Prelude: Storytime

The call of adventure, it doesn’t sing its seductive song as loudly as it once had. It seems only a select few of us ever hear the tantalizing tune anymore. Of course, that keeps it a very interesting hobby.

We have all gone on some form of adventure before, sure. In the pages of our favorite issue of Daring Do or some other tome or film, we have seen adventure. But it’s a much different tale to tell when you’ve lived it.

On the day Princess Twilight Sparkle sent me a letter, asking me to return to the trail and take the mantle of traveler once again, I couldn’t resist. I waited patiently for that knock at my door, to venture back out into the vast land beyond the borders of my home. Inspiration rang louder than any bell or gong could ever hope to out there. I had songs to sing and tales to tell, and where better to find lyrics and plotlines than to set out on a voyage once again?

Gather these, save those, protect the land and prevent war. All very worthy causes, but none of them pushed me out that door harder than the desire to wander under the sun and stars into danger and discord once again. I needed only the slightest excuse to bring me back into the life I once had, and to this day I have no regrets.

My dearest love wished me to abandon this habit of mine, but she knew that sparkle in my eye all too well. It pained me to leave her, truly it did, but when the very world pulls at your soul, you can do little to resist. I kept her with me through rain and snow and sweltering heat, in my heart she never once left my side, making the day I would return to her all the more divine.

In my companions I saw that very same look that reflected in my beloved’s eyes as she looked into mine. They could hear the song as clearly as I did. Reasons for leaving aside, we all took joy from each trek and every battle as we looked back upon them. We found ourselves laughing by the fire, sharing our own experience of the days and nights that brought us together and bonded us forever.

Through these journals and books I write, the folk may know of our quests through words and text, but they will never live it through blood and sweat as we have. We will look through these paragraphs and passages and we will remember, calling back images of the times we went through, the days of laughter, those nights of fear and anger, and even the times that bored us as we waited for answers or some direction. My hope is that somepony out there can capture a sliver of those feelings we held, perhaps inspiring them to take on adventure themselves, or at the very least, inspire them to create a story of their very own.

Though I may praise my time of exploration and romantics, there were truly the days of despair, hours of loss and impending doom. Dread would slither its way through our veins as tempers grew short and envy poured from even the strongest of us. We faced our dark times as well as the bright, and there were moments in which we wondered if we would ever make it home. I remember considering abandoning the journey more than once.

It was during these periods of doubt, however, when we found the greatest turnabouts. We found our inner strength when we needed it the most and prevailed over our obstacles and enemies as they came to meet us.

Loyalty.

Before I set out on this quest the word may as well have been foreign to me, but now I understand it a little bit better. I’ve seen it wilt and give way to questions and confusion, sure; but never did I see it break. I witnessed the protection of allies and the support of comrades all under the banner of the majestic idea known as loyalty. It battled against our pain in the darkest instances that came our way, crying out against the injustice that threatened us and took away what was precious and dear.

It was strange, and yet comforting to have a leader. I was used to traveling on my lonesome, a troubadour who would charm and hum her way to free food and away from trouble. Yes, I have had to cut my way out of messes before and my blade has become a close and trusted companion, but I had often done my adventuring alone. But under the guidance of that mare, I had a stronger feeling that our undertaking was something larger. Despite my longer years of experience, she had proven to be my better, and rarely did I question her commands or orders. She not only embodied the ideas and strengths of loyalty and dedication, but she had even turned the concept into a tool, one that saved our skin, bones, and lives on many occasions.

Rainbow Dash and I had exchanged few words, considered ourselves little more than acquaintances and neighbors before we were summoned into this duty. Now I am honored to consider her a sister, a comrade in arms, and a very dear friend. We have spilled and lost blood together, and as I have looked to her for leadership, she saw my value and knowledge as a great benefit. She and I knew the passions of love before we left and stood by one another when we felt our longing hearts overtake us. We pushed each other to carry out our mission and reach its end.

Perhaps the song was sung loudest in her ears. We could all hear it, but she had a special connection to it, as if she knew the rhythm by heart. She kept us all moving, and reminded us of the tune’s true beauty. She let us know that the sour notes were worth marching through, just to hear that glorious and magical finale. I followed her through that bright and colorful valley of hope, confidence and valor, and I would happily walk it again.

In the Valley of Rainbows, she was, and still is, the light that guides us and shows us the colors of adventure, and sings its song as we follow.

-Lyra Heartstrings

The New Chapter

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The New Chapter

A few miles to the east of Appaloosa, there was a settlement built upon a prosperous and thriving mine. The desert winds carried the consistent clinking of pickaxes and scratching of claws against dirt. These were Diamond Dog lands; this could be seen by the various tunnels and holes surrounding the place. There were a few wooden buildings throughout the town, primarily bars and inns for travelers, as most of the dogs' homes resided underground. One such tavern, titled "Diamond in the Ruff" as an attempt to be clever, was currently serving a particular pegasus with a multicolored mane. She sat at the bar with a glass in her hoof, motioning for the barkeep for a refill.

"We don't get very many flying ponies in these parts. What’re you doing out here in the desert?" the dog asked as he poured another glass of hard cider.

The winged pony kept her eyes to the table as she let out a chuckle. "Believe me, buddy, I never expected this either," she let out a melancholic sigh, "but, it's like Dad used to say..." She paused for a moment, then took a swig of her drink. "... Shit happens." The bartender nodded as he cleaned glasses with a rag. Dash started with another sigh, "I'm just traveling. Getting a better feel for this wide world we live in, after all, I kinda lost the only thing keeping me around back home. I thought about moving back to Cloudsdale at first, but I left that place a long time ago. There's nothing there for me anymore."

The dog gave a small chuckle. "Ah, sounds like a very sad story for a pony. Usually heard things like that from a Gryphon or other dogs."

Dash gave a chuckle in return. "Yeah. It ain't all sunshine and rainbows for us buddy. Don’t get me wrong, that's a lot of it, but we get the bad times too."

Another nod from the bartender as he replaced the glass he was cleaning with a new one. "If the pony doesn't mind, might I ask her story?"

A smile returned to Dash's face. "Sure... why not? It's a tale worth telling." She chugged back the rest of her glass and put it to the side as she gathered her memories. "Never saw it all coming y'know. The six of us always stood together, through everything, even a god couldn't tear us apart from one another. But see, thing is, Twilight had always been there to keep us connected. We'd all known of each other, but I didn't really spend too much time with Pinkie or Rarity before Twilight brought us all together. Hadn't seen much of Fluttershy either in those days. Twilight was always the one who brought us back together when things were strained. She united us against Nightmare Moon, stopped the changeling invasion, saved a whole 'nother dimension, and even managed to keep us together when our lives were swapped. So you'd think we'd all be good so long as we had Twilight... and we were." The diamond dog never tore his eyes from Dash's face, just as her own eyes were focused on the table, looking more into her memory rather than the world around her.

"But what do you do when that major piece of the puzzle is taken away?" Her smile vanished. "Duty called and she left... and gradually... so did everypony else." She reached for her glass, but stopped when she realized it was still empty. The bartender gave her a quick refill and she took her gulp. "You see, one day, Celestia and Luna just up and vanished! No explanation, no warning, no nothing... Just gone. 'Course Twilight did the only thing she could; she took over as the only available princess at the time. We all supported her and knew it was what she had to do. She tried to keep us informed on what was going on everyday, sending us all letters through Spike, who she had left with us to get those messages." The dog looked a bit confused. "He's an enchanted dragon... bit of a different story there." The dog shrugged and let her continue.

"Well, as she got busier and busier, we heard less and less from her ya see... and..." Dash found it a bit difficult at this point, but pressed on. "Eventually, the letters stopped altogether. AJ and I did our best to try and keep the gang together... it didn't really work out too well." She took a pause. "Fluttershy left first. Went to spending most of her time in the Everfree Forest. She seemed to never be in her cottage when any of us came knocking. Rarity and Spike moved her business off to Canterlot. Pinkie Pie... well... you'd never have expected the loudest of us to leave without so much as a 'bye', but nobody knows where she went, or even when she left." A small chuckle escaped the pegasus. "She was the last one I'd ever have expected to act like that. So then it came down to just me and AJ, I mean, I would often fly off to see Twilight, but the two of us were the only ones left in Ponyville anymore."

It took about a full minute and another glass of cider before Dash could find her voice again. "I swear to you, I would have stayed with that mare forever. Heh... but she said we had to be honest with ourselves and that..." Dash had to stop and chuckle again. "Get this. She told me to be loyal to myself." Her chuckle became a full out laugh as she drew the attention of a few of the other patrons in the bar. "She tells me, the Element of Loyalty, to be loyal to myself." She tried to take a swig from her empty glass before letting out one last chuckle and turning it upside down on the counter. "She was right though... I WOULD have stayed with her forever...but I wanted to go too. I longed to travel the skies and discover myself as I believe they had all left to do. But, once she told me that, it was like she was setting me free... getting rid of the only excuse I had to stay." She smiled and let out another sigh.
"She's always been too good to us. The wisest of us all... I'll bet she's still there working the farm as we speak."

A long and low whistle came from the bartender. "Much drama back in pony lands. You must have been very close."

"Yup... we were."

"So, returning to my first question. Why here? Pony has all of the world and wings to travel it with. Why stop by some desert shack with dogs?"

Dash gave a slight hiccup before motioning a hoof over her shoulder, pointing out three rather rowdy diamond dogs arguing over their drink at a table. "Ran into these guys a while back. I'd been traveling for a little under a year and saw them walking about. Figured I'd let them tag along. Gets kinda lonely on the road all alone ya know?"

The bartender took a look at the three dogs. One was short and brown, trying to crawl over the other two to reach for a mug still full of booze. Another was taller and bulkier with a much more blue color along his coat, he was holding the mug well over the other two's heads despite only standing on the ground. The third had a gray coat and was somewhere in the middle with size as he was standing on the table, reaching for the drink. It was only a few seconds before they all fell over themselves with the drink following after, splashing all over their heads. "Uh..." the barkeep started.

"I know them from earlier in my life. We... weren't on as good of terms back then. However, they have been able to show me some pretty cool places, like this one, along the way." Rainbow Dash turned around to get a good look at them and shook her head with a wide grin. "Plus, they can make for some good entertainment.” She let out a yawn and rubbed at her eyes. “Say, I'm thinking about turning in for the night. Could you put a room on the bill?"

The bartender nodded and handed Dash a key for one of the rooms upstairs. "Thanks, pal, and... sorry for any trouble those three may cause." She came down from the bar stool and rummaged through her saddle bags on the floor before pulling out a few gems. "Is this about enough?" The bartender looked at the payment, a bit taken aback. "Diamond dogs use gems as currency right? If it's too much, you can go ahead and keep it. Consider it a thanks for hearing me out." The bartender nodded graciously as Dash turned back to her traveling companions. "Yo! Spot, Fido, Rover. I'm turning in. Try not to wreck the place before we leave okay?"
The three dogs immediately stopped their buffoonery and stood to attention. "Yes Miss Rainbow Dash!"

And with that, Dash gave a satisfied smile, grabbed the key between her teeth, and made her way to her room. Room five, room five... AH! Here! She slid the key into the lock and gave it a good turn, opening the door and revealing a decent looking room. There was a bed, a nightstand, a chest of drawers, a lamp, and a window. Very basic and unremarkable. “Not exactly up to Rarity's standards, but better than some desert rock,” she chuckled to herself. She made her way over to the bed, dropping her saddlebags right next to it. She rummaged through the bag for a moment until she found what she was looking for. Bringing her head out of the bag, she dangled a necklace from her mouth, gold with a lightning shaped, red gemstone in the center: her element.

She placed it onto the bed, stepping back to give it a good look. She didn’t know if her friends had taken their elements as well, but she had kept hers, in case the elements were ever needed again. Since she had begun her travels, she would take time to study the thing. It looked like little else than some fancy necklace on the surface, but she had seen its capability in the past.

Discord, Nightmare Moon, it had been a tool to protect Equestria against names like this, though only a piece. When her friends had left, Rainbow had taken to seeing this necklace as a reminder, a token to keep her friends in mind. She also wondered about what it truly meant to be the spirit of loyalty. Was it simply being there for her friends? Sticking up for them and their ideas? Or was it something else?

She remembered something that Celestia had said when Twilight ascended to an alicorn. “Devotion.” She had liked the sound of that. Loyalty in essence was a form of devotion, a small part of something bigger. The more that Rainbow thought on this every night, the more she came to understand her role as a representation of loyalty.

Rainbow Dash put the necklace on, thinking on her ideas of loyalty and devotion. She had done this nights before, and like those times, she could feel the necklace resonating, almost communicating back with her. The gem in the center gave a dim glow. “Looks like Twi was right. The Elements do have some power on their own.” She gave a slight smile. She had made quite a bit of progress in her research on the item. After focusing a bit longer, she returned the necklace to her bags and let out another yawn. “Time to turn in.”

Heeding The Call

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Heeding The Call

Rainbow Dash found her sleep to be an unpleasant tossing and turning in her bed as dreams invaded her mind in the night. Visions flashed of fire, blades, hooves, and claws. Griffons, dogs, changelings, ponies and more, staring one another down as corpses lie between them all, with cannons firing skyward and cries of agony wailing in the air. It all sounded so clear and vivid, but the visions passed in seconds. Rainbow struggled to make sense of it all before, finally, she saw the face of Twilight emerge. She stood there before Rainbow, dressed in her crown and gown.

“Rainbow Dash.” Twilight’s voice was faint and ethereal, as if she were farther than her appearance suggested. “Rainbow Dash,” Twilight repeated. Rainbow tried to respond, but found herself at a loss, unable to speak. Twilight continued calling Rainbow’s name before she began drifting away, the distance between the two of them growing. Rainbow Dash tried to run towards her, giving chase. It was useless though, as the gap would not close between them.

Rainbow’s eyes shot open as she hit the floor with a thud, sweating and panting like she’d been sprinting through a marathon. The sun had yet to rise as she looked up at the dark, wooden ceiling. She brought herself up onto her hooves and gave her head a shake. She didn’t know exactly what had happened, but she had a feeling she knew what it was. She was being summoned, called back to Canterlot. Twilight needed her.

Rainbow walked over towards the window, bringing it open to let some air in. She gave a slight smirk. “Couldn’t have just sent a postcard or something more pleasant, eh?” she spoke out into the night, pretending that Twilight could hear. Regardless, it seemed like her next destination was set for her. She took a few deep breaths, trying to shake off the nightmare she had just fallen out of. She returned to her bed, ready to try and sleep off the rest of the night, however, once she set her head onto her pillow, she heard a crash coming from the room next to her own, and arguing followed.

“Ugh... I swear, those three…” She let the sentence hang as she brought her pillow over her ears, trying to muffle out the sounds of bickering dogs.

Morning arrived. Rainbow Dash gathered her belongings and grabbed her key, giving a knock at the dogs’ door to let them know it was time to get going. She made her way back to the bar where she dropped her key and made her way outside.

Rainbow Dash watched as dogs would occasionally make their way in and out of the buildings around, sometimes carrying jangling bags almost overflowing with gems, or helmets and bottles of booze. She remembered the description of the diamond dogs that Rover had given her. “Dogs dig and dogs drink. Dogs dig to drink. It is a simple life.” From what she saw, that sounded about accurate.

It took a few minutes before her companions came out the door, toting the large sacks of food and supplies they had come with. “So, where we go to next, Miss Rainbow Dash?” Rover asked.

“We’re heading to Canterlot,” Rainbow answered. “And you don’t have to call me Miss.”

“Po-nee lands?” Spot piped up. “But didn’t Miss—er—Rainbow Dash leave for adventures? Perhaps she needs us to think of a new suggestion?”

“No. I know what I’m talking about guys. Just trust me on this one,” Rainbow flashed a grin toward the dogs, making herself look trustworthy.

They remained hesitant however as the larger Fido was the next to speak, “Po-nees care not for dogs. Suspicious of us.” Rover and Spot nodded their heads in agreement.

“Yeah, but you guys are with me! I’m practically a hero! Stick with me and they’ll love you guys,” Dash insisted. The dogs kept their reluctant looks, scratching at their arms and the backs of their necks. “Plus the best Sweet Apple cider you’ve ever tasted will be there!” This brought the dogs to attention, ears perking and tails wagging. “That’s more like it! C’mon, let’s get moving!”

With a cheer from the dogs, the four set out into the desert, making their way north to Canterlot. The speed and endurance of diamond dogs on foot was a trait that Dash had greatly come to appreciate, as she could fly for a long while as they were able to keep pace from below. They blazed a trail, heeding the call that Rainbow had been given. They went for hours, determined to make it back in the shortest amount of time possible, for drinks, and for a friend.

Eventually the sun fell under the horizon, and they decided to stop. They found a large group of boulders to take shelter around, dropping their bags and setting up camp. Rainbow flew about, scouting the area for any neighbors they may have for the night as the dogs built a fire and pitched tents. Around the fire they all gathered and pulled out various scraps of food for supper.

As Rainbow chewed at a few loose carrots that were only hours from going stale, she stared into the fire and pondered her dream. The only thing clear about it was that Twilight was calling her, but she couldn’t figure out the rest of it. The hazy fires and flashes of corpses, hatred in the eyes of creatures. It was as if Twilight was trying to warn her about something, but she couldn’t figure out what. Though if there was one thing it reminded her of, it was those war films she used to watch with her dad. Was that the warning? Did Twilight believe that war was on it’s way? But war hasn’t existed in Equestria. The last known war ponies participated in was before this was even CALLED Equestria. Dash continued to wander in her thoughts before she noticed that Spot and Rover were staring back at her.

“What?” she asked. They turned their heads suddenly, acting as if they weren’t paying her any attention. She turned her attention back to the dark that surrounded them. “Rover,” she called, bringing her companion’s attention back to her. “We’re about on the edge of the desert here. We should be seeing grass below us within a few hours tomorrow. You familiar at all with this part of the world? Know if there’s any beasties and critters or such we should keep an eye out for?”

Rover took a pause, setting aside a strip of jerky that he and the dogs had packed for themselves, Rainbow never asked about its origin, as she didn’t want to know. “Not much on the edge of the desert. Earth too shallow. Most dwellers in the desert hide underground, like dogs. Farther from desert, thicker earth, harder to dig. Of course it’s a minor issue for dogs,” Rover finished proudly.

“So we don’t need to worry about any unwanted visitors?” Rainbow asked.

“Monsters no, visitors yes,” Fido piped in.

“Many travelers pass through desert. Dogs, Po-nees, and more!” Spot added.

Rainbow Dash gave a small nod. “Right, so we’ll sleep in shifts then and keep an eye out on the gear. Anyone wanna volunteer?” Almost the instant after she finished her sentence, Dash saw the three dogs leap into a pile and snore. “Right. Guess I’m up first then,” said Dash with a groan.

Rainbow sat by the fire throughout the night, keeping her attention to the environment. She would turn her attention to each sound or shadow that seemed like it was approaching. Time went by rather slowly for her, until she felt a compulsion to check her bags. She pulled out the necklace of loyalty, taking to her nightly ritual of observing and studying the artifact. She put it on and began focusing as she had last night, bringing about the ruby glow as before.

A rustle in a nearby shrub alerted her. Rainbow turned her gaze back to the surrounding area. She didn’t see anything, and thought for a moment about taking to the sky. Looking over towards her companions, she noticed Fido, piled on top of the other two, sniffing at the air in his sleep, like he was having some powerfully vivid dream. He was definitely picking something up. As his sleeping head rose, he tried to get a better whiff and put on a snarl, before falling back down with a sharp snort. She smirked and whispered to herself, “Good dog.”

She watched Fido sniff lazily, his head pointing in the direction he seemed to focus towards. Sure enough, she noticed a few shadows moving about. She wasn’t quite sure what it was, possibly just some animals moving about. She kept a careful eye on them though. For a while it seemed as if they were doing very little, only staying in one area, seeming to keep one another’s attention. It was difficult to make out the shapes of the creatures, but then they began to draw near, bringing Rainbow to a mild alert. As she continued to stare off into the dark though, she heard sounds coming from behind as well. She noticed that Fido’s nose had turned in that direction as well. The shapes were similar from what she saw, but before any details came around, Fido and her ears alerted her to sounds on the right, and the left. “Right... surrounding us then,” Rainbow whispered, bringing herself low and ready.

She brought one of her back hooves up and started nudging at the dogs, attempting to wake them. “Hey. Fido, Rover, Spot. Get up,” she whispered, keeping her voice quiet so that she didn’t draw too much attention. When they didn’t so much as stir at her nudging, Rainbow gave a slight kick to each of them, and that brought them back to consciousness, though a bit louder than she had wished.

“UNDER ATTACK! PANIC! RUN DOGS!” The three of them scrambled in fear, tumbling over one another.

“Guys! Shut up!” Rainbow shouted. The figures in the dark began to pick up a pace, coming closer. From the way they moved, it became apparent that they had hostile intentions. “Combat incoming!”

The dogs stopped their panicking at Rainbow’s call and gathered themselves around her, snarling and taking on intimidating poses. This brought hesitation towards their attackers, though only for a moment. Dash tried to take advantage of that small moment to see what they were up against. Mussed brown fur, pointed nose, worm-like tail, and bipedal. She could only really describe the creatures as large rats standing on their back legs. The part that really brought some concern to her however, was a slight gleam in the darkness.

One of the rats lunged out towards them holding out the flashing objects. Dash moved quick to get out of the way but felt the graze of a blade across her foreleg, confirming her suspicions. She gave a swift kick to her assailant, knocking it back a fair distance. “They’re armed! Daggers!”

The dogs gave a collective nod, taking the warning into account before throwing themselves into battle. They moved a lot quicker than one would have expected for creatures of their size, grabbing quick hold of the rats’ arms so that they couldn’t thrust their daggers. They worked like a machine, almost simultaneously pulling off each movement with one another, forcing their opponents down in the dirt and twisting their arms with a sickening ‘snap’ sound. Three rats gave a cry of agony, three rats were met with a forceful dog fist, and three rats fell silent. These three had worked together many times in the past and knew their way through a brawl, these creatures were much smaller than a drunken diamond dog however, and proved much easier to put down.

Rainbow gave an admiring grin at the skill of her partners and forced herself into one of the rats that stood a few feet in front of her, pounding her forehooves into its chest and bringing it to its back. It swung its tiny dagger in fear, missing with its flailing strikes before Dash finally gave a swift stomp to its head, forcing it out of the battle. Two more rats were foolish enough to try and attack from behind, meeting the power of a pony’s back legs as they collided into their rib cages, forcing any wind and fight out of them.

Despite the fact that the rats seemed to greatly outnumber the four of them, Rainbow and the dogs fought on, taking out any that approached. The dogs seemed perfectly aware of one another’s actions, Fido would grapple a rat and toss it aside, only for the rat to then meet the backside of Rover’s paw, followed up with a headbutt to the back from Spot, effectively removing the creature from taking any more action. Rainbow’s speed and powerful legs proved too much for the rats, taking them down in only a few kicks and punches.

The rats were distancing themselves, growing more and more nervous to attack. They seemed unsure if they could continue. Dash was feeling confident that they were going to get out of this with little to no injury. Scanning the dark, she saw the number of conscious rats had dropped by a large margin. When she turned her head to check on the dogs though, she saw Fido with both his paws holding one of the rats into the air, completely unaware of the two who were charging him, daggers pointed. There was no way that she could call out quick enough for him to realize in time, and they were too close for her to charge, Rover and Spot hadn’t even seen the coming attack yet. Dash felt an urge, a need to save her friend, but anything she could think of in that second wasn’t good enough. “Fido!”

It was quick, faster than any of them could comprehend. Fido was surrounded by a big red bubble, looking dumbfounded as his would-be attackers smacked into the barrier and fell to the ground. Dash looked down at her element in shock, it was glowing brightly, feeding off her want to protect her friend and granting her that power. The fight seemed to have paused, everyone only looking at the barrier Dash had managed to summon with awe.

When the shock dropped, Fido gave a devious grin to the rat he held in his paws, the barrier around him dropped and he brought his captive down on top of his attackers like a weapon, taking the three of them out of commission. The rats all gave a fearful shriek at the sight. They gathered their fallen comrades quickly before running off into the shadows as Rainbow Dash and the dogs watched them go.

“Yeah! Get outta here!” Dash called with a triumphant smile on her face. The dogs all let out a synchronous howl to the skies, with their arms crossed over one another’s shoulders.

Fido walked over to Dash and extended a paw in thanks. “Thank you, Miss Rainbow Dash.” He gave a dopey and crooked smile, drawing a grin from Rainbow herself.

She gave her hoof in acceptance as he shook it in appreciation. “Just Rainbow Dash, Fido, and don’t worry about it.”

“I didn’t know Rainbow Dash had magic,” Spot jumped in, drawing close to the necklace. Dash pushed him away, uneasy with the look he had been giving the trinket.

“I didn’t really know either. Totally wasn’t expecting that to happen, I just saw Fido was in trouble and wanted to help him out.” She looked back down at the element. It was no longer glowing. “I guess this thing has more to it than I originally thought.” She took a mental note to let Twilight in on this, she’d definitely want to know. Dash then turned her attention to Rover. “Think they’ll be coming back?”

Rover shook his head. “Sand rats are weak creatures, merchants and thieves mostly, but not stupid. They know when battle proves pointless and they won’t try again. Perhaps they were trying to sneak and take our supplies, hope for treasure, but we found them before they could draw close. We proved it’s not worth it.” He gave a grin as he flexed one of his arms. “Should be good for the rest of the night.”

Dash gave a nod. “Good, ‘cause it’s your guys’ turn to keep watch.” She gave a smile as she walked into a tent near the fire, dropping down and closing her eyes. The dogs all stared at one another and frowned, walking to opposing sides of camp to keep an eye out for the night as Rainbow let sleep take her.

Morning came soon enough as Rainbow stretched her wings and legs, going over to put out their fire. She looked over and saw that the dogs had all fallen asleep with their backs against one another. She shook her head, walking over and giving them a good shove, causing them to topple over onto one another and wake up in near panic.

“Sleep well?” she asked, drawing embarrassed looks from all three of them. “Whatever. Just check to see if we still have everything.” They each gave a salute and began checking their packs. Rainbow went over to her own saddlebags and began searching. Sure enough, everything was still there, except for her element. She was actually surprised she had fallen asleep with it on. She went to remove the necklace, but decided against it. It could be handy if they should come across any hazards and it decided to throw up another barrier. She then turned back to see the dogs putting everything around the site away, ready to get back on the road.

They continued their travels, the dogs kicking up dust as they ran on. It took only a few hours before the sand and dirt below them began to give way to green grass. They kept their pace quick, only ever stopping after a few hours, the longest of which was a break for lunch. They saw the mountain that housed Canterlot in the distance, drawing closer as the time ticked by. Sure enough, they found themselves in the city by the time the moon replaced the sun, tired and panting.

There was hesitation from the guards when they saw diamond dogs approaching, however as Rainbow Dash had said, they were accepted as her guests. While the dogs were eager to wet their tongues with cider and head to bed, Rainbow insisted that they make their way to the castle first and figure out what they had been called for. She wouldn’t have been summoned in such a way if it weren’t urgent.

She Who Summoned Me

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She Who Summoned Me

Rainbow Dash made her way through the castle, keeping the dogs close by to avoid any potential conflict with the guards. Outside of the throne room, they insisted that Rover and his crew stay behind. “Princess Twilight is going to want to see them as well. They’re my companions and friends and they’ll most likely need to hear this too.”

“I’m sorry, Miss Rainbow Dash—”

“Just Rainbow Dash,” Spot said proudly, crossing his arms behind his back and giving a smug grin.

The guard returned the interruption with a frown. “As I was saying, Rainbow Dash, the diamond dogs are poachers and they hide behind trees. Hunt you to the ground they will. They can’t be trusted.”

“Shut it, Bowie. They listen to me.” Rainbow turned to the dogs and tapped her hoof against the floor. “Sit!” The dogs all obeyed, planting themselves onto the ground with their chins raised proudly. “Stand!” They once again followed her command, standing straight and at attention. “Speak!”

“Yes, Rainbow Dash!” they replied in unison. Dash turned back to the guard with a cocky smirk.

“Fine. You may enter, but keep them under control. If they prove to be a problem, then you’ll be the one taking full responsibility.” The doors to the throne room opened and Rainbow entered. The dogs began making their way in after, but not before giving a synchronized raspberry to the guard.

At the end of the room, Twilight sat with three guards giving her their full attention with a large purple dragon standing at her side, his arms crossed. Rainbow recognized the dragon as Spike, though much bigger than the last time she had seen him. “Send word to Shining Armor. We’re going to need his opinion on this matter, I’m not as familiar with military action yet and we can’t let Gallows believe we are weak. If the griffons want to use intimidation tactics, we just have to make sure we intimidate back,” Twilight spoke in a serious, focused tone. Spike let his gaze shift to Rainbow and the dogs as they approached. He gave a welcoming smile and wave. Twilight noticed and looked to where Spike had. She then dismissed the guards. As they passed by Rainbow and company, the dogs gathered more glares. “Welcome back, Rainbow Dash.”

Dash shook her head. “No need for formalities, Twi. We’re friends.”

“Sorry, force of habit.” Twilight shook her head and placed a forehoof against her temple. “Never thought I’d be leading Equestria, now it’s all I ever do.”

“Place hasn’t fallen apart yet. You must be doing something right,” Dash returned, managing to pull a giggle out of Twilight. Dash then looked up to Spike. “What’re you doing here, big guy? Rarity give ya some time off? Not that I don’t like seeing yer mug again.” She gave a laugh, but stopped when she saw Spike’s eyes drop into a depressing frown.

“Actually, that’s one of the reasons I called you here,” Twilight said. “We have a lot to talk about.”

Rainbow Dash could see it in the look Twilight gave, that she and the dogs were going to have to hold off on sleep and cider for a while. “We should probably get started then.”

Twilight gave a smile. She peeked her head behind Dash and noticed that the dogs were all quietly bickering amongst one another for some unheard reason. “Uh, could we start with them?”

Dash turned her head and cleared her throat, bringing the dogs to attention. She looked back to Twilight and gave a smile. “Of course! You remember Spot, Fido, and Rover, don’t ya Twilight?”

Spike gave a menacing scowl, forcing the dogs to shrink under his gaze. “Oooh yeah. I remember.” His voice was a deep and low growl.

“Right, but they’re cool now. We’ve been traveling together for a few months now, and they’ve really helped me out. Hell, last night Fido’s nose sniffed out some sand rats and they helped me fight ‘em off,” Rainbow said. The dogs nodded quickly in agreement.

Twilight held a hoof out in front of Spike to stop his intimidation. “Then you have my thanks. If you’re going to be traveling with Rainbow Dash, I’m glad to hear you’re providing her help. But if you don’t mind my asking, why?”

Rover stepped forward to Rainbow Dash’s side, and cleared his throat. “After we lost Miss Rarity to you other po-nees, other dogs thought we were no longer fit to lead. So we take to the surface and become wandering dogs. Years pass and still we wandered, staying at dog lands, seeking to belong with dogs once more. What we weren’t counting on was our reputation spreading. We were shamed for letting po-nees outsmart us. We were out of food with no gems to pay either. Then we met Rainbow Dash and, knowing how fearsome po-nees could be, begged for aid. Rainbow Dash was kind to us and fed us. She offered to keep us fed and warm if we traveled together, so we accepted.”

“Yes! And we’re very grateful!” Spot added, Fido bobbing his head in agreement.

“Pretty much,” Rainbow added. “They’ve definitely been a good help. They know diamond dog lands pretty well. Rover’s proven to be smarter than you’d think, Fido’s pretty damn strong and that’s always helpful, and Spot’s size has come in handy a number of times as well, the sneaky little bastard.” All three of the dogs gave large, stupid smiles at their compliments.

Twilight scanned them over before giving a look of approval. “Well, any friend of Rainbow’s is a friend of ours.” She smiled. “Now, to the reason you’re here. With Celestia and Luna gone, we have some rather ambitious neighbors looking in our direction. King Gallows of the Griffon Kingdom is making some threatening moves against Equestria. He has been sending soldiers dangerously close to our borders and setting up outposts. He’s been doing it deliberately to try and frighten us. It shouldn’t be too long before he tries to invade.”

Rainbow gave a look of concern. “So I was right in thinking that you were trying to warn me about a possible war in that dream?”

“That’s right,” Twilight answered. The dogs looked to one another uncomfortably.

“He is aware that we have the Elements of Harmony at our disposal, right?” Rainbow had a cocky smirk spread across her face. “We just get Rarity and AJ while you call Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.”

“I wish it were that easy, Rainbow Dash. Applejack and Rarity have gone missing too, and the only reason I was able to contact you was through a spell that I sent toward your element. You were the only one to take yours with you.” Twilight motioned towards the necklace around Rainbow’s neck. “I didn’t know where you were, but I knew you had your element. I used my own as an enhancement to send a message through yours.”

“So... they just disappeared?” Rainbow’s eyes flew open in horror. “Like the princess’?”

“No. They left. Just like Pinkie and Fluttershy. At least that’s what we believe. Applejack came to say goodbye about a month after you did, for about the same reasons. She wanted to take a look at Equestria and beyond since Applebloom grew big enough to take on more work. She left without her element. I should have given it to her, but I didn’t see something like this coming. I didn’t even know I could use the elements like I did with yours until I tried.”

“They can do a lot more than that, Twi,” replied Rainbow. “You were right when you said they might have individual powers. Mine was able to throw a barrier around Fido last night when I saw him getting attacked.”

Twilight’s eyes widened in interest and excitement. “Really?”

“Of course really!” Rainbow beamed. “It was so cool!”

“Do you know how you did it?” Twilight grew increasingly curious.

Rainbow could only shrug. “Not really. I only saw he was about to get hit and that I wasn’t able to get to him in time. I called out his name and a red bubble popped up around him and the rats crashed right into it.”

Twilight brought a hoof to her chin. “Vocal command maybe? Or more likely activated by loyalty to your companion? Seems more fitting that way. Regardless of how, this is very interesting. Anything else?”

“I think you might be onto something with that loyalty bit. It reacts whenever I focus on the concept,” Rainbow continued. “Like you suggested, I’ve been studying the thing nightly and trying to gain a bigger grasp on what loyalty means to me. It glows and seems to give off some energy or something when I wear it and focus.”

“Fascinating!” Twilight smiled as she stared intently at the object. A smug expression then spread on her face. “And to think that I turned the proud and strong Rainbow Dash into a study bug egghead.” Her tone shifted to one of taunting.

Dash merely shrugged again and grinned back. “Hey, you were right about reading weren’t ya? Besides, Daring would always study her treasure. If I’m gonna adventure, I should know what I’m carrying with me.”

“Wise,” Twilight complimented. “But back to the issue at hoof. I brought you here to seek our friends out. Find them, and bring them back here. I’m concerned for them, and we need every advantage we can afford to deter Gallows from his invasion. I don’t want to involve Equestria in warfare.”

“I hear ya Twi. I’ll find them. To tell the truth, I was really missing the old gang.” She turned back to the dogs. “Not that the newer one has anything wrong with it.” They all smiled as Dash returned her attention to Twilight. “But I don’t exactly know where to look either.”

“I know, and that’s going to be a problem.” Twilight turned to Spike. With a puff of emerald fire, he produced a parchment and let Twilight levitate it before Rainbow Dash. “Head to Ponyville tomorrow, go to this address. There will be a rather... eccentric unicorn there. She’s agreed to help you with this and she’s well traveled. I have faith she’ll be of use to you guys, maybe she even knows where one of our friends went, or at least where to start looking.” Rainbow looked over the parchment and grabbed it, stuffing it into an easy to access pouch on her saddlebag. “With some luck you’ll find clues for each of them. I just hope they’re okay.”

“You and me both.” Rainbow turned back to the dogs. “You guys down to help?”

They all looked to one another and gave a shrug. Rover was the one to answer. “Not like we have much else to do.”

Rainbow smiled and returned her gaze to Twilight. “You got yourself a search party. Anything else you wanna say?”

“Too much, too little time to tell you. I need to get some rest if I’m going to bring the sun up tomorrow. If all of this ever blows off, I’ll tell you everything. I can get you a room ready in the castle.” Twilight moved to call a guard.

“Appreciate it, but I’ve gotten used to taverns and camp fires. Plus, I promised these guys some Sweet Apple booze. Not to mention, I don’t think the guards would take too kindly to having them sleeping in the castle.” Rainbow returned. “If you could book us some rooms at Warm Fires’ place though I’d be feelin’ pretty good.”

Twilight dipped her head and levitated a quill and parchment to her side. She scrawled something on the note and handed it to Spike, who then set it aflame. “It’s done. Sleep well tonight, Rainbow Dash. Be safe out there and good luck.”

“You got it Twilight.” Rainbow left with a final smile for her friend as she made her way to the doors. “Don’t let Equestria fall apart while I’m gone.”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Twilight called back.

Rainbow and the dogs made their way out into the hallway. As they walked across the castle floor, Rainbow thought. Applejack and Rarity had left now too. All of her friends were scattered and she only knew where Twilight was at this moment. Despite her determination and confidence, she was very worried inside. She could have sworn that Applejack would have stayed on that farm for her life, but apparently she had just as much drive to leave as Rainbow. Perhaps that’s why she pushed Rainbow into going in the first place? So that she could gather the courage to go as well? Whatever the reason, she had gone, and Dash was going to go find her and the rest of their friends.

They had made their way into the main entrance when Dash saw somepony that took her by surprise. The Wonderbolts were coming from the opposite direction and Spitfire had seen her, waving and drawing closer. “Well well well. If it isn’t Rainbow Dash. Back from your little journey?”

“For the night. Official element bearer business,” Rainbow returned, attempting to sound important and mysterious.

“Oooh, interesting. Anything we can know?” Spitfire picked up right after Dash finished.

“Only behind closed doors,” Rainbow said with a wink.

“Uh, Miss—er, Rainbow Dash. We’re only to seek the other element bearers,” Fido interjected, earning a laugh from Spitfire and the other bolts.

“Your friend doesn’t seem to get what you were going for, does he?” Soarin’ said.

“Apparently not,” Dash chuckled. “I was inviting her to come along, Fido.”

The three dogs looked at one another, still obviously not getting the point and merely shrugged, earning more laughter from the pegasi. “Anyway,” Spitfire continued, “if you insist, I guess I could come along. Mind if I bring a few companions of my own?” She tilted her head back to motion towards the other Wonderbolts.

“Don’t see why not. We’re only here for the night anyway, might as well have a bit of fun while we can. Sound okay to you guys?” Rainbow asked the dogs. Again they looked amongst one another and turned back with Rover giving a thumbs up, Spot grinning wide, and Fido nodding repeatedly. “Great! Hope the Wonderbolts can handle some drunken dogs!”

With Spitfire and a selection of willing Wonderbolts tagging along, Rainbow and the rest made their way into the city, finding their way to Warm Fires’ tavern. When Warm Fires stated that the letter only said they would need two rooms, Dash insisted that nothing had changed. “They’re only here for drinks. They’ll pay. And this one is sharing a room with me tonight,” she said with a tilt in her head pointed towards Spitfire. Fires was a unicorn of the coin and saw potential in this arrangement. He accepted and called his staff to bring in the alcohol.

It didn’t take long for the tavern to begin getting rather loud and rowdy as the dogs let out howls of entertainment as they drank alongside their new pegasus friends. It seemed that Soarin’ was having the most fun with them, joining in on their howling and even bringing his forelegs around their shoulders to sing a few songs.

Rainbow and Spitfire watched it it all going down with a fair amount of giggling from both of them. Dash didn’t drink too much; the flight had taken quite a bit out of her. She made her way to her room rather soon. Spitfire followed and the two of them found themselves alone. Spitfire closed the door behind the two of them, and almost instantly, Spitfire pressed her lips against Rainbow’s, forcing her towards the bed. Dash felt her lips part slightly and then the intrusion of Spitfire’s tongue into her mouth. She returned the act and they stayed within one another’s embrace for a good minute.

Spitfire pulled back for a moment and Rainbow was able to identify her familiar bedroom eyes. “I’ve missed you, Dashie.”

“I missed you too, Spitfire. Spent a lot of time alone out there.” Dash walked closer and brushed her cheek against Spitfire’s. “Didn’t think you’d be here. I’m really glad you are though.”

Spitfire let out a small chuckle. “Ditto. Kinda feeling glad that we’re here.”

Dash brought her head back. “Why are you guys here anyway?”

“Guard duty. We’re the best of the best and somepony needs to guard the skies with griffons floating about, looking at us like prey,” Spitfire explained.

“You sure that Twilight didn’t just want to give me a present before I head out?” Dash snickered.

“Well I know that I sure do!” Spitfire planted a kiss against Rainbow’s neck, forcing her wings into the air, and began making her way towards the bed.

Dash watched her lay across the sheets, inviting her to join. “I should really come back more often.”

“How long has it been?”

“Hmm... four years?”

“And I’ve been away for about one?”

“Mmhmm.”

Rainbow Dash gave a chuckle. “I thought I represented loyalty. Can’t believe I left and you still welcome me with open arms.”

“Well I couldn’t exactly get you out of my head. ‘Specially since if I met you with open arms, you’d return the favor with open legs,” Spitfire returned, giggling lightly.

Rainbow snuggled closer to her lover in the bed, holding her close as she stared into her fiery eyes. Both their manes were spread all across the bed and sweat decorated their bodies. The hairs lied with one another, blending colors and making it appear as if the two were joined. “I’m heading back out in the morning you know.”

Spitfire nodded. “I’d come with you if I could. I’m needed here though.”

“I know you would.” Dash smiled. She leaned in and took another kiss. “Just like last time. I’d take you if I could.”

“I know you would,” Spitfire echoed. From the next room they heard four loud thuds hit the floor. “Sounds like Soarin’ and the dogs finally hit their end.”

They both laughed, and Dash let out a heavy sigh. “Oh by Celestia, I’m going to miss you.”

“And I you. Duty calls however, and we’ll just have to keep our minds on that until we can see each other again.”

Dash smiled, hugging tight to Spitfire. She tried to remember this feeling, memorize it. The warmth of her body, her breath, the look in her eyes and the mess of mane across the bed. She wanted to feel this forever. “I’ll be back sooner than you believe. I’ll come and take you with me, and we can explore this world together.”

Spitfire yawned and left a small peck at Dash’s cheek. “Sounds lovely. If you come across anywhere in particular we’d enjoy, try to remember it.” Her eyes began to droop heavily as she let sleep take her, wrapped in Rainbow’s legs.

Rainbow could feel sleep taking her as well. As tired as she was though, she didn't’ want the night to end, to wake and leave in the morning. At least, not without Spitfire. “Of course. I’ll think of you, and come back with stories and places to share.” She let out a yawn of her own as Spitfire passed out. She felt her eyes begin to fall as well. She brought her muzzle up to Spitfire’s ear, whispering her last words of the night. “I love you.”

The Bard's Song

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The Bard’s Song

Dash and Spitfire awoke to a rap on their door. “Miss Rainbow Dash! Wakey wakey! We have been told that breakfast will be served!” Rover’s voice called through the door, followed immediately by the sound of running towards the main room.

The pegasi looked at one another and shared a quick laugh. They crawled out of the bed and Spitfire shook her head so that her mane wasn’t so wild. She let it fall in waves, the way Rainbow liked it best. Dash grabbed her saddlebags and the two of them made their way to breakfast side by side.

They saw Soarin’ seated next to Spot and Rover at the table as the smell of burning drew their attention to the kitchen. From behind the kitchen doors they could hear Warm Fires crying out in confusion and irritation. “What exactly d’you think you’re doing? Those are for making cakes and such!” They both wandered over and Rainbow pushed the door open a crack to see Fido standing over the stove with a chef’s hat tilting to one side of his head. Smoke issued forth from what they assumed was a pan. Warm Fires was standing next to him looking on, bewilderment decorating his face.

“We know po-nees don’t have meat, so we must make do with eggs! I have made them before, no need to worry,” Fido returned in a friendly tone. It was like some comedy bit that Rainbow had seen before, and she couldn’t help but give a slight snicker, Spitfire following suit.

“Well I’m not sure, but I think they’re done! You’ve practically turned them into ash!” Fires frowned, his spectacles drooping down his muzzle.

Fido turned back to the pan and gave a deep sniff, almost choking on the smoke that flew into his nose. He nodded with a big, doofy grin and grabbed three nearby plates, scooping his blackened meal into thirds. He carried two in one of his large paws and one in another as Dash opened the door wider to let him through. “Thank you, Miss Rainbow Dash,” he said with his grin only growing. “Eggs for dogs! Soarin’, you wish to try?”

“Why not?” Soarin’ gave a shrug as Fido put the plates onto the table. Spot was sitting next to him, so he offered a bite of the plateful of black, yellow, and white. Soarin’ took a nip and paused immediately. Everybody in the room stared at him, waiting for a reaction. With a hard swallow he gave a surprised smile. “Smokey!” He then asked for another bite and Spot happily obliged.

Dash and Spitfire let loose another giggle fit. “Gee, Soarin’, you sure you belong in the sky? I could swear I’m looking at four dogs here.”

“That’s because Soarin’ here is newest member of the pack!” Rover announced. “He holds fortitude and humor on the level of the greatest of diamond dogs!”

“Griffons gotta worry about a real dogfighter now!” Soarin’ added proudly.

“Wait, what?” Rainbow Dash asked, a bit befuddled. “What did you do? I have to feed them for them to treat me that way.”

“He managed to drink Fido under the table! No dog has ever been capable of such a feat!” Spot returned.

“So long as you’re house trained,” Spitfire returned. The six of them sat around eating their breakfast with a joke flying out every now and again that would get Soarin’ and the dogs into a loud guffaw.

Rainbow found herself enjoying this time and even downed a few more mugs of cider. She kept close to Spitfire and even brought a hoof gliding up her thigh a few times, pulling a slight squeak out of her every now and again as she gradually grew more pink in the face. Then again Rainbow greatly doubted that the blush was coming from embarrassment as Spitfire’s grin only grew more and more crude as she continued.

“Keep that up and I might not let you get out of here,” she said with a tone that only forced Dash’s face to heat up in turn.

With their plates cleaned, Soarin’ and Spitfire left their bits on the table as Dash gave Fires their thanks. They all made their way to the train station together, reluctant to leave one another’s company. Before the train came to pick them up, Spitfire and Rainbow Dash took to privacy as the dogs and Soarin’ began to talk excitedly about future bonding they’d enjoy when they came to meet once again.

“As new pack mate, I offer Soarin’ his choice of dog diamond.” Rover slipped his paw into one of the pockets in his vest and produced five small gems of varying colors. “Take care of your dog diamond. It shows you are an honorary dog! Wear it around your neck with pride, pack mate!” He grabbed the orange gem around his collar to give an example as Spot and Fido tugged at their jeweled collars as well. Soarin’ nodded in understanding and plucked a sapphire from Rover’s large paw. The four of them let out a howl and gave a laugh.

Rainbow and Spitfire chuckled as they saw the dogs and Soarin’ buddying up. “Looks like you’d better get those guys to come along when you return,” Spitfire said. “Soarin’ is gonna be pretty sad if you don’t.”

“No kidding,” Rainbow returned. “No need to worry though, I plan to bring them back safe.” She looked back to Spitfire and felt a sudden impulse to grab her and take her along, or to stay and spend her time here. She knew though that she couldn’t; she had to find her friends, had to help keep them and Equestria safe. “Keep Twilight safe. She’s the best hope we have nowadays.”

Spitfire nodded. “Don’t forget that you’re also a part of that hope. Gonna be more praise for you after all this is done. I’m just doing guard duty,” she laughed.

Dash shook her head. “Not in this for the glory of it. Hell, nopony is gonna know that I did this.”

“Oh yes they are. Princess set you up with a storyteller, Dash.” Spitfire grinned.

“What?”

“Totally! From what I hear, folk down in Ponyville can’t get her to stop telling wild tales about strange fantasy creatures. You go on an adventure with her, you’re gonna become a legend.”

Dash thought for a moment, tapping a hoof to her chin. “Well, then I’ll have to talk about you a lot. When we return she can tell the story of how I came home and got the girl.” She smirked and brought a hoof around Spitfire’s neck, dragging her close enough to rub noses. Their eyes drooped low as their grins grew wide.

“Well then, I do hope you don’t tell too much my dear. Wouldn’t want anypony to blush too hard at the juicy bits.” Spitfire let loose a light chuckle as she traced a hoof along Rainbow’s jaw. They met once again in a kiss, their eyes shut as they sealed their goodbye.

The train pulled in, but neither let go of the other for a long while. The dogs scratched at the back of their necks with red in their cheeks as they turned to board the train, and Soarin’ tried to look for something else to catch his attention and bring his wings down.

When the two did part lips, they shared a hug. They said nothing more as Dash began to step back, waving a hoof goodbye. She boarded the train as Soarin’ came to Spitfire’s side, and the two of them turned to make their way back to the castle. “We’re not gonna let any griffons into the city! Keep a constant watch and set up a scout patrol near the border! Keep them in constant communication!” Spitfire ordered Soarin’. She had her fun, but she had a job to do now and, by Celestia, she was going to make sure she did it.

Soarin’ gave a salute as he placed his new sapphire in his wing. “You got it, Captain!”

On the train, Rainbow Dash stared out the window. She watched the mountains of Canterlot pass them by with a longing in her heart. She thought of Spitfire with a smile on her face. She would miss her, but she had friends out there who she also missed, and she hadn’t seen them in a much longer time. She was going to find them and bring them home. That thought brought the feeling of excitement back to her heart, the same feeling she felt when she first left Ponyville a year ago.

“Rainbow Dash,” Rover piped up, drawing her attention away from the window. “We were wondering what our plan is at this point. We are to fetch this other po-nee, then what? We have no information on the location of the other po-nees, and no guarantee that this unicorn will have it either.”

Rainbow waved a forehoof in front of her face as if she were swatting the idea down. “Trust Twilight. Believe me, she’s crazy, but she knows this stuff.” Rover still looked uncertain, but smiled back anyway.

He did have a point though. She had no idea where they were supposed to go after they picked up their unnamed companion. She’d have to trust Twilight’s instincts though. It had worked for her before.

They arrived in Ponyville after an hour or two and stepped off the train. Rainbow closed her eyes and took a deep breath, soaking in the feeling of being home once again. She let out a long sigh and beamed. “Good to be back.”

The dogs all stumbled out of the car after trying to push each other out of the way. They growled at one another before Dash gave a stomp and brought them to attention once again. “C’mon, I’ll show you around for a bit,” she said, motioning for them to follow.

They made their way to the streets, Rainbow actually taking her time to walk on the roads again instead of flying over them. “So we’ll go pick up our new partner, and then go get ourselves some grub and new supplies before we hit the road. Wherever it is.”

The dogs all cheered at the mention of food and happily followed behind. Dash pulled out the parchment that Twilight had given them and made her way to the address listed. She knocked her hoof against the door and stood back as she heard somepony approach. The door swung in and there stood a cream colored earth pony with purple and pink mane.

“Bon Bon?” Rainbow asked in surprise. “I thought that we were here to pick up a... OH!” She gave a quick knock to her head with a forehoof. “I guess we’re here for Lyra.” She held up the paper from Twilight.

Bon Bon took it and gave it a quick scan. She looked back up at Rainbow, tilting her head and giving a little frown at the sight of the diamond dogs. “Uh... wait here.” She turned and called into the house. “Lyra! Rainbow Dash and her dogs are here to see you!”

A series of excited thumps came from the upper room of the house as a mint colored mare burst through her room and tumbled down the stairs, papers and pages and various books scattering with her. She hopped up instantly with a giant smile on her face and a glow in her amber eyes. She ran over next to Bon Bon with a sheet of paper impaled on her horn. “You’re here! I was told you’d be here within the week but it’s been only about three days! Well then again, look who I’m talking to!” She chuckled loudly and spoke fast. “Come on in guys, come on. Hey, Bon Bon, could you make us some tea?”

Bon Bon grimaced as the dogs entered the door, smelling of soil and dead animals on their breath. Lyra seemed completely oblivious to this fact as she welcomed them into their home, which Bon Bon had only recently finished cleaning. “I’ll get right on that,” she said through gritted teeth, staring at the mud that flaked off the dogs’ feet. She made her way to the kitchen as Lyra offered seats to Rainbow and the dogs.

“So I guess you’re our eccentric unicorn then,” Dash chuckled. “Glad to see it’s a friend.”

“Eccentric... Yeah, I like that one. A lot nicer than most other ponies put it,” Lyra giggled back. “But yup! That’s me!” Suddenly Lyra’s attention seemed to swap as Rover and the dogs took their seats. Her eyes widened and she launched herself onto Rover, grabbing furiously at his wrist and holding his paw close to her eyes. “Fascinating! A thumb and digits! Almost like a hand,” she gasped excitedly as Rainbow, Spot, and Fido looked on, confused. Rover was on his back with a look of terror on his face and his ears pressed back against his head. She let out a mildly disappointed sigh. “Only three fingers though. Still, brilliant! I look forward to travelling with you! Very much so!”

“Uh... thank you?” Rover dared not move in fear of his admirer taking any offense.

“Sooo, Lyra, Twilight mentioned you after we came to the fact that we have no idea where our friends are. I’m assuming that you can help us with that?” Rainbow asked, trying to help Rover out by changing the topic.

Lyra stayed on top of the poor dog with his paw still clutched between her forehooves. “Oh! That’s right! Scrying!” She dropped Rover’s paw and stepped off of him. He was quick to stand and take his seat next to Spot, who couldn’t help but snicker slightly.

“Excuse me?” Rainbow didn’t understand.

“Scrying! Or magical seeing, if you prefer. Most knowledge of it has been lost through the ages, and it’s almost impossible without access to anything that has had recent contact with the creature you’re trying to see,” she continued to explain as she took her seat in a large red chair, draping her lower legs over the front and bringing her forelegs onto the rests at each side. Dash found it strange that this was Lyra’s preferred method to sit, even going so far as to own an armchair, but didn’t question it.

“About how recent?” Dash asked, growing concerned that this path was a dead end.

“About two weeks,” Lyra answered with a sigh. Dash mimicked the exhale. “However!” Lyra spoke up with renewed faith. “I know of another way! It still leaves a broad area to search, but it’s better than combing the whole planet. Here, watch.” Lyra’s horn lit up as she levitated her lyre over to her side. She cleared her throat and began to play, an unseen force tugging at the strings and producing clear, clean notes. She began to hum quietly, bringing a small mirror to her side with levitation as well. It was odd for Rainbow to see this usually energetic and excitable pony daze off into this sudden, relaxed, trance-like state. She opened her mouth and sang out “Bon Bon…” In the mirror, rings rippled out of the center and gradually transformed the reflection into a view that Rainbow knew well. They could see Ponyville from the sky—the entirety—as if they were up on a cloud and looking down. It lasted for only half a minute before a crack appeared on the mirror and the glass shattered.

“Lyra! I told you to stop doing that!” Bon Bon called from the kitchen. “We can’t replace a mirror every time you bust one with that silly trick!”

“Sorry, Bon Bon! It was important to our adventure! I promise! I’ll buy you all the mirrors you want when I come back a famous hero!” Lyra called, standing on the cushion of the chair and peeking her head over. “I love you!”

Dash looked down at the pieces, a little confused. “But, hold on, it didn’t show us Bon Bon.”

“I know, like I said, that’s impossible at the moment unless we have something they were in contact with at least two weeks prior. I was showing you what we have to work with now!” Lyra gave a smile. “And it showed us that Bon Bon is in Ponyville! And she’s right over there! In Ponyville!”

“But it broke,” Spot added. “Is the spell defective?”

“No, that’s just a component of the spell. All scrying spells need a reflective surface. This is one of the few left to unicorns anymore though… and it breaks the surface. Spying with scrying used to be a big problem way back when.” Lyra gave a little shrug.

“So this will tell us where Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Applejack are?” Rainbow asked to be sure, excitement returning to her voice. “Not exactly, but their general location?”

“You got it!” Lyra smiled.

“That’s perfect! We’ll know where to go and where to look! Lyra, you’re amazing!” Rainbow grinned wide.

Lyra chuckled and rubbed her hoof against her chest. “I know.”

“Well then let’s find them!” Rainbow urged. “Let’s get more mirrors and find out where they all are.”

“NO MORE MIRRORS!” Bon Bon screeched from the kitchen once more.

“Alright love! No mirrors, I promise!” Lyra called back. “Sorry Rainbow, no mirrors.”

“Well, you said we could do it with any reflective surface right? Do you think it would work with water?”

“Of course it would!” Lyra returned. “Haven’t tried it myself of course, but water was often used as the surface in the past.”

“So could we head over to a lake or something and do the spell a few times?” Rainbow Dash began thinking of nearby bodies of water they could visit.

“Not really. The spell only works once a day for one reflective surface. I’d also recommend we only use it to locate them one at a time. It’s a lot easier to focus that way: on where we’re going and what we’re doing, and the spell can actually be kind of tiring if used in succession.” Lyra frowned as she thought back to her first attempts with the spell. “So, if you could think of the one that we should find first, we can cast the spell and head off looking for her first.”

Rainbow paused. ‘The one we should find first.’ She thought about that. She didn’t know their situations, nor the reasons why they left. She could only think of who would be most useful to them on their journey, as she had no intention of returning until she had found and gathered all her friends. When she thought of it from that angle, it became almost obvious to her. “I know who we should look for.”

Lyra nodded. Bon Bon entered the room with a pitcher and five cups, all full of tea sitting atop a silver tray she had balanced on her back. “Perfect!” Lyra levitated a cup in front of her and raised her lyre once more.

Bon Bon wasn’t amused. “You’d better not break that cup Lyra. It’s worth more than the mirrors you’ve broken.”

“No worries, Bon Bon,” Lyra insisted. Bon Bon’s expression remained unchanged as she carefully made her way through the broken glass to serve their guests their tea. “So just say their name after ten seconds when I begin the spell, then focus on them and gaze into the cup.” Lyra floated the cup over to Rainbow as she gave a nod.

The dogs accepted their own cups as Bon Bon left the tray holding the pitcher and Dash’s cup on a small table and left the room. Lyra began plucking at the strings of her lyre once again and hummed. After ten seconds Rainbow spoke. “Applejack…” The tea began to ripple as the mirror had, and eventually gave way to an image of mountains, flourishing with green grasses and scattered trees. There were no landmarks she could make out, but looking at the clouds and sunny weather, she could tell that it was experiencing that region’s late spring.

The image faded and the tea in the cup turned clear, causing Lyra to pout. “Well I guess that’s how you ‘break’ tea ‘eh?” she whined, levitating the pitcher over so that she could pour herself more.

“She’s in the highlands to the north,” Dash spoke excitedly. “We know where she is!”

Rover interrupted for a moment. “Uh, I’m not exactly sure, but I think that the north only has ice and snow. No highlands.”

“There’s Neighagra Falls,” Lyra offered. “Pretty big mountain range there.”

Dash shook her head. “No. I’ve been there, and this wasn’t the falls.”

“So, what you’re saying is…” Fido started.

“She’s not in Equestria?” Lyra finished.

Dash nodded. “She’s gotta be somewhere else. Where would we find highlands to the north?” The group all paused and pondered for a moment. The dogs scratched at their chins while Rainbow and Lyra sipped absently at their tea.

Bon Bon entered the room once again and began picking up the books and pages on the floor. “Eye shwear Ryra, yer alwaysh aking shush a esh aroun’ ‘ere.”

Lyra turned her attention back to Bon Bon and got up to go help her. She lifted a few of the papers and stacked them into a pile with her magic before the book in Bon Bon’s mouth caught her eye. She let out a wide smile and the papers she held scattered once again in an explosion. “Bon Bon, you’re amazing!” She gave Bon Bon a large hug and tugged the book out of her mouth with her levitation, running back to Dash and the dogs.

“You’re welcome!” Bon Bon called out, obviously annoyed. She returned to mumbling as she tried to tidy up the papers that Lyra had only scattered further.

Lyra slammed the book down on the table. The title read ‘Bipeds of the West’ and had an illustration of a minotaur on it. “She’s in Minos, the minotaur lands! To the west! They got mountains and hills and highlands everywhere over there!”

Dash and the dogs looked over the book. Dash grinned. “Twilight really knew what she was doing when she picked you.”

Lyra bowed her head. “Go west young mare! There we will find your friend and ally!”

“Great! Let’s head out!” Rainbow brought herself to her hooves and the dogs mimicked the action.

“Well we’re gonna need gear aren’t we?” Lyra smiled. “Lots of danger and thrills on adventures ain’t there? Wait right here!” She made her way back upstairs, kicking up some of the papers into the air and causing them to land on Bon Bon’s head, making her groan. Dash and the dogs heard various clanging and ringing coming from upstairs, making them wonder what in Equestria she was up to. She came rushing back downstairs with various metal objects floating above her head and stuffed saddlebags on her back. “I come bearing gifts!” She carefully set the metallic tools on the table.

“Pointy gifts!” Dash said excitedly, examining what could now be identified as blades and weapons.

“Yeah! Take your pick!” Lyra offered. The four of them began to eagerly observe the arsenal sprawled out before them.

Fido took notice of a large axe, lifting it with both of his paws and admiring the weapon for its weight and potential. The blade was finely crafted, with elegant black curves and swirls that spread from the center to the edges of the weapon. He gave a satisfied smile and picked up a leather strap nearby. He fastened the weapon into the strap and wrapped it around his shoulder, leaving the axe comfortably on his back next to his currently empty travel sack.

Spot grabbed a hold of two daggers by the handle, testing their weight in his paws by thrusting and jabbing into the air. When he was satisfied, he smiled and grabbed up a strap, much like Fido had, and tied it round his waist. He picked up the daggers with their nearby sheaths and slipped them under the strap. He also took notice of a small mechanism with a small pouch of sticks lying next to it.

Lyra noticed him eying it. “It’s a crossbow. Something that creatures with hands made to fight from a distance more efficiently. You pull the trigger and the bolt goes flying at whatever you point it at.” She pointed out the trigger and Spot beamed. He eagerly snatched up the device and the package of bolts next to it. He tied them together and slung them around his back.

Rover took an interest in a rather large weapon. A sword that was only slightly shorter than himself. While he was able to hold it with one arm, he found it much easier to do so with two. He gave a knowing smile and found a way to strap it to his back like Fido and his axe. The other thing that caught his eye was a curved piece of wood with a string tied at both ends.

Lyra took her turn to explain once again. “A bow. A bit more classic than the crossbow, even unicorns were able to use it with their telekinetic abilities. The arrows are longer and you need strength as well as aim to pull it back. Bit of practice with it and you should make do pretty well.” Rover smiled and brought this around his back as well, grabbing the quiver along with it.

Rainbow looked eagerly at the weapons before her, pondering which one she should pick, before a sword even larger than Rover’s caught her eye. It must have been as big as Fido. As she reached down to grasp the hilt in her mouth, however, Lyra put a hoof in front of her face. “Hold on! These aren’t for you!”

Dash looked offended. “What the hell, Lyra?”

“No, I mean you’re gonna break your neck if you try carrying that thing with your mouth! Weapons like these were made for creatures that can grip or levitate. It’d be completely impractical for you to use one of these,” Lyra explained.

“Well that’s how they did it before. Hell, we’re still using spears for the guard!” Dash insisted.

“Yeah, but is it before or now? You’ll be blind if you try to fight with a weapon in your mouth!”

“Then what do you expect me to do, fight with my hooves? I can’t carry this thing and walk you know.” Dash wasn’t convinced.

“Well, actually... yeah. I do expect that.” Lyra gave a knowing grin, hinting that she had something planned. Dash simply looked on curiously. From behind her, Lyra levitated two blades with metallic hoops attached to the sides. “Slip these on and be careful.”

Dash held a hoof out and Lyra put one of the blades around it, the blade pointing towards Dash’s chest. It ended a few inches above where her elbow was. The hoop fit comfortably above her hoof, and she was able to bend and move without stabbing or cutting herself. She was genuinely impressed and gave a smile, letting Lyra slip the other on. She looked down and smiled. “Awesome! Lyra these are brilliant! Now I can just smack someone and they’ll get hit with a nasty cut?”

“Sure,” Lyra answered with an unimpressed shrug. “When you’re not fighting. However, if you’ll hit that little latch on the hoop there…” She pointed to a small latch on the weapon.

Dash raised her hoof and brought a wing around to unhook it. She was shocked to see the blade spring out and point beyond her hoof. “No way! Lyra I could kiss you! This is incredible!”

Lyra gave a laugh. “Yeah, I know! It’s one of the few designs that take hooves into account. Earth and pegasus ponies just slap something like this on and find themselves ready for a fight at any point. Just spring the latch and stab your target, and when you’re done, just switch it back!”

Dash admired the blade. It was obviously very sharp, giving off a brilliant white shine with gold decorating the middle of the weapon. A question arose in her mind. “Why do you have all of these?”

Lyra shrugged as she lifted a rather elegant sword into the air. “I used to travel a lot, and picked these up from places all around. Those are the only pony-made weapons I have though. I took much more interest in the weapons that creatures with grip could wield.” She gave the sword a few mild swings in the air. “This one is my favorite. It’s name is Emerald. I found it back in griffon territory, some of their finest work.”

The blade was curved inward at the lower center of the blade. It was a beautifully white steel with a rough black stone that climbed up the center of the blade with tiny emeralds showing through. “Wanted to get it enchanted at some point. Maybe I’ll get that chance along the way,” she continued. She slipped the blade underneath the straps of her saddlebag.

Dash looked over and noticed what looked to be a cleaver sticking out of Lyra’s bag. “Hey, Lyra, do we really need that?” She pointed towards the tool.

Lyra was quick to stuff it deeper into the bag. “Oh that’s nothing, just a little trinket I like to carry with me,” she giggled nervously and cleared her throat. “Well, I guess we should resupply and head off then?”

Dash nodded and the five of them began to make their way to the door. Bon Bon stood in front though and gave a frown. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Lyra brought herself to stand on her hind legs. Her face dropped as she locked eyes with Bon Bon. In a very serious tone, she began to speak. “To a land we barely know, my love. We seek fortune, freedom, fame, and friends. There will be danger, and tragedy, but there will also be laughter and joy as well. I may not return. If I do, I will not be the same. But please know that no matter how far I am, no matter what may occur... I love you. I know I’m a mess, that I’m... eccentric, and honestly, I’ve no idea how you put up with me. I will miss you, and will think of you every night my darling, longing for your warm hoof in mine as we kiss by the fire once more. You will give me the drive I need to continue on in this quest... and hopefully that will be enough to bring me back home and into your loving embrace once more.” Dash and the dogs looked on, amazed. This was not the Lyra that was geeking out about weapons and paws just a few seconds ago.

Bon Bon’s eyes grew teary before Lyra placed both her hooves onto her cheeks and pulled her in, kissing her deeply and with great passion. When she pulled away she gave a loving smile. “Goodbye for now, my dearest Bon Bon. Pray for my safe return, and hope that the gods above will grant me a peaceful path back to you. I leave to do great things for the good of us all,” Lyra finished. Bon Bon nodded in understanding, moving to the side as Lyra made it through the door.

Outside, Rainbow pulled Lyra aside. “Hey, Lyra. What was that? Back there?”

“Oh, that? Bon Bon gets all mushy and really happy when I start talking to her like that. She wasn’t going to let me leave until we cleaned up, so I decided to turn on the charm so we could get going.” Lyra grinned that wide grin that Rainbow recognized. “You got anypony special, Dash?”

Dash thought back to that morning, waking up with Spitfire and smiled. “Yeah... you could say that.”

Lyra smiled back. “Always good to have something to fight for and return to isn’t it?” The five of them then made their way into town to resupply, ready to head out and begin their mission. The sooner they left, the sooner they could come back to their loved ones after all.

Back at the desert sands, the rats let word of their failure spread. They spoke legends of the rainbow pony and her dog companions. Eventually the word spread to the sand rat known as Nickel. He heard what the other rats said and immediately felt a deep pain. The master will not be happy about this, no, not at all. He sought out their translator, Unub. He told him the story that he had heard from the other rats, and explained that they wouldn’t be able to provide the gold and jewels they had promised this week. Unub swallowed hard as he rubbed his hands nervously. He regretted being the only sand rat to speak their master’s language, but if he was aware that Nickel had learned the tongue, he would have easily swapped places with him.

Nickel followed Unub as they went into the dark chamber where their master resided. Their fur stood on end, electricity sparked through the air. Unub was reluctant as he cleared his throat, causing something unseen to stir in the shadows. He spoke in the tongue of his master, showing nothing but respect and fear. “Great one, I come to bear troubling news.” He almost dared to not say anymore, but a voice like thunder replied. Nickel put on his facade that he had no idea what was being said.

“Speak this ill news my servant, but know the risks of delivery.” Blue sparks of electricity crackled in the direction of the voice’s origin, lighting up the various jewels and gold and weapons and other treasures that scattered the ground.

Nickel watched as Unub swallowed and attempted to continue. “W-w-we were unsuccessful this week in our plunder. Very f-f-f-few travelers made their way through your desert, oh great king.”

“Did you not attack any? Strip them of their belongings? I’d accept even their corpses as gifts before I accept nothing!” The sparks flew a bit more viciously, a few even landing at Unub’s feet and forcing him back.

“We tried, my lord! Please know that we tried! We would n-n-never displease you!” Unub was nearly begging by this point, and Nickel couldn’t help but feel pain to look at his comrade struggling to get his message across. “They outskilled us and many good rats were injured. A rainbow maned mare and her dogs. She wielded magic my lord, but bore no horn. An artifact that possessed great power blocked our attack.”

Nickel knew that mention of this was Unub’s final error. The master would never accept failure if such an object was involved. “You fool! I don’t care if many of your rats were killed! You should have brought me this artifact!” The voice of the master sparked and boomed like a storm, many stray sparks lashing onto Unub’s body and burning him. The chamber began to quake and rumble as stones fell from the ceiling. “No more Unub! You rats have done nothing of worth for too long! I am now forced into finding my own treasures, my contract is now over and I am no longer to keep you alive!” The words of the ancient tongue paralyzed the poor Unub as a massive blue claw reached out and grasped him. Nickel looked on in horror as his friend was dragged into the darkness and the chamber fell apart. He heard a violent crunching noise, followed almost immediately by a sickening squeak cut short. Through the blue sparks of his master’s breath, he could see splashes of blood fly from the master’s direction as he seemed to ascend. For the first time in his life, Nickel saw one of the eyes of his master. An electric blue portal to a land of terror beyond which Nickel had known, with one long slit for the pupil staring straight at him.

Nickel could only run as the chamber fell apart and his former master crashed through its ceiling. He didn’t stop however, and kept running, even when he heard the terrified screams of his friends and family, and even when he heard the crunch of their bones. Nickel could only run, never looking back for the fear that he would accept this as a pointless endeavor. He didn’t know where to go, but the desert wasn’t safe for him anymore.

The Shores Of Our Land

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The Shores of Our Land

“No, I’m telling you, it’s brilliant!” Lyra was talking to the dogs as they walked through the streets of Vanhoover. They had taken a two day train ride to the west and arrived there in the morning in search of a ship to bring them west.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, po-nee.” Spot was unamused at Lyra’s ramblings.

“Of course I know what I’m talking about! Everypony would love it! And you three could be the stars!” She continued talking anyway, her eyes glowing. “You’re the closest thing I’ve seen that could accurately portray a human. I’d just write the screenplay and we’ll be big stars in Applewood in no time!”

“But no creature even knows what a human is, po-nee!” Rover jumped in.

“But they will when we release the film!” Lyra countered. “Don’t you see? Don’t you think it would be amazing to create something new for everypony to think about? A new legend for stories and film to be made around, with you three helping make that first step!”

Fido was next to speak up. “But aren’t legends supposed to be exciting?”

“Well what could be more exciting than a human?” she pressed.

“By the way you described them... most anything else,” Rainbow laughed. “Also, are they bothering you by calling you ‘pony’ Lyra? I can tell them to quit.”

“Oh, it’s no trouble. I don’t wanna impose or anything,” Lyra insisted.

“Impose nothing! You’re one of us now, Lyra! They should be talking to you like a partner, shouldn’t you guys?” she said with a menacing glare as she turned to see them.

The dogs all nervously stood to attention and gave a salute. “Yes, Miss Rainbow Dash!” they replied in unison.

Lyra giggled at Rainbow’s command. Rainbow continued. “Besides, they shouldn’t just refer to you as pony. We’re a team and we need to show one another some respect, not to mention that speaking that way won’t help our races get along any better.” She turned to give a serious look to the dogs as they all paused in the center of town. Few ponies were walking about and those that were paid little attention. Lyra stood next to Rainbow as she addressed the dogs. “Guys! Lyra may be new among us, but she’s already proven herself to be a big help. Treat her like you would me, because she may not be a member of your pack... but all four of you are now a part of mine. Those weapons you have and this direction we’re taking are thanks to her, so you will address her as Lyra. Not pony or anything less. Got it?”

The dogs all nodded obediently and looked to Lyra. “We apologize, Mrs. Lyra!” they announced in sync.

Lyra smiled. “Apology accepted!”

Dash gave a small nod of approval. “We’ll make you guys Equestrian allies in time.” She turned back and motioned for the group to follow as she continued along their path.

They eventually found their way to the docks where many more ponies were walking about, working hard as they moved supplies on and off of the large wooden ships floating by the shore. They were rugged sailor ponies with ropes on their backs and salt in their coats. Rainbow pulled a few of them aside, gathering information from those who would talk. After loosening a few tongues with a gem or two, she found herself standing in front of her party.

“Right, so it looks like nopony is heading to the west anytime soon, however there is a ship that’s up for hire. They’d totally be willing to take us to minotaur lands for the right price,” Rainbow explained.

“Sounds like a plan!” Lyra grinned. “Any idea on the captain’s name?”

“Yeah, some dude named, ‘Marbled Perfection’,” Dash answered. “Or, Captain Perfection to most. I couldn’t get much more than his name and that he sails for coin, so I’m a little suspicious of the character. Lyra, think that you could learn anything a little more about the guy?”

Lyra gave a nod. “Folk love a good tune, especially an enchanted one. I take information instead of bits as tips and we should know just how scurvy the guy is.”

Dash grinned and turned to the dogs. “Rover, think you can take these two and try to find the guy? Maybe chat it up with the guy? Get him a little tipsy and see if he spills more than just drink?” The dogs began to look rather excited. “Just make sure you don’t get too drunk yourselves. I’ll go around and refresh our supply and we’ll all meet back up at a tavern called ‘Ol’ Salty’s’. If this guy checks out, we’ll discuss a price and head out in the morning.”

The dogs all gave a nod and made their way to the harbor. Lyra gave a smile to Rainbow Dash. “Awfully good in command for somepony who spent her days travelling mostly alone.”

“I used to lead the weather team in Ponyville if you’ll remember. It’s nothing I’m not used to,” Dash responded. “You need anything while I’m restocking?”

Lyra shook her head. “I should be fine. If you wanna pay for my first drink at Salty’s though I wouldn’t object.”

Dash chuckled. “I can do that. See you in a moment.”

The two then turned and went their own ways for the time. Rainbow Dash made her way back into the main town and scanned the market stalls. She found one with various fruits set on its table, ones she was unfamiliar with even. She stepped up and began observing. “Nice selection.”

The pony behind the stand was an earth pony with a black coat and orangish brown mane that covered his eyes. He gave a grin at the compliment. “‘Course it is, Sweetie. Anything catch your eye in particular? Kiwi, mango, banana, dragon fruit?”

Dash gave a laugh, putting on a facade to keep the stallion interested in talking. “Actually you did. You look like a guy who knows how to pack for the sea. Any recommendations?” She kept talking too, flattering the stallion, speaking as she remembered Rarity used to do. She had learned a lot of things from her time in Ponyville, from her friends and her work. Lyra had even pointed out her skill. Rainbow had grown and that was good, because she was going to be leaving the familiar very soon. She might as well make use of the skills she learned in Equestria.

Lyra made her way through the harbor with a bounce in her step and a hum in her voice. She was happy to be back to traveling and more than eager to prove herself useful to her companions. She surveyed the area, looking for the most populous point. She noticed a good number of the scruffier looking sailors huddled around telling stories of their travels. She found a spot where she would attract the most attention up on a few crates and climbed up. She pulled her lyre from her bag and thought of a song. Right, a little siren song should make them avid to help.

She cleared her throat, bringing attention from a stallion or two that passed by. Her lyre at her side, she brought a forehoof to her chest and began vocalizing. There were no lyrics to her piece; she merely let the strings play and her voice rise. It didn’t take long to turn heads. A number of sailors began stepping over towards the crates that Lyra was perched atop. Her voice and playing were hypnotic and only drew a larger crowd of primarily males. She opened her eyes as she continued her song, scanning the group that she had drawn for anyone that could be holding the information she wanted.

When her gaze fell onto a brown unicorn stallion with an eye patch and scars across his face, she felt that he looked the oldest and most knowledgeable. She kept her spell going as it was, only focusing a bit more towards the grizzly old unicorn and who appeared to be his friends.

She sang out and played her tune to its full potential, enchanting those around her. It was almost hilarious how they let things pass them by; various passing mares would even give an envious gaze up towards Lyra. She could only smile as she reached her finale, giving a bow as applause came forth from below and even a few bits flew in her direction. She looked towards the old unicorn as she descended. “I was wondering if you and your sailor friends had any old tales I may be interested in. Mind treating a girl to a story and lunch?”

“You are doubting my ears? I tell you I have found him!” Spot frowned as he stood in front of Rover and Fido.

“Your ears are not what I doubt. I simply said that I was not expecting the captain to be a minotaur himself. We have hardly seen anything but po-nees around here,” Rover returned. “But if it is as you say, then we should go and speak with him. Come dogs.” He motioned his paw for them to follow as they made their way to the bar that Spot claimed he had seen their target.

“He is there, the one that they have called Captain Perfection.” Spot pointed to a minotaur sitting on a barstool, surrounded by a number of goats.

“So we are led to believe,” Rover said. “Let us speak with the captain then.” The three of them made their way up to the bar and took the seats to Marbled Perfection’s right side. “So, we hear that you are a great sea captain?” Rover began.

The goats surrounding them gave what seemed to come off as laughter. Perfection gave out his own guffaw. “To put it lightly, friend! You’re addressing Captain Marbled Perfection! I’m the best of the west, the beast of the east, and the song of the south!”

The dogs sat there as they watched the minotaur pose with flexed arms, waiting. “Uh…” Rover interrupted. “What about the north?”

“Damn the north!” Perfection’s rebuttal was sudden and loud. “It holds no worth to Captain Perfection, so I’ve never bothered going!” He let loose another guffaw as the goats gave their own laughter in turn.

Rover could only look back to Spot and Fido with an unimpressed look in his eyes that they were quick to return. “Right… we had a few questions for you. Do you have a favored drink we might treat you to while we discuss?” Perfection and his entourage of goats still kept laughing. Rover dropped his face into his paw. “Why is it I feel we wound up with the difficult task?”

Rainbow Dash sat at a table in Ol’ Salty’s, her saddlebags filled with food along with a few extra sacks at her side. She looked up and saw Lyra waving goodbye to someone outside the door as she walked up to the table. “Seems like things went well,” Dash said.

“If you consider a free meal, some coin, and the information you asked for as ‘going well,’ then yeah, I think they did.” Lyra was smiling as she took her seat. “Saw the dogs making their way over as well, though not as entertained as myself from what I saw.”

Sure enough, Rover, Fido, and Spot all made their way past the door while they clutched at their ears with grimaces spread across their faces. They took their places with a synchronized groan. “I don’t know how much more I could take! He is more irritating than… No, wait, nobody could be more annoying than Miss Rarity was,” Spot whined.

Rainbow and Lyra chuckled. “He’s that bad?” Dash asked. “Well this should prove to be a trial then.”

Lyra jumped in. “From what I heard from the friends I made, it seems he’s only really captain in title. He gives the orders but gets them from his first mate, but she doesn’t really want to make a name for herself so she lets him think that he’s got the control.”

“Not surprising in the least,” Rover added. “He only talks about himself. It is good to hear criticism against him.”

“He claims no piracy to his name,” Fido added. “He simply makes profit taking po-nees and others across the water.”

“I can verify that,” Lyra said. “The ponies I talked to have sailed with him before and know that he won’t be taking unnecessary tasks. His handler would never allow it.”

“His prices are high however,” Spot joined. “But he accepts all forms of currency; from gems and bits and even griffon silvers.”

“That’ll help quite a bit, do they accept work or help as payment?” Rainbow asked.

“Yeah, but not enough for the whole trip,” Lyra answered. “We can work off a bit of the fee, but the rest has to be in physical form.”

“We are apparently friends to the beast,” Rover added. “He offered the three of us reduced price should we ever seek his aid.”

Rainbow Dash smiled. “So the dude is clean, or at least whoever it is he answers to is, and we have our ways of bringing price down. Sounds like we have a plan, we’ll meet him at the docks by morning. Lyra, if you’ll call the staff over, first round is on me.”

The dogs and Lyra all let out a cheer as Rainbow Dash produced bits from the pouch in her saddlebag. They gave small celebration that night with drink and food until the morning came.

On the harbor they searched for Perfection’s ship, seeking the minotaur himself to barter a deal. It didn’t take long. The dogs recognized his group of goats and saw the beast himself strutting like a peacock. Rainbow Dash approached him with her friends at her side and stuck her chest out as well, letting Perfection know that she was worthy of his full attention.

“What brings you to my ship, little pony?” he asked. He then noticed the dogs at her side. “Ah! Taking me up on my offer then?”

“Yes, they are,” Rainbow answered, drawing Perfection’s attention back to her. “I’m their leader and we’d like to cross over to the west. We hear you can help us.”

Marbled Perfection looked at Rainbow, sizing her up as he crossed his arms. She kept her confident grin as he stood tall. He guffawed as he had around the dogs. “Spunk! I like it! Of course you and you’re crew would be welcome aboard the Gilded Rain!” The goats at his side all chuckled along. “Now, how will you all be paying?”

“Labor,” Rainbow replied without skipping a beat. “We’ve endurance, competence and skill. One of us can fly, one is a unicorn, and the other three can grip. We bring our own weapons should they be needed and I know how to whip up a wind or help clear a storm.”

Marbled gave a quick chuckle. “Spunky and hard-working, you’re gonna do fine lil’ missy. I have to say though that we need some actual money, labor will only go so far on this ship.”

“How much for the five of us then? We have gems and bits,” Rainbow produced her coin purse and held it within her wing.

“Since you’re friends o’ mine and willing to work…” Marbled paused to figure some math in his head. “Fifty bits or fifteen gems.”

“Right.” Dash opened the purse and produced their payment. “So, in that case, should five gems and thirty three bits do it then?”

Marbled took hold of the payment and counted it out. When he was satisfied, he gave a grin and dropped it into his own purse. “That will do it. Welcome aboard! What should we be callin’ ya?”

Rainbow Dash motioned her hoof to her party. “The dogs, as you’ve met, are named Spot, Fido, and Rover. Our unicorn here is named Lyra, and I’m Rainbow Dash.”

Marbled nodded as he looked them all over. He noticed Lyra had a huge grin across her face as she looked back at him. “Anything I can help you with, Miss?”

Lyra rose to her hind legs and began bouncing with joy. “A brilliant pair! Palms, fingers and thumbs, all there!”

Rainbow looked to Lyra and placed a hoof on her back, attempting to calm her down. “Yes, yes, there’ll be plenty more when we get there, try not to freak out the guy giving us a ride!” She looked back up to Marbled Perfection and gave a nervous smile. “She… likes hands… a lot,” she explained.

Marbled nodded and shouted an order to the goats that surrounded him as they all boarded the ship with Rainbow and her company following. They brought up their anchor and set sail, leaving the shores of Equestria.

Rainbow and Lyra had been tasked with cleaning the deck when Lyra noticed a cloaked figure walking about, a griffon masking their face. “From what I’ve heard, that’s the real captain of the ship,” she said to Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow looked over towards the griffon. It walked around the ship, observing as the crew of ponies and goats did their duties at their given stations. “Let’s go introduce ourselves then,” Dash said. Lyra gave a nod as they walked over towards the griffon.

They approached quickly and startled the figure. It seemed to be female. She kept her hood down low so that only her beak showed. “You!” Her voice was shocked and gruff.

Dash looked confused. “Me?”

The griffon shook her head. “Sorry… simply reminded me of someone I knew long ago.”

Dash looked to the griffon with interest. “I can say the same for you…”

The griffon was quick to clear her voice. “I’m Grizelda; Perfection’s first mate. If you need anything, send word to me and I’ll make it known.”

“Yes, we understand that you’re the one giving the real orders around here,” Lyra said with a wink.

“Right, but don’t let anyone else on board be hearing that,” Grizelda growled. “Keep the idiot captain happy, and I’ll be happy.”

“This wouldn’t have anything to do with King Gallows trying to start a war around here, would it?” Dash asked.

Grizelda brought a talon to the rim of her hood and pulled it down further. “No idea what you’re talking about. Haven’t been to the Griffon Kingdom in a long while. Now that I do know, I’m really not too willing to return.” She turned and walked away. “You may use the practice room below for any combat training you need. If you’re heading west, then it’s likely you’ll need it.”

Rainbow watched as she left and gave a sigh. “She’s got a point. Dogs are gonna need to train with those weapons. I know that I’m gonna need it with these.” Dash looked down to the rings around her forehooves.

Lyra nodded. “The minotaurs respect skill and strength.” She then let out a sigh. “I know that Bon Bon would just love to go sailing someday.” She rested her forelegs on the edge of the ship, letting her head rest in one of her hooves as she stared into the water and the horizon. “You told me before we left, that you had somepony special in your life as well. Who is she?”

Dash paused, looking at Lyra. Her thoughts swam with images of Spitfire and their recent departure. “Spitfire.”

“The Wonderbolt?” Lyra asked.

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yes.”

“Would you like to see her?” Lyra’s question took Dash aback. “With the spell. It’s been a few days. We have a clear surface all around us.” She turned to Rainbow Dash. “Would you like to see her?”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “I thought we needed something she was in contact with.”

Lyra pointed a hoof towards Dash. “We have you. You were in contact with her while you were in Canterlot, no? Come on.” She smiled. “It’s not fair that I use the spell on myself to see my Bon Bon, if our leader can’t even use it.”

Rainbow looked back to Lyra and returned her smile. She gave a nod and Lyra returned the motion. She pulled out her lyre and began to play as Rainbow made her way to the edge of the ship and looked into the water. She felt a tingling sensation overtake her as Lyra put her to use as the spell component. She watched as the water rippled and gave way to an image. Spitfire was flying by the sides of her fellow Wonderbolts, scanning their horizons before coming in to land. Rainbow flew down to the water, looking close at her beloved and feeling her heart pump. It was as if Spitfire could tell she was there, as the image looked up towards Dash and smiled. Rainbow’s face gave way to a smile as well. She held out one of her hooves and caressed the water that held Spitfire’s cheek. “Wait for me.” The water once again rippled and the image faded, leaving Rainbow to look into the empty water and see her own smiling face.

Beneath These Waves

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Beneath These Waves

The moon was hanging high in the sky as Rainbow Dash laid back in the crow’s nest. They were ending their second night on the Gilded Rain, and Grizelda had estimated it would be another two before they made it to the western shores. She took this time to herself to relax, looking into the night sky and smiling. She had been working hard today, pushing away any threatening storm clouds, keeping up the wind so they didn’t lose any speed, and giving the deck a good scrubbing among other chores. She let the cool and salty air drift through her nose as she took a deep breath.

She thought for a moment and decided to go and check on Lyra and the dogs. The last time she’d seen them was in the training room. Of course she had proven to be a natural with Lyra’s hoof blades and didn’t need too much practice, but she figured that she’d probably check on how the others were doing. Dash brought herself to stand and spread her wings. She descended from the top of the mast, her wings bringing her gently to the floor. As she dropped, she noticed Grizelda looking over the front of the ship. Something seemed to be bothering her. Rainbow considered going over to check, but reasoned with herself that if it proved urgent enough for the ship she would alert them.

Dash met the planks of the ship with a light tap and made her way below deck. Past the cabins of snoring sailors and the kitchen, Rainbow found herself in a room filled with weapons, targets, and wooden dummies. She saw Lyra leaning against a desk with weapons tucked underneath, calling out various commands as she used her magic to replace any targets that were getting too badly damaged. Fido was the main source of her work as he would bring his axe straight through the body of his dummies, slicing them vertically, horizontally, diagonally, or whatever way he could think of. Spot had made some very visible improvement with his crossbow, no longer causing his bolts to stray only inches away from some poor living soul’s head; his accuracy was near pinpoint now. However, it was clear that his true skill was with his daggers. Even from a distance he could stick one of the blades into the head of a dummy each time. Rover though had shown the most skill of the three as well as the most improvement. He was able to put an arrow into any point that Lyra ordered him to with little hesitation and enough power to make the shot deep, even when she would move the target around the room. With his bastard sword in paw, he could cleave through any target brought before him. While his power wasn’t on the same level as Fido’s, his control was admirable for wielding a blade so large.

Rainbow walked next to Lyra. “Looks like they’ve done well for two days.”

“Very well,” Lyra agreed. “Diamond dogs are apparently a very adaptive race and very skilled combatants.”

“I knew that much,” Rainbow answered as she thought back to their night against the sand rats. “You can see why Rover was their leader.”

“Absolutely!” Lyra smiled. “His skill with the blade could even rival my own, and I’ve been wielding Emerald for years! It’s truly impressive.” She looked to Dash. “Of course, your skill was something I didn’t expect either, especially with a new weapon.”

Dash grinned and shrugged. “I guess when you got it, you got it. Kinda helps to have a weapon actually made for hooves too ya know?”

“Of course.” Lyra looked back to the dogs. “Alright fellas, let’s pack it up. We have more work tomorrow and the captain won’t want us too tired. Great progress today though!” The dogs all nodded and returned their weapons to their person. Lyra dropped from the desk to all four hooves and walked towards the doorway. “It’d be a good idea for you too, Dash,” Lyra finished as she faded from view.

Rainbow watched the dogs pass by before she made her way to her own room. Her saddlebags lied next to the hammock she had been provided with. The rest of the room was rather unremarkable, just a wooden hole with walls and a door, but it was all Dash really needed for her trip.

She produced her element from her bag. She had taken to wearing it before they had boarded, but decided it would be best not to let these seafarers see it, even if they claimed to not be pirates. Like every night since her departure, she put the necklace onto the hammock first and studied it. She brought it around her neck once again and brought it to its glow. She crawled into the hammock with it on and let her focus keep her mind centered as she closed her eyes and let sleep crawl over her.

The ship was quiet; the only noises made were the waves crashing against its side. Grizelda looked on at the water below, concerned. It was dark underneath the ship, darker than the water should be out there, even in the night. She’d sailed there from east to west before, she knew these waters and, for some reason, she couldn’t shake the feeling that they were traveling with company.

“Never heard word of kraken in these parts… hasn’t proved to be hostile… yet. It’s large… very large.” She brought her head lower. “What are you? You follow us without watching… and it pisses me off! Do you even know that we’re here?” She curled her talon into a fist and slammed it against the railing. She then saw a shimmer in the water as the darkness of it gave way ever so slightly, a strand separating from the body. A smile then spread across her beak. “I can’t believe I was so stupid to not figure it out until now. Looks like it’s attack or be attacked.” Grizelda turned and made her way below deck.

Rainbow Dash heard a rap at her door as Grizelda called out. “Rainbow Dash, it’s time for you to pay off your labor charge, with interest!” Rainbow shook her head to wake herself a bit better before rolling out of her hammock with her element around her neck and her blades around her hooves. She thought for only a moment before making her way out of her room where she saw Grizelda knocking at various other doors. Lyra was the next to emerge with the dogs pouring out of their own room across from hers.

“Hey, Griz, what’s the work?” Rainbow called out as a number of the other crewmates rubbed their eyes awake. No sooner had she finished her question however than the ship began to rock violently as if something had smacked it from the side.

Grizelda turned back to Rainbow and a grin spread across her beak. “There’s your answer,” she replied. “Gather weapons, crew! Wake the captain! Ready cannons! Prepare for battle!”

Rainbow turned to Lyra and the dogs and the four of them returned the gaze as they all made their way above deck in a hurry. When they emerged to the moonlit ship, they all witnessed massive tentacles reaching high above the mast, occasionally giving the ship a quick swat and forcing it to shake. Dash took to the air as her group took up arms. She readied her blades, allowing them to spring forth. Behind them they heard most of the crew emerge with Marbled Perfection and Grizelda leading them. “Time to defend the ship, my friends!” Perfection called out. “Don’t let some stupid beast force down the Rain!”

A unified “Aye Aye Captain!” rang out from the entire crew, including Rainbow Dash and her party. Dash flew towards one of the tentacles off the side of the ship and forced her blades into the mass of flesh. It forced itself back, away from Rainbow as some hideous bellow echoed from the waters below. More tentacles emerged, until the crew counted ten. They all began to pummel the ship more aggressively, obviously agitated now. Dash dodged as the tentacle she had stabbed swung towards her. She watched as it slapped against the top of the ship, knocking aside a large number of the crew.

On deck, Rover and Fido took advantage of the tentacle’s appearance within their reach and brought their blades down and through a good portion of the appendage, severing a small amount from the whole and bringing about the bellow from below once again. Spot leapt on top of what remained as it retreated and sank his daggers into the open wound and twisted them viciously, forcing blood to squirt onto him and the ship below. Lyra readied her blade as the tentacles flailed about, placing well timed cuts into any that dared to come close.

Captain Perfection let out one of his well-known guffaws as he stood at the helm. “That’s right men and ladies! Let the beastie know that we will not simply stand here and let it take us down!” Not five seconds after, one of the tentacles reached down, plucked Marbled from his position, and shook him violently, hard enough to break his neck and silence him. His face was frozen in disbelief, as if his very corpse didn’t see it coming. All the talk and arrogance was at an end, causing even all the screaming and churning waves to sound too quiet. Anyone who saw it happen felt time stand still, taken aback at how simply such a proud creature fell. No more guffaws or boisterous bragging ever to be heard again.

Grizelda scowled. “Guess this fucker ain’t so stupid after all, smarter than you at least, Perfection!” She flew to take his place at the helm as the tentacle took his limp body down into the water. “Alright ya damned sea pigs, I’m givin’ the orders directly now! Do what I say if you wanna get out of this better than Perfect!” Many of the crew turned to look at their new captain and gave a nod, there were still a few though, mostly the goats from Marbled’s entourage, that remained staring at the water in shock. “Keep looking and you’ll soon join him you morons!”

Dash couldn’t help but feel horrified as she saw the body of the captain forced under, but she knew that Grizelda was right. She put the horror aside and charged another tentacle, cut and bruised from the various weapons that scraped it. It didn’t look like they were doing much to the creature, but the wails that shook the ship from below told them otherwise. She plunged her blades into the flesh as she had before, but she didn’t let this one retreat, she kept pushing forward to keep up with it as the limb tried to retreat and brought her hooves outward to widen her cut. It was tough, like cutting through rubber. Blood sprayed from the wound, falling onto the ship like a crimson rain.

The crew did their best, cutting and hacking and firing at the flailing organs. A cheer was heard whenever significant damage was dealt; a cannonball forcing a hole through one of the limbs, separating another segment of the creature. But for every successful blow they struck against the creature they lost more of their crew. Crushed, drowned, strangled and broken, they all fell around Grizelda, Dash, Lyra, and the dogs. Rainbow grew frustrated and furious at the creature as their situation only worsened. Storm clouds had been ignored while they fought this monster and rain now fell upon them.

“We live the life of adventure for sure!” They could hear Grizelda laugh. “We won’t be worth the salt in our coats if we can’t get through this! Every great sailor could only dream to live through a story told as much as this one! Now force this bastard back into the depths! Turn the tides and turn ‘em red, ya dogs!”

“We’d take offense to that!” Rover called back, slicing into a nearby tentacle. “But we’re a tad busy!”

Spot continued jabbing his blades into the appendage that he had mounted, still forcing great pain to their assailant. He was a stubborn hound and wouldn’t let go of his prey, but it began to flail more violently. Spot held tight to his daggers as his legs were loosed from their position, but they too flew out of their target, flinging Spot out into the stormy sky and plummeting towards the water below. He let out a scream, certain that he would be seeing his end soon. Rover and Fido called out to their friend before they were smacked into the wall of the ship’s cabin and brought to their knees.

Rainbow turned to see Spot falling and felt an impulse calling to her, a familiar feeling. She called his name and his fall stopped as he landed on a glowing red light. Dash was certain that this was the work of her element once again and focused on keeping the platform raised. Spot brought himself up to a sitting position, feeling himself and cheering when he realized he was alive and whole. He retrieved his daggers at his side as Rainbow flew over toward him, lifting him under his arms and dropping him off back at the ship. Rover and Fido brought themselves back up to their feet and ran over to check on their companion. Rainbow wiped at her soaking brow in relief before she noticed the dogs pointing behind her. She turned quickly in realization that she was about to take a hit herself, eyes widening in terror.

The limb spouted blood as a spiked ball slammed into its side. Grizelda had flown up in time to attack the tentacle with a morning star in both her talons and force it back. “Don’t let your guard down Lamebow!” She called out. “We still have a storm to weather!”

Dash looked down to the ship. There were only a handful of the crew left, fighting desperately to get their way through this. She looked for some solution, a trump card of some sorts, something to help them escape or win quickly. She looked back to the tentacle Spot had been flung from and to the weather above. She grinned as an idea sprung to mind and she made her way into the clouds.

Lyra made her way next to the dogs as she dodged one of the limbs. “Isn’t this exciting? I thought things like this only happened in old story books and legends! Ponies everywhere will love to hear this chapter!”

“Missus Lyra, this doesn’t seem to be the time!” Fido shouted over the rain.

“This is the perfect time, Fido! We’re living the dream that young foals with the hope of adventure could only wish to experience! We should enjoy this while we can!” Lyra gave a loud whoop as a tentacle flew towards her. She sliced straight through it with her blade in a single solid swipe, throwing her forelegs into the air in celebration. “I love the thrill of adventure!” The dogs could only look on in confusion as Lyra reveled in her amusement.

Rainbow Dash ascended up into the clouds and, grabbing hold of one and forcing it down, she brought it above the tentacle that Spot had been tearing into. “Grizelda!” she called down to the ship, attracting Grizelda’s attention. “Keep the leg in place!” She pointed towards the cloud she had gathered and the tentacle below.

Grizelda nodded and, with her morning star gripped, she threw herself towards the beast, bashing against the front of the appendage with ferocious strength. She assaulted and smashed continuously at the limb, pushing it back and shredding it to bits of rubbery flesh and splashes of crimson. When she had it in the position she needed she called up. “NOW DASH!”

Rainbow kicked into the cloud, forcing a bolt of lightning down into the exposed tissue of the severed tentacle. The rest of the tentacles began to thrash madly before finally dropping into the waves once more. Dash and Grizelda stared down at the water, waiting for something to resurface. When they felt satisfied that nothing would, they came down to the ship once more, letting loose a synchronised sigh of relief.

“Griz, what was that? A kraken?” Dash asked.

“No, too stupid to be a kraken. It took its time and gave us a chance to find it, kraken wouldn’t do that. Would have forced a storm too, we just happened to run into one,” Grizelda explained. “What we came across was an ordinary squid. A non-magical, stupid, ordinary, giant squid.”

“I don’t think giant and ordinary work together in the same description,” Rover interrupted.

Grizelda waved the remark away as she walked over to the edge of the ship. She looked down and began making a motion with her talon. “Someone get a line! Preferably one of the living unicorns!”

The remaining crew scrambled to look for a unicorn and a rope. Lyra made her way over, levitating a rope along as she passed. “Ready and willing, Captain! What are we doing?”

“Catching a ride!” Grizelda grinned. She pointed down and Lyra saw something moving. “Fucker is still moving, gonna try to run. He’s gonna help us make up for lost time.”

Lyra smiled wide and sent the rope into the water, fastening it tight around a tentacle. “Line fastened, Captain! We’re ready to ride! Keep him tied and I can steer!”

Grizelda nodded before turning her head once again. “Dash! Get those clouds out of here! We’re gonna want to arrive with sunny skies. Expect to be there by morning.”

Dash gave a confused look. “I thought you said it would be another two days?”

“Obviously you’ve never seen a squid when it’s scared,” Grizelda laughed as the ship suddenly launched forward, forcing those standing to fall to the floor. “Lyra, keep us straight!”

“Aye aye, Captain!” Lyra called out. She brought herself back to all fours and produced her lyre. She began playing a rapid tune, strumming with fervor. She enchanted the creature without its knowledge, keeping it swimming straight and stopping it from diving. Dash flew up into the clouds and flew through them with her hooves forward, busting them apart with enough speed to stay just in front of the ship below.

As they continued on, Dash looked down and took in the size of their loss. Her party had survived, but Grizelda’s crew had been reduced to no more than thirteen. In all seriousness, they were lucky to be alive. If this was what awaited them, she worried that gathering the element bearers would prove more difficult than simply finding them and bringing them home.

Shadow Of The Beast

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Shadow Of the Beast

Spitfire flew through the night sky, observing Canterlot as it passed beneath her. She let out a sigh into the air, tired from the stress that had begun building upon the city. Gallows showed no sign of submitting any time soon to whatever precautions they took to prevent him from expanding around their borders; he seemed to beat them to wherever they went. If she could only see the guy and put a face to him, she’d be able to think of him as something physical, something mortal. That would be better than simply having a name and reputation; he could be a god for all she knew.

As she landed, she felt relief that her day was ending. “Tired, Captain?” Soarin’s voice called out from behind Spitfire, causing her to jump. “Jumpy too, apparently.”

“Oh stuff it,” Spitfire said. She turned around and saw Soarin’ standing there, out of uniform but with a collar around his neck, bearing the sapphire he had been given from the dogs dangling from it. “Tired is right though. We’ve never had to keep a war at bay before. Takes a lot more out of you than you’d think,” she groaned.

“Can’t disagree with you there, everypony seems to be on edge without really knowing why. They know something is stirring.” Soarin’ tilted his neck from side to side, letting out a series of cracking noises before letting out a satisfied moan. “If we get any time off, we should definitely hit the spa I hear about down in Ponyville.”

Spitfire gave a small scoff and grin. “I doubt it would do us much good, at least not for long anyway. If all of this ever blows over, perhaps then we could. Hell, you could go and get your dogs washed too,” she laughed.

“Of course! And in the next room you and Rainbow could get nice and cuddly and clean. Together. Close. Dripping wet.” Soarin’ gave a scheming chuckle.

“Should I recommend the keepers drill a peephole, or would you simply search for one on your own?” Spitfire returned. “You can bet all you got we’d do that too! Fuck, I could record it for later!” Soarin’ made to speak before Spitfire interrupted with “You couldn’t even afford to rent the reel, buddy.”

“I’ll start saving up then!” he returned.

“You got a whole lifetime of saving to do then. ‘Course if you got that tape you’d have to miss out on the tongue bath edition,” Spitfire continued to tease.

“You say that as if there is a spot on that mare I wouldn’t put my mouth!” Spitfire countered in mock insult. “Or should I say haven’t?”

Soarin’ turned a bright red shade as he laughed, trying hard to catch his breath. “Oh Luna. Alright, you win this round Spitfire,” he gasped between breathing.

“Damn right I win. There’s nowhere I’m not willing to go,” Spitfire chuckled. “Think about that before you try to get me red in the face. It won’t happen. Next time we’ll play a penalty game. I’m talking bits out of your pocket and into mine,” she snickered. “Use it to pay our way into that spa perhaps.”

Soarin’ wiped a tear away from his cheek as he was still giggling. “Alright, Captain, I get your point. I won’t try again until I have some A material.”

“I’ll hold you to it,” Spitfire said. She couldn’t help but let out a few giggles herself. It seemed that whenever she felt down she could count on her friend to cheer her back up.

Soarin’ collected himself and shook his head. “How’s the week been treating you otherwise?”

Spitfire gave a smirk. “Pretty well actually. There are times I feel as if she’s watching me. It has helped tremendously.”

Soarin’ smiled in return. “Perhaps she is. Stranger things have happened.”

Spitfire nodded. “True enough.” She gave a muddled look towards Soarin’. “I don’t get how a nincompoop like you can read a situation and know the right thing to say.”

Soarin’ shrugged. “I don’t friggin’ know either! Dunno what you hope to learn from lookin’ at me funny either.”

Spitfire rolled her eyes and sat down. “Nor do I, buddy.” She let her gaze wander the skies and the moon, taking in the beauty of the starlight. “Dash is probably looking at the same stars right now… wherever she’s gotten to.”

Soarin’ watched her wonder. She hadn’t acted this way since the first time Rainbow Dash had left. Perhaps their recent encounter had reignited a dormant passion within his friend, reminded her of the love she felt for the mare. This time though, he could relate. Looking down at his collar, he remembered as well. He was now a part of a brotherhood, a group of friends that offered to call him a member of their family after only a few hours. He had heard of the loyalty and bonding of the diamond dogs, but after experiencing it first hoof, he realized that those stories did little justice. They were quick to look past the separation of species and bonded quickly with him, acting as if they were old friends. He greatly anticipated the return of his brothers, almost as much as Spitfire hoped for the return of Rainbow Dash.

“Yo, Soarin’. Do you see that?” Spitfire pointed a hoof to the sky. A shadow flew in front of the moon, almost eclipsing it. It looked as if lightning was striking around the silhouette and they could hear the low rumble of distant thunder. “What in Tartarus is that?”

“No way it’s a rogue storm cloud. It’s massive,” Soarin’ answered.

“No duh! The thing looks alive.” Spitfire wiped at her brow. “Did it get hotter, or am I hallucinating?”

Soarin’ shook his head. “Not unless we both are.”

Spitfire squinted, trying to get a better look at the passing shadow. “We could send somepony to investigate, but something about it… it’s overwhelming.”

“It only seems to be passing by,” Soarin’ whispered, his voice wavering. “At least, let’s hope so.”

The two of them watched as the shadow passed over the moon and stars. It flew over Canterlot and they watched as it continued to make its way westward.

“Get some guards to keep an eye on it. Tell them to keep their distance and not engage unless it proves to be hostile towards civilians,” Spitfire spoke carefully as she gave her order. “If this thing is only looking to pass by, let it. We don’t want to piss it off.”

Soarin’ nodded. “You got it, Captain. I can get Fleetfoot to lead a squad and keep us informed.” He turned and made his way inside the castle.

Spitfire watched the shadow continue on its way. As distance grew between it and her, she could feel the heat returning to normal and the sounds of thunder began to quiet. “A living storm?” She turned her head towards the direction it seemed to come from. “The south. From the desert.” She remembered Rainbow Dash telling her about her travels through the desert as they had lay together. “Rainbow… I hope this isn’t what I believe it to be.” She shook her head; worry wouldn’t help anypony right now. She had to let the princess know about this potential threat.

“Captain Spitfire!” She turned to the voice of a guard. “We have news from Appaloosa. The group guarding the town took in a sand rat who claims to have important information for the princess and guard. He was put aboard the next train to Canterlot with a selection of our number watching over him. He speaks of a danger to Equestria and beyond.”

Spitfire’s brow furrowed. I think I know what he’s talking about. “I will welcome him when he arrives and we will hold audience as soon as possible. I have some questions as well, and I think he might know the answers.”

Nickel sat quietly in his seat aboard the train. He had survived, and gotten this far. If he wished to continue his survival though he would have to make amends and seek allies. He had fled to his tribe’s closest neighbors, the ponies of Appaloosa, and beseeched them for refuge in exchange for warning. Upon arrival, he surrendered his dagger and allowed himself to be shackled; gladly accepting capture over death. Now he was making his way to the pony capitol, to warn them of the danger that had awakened, the rage of his master.

His guards kept their eyes on him at all times. There were two of them, both unicorns from Canterlot that had been guarding the town from sand rats like him. He wasn’t surprised that they eyed him with suspicion. His people were notorious thieves and liars to outsiders. What these ponies didn’t know, however, was that Nickel and his tribe only stole to appease their wrathful master. He took no offense however, for he was a scholar among his kin and had long learned never to upset those in power. He simply sat there, ambivalent about whether to despair or keep hope.

A door opened to his left, welcoming a new pony into the car. Nickel looked upon him. An earth pony with a buttery coat and light tan mane, a single rosy apple on his flank with a brown hat and vest. “It’s alright gang. Ah’m here to speak a few words with the critter,” he spoke in the pony language, though in a way much different than the one that Nickel had learned to speak. He walked over in front of Nickel and gave a friendly smile. “Well howdy there neighbor. Ah hear that you came into town lookin’ like you’d seen a ghost! Started spoutin’ somethin’ ‘bout warnin’ us all?” Nickel had to take a moment to piece together what the pony was saying. “Oh! Pardon mah manners, friend. Name’s Braeburn!” He offered his hoof to Nickel and smiled wider.

Nickel looked back at Braeburn and then down at his hoof. “I am named Nickel,” he said as he motioned towards Braeburn’s hoof. “I… do not understand.” He spoke the tongue of the ponies for the first time since the years ago he had learned it, but he felt it was clear.

Braeburn looked down at his hoof. “Oh, well yer supposed ta shake it. It’s a welcome.”

Nickel nodded and held out his own paw. Braeburn took hold and gave a shake. Nickel pulled his hand back and stared at it, unsure if there was anything more. “Uh… warning… yes.” He took a moment to collect his thoughts. “I have come to speak of my former master… he has… augh, the pony word escapes me…” he began to snap his fingers as he searched his memory. “Madness! Yes, that was the word, brilliant word. Yes, my former master has been lost to madness!”

Braeburn drew a look of confusion on his face. “Ah’m afraid ah don’t quite understand partner. Let’s start at th’ beginnin’. Who exactly is yer ‘master’?”

Nickel’s face seemed to drop all at once, giving a look of dread and misery. His breathing increased to a quicker pace. His voice came out quietly, almost as if he feared the word would kill him once uttered. “Owayix…”

The Highland

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The Highland

Rainbow Dash made her way to the front of the Gilded Rain where Grizelda and Lyra were. The sun was rising and she could see land approaching quickly. “Looks like we’re here,” she said.

Grizelda nodded. “Good thing too. Ship is gonna need some heavy repairs and I’m gonna have to find some new crew.” She looked towards Rainbow Dash with her hood hanging low. “Nice thinking back there by the way. I might not have a ship if you hadn’t come aboard.”

Dash shrugged and gave a grin. “Hey, you’re not too bad yourself, getting this thing to work for us after it kills most of the crew.”

Grizelda gave a quick laugh. “Bastard’s work is only part of how it’s gonna repay us! It’s fuckin’ calamari for everyone when we land!”

Dash gave a nervous smile before turning real quick to gag. She returned to Grizelda and asked, “Have you been here before?”

“Of course! It’s where I picked up Perfection after all,” Grizelda replied.

Dash noted the lack of care in her voice and made a mental note to seek out the old captain’s family if she could find them. She looked behind her and saw Rover, Spot, and Fido helping the remaining crew members finish mopping up the blood that the squid had sprayed across the deck. She let out a long sigh, thanking whatever power may be watching that she and her friends weren’t lost.

It didn’t take much longer for them to land, the squid unknowingly beaching itself to Lyra’s command. Lyra ceased her playing and returned her instrument to her bag. With no magic holding the squid over, it realized its fate and began to thrash about, but it was far too weak and weary to make a difference. Rainbow hated to admit it, but she found some satisfaction in watching the beast’s pathetic attempts to free itself.

On the beach there were various huts built as the group witnessed a group of minotaurs and goats making their way towards the squid with interest in their eyes. “Grizelda is back and she brought a fish fry!” Grizelda called out over the ship and earned a cheer from the minotaurs below.

Rainbow gathered her party and they readied themselves to get off the ship. She went over to Grizelda to give her final words of thanks. “We appreciate the ride, Griz. We’re gonna head out and do what we came here for.”

“Of course! I’ll be here when you get back,” Grizelda replied.

Rainbow Dash was confused. “Wait. How did you know we would–”

“Ponies don’t come to the minotaur lands to stay. Not often at least. You’re gonna want to go home,” Grizelda responded. “I’ll be here. No need to worry about future charges by the way. I don’t take money from friends.”

“We’ve only known each other for a few days,” Rainbow said.

“Oh, it feels like a lot longer than that,” Grizelda was quick to answer. “Besides, you helped save my ship. I’d say you’ve earned more than your share of rides aboard it. Find whatever you’re looking for and I should have the Rain all patched up for her next voyage when you return.”

Rainbow Dash smiled. “Thanks, Griz.” She turned back to Lyra and the dogs. “Alright guys, we’re going ashore. Lyra, I’d like to take a look through the scrying spell once again to make sure she’s still here. Grab something to focus the spell and find me at the home of this town’s leader, maybe he’ll know where to look.” Lyra gave a nod. “We’ll be asking around, see if we can find out a more concentrated area to look, not to mention a place to stay and eat for the night. I wanna see what minotaurs have before we start camping and using our own supplies.”

Lyra and the dogs gave a salute as Rainbow Dash floated down onto the beach. She watched as Grizelda landed atop the now dead squid and heard a gleeful cheer as she assumed Lyra had made her way among the minotaurs. The mental image of the minty unicorn tackling a full grown minotaur as she had done with Rover brought Rainbow Dash to a snicker.

She trekked through the sand, moving by the minotaur bulls and heifers and their various goat companions. She began to look around for someone who looked like they were in charge, looking to find a few answers to settle herself into the environment. She found a large hut further up the beach and walked up towards it, knocking at the door. She heard heavy footsteps approach before the door was pulled inward, giving way to the image of a tall and mighty looking bull. She felt overwhelmed as he looked down and spoke in a rumbling voice. “Ah! Traveler, welcome to Minotown!” He spread his large arms and gave a smile that grew just as wide.

Not exactly the most creative of names, but then again I come from Ponyville so… Rainbow returned the bull’s smile, though she wasn’t any calmer than before.

“Please, traveler, come in! Power Mettle is my name and I’ll gladly welcome you into my home!” He motioned for Rainbow Dash to follow him as he turned into his house. She hesitated at first but made her way inside. The house was cozy and warmed by a fireplace. Dash would almost feel comfortable if it weren’t for her heavyweight host. His fur was a coffee colored brown and he was much larger than any of the minotaurs outside. And yet… “Could I get you some tea? Maybe some cocoa or perhaps some biscuits? I assure you most everything I prepare is home grown and just magnificent!” He seemed a lot less intimidating with each word he spoke.

“Uh… sure. I guess a bit of tea would be nice,” Dash said. Mettle offered her a seat and she took it. He took only a few minutes before he returned with a cup and a pitcher. She nodded in thanks and took a sip. “Mmm! This is delicious!”

“It should be! Finest green in Minotown. By Tartarus, it was voted best in all of Minos itself! Twice!” Power Mettle stood proudly as he daintily picked up his own tea cup, extending his pinkie and taking a small sip.

“Congratulations,” Dash started. “So, do you always welcome travelers like this?” She was a bit taken aback by such welcoming treatment, it certainly wasn’t what she had expected from the burly minotaurs.

“Absolutely! I adore company and I wouldn’t be a very good mayor if I didn’t show guests some hospitality,” Power Mettle said as if it were obvious.

Well, it seems like I got the right guy at least. Dash thought. “Well that’s a pretty good mindset to have I guess.”

“It’s proven quite well so far!” Power took another sip from his cup. “It’s definitely built up quite an amount of return travelers from Minolympus.”

“Minolympus?” Dash asked.

“Yes, the city in the mountains. Capitol of Minos. It’s much like your Canterlot, except we hold different architecture… not too different from you pegasus ponies if what I hear of your Cloudsdale is correct.” Power gave a warm smile, his golden nose ring dangled in front of his glistening teeth.

“The mountains… you mean in the highland?” Dash felt some excitement that they may be pointed in the right direction.

“Of course! Most of our kind lives there. Beautiful green grass and rolling hills, it truly is a brilliant spot to raise children and live long. Whether you be taur or goat.” Power saw Dash begin to mouth her next question before he interrupted. “We’ve lived together for many years. We speak the goat language and see them as kin, just as much as one another. Even the satyr race that runs along our land are the children of goat and minotaur families.”

Dash looked surprised. She’d heard of the satyrs, came up with a few theories of her own, but she never thought she’d be right with any of them. “I guess that explains quite a bit,” she said. “But I was actually going to ask if you’d heard anything about a pony passing through that direction.”

“Ah. My apologies, Miss…uh…I don’t believe I asked your name,” Mettle said.

“Rainbow Dash,” she answered. “Just, Rainbow Dash.”

Mettle smiled once again. “Lovely name, Rainbow Dash. As for your question, I have indeed seen your friend.” Rainbow’s eyes widened when she heard this. “Yes, Miss Applejack wasn’t it? Now that you mention it, I remember her talking about you too. Yes, she said you were a dear friend of hers. Spoke very highly of you, my dear. Said that, in her travel, you were what she missed the most from her home.”

Rainbow Dash paused, looking into her tea and gazing into her reflection. “She said that, did she?” A small grin grew on her face.

“Yes. She did. She was a very sweet girl. Helped me with my garden before she left.” Mettle gave a little chuckle at the memory. “Headed towards Minolympus right after."

“How long ago did she leave?” Rainbow Dash was quick to ask.

Power Mettle took a few seconds to search his mind. “Oh… perhaps a month ago?”

Rainbow gave a sigh. So much for recent contact. She took an idle sip at her cup once again.

“Don’t look so defeated, honey.” The deep voice and powerful build brought Dash to chortle at the sentence.

“Nah, I’m not defeated, just a little disappointed is all,” Rainbow insisted.

“Well she sounded quite interested in spending some time up there. I think she may still be there if you’re lucky,” Power Mettle said.

There was another knock at the door. “I guess we’ll see.” Dash grinned.

“Friends of yours?” Power asked.

“Most likely.” Dash watched as her host made his way to the door. Once he opened it she could see Lyra and the dogs staring up at Power as he invited them in. “Glad to see you found your way,” Rainbow called.

“Of course!” Lyra responded with a cheery look on her face. “And look at this! It’s a hand mirror!” She let out a small squeal of joy as she produced a small glass object from her bags. “I bought another one. To keep.”

“That is a very lovely looking piece I must agree,” Power added. “May I?”

“Of course!” Lyra allowed their host to take hold of her mirror as the dogs made their way through the door.

“Very good craftsmanship. I can see myself so clearly.” Mettle admired the mirror and himself, running his fingers along his lengthy horns with a smug grin across his face. “And it’s quite a wonderful image.”

“You won’t see me argue that point!” Lyra giggled.

“Don’t mean to interrupt,” Rainbow started. “But could we ask you a question, Power Mettle? It’ll just take a moment.”

“Oh, but of course.” Power Mettle returned Lyra’s mirror. “That is why you came here I assume. Please take a seat.” He motioned towards a couch which Lyra and the dogs sat. He took his own seat in an armchair that looked almost like a throne.

Rainbow Dash looked over towards Lyra and nodded. Lyra returned the motion and produced her mirror. “This should be a big enough surface for us to all get a good look,” Lyra said. “A shame. It’s truly quite beautiful.”

Rainbow then turned her attention back to Mettle. “Lyra here can perform a scrying spell. We want to figure out where Applejack is, and this will show us how. If you could tell us where we need to go by looking in the mirror we’d be very grateful,” she explained.

Power smiled. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thanks.” Rainbow motioned for Lyra to begin. She pulled her lyre once again and played the familiar melody, humming along. Power looked into the mirror with awe as it began to ripple and shimmer. Rainbow spoke, “Applejack…” and the reflection gave way to an image that Dash remembered the first time they performed the spell to locate her friend. Power took what time he had to look into the mirror, scratching at his chin in thought and recollection.

When the mirror shattered he was taken by surprise. “Sorry! I’ll clean it up!” Lyra offered.

“Oh, no trouble at all,” Power Mettle returned. “And yes, that is definitely the highland, just north of Minolympus. She’s gotten pretty far up there though. At least it seems so.” A worried expression befell him. “That far up, the land is not under the minotaur rule. There are creatures up there that may wish her harm if she isn’t careful.”

Rainbow’s eyes narrowed. “Then we have to be fast.” She grinned. “My specialty.” She stood and gathered her bags. “I’m really sorry we have to leave so soon, Power Mettle, but our friend needs us right now. Thank you for your hospitality.”

Lyra and the dogs stood as well, ready to go. Lyra lifted the broken glass from the floor and brought it above a trash bin, dropping it among the rest of the garbage.

“Of course, it is no trouble,” Power returned. “In fact, if you would allow me to walk you towards our train station, I can get you on your way lickety split!”

“No, I’m Lyra! Lickety is still in Ponyville,” Lyra laughed. “Sorry, just a bit of pony humor.”

Mettle didn’t seem to get it, but continued anyway. “You’ve proven grand guests so far, as well as friends to another guest I enjoyed. I’ll make sure your time in Minos is enjoyable.” He stood and led them to the door. Outside, Rainbow could see the other minotaurs at the shore as they cheered while they cooked up the squid that had caused such strife for their voyage over here. Despite her disgust, she felt some form of sadistic joy to see the creature being fried and fed to the minotaurs. Mettle urged them to follow as he made his way further up the beach.

After only a few minutes of walking they stood before the train station. “Stay here just a moment.” Mettle made his way up to the station and began speaking to the goat that stood in the booth. It was odd for them to hear the bull speak in bleats and baas, stirring a giggle among the dogs. When Power Mettle returned, he held out five tickets for them. “When you get to Minolympus, look for a place called Pan’s Pipe. Tell the owner that your stay is on me.”

“Mettle, we can’t do that. We’ve only known you for about an hour,” Rainbow Dash insisted.

“But Applejack knew me for days. Her friends are my friends,” Mettle returned. “If you’re going to help her, I’m going to offer my help where I can.”

Dash couldn’t help but smile. “Kinda glad she came through this way now. Thanks for all your help, Power. I’ll make it up to you somehow.”

Power Mettle let out a guffaw. “If you all come to visit every now and again, we can discuss that. So make sure you do.”

Rainbow smiled. Her new friend was not as intimidating as she had first thought. She pulled herself back onto her hind legs and gave the big guy a hug. “Thanks again. We’ll hit you up on our way back.” She smiled as he returned her hug. She dropped back to all fours and watched as Lyra gave him a hug as well. “Hey, if you’re ever in Ponyville, give us a holler!”

He chuckled. “I’ll do that.” He waved as the five of them boarded their train. “Tell Applejack that I await her return!”

Rainbow turned in the doorway of the train and called back. “I’ll do you one better! I’ll have her return with me!” She smiled and waved back to her new friend as his own smile grew. She made her way into the train as it began to leave the station and watched the lands pass by.

The train was a much larger vehicle than the ones in Equestria, so Dash found them to be more spacious than she was used to. Lyra spent their time by playing on her lyre, singing songs of tales she had heard or even experienced herself. Dash enjoyed these songs and they seemed to even calm the dogs as well.

Hours passed and the sun dipped under the horizon before the party arrived at their destination. They stepped off the oversized train and onto the ground of Minolympus. The buildings were built with elegance and artistry, with the buildings that seemed most important standing on top of the hills above the homes for all to see. Resting upon columns, the structures looked like temples and did in fact remind Rainbow Dash of pegasus architecture. Minotaurs walked about in great numbers alongside goats and the occasional satyr; many adorned in togas and robes. Lyra gave another of her happy cries when she witnessed one of the goat-folk walking about on cloven feet, running over and forcing one to the ground to witness its hands. Dash rolled her eyes at the act and made her way into the city with the dogs following close at her side. She called Lyra to her side as they passed and she obeyed, apologizing to the satyr and helping him up to his hooves once again.

“Such fascinating creatures!” Lyra was still looking back at the satyr, it looked back to her with a frightened expression in its eyes. “They have a natural talent at music you know.”

“So do you Lyra.” Rainbow Dash pointed to Lyra’s flank. The image of a lyre emblazoned on her coat.

“Well yes, but this talent lies within every satyr!” Lyra explained. “Even from a young age they can play the panpipes and enchant a full grown stallion!”

“I thought they were notorious lady lovers,” Rainbow said in minor confusion. “They’re all male aren’t they?”

“Well, mostly yes, but you act like somepony’s sex would stop such a hedonistic creature.” A sinister smirk grew on Lyra’s face. “Many an embarrassing explanation has been forced due to the actions of a satyr, dear Rainbow Dash. Mind your ears or you may have to give one yourself. I’m not so sure your special pony would feel so great about raising a satyr child.” She let loose a loud laugh. “Oh I do love the satyrs! Music, wine, sex and joy! Viva Minolympus!”

Rainbow couldn’t help but chuckle along with Lyra. “Sounds like Pinkie Pie would really enjoy this place.”

“Ah, yes she would!” Lyra returned. “The pink party pony in the home of the satyrs, that situation could only be fun. I’ve been here once before, during a great feasting celebration, she would have adored it! Luckily I was able to keep my wits after my... indulgence, and returned to Bon Bon happy and unspoiled.”

Dash shook her head. “You know Lyra, I never took you to be as wild as that. I thought you just told weird stories and read about bipeds all day.”

“Well that’s all that Ponyville ever really sees of me. I’ve traveled a lot though and had my fun. What fascinated me most though, in this world, were the bipeds! They’re what inspired me to come up with the idea of humans in the first place!”

“Why bipeds?” Rainbow asked. “Why the fascination with hands and not tentacles and cephalopods like the fucker we took out on the ship? What about something like Discord or a chimera with all sorts of parts?”

Lyra shrugged. “Honestly, I couldn’t tell you. Not directly anyway. I could tell you about how I’d love to pluck at the strings of my lyre with fingers, or the magnificent dexterity I’ve seen those appendages show, or perhaps one of the more… perverse uses for them.” She gave that same smirk as before. “But in truth, my interest simply comes from fascination itself. We don’t always pick what interests us in life. We can, but it doesn’t turn out that way all the time. I’ll be the first to admit it’s a bit of a strange obsession to have, but if passion is a crime then there are folk out there guiltier than I am,” she finished with a prideful smile on her face. “Like you for example.”

“Me?” Dash asked.

“Of course, Miss ‘fastest flier in all of Equestria,’” Lyra chuckled.

Rainbow Dash thought about it as they walked along and gave a smile. “You know… I never thought about it like that,” she giggled. “You make a good point, Lyra.”

“I know I do,” Lyra returned.

“Yes! Dogs know what you speak of Mrs. Lyra! We feel the same way about gems!” Rover added from behind, almost taking the two ponies by surprise. “Dogs dig all day and night to find the gems inside. We pay with gems, we work for gems and we live for the gems! Our species is named after gems! We know of this passion well!” Fido and Spot nodded as Rover spoke. “We are all truly kindred spirits!” He brought his arms around the necks of Rainbow and Lyra with a beam on his face.

Dash and Lyra looked at one another and nodded in agreement. “I guess we are, Rover,” Dash said.

The five of them continued through the town with the moon overhead illuminating their path. Eventually Spot pointed out the inn they had been searching for on top of one of the higher hills. They marched up with Dash fluttering ahead. When they entered, they were slightly surprised to see many different creatures eating, speaking, and singing with one another. Not only satyrs, minotaurs and goats, but they could also identify other ponies and dogs, as well as a griffon, an independent changeling and most surprising of all, a dragon.

The dragon sat at a table with the griffon and changeling, along with a unicorn. Its scales were an ash black with eyes that glowed like fire, not too different from his mouth and what Dash assumed was his saliva that flew from his mouth as he laughed. He took up the entire corner of the tavern where he sat, laughing loudly with the music that echoed along the walls. She looked to him in interest.

“A scaly one of the earth itself, born from magma,” Rover spoke. “Diamond dogs speak of such a creature. We have come across them whenever we dig too deep, or near the fiery mountains.” He noticed Dash looking at him. “Not us specifically, but dogs. There is no need to worry if it is here though, they are not hateful creatures, quick to anger, but not evil. Insanity is a plague to their kind, but to be here among us, he must have taken some control of his mind,” he explained. “Perhaps with the help of the horned po-nee?”

Dash’s attention turned to the unicorn sitting across from the dragon. They didn’t seem too remarkable, blue coat with white mane, male, possibly middle aged, but she saw what Rover meant. The unicorn spoke with the dragon like a friend, much like Rainbow remembered Twilight and Spike’s relationship being. Perhaps this dragon was the assistant to this unicorn? What had brought them here then? Judging by their rather strange companions, she could only assume that they were adventuring, same as her.

The five of them took a seat at a nearby table. A few seconds afterwards, they were approached by a shaggy satyr with black fur and large horns like a ram’s. “Welcome to Pan’s Pipe friends, the hub for adventures from around the globe,” he welcomed them. His eyes dragged along Lyra and Rainbow Dash, his eyes drooping and lips curling with a pleased look. “Well hello ladies.” He gave a deep bow. “If I’d known that such lovely creatures would pass through those doors on this day, I would have taken a greater effort in my appearance this morning. I hardly feel worthy of waiting for you.”

Lyra giggled and gave a wink to Rainbow dash. “We’re flattered, but we’re not interested. Already have somepony back home for us,” she explained.

The satyr dipped his head and smiled. “Understood madam. I can respect that.”

“Those three on the other hoof…” Lyra pointed a hoof towards the dogs as they scratched absently at themselves. She whispered into the satyr’s ear before pulling away and giggling some more.

The satyr joined her. “I’ll keep that in mind dear lady. Now, how might I help you tonight?”

The gang each gave their orders for the night and were served their meals. As they ate, they shared a few stories and told a few jokes. The dogs found themselves perplexed whenever their waiter would move in close to them or offer to scratch behind their ears. They didn’t seem to mind though, enjoying whenever he managed to find the spot they could never find. The girls chortled at their oblivious behavior. When they finished up and the satyr returned once more for their pay, they explained that they were sent by Power Mettle. The satyr understood and even bit at his lip with the look of pleasant memories on his face. He took their cleaned plates and returned with two room keys, dangling the one for the dogs teasingly on a finger. Each time they would reach for it he would pull it away.

“Allow me to guide you to your room, my precious guests,” he cooed. The three dogs looked to one another and all shrugged, nodding to their host as he smiled. “Excellent.”

Lyra and Dash kept giggling as they watched their companions walk away with their waiter. “Should we let this go on?” Rainbow asked with tears in her eyes.

“Of course! I only told him to tease them a bit,” Lyra returned. “At the very least we should wait for them to realize what’s happening.”

“At this point I don’t think that will happen even if they wake up with him,” Rainbow said through her laughter.

After they collected themselves, they grabbed their key and went to their room. They set their bags next to their beds as Rainbow began her nightly ritual. Lyra watched as Dash summoned power and light into the necklace. When she finished, she crawled into her bed with the element still on her neck.

“Thing has a lot of potential behind it,” Lyra said. Dash looked a little confused. “Your jewelry. Loyalty right?” Dash nodded. “Lots of different things can be seen as an act of loyalty. You’ve rescued the dogs with a desire to save them. Seems if you feel a strong enough desire to protect or aid one you’re loyal to, its power will kick in. I’m only guessing from what I’ve seen and you’ve told me though.”

“Yeah,” Dash looked to the ceiling. “I’ve gathered that much… you have any other ideas about this thing?”

Lyra crawled into her own bed as well. “I have some theories. For one, I’m unsure how effective it will be if you were to try and protect someone you barely met. For instance, I don’t know how much distance you’ll get trying to use its power to help Power Mettle or Grizelda,” she explained. “Also, acts of loyalty. Aside from protection, it has other actions that we’ve yet to see… or had to see you perform.”

“Like what?” Rainbow asked.

Lyra let out a sigh. “Like vengeance.” Her voice sounded grim as she spoke. Rainbow thought about that. She’d never considered the elements holding much offensive capability, except perhaps Twilight’s. Lyra began to chortle to herself, recapturing Rainbow’s attention. “Now that I think a bit deeper, perhaps you could enhance the pleasure of a partner you were loyal to?”

Dash chuckled. “I swear, ever since we came to this place your mind has been stuck on fucking.”

“Can you blame me? All the wine and satyrs and music, it’s hard not to let your mind wander into some of the more primal desires,” Lyra returned. The two of them heard three screams come from the room next to them, distinctive of Rover, Spot and Fido. They began laughing hard once again. “See what I mean?”

The morning came after sleep and the five gathered once again, though the dogs’ faces seemed a bit more red than usual. They gave thanks to the satyr who helped them in the previous night before heading out the doors. As they began to walk their way north, they noticed the same group from last night with the dragon pass them by.

Dash took another look at the dragon as he stepped by. Something in its eyes showed worry, despite its smile. It looked down to the unicorn with its anxiety hidden behind a smile. He worried for the old pony, but for what reason Dash didn’t know.

She put it out of her mind as they came to the edge of the city, stepping out into the highlands they had come to explore. Hang tight Applejack. We’re almost there.

From The Journal Of Lyra: Notes On Minos

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Notes on Minos

From study of the culture and life of the denizens of Minos, I believe I should explain what I know of them to those ponies who may not be as familiar with the creatures.

The minotaurs are a strong and prideful race of bipedal creatures resembling a two legged cow. They make excellent smiths, mercenaries, or other occupations requiring strength. They have a love for the complicated, complex, and tricky, such as puzzles and mazes. Many of their homes have been built like a labyrinth in fact, puzzling any non-minotaur guest that may come to visit.

The differences between the male and female minotaurs are few, the only physical difference—aside from the obvious—being the lack of an udder on the males. Females, however, still retain the trademark horns that the race is known for. While it is common for females to take on more docile roles than the males, such as milk maid or simply a mother, they can prove to be even more overbearing and intimidating than the males if they should take on a more hands-on duty.

The goats of Minos are often considered by outsiders to be rather… dimwitted, and the reputation isn’t without some evidence. In truth though, the Minos goats hold a great endurance and strong backs that have made them invaluable companions to the minotaurs. While it is rare to see a goat capable of speaking more than his native tongue, they can comprehend words not of their own language. When the minotaurs first learned to speak like them, it became common to see them traveling together. Today, the goats are seen in larger numbers, and it’s common to see a minotaur traveling with at least five of them outside of Minos.

With the ability to communicate, eventually the minotaurs and goats developed communities and societies with one another. In time, they became racially blind to one another, and they regarded one another as family, developing close connections with one another. When these emotions became intimate, it gave way to the first generation of satyrs. These beings shared much in common with their parent races, but with many abilities and interests unique to them.

As the satyrs were born on two legs like their bovine fathers and mothers, but with the smaller size of the goats, they didn’t inherit the strong backs of either race, but in their legs they developed the strength to leap and bound away from the dangers in the highlands of their home. While they are a hedonistic race that takes pleasure in debauchery and the comforts of life, they cannot afford to be lazy within the land of the hardworking minotaurs and goats. Though they haven’t really the power to perform the demanding careers of their parents, the satyrs took advantage of their own talents and became the artisans of the country. Their talent for music and magic brought inspiration and relaxation to the hillsides.

What few ponies are aware of is the process in which a satyr is born. While they understand that originally the creatures were children of minotaur and goat, and that this is still a process, they believe that satyrs are also born from two satyr parents. This however, is impossible, as satyrs are a race composed entirely of males. Aside from the aforementioned union between goat and minotaur, satyrs are born from the union of a satyr and the seduced female of a compatible race. Many times have unsuspecting mares spent a night on the borders of Minos and returned home to birth one of the bipedal goat folk after a night of too much wine and enchanted visions. This isn’t something done out of malice from the satyrs, as the chances of such a union resulting in a child are actually rather low, it’s rather an act of impulse and instinct, it’s a part of who they are.

There are also the rumors of fauns in the country. I myself have not seen the creatures, but I also do not deny their existence. The theory is that a faun is born of the willing union between a satyr and another magical race, such as a pony, kirin, or a half-dragon of other breed. The faun and satyr are almost impossible to tell apart, aside from a softer nature from the former, as well as the possibility of breeding a female faun. They are just as talented as the satyrs at music, but with a slight edge in the art of magic. At least, that’s what folk say.

-Lyra Heartstrings

Goblin's Song

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Goblin’s Song

Rainbow Dash flew above the rest of the party, looking down from above the hills and mountainsides to try and get a better view. “I don’t see her yet!” she called down. “Not much of anything around here actually!” She saw no signs of life running about lately. They had walked for about an hour while still seeing a few goats and minotaurs running about and some satyrs lying out in the sun, but it seemed they didn’t come out this far.

“That’s good!” Lyra called back up. “Power Mettle said that Applejack was beyond minotaur lands!”

Rainbow nodded and looked back down. “Hey! I see something! It looks like a tent!” She glided back to the ground and landed in front of the others. “It might be AJ’s. It’s just straight ahead, c’mon!” She broke into a gallop as Lyra and the dogs picked up their speed as well.

They approached what looked to be a small and rather ragged campsite, with a fire only recently put out, some scraggly pads set up like seats and a single tent made out of—

“Leather,” gasped Lyra. “Cowhide specifically.”

“Some unlucky minotaur perhaps?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“It is,” Rover spoke quietly as he gave a sniff to the tent.

Lyra shook her head. “Then we should definitely keep our swords ready, and our wits sharp.” She looked around for any immediate signs of danger. “Let’s hope Applejack didn’t run into whoever set this place up.”

Rainbow Dash gave a nod. “Rover, I want you, Spot, and Fido to give the area a good sniff and scouting. I’ll check from up high once again and see if there’s anything coming our way.”

Rover gave a thumbs-up. “You heard her, dogs. Spread out and search,” he ordered. Spot and Fido gave a salute as they drew their weapons and split to the east and the west. Rover brought himself low to the ground, dragging his nose across the dirt to try and pick up a scent as he grabbed hold of his blade’s handle.

Rainbow Dash flew up above the clouds and perched atop one. She looked out over the landscape below. A bit further to the north she saw campsites similar to the one underneath her with smoke flowing from small fires. She saw no signs of anything moving around nearby though and flew over towards the site, staying above the clouds. Over there, the camps were smaller and clustered together with much more junk and refuse scattered about on the ground. She lowered herself slightly and caught eye of a much larger tent that seemed to be stitched together from multiple hides. She made the assumption that this housed the leader of these creatures, or at least a bigger one.

“But why is the one to the south separated from these ones?” she whispered to herself, looking back. She saw Spot and Fido running off in opposite directions and flew off to each one, pointing them north and telling them to start their scouting at the new site. She returned to the lone tent and met with Rover and Lyra once again. “Find anything?”

Lyra’s face contorted in what seemed to be disgust. “Bones, meat, blood, and these.” She floated a thorny rope in front of herself with what looked to be ears hooked onto it.

Dash took a few steps back as she gained a look of repulsion. “Trophies?”

“Indeed,” Rover answered from inside the tent. “Many a creature’s ears hang from the weed, as you see. Most common seem to be of the minotaur, occasional satyr. If you look closely though, you could also see the ears of ponies.” He paused for a minute from inside the leather shelter. “I think I found the latest addition,” he said as he emerged. He held what looked like a beak in his paw. “Smells of griffon. Fresh. We are lucky to not have been here earlier.”

“Fits the look of the bones inside as well,” Lyra pointed out. “Big appetite if Rover is right about it being fresh.”

“Any idea what we’re dealing with?” Rainbow asked.

“I have a few theories,” Lyra said. “But I don’t like any of them.”

“The scent is unfamiliar to me,” Rover added. “The beast has left locks of its fur all over, but it is not pony, dog, griffon, minotaur, or truly anything I’ve ever encountered.”

Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. “I saw a similar encampment up north. I sent Spot and Fido to go investigate. There were multiple tents though, huddled a lot closer. I don’t know why this one was separated if it’s part of the group.”

Lyra shrugged. “A pet perhaps? Too big or vicious to be with the rest of the group?”

“Possibly both,” Rover added. “Though a pet, I doubt. It hasn’t been uncommon for groups of under-creatures to take in a beast much bigger than themselves and offer it service in exchange for protection. Whenever dogs find such alliances, the beast usually retains its lonesome activity however, keeping to itself in times of rest.”

“So you think this is the tent of their big gun?” Rainbow looked over the site once more. She had seen one tent larger than this one in the group camp, although it seemed more out of decoration or to be used as a place of gathering. This tent was much larger than the majority of them up north. It looked like a size suitable for Fido.

“Yeah, you could definitely put it that way.” Lyra seemed to shiver. “I’d like to take a look at the northern campground.”

Rover nodded. “Three noses might gather more than two. There is little else this site can tell me.”

“Yeah. I’ll show you.” Rainbow spread her wings and motioned for the two of them to follow. As she flew, Lyra followed at a gallop and Rover ran along on all fours. After crossing a hill they could see the settlement as Spot and Fido explored with their noses to the ground. They went to join their two companions. “Anything?”

Spot and Fido nodded. “We smell the odor of foul wine and spoiled beef from inside the largest tent, though have not looked within it yet,” Spot started.

“Three variations of creature walked these grounds,” Fido continued. “One from the site to the south, one whose scent is strongest by the large shelter, and many of the third variety who scatter everywhere.”

Spot picked up without missing a beat. “The strongest traces we find are of blood and fire. It is everywhere around here.” He shuddered. “Violence amongst one another, vicious attacks brought about from the one to the south have spilled blood all across the soil.”

“They are reckless with their fire,” Fido added. “Most ashes you see were former tents.”

Rover scratched absentmindedly at his chin. “Any weapons found?”

“Look around.” Fido motioned with his paw to draw their attention to the ground. They saw various sticks and scraps of metal. “These seem to be scraps from blades overused. We think they took the sturdier ones along with them, though with what we see, we don’t think it is quality work.”

Dash felt uncomfortable here. This was the camp of savage beings. There was no sign that Applejack had been here, but she couldn’t stop herself from worrying about her friend by seeing this. “Anything in the rest of the tents?”

Spot shrugged. “More weapon scraps, burns and blood. We think there were bones, but if there were we don’t know what happened to them. Perhaps eaten?”

“I wouldn’t doubt it,” said Lyra.

“Let’s take a look at the large tent then.” Dash waved for her companions to follow as she hovered towards the tower of leather. As they all approached, she understood what the dogs meant by ‘the odor of foul wine.’

Inside they actually found many more of the leather rags sat upon the dirt. This was obviously the place where they came together. In the center, before the fire, was a crude chair, built to give the appearance of a throne. Crafted from what looked like bone and minotaur horns, the head of a minotaur bull rested at the top with tongue hanging out and eyes open in a look of horror. Behind the throne was what looked like a large bed.

Rover drew close to the bed before falling backward and crawling desperately to separate himself from it, a paw over his nose. He gave a look to Dash like he was about to vomit. “You do not wish to know what it smells of. Many a dirty deed has stained those sheets.”

They all looked on with emotions ranging from repulsion to dismay as they took the scene in; taking into account that all of the leather that surrounded them outside, many lives were lost on these mountains and possibly more somewhere around.

“They wouldn’t leave this much behind if they intended to go,” reasoned Lyra. “They should be back, how soon, I don’t know.”

Rainbow Dash nodded. She let out a slight sigh of relief, there was still no sign of Applejack here. “We can’t let acts like this go on. They’re too close to Minolympus.” She turned to her partners. “We’re stopping what these things started. Applejack will have to wait, in fact, we may be saving her from whatever these are.”

“Goblins,” Lyra interrupted. “I kept trying to reason something else, but I can’t see it being anything else. This is a goblin camp, and they have a bugbear with them.”

Rover looked to Lyra with fear in his eyes. “Missus Lyra cannot be certain of those last words.”

Lyra shook her head. “I don’t see what else it could be. That tent to the south gives too many clues, and if this is a goblin camp, it’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“Perhaps a wolf?” Fido insisted, not willing to accept Lyra’s answer.

“Why would they bother building a tent for a wolf? And why just one?” she reasoned.

“I’m a little lost here,” Rainbow interrupted. “A bug what?”

Spot shook as he spoke. “Bugbears are large savages that tread without sound. They live off of terror and anguish. They feed on it.”

Lyra continued. “They are a cousin of the goblins, the creatures we hear about in those frightening tales our mothers would tell us. They are solitary hunters, the things that go bump in the night. A bugbear will steal a foal from their bed and leave pieces of the poor thing in its home to frighten their parents, leaving the mangled remains in the final area they would search, all for the thrill of building up their fear before going in for the kill. Massive as they are, they hide better than any changeling. They slowly reveal themselves, with a scratch on the wall and a creak on the floor until you’re ready to scream. Then they bash your head on the ground.” Her eyes seemed to go blank as she spoke. “I thought it was one when I saw the ears, but I didn’t want it to be.”

Dash frowned. “Big reputation I see. How do you know about them?”

Lyra tilted her head. “Biped with hands. Fell into my research.”

“And I’m guessing that goblins are just a smaller version of this?” Dash tried to gather more information.

Rover waved his paw in front of his face. “Nowhere near as frightening. Goblins are stupid, small pests at their worst and a nuisance at best. We can cut through an infestation of them easily… if they were alone.” He swept his paw over his head.

Dash still wasn’t looking too concerned. “So this bear thing is the guy who sits in the chair?”

“Not likely,” Lyra answered. “Usually bugbears are solitary, but they will occasionally follow other goblinoids, but never lead. He’s their weapon, not their brain.”

“About how big is this thing exactly?” Rainbow began tapping at her chin.

“About as big as Fido, and twice as thick.” Lyra motioned towards the large dog.

Dash began sizing Fido up. “I think I could take ‘im.”

The dogs and Lyra all looked directly at Rainbow Dash, stupefied expressions on their faces. She gave a wide grin back at them.

“What? You don’t think so? We helped take down a giant squid in a storm you guys. Why would some oversized bogeymare leave you all shaking in your horseshoes?” Dash chuckled.

“We had many more helping us,” Spot objected.

“And cannons,” added Fido.

“And lightning!” Rover finished.

“So? The thing lives off fear right?” Rainbow kept her smile strong. “We know he’s coming back. We’ll probably see him before he sees us. Why should we be afraid? Rover and Spot can fill the guy with arrows and bolts before he gets close. Fuck, guys, Fido is a strong guy, he could probably take this thing out alone!”

Fido shook his head like mad and held his paws out as Rover and Spot looked to him.

Lyra interjected. “You know that legends are made for a reason right?”

Dash nodded. “You’re the bard! You should know better than anypony that heroes trump legends!”

“Except when they don’t!” Lyra countered.

Rainbow Dash gave a scoff. “You’re all worrying too much.” She narrowed her eyes and let the atmosphere around her fall to a more serious tone. “Besides, do you really want to let more of that happen?” She pointed a hoof towards the decapitated minotaur head on top of the throne. The dogs and Lyra were silenced as they looked back at the grisly décor. “What if that was Bon Bon, Lyra?”

As she thought about it, Lyra swallowed hard at a lump in her throat. “Point made, Rainbow Dash.” She returned her gaze to Rainbow, smiling with renewed courage. She drew her blade and let it float at her side. “Let’s lay out a plan.”

Dash looked back to the dogs who all gave grins of their own. “If it isn’t Miss Rarity, it can’t be that bad,” Rover chuckled. “D-don’t tell her I said that when we go looking for her.”

Rainbow’s face held a determined gaze as she walked over to the throne. She faced it with her back legs and gave it a good bash, throwing the bones and horns and head across the tent. “Alright then, prepare for war everyone!”

Foki let out a roar of joy as his servants carried him atop his throne. He cackled as they all roared out from below. “Sing the song of victory my slaves! This is only the first of many future victories under my rule, I can promise you that!”

From the voices of his tiny green cousins came the tune he had taught to them, and he sang along.

Ring the bells and bash the gong
Ready the table and sing this song
Foki the mighty has won the day
And that is why we all now say,
Foki the mighty is god!

Sharpen the cleavers and polish the knives
Smash open the brains of enemy wives
We sing for joy
We sing for praise
These lands are ours to raze!

He cackled once again at the finish. “How is our haul?”

Before him ran five of the smaller creatures, carrying on their back a minotaur heifer who was unfortunate enough to wander too far into the hills, her head now cracked and spilling blood.

“Brilliant! We shall let none come across these lands without paying their tribute to us!” Foki cried to the sky.

In a line that had been rehearsed, one of the goblins below called back, “But what tribute should befit someone as mighty as you, Lord Foki?”

“Why their life of course!” Foki let out a guffaw as he was joined by his servants. His thick and yellowed teeth parted to give way to his foul spit as it flew with his laughter, falling onto his pale gray skin and blackened leather tunic. He turned his head to observe his followers and let his gaze fall upon the largest of them, the brute he had so luckily found, walking a fair distance away from the rest of the group. “Well, Crusha? Have you no words to say? It was due to your silent steps that we bring this minowhore back with us in the first place after all.”

The large and hairy beast returned his oversized eyes to Foki. The milky ovals showing no emotion behind them as he wrinkled his porcine nose with distaste. “There was no hunt to be had. She was simply stupid and wandered too far. She knew not what approached and had no time to fear.”

Foki curled his upper lip. “Fine, Crusha. Next time we shall seek out a tree for you to dig your claws into first.” He returned to looking in front of him, sinking into his seat with his mood souring. He hated being unable to properly control the beast. Granted he couldn’t control these simpler goblins very well either, but they listened and even revered him as a god. As well they should! he thought as he stamped on the wood supporting him, earning a squeak of pain from the goblins carrying him. I saw potential in these maniacs that the other hobgoblins could not. An army is nothing without numbers after all.

He had left his own division years ago, tired of the bickering and paranoia among the officers. It was a hobgoblin’s nature to try and come out on top, so of course it was difficult to fulfil one’s ambitions with so many others around. Foki had learned of this small tribe of goblins and made his way to them. The first few weeks were chaos and discord, loud and obnoxious. In time though he found that if he kept them fed and content, they would listen, and they would follow. When he had found Crusha, things only became simpler. With his military mind and Crusha’s power in hand, Foki had become a king in the highlands.

They had wiped out small, independent tribes of the minotaurs, and slaughtered whatever else intruded upon his kingdom. In time he had turned his eye back to his homeland, slaying the hobgoblin general and throwing his kin into war with one another. He had abandoned the ways of his people in place of his own ideals and ambitions. He needed no more slaves than the goblins who willingly served him, and the blade on his belt. He tapped at the sword on his hip with a smile on his face. Its magic had served him well in his time as king, bringing admiration from the lesser goblins.

Foki readied himself to call out for another song before he saw one of his scouts running back towards him with a panicked look on its face. “Speak!” he commanded.

“Lord Foki,” the timid goblin began. “The camp! It has been tampered, nay, destroyed in our absence! Some creature came along and tore our tents and ripped our rags!”

“What?” Foki stood from his chair, much to the dismay of the goblins below him. “Who would be foolish enough to come into Foki’s domain and tear his tent?”

The scout winced and Foki could hear Crusha chuckle evilly. “I do not know, my lord, please believe me. I simply saw the camp in ruin and returned to you.” He did his best to walk backwards as the army of goblins kept their march.

Foki let his scowl slowly begin to flip. “No need to fear my dear slaveling. We simply have an infestation to clean out. They should be nearby. Why don’t we let them know that we’ve returned?” His teeth showed as he threw on his sickening grin. “Let loose the song of the hunt my dear troops!” he called out. “In the common tongue, if you can remember the words.”

Rainbow Dash watched as their prey approached from below. She sat comfortably on her cloud, ready to pounce. The dogs had hidden themselves in holes underground while Lyra stayed within one of the tents they hadn’t torn down. She was quick to identify the big shaggy brute, believing him to be the bugbear that her friends were frightened of. She also took notice of the large gray goblin that was carried by a group of the small green ones, assuming that he was the owner of the larger tent in the main camp.

The gray one didn’t look pleased at all, at least not when the goblins were looking away. When they did look to him, he kept on a wicked smile to keep them in good spirits, but Dash knew frustration when she saw it. Good! Be upset you sick bastard.

Her gaze once again fell on the bugbear. He didn’t seem to hold any emotion on the situation. He actually looked rather bored as he rested his oversized club on his shoulder, a crude and filthy Morningstar that seemed like it would fall apart any moment. Blood seemed to cake this creature’s pelt and his pointed ears dangled down to his chin. While the goblins seemed too small for their heads, this monster seemed quite the opposite, with a small, evil head resting atop a broad and thick body.

Rainbow grabbed hold of one of the clouds nearby and pushed it out in front of her, towards the direction of the bugbear. From their holes underground, the dogs saw the cloud floating overhead and dug their way into a new position, Spot and Rover made their way behind a hill before emerging and making their way to its top with their bows at the ready, fixed on the hulking goblinoid.

Right about the moment Dash was ready to signal for an attack, she heard a strange and broken melody fly from the green creatures. It sounded like a pipe as they began to break out into song.

The target is near and it’s soaking with fear
Shitting its pants as we sing songs most queer
Yes goblins are coming and you are afraid
Goblins are coming and we come to raid
Splitting your heads and collecting your brain
Goblins will happily make your blood rain!

We come to take life for Lord Foki the great
He leads us and feeds us and teaches us hate
With Crusha in sight you won’t dare to be rude
For yes we be Goblins and you be just food!

A cheer from their little voices made Dash almost laugh. It would almost be adorable if they weren’t such vicious little beasts carrying along a minotaur corpse. Dash then flew from her cloud and gave it a kick to bust it. She then began to climb into the sky, readying her next move.

Rover and Spot looked to the sky and saw that Rainbow had made her move, signaling them to begin their own attack. Rover took the first shot, firing his arrow towards the bugbear as Spot’s bolt followed.

Crusha heard the projectiles before he felt them, the whistle of wind giving him just enough time to tense up his skin, stopping them from getting any deeper into his shoulder than they did. A vile grin showed off his needle-like teeth as he spoke. “Finally.”

“Ambush!” Foki cried out as he saw the arrows sink into Crusha. He stamped his foot. “Drop me and ready weapons, we are in battle now!” His slaves obeyed, pulling poorly made weapons from their belts and giving a cry of war.

Rover knocked another arrow as Spot began to reload his crossbow.

He let loose the arrow towards the bugbear once more and it sank into his other shoulder as he made his way up the hill towards them with a pack of goblins at his back. Spot let his second bolt fly but missed the bugbear, impaling the head of a goblin and forcing it to drop dead. While two of the nearby goblins took a moment to point and laugh at their fallen comrade, the bugbear only continued to advance at his graceless pace. Rover considered firing another arrow before the beast drew closer but reached for his sword instead, returning his bow to his back.

The large goblinoid swung his Morningstar forward and let it clash against Rover’s bastard sword. Rover was forced back from the blow, his sword arm dropping to his side as he felt pain ripple through his arms. He barely kept hold of the blade as his opponent raised his mace for a second attack. Rover looked up as the spiked ball fell towards his skull before, under the monster’s feet, the ground became unstable as a great paw emerged and grabbed Crusha by the face.

Fido arose from the dirt with his axe in one paw and Crusha’s face in the other, forcing the back of his head into the ground with a thud. He swung out recklessly with his axe, cleaving through four goblins that jumped at him.

Crusha grabbed a hold of Fido’s paw with his free hand, attempting to crush it and pull it off. Fido only lifted his head once more and forced it back against the ground as Rover and Spot made their way in front of him, cutting down any goblins that tried to interfere.

Lyra could hear the carnage beginning and ran out from her cover to draw the attention of a number of goblins who then began to run towards her. She stopped and turned to look at the goblins with a smug smirk on her face. The goblins continued running towards her before they felt their feet falling further than usual, the ground beneath them crumbling and giving way as they fell into a pit dug earlier and covered up by the dogs.

Lyra couldn’t help but laugh as they fell into the hole on top of one another. She returned to running around the campsite and leading the stupid creatures from one pitfall to another, laughing even harder when she saw one that had fallen for it earlier fall once again after having climbed out.

Foki began to fume as he watched his ambushers make a mockery of his soldiers, a mockery of him. “Javelins! Throw your spears!” The goblins all cried in return and reached for their homely projectiles. Lyra watched as the pointed sticks took to the sky and made their way towards her. She grabbed each one that came close with her levitation spell and held them there long enough for her opponents to weigh what was happening. She launched the spears back at the monsters, sending them running as they were brought down by their own weapons.

Foki’s anger only grew as he reached for his own weapon. He grabbed hold of the blade before a thunderous boom forced his goblins to hold their ears or scatter as a circle of color exploded in the center of their group. He saw only a flash of rainbow before he felt himself forced through his wooden throne and the goblins behind him. He was dragged through the dirt at sonic speed, far from his slaves before he opened his eyes and saw Rainbow Dash giving a powerful grin as she kept him to the ground. He brought his hands onto her forelegs and kicked upwards into her stomach, forcing the two of them to tumble away from one another.

Dash chuckled as she brought herself back to her hooves. “Really fucking hurts getting hit by a Sonic Rainboom, doesn’t it?” she taunted as she rolled her shoulders to ready for her next attack.

Foki held his ribcage as he stood, glaring at Rainbow Dash. He was covered in earth, blood, and bits of wood from his chair. “Impressive, I’ll admit that much pony.” He spat at the ground. “A well-organized attack, you’d have made high ranks as a hobgoblin, perhaps you’d prove useful as a slave,” he cackled.

Dash gave a confident grin, she was obviously in much better shape after their grapple. “Yeah, that’s not gonna happen buddy. I’m beyond your level.” She let her wings open and floated above the ground, letting the blades around her hooves spring forth. “I won’t blame you if ya wanna give up. I’d be scared of fighting me too!”

“Not likely,” Foki returned. He grabbed his sword, drawing it from its scabbard. It was as large as Rover’s blade, runes of gold etched into the shadowy steel seemed to glow in the sun. He brought both his hands around the grip and took his stance as the blade ignited in bloody flames. “Now come, pony. Face Foki, King of Goblins.”

Back at the campsite, Fido struggled to keep Crusha in the dirt as Rover and Spot cut through the attacking goblins. He kept his paw firmly across his foe’s face and his foot holding down the hand with the Morningstar. Crusha brought his free hand up to try and grasp at Fido’s throat, but his fingers were met with a snapping bite. His anger grew as Fido persisted in holding him down, but so did his pleasure.

Crusha’s free hand retreated instead to his belt where he grabbed hold of his dagger. He plunged the small blade into Fido’s arm that held his head in the earth. Fido cried and flung his arm back in pain, allowing Crusha to bring his head up and bash skulls with Fido, forcing the large dog off of him. He then swung a punch into his stomach, knocking the wind out of Fido’s lungs. He raised his weapon above his head as Fido struggled with the dagger in his arm and the pain in his stomach.

Crusha felt a stabbing pain pierce his back as Spot flung one of his daggers into his massive spine. Fido swung out with his stabbed arm and landed a punch into Crusha’s jaw, allowing him to get some distance from the bugbear.

Crusha plucked the dagger from his back and threw it back towards Spot, missing and slaying a nearby goblin instead, but he didn’t care. He took hold of his Morningstar with both his hands and charged Fido. Fido pulled the blade that was stuck in his arm and tossed it behind his back, gripping his axe and bracing himself as Crusha approached.

Their weapons clashed, but unlike with Rover, Fido stood his ground and pushed back against Crusha’s power. Crusha couldn’t help himself from laughing, his passion for combat awakening once more. “I can smell your fear, it’s… delicious.”

Fido grunted. “You don’t frighten me anymore, goblin. You smell the fear that comes from all creatures in battle, it is not of your presence. You can take no pride from this.”

Crusha scowled at this denial and tried to force Fido back with a forceful push, Fido returned the push, managing to overpower the goblinoid and force him back. Crusha was left open as Fido brought his axe against his chest, drawing a long but shallow cut.

Meanwhile, Lyra had drawn her blade, cutting through the goblins that advanced upon her and frightening others away with her magic. She made her way to meet up with Spot and Rover as they kept the goblins at bay while Fido and Crusha traded blows.

“Rover! How are we doing over here?” she asked as she joined the fray.

“Fido is proving himself worthy in combat. He proves stronger than the beast we all feared, it holds little power in the daylight,” Rover answered. “Spot and I,” —he separated a goblin from its overly large head—“have slain many of the pests that keep coming. It is confusing though that they persist, they are not creatures of high morale.”

Lyra levitated Spot’s second dagger back into his paw as she continued to fight. “I know what you mean. Their leader isn’t here, their numbers dwindle, and their main source of muscle isn’t having things go too smoothly either, more of them should be running!” Frustration rang in her voice. “The hobgoblin must have trained them well, they won’t stop until he’s down or they’re dead.”

Rover nodded as he stuck his blade through a charging goblin. “Then we shall speed up his defeat! Spot! Help Missus Lyra defend Fido, I leave to lend aid to Miss Rainbow Dash!”

“It is just Rainbow Dash,” Spot returned smugly.

Rover groaned as he leapt into the air and dove into the earth, digging his way under the goblins as Lyra took his place.

Further up the highland, Rainbow Dash let out another frustrated growl as she felt her blades hit metal once again, being pushed back from Foki. He let out another cackle. “Keep trying! A creature has yet to hit me when I draw this blade, but I’m sure you can do it by simply being stubborn.” His voice was taunting and sarcastic, building Dash’s anger.

She let out a cry as she punched a blade in his direction, attempting to feint and bring her other blade up and into his stomach. His sword seemed to move faster than she could think, knocking both her blades to the side and forcing her behind Foki where he planted a kick at her back. Dash groaned in pain as she fell to the dirt once again. He was toying with her, he hadn’t made a swing at her with his blade yet, only parried whatever she would throw at him.

“What in Tartarus are you doing, Fuckie, or whatever the hell your name is?” Rainbow shouted as her rage boiled. “You gonna fight or play games all day?” She knew she was losing her temper, but she had to do something to get this guy to attack, tire out, and drop his guard. So far she was the only one getting tired as he basically deflected her every strike.

Her strategy worked however, curling the lip of the egocentric monster. “You will address me as Lord Foki, inferior creature!” Dash finally smirked as she watched him advance. She recognized the sound of an ego defending itself all too well.

“Some ‘lord.’ You walked blind into a trap, and now you have some bright, girly horses stomping your forces flat while some dogs kick dirt in their faces.” Her taunting continued, twisting the knife into his self-worth.

“Shut your muzzle before I cut it off!” He swung his blade out violently and carelessly. Dash avoided it easily. She went for a swing of her own, and actually managed to get a shallow cut across his arm before his sword knocked her hoof aside. He gave a push at Dash with the flat of his blade to separate them, leaving a small burn on her forehooves. “I see what you’re trying to do you pony bitch.” His voice seethed as he swung at her again.

Dash found this one more difficult to avoid, having to cross her blades in front of her to catch the burning sword. She struggled as he tried to force his steel into her head until she gave a forceful flap of her wings to launch herself a few feet back.

“I can hate and still keep control. It’s how I defeated my former general. I focused that hate! Concentrated it into driving this sword through his heart! You will meet the same fate,” he snarled, advancing slowly on her. The flames on his blade danced wildly as he drew close.

Dash began to wonder if her strategy had proved to be such a good idea. She had gotten him to attack, but she had to weigh if getting him angry proved beneficial or not. She was put on the defensive now, jumping back from his swings, unable to find the openings she had been hoping to produce. This guy was much tougher than she had originally guessed, his broken ribs didn’t even seem to bother him anymore as he kept both hands on his blade.

“You will not see me falling into the dirt this day!” He raised the sword with both his hands as its flames burst wildly, aiming for Rainbow’s neck as he brought all his power down in a venomous chop.

“The dirt is too good to support you!” The ground beneath Foki’s feet gave way as two large paws gripped him by the ankles and tugged. Rover’s face erupted from the earth as he forced Foki onto his back and flung his feet into the air, forcing the goblin to flip through the sky before landing on his face. “Better you should support it instead,” Rover growled as he drew his blade.

Foki felt his temper rise as he brought himself slowly back to his feet, sticking his sword into the ground before him. Its flames coated not just the edge, but consumed the entire weapon to the pommel. The scent of his burning hand assailed Rainbow and Rover’s nostrils as he gripped tighter, ignoring the fire. “Never has any creature annoyed me more than your band of travelers has this day,” he began slowly. “You won’t destroy the empire I have worked so hard to begin.” He gripped the fiery sword with his other hand and took a new stance. “I will take rank above everything else, I will become a god!” The look in his eyes was enough to shake the two companions as they stood at one another’s side.

“Let us test that announcement,” growled Rover, holding at his blade with both paws as well.

“Keep on your guard, his sword is enchanted with something that helps him parry attacks,” Rainbow added.

Rover grinned. “He has yet to see the combined might of pegasus po-nees and diamond dogs.” He looked back down to Rainbow dash. “Let us show him.”

Rainbow nodded and returned the grin, holding out a hoof. Rover curled his paw into a fist and bumped the hoof.

Together We Fight

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Together We Fight

Crusha slid his hand across his bleeding chest and wiped the blood across his face with a sick smile. “If you wished to face the wrath of a bugbear, you have it, dog!” He swung his Morningstar towards Fido’s head. Fido ducked under the weapon and brought the pommel of his axe hard into Crusha’s jaw.

Lyra turned to look for only a moment as she continued to cleave through any goblins that attempted to make their way through to Fido and Crusha. “I didn’t think Fido took Dash’s statement about taking the bugbear on alone seriously,” she called over to Spot.

Spot jabbed his daggers rapidly into a goblin that came before him, dropping it as he turned to another. “He doesn’t fight alone, he knows we will support him should defeat become a possibility. He does wish, however, that we keep our aid to only that which we see as necessary. He has taken Rainbow Dash’s challenge into account and made this a battle of pride,” he explained as he thrust his daggers into two goblin throats.

Fido flung his arm out and decked Crusha in the same spot he had landed his pommel. The bugbear countered with another swing of his weapon, to which Fido caught with his axe. Fido continued his assault on the goblinoid’s jawbone, pummeling at the same spot with his fist and forcing Crusha to begin wincing in pain.

“It seems even a monster can feel pain,” Fido said as he readied another punch.

Crusha flung his own free hand out to catch Fido’s paw, pushing back the attack. “Thank you for reminding me,” he returned. Crusha placed a kick to Fido’s leg, forcing him to his knees. He grabbed hold of his Morningstar with both hands as it was still caught under the head of the axe and tugged. Fido lost grip as his axe was lifted from his paw, but Crusha had pulled too hard, and both his Morningstar and Fido’s axe went flying down the hill, taking out a few goblins when they landed. “Then let it be strength alone that determines who walks!”

“Agreed!” Fido grabbed hold of Crusha’s other hand as the two of them pushed against one another. It seemed as though they may be evenly matched, but as Fido climbed back to his feet it became apparent that he was the physically superior creature. He advanced, pushing Crusha down the hill, his feet dragging through the earth and arms giving way to Fido’s.

It was a feeling very foreign for a bugbear, he could smell it on himself. He was afraid! He had never directly confronted a being stronger than himself, he had always assaulted them from behind, but he was stuck in a grapple with this dog and losing. He was the weaker one in this encounter.

Crusha lunged forward with his mouth open, aiming for Fido’s neck. If he couldn’t win with strength, he’d win some other way. Fido was quick though, and twisted Crusha’s arm, forcing him to scream out in pain before Fido slammed the back of his paw into Crusha’s jaw once again, breaking it and forcing the bugbear to wail in pain. Fido then grabbed hold of the monster’s lower jaw. Crusha lost any feeling from the bottom of his mouth as he watched his opponent rip his mandible straight from his face.

Crusha didn’t scream or howl, he had no idea how he could express his horror. He simply fell back into the dirt and stared at the sky. He should have had a million things running through his mind at that very moment, but he couldn’t think. He felt no pain in his arm or head or even on the cut across his chest. There was only a ringing sound in his ears and a sense of fear and disbelief.

Fido looked at the bone in his paw. The bugbear was lying in the dirt, bleeding, as he still stood. He couldn’t help but feel his confidence rise. He held the jaw into the air and howled in pride.

Spot and Lyra turned to see Fido standing victorious, howling like a timber wolf. The goblins saw him as well and stood paralyzed as they saw their champion fallen on his back. Spot howled along with his pack mate and smiled wide. Lyra cheered along as Fido ran to their side to join them in facing down the rest of the goblins. Some of the goblins began to scatter and run, trying to avoid the massive dog that had proven itself a more fearsome beast than the large and shaggy goblin they had feared.

Fido began tossing and grabbing the pests, bashing them into one another and flinging them into the sky as he led the charge. Spot and Lyra followed as they whooped in pride. Lyra came across the Morningstar and axe as they charged through the crowd and, with renewed confidence, lifted the two of them along with her sword. She gave an evil giggle and frightened the goblins near her. She swung the three weapons and tripled her damage. Between her and Fido, the goblins ran screaming whenever the three companions would come close.

“Keep it coming! Even if the rest of you were here, it would be no different!” Foki cackled as he threw Rover back and moved to parry Dash’s blades only a moment after. “None have penetrated this blade’s guard before!”

Dash glared back to the hobgoblin, her eyes falling onto the cut she had placed on his arm. Never huh? She looked back to Rover. The dog stood strong and ready to go again. She knew though that if they couldn’t find some way to outmaneuver Foki’s enchantment, then they were gonna be pretty screwed.

Rover leapt towards Foki again. The hobgoblin let out a roar and slammed his blade against the dog’s. Rover was flung hard to his side as the shock shook loose some of the ash that used to be the skin on Foki’s hand. Rover was quick to roll onto his feet and charge again. Dash saw an opportunity as the two of them could attack at once and launched herself towards her target, blades ready to swing. Foki saw this and took a step towards Rainbow, thrusting the blazing blade in her direction just far enough to reach her and push her aside. Dash tumbled through the dirt as she watched Foki brace against Rover. She felt the desire to reach out and help him.

“AUGH!” Rainbow actually heard Foki cry out in pain. She rolled back to her hooves and saw Rover with blood on his sword and Foki throwing a burned hand to a cut on his hip. “What is this?” Foki roared. “What IS this?” He chopped his sword one handed towards Rover. Rover brought his own sword to try and defend himself. Dash cried out to try and help. She saw Rover’s arms move quicker in that instant, clashing steel against burning steel and parrying against Foki’s strike.

Everyone looked in confusion at what happened. Rainbow Dash saw a red light glowing at the ground and realized her element was glowing. She was supporting Rover!

“Rover! Keep it up!” Dash called, attracting Rover’s attention. “I’ve got your back! Just keep attacking!” She motioned to her necklace.

Rover saw the glow from the gemstone and grinned. “It always comes back to the gems for us dogs,” he chuckled. He gripped his sword again and charged Foki. The goblin’s sword was quick to meet his blade, but with Rainbow backing him, Rover was able to force through the parry and stab into Foki’s arm. The goblin grew frustrated and tried to counter. Rover proved quicker and knocked the flames aside as he placed another slice across Foki’s ribs.

Foki’s pain was punctuated with a grunt. He tried to take initiative and strike a blow of his own but, against an assisted Rover, it proved to be futile, and he felt his blade get knocked aside once again. He felt his frustration grow as the exchange went on. Blade to blade, steel to steel, he had never lost with this sword, but now he had met someone able to counter and parry with just as much speed as his enchantment. He had blocked arrows and bolts and even a skilled duelist with this weapon, burnt them all to ash; now he was forced to give ground. He couldn’t land a single slash on this dog that dared stand before him. His assaults were knocked aside and left him open for the dog to follow up on.

Dash continued to channel her element, protecting and supporting her ally as he battled. They had turned things around. They were doing damage. She gave a confident smirk. We can win this! It was invigorating to feel doubt wash away to reassurance.

The duel thundered on with Foki stuck on the defensive as Rover crashed his metal against Foki’s. He met the hobgoblin’s flesh whenever he found an opening, forcing his blood to splash into the dirt and onto their swords. Rover’s fur began to clump together with the red fluid and Foki’s skin began to resemble the fire on his weapon. Ashes from Foki’s hands continued to drop to the ground in small, dark pieces with each clash and counter, revealing pyroclastic muscle.

Rover was bringing Foki to his limit, tiring him out. Dash continued to boost Rover’s swing speed when she felt she had a good focus going. Time to tip the odds a little further! She threw herself into the fray, holding her blades out. As Rover forced Foki’s blade above his head, Dash plunged her swords into the goblins back. Rover stuck his blade into Foki’s gut.

Foki felt ill. He had three swords impaling him as blood began to spill from his mouth. His view began to fade into darkness as he felt his grip loosen on his weapon, the flames dying. His body was flooded with pain from all of the wounds he had taken. His dreams and ambitions began to fade with his sight. He had dealt with the sniveling green lesser beings, slaughtered hordes of minotaurs and goats and satyrs, slain his own general and kin, and suffered through the disobedience and anger of a bugbear; but for what? To fall and die on the swords of a pony and her pet? If this was how it ended, his legacy would not be that of a god, but of a fool whose story would tell of his humiliation and failure.

“That… can’t… happen…” He watched his world go black as he dropped to his knees.

Rainbow Dash pulled her blades from the back of Foki’s corpse as Rover did the same. The two of them gave a joined sigh of relief and bumped hoof and fist again with a laugh. “I’m glad you came when you did, Rover. This guy was a serious pain in the plot,” said Rainbow.

“Couldn’t have done it myself, Rainbow Dash,” returned Rover. He stuck his blade into the ground and leaned on it, taking time to catch his breath. “Say…” he started. “Don’t dead creatures usually… fall?”

Dash looked to Foki’s body. Both his hands were still on the grip of his sword as he bled on his knees. “I don’t thin—”

Rainbow and Rover were blown back as Foki erupted in a pillar of flame, screaming at the top of his lungs in blind rage. His entire body blackened to the color of ash as the leather that hung from his shoulders burned to scraps. His eyes went completely black and he sprang madly towards Rover with his blade overhead.

Rover only had a second to bring his sword up. It shattered under the force of Foki’s chop, the shards slicing into Rover’s arms and cheeks. Rainbow acted quickly to throw up a barrier around her comrade. The goblin slammed his blade hard into the red light repeatedly, breaking through and giving a poisonous smile. Foki began to laugh maniacally as he raised his blade once more, ready to bisect Rover with a final attack.

Rainbow looked on with terror as Rover looked to her. He smiled nervously as the blade began to fall, waving as if he were saying goodbye. “Farewell, Miss Rainbow Dash.”

Rover felt the flame scrape against his nose, his entire life flashing before his green eyes. He heard a crack of bone and the sound of a blade sinking through a soft surface. He blinked. He was still alive. He could still feel himself in one piece. He turned his head and bumped his nose against the magical weapon, skeletal hands still gripping at the hilt. In front of him he watched in awe as an orange mare in a stetson hat and thick metal on her hooves thrust a kick up into a now handless Foki’s chin. The charred body bounced and slid in the dirt until it fell into the trench that Rainbow had dragged him through to this point.

“Ah hope ya weren’t thinkin’ ‘bout givin’ up so easily partner.” Applejack flashed a smile to Rover as Rainbow Dash watched in disbelief. “You still got plenty o’ life in ya.”

Chapter 10.5: Delusion

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Delusion

“Well, it doesn’t seem hostile. Probably going to just pass up Vanhoover as well, head right on to Minos.”

“Wanna head on back then?”

Fleetfoot considered the option, looking down at Ponyville below. “You know what? I think I’ll take up a post here actually, keep an eye out on things.”

“I don’t think that the captain will be very—”

“Whatever, I have something to attend to and I can keep watch over things and stuff, just tell the captain I’m doing my job.” Fleetfoot waved a hoof around to try and discourage any further argument. The guard accompanying her could only shrug and turn his way back to Canterlot.

Fleetfoot grinned as she looked back down to Ponyville, eager to pick up from when she left off. Flying above the town, she kept her eye out, scanning for her target. “Bingo!” She dove down, colliding with her mark. She tumbled in a swirl of color through the dirt before landing on top, nose to nose. “I missed you, did you miss me?”

“…Nope,” Big Macintosh’s reply came out as simple as ever.

“Oh, always with the kidding,” Fleetfoot giggled as she rubbed noses with the earth pony. “So, it just so happens that I’m posted here for a while. I was wondering if you wanted to, I dunno, perhaps get some dinner and show me around town?”

“Nope.” Mac gently let Fleetfoot off from on top of him and returned to his hooves, dusting himself off. He attempted to continue walking down his path as his unwelcome guest tried to keep up.

“You’re always so aloof! It’s adorable,” she cooed, stepping close enough so that the two of them would brush against one another. “So, I’ve been hearing about a few places - Spitfire likes to gab about where Rainbow takes her - and I was wondering if we could perhaps visit them?”

“Nope.” Macintosh did not change his pace or tone. He didn’t dislike the pegasus, he simply had no interest. Mares were not his primary concern at this point in his life. If he kept the farm in shape and his family happy, that was enough for him. However, it seems that since a few years ago, after colliding with the poor filly, she had fallen for him.

“Oh! So you have something more special in mind then? You’re such a sweetheart!” Fleetfoot’s pink cheeks may have been hidden under her suit, but most everypony that saw the two of them could imagine her blush.

“N… er… eeyup?” Big Mac became confused as to which words he was answering, as the pegasus was speaking too fast for him to keep up.

“Yay! You’re amazing!” She flung her forelegs around his neck, forcing the large stallion to pause. “Why don’t you get rid of that dirty old yoke?”

Mac let out a sigh as he separated Fleetfoot from his throat. “Nope.” He looked back to the path in front of him and gave a smile to see the one he had come to meet approaching. He waved a hoof towards her, Fleetfoot taking a glance.

Zecora returned the wave as she made her way towards the two of them, carrying a cart full of bottles and various herbs. “Macintosh of coat so red, it’s good to see your stoic head.” She smiled to see her friend. With a glimpse to his side, she was met with a disapproving glare from Fleetfoot. “With company I meet you here. Tell me, may I have your ear?”

“Eeyup.” Mac nodded, walking towards Zecora. Fleetfoot tried to follow, but he held out a hoof to block her. “Nope.” She frowned as he came to the zebra’s side.

Zecora spoke in a hushed whisper. “She shows me eyes that wish me dead. I ask, are you two to wed?” She looked back to Fleetfoot and was met with a fiery scowl.

“Nope,” Big Mac returned.

“She does know not your feelings true,” Zecora sighed. “I know the truth would make her blue.”

Mac looked confused.

“I do not speak about her coat; I speak of how she will emote.”

“Hey! You about done?” Fleetfoot hissed.

“We speak as friends dear pegasus. There is no need for jealousness,” Zecora returned.

“Oh! Well then that’s okay!” Fleetfoot dropped her venomous attitude and returned to her cheery behavior. She trotted over towards the two of them with a smile on her face. “I hope you don’t mind if I tag along. Mac already approved anyway.”

“Nope!” Macintosh shot back, disapproving of Fleetfoot putting words in his usually empty mouth.

“I do not mind another companion. It could also do well for this here stallion,” Zecora offered. Mac didn’t respond, his indifference for the pegasus belying any objection he may have.

“Great! I can tell we’re all going to get along swimmingly!”

Raise The Hammer

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Raise The Hammer

“Applejack!” Rainbow Dash called out in joy to see her friend standing over Rover.

AJ helped the dog back onto his feet. “Great to see you, Rainbow,” she chuckled. “Gotta admit, ah wasn’t expectin’ ta see you ‘round here.”

Rainbow Dash flew over and grabbed Applejack in her arms. “We’ve been looking for you!” she exclaimed.

Applejack ran a forehoof through Rainbow Dash’s mane as she smiled. “Well Ah’m right flattered, but why the hay would you be doin’ that?”

Rover shook his arms and wiped what blood he could off his face. “She has been tasked with recovering you and the other po-nees. The ones who came to rescue Miss Rarity from us dogs,” he explained as he cracked his neck and knuckles. “The po-nee princess believes war approaches.”

“War?” Applejack was taken aback at this information. “Twi said that?”

Rainbow let go of her friend and let out a sigh. “It’d probably be better if we told you with everyone around.” She suddenly became very alert and looked to the south. “They’re still busy fighting! They have a bugbear to deal with! We need to hurry back!”

Applejack nodded and turned to Rover. “You still got enough in ya ta fight?” The dog gave a determined nod as he swiped a thumb across his nose. “Right! Rainbow, you lead the way back!” Dash gave a salute and readied herself to go. AJ turned back to Rover. “Grab that blade an’ hop on mah back. Yer takin’ a ride!”

Rover grabbed hold of Foki’s blade, bringing the bones of his hand to crumble and fall to the ground. In his hands, the weapon ignited into flames of bright emerald. He ignored the splendor for now and mounted himself upon Applejack’s back with his new sword in one large paw. Rainbow Dash sprung herself forward with Applejack carrying Rover following close behind. They sped off from their position to return to the battlefield where Lyra and the dogs continued to make their way through throngs of angry goblins.

When they returned, they saw much fewer goblins standing and running around. What was standing as he tossed and flung screaming goblins into the air, was Fido, Spot, as he leapt from goblin head to goblin head, sinking his blades into their skulls, and a very frightening Lyra with three gory weapons floating around her head.

Rover jumped from his seat atop Applejack and landed into one of the retreating creatures, swinging his new blade and cleaving through a line of five with one cut. AJ herself ran into the battle hooves first, using the hefty circles of metal under her hooves to crush and stamp them into puddles of red and green goo. Dash flicked her blades free and rapidly flew about as she swiped into goblin flesh.

The goblins were terrified to see reinforcements for their enemies, especially when they saw a dog wielding the blade that their leader once held, and the orange mare that they quickly identified as—

“The Hammer!” a goblin squeaked in fright. They had heard of this pony. She wandered these lands and squashed and smashed creatures of her ilk. To see her running full force into their numbers with the blade of their master not in his hands, they all shrieked in fright and sprinted as far as they could manage on their tiny legs. The only words that the companions could understand among the shouts in goblinoid were ‘Hammer, Foki dead’ and ‘Run!’

Every goblin threw down their weapons and fled the battle, leaving unfortunate stragglers to be met with the crush, slice, or pummel of a weapon. The party took their time to catch their breath and cheer in victory as the remaining pests cleared from view. Fido, Rainbow, and Rover all laid onto the ground to rest, having exerted themselves the most in the battle.

“WHOO!” Lyra yelled with cheer as she let the axe and Morningstar fall to the ground, tucking her blade back into the belt around her waist and thrusting her forelegs into the air. “That was incredible! Oh, I have missed this!”

Applejack chortled. “Yeah, Ah gotta admit, it is pretty entertainin’. What brings you round these parts though, Lyra?”

Lyra was taken unaware as she had begun drawing her cleaver from her saddlebags. She hesitated before shrugging with the cleaver at her side. “Taking samples!” With a disturbing grin, she darted back into the field of goblin corpses and began studying their hands. As the group looked on in confusion, their expressions contorted with disturbance whenever Lyra would find an ‘exemplary specimen’ and sever the bony grippers from the wrist.

“Uh… Not exactly what ah meant,” Applejack said. “But seriously, what’re y’all doin’ here? Ah’m hearin’ talk o’ war, an’ ya come on up ta find me…Rainbow, sugarcube, we’re gonna have ta talk.”

Dash let out a long exhale before giving an understanding “Yup!”

Lyra trotted along with joy as she looked through her, ‘hand sack,’ as she called it. The dogs nervously kept their paws behind their backs. They had spent the rest of their daylight hours searching the bodies and tents of the goblins for loot, food, tools, and Lyra added hands to the list.

Most of the food was rotten, the tools rusty and filthy, and the cash was few and far between. However, they did find a number of well-made hobgoblin weapons intact that AJ suggested they try and sell. After looking through Foki’s tent once again, they found pouches of coin and gems hidden under his bed, and in hidden doors that Spot had sniffed and searched out.

They had also taken their time to bury the unfortunate minotaur heifer the goblins had been carrying along before the ambush. They didn’t know her name or her reason for coming this far, but they had done what they could to leave her a respectable burial ground.

By the time they had actually made their way to leave, the moon had already shown itself. Applejack insisted that they make camp for the night instead of taking the hour to get back into town. “Jus’ right around here,” she said. She led them to a hill with a large pine tree in front of it, pulling at the branches to reveal a cave with an abandoned fire pit. “Ah used this one ‘round sometime last week. We should be nice an’ safe from any critters still runnin’ about from in here.”

They all made their way into the cavern as Applejack covered the hole back up. The dogs went about to setting a new fire in the pit while Lyra went to admiring her new collection.

“So yer sayin’ that we gotta go find Rarity, Pinkie, an’ Fluttershy, or else this Gallows fella is plannin’ on struttin’ on into Equestria ta set up shop?” Applejack asked Rainbow Dash.

“That’s pretty much the gist of it, yeah,” Rainbow answered.

“An’ somethin’ about a squid an’ some rats?” Applejack continued.

Dash shook her head. “Not really a part of what we gotta do, but they’re what we were dealing with before we got here,” she explained. “So, we’ve told you pretty much what we’re doing here… what about you?”

Applejack smirked. “Wanted to try out the adventurin’ thing. It’s why ah suggested you get goin’ too. Made mah way west ta this continent… on ship… didn’t really like that bit…” She shivered. “But once ah got here, ah began findin’ mah way around an’ makin’ a name fer mahself. Ah had to make some form o’ profit, so ah figured Ah’d give pest removal a try. Started out pretty easily, stampin’ out a few bugs n’ such. Then ah came across the mountains ta Minos. Heard about them goblin varmints stirrin’ up trouble. One o’ them minotaur fellers heard what ah’d been doin’ and offered me these,” Applejack stamped her hooves, the thick steel she stood on rang through the cave. “Squashed goblins pretty darn good if’n yer askin’ me.”

Rainbow nodded in agreement. “From what I saw, I think I’ll vouch for that.”

Applejack chuckled. “Was just a small demonstration, ah assure ya. Anyway, ah happened ta be trackin’ Foki an’ his gang fer a while, ‘til you five show up and tear into ‘em.”

“I guess that means we get a cut of the profit for doing your job then, eh?” Rainbow Dash laughed. “But no, seriously, you were thinking of taking that guy on alone? Plus his buddies?”

“Ah was gonna try an’ get ‘im when he wandered off on ‘is lonesome, smack ‘im from behind like he would have the biggun do. Thought if’n ah smacked ‘im hard enough, he’d pass on out an’ ah could separate ‘im from that weapon of ‘is,” Applejack explained, motioning to the sword on Rover’s back.

“Seemed like they knew you,” Lyra called over as she was studying the fingers of another green hand.

“Eeyup!” Applejack exclaimed proudly. “Apparently, the varmints began spreadin’ stories about me. Callin’ me The Hammer. Now whenever ah come stampin’ through, they start screamin’, or even just give up an’ run away.” She took a pleased pose, crossing one foreleg over the other.

“That’s freakin’ awesome, AJ!” Dash smiled and bumped a hoof against Applejack’s shoulder.

“I’ll add ‘Notorious Goblin Hunter’ to the roster of characters for our tale then,” said Lyra. She continued sorting through her assortment of appendages. “Oooh! This one is surprisingly tidy! No burn marks, no scars. This was a careful goblin.” She grinned wide as she placed it aside, away from what she considered discards.

The rest of the party gave her an odd look. Rainbow shook it off. “She’s provided us with a lot of help, actually, she's the main reason we were able to find you,” Dash said.

“Speaking of which,” Lyra started. “We should probably see where we’re heading to next. Anyone grab something reflective?”

“Reflective?” Applejack asked.

“Spell focus,” Rainbow Dash explained. “We can get a general area of anypony whose name we call into a reflective surface when Lyra casts a spell.” Applejack’s face looked no less confused. “We’ll show you,” Dash chuckled.

Spot chimed in, “I did find something.” He produced a thin piece of metal attached to a small stick. “I had no idea what it was, but I remembered that Mrs. Lyra said we needed reflective things for her spell. Figured that, since we found Miss Applejack, we’d need to use the spell once again.”

Lyra looked over the metal. “Looks like some sort of attempt at making a mirror. This should work well enough.” She looked back up to Applejack and Rainbow Dash. “Welp, who do we go after next?”

Rainbow Dash took a step forward. She had thought of this before and had come up with an answer. “Let’s look for Fluttershy next. She knows more about animals than we do, perhaps she’ll help us avoid a situation like the one we had with the squid.”

“Makin’ sense ta me,” Applejack added. “So where do we start?”

“That’s what we find out,” Rainbow answered. She turned to Lyra and nodded.

Lyra returned the nod and retrieved her lyre. “Wait, why do we need the harp?” Applejack asked.

Rainbow opened her mouth to answer, before realizing that “I don’t honestly know.” She looked to Lyra for an answer. “What is the harp for?”

Lyra gave a look of disapproval to the both of them. With a sigh, she gave her explanation. “As you’re aware, I tend to dance from one topic to the next rather quickly, sometimes too quickly for my own good. I can perform some basic spells like levitation, light and simple projectiles just fine, but some more difficult spells require more focus than I have time for in this set of mind. The one thing that keeps my focus is my playing, and so I put two and two together and began using my LYRE as a way to concentrate my mind and horn into the more challenging spells. I even found out that I can perform slightly higher than an average unicorn when I apply focus this way, pulling off spells beyond my usual level.”

Rainbow smiled smugly to Applejack. “Exactly!”

Lyra could only roll her eyes and snicker. "Just say the name when the ripples appear.” She closed her eyes and played her lyre. She gave a low hum as her horn grew brighter.

Applejack watched in wonder as the metal sheet began to swell and flow like water after a stone was dropped into it. Rainbow Dash approached the imitation mirror and beckoned Applejack to her side. Dash spoke “Fluttershy,” and the ripples began to give way to a landscape. It was an eerie scene; dead trees and rolling fog were the only things they could identify. Life was absent from the image, the only motion was leaves twirling along as the wind blew.

Once the spell’s time expired, the metal was replaced entirely with rust, the edges disintegrating into nothing more than red-brown dust. Everyone paused in wait for someone to speak up.

Rainbow noticed Applejack shaking her head. “You know something, AJ?”

Applejack didn’t sound very happy when she exhaled. “’Yup. Unfortunately ah do. Ah was tryin’ to avoid goin’ through that place when ah came here. What Fluttershy is doin’ in there, ah can’t imagine.” She scratched distractedly at her head. “Ah came up to Minos from the south o’ the land. Passed them dead woods on mah way. Locals were callin’ it by a number o’ names, none of ‘em pleasant.”

“Any examples?” Dash pressed.

“‘Troll Town, Dragon Bone Bog, Sinking Swamp, an’ a whole host of others,” Applejack groaned. “The real name ain’t much better neither. On the map it’s called Reject’s Garden. It’s a forest where, if’n a critter walks through, they best have teeth ta bite, claws ta scratch, an’ the stomach fer toxins an’ decay. Monsters litter the place like apples in the orchard, an’ goin’ by that analogy, that would make poisons like leaves.”

Everyone seemed uneasy when they heard the description, everyone except Lyra of course. She beamed wide from ear to ear. “A perfect quest to add to our chronicles! ‘Entering a forest of certain doom, death and despair, the heroes were unsure if they could ever exit, as a single sniff gone wrong could spell their end!’ It’s just like the epics!” she said with immeasurable elation rising in her eyes. “I’ve heard of the Reject’s Garden before, I never imagined traveling to such a place!”

“Of course you haven’t! Nopony sane would!” Dash countered. She had heard of the forest as well. It was a place that even Daring Do regarded with fear. “What the hell could have possessed Fluttershy to go to such a dangerous place?”

Applejack frowned. “Ah haven’t a clue. Don’t know how we’re gonna make our way through there either.”

“Underground?” Spot offered. The three ponies looked to him as if he were being stupid and returned to their conversation. The downtrodden dog’s face dropped to the cave floor as he began tracing circles in the stone.

“There are worms under the ground from what ah hear,” Applejack continued. “Bigguns too. ‘Tain’t no path Ah’d recommend.”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “We’ll need to learn more. All we’re running on at the moment are stories and legends; they can only take us so far. I say once we head into town tomorrow we begin asking around. Someone must have been in there at some point right?”

Lyra and Applejack nodded in agreement. The three ponies continued forming a plan as Spot continued to sulk around the fire, Fido and Rover nodding off to a much deserved rest.

Crusha walked away from the battlefield, spilling blood as he went on. He ignored it all; the pain, the weariness, the ill feeling that built in his stomach as his plasma stained the grass. He only focused on the numb feeling he now housed in his mind, this foreign emotion of defeat. Nothing in all the highlands had put up such a fierce fight, had dared to knock him from his pedestal.

If he could grin he would. Finally he had found the thrill he had sought all his life. His chin was now the trophy to one who had proven themselves greater than even he. Crusha could easily find despair, throw away his life and surrender to the depths of hell like he knew that many a creature would. But why should he? Something had proven stronger, shown itself to be his superior, and ripped away a piece of the bugbear as proof. If living to surpass this being wasn’t a reason enough for Crusha to live, nothing would be.

His tongue waggled against his neck and chest like a tie in the wind as he uttered what was now considered his laughter. At last, boredom had been lifted from his life.

He walked along the upturned dirt path that the pegasus had dragged his former master through. At the end of the ditch, he saw the ashes of the one he once called ‘lord’ lying in the earth. In the dark of the night, it was difficult to see his charcoal chest rise and fall with shallow breaths. Perhaps the two of us will meet once again, would-be god, the beast thought towards the charred remains, if we both take advantage of this free pass death has offered onto us.

Between Two Worlds

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Between Two Worlds

Back in Minolympus, Rainbow Dash and company had made their return. Applejack, Rover, and Fido had all split off into one group to carry the weapons and loot they had found and find a buyer; they planned to get some medical attention for the two dogs as well. Lyra and Spot were being led by Rainbow herself to ask a few questions around the city.

Rover kept a cheerful appearance despite all of the cuts and injuries he had taken from his showdown with the hobgoblin. Bits of his fur were burnt and splotched with blood, but he kept his smile and laughter seen to all. “Never was I more frightened in my life! I saw him go off like a volcano and charge me down. If not for Miss Applejack, I would be dead,” he told his story to Fido as he chuckled.

Fido laughed along with him. “We fought hard, that’s for sure. A trophy to each of us for memory’s sake,” he said as he patted at Rover’s back, holding out the bone he had torn from the bugbear’s face. He had used one of the daggers they pulled off of the goblins to scrape away the skin and tissue, leaving behind the needle shaped teeth and mandible. “I think I will get it on a chain, wear a piece of the creature I once feared, and maybe bring that fear into anything I fight later!”

“Anything with any sense will at least think twice before messin’ with you,” agreed Applejack. “Mighty impressive that you managed yer way ‘round a monster like that ‘un, you’d get some right deserved respect among the slayers.”

“Slayers?” Rover questioned.

“Right. A group o’ pest exterminators like mahself. They pay some pretty coin if’n you can manage ta bring down some of the more frightening varmints on their board,” Applejack explained.

The dogs looked to one another with interest at the mention of the group. “Do they accept dogs?” Rover inquired.

“Ah reckon they wouldn’t mind havin’ paws as capable as yers,” Applejack replied. “Thinkin’ about joinin’? Ah’d be willin’ ta put in a good word for you two.”

“We may take you up on that, Miss Applejack,” Rover answered.

They entered a weapons shop, behind the counter stood a large minotaur heifer yelling out orders to a group of goats that came in and out of various doors. When she took note of Applejack and the dogs, she let out a final order to them to make themselves scarce. With various bleats crying out, they obeyed and ran through the doors behind her.

“Welcome, travelers,” she spoke with a deep, pacifying voice, very different from her shouting tone. Her coat was a grayish blue hue, and her horns looked longer and sharper than most of the males they had seen in town. “How might Artemis help you fine folk?”

“Howdy there, Artemis,” Applejack started. “We just dropped on in to see if’n you were interested in takin’ a load off our backs. Ain’t lookin’ to fetch too much fer these, jus’ some travelin’ fare.”

Fido and Rover lifted the sacks of blades and clubs onto the counter with a heavy clunk. Artemis opened one and took a peek inside. “Well then, I think I can do something for you in that case.” She dropped the bags to either side of her and stamped twice on the marble floor. Two goats entered and began to rummage through the assortment of weapons.

“Craftsmanship seems rather shoddy, but you seem aware of that. I can sell ‘em cheap, but I hope you don’t hold it against me for trying to turn a profit. I can’t pay too much to do that,” Artemis explained.

“So long as yer bein’ upfront about it an’ treat us fair, ah won’t cause no fuss fer you,” Applejack offered. “Ah’m a business type mahself. Let’s not cause too much trouble fer one another.”

Artemis grinned. “Glad to see some reason. Honesty is a rare trait among most of the merchants I’ve seen from outside of Minos.” Applejack couldn’t help but giggle to herself at that. Artemis listened as the goats began to mutter back up to her. She nodded and looked back to Applejack and the dogs. “Well, with the amount of goblin weaponry we got here, I’ll offer you… well, first, how would you like your payment?”

“Either bits or gems will do me fine,” Applejack answered.

“More familiar with the gem value, so let’s go with that.” Artemis snapped her fingers and one of the goats left and returned with a satchel of gems. Artemis poured the stones onto the table and began selecting through them. She picked out a number of smaller ones and stashed the rest of them back into her pouch. “These twenty seem a fair amount to me, don’t you think?”

Applejack scanned over her offer as the dogs stared hungrily at the jewels. “Mighty fine offer ya got there, Artemis. If you’d be so kind to add to the deal, information as to where we can get these two cleaned up, you got yerself a deal.”

Artemis smiled and clacked her hoof on the floor once more, sending the goats away with the sacks of weapons. “Of course. Looks like you fellas went for a bit of the old rough and tumble then. I guess that’d explain the weapons,” she started. “If you wanna get yourselves patched up, then Shepard is who you wanna find. Kid has nimble fingers, fresh herbs, and knowledge of medical magic. You won’t find a better fixer in all of Minos.”

“Sounds like the guy we’re lookin’ fer. Where might we find ‘im?” Applejack asked.

Artemis brought her head to the side and yelled in that gruff, loud tone she had been when directing the goats. “Shepard! You got patients!”

They heard a clatter from behind Artemis rising. A mess of blond shag fell out of one of the doors before picking himself up off of the floor. “Alright, mother, sorry for the entrance. I tripped over Uncle Isaac again.” Shepard was a lithe and tall satyr, nearly the same height as Artemis. The fur that hung from his body was colored like gold with a bright luster, and two short goat horns stuck out from the front of his skull.

“It’s no worry boy; I trip over your father’s family all the time. Why do you think I keep them out of the showroom?” She looked back to Applejack’s group. “Let the dogs follow my boy here and he’ll patch ‘em up and leave ‘em feeling better than ever before.”

Fido and Rover were a bit reluctant to be left alone with a satyr again and gave a pleading look to Applejack. “Right, do ya mind if’n ah head on back with ya, Shepard?”

The satyr gave a pleased smile and bowed. “I would be enchanted to have a pony as lovely as you observe my work.”

Applejack gave a chuckle at the flattery. “That’s mighty kind of ya to say. Alright you two, head on in.” She nudged Rover and Fido along behind Shepard as he made his way through a red curtain.

Artemis took up the rear as they entered another marble room with various medical tools and medicines. There were a number of tables set for seating patients, Shepard motioned Fido and Rover to the two closest.

“Ah ah ah! Please leave your weapons away from the equipment,” Shepard interjected.

Fido and Rover grimaced, but complied, removing their weapons and leaving them at the door with Applejack. Artemis seemed to take great interest in Rover’s sword, eyeing it intensely.

“Dearest Mother, if you would be so kind as to aid me,” Shepard spoke as the dogs took their seat, calling Artemis over.

“Of course.” Artemis took note to bring her attention back to the sword when they were done.

Together, Shepard and Artemis cleaned up the dogs’ bloodied fur, washing away at it with clean water. They took disinfectant to their cuts and bandaged up the smaller ones. For the larger cuts, Artemis had to hold them down as Shepard worked a needle and thread to stitch them up. Applejack almost chuckled at how much the dogs tried to struggle, but under the palms of this mighty minotaur woman, they could barely move.

Rainbow, Lyra, and Spot were on the other side of the city, close to Pan’s Pipe. They had been asking about for information on Reject’s Garden, though it seemed that no one had any interest in giving information on the location, and those who did could only tell the legends that the group had already heard.

“This is frustrating. Why do they not speak to us?” Spot fumed from atop Lyra’s back.

“It isn’t uncommon for folk to feel that even talking about forsaken places is bad luck,” Lyra explained. “I highly doubt that they would have any new information for us anyways. Nobody would have spent too much time near the place to learn much except for scholars, and Minos doesn’t exactly provide too many of the scholarly type.”

Rainbow Dash spoke up. “Maybe there’s something at the library we can learn.”

Lyra shrugged. “It couldn’t hurt to check.”

“Not physically, but if you don’t like wasting time, I wouldn’t recommend it,” a voice said from behind them. It was the unicorn from the night before, accompanied by the dragon, griffon, and changeling. “Didn’t mean to intrude, the name is Pulse, at least, that’s what these ones call me.” He indicated to his companions. “You’ve been looking for information on Reject’s Garden?”

“Perhaps…” Rainbow looked to the group with suspicion. “Why do you ask?”

Pulse shrugged as Lyra had. “Call it curiosity. I see some fellow travelers, and I want to help them out.” Dash wasn’t buying into it, but she let him keep talking. “We’ve been in there ourselves.” His tone was grim. “It isn’t a place you want to be going; I’ll preface it with that much.”

“Well not going isn’t really an option for us right now,” replied Rainbow Dash. “We need to find something in there.”

Pulse looked disapprovingly to Rainbow, a look that wasn’t foreign to her when dealing with ponies his age. With a sigh he continued. “Fine, we’ll tell you what we know then.” He waved his hoof to draw the changeling forward. “Quist, if you would be so kind, might you take the form of the most common denizen of the Reject’s Garden?”

The changeling didn’t look pleased at the order, but with a sigh he stepped between the two groups and brought himself upon his back legs. From the bottom up, he changed his form. Hooves gave way to gnarled, green feet that rolled up the body and changed the into a hideous, sickly looking creature with claws and a crooked nose.

“The forest trolls are as common as insects within the garden, horrid regenerators that pursue tirelessly, even growing new heads and bodies when severed,” Pulse spoke as if he were giving a class. “If it weren’t for Cole here, we’d never have seen an end to them.” The dragon behind the group let out a proud roar.

“Right, trolls are destroyed only by fire and acid,” thought Lyra aloud.

Rainbow remembered her previous encounter with a troll, back when Twilight and the gang went after Chrysalis during the passing of the Secretariat Comet. She gave a shiver at the memory.

“Correct!” Pulse returned. “If you plan to go into the swamp without a dragon capable of spewing either, you’re going to want to stock up on things to burn. Also, beware of the water, there are things dwelling there as well. Pulse gave Quist a tap and he returned to his original form, panting hard at the effort to take on a shape so different from his own.

“That isn’t all that dwells within though,” Pulse continued. “Varieties of insect and arachnid, I’m sure you’ve heard of the worms under the mud as well.” Rainbow and Lyra gave a quick look to Spot and returned their attention to Pulse. “They are the primary source of the venoms within the forest. There are creatures that will spread the toxin into the air to take out their prey, but otherwise you’re free to breathe, unlike the stories tell. I’d still suggest some form of protection, and plenty of antitoxin, unless you wish to fall ill and die.”

He looked to Rainbow Dash. “Of course you look like you have wings as strong as Gale over here. If you’re quick enough you could force the airborne poisons away from your friends,” Pulse finished. The griffon looked almost insulted and gave a glare towards Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow only grinned back and fluttered her wings in a taunt.

“Ah, and one more thing,” said Pulse. “There are no living dragons within the ‘Dragon Bone Bog’. No living dragons…” He took a moment to let them weigh his words and let the implication sink in. “That’s what I offer you, as a fellow traveler. I still advise against seeking anything within there, but adventure is about freedom, and you will do what you wish.” He turned and walked off with his allies joining him along the way.

“Well that was a lucky break,” Lyra chuckled.

“He didn’t even charge us!” added Spot.

Rainbow Dash stood silent, reflecting on the words they were left with. “I guess we’d better start looking for supplies then.”

Lyra could see the concern in Rainbow’s eyes. She agreed. “That’d be a good idea. Come on, I know where to go.”

“Right, now get yourselves some rest,” Shepard said as he clapped his hands together. “You weren’t hurt too terribly, but working too hard will open the cuts again.”

Rover and Fido stretched themselves out, popping their knuckles and necks.

“About how long should they take it easy?” Applejack asked. “We got travelin’ ta do an’ we may be needin’ their help.”

Shepard scratched at his chin in thought. “Well. I’d say give ‘em a week, but if you take this, apply it every day, you should be good to work in two days.” He grabbed a jar of some blue colored paste off of a shelf. “But you’ll need to keep applying it for the entire week or else the wounds will open again, maybe a bit longer if you’re feeling irritated.”

Rover took hold of the jar and nodded in thanks. “How much for your help?” he asked.

Artemis was the one to answer. “Shepard isn’t recognized as an actual doctor around here. He makes his living by helping his father smith weapons in the back. It wouldn’t be right to charge you for this.”

Shepard nodded in agreement. “I don’t need pay to make folk feel better anyway.” His gaze returned to Applejack. “Especially when I’m paid with such radiant beauty.”

Applejack only gave a smile in appreciation.

As Rover and Fido claimed their weapons, Artemis stopped them. “Could I get a look at that sword?” she asked, pointing to Fido’s new blade.

Fido handed it to her. Artemis seemed to hold the weapon as if it were made of thin glass. “Incredible. What color are the flames when you hold it?”

Rover took a second to think. “Last I remember… green? How did you—”

“The runes,” Artemis interrupted, “they say it all.” She scanned the magical carvings. “Flaming, invulnerable, defending…” She pointed to each rune as she named them. “And this one here is to alter the color. Mostly an aesthetic choice it seems, but it looks like it holds some sense about it. Look, watch.”

Artemis held tight to the blade’s hilt and carried it like she was ready to attack. Azure flames began to lick the edge of the blade. “Shepard, grab a hold of the weapon,” she ordered, earning a dumbfounded look from most everyone in the room.

Shepard merely shrugged and touched his fingers against the steel, forcing Applejack to cry out “No!” Shepard felt no pain however, and ran his fingers along its length.

“The blade reacts to who is seen as friend and foe by its wielder, burning anything its wielder sees as an obstacle. Allies, however, are able to come near the flame without feeling the heat.” Artemis pulled the blade back to an idle position, quenching the flames and returning the sword to Rover. “The color will vary by personality and skill. Blue, like it showed with myself, shows a defensive, yet powerful fighter,” she spoke the words with pride. “Green, as you say it shows for you, I believe means someone well balanced; quick, yet strong and cunning. If that’s what the weapon says, then I would think you hold great potential with this weapon, and it seems only appropriate that you should now wield it.”

Rover smiled and looked on his steel with admiration. A question popped into his mind. “What if the fires were the color of blood?”

Artemis’ eyes narrowed with concern. “Often a dark red signifies a creature with terrifying ambition that sees even themselves as an obstacle to overcome. They are very skilled, but house reckless rage. Why do you ask?”

Rover brought the sword onto his back once again. “The creature I retrieved the blade from carried it with crimson flames. When brought to his limit, the flames consumed him.”

With a nod, Artemis gave her understanding. “It’s fortunate that you’ve gotten ahold of it then.”

“Not ta seem rude or nothin’, but we gotta get goin’ if we’re plannin’ on meetin’ with Rainbow,” Applejack spoke up.

“Oh, no trouble at all, we’re sorry for holding you three up,” Artemis insisted in her relaxing tone. "And, Rover, was it?" The dog looked back in curiosity. "Give that sword a good name will ya?"

The companions gave their thanks once again and made their way out the door.

Applejack, Rover, and Fido found themselves in the center of the city where they had agreed to meet with Rainbow Dash’s group. It was only a few minutes before they saw them coming, carrying bags stuffed with round bobbles, flasks, bottles, rags, and stones.

“Whoa there partner, what exactly are y’all planning ta do with all o’ that?” Applejack questioned.

Rainbow grunted as she shook her saddlebags into a more comfortable position. “Trolls hate fire, forest is full of trolls, we bought flammables,” she explained. “Somepony came by and told us that we needed to stock up on fire and antitoxin if we’re planning to get through Reject’s Garden alive.”

The way Rainbow had phrased her sentence caused Rover and Fido to tremble.

“Makin’ some sense there,” Applejack replied. “Buy any medicines? There’s sickness in swamps like that ‘un.”

Lyra plucked some bottles out of one of their bags. “Plenty,” she said. “I got something for everything most common in these parts, as well as a few that are exclusive to the quagmires. If we so much as cough, I have something to make it better.”

“Plus these herbs we were given by Shepard,” Rover added.

“Seems we’re well supplied then,” spoke Rainbow Dash. “Let’s head on south to Reject’s Garden then!”

“Not so fast, Sugarcube,” Applejack started. “Ah came on up this way from that direction. If’n goin’ back is yer plan, ah’d suggest we be findin’ another way down. Large mountain range stands between us ‘n the garden. Took me a whole week of crossin’ ta get through, there’s lots o’ turnin’ an’ walkin’ around obstacles, critters an’ varmints with teeth an’ claws ya gotta avoid too. If’n we’re gonna be goin’ through the swamp, ah don’t think tacklin’ the mountains will help us.”

Rainbow Dash took a moment to think on this. “Well, then we’ll just go around,” she said.

“That’d take us even longer,” Applejack retorted.

“Not by ship,” Lyra countered. “We have a friend waiting for us in Minotown with a boat. She’d be glad to take us around. We’re the reason she still has a boat after all.”

This answer didn’t seem to please Applejack either, her face sinking and making her look ill. “Yeah, ah guess that’d work. Definitely cut the time down.”

Lyra pulled out a map she had acquired. “With the mountains the way they are, we should actually be able to sail south of them in under a day. They’re taller than they are long,” she pointed out, bringing the party’s attention to the map.

“Great!” Rainbow Dash beamed. “Let’s go get Griz and set sail then. We’ll get Fluttershy back in no time!”

It had taken the companions a day to return to the ship, resting at the ever welcoming Power Mettle’s hut. After he fed them and spent his time welcoming Applejack back, Rainbow felt kind of bad having to leave so soon.

“I promise that we’ll come back someday, and we’ll actually stick around and talk,” Rainbow insisted.

“It’s no trouble, I’m happy to have helped you all in your journey. But I’ll hold you to that promise,” Power said with a wink.

“You got it, Mettle; best of luck to ya.” Applejack waved a hoof as the band of friends made their way down the beach.

“And to you, my friends!” Power Mettle waved back. “Your tale will not be forgotten in Minos!”

Rainbow Dash led the way to the shore, though they could all see the Gilded Rain as it rested on the waves. As they approached, they could see Grizelda overlooking the beach from up on the ship. It appeared she wasn’t wearing her hood.

“Yo, Griz! We’re back!” Rainbow called out as she flew up.

Grizelda took on a look of panic and rushed to get her hood over her face. “G-good to see you guys. I wasn’t expecting you back so soon. Find your friend?”

“Yeah we did.” Rainbow landed next to the griffon, noticing as a purple feather dropped from under her hood. Rainbow took notice of it, thinking it looked familiar. “We got a new destination to head off to.”

“And I’ve got a new crew and repairs to get you there,” Grizelda returned. “Get your guys on board; we’ll ship out when you’re ready.” The captain turned and made her way back to her room.

Rainbow looked down at the feather that had dropped, picking it up with her wing and observing it closely. She glanced back to Grizelda as she vanished behind the door to her quarters, suspicions running across her mind.

Applejack, Lyra, and the dogs made their way on board, welcomed by the crew. Lyra and the dogs spoke with their fellow survivors, earning praise from the sailors both new and old.

Applejack looked nervously at the water below, something stirring within her. “Woah… hope this goes by quick. Ah’m already missin’ the dirt under mah hooves.”

As Grizelda had said, once Rainbow was sure they were ready to go, the Gilded Rain made course to the south. They kept the shore in sight as they watched Minotown pass them by.

About an hour from the start of their voyage, Applejack was seen running for the edge of the ship, witnesses said she was looking a lot more green than orange. Rainbow Dash could verify these claims as she walked by her friend, hearing the sound of Applejack’s lunch meeting the water. She felt bad for laughing, but couldn’t help it.

Along her path, Dash also saw Lyra watching the water pass by while she wrote into her journal. It was a common sight to see in their periods of rest, a chronicler must chronicle after all. The passion in her amber eyes as she wrote, though, was always a fascinating sight for Rainbow Dash. She could almost see the return to their travels reflecting like a mirror in the unicorn’s gaze. It was fascinating to witness her smile fade away into a scowl as her quill recorded the shifting events into the pages.

Rainbow returned to her path and brought herself to the door of the captain’s quarters. She heard scratching of talons at the floor as someone approached from inside.

“What’re ya wanting?” Grizelda’s voice called from the other side.

Rainbow was about to answer, before she considered her goal, and altered her strategy. She cleared her throat and brought her voice low. “Wishin’ ta talk to ya cap’n,” she said in a gravelly voice, attempting to copy the speech of the sailors. “Bit of a personal matter though, don’ want the crew hearin’ none of it.”

It seemed to work as she heard Grizelda walk away from the door and call back, “Come on in then, but it better be quick.”

Rainbow smiled and opened the door. She saw Grizelda’s tail swishing in a calm demeanor as she made her way towards a large desk.

Dash looked around quickly before the griffon turned to see her, trying to absorb as much information as she could.

The Morningstar that Grizelda had used to battle the squid rested upon the desk, next to a feather in an inkpot, purple tipped, like the one Rainbow had found outside. Various decorations of griffon origin lined the walls and shelves of the wooden room. Books detailing the Gryphon Kingdoms and their pride were stacked together.

Dash couldn’t find what she was looking for until her gaze dropped to the desk once again. Near the center were two frames. She couldn’t see one, but the other was angled just perfectly for her to see another violet tipped feather, with a blue feather crossing in front of it, the same cyan hue as Rainbow’s own.

“I had my suspicions, but I had to see the proof,” Dash chuckled in her own voice. Grizelda’s head turned sharply in surprise. “So you leave in a huff, never to return, and you take to the sea? Seems like a strange hobby for you to take up.”

The griffon let out a sigh of defeat. Realizing that she’d been found, she grabbed the hem of her hood and pulled it back, revealing the face of Rainbow’s old friend, Gilda. “No point in hiding it if you’ve found out. Was kinda hoping you’d discover me anyway to tell you the truth,” Gilda’s true voice replied.

“And your reason for hiding yourself from me in the first place?” Rainbow pressed.

Gilda scoffed. “After the way I left? I was pretty sure you didn’t want to see me. When I collected myself and looked back on my actions, I realized that I acted quite the fool,” she spoke with a sigh as she hung her head and scratched the back of her neck. “I was pretty ashamed, but I guess that, since its happening, it’s not as humiliating as I thought it would be.”

“‘Course not, you’re still my friend,” Rainbow replied. “You were stupid, so what? We all act stupid every now and again. Fact is that you realized it was stupid though.” The pegasus smiled and bumped a hoof into Gilda’s shoulder.

Gilda smiled back. “Years have changed me, but you’re still the same pal you’ve always been.”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “It’s all about being loyal. But seriously, what are you doing captaining a ship?” Her sudden shift brought a laugh from Gilda.

“When I flew off from Ponyville, I hadn’t been planning to leave so soon, so I took to sightseeing around Equestria. Found myself in Vanhoover and I heard about somepony looking around for a new crew,” Gilda began to explain. She took a seat behind her desk and paused, searching her mind on how to continue. “I figured I’d ship out on one trip and come back, get a bit of extra pay, see some sights… ‘course I was never expecting what happened.”

Dash’s face contorted with confusion as Gilda took another moment to herself. “Sorry, just trying to figure out how to word this without sounding like a fucking lunatic.” Gilda gave a nervous chuckle. “Well… Pretty much anything that could have gone to shit, short of the ship sinking, happened. We hit a storm, a magical one, brought about by a kraken, a real one, not some squid. It wasn’t trying to slaughter everyone, just fuck with us real good and claim a few kills to his name. The captain was an old fart of an earth pony and he, of course, got hit with the first bolt of lightning. Everyone else was panicking, but I figured if the guy was alive then he’d need some help. Soon as I swooped down to check on him, he was givin’ some crap about junk and stuff, next thing I knew he said I was captain.”

Dash stared hard at Gilda. “You know that thing you said? About trying to not sound like a lunatic? … You’re not doing such a good job at that.”

“Fuckin’ swear to you!” Gilda laughed. “It sounds like crazy bullshit, I know, but it really happened! The fucker was off his rocker and dying, I think he thought I was his first mate or somethin’!”

Rainbow found it difficult to believe, but saw no reason for Gilda to lie. She also knew that Gilda wasn’t exactly this creative when she lied. “Alright… and how did you guys get out of there?”

“That’s the freaky part, right? Everyone came to me since some of them had heard I was the new captain, so I was expected to find a way out of the mess we were in,” Gilda continued her story with renewed zeal. “I couldn’t take the pressure, pissed me off. Only thing I could think at the moment was that if it weren’t for the fuckin’ kraken shitting on our journey, I wouldn’t be having these stupid ponies yelling down my throat. I went motherfuckin’ berserk! Blacked right out, and next thing I remembered, I was soaked with saltwater and blood with a massive fucking eye in my beak, coughing and gagging as the rest of the crew stared at me in amazement and holding me up.”

“Okay, now you’re fucking with me,” Rainbow Dash retorted, though she doubted her own words as they came out.

Gilda only shook her head. “I dunno if it was some sort of divine intervention or shit like that, but from what the crew told me, in my panic and anger, I called the kraken out, he surfaced, and I flew right for his eye, clawing and biting. Scared the ink out of him and he went jetting off. Never gotten that angry in my life before or after and I have no idea what it was.”

Dash looked amazed as Gilda told her story.

Gilda gave a shrug as she spoke her next words. “I brought us back to shore and the crew kinda looked up to me. We’d made a lot more than I was making with my previous job, so… I kinda just stayed.”

“Kinda just stayed?” Dash mocked.

“Shut up,” Gilda retorted. “You know what I mean.” She looked back to Dash, half-expecting laughter. When it didn’t come, she smiled.

“It makes no sense, and seems very unlikely, but it’s so ridiculous I can’t simply put it aside,” Rainbow said as she shook her head. “One thing is for sure, I feel a lot better knowing you could take out a kraken.”

“I think it was a child, but still,” Gilda returned.

“That’d make a little more sense.” Rainbow let out a sigh and looked back to their framed feathers. “So you’re just not going back home?”

“Definitely not fuckin’ now,” Gilda returned. There was a painful edge in her voice. “What with Gallows acting like a damned idiot, threatening Equestria and shit.”

Dash took concern to see her old friend coming off like she was at a loss. Gilda wasn’t acting as her usual confident self, something bothered her about the words she spoke.

“You don’t want to go home,” Dash answered her own question.

“No, I do… but you’re also right, I don’t,” Gilda sighed. “I don’t hate Equestria, like I’m sure most back in the kingdoms do nowadays, but I don’t belong here either.”

“It can’t be that bad back there, can it?”

“You really don’t know how eagerly griffons will work conflict and power,” Gilda snapped, possibly a bit more angrily than intended. “Gallows has been a very hungry king since his coronation, from what I hear only having allied with Canterlot and Equestria to strengthen his own power. With what you told me last time you were on the ship, sounds like the little political rumor is true. I don’t want any part of it,” she groaned. “But I’m not gonna stay in pony lands while my own kind duke it out and see fit to put me to the blade as well. So I’ll stay on this ship when the fighting starts, keep clear of all that bullshit.”

Dash gave a nod. “You never did take well to conflict you weren’t personally involved in.”

“Fuck the politics, I’ll just throw a punch instead,” Gilda added. “If I can’t do anything about it, then I don’t want it to be considered my problem.”

“Seems like becoming a sailor would work pretty well for you then.”

Gilda shrugged again. “I hear what I want and deal with my own shit, it’s been pretty good to me so far.” Despite the lack of care in her body language, her eyes continued to reflect her melancholy.

“You know, if we successfully dissuade this war, you’d be welcome in Ponyville,” Rainbow offered and held her hoof out to her old friend.

Gilda looked to the offering. She shook her head with a sigh. “If you can manage something that big…” She clasped her talon around Dash’s hoof and shook it, “then I guess you’d bring me around at some point, why the fuck not?”

The two of them exchanged a grin as their friendship was rekindled. “Givin’ me only more initiative to finish this thing,” Dash said triumphantly.

“Know what? I’ll help you out myself! After all, I was just saying how I take care of my own problems, wouldn’t be living up to that very well if I sat back while you solved all this,” Gilda laughed with pride. “So, where’s your next destination? I’ll follow you anywhere!”

Rainbow Dash grinned with the thought of her old friend fighting at her side. “We’re heading into Reject’s Garden!” she said with renewed vigor.

Gilda’s smile dropped instantly. “Except there…”

Not long after Rainbow and her party departed from Minotown, Power Mettle looked to the sky after hearing a rumbling noise. He saw dark clouds approaching with blue electricity surging throughout them.

“A storm? Today?” It didn’t really make much sense when the sky had been so blue and bright earlier. Power squinted and brought a hand over his brow to get a better look. “Or perhaps rogue clouds?”

The folk from Minotown had all begun pouring out of their houses as they heard the thunder intensify. As the clouds flew overhead, it became near deafening in volume, and many minotaurs had to cover their ears.

Among all this though, only Power Mettle noticed the sound of something more, hiding behind all the thunder; a bellowing roar, speaking ancient words that he had never heard. It shook him, and brought fear through his veins, and looking around he saw that he was not alone in his fright. The words lasted only a moment, but they managed to force everyone around into a tremble.

“Powerful magic…that is no ordinary storm,” Power whispered to himself. As he watched, he paid attention to its direction. “Towards Minolympus, the highland. What in Tartarus is going on?”

Many children were ushered back into their homes as the waves on the shore began crashing hard, making swimming and fishing unwise as the clouds passed. Eventually Power Mettle stood alone on the sands, and he witnessed the beach itself come alive, swirling the flecks of earth into a twister, much akin to a sandstorm. Eventually he was forced to retreat back into his own hut, locking the door behind him, and seeking shelter.

Rats Are Following

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Rats Are Following

Spitfire zipped up her uniform and exhaled. “Where the hell are Shining Armor and the paladins? They should have been here days ago,” she grumbled to herself. “Is he thinking about letting us go against Gallows alone?” With the absence of the captain of the guard, Spitfire had to pull double duty.

While initially she took the role with confidence and flattery when Princess Twilight assigned it to her, it had begun to make her weary. Even with the aid of Soarin’ and the other Wonderbolts, she found her toil brought more exhaustion than she thought she deserved.

Spitfire walked down the hall of the castle, lost in her thoughts. Perhaps we should send for other allies. Then again, if we can’t take care of ourselves at this point, can we really expect others to join us? She could only shake her head in confusion. She was worrying too much; the griffons hadn’t shown any signs of making their invasion yet. Shining Armor still had time to show up.

She tried to rub the tension out of her neck with a hoof. Soarin’ wasn’t kidding. Gonna spend a whole week in that spa when I get the chance.

“Miss Spitfire!” A call from one of the guards broke the peaceful silence of the hall, bringing Spitfire’s hoof from her neck to her face. Of course…

She turned around to see a guard approaching. He seemed taken aback by Spitfire’s frown. “Uh, is this a bad time?”

“It’s always a bad time now, just be out with it,” Spitfire said, feeling her patience slip.

The guard nodded in understanding. “The sand rat we picked up in Appleloosa has arrived and been inspected. We are ready to hold him for an audience with you and the princess, a representative from the town would wish to sit in as well. He claims to have spoken with the rat and offers to comfort him and make things go smoother.”

Spitfire shrugged. “I don’t see anything wrong with it, but I’d like to speak with him first.”

With a nod, the guard led the way.

At least I can get some answers. Spitfire felt her mood lighten the slightest bit. As they approached the doors to the throne room, Spitfire took note of an earth pony with a similar color of coat to her own.

The guard stopped and swung out a foreleg to let Spitfire pass. She walked on up to the earth pony and swung her own hoof to get him walking by her side.

“What’s your story?” she asked.

“Name is Braeburn ma’am. Ah come from Appleloosa, an’ spoke with the critter we brought in. He calls himself Nickel, an’ he’s a right clever fella,” Braeburn spoke quickly as he walked along, trying to fill Spitfire in. “Nopony knows how ta speak sand rat, so ah figured ah’d give it a shot, helped negotiate with the buffalo once.”

“And this... Nickel? What’s he told you?” Spitfire pressed.

Braeburn frowned. “Not much to be honest. Keeps speakin’ about madness an’ his master an’ all that. When we ask fer more, he starts sayin’ some strange word that none of us can decipher. Most ponies think that he’s givin’ some word of ‘is own language.”

“Anything we should avoid?”

“Ah wouldn’t recommend starting with questions ‘bout his master. Freezes the poor feller up and forces him to repeat that funny word over an’ over.”

“We’re gonna have to bring it up at some point I feel,” Spitfire sighed. “Gonna need to figure out how to calm him at that.”

The two of them entered the large doors to see the rat standing in the middle of the room, shackled at the wrists and accompanied by two unicorn guards. Princess Twilight Sparkle sat in her throne alone.

“You are relieved,” Twilight said to the guards. They nodded and took position behind the doors, ready to come back in if called.

As Spitfire passed by the sand rat, she looked at him, and he looked back. The intelligence, worry, and wisdom in his eyes took her by surprise. He gave her a respectful bow as she passed him.

She and Braeburn took position on either side of the throne. The rat remained in his position, looking up at the three of them in silence.

“Go ahead and tell us why you came here,” Twilight spoke calmly and invitingly.

Nickel dipped his head in thanks. “I am Nickel, a scholar by trade,” he spoke his words slowly and carefully.

“A fellow intellectual,” Twilight smiled. “We could learn much from each other, Nickel.”

“Your words are kind, Princess,” Nickel returned. “I have come to bring warning, and seek shelter in your lands.”

Spitfire took her turn to speak, letting the rat know that he was still under suspicion. “Your shelter is something we will discuss when you have proven yourself to not be our foe. Our land has suffered infiltration before, and we aren’t willing to repeat the tragedy,” her voice was stern, but fair.

Nickel nodded in understanding. “Your caution is wise, and not undeserved for my kind’s reputation. I hope that you will see that my words are true.” He took a moment to collect his thoughts. “I can see that, in order for you to trust my words, I must first trust you. If I may, perhaps there is some form of ritual or task in which I might prove myself?”

Spitfire and Braeburn looked to the princess to answer. Twilight thought for a moment, then spoke. “I have the ability to cast a circle of truth around you. Should you attempt to lie to us, magical energy will force pain and illness to overtake you. I do not wish for such consequences to befall you, Nickel, so please tell us only the truth, and if we should find your motives questionable, you will be punished accordingly.”

Nickel bowed in understanding, pressing his hands together. “Thank you, kind princess. I shall answer to the best of my capability the truths of your questions.”

Princess Twilight let her horn glow, a bright light forming in front of Nickel. The light traced a perfect circle around the rat.

Twilight cleared her throat and asked, “What is your name?”

“Nickel,” Nickel answered, aware that the question was merely to test if the spell worked.

No pain seemed to befall the rat, so Twilight continued. “Do you consider yourself an ally, or a foe to us? Please answer why as well.”

“Neither, kind princess.” Questioning looks befell the ponies at this answer, but Nickel continued. “I merely consider myself a messenger at this moment.”

“Fair enough,” Twilight returned. “Do you have a plan to attack, or otherwise harm us or ponies in general?”

“No.”

Still no signs of sickness or pain washed over him.

“Are you alone?” Twilight pressed.

“I am,” Nickel’s answer came out as a sigh. His thoughts returned to his family and friends.

“Do you have anyone aware that you are here?”

Nickel paused. “I am… unsure.”

Braeburn whispered to the princess. “Ah’d be careful about how you phrase the next bit. He may be referrin’ to his master, an’ he’ll clam up tight if’n we press on that bit.”

Twilight nodded as she took this into consideration. “Do you have any allies aware that you are here?”

Nickel’s thoughts swirled with the faces of those he once referred to as allies. “No. I believe them dead.” His voice cracked as he said the words.

Twilight was ready to speak her next question before Nickel interrupted. “I saw many of them die. Unub… was the first. His blood splashed onto me, and I heard his final cry. I ran alone, and saw our home collapse onto the skulls of my kin. If any survived, they know not where I am… though from what I saw, I hold no hope that any, other than myself, survive.”

The room went quiet for a few minutes, the three ponies extending their silent sympathies to the lost rat. Spitfire believed she saw a tear fall from the rat’s eye.

“What killed them?” Spitfire asked. Her voice was soft and consoling. Twilight and Braeburn looked to the pegasus nervously, thinking that he’d stop talking.

Nickel looked back up to Spitfire. His face showed bafflement at the kindness in her tone. “My… former master.”

“How?” she pressed, against the disapproval in Braeburn’s eyes.

“I did not wait to see, though many were crushed from his awakening,” Nickel answered, much to Braeburn’s surprise. “My dear friend, Unub, was consumed…”

“Before your own eyes,” Spitfire finished. Nickel’s eyes quivered in horror at the memory. “Your master was a cruel sort, and I can see that your service was wasted upon him.” She could feel her passion flaring up as she stood, demanding the attention of everyone in the room. “Please tell us what you can! We will protect you from your former master!”

“Ma’am, please don’t pressure the fella, he isn’t comfortable speakin’ about this,” Braeburn insisted, looking to the princess for aid.

Twilight said nothing and watched Spitfire speak with a blank expression.

“Tell us his name!” Spitfire called down.

Nickel shook. He knew that this pony had no idea of the true horror his master could bring, of his power. Somehow though, she was inspiring to him, blowing his fear away, if only for a moment.

“Owayix!” he called back.

Braeburn shook his head. “See? That’s all he’ll tell us, an’ it’s all he’ll say fer hours now; just some unknown Sand Rat word.”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “No… not Sand Rat. This tells us more than you know, Braeburn. It is a name.”

Spitfire’s eyes went ablaze. “Owayix won’t hurt you anymore, Nickel! You’re one of us! Is this acceptable, Princess?”

“We can’t just do that!” Braeburn shot back. “‘Tain’t something’ you should just declare! We still don’t know if we can trust ‘im!”

“Calm down, Braeburn.” Twilight held a hoof in front of him. “He hasn’t lied to us once, or denied to answer any question we asked. He has willingly put himself in this position and surrendered any control in the matter to warn us of something that has destroyed his former life. This information he brings may protect all of Equestria, and I see no reason to doubt him. The very least we can do is offer him a new life to replace what was lost.”

“But, yer majesty—” Braeburn began.

“And! Friendship is what saved us many times before, and something we should all strive for.” Twilight shot down any potential objections Braeburn may have still had with an unyielding glare. “I trust in Spitfire’s judgment, and I trust in Nickel. We have been given no reason not to, and if we want to hear his words, it would only be fair we earn his trust as well.”

Twilight’s horn glowed once again and the shackles on Nickel’s wrists clacked, unlocking, and fell to the floor. “Spike!” she called. The dragon made his entrance with a large puff of jade fire in front of Twilight, bowing before her.

Nickel looked upon the young dragon with wide eyes of respect and fear for the beast.

“Take a note, that today, Nickel is a scholar of Equestria. He is to reside within the castle, under supervision, both for his protection and assessment. He is to be clothed, fed, and given access to the rooms as a guest to start. In time, if he proves himself of worth and trust, he will be treated as any pony scholar would,” Twilight spoke loudly so that Nickel could hear her as well.

Spike gave no objections, only wrote.

Nickel fell to the ground, placing his hands on the floor and bowing his head. “You do me too much honor, kind Princess. I am unworthy of such kindness.” He felt his tears drip off his nose, coming fast.

“I won’t hear it,” Twilight replied. “You have gone through much to give us warning. For now, I must retire to the library and confirm suspicions. My teacher would want it this way as well.” She turned back to Spitfire. “We’ll ask further questions later. Thank you for your presence and aid.”

Spitfire bowed in thanks, and flew off towards the door. She stopped though, and turned back, landing next to the rat. “Hey.” She nudged him, bringing him back up to his knees, his face slightly wet from crying. “You’re safe here. I’m gonna make sure of it.” The rat gave a nod, not fully convinced, but comforted.

“You may go home now Braeburn, thank you for your aid,” Twilight spoke, the last words Spitfire heard before heading out of the throne room.

She let out a sigh of content. From her first eye contact with the creature, she had a feeling that Nickel held no wicked intentions. This was an unfortunate being, who sought only safety from a world that abandoned him, and tried to destroy him. Whatever he had come to warn them of, he was lucky to have evaded it.

As she walked through the halls, she began to remember her original reason for being in the castle, and let out a groan. Now we have the malevolent lord of rats to add to our list of worries. Where the fuck is—

“Yo! Spitfire!”

Right on cue. Spitfire spun to meet Soarin’. “Was just about to go looking for you.”

“Flattering,” Soarin’ chuckled. “What were ya needing?”

“An update, unfortunately, also to give out new orders,” she returned. “Any news on that storm we saw a few nights ago?”

“Still going,” Soarin’ frowned. “Last we heard it was heading out over Vanhoover. Fleetfoot’s assuming it’s heading towards Minos, but we’re not gonna go any further than our borders. That thing isn’t our problem anymore.”

“Not yet anyway.” Spitfire scratched at her head. “If that thing ever shows up near us again, I wanna know about it as soon as fucking possible. Understood?”

Soarin’ nodded. “Understood! But do you think maybe you’re fretting a bit too much over that thing?”

A glare from his captain instantly made Soarin’ regret his words. “I don’t think you’re worried enough about it. You were there, the thing isn’t natural, it’s a potential threat, and I’m thinking a very dangerous one.” Quite possibly tied back to this whole Owayix dilemma…

“Hey, where is Fleetfoot anyway?” Spitfire asked.

“She said she wanted to take up post in Ponyville.” Soarin’ rolled his eyes.

“Dammit, Fleet!” Spitfire placed her face into her hoof. “Believe me, I’d like to go off and spend some time there too, but we can’t just… ugh… never mind, let her be,” she groaned in defeat. “How are things looking griffon-wise?”

Soarin’ gave a shrug. “Nothing different really. They all seem to be waiting on something, damned if we know what though. Some tried to get them to remove their outposts, but the stubborn bastards refuse to budge.”

“Of course they refuse; they’d sooner pluck their wings clean of feathers than give way to what we’d want. Only one Gallows ever heard out was Celestia,” Spitfire hissed. Her distaste for the king soured her disposition further.

“Just keep an eye on them. If they look like they might make a move, get word back here instantly.”

“A lot of ifs lately,” Soarin’ stated.

“Well nothing is fucking happening!” Spitfire bit back. “Bastards only wanna build the tension, let us know that they’re there and watching! I don’t really know what else to do; our reinforcements are taking forever after all! This shouldn’t be my job!” She shook her head. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be short. I’m just… worried is all.”

“I can tell,” Soarin’ replied. “Kinda impressed you’re cussing as little as you are. You usually unload more curses than a desperate unicorn witch when you get like this.”

“Got a problem?”

“Yeah, why are you holding back? Get it out there! Keeping that frustration in won’t do any of us any good.”

Spitfire gave a sigh. “Fair enough.”

“So, I know this isn’t all about the griffons and the storm. What else is agitating the great captain?” Soarin’ inquired.

Spitfire frowned and continued walking towards the exit. “The storm is a part of it. I’ve had some ponies check in on where Rainbow was going. Apparently she made way to Minos. I feel like I might be going crazy and that maybe I’m being paranoid, but I can’t help but think that whatever that thing is, it’s following her… looking for her. I’m afraid for her.”

Soarin’ looked at his friend, letting her worries come forth. He had always known her as a very emotional pony, letting even small troubles get under her skin. The thought of an unknown mass of power searching for her beloved, quite possibly the reason for the gruesome death of an entire tribe of Sand Rats, it tore at her.

“You’re worried about Rainbow Dash?” he started, attempting to lessen her stress. “The pony that performed a Sonic Rainboom? Who faced Nightmare Moon, Discord, an army of changelings twice… Spits, I’m only getting started with her list of achievements and you know it. And she’s not alone.” He pulled at his collar to remind Spitfire of the Diamond Dogs. “Hell, by now she’s probably gotten most of the elements with her already,” he spoke with fervor and zeal, actually causing a smile to appear on Spitfire’s face.

“You know… I’ll bet you anything that, when she comes back, you’ll see her with the sun at her back, radiating like a halo on an angel, holding you in both arms, begging you to stay with her forever.” Soarin’ then gave a telling grin. “And maybe I can watch what happens after?”

Spitfire laughed loudly. “Dammit man, do you ever take anything seriously?” She gave him a solid punch to the shoulder, causing him to flinch and rub at it. He had managed to make her smile again, probably making her day. She enjoyed the mental image that Soarin’ had painted for her though, bringing her to a giggle. “You know what? I’ll actually place a bet that it happens just like that too.”

“Oooh, a wager? What makes you so confident?” Soarin’ asked, intrigued.

“What makes me ‘confident’ is that you have no luck on things like this,” Spitfire retorted, her voice returning to its usual, powerful sound. “But seriously, I think I’ll just throw you a freebie. If that situation doesn’t happen, as you’ve described it, with no help from me… why not, I’ll throw you about a day’s worth of my pay.”

Soarin’ grinned wide. “Seems the odds are in my favor, but what happens if you win?”

Spitfire shrugged. She was only really using the bet to keep the description around and cheer her up when she needed it. Plus, there was no need to spill the small detail that the day she was planning on giving Soarin’ was a non-work day. If she had less control she’d be snickering at the thought.

“Tell ya what, if it happens that way, I’ll get my family to agree to pay for the wedding!” Soarin’ smiled, sure that the fantasy he described would remain just that.

“Why not?” Spitfire agreed. They shook hooves in agreement. “But you don’t get to watch.”

“Dammit!”

In the Frozen North, blizzard winds bit and howled more fearsome than before. Shining Armor, bundled from head to hoof, trekked through the snow, searching.

He had been summoned back to Canterlot to aid his younger sister. He knew of the reason and the urgency, but something in this wintery land had to be taken along. He didn’t know why, he only knew that he felt as if he were being pulled.

The gale tried to topple the proud unicorn, but he stood firm, and walked against the resistance. Even aided by his magic, though, the cold still stung at him.

“Not far now… come, come, closer…” The voice that pulled him forward continued to whisper within his mind. It was a deep hissing sound. “That’s a good champion, you listen well for a stallion that will be king. But there is still much you need to know.”

“I’m not here for advice on leadership,” Shining snapped, feeling a little foolish that he was the only body around. “You said something was needed… from both of us. The call has come; you’ve been right about that much.”

“But of course. I have never lied, I was simply seen as wrong before… but you must trust me now if we’re to prevail… just a few more steps… there. Good to see you again.”

Shining Armor looked down upon a blackened unicorn horn, touched with red.

Part Two: Only The Brave

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Part Two:Only The Brave

In all my travels, there were few places I would not go. I grumbled with goblins, matched wits with wyverns, mingled with minotaurs, sang with satyrs, and danced with dragons. Though what always confounds me is the sheer number of beasts that live off of fear, and in their homes I wished not to go.

As a bugbear would creep like the bogeymare, or the burning nightmares would choke out their prey with deadly smoke, these monsters all inspired terror and dread. We hear legends of how these creatures take a sadistic passion in their destruction and killing. Their reputations can often bring about more fear, making their work all the more pleasant to them.

It’s easy to hear all of the accounts that we give on the horrifying things that there are in the world, to feel as if hope is a foolish notion that only the most naïve of ponies put faith in. But there are those that put that fear aside, and dare to test the truth of the legends.

Our leader was well aware of the pain and death that hung over a place like Reject’s Garden, but if she was afraid I didn’t see enough of it to believe it. Where the rest of us grew weak in the knees, she laughed and ran faster. She would break the weak tales that stood before her and leave her own lasting legend, proving that the bold nature of heroes was worthy of song and story. Whether it was bravery or stubbornness that drove her into the cursed home of the trolls, it will be remembered that if it weren’t for her, we would have never went in ourselves.

Even under my optimism I could feel my skin shudder in the toxic swamp, but if it had been Tartarus itself, I still think I would have followed her. She had bravery to spare when the rest of us had it in short supply.

Let my fellow bards tell of her unending courage, and become inspired themselves. Throw her friends into hell itself and she will overthrow the demons, alone if she must, and drag them back out. I believe she could do it too, flying them all out on her back if she had to.

But of course, as her friend I would praise her. What pains me to say though is that, while her valor was unending, she is still a mortal being as ourselves, and has her own faults. Confusion and doubt proved to be powerful enemies for her, and the memories of her pain put me through my own agony. The fogs of the marsh’s poisons paled in comparison to the green-eyed envy that walked among our own. Perhaps her genes knew this day would come.

It didn’t take pause within that forsaken forest however, as even the stinging gust of the northern land brought less distress than the emotional affair. Too many times do the folk forget that the dangers outside their home do not make way for the unneeded drama of our common life. Petty jealousy and anger exist everywhere, and cause just as much trouble as a fiend or a rockslide, sometimes even more so.

It takes more than bravery and a blade to stand up to issues such as these, but the creatures don’t stop hunting either. We must keep our wits, our blades, and our senses sharp, even when our own problems attempt to dull them. If we don’t, then we can only hope to be remembered as some slightly painful troll shit.

-Lyra Heartstrings

Gardens Of The Sinner

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Gardens Of The Sinner

The sight of the dead forest shook the crew. Even as far out from the shore as they were, they could see the fog rolling out towards them, as if it were reaching for them, to try and pull them into the deepest parts of the forest.

Rainbow Dash was double checking her equipment with the rest of her party. “We ready to go?”

“Get me offa this boat, and ah’ll go wherever ya want,” Applejack returned. “The sea is no place fer an earth pony, leave it to th’ hippocampi.”

“Shoo be doo, shoo shoo be doo!” Lyra giggled. “Oh, I think you’d like the seaponies if you could actually meet them,” she said. “A musical and entertaining sort.”

“Ain’t givin’ no offense to none of ‘em. Jus’ sayin’ ah ain’t fit fer sailin’ on their home,” Applejack countered. She quickly jumped onto one of the rowboats. “Let’s just get going already. Sooner we reach the shore the better.”

“And the sooner we get through the forest, the sooner we find Fluttershy,” Rainbow agreed. She took one more feel for her blades to make sure they were fastened tight and jumped into the sky. “I’ll meet you guys on the beach. Don’t keep me waiting; we don’t want to spend any more time here than we absolutely have to.”

“I’ll agree to that,” Lyra added. “Fido, Spot, Rover! We’re going!” she called out to the dogs as she got onto the boat next to Applejack.

Rainbow spun towards the shore and shot off like a rocket. She could see the decrepit trees shaking in the wind, like they were laughing at her approach.

She was happy to have seen Gilda again, and the thought of fighting alongside the griffon again had been exciting while it lasted. Though she was disappointed in the reaction she held at the mention of the forest, Rainbow understood, and wouldn’t force her friend to go somewhere she was so vehemently against coming anywhere close to. Gilda did agree to pick them up when they made their way out, docking in the southern city close by.

Rainbow went to land on the beach, feeling some slight resistance from the fog. Thick enough to walk on it appears. No surprise though, I guessed as much. Rainbow jumped back up and came down harder, busting the fog. Should do a little cleanup while I’m waiting. She flared her wings and dove through the fog, bursting it all apart to clear up some space. When she had cleared the beach, she could see her friends nearing. As she waved to them, she noticed that the fog simply replaced what she had destroyed. She let out a groan.

“Problems with the mist?” Applejack asked as they came ashore. She was the first of the party out of the boat and away from the water, regaining her energy and color on the land.

“It’s unnatural,” said Rover, leaping from the boat as well. “The forest itself conspires against any who wish to exit, like in the stories.”

“I dunno about that,” Rainbow countered, “but the fog seems pretty damned insistent on staying. We’re gonna have to deal with it.”

“But it is so thick! How will we keep track of our path?” Spot asked.

“We just have to stick close together, keep track of one another. If we do that, I can fly above it all and see where we are. The fog doesn’t go above the trees,” Dash answered, bringing their attention above the woods.

“Sounds good enough for me!” Lyra cheered. “Let us brave the toxic garden as friends bonded by the trail, ready to lay down our lives for each other, and rescue the timid Fluttershy!”

Applejack chuckled. “You ever afraid of anythin’, Lyra?”

“Absolutely horrified!” Lyra replied. “But the song of adventure and the courageous, nonchalant attitude of our leader inspire me to move forth and continue our story!”

Rainbow and Applejack laughed together as the pegasus gave a determined smile. “Alright then! Keep the fire ready and stay close, we have a job to do.” Rainbow turned and led the band of friends into the mist and trees.

From above the Reject’s Garden, eyes watched as three ponies and three dogs entered the forest. Viscous drool fell through the air as a vicious smile crooked around sharp teeth.

“It is a good day to feast on fresh hearts.” With a snort and a beat of its wings, the one who watched drew closer to the earth below. “Sweet and succulent. I can only hope to claim them before the tarn’s protector does them all in.” A cackle escaped into the air as he drew closer. “And perhaps I could get a new shot at the Wild as well.”

Rainbow Dash’s party trekked their way through the forest. The pegasus herself took the lead with Lyra keeping a light spell at her side.

“Haven’t seen anything yet!” Rover called from the back. He held tight to his burning blade, ready to cut into any troll that dared to show its face to him.

All three of the dogs kept their noses to the sky, alert for any foreign scent that approached them, weapons at the ready.

Applejack took up the middle, still much calmer than she was on the boat, but alert. She knew that a moment’s hesitation or being off guard could kill them. “Mah spine is shiverin’ like mad already. It’s like I could smell the sheer amount of death that has occurred here. It’s overwhelmin'.” Her eyes were narrow as her head would jump from side to side to try and find some unseen horror.

Lyra, however, couldn’t help but hum to herself in joy, enjoying all of the adventure that they were finding themselves in. Even the oppressive fog and threatening gazes on their backs couldn’t destroy her spirit. Every distant rustle or shake would make her look in excitement while the rest of them jumped.

As much as Dash wanted to feel annoyed with Lyra, she couldn’t be; she actually felt... motivated. The unicorn’s song seemed to pick them all up actually, keeping them marching deeper into the forboding woods.

They pressed on, making their way among the trees, eyes and ears open for any foreign motion or sound. In time, they all found themselves humming along with Lyra, finding the hypnotic tune empowering, and believing that they were keeping the monsters away with their fearless song.

It seemed strange to them, however, that nothing had dared to approach them for the first couple hours. They could sense something watching them, but nothing attacked.

“I’m gonna check where we are really quick. I’ll be back in just a second,” Rainbow Dash said. The rest of the group nodded as she spread her wings, and flew quickly above the trees. She scanned the area below, trying to get a better idea of how big these woods were and how far they had left to go. “Yeesh. Big forest. No distinct landmarks from up here either.” She squinted and tried to get a more distant view. “Looks like the fog refuses to let up either.”

As she shook her head in disappointment, she picked up the sound of wingbeats, heavier than her own, approaching from behind. She turned her head, eyes going wide as she saw a menacing flash of teeth rushing towards her throat. She dove backwards, having noticed her attacker just in time to avoid its bite. She took the extra second she had won of her life to buy more, flinging herself down into the forest again.

“Trouble!” Rainbow cried as soon as she saw her party again. “Something up there went to bite at me!”

The group took up weapons, ready for a rumble. Fido gripping his axe, Spot on his daggers, and Rover flaring his sword. Applejack turned her gaze to the sky, bringing herself low and ready to pounce. Lyra kept Emerald at her side, still humming the tune they had been marching to.

They all stood around, alert and ready for an attack, but nothing came.

“Ah’m thinkin’ it was more willin’ ta take a snap at ya when you were out on yer lonesome,” Applejack said, still crouched and ready to pounce.

“Maybe…” Rainbow returned, unconvinced.

“What’d it look like?” Lyra asked.

Dash shook her head. “Didn’t bother getting a good look at it, wasn’t in the best position to after all. Had big teeth and heavy wings though, that much I know.”

“Bigger than you?” Lyra pressed.

Dash nodded. “That thing cast a pretty big shadow and pushed a lot of air.”

Lyra replaced Emerald and produced a book, flipping through the pages.

“Not really time for reading, Lyra.” Dash sounded annoyed.

“It is if it’s this book!” Lyra insisted. “It’s a book on monsters of the air, an encyclopedia of sorts. All sorts of birds, bats, dragons, and other creatures are in this thing. I’m guessing by your description that we aren’t dealing with most birds, some angry griffon, or a hippogriff. Teeth, right? Perhaps a dragon?”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “I doubt it. I didn’t really see any scales. Teeth and wings, and if I had to remember I think fur and feathers.”

“Right.” Lyra nodded, studying the pages quickly. “Let’s keep moving forward for now; I’ll try to narrow the possible suspects.”

Dash and Applejack nodded in unison, taking the lead as Lyra buried her nose into the book, and the dogs all took up the rear. In the fog, with threat overhead and from all sides, the band of friends focused their attention to any noise or twitch that they noticed or even imagined. So much of their attention was put outside of themselves in fact, that nobody really noticed as Lyra, nose deep in her book, mistook the path Applejack and Rainbow Dash were taking and walked off at an angle, leading the dogs with her.

AJ and Dash didn’t notice either, both busying their senses on the lookout for a threat. The whole of them could have gone all the way through the other side of the woods without noticing the others had left, until Lyra smiled and lifted her head to share her findings, noticing that there was nopony in front of her.

“Uh… oh…” She laughed nervously as she turned behind her, attracting the attention of the dogs. “So… I may have just gotten us the teensiest bit… lost.”

The dogs looked on at her with speechless expressions painting their faces. No real emotion decorated them either, at least to start with. Soon though, confusion contorted their mouths and brows, giving way to grins as they joined her in her nervous laughter.

“Missus Lyra, you’re too funny to have pulled such a joke on us. Now seriously, where are Miss Rainbow Dash and Applejack?” Rover chuckled.

Lyra’s sheepish grin only grew guiltier in appearance. “It’s not a joke, Rover. I really don’t know.”

The dogs’ laughter stopped immediately, their faces freezing in grim terror. They looked as if they were going to scream in fear, but they only stood there with mouths gaping open.

“Sorry,” she squeaked.

Rainbow turned her eyes back to the sky. “Hey, Lyra, any information on what might be stalking us yet?” Her question went unanswered. “Lyra?” Dash turned to see that her and the dogs had gone missing, making her heart jump.

“That just ain’t right!” Applejack gasped, having turned to see as well. “Think whatever it was that ya saw got ‘em?”

“I don’t know,” Rainbow answered in a hushed voice. “But this isn’t good!” She turned towards the trees, witnessing what she had feared. Hungry eyes stared back towards the two of them, pressing close. “Trolls!” she said, nudging AJ for attention. “We don’t have Rover’s fire going anymore.”

Applejack looked back at the eyes nervously. “Don’t look like it's thinkin’ ‘bout strikin’ us just yet. Might be he’s waitin’ fer somethin’.”

“Yeah. We could take it down really quick before it does decide to attack. Preemptive strike and all,” Dash offered.

“Wouldn’t be thinkin’ so. That feller screams, ah’m sure that there are others nearby that’ll come runnin’,” retorted Applejack. “If’n they’re plannin’ an ambush, at least they ain’t got the surprise anymore. Ah say we light a torch fer now and take what time they give us.”

Dash wasn’t too enthusiastic about the idea, but she understood AJ’s logic. “Sure, one for each of us then. Set it between your back and your bag so we can fight if we need to.”

“Was plannin’ on it,” Applejack finished.

The dogs were all screaming in panic as Lyra still sat in her spot, scratching the back of her head and sticking her tongue out in disappointment with herself.

“Well, it’s not so bad you guys,” she insisted.

“How is this not bad?” Rover countered. “We are separated from our companions in a forest of death and poison! There are no identifiable landmarks around here either! We’re dead dogs!”

“Now, I didn’t say it wasn’t bad… I said it wasn’t so bad,” Lyra retorted, earning a scowl from Rover. “In all honesty, it could be much worse than it is.”

“How?” Rover demanded; Spot and Fido looking on for an answer.

Lyra gave a sigh. “You know, it’s always when you state how that it does get worse. But, fine.” She cleared her throat and Rover’s eyes widened in horror from her previous statement. In a dry and monotone voice, Lyra said, “At least we don’t have a monster attacking us.”

“Oh, don’t you?” a snarl replied from a tree above the four of them, gooey saliva falling from its grinning maw.

Lyra turned back to the dogs from the monster with a bored expression on her face. “Told you so…”

Lost In The Forest

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Lost In The Forest

“Why did you say that?” Rover shrieked to Lyra, pointing to the creature now salivating over them in the tree.

“You asked,” Lyra returned nonchalantly. She turned her attention back to the beast. “Looks like I was right about that too. You are a peryton, aren’t you?”

The monster chuckled. “Of course I am, though if you wish to name me in the few seconds I generously give to you, then you may call me Tanzick.” His face was that of a wolf, sporting large, sharpened antlers like a stag’s, coated black with blood. His front legs also resembled those of a stag, with talons for his back legs, coated in black feathers that crawled up his back and covered his massive wings.

“Fascinating,” Lyra smiled. “You are truly hideous and horrifying!”

“Flatterer,” Tanzick hissed through a smile. He spread his avian wings, bringing himself down to the forest floor. He stepped closer the gang, walking upon his talons and bringing the dogs to take steps back. Lyra didn’t budge though, keeping her interested smile as the beast advanced upon her, looming above her. “Brave as well it would seem… or stupid.”

“Some would definitely vouch for the latter,” Lyra returned. “Me, I’d like to think it’s the former with a touch of crazy. That’s how Bon Bon put it at least.”

Tanzick wasn’t amused. “Are you even aware of what I’m going to do?”

“I have an idea,” Lyra insisted. “Though isn’t it odd for your kind to forego an ambush opportunity when it’s available?”

“Thought I’d come down and savor what I can,” Tanzick answered, motioning a hoof towards the dogs. They were all huddled together, shaking and holding their weapons out.

“Ah yes, the quivering fear of your prey. No doubt I’m proving a disappointment in that regard,” Lyra observed.

“Yes, you are a lot more talkative than I had expected. It’s no matter though, you’re still decently entertaining. Perhaps I may find some use for you?” Tanzick’s sickening grin brought unrest to the dogs' stomachs and a similar grin to Lyra’s face.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash continued to walk through the woods, fire burning above their backs.

“You know, I haven’t seen a single animal since we’ve gotten here, at least not in the actual forest. Why would Fluttershy ever come here?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“No idea, Sugarcube,” Applejack answered. “Ah’m sure she’ll tell us when we find her though.”

The two tried to continue acting natural, keeping the trolls from moving any quicker. They had begun walking closer to one another in case of attack.

“So…” Applejack started. “Been a while since we got a chance ta talk. How things workin’ out for ya?”

“Well, I’m currently on a world trip to find all my friends in order to stop a war that could claim the lives of thousands upon thousands of ponies and griffons and whatever else gets involved,” Rainbow answered. “And yet… I’m enjoying it.”

Applejack smiled. “Ah think ah know what ya mean. This whole adventurin’ thing is pretty inspirin’; rewardin’ in its own right too.”

“Exactly!” Rainbow Dash agreed. “I’ve met a lot of cool folk around too, places I’m going to have to return to, and I feel like I’m making a difference out here too.”

“Not just savin’ the world, but makin’ it better’n before,” Applejack added.

“Exactly!” Rainbow cheered, flaring her wings.

Applejack chuckled. “That’s the reason ah decided ta take up exterminatin’ varmints when ah headed out.” She warmed up talking like this with Rainbow Dash, her best friend for so many years. They had missed one another, and now they were talking just like they had before one another left.

“Hey… Sugarcube?”

“Yeah AJ?” Rainbow Dash turned to meet her friend’s gaze. What she wasn’t expecting, was Applejack’s eyes closed and lips pressed against her own.

AJ? Wh-wh-wh-what’s going on? I-I-I don’t… Her thoughts were racing as Applejack kissed her. However, when the act wasn’t returned, the earth pony pulled away, confused.

“Uh… ah think ah may have read that wrong…”

Rainbow didn’t reply.

“Ah just thought, y’know… you came lookin’ fer me first and all,” Applejack blushed.

“Wh… I came looking for you because you’d be the biggest help to start with,” Rainbow Dash retorted, off guard and confused.

“Don’t be givin’ me that, Rainbow. You an’ ah both know that if’n we were gonna choose the most useful out of the five of us in a trip like this’n, Fluttershy would be it. Her talent fer animals, medical knowledge an’ such would hold out the longest. You done came after me because you wanted to.” Applejack frowned, blushing as they continued to walk. She brought the brim of her hat down low.

“That’s…” Not entirely false… Rainbow thought to herself. In all honesty, she did want to find AJ first. What she said about Fluttershy being the handiest in this situation had passed her mind as well. “Yes, I wanted to come and look for you first, I won’t deny it, but you are incredibly helpful, don’t doubt that! You saved our asses back there with that Foki freak, right?”

“An’ if’n ya came out here to find Fluttershy first, ya’ll wouldn’t have even been in that mess an’ woulda had Fluttershy with ya to help.”

“We would’ve been there eventually! And how would Fluttershy help against a bunch of goblins? She’s not a fighter, you know that!”

“Would you just accept that we have somethin’, Rainbow?”

“I would but I’m with Spitfire!”

“Then why ain’t she here? Why did ya come lookin’ fer me?”

“Because Twilight said so, and you’re my friend! Maybe there was something before, maybe we could have done something about it, but it’s me and her now, AJ! Why did you leave?”

“’Cause you weren’t there!” Applejack cried out. Rainbow could see tears welling up in her eyes.

“Applejack…” Rainbow felt all the words in her mind disappear. She had thought before that maybe AJ had felt that way, but never was it confirmed. She made to comfort and apologize to the earth pony, before she realized that they had been very loud in a place they shouldn’t have been so.

The single set of eyes that was watching them had grown closer, standing halfway up one of the taller trees and joined by dozens of friends. The trolls had drawn close upon the two of them while they were distracted.

“Shit…” Rainbow spat.

“Truly something to be admired though, don’t you think?” Lyra offered to her hungry host. Tanzick had a hold of Spot in one of his talons, the poor dog sweating and shaking in fear while his fellow dogs looked up with similar horror on their faces.

“The song was satisfactory, bard,” Tanzick returned. “You have earned a few more minutes of life yet again, for you, and for this one.” He dropped Spot to the ground and the dog scurried off next to the others.

“Right, now it’s your turn in our little game,” Lyra continued. “Those are the rules right? I entertain you, you entertain me? When you finally get bored, then you attack?”

“Indeed,” Tanzick returned. “What would you have of me?”

“Some more information, if you would be so kind,” Lyra levitated her journal and quill before her again. Tanzick nodded and she cleared her throat. “Your kind are especially hungry for the hearts of intelligent creatures, correct?”

“Of course,” Tanzick began drooling once again.

“Is there any reason for this? Some ritual or draw that commits you to seek them out?” Lyra’s voice sounded as if she were giving the creature a sort of interview.

“The flavor,” Tanzick slurped. “The scent of prey running away, sweating and pouring fear, the very sound of that trophy pumping precious blood through their veins. It is the center of life, so I guess there is a ritualistic draw to it… consuming the very life of a creature. Of course, the very finest we find, we offer to a female we may find ourselves lucky enough to woo.”

Lyra scratched against the paper feverishly, loving whatever she could learn from this exotic beast. “Have you ever wooed a female? Is there a Mrs. Tanzick?”

The monster laughed with a bellow. “Have I ever? Foolish horse, have you ever met a peryton bitch? The damned things hold no care for ones like me. If I were to try and win myself a mate, I’d have to take her! Separate one of the weaker females from her mother, father and sisters, and steal her away. But then again, that’s implying I want to start a flock… why would I want that?”

“For companionship?” Lyra offered.

Again, Tanzick laughed. “Surely you know more of my kin than that!” His face fell to a serious frown. “We hate… everyone, even one another. You’ve heard about a peryton feud no doubt?”

“Where two males meet in the wild and attempt to destroy each other?” Lyra answered.

“Not just each other, but if it’s an alpha male and a loner, then the loner will attempt to destroy the entire family, possibly taking the bitches for his own. If they refuse however, he may simply offer them each other’s hearts one by one; if still no takers, then they die.” A satisfied smile spread across his mouth. “Even the alpha bitch.”

Lyra paused from her scratching for a moment, and looked back to their bestial host. “You’ve taken part in one. Haven’t you?”

“Just for the fun of the kill,” Tanzick chuckled. “I’d never be fool enough to mate. Half the time, the male would die anyway. I’m not giving my own life to let some bitch raise a pup in my place.”

“Then why did you offer her the hearts of her own children?” Lyra questioned. “You did say you did so, correct?”

Tanzick stopped. Perhaps he had gone a bit far in his story, made it sound too personal. He snarled, leaping down from his tree and standing tall over Lyra once again.

“You loved her didn’t you?” Lyra pressed on, unflinching. “As much as a beast like you can at least. She was taken from you?”

“I think the extra time you’ve earned is up,” Tanzick hissed.

“Ah, won over. Some other male came and offered her a bigger, better heart than the one you had won her with and she broke yours, didn’t she?” Lyra continued.

“How are you doing this?” Tanzick was angry, his teeth pressed hard against one another.

“I can see it in your eyes; have seen it in others’. You wince when I answer correctly,” Lyra returned. She tried her best to keep a straight face, but finally burst through with a laugh, forcing Tanzick to pause in confusion. “No I’m not a witch!”

He snarled again, and even the dogs backed up a few feet. “Then how can you call that something in my eyes?”

Lyra smirked. “Not a very wise move to have a unicorn bard play you a song.” She turned her most recent journal entry to Tanzick so that he could read it. His thoughts had been scrawled there, not what he had said. “I’ve taken your story, my friend. Truly tragic, and you have my sympathy. Your kind are decently intelligent for beasts, but obviously not very wise to notice when a song is more than a song.”

“You hexed me!” Tanzick gnashed his teeth in Lyra’s direction, but she managed to duck underneath his jaws.

“No hexes, just a simple spell to tell surface thoughts,” Lyra smiled. “Should last long enough for us to prove too much a challenge and avoid all you can throw at us.” She tucked away her journal and quill, drawing Emerald and crouching for battle. “Rover, he’s gonna try for you, your sword scares him!”

Rover’s eyes opened in surprise before he saw Tanzick attempting to rush him with his antlers pointed forward. Rover drew and swung the flaming sword in front of him, facing the flats between the two of them and placing his pad to the steel, catching the monster against the weapon and pushing back. He had to force his waist back as Tanzick began biting furiously for his legs, causing the dog to panic.

“Spot, mount him and cripple the wing! He’s gonna fly away!” Lyra ordered.

Tanzick heard the order and attempted to retreat, but Rover saw the attempt coming and grabbed hold of his antlers, keeping him down to the ground as Spot came running.

The smaller dog leapt on top of the peryton, drawing one of his daggers and shoving it in the joint of the wing, forcing a roar out of the beast.

“Drop to the ground, Fido!” Lyra ordered again.

Fido followed, ducking under a swipe of the beast’s talons. They instead smashed into a nearby tree, tearing out a large chunk of wood with it.

In fury, Tanzick began flailing and thrashing, forcing Rover and Spot to fling from him. His speed was greater than they had expected for a creature of his size, though with Lyra’s spell in effect, they were able to dodge and deflect every attack he made. The savage was looking in far worse shape than any of them as they had yet to suffer a single swipe or bite. As they continued to fight, Lyra noticed that Tanzick seemed to favor his teeth and talons, only attacking with his antlers when he felt most confident. That confidence had yet to pay off however, still missing with each attempt to gore one of the gang.

The longer they fought, the angrier Tanzick grew. He roared and screamed, bursting through trees and kicking up dirt, unable to fly away with his crippled wing.

He swung out with his talon again, aiming for Lyra, and—“Augh!” He hit.

“Missuss Lyra!” Rover called.

She frowned with pain as blood trickled from her forehead, Tanzick smiling for once. “Time’s up it seems.”

Rainbow Dash and Applejack were running, as fast as they could manage, trying to get away from the trolls on their backs. The large monsters attempted to lurch out with their massive green claws to grab the smaller ponies.

One of the trolls hopped out in front of the two of them, ready to grab hold of them. Rainbow flicked her blades out and sliced across the monster’s stomach, cutting open a path as the halves fell to the ground. She took no comfort in the kill though as she knew that it would simply pull itself together and keep up the chase in a few moments. The creatures would never stop unless every scrap of them was burnt, but with only two torches at the moment, they could hardly pause and start bashing an army of trolls.

“Where the hell is Rover!?” Rainbow cried out angrily.

Another troll attempted to cut them off, but Applejack was the one to strike this time, leaping up and coming back down, flattening the beast’s skull under her thick, steel boots. They continued to run as the troll already began to push itself back up.

“Ah don’t know, Sugarcube,” AJ answered through gasps. “But we can’t outrun ‘em forever. We need ta find somewhere or somethin’ to help us out.”

Rainbow tried her best to think while the two of them ran. “We could set the damn forest on fire!” she cried. “Though I doubt how successful we’d be in finding Fluttershy if we did that.”

“Still works fer me!” Applejack brought her neck around and clutched her torch in her teeth.

“What’re you doing?” Rainbow yelled.

Applejack ran towards a cluster of fallen trees, quickly bashing her hoof-hammers into a few others nearby to add them to the pile. She then dropped her torch onto the dry wood, setting it ablaze.

“Was yer idea,” AJ chuckled back to Rainbow as they stayed close to the flames as its heat kept the trolls at bay.

“I wasn’t being serious! Are you insane?” Dash questioned in a panic, floating over the fire. “You’re gonna burn the whole place down!”

“Not likely. The marshes wouldn’t catch.” Applejack kicked hard into one of the more courageous trolls that tried to draw close, punishing its attempt at bravery as it fell into the fire. It caught instantly and was reduced to smoldering ash in seconds. “That’s where we’re wantin’ ta go anyway, deeper in. Thinkin’ that’s where Fluttershy will be too.”

“She isn’t gonna be happy about this.” Dash frowned. “But I guess it’s the only idea we have right now!”

The two of them took up arms behind the burning pile of trees, hordes of trolls closing in. Any that tried to come around the burning wood were met with a blade or a hammer, crippling them long enough to be thrown into the fire where they met their last seconds.

The trolls caught fire quickly, their flammable skin proving to be their greatest weakness. One of the more foolish of the creatures attempted to leap over the fire to catch them off guard. He tripped, catching aflame and toppling into one of his allies. In panic, the two attempted to retreat, bumping into yet more trolls and setting them on fire as well. Dash couldn’t help but laugh at the spectacle, but in the seconds of entertainment, she cried out in pain as one of the creatures raked his claws against her back.

“Augh! Fuck that hurt!” Dash whipped a hoof back, slicing off the creature’s arm from the wrist then kicking his ribs and forcing him into the fire. It seemed almost useless, however, as even more trolls took its place. Dash’s anger grew to a boil however, confusion from earlier mixing with the pain and anger of her current situation. She sliced through the trolls as they tried to advance, burning them away as ash and blood began to spread across her coat.

Applejack continued to crush anything that approached as well, blunting their claws with well-timed blocks, countered with a smashing blow to the head or ribs that crippled the monsters. She would allow the pained trolls to fall atop one another, slowly regenerating their bodies as she would drop only more of the monsters on top of them. Before the one on the bottom would ever make a full recovery though, she would bring her way around, taking the offensive against her attackers, and take a moment to buck a few of the sparks onto her pile, setting the entire group ablaze.

The fire grew and spread, forcing the ponies to sweat and cough through the smoke. It was proving to be too dangerous to stay here and fight, the trolls didn’t seem to come in any smaller numbers either.

“C’mon, Rainbow! We gotta get to the swamps!” Applejack called.

Dash coughed as she nodded in agreement, cutting the head off of another troll before retracting her blades, running after her friend. They could hear the trolls still pursuing them, and Dash could feel an ache in her right wing, keeping her grounded as they ran.

One of the burning trees threatened to fall onto them. Applejack brought up one of her hammers and smashed through the trunk, forcing it to fall to either side of them as they continued to run, and leaving another obstacle for the trolls to contend with. With the fog still thick, the only indication the two had as far as direction was which trees had caught fire or not. Behind them, fire blazