ll soon be one with the snow.” He coughed up a mouthful of blood. 

Sanctus ate the meat even though it pained him to swallow. Once he was done he looked back at his injured side and then back to the man. He knew what needed to be done.

“You have given me three things human; warmth from your fire, your food and your story.” Sanctus said as he strained to rise to his paws. “I am not one who does not repay his debts.” He pointed his head to his bloodied back that had stained his bright white coat a dark red. “So I shall give you three things in return; food, warmth and my power.”

The hunter looked at him in confusion. “Like you, I was betrayed by one I called friend and brother. When I die, he will gain my power over the North and he will run the white snow we hold so dear red with the blood of both your kind and mine.” The wolf lord gestured to the hunter’s knife that laid beside him. The hunter understood and he picked up the knife in his half frozen hands. The wolf looked up at the moon one last time.

“May your hunt be bountiful and your fire never go out.” With those words, the hunter plunged his knife into the wolf. Sanctus did not cry out in pain or protest. He turned his head towards the man and saw tears rolling down his face. The hunter quickly gutted the large beast until he found the king’s heart.

He picked it up with both hands and bit into it raw. The taste was foul, but he ate it anyway. When he was done, he crawled inside the corpse of the great wolf and slept for three days and three nights. On the third night, he emerged from the wolf. He looked up at the dark cloudy sky and let out a loud howl that parted the clouds and the full moon shined bright on him. 

His wounds had been healed and any exhaustion he’d felt had left him, but the man was changed. His once midnight black hair shimmered white as the snow in the moonlight and the whites of his eyes were stained a blood red. He walked back over to the wolf and took his pelt of white fur that would keep him warm in he harshest of winters. He built a pyre out of wood and set the corpse a blaze.

As he waited for the body to burn away, several of Sanctus’s kin gathered around the fire. They saw him and they knew what their leader had done for the hunter and that they had been tricked by Sable. Once only ash remained, the hunter left in search of those who had left him to die.

He tracked them all over the North until he came to their home town. The townsfolk were shocked as they looked at the man they had thought died with the massive wolves at his side. The hunter commanded the wolves to drag them from their homes and bring the three to him. They did. The three traitors knelt in front of him.

One confessed his crime and wept, not to save his own life but because he’d betrayed a friend. The second stated that it was a matter of life and death. The third said nothing and shed no tear. It was not anger or malice that filled the hunter’s eyes, it was pity and regret. He raised his large axe and with one blow, the men’s heads fell from their bodies. 

When the deed was done, the hunter fell to his knees and wept. Word of his return and deed had spread through the North and Sable fled into the night for fear of the power of the human. A celebration was held in the hunter’s honor as the new King of the North, yet he did not stay. Before the festivities were over, he left his home for one last hunt. So should you ever hear wolves howling at the moon, they are calling out to their king, hoping he would hear them and find his way home.


~~~


Cerulean sat back and stretched his arms over his head. He looked at the listeners, proud as a cat. Their eyes were fixed on the man and were waiting with baited breath. “So what happened? Did he find the black wolf?” Cerulean shrugged at Sunset’s question.

“Who knows? Some say he did, some say he settled down and raised a family while other say he died in battle.” Cerulean leaned forwards. “I think he’s still out there looking for the black wolf, but will never find it, forced to wander the North and beyond. Helping where he can.”

“That’s not much of an ending,” Nix stated.

“It’s left open for different interpretations.” Cerulean then turned to the merchant. “So, was it worth that cloak?”

“It was worth that and these three cloaks.” Bast handed him the dark blue coat and Cerulean smiled. “It suits you.” Amber took the dark brown one that was a bit longer than the rest. Sunset’s was a deep dark red and had a large cowl to cover her hair. Nix’s was a deep purple that also had many small pockets in it, but the sleeves were cut short above her elbows. Bast apologized for not having another for Gale but the draconian said it was not her style. 

Cerulean removed his bloodied shirt and tossed it into the fire before grabbing set of new clothes and walking behind the wagon to get changed. When he came back out he felt as fresh as a daisy and Amber let out a low playful growl. Gale adjusted herself in her seat.

“You said your story had a lesson, what is it?” Cerulean looked at the group and saw they each bore the same curious expression.

“Never throw your friends to the wolves, or else they might come back leading the pack.” He said as he sat back down on the ground. “The Warden made sure every ranger under her command knows that story and any who make the same mistake await the same punishment as the three in the tale.” Sunset gulped.

“Who ever they are, they sound really scary.” Amber nodded in agreement.

“She can be, but she’s very fair and kind when she wants to be.”

“Sounds like you know her quite well.” Bast said

“Well I should,” Cerulean said with a chuckle. “she’s my mother after all.” The group paused and they slowly turned to face the blue haired man.

“So if what they say about Wardens are true, what would that make you?” Cerulean thought for a moment before answering.

“It’s complicated.” He said as he rubbed his chin. “I know I have some standing in nobility because of my mother’s title, but at the same time I have trouper’s blood, which is considered by many nobles to be lower than dirt. It depends. I think most nobles would treat me with respect solely due to my mother’s reputation.”

“Which is?” Gale asked.

“You never heard?” Bast interjected. “They say the Warden of the North has a heart of stone and ice. Just one look from her eyes will chill you to the bone.” Bast said nervously. “Some say she killed three mountain trolls with just her mighty axe that stands seven feet tall. There are all manner of stories like that around her.”

“Stories like that are a good deterrent for nobles who think they can push her around.” Cerulean stated.

“Speaking of stories,” Amber stated. “you told that one with such detail. It almost sounds like it really happened.” Cerulean threw his head back and laughed a loud, amused laugh.

“Why Amber I’m surprised at you. I thought someone as well traveled as you would have known.” Amber looked at him with a small pout on her face.

“Known what?” Gale asked.

“Every story ever told really happened.” He said as he stared longingly into the fire. “Stories are where memories go when they’re forgotten.” He let out a yawn before he cracked his neck. “Well, I’m turning in.” As Cerulean stood up and walked over to a soft patch of earth on the side of the road, Sunset swore his hair looked like a lighter shade of blue in the moonlight, almost white. 
> Chapter XI: Rings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter XI

Rings


The next day, the group woke up before dawn and enjoyed a quick meal before they parted ways with Bast and headed back to the guild. As mid day approached the group stopped in the shade for a quick spell. “Hey Sunny,” Amber said as she looked at the fire mage. “want to explain what the hell happened at the campsite?” All eyes shifted towards Sunset.

“It’s complicated.” She answered meekly.

“Try to explain.” Gale stated bluntly. “We need to know if this will happen again.” Sunset twiddled her thumbs as she felt their eyes on her.

“Fine, the truth is I lose control of my magic sometimes.” She said in a defeated tone. 

“Yeah, we figured that.” Nix said bluntly.

“Before Twilight, I was Celestia’s apprentice.” The group went wide eyed at the words. “I was kicked out because I got greedy and started looking at magic that’s better left alone.” Sunset looked down at her hands as she spoke. “I discovered that there are other worlds besides this one. Worlds that are similar, yet different. I opened up a portal to one of these worlds and stayed there for a while.”

“What was it like? This other world?” Amber asked.

“It was strange at first. There was no magic, but their technology was extremely advanced. They had these things called cars that were like carriages, but they pulled themselves and were made out of metal. And these things called cell phones where you spoke in one and another person could hear you miles and miles away, but it’d be like you were having a private conversation.”

“Sunset, are you sure you didn’t hit your head?” Cerulean said with raised eyebrows. The fire mage glared at him. 

“I’m serious!” She said as the ground around her started to smolder. The group glared at the charred aground and Sunset puled her hand back. “Sorry,” She said as she rubbed her hands. “I spent some time in the other world and I was,” She bit her lip. “for lack of a better term, a power hungry, fire breathing, manipulative bitch. Then when I got tired of that world I came back into Equestria and stole Twilight’s element of magic.”

“You stole from Twilight Sparkle?” Gale said as she narrowed her eyes. Sunset hung her head and nodded. 

“Yes, and I tried to use her Element of Magic, but it didn’t work. When I tried to force it my magic went rampant. Then Twilight saved me. After she came back to this world I did my best to repair the damage I’d done. Then I came back here and I found that I didn’t have a lot of control over my powers, they’d burst when I was in a high stress situation.”

“Well, I’d certainly count the other day as a high stress situation.” Cerulean stated. “So that’s how you teleported us out of there?” She nodded.

“One of the few times my mishap was beneficial.” She splayed her hands out in front of her. The group looked at one another with skeptic looks.

“Am I right in assuming the Princess knows about this?” 

“I mentioned it to her, but I doubt she thinks it’s be this bad.” She slowly looked at Amber’s bandaged hands. “If you tell her then she might kick me out and then,” She gave a hard swallow. “bad things happen to mages who can’t control their magic.” Cerulean and the other three gils huddled together away from Sunset and spoke softly.

“Her magic is dangerous.” Gale stated. “Fire destroys all in it’s path if left unchecked.” Amber unwrapped her hands to show the heavily blistered skin.

“My hands are still burning from that fire.” She winced as she reapplied the bandages. “Who knows when she can do that again?” Nix remained silent. Cerulean rubbed his forehead and sighed.

“It was an accident.” He started. “I doubt she wanted to hurt us and if it wasn’t for her we all would be dead.” Gale bit her lip and gave a nod. “Way I see it, we all owe her. I think the least we can do is keep quite about this.”

“And if it happens again?” Nix spoke up. “Unstable magic on it’s own is dangerous enough, but a mage at her level? She could demolish an entire town, maybe a city!”

“That’s the worse case scenario.” Cerulean said. “And if it happens then we deal with it then.”

“Might be too late next time.” Gale stated before sighing. “Still I am not one who forgets a debt to be paid.” Nix sighed and crossed her arms.

“Fine.”

“I’ll keep quiet for now,” Amber huffed. “but if this happens again,” She held up her bandaged hands. “Luna will be the least of her problems.” Amber put a hand around Gale’s waist and helped her back over to where Sunset was sitting.

“We’ve agreed to keep quiet about this little incident,” Cerulean said as he crossed his arms. “but if you don’t get a lid on that fire of yours then we’ll have to tell Luna.” Sunset nodded.

“It won’t happen again.” She said as she gulped.

“Be sure that it doesn’t.” Amber huffed. The group quickly got back on the road and walked for several more hours without seeing anyone else on the road. When it started to get dark they found a small clearing not too far off the road and started setting up camp. Sunset helped get a fire going and Cerulean set up a few traps for small game. 

They sat around the fire in an uncomfortable silence. Something had been eating at the back of Cerulean’s mind since they’d escaped from those shadow cloaked figures. He stared into the fire and with a heavy sigh he spoke up.

“I think I know those things,” The girls looked up from their meal. “the ones who attacked us.”

“What?” Nix said as she glared at him.

“How do you know them?” Sunset asked. Cerulean shrugged.

“More like I’ve seen them before.” He stared into the flames and bit his lip.“Ten years ago, my troupe was attacked.” He said as his hands started shaking. “I never saw their faces, but I remember seeing people wrapped in shadow and purple flames.” Sunset’s eyes widened as she remembered the flames that turned the thief to ash. “I just thought they were bandits who hated troupers. It wouldn’t be the first time we were attacked because people hated us.”

“What happened?” Gale asked. Cerulean shrugged.

“I came back from getting firewood to see wagons on fire and the sound of my friends screaming.” His mouth became a thin line and he gripped his knee tightly. 

“How many made it?” Amber asked in a somber tone.

“My parents and I.” The weight of the words made Amber’s shoulders slump. Cerulean said that close to two hundred people were with his troupe and out of that only three people had come out of it alive. Sunset shivered as she felt the air around the man getting colder. “My sister didn’t make it either.” He rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands.

“Shit,” Amber said as her ears went flat against her head. “that’s really rough.” She said as she averted her eyes.

“What happened after?” Gale gave Nix a pointed look at the question.

“I don’t know. My memory from that time in my life is hazy. I don’t recall how I escaped, only that I was found by a miner half frozen in the snow and was taken to his town where I was patched up. A day later, my parents were found and we’ve lived there ever since.” A silence fell over the group. “I don’t know who or what those things are or what they want, but I’m positive they were the ones who attacked my troupe or at least associated with them.” Sunset felt her shoulders slouch and she looked at the man with sad eyes.

“Don’t look at me like that.” His teal eyes met hers. “It happened a long time ago and while the scars are there, they’ve healed for the most part. I did not tell you this to garner pity, I am just letting you all know what information I have on those things that attacked us.”

“You seek vengeance?” Gale stated. Cerulean looked away.

“I’m not some stupid kid with delusions of rage fueled revenge. I just got kicked through a cart and several trees. We’re all lucky to be alive. If we meet up with them again, we need to be ready.” He looked into the fire before he stood up. “I’m going to check the snares.” He walked away from the group wordlessly and ventured into the trees. 

Checking the lines were just an excuse he used to get away from the group for a bit. Once he was sure he was far enough away he put a hand over his face and wept. What he’d said had been the truth, the wounds had healed, but it had been years since he ever spoke of his time with the troupe and now those old wounds were being ripped open. After he composed himself he returned to camp and took the first watch that night.

It was late in the day when the group started getting closer to the town. As the sky turned orange, Amber, who had been helping Gale move let out a loud groan. “Can someone please switch with me? My hands are killing me.” 

“We’re almost there.” Nix said. Amber winced as a wave of pain ripped through her hands. Cerulean unwrapped the bandages and winced as he saw the burns starting to blister. Some had already popped and were leaking fluid. 

“Can’t you fly?” Cerulean said looking at the draconian.

“My wings were damaged during the fight.” She stated. “If I try to fly, then it could worsen the damage.” She said with a snarl at her condition. Cerulean sighed and bent a knee in front of Gale showing his back to her. 

“Hop on.” She glared at him. 

“You cannot be serious.”

“We need to hurry to town and get our injuries looked at.” Gale cursed and reluctantly put her weight on him. He winced as he felt her metal chest plate dig into his bruised skin. “Can’t you ditch the armor?” She gave him a pointed look.

“I am not abandoning my equipment.” Her eyes narrowed. 

“It’s heavy and my back is hurting as it is. I’ll come back for it later after we get patched up, deal?” Gale sighed and saw the logic in the situation. With help from Nix and Sunset, they removed the woman’s armor and stashed it behind a few rocks. Gale would not leave her sword and held onto it as she put her arms around his neck. She leaned her head forwards and whispered.

“If your hands start to wander, I’ll take them off.” She held up the sheathed blade and clicked it open a few inches. Cerulean gulped as he saw the sharp metal and kept his hand on her legs.

“Noted.” Amber chuckled as Gale turned and glared at the others.

“And if any of you tell anyone about this,” Her eyes held enough malice in them to make a dragon quiver in fear. “bad things happen.” The three shivered and nodded. The sky was slowly getting darker and the group’s moral was starting to waver. As they came within sight of the town, they all let out a sigh of relief. 

Suddenly, a familiar rainbow haired flyer touched down in front of them. 

“Perfect timing Dash.” Cerulean said. The newcomer looked at the group and was stunned by their haggard appearance.

“What the hell happened to you guys?” Rainbow asked.

“Too much to say in a short conversation.” Sunset sighed.

“Dash, fly to the guild and tell them we need help and bring a doctor.” She nodded and bolted into the sky. As they reached the edge of town, Gale leaned got off Cerulean’s back and instead leaned on his side. Princess Luna was there to meet them and with a wave of her hand they were teleported to the hospital where doctors were waiting for them.

Cerulean winced as the pink haired nurse inspected his back that was now black, blue and yellow around the edges. He was relieved to find out that none of his ribs were broken. The doctors gave him a salve to use on his bruised chest and back. As he was getting dressed, Princess Luna walked into the room.

“How are you feeling Cerulean?” She asked.

“I’m managing.” He said as he slipped his shirt back on. “I’d imagine you want to know what happened?” She nodded. “I’d be more than happy to tell you, but first I need a bath, some food and a stiff drink.” A loud growl came from his stomach. 


“I can help with the last two.” They agreed for him to meet her back at the guild after he had a bath and changed his clothes. He exited the hospital and headed towards his house. Once inside he ran a quick bath and let the past few days’ events wash away with the warm water. His aching muscles seemed to sing as the warm water washed over his chest and back. 

He finished bathing and changed into some clean clothes before heading to the guild hall. As he entered Twilight walked up to him and told him Princess Luna was expecting him in her office. He thanked her and made his way upstairs. He knocked on her door and she bid him enter. Cerulean was pleased to see that there was a warm plate of food waiting for him and one in front of the Princess as well.

“I hope I didn’t anger the cook.” He said as he sat across from Luna.

“Not at all, I haven’t eaten yet myself so this will be a nice treat to have company for dinner.” She smiled. As they ate Cerulean went into detail about the mission. Arbor’s true motives, the mysterious attackers and their survival. He did leave out the part about Sunset’s magic going rampant.

Luna sat back in her chair with her arms folded. “I see, that’s what the others said as well. I only wanted to be sure since you were the only one who wasn’t unconscious after these individuals attacked.” Cerulean’s mouth was full of warm cider so he just shrugged. “We must apologize as well, had we looked closer at him you and the others might have avoided this situation.”

“It’s no issue. We all made it out somewhat okay.” He set his mug down on the table. “By the way, how are the others doing?”

“Sunset is already discharged from the hospital since she only had a few minor bruises. Gale, Amber and Nix are staying over night since their injuries were more severe.” She bit her lip and folded her hands in front of her. “How did Amber’s hands get in that state?” Cerulean sat calmly and scratched his chin. His youth spent with his troupe had given him a good stage face.

“I can’t really say, it must have happened after I was kicked through the cart.” He lied. “I did what I could for her hands, but I couldn’t heal them completely.” 

“Still, it’s far better than doing nothing.” She smiled. “I can see why Sapphire values her rangers so much. You’re quite capable.” Cerulean ran a hand through his hair.

“If it’s all right with you Princes, could you keep my mother’s title on the down low? The last thing I need is people feeling like I’ll lord over them like Blueblood, no offense.” Luna nodded in understanding. She too knew how it felt to be seen as a title rather than an individual.

“Of course.” He thanked her and headed back to his house. As he exited the guild he saw Sunset leaning against the wall. 

“How are you feeling?” 

“Not too bad, all things considering,” She said as she stood up straight.

“I’ll have you know I kept quiet about your little fire hazard.” He stated flatly. Sunset gave him a swift nod before turning to look at the ground. “I can sympathize with that problem, when I was a kid my magic was hard to get a handle on too.” Sunset looked at him in surprise.

“Really?”

“I once froze all the pipes in my house on accident.” He chuckled. “We didn’t have hot water for three days. So to avoid the chance of you burning the house down, I’m going to help you get and keep a lid on your magic.” Her eyes seemed to sparkle at the words. “I should have you know I’ve never done anything like this before.” 

“It’s fine and thank you for helping me out.” He shrugged and slipped his hand in his pocket. He pulled out a small piece of folded paper and held it out to her. She took it form him and opened it up to see a neatly written letter.

This receipt to one Sunset Shimmer, green of eye and blonde of hair with stripes of red, is proof of a debt to be paid by Cerulean Frostwork, Ranger of the Warden of the North. The individual named above is credited one favor from the debtor provided the favor does not go against the indebted’s wishes, personal beliefs, creeds, etc. Should the request violate the agreement the contract is void. Once the debt is paid this receipt is null and void.

Signed, Cerulean Frostwork. 

Next to the signature was a wolf head imprinted in red wax. Folded up in the paper was a smooth ring made of a deep blue stone. The same wolf head imprinted on the letter was carved into the rock. Sunset looked at the blue haired man in confusion. “I don’t understand. What’s this for?” She asked as she held up the ring.

“In the North, if someone can’t pay someone back then they may trade a favor for the object in question, the more valuable the item, the bigger the favor.” He pointed to the ring. “That is my house ring and it signifies that you’ve done me a great service and may call on me for a favor to repay that debt,” His eyes grew dark and serious as he looked at her. “any favor.” He said seriously. “I only have one condition,” He held up one finger. “no killing. You have no idea how many times that request can come up.”

“The court rings?” She had heard of the ways of the old court, but they had not been used in hundreds of years. Sunset looked down at the ring in her palm and although it was small, she was beginning to feel the weight of what it meant. She was about to put it on, but the man stopped her. 

“It’s not really a ring for wearing.” She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow as she saw a bit of red on his fair cheeks. “When two people wear each other’s house rings it means they’re,” He paused as he looked for the correct word. “romantically involved.” 

Now it was Sunset’s turn to look embarrassed. She nodded and put the ring in her pocket. “I don’t think either one of us want people gossiping, considering our current living arrangements.”

“Right, sorry. I wasn’t aware the North used those old methods of the Canterlot court.” Cerulean looked at her in surprise.

“Mom has always been old fashioned and drilled them into my brain, but I’m surprised you actually know about the old court.” 

“I studied a lot of different things while I was Celestia’s student. The history of Equestria was one of the things along with the old courtly rituals.” He nodded before they headed back to the house. Cerulean walked up to his room and slept like the dead.
> Chapter XII: Rest
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter XII

Rest


Amber, Nix and Gale were released from the hospital the following day. Gale’s leg and arm made swift recoveries thanks to the doctors. Her limbs were not broken, but had stable fractures. Zecora, potion maker who lived in the forest made the trip and helped Gale’s bones heal. She still had to avoid using them in a strenuous way for a few days. 

Amber’s bruises had slowly started to heal, but her hands were still wrapped in gauze. Nix had a small concussion and a few remaining bruises on her face. Cerulean and Sunset met them outside the hospital and walked back to the guild. “Freedom!” Amber said with her arms raised.

“How are you feeling?” Sunset asked. 

“Better than I was.” The fox girl said as she looked down at her hands. A loud grumble came from the girl’s stomach. Cerulean chuckled at the noises.

“Let’s get something to eat, my treat.” The ice mage said before Gale spoke up.

“Where is my armor?” She asked as she crossed her arms.

“I was going to get it after I ate. If I have to lug those things back then I’ll do it on a full stomach.” A growl then came from the dragoness’ stomach.

“You heard nothing.” She said as she narrowed her eyes. The group headed back to the guild and sat down before they ordered some breakfast. As their food arrived Amber looked at her bandaged hands and groaned.

“How am I supposed to eat like this?” She whined as she laid her head on the table.

“I could get you a dog bowl.” Nix stated with a smirk. 

“Bite me shrimp.” She then turned towards Cerulean. “Can you feed me?” She asked in a  sweet tone.

“Am I your wet nurse now?” He said as he took a bite from his eggs. 

“Perhaps you should look into it.” Cerulean turned his head and grimaced as he saw the blonde prince. “Since you seem adept at failing even the simplest of jobs.”

“Go away Blueblood, I’m in no mood to deal with you. So kindly piss off.” He made shooing motion is if he were a child. Blueblood grit his teeth and his blue eyes narrowed on the man. He was about to say more but then he caught Gale glaring at him sharply with her orange eyes. He opted for a loud humph and stormed out of the guild.

“Seriously, why does Luna let him work here?” Amber asked as Cerulean held up a spoonful of eggs for her. She happily ate the eggs fed to her.

“Better to keep him on short leash than to have him walk around Canterlot with the royal family’s name attached to everything he does.” Gale said as she took a bite of her sausage. “Not that he actually works, he just hires people to do jobs he’s signed on for.”

“In the North if we have someone like that then we knock them out, strip them and leave them in the cold for a few hours.” Gale chuckled darkly at his words.

“Now that is something I’d pay to see.” She finished her meal and left to reclaim her armor with Cerulean in tow. Sunset and the other two girls headed back to the home to rest a bit. It was around mid day when Cerulean returned with Gale who was wearing her armor.

“So why do you wear that stuff anyway?” He gestured to the hardened steel plates. “From what I’ve heard your people’s scales are as tough as a dragon’s.” Gale looked down at her black scaled forearm.

“They are strong but not as,” She paused as she thought of the correct word. “durable? Is that the right word?” He nodded. “They also don’t cover all of my body.” She pulled the top of her shirt back to show her dark skinned shoulder. He noticed there was a scar running down her shoulder. Cerulean’s gaze then shifted to the symbol on the armor’s front.

“What does that symbol mean?” She looked down and her right hand touched the tattoo around her right eye that matched the symbol on her front. “It must have some significance for you to have a tattoo of it.” He gestured to above his own right eye.

“Complicated.” She stated flatly and Cerulean took the cue to drop the topic. The woman stopped in front of the guild hall. “Despite the complications, you and the others did good job.” She said in her heavy draconian accent. 

She stuck out an armored hand to him. He took it in his and shook it. “If you need help, you know where to find me.” He nodded before he turned and started to make his way back to his home. An idea came to him as he came across the library. He walked inside the large tree house and looked at the large books before he approached the desk in the middle of the room and rang the bell on the desk.

“Coming!” Twilight called out from upstairs. The indigo haired mage came down from upstairs with a smile on her face. “Hello Cerulean, did you need something?”

“I was wondering if you sold any spell books.” He said as she got to the bottom of the staircase. Twilight searched through the ones she knew of in her head.

“We have a few basic ones. Anything you were looking for in particular?” He nodded.

“Fire magic, I’m thinking about upgrading my arsenal a bit.” Twilight waved her hand and called for fire tomes. A medium sized leather bound book flew into her hands. Cerulean read the title to himself. ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Pyromancy.’

“This thing wouldn’t happen to have fire proofing spells would it?” Twilight chuckled at the question.

“Chapter one,” He paid and thanked her for the book and made his way back to his home, praying it was still in one piece. Thankfully the house was still standing. As he walked inside he saw Sunset sitting on the couch reading with her pet phoenix sitting on it’s perch beside her. She looked up to see him and smiled.

“Hey Cerulean, did you get the armor?” He nodded and went into the kitchen to see a large crate addressed to him on the floor. “Ditzy and a few others came by to drop that off.” He looked at the tag and smiled as he saw it was from his home. He pulled out one of his axes and pried the lid off. The wood splintered and Amber came downstairs with an annoyed look on her face.

“What’s with the noise?” Cerulean ignored her and popped the lid off to see it full of hay. He rifled around and found a letter in familiar handwriting.

Cerulean, since you’ve found a place of residence I figured it’d be safe to send this. I sent you that cloak of yours in case it gets cold along with something to help take the edge off. 

-Silver Frost

P.S. Don’t tell your mother.

He set the letter aside and continued to dig until he felt something soft. He brushed the hay aside and saw a patch of pristine white fur and fabric. He pulled out a white fur cloak and set it on the table. He opened the front to show a dark wooden case in a familiar shape.

“What’s that?” He rifled through the wooden crate and his eyes widened as he felt something hard but cold to the touch. He pulled out a small chest and opened the lid to see a block of ice with a bottle frozen inside.

“This is my dad’s special brew of vodka.” He chuckled. Amber’s eyes widened and smiled. “This stuff could give the griffonians a run for their money.”

“Hit me up!” Amber yelled.

“Nope,” Cerulean said as he put the block of ice back inside the insulated box.

“Why not? I can hold my liquor.” She pouted.

“Because it will literally melt your liver if you didn’t grow up drinking it and you’re on meds from the hospital. Even I know mixing them is a very bad idea.” He said as he closed the lid of the chest and locked it. The man then brought the chest up to his room and put the coat inside the closet. He still had the book in hand and went back down to the living room.

“Up and at ‘em Sunny,” Sunset turned her head to the man and raised an eyebrow. “you and I are gonna go through the entire house and fire proof everything in here.” She was about to protest but felt Amber looking at her and her guilt won out. Cerulean handed her the book and they started first with the kitchen and then moved to the living room, then to the rest of their rooms. They put a double enchantment in Sunset’s room before heading to the basement where the alchemist resided.

Cerulean knocked on the door a few times before calling out to the short recluse. “Nix, you down there?” No response came and the two went down the wooden steps and came upon a living area. There was a carpet in the middle of the stone cold floor and a bookshelf against the far wall that was filled with different tomes and books with leather bound spines. Beside the bookshelf was a desk with several beakers and glass jars filled with liquid accompanied by a small tripod and several mortars and pestles.

As soon as the two took a step inside, the floor seemed to give way from under their feet and their bodies were swallowed up by the ground to their necks. Sunset let out a loud shriek as she felt the floor swallow her body. Cerulean cursed and looked around frantically. As he scanned the room he could make out some shuffling in the far corner of the cellar and saw a pair of familiar pink eyes peering out from the darkness.

“What the hell are you two doing down here?” Nix snapped as she covered herself in a blanket and walked over to her two trapped roommates.

“We were fireproofing the house in case match stick here has another episode.” Sunset cast a dark glare at Cerulean. “It’s the truth.” He said as he attempted to shrug.

“So you came down here without asking?” Nix said through grit teeth.

“We knocked and got no answer so we figured you were out.” Sunset said as she looked up at the alchemist. She tried to wiggle free from the ground but she couldn’t even move a finger. “What is this?”

“A little trap I designed for intruders.” She smirked. “You two make good guinea pigs, I wasn’t sure if it’d trap or crush someone.” Cerulean grunted at the words.

“Can you just let us out so we can finish up?” Nix carefully bent down and put one hand on the ground in front of them. There was a small tremor and the two could feel the earth around them loosen. Cerulean managed to wrench a hand free and pulled himself out before helping the fire mage out of her hole. The two dusted themselves off and looked around the room.

“Hurry up and get going. I want to get back to sleep.” She said clutching the blanket to her form. A question wormed it’s way into the archer’s mind.

“Nix, are you naked right now?” Even in the faint light from the candle on the desk Cerulean could just make out the sign of blushing cheeks across her face.

“Just hurry up and get out.” Cerulean turned his head as Sunset started enchanting the bookcase and desk. 

“Where did you get all these books?” Sunset asked as she carefully read the titles.

“Whole bunch of places.” She said in a flippant tone. Sunset dropped the question, seeing she wasn’t going to get anything useful out of her. The two finished up and made their way out of the room and back up to the main floor where amber was lounging on the couch.

“All right, now that that’s taken care of, let’s find a place for you to practice.” He left the house with Lapis on his shoulders and Sunset trailing behind. Cerulean surveyed the streets and buildings. He soon made his way out of town and headed towards the forest.

“Wait, we’re going in there?” She pointed to the eerie rows of trees.

“Yes, barely anyone comes in here and I’d rather have you burn some trees than a building.” He continued down the trail  until they approached a clearing with a pond in the middle. “Okay so what’s the extent of your control?” He asked as he stood in front of the pond.

“I can use plenty of spells with ease.” She snapped her fingers and a small ball of fire appeared in her palm. The fire ball grew in size and Sunset quickly threw it at the pond. The ball hit the water and immediately exploded and a large cloud of steam rose from the water. Cerulean looked at her with a blank expression on his face and Sunset felt her cheeks blush in embarrassment.

“Clearly you’re a master at control.” He said as Lapis jumped off his shoulder and started to explore the clearing. Sunset furrowed her brow and crossed her arms. “We’re going to start with the basics.” He held up the spell book and went to the first chapter. 

Cerulean then found a few dry twigs and stuck them in the ground in front of the pond. “Try lighting them, without turning them to ash.” Sunset rolled her eyes and focused on the twig in the middle. She closed her eyes and imagined small flames on the tips of the branches as she extended her hand. She breathed in and out as she gathered her magic.

She flicked her wrist and opened her eyes just in time to see three large pillars of fire encircle the twigs and the area around them. She gulped and quickly tried to extinguish the flames with another spell but the flames just seemed to eat up the magic and spread. As she tried again a massive wave of water came rushing from the small pond and easily smothered the flames. The kinetic force from the wave also engulfed the sorceress as fell and felt the water seep into her clothes completely saturating her. As the water slowly drained back into the pond Sunset let out a gasp and spat some of the water out.

Cerulean looked at the spot where the twigs once stood. Despite being dunked with a torrent of water the ground was still hot and steam rose from the blackened earth. Sunset parted her soaking wet hair and grunted as she made her way over to him, her boots sloshing as if she were wading through mud.

“What was that for?” She asked as her form started to shiver.

“To prevent you from turning this place into a crater.” He bit back a laugh at seeing her soaking wet form. “Admittedly I may have gone overboard.”

“No kidding,” She said as she crossed her arms. Cerulean cracked his knuckles and charged his magic in his finger tips. Sunset shivered as she felt his magic wash over her and pull the moister from her clothing. A ball of pure water seeped from the cloth around her. He pulled his arm back and the sphere of water dropped back into the pond. 

Her clothes were still damp but were drier than a few seconds ago. She snapped her fingers and steam started to rise from her clothing to get the last bit of moisture out of the cloth. “To be honest I’d be a lot better if I still had my staff.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a bright red crystal. Cerulean recognized it as the crystal that once was at the top of her staff. 

“I managed to salvage this from the wreck.” She said as she palmed it in her hands.

“How did that manage to survive your flames?” Sunset shrugged as she looked at it. There wasn’t a scorch mark on the red surface. “Maybe you should get the staff replaced and then train with it?”

“I know how to use a staff.” She said as she pocketed the gem. He gave her a frank look and walked over to some fallen branches and used one of his axes to trim the smaller branches off until he came up with two long sticks. He took off his coat and axes before tossing her one of the long poles.

“Let’s see then.” He said as he leaned against it. Sunset looked at him with a blank expression on her face.

“I can’t just stick the gem on any stick of wood and use it. I have to attune it and there are several enchantments I must make. Not to mention the quality of the wood has to be extremely durable.” She held up the makeshift staff. “This will just burst into flames if I try to cast a spell with it.” He stared at her blankly.

“I wasn’t talking about magic.” Sunset blinked as she looked at the sticks and then back to the man. She took off her cloak and walked up to him with the staff in her hands. Lapis jumped up on the rock in the center of the pond and watched the two as the sun hit her blue scales. Cerulean took a stance with the makeshift staff. 

Sunset held it out so three quarters of it was in front of her. “Do you honestly know how to use that?”

“Yes,” She said in a bored tone. “stick them with the pointy end.”  Cerulean threw his head back and let out a loud laugh. Sunset grumbled and charged at him with the stick. Cerulean batted the stick end away with his own. 

The next thing Sunset felt was her back hitting the ground as he feet were swept out from under her. Cerulean shook his head and walked up to her prone body. “Ow,” She groaned.

“Clearly you have a lot to learn in all manner of things.” He said as he offered her a hand up. She took it and got to her feet. The next few hours were spent by Cerulean showing Sunset the proper way to hold the staff and defend against attackers. He took a step back and cracked his neck.

“I think we should call it a day.” He said as he rubbed his shoulders. “Neither of us are fully healed and it’s getting late.” She looked up to see that the sky had started to turn a bright orange as the sun started to set. He retrieved his cloak and put it over his shoulders before Lapis jumped back onto his shoulder and sunset retrieved her cloak from the ground. 

“How do you know how to use a staff?” 

“I learned how to hunt with more than just a bow.” He shrugged. “Although I prefer to take things out from a distance.” He said as he pulled out his axes and put them back in bow form.

“How do you even string that thing?” Cerulean ran his magic through his palm and the runes on the handles started to glow. A string of pure magic formed from each end of the axe blade and met in the center. As he pulled back on the string an arrow made of ice formed. He let the arrow fly into the trunk of a nearby tree. 

The arrow started to crack and it soon broke apart into frost that melted in the warm sun. Sunset looked at the impacted area and could see some ice left over from the arrow. “If you can make arrows than why do you have a quiver of them back at the house?”

“Because making arrows takes magic. I prefer to make my arrows beforehand.” He said as they continued down the path.

“Why not use a gun?” She was well aware that spell guns could hold several different types of spell rounds and were significantly more powerful than a bow and arrow. Cerulean let out a sigh.

“As soon as you fire it your position is given away and once all of your ammunition is spent you need to reload.” He shot several arrows in rapid succession on the same tree. “I prefer to be quick and quiet.” 

“You certainly have some skills.” He felt some pride at the compliment.

“Pay attention and you might learn something.” Sunset furrowed her brows at the man as he continued to walk along the path. She discretely wiggled her fingers and a large tree root shot up from the ground just in time to catch Cerulean’s foot. He let out a startled yelp as he lost his footing and fell off the path into a gully that ran along the path’s side.

“Good lesson, now I now know how to fall with grace such as yours.” Sunset heard a huffing sound and saw Lapis spread her lips showing her knife like teeth. She couldn’t be positive, but Sunset got the notion that Lapis was smiling at her. A few grumbles signaled the man climbing up out of the ditch. Cerulean dusted him self off and looked at the two with a blank expression.

“Very funny Sunny, of course you realize I’m gonna have to get you back for this.” He said as he gave her a smile showing all of his white teeth. “What goes around comes around dear.” He turned on his heel and continued back down the path towards the edge of the town. Sunset quietly giggled to herself as they exited the forest.

The two made it to the house and headed to their rooms to wash up from the training session. As Cerulean peeled his clothes off his he saw several bright blue flower petals fall to the floor. He assumed it was from the bush he fell in when Sunset tripped him. He brushed the rest of the petals off his skin and changed clothes. The rest of the night was spent in relative peace and they all drifted back to their rooms for a night’s rest.

The next morning Sunset was awoken by a loud scream that seemed to pierce through the walls. She flew out of bed and looked out into the hallway looking for the source of the scream. A door opened to show Amber with bed head, her fox ears laying flat against her head and her tired eyes locked onto Sunset. “What was that about?” Her tone thick with irritation.

“That wasn’t me, I thought it was you.” Sunset said as she heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. A pink robed Nix emerged with a similar irritated look on her face.

“The next time one of you has a night terror can you please be kind enough to be quiet about it?” She hissed.

“It wasn’t us short stack.” Amber said as she rubbed her eyes. Sunset was about to speak up, but was interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on their front door. Sunset walked downstairs and opened the door to see Gale wearing a grey shirt and pants.

“What was noise? It sounded like a Wyvern’s screech.” She said as she made her way inside to see the other two women standing in the stair well. “Please tell me you did not just see spider or tiny mouse.” She cast her orange eyes onto Sunset.

“It wasn’t any of us.” She responded with a heavy sigh. Gale looked to the other two who just gave her a blank stare. A low screeching sound came from the top of the steps. Amber turned to see Lapis screeching at the group before bounding back to the archer’s room. 

“What’d she say?” Amber asked looking to the draconian.

“She wants us to follow her,” She paused for a moment. “and I think she was laughing.” Sunset followed the dragon with the other three behind her. As she neared the door it slammed shut. The fire mage knocked on the door.

“Cerulean, are you okay?” She called out.

“Sunset did your magic go rampant again?” A shrill voice yelled out. 

“No, at least I don’t think so.” Amber let out a loud groan and kicked the wooden door near the lock. The wood splintered and the door swung inward. Another high pitched scream echoed through the house as the door was kicked in. Amber looked on the bed and saw a form wrapped in the blankets. 

“Get out!” A hoarse voice said. Amber frowned and ripped the blankets from around the figure. Her eyes widened and she collapsed to the ground as she laughed. The other three women walked in to see a thin female figure with blue hair sitting on the bed.

Nix was soon bent forwards struggling to keep upright as she laughed. “It’s not funny!” The woman yelled as she rose to her feet. 

“I can’t breathe!” Amber wheezed out as she clawed at her stomach. The woman’s face was bright red and the air started to become chilly around her form.

“Cerulean?” Sunset asked as she bit back a laugh. The woman’s only response was taking the covers and wrapping them around her form again. She pointed an accusatory finger at Sunset.

“If you’re behind this then I swear I’ll give you an up close and personal lesson on skinning.” Sunset felt the blood drain from her face and took a half step behind Gale who was studying the situation with a quizzical eye. She turned her head towards the pyro mage.

“I swear I didn’t do it!” Sunset protested. “I wouldn’t even know how. Age and body morphing spells are way above my level.” 

“How did this happen?” Gale said as she examined his change.

“I just woke up like this.” Cerulean said as he came out from the blankets. His once short blue hair now stretched to the middle of his shoulder blades. His shoulders were far less broad, his hips were wider and a pair of breasts were pressing against his shirt that now exposed a sliver of his lean stomach.

“I have never seen magic like this.” Gale said as she inspected his changed body. She extended a finger and poked his stomach making him flinch. He gave her an indignant look. “It is not illusion.”

“Want to make a full cavity search while you’re at it?” Gale frowned at his remark and hissed showing her enlarged canines. Cerulean didn’t flinch as he felt cold fury filling his chest. Sunset slowly stepped between the two oping to diffuse the situation.

“Let’s all just calm down.” She started before turning to Cerulean. “Let’s go through what happened yesterday, maybe there’s something there.” Cerulean recounted the events of yesterday to the group. 

“You said you fell into a bush yesterday?” Gale inquired.

“More like a flower bed that I hope wasn’t Zecora’s.” Cerulean walked over to the waste	 pan and showed them the blue petals. Gale hissed and took several steps back as she yelled something in draconian and pointed at the petals. “What?” 

“That is poison joke.” She said as she pointed a finger at the trash can. “It’s a weed that grows in the forest. If you touch it then it will,” She paused as she thought of the right word. “alter you in some way.” Cerulean stared at Sunset with cold fury brewing behind his eyes.

“I didn’t know you’d fall on some weird magic weed.” She said innocently. 

“We’ll discuss this later.” He said as he looked back to the dark scaled warrior. “Please tell me there is a cure.” Gale tiled her head to the side and thought.

“Yes, but I don’t know it.” He hung his head and groaned. “but I know someone who does.” His eyes filled with hope. “Twilight Sparkle has dealt with this plant before, surely she knows the cure.” 

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s find her.” He said as he leaned forwards and his back cracked. “Seriously, how do you girls deal with these things?” He gestured to his chest and gave Amber a knowing look. The brown haired girl simply shrugged.

“You get use to it.” Cerulean groaned and ushered the girls out of his room while he changed. The other three went back to their rooms and did the same. Lapis had claimed a spot on Cerulean’s bed and didn’t look like she would be willing to move any time soon. Cerulean came back down wearing a plain blue tunic and white pants. Despite his efforts, his chest made the shirt expose a portion of his stomach. He struggled to pull his shirt down, but he was scared of ruining it.

“Not so easy is it?” Gale said wit a smirk. 

“I’m in no mood for sass.” He was so annoyed by his situation that he didn’t hear Amber sneak up behind him. The brawler looped her hands under his arms and gave his breasts a few quick squeezes. Cerulean let out another shriek as he was fondled by the woman. His elbow went back into her ribs and Amber let go. 

Cerulean whirled with ice forming in his hand as Amber rubbed her stomach. “What was that for?” He said as Nix came back up from the basement and Sunset form the second floor.

“Wanted to see how they felt.” Amber shrugged. “Not bad, but mine are better.” He didn’t even dignify that with a response. He grabbed his cloak that he made sure covered his head and front. 

“Let’s just find Sparkle so I can get my body back.” Sunset gulped at the thought of the indigo mage.

“I think I’ll stay,” Cerulean gripped her by her collar and ice slowly started to creep along the back of her neck.

“You tripped me into that damn weed bed, you’re fixing this.” He said as frost came from his breath. Sunset nodded and begrudgingly followed him.

“Oh I’m not missing this.” Nix said as she followed Gale. The group made their way through the town without incident, apart from Amber whipping Cerulean’s backside with her tail. He caught the appendage and started to freeze it before Amber ripped it from his grasp. They entered the guild and Cerulean creeped along the walls attempting to stay out of sight from the few guild members that were chatting. 

Twilight was at her usual post at the front desk a book in her hand and the other taking notes on a piece of parchment. She stopped her motions as she saw Gale approaching. “Hello Gale, how are you feeling?”

“Better,” She said as she rolled her shoulders. “but Red Heart is fussy as mother hen.” Cerulean cleared his throat to speed things along. Gale narrowed her orange eyes at him. “We need your help.”  

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the warrior. “It is a delicate matter.” Twilight nodded and gestured Gale and Cerulean to the back room. After she closed the door Twilight turned to face the two. “You still have antidote for poison joke yes?” 

Cerulean pulled his hood back and Twilight’s eyes widened as she looked at the woman’s delicate face. “Cerulean?” He nodded. Twilight put a hand over mouth to prevent a torrent of laughter from bursting out. He let out a snarl and the air around him grew cold. “I can say I’ve never seen that reaction to poison joke before.”

“Please tell me you have the cure. If anyone else sees me like this then I’ll never hear the end of it.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest. Twilight nodded and motioned for them to wait out in the main hall while she went through the books they had at the guild’s library. Cerulean took a seat at the farthest table away from the front and decided to order some breakfast.

Across the way, Amber grinned wickedly as she approached Comet, Carmel and Thunderlane. The three men stopped talking as the brawler approached them. “Hey guys did you hear the news?” The three looked at one another and shook their heads. “There’s a new girl in the guild today.” Their eyebrows rose and a smile spread on the dark flyer’s face.

“Who?” Amber pointed to the gender bent archer who was quietly eating at the far table. “Is she cute? She’s got her hood up.” Carmel stated.

“Oh yeah, she’s cute.”

“What kind of measurements are we talking here?” Carmel and Comet turned to look at the flyer. “What?”

“Flitter and Cloud are gonna be angry.” Comet chastised.

“I’m just looking. Nothing wrong with that.” Amber held both he hands out and made squeezing motions as if she was groping something.

“I’d say a solid C cup and her tush is the perfect blend of firmness and cushion.” She said as she looked at the archer.

“You know this how?” Amber on gave them a wry grin. Her smile faltered as three familiar flyers approached the blue cloaked person. Cerulean didn’t look up as three familiar feathered annoyances came up to him.

“You new around here?” Endzone said with a cocky grin. Cerulean didn’t answer as he continued to eat. The grey winged flyer frowned. “Hey I’m talking to you.”

“Piss off, I’m eating.” He grumbled. Endzone reached out and grabbed his forearm. Before he could react Cerulean broke the hold and his slender fingers curled around the flyer’s groin making him gasp loudly. He set down his fork and looked up at the incapacitated flyer. “Interrupt my meal again and it will be the worst mistake of your life,” 

His teal eyes flashed down to his hand. “Or the smallest in your case.” The other two flyers were about to jump in but froze as Gale snarled at them. “Understand?” endzone let out a wheeze that Cerulean only could assume meant yes. Gale then marched over to the group.

“We have what we need. Let’s go.” She said as she glared at the men. Cerulean let go of the flyer who dropped to his knees and gasped for air.

“Good idea, my hand cramps up whenever I hold something smaller than three inches anyway.” He flexed his fingers and followed the draconian back to where Twilight was waiting with a book.

“I don’t have the potion itself, but it’s easy to make.” Cerulean took the book and opened it up to the marked page. “You just need to mix the ingredients and soak in it.” He thanked her for the help and walked over to where Nix and the others were sitting, making sure to keep his hood up as Caramel, Thunder and Comet slowly backed away.

He opened the book and looked over the ingredients he needed. He grunted in frustration as he looked at the list. Cerulean was familiar with some basic herb lore, but he didn’t know what or even where to look for these plants. Nix took the book from him and glanced at the page. She let out an unimpressed laugh at the page.

“This couldn’t be more easy.” She said with a shake of her head. 

“You know how to make this?” Amber asked as she crooned over her shoulder.

“Please, a child could make this. I have all the ingredients on my desk and I could make it in my sleep,” Her eyes flashed as she saw the pleading look on Cerulean’s face. “for a price of course.” He furrowed his brow and made a pouting face.

“How much?”

“Two-hundred bits would cover it.” Cerulean’s eyes widened at the price and his jaw dropped.

“I don’t have that kind of money.” Rather he would have it if their last job had gone according to plan. Nix just shrugged and closed the book.

“I work in favors too.” A shiver ran through his spine as the thought of being indebted to the greedy alchemist wormed it’s way into his mind.

“How about I cover your share of next month’s rent?” Nix tilted her head to the side and started calculating in her mind. She leaned from side to side and gave him a nod. 

“Deal.” With the deal struck Nix and Cerulean went back to the house to cook up the cure from her lab. Two hours later Cerulean entered the bathroom with the vial of bright green liquid. He pulled his clothes off and was about to step into the bathtub when he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He had to admit that he did look attractive. 

He quickly pushed the thoughts aside as he filled the bathtub and poured the concoction into the warm water before stepping inside. Within minutes, he felt the potion working as he felt his hips and shoulders return to their normal size. His hair also receded to it’s proper length and all of his reproductive parts were back to normal. The archer would have to pay sunset back ten fold for this. He submerged his head into the water and thought dark, mischievous thoughts.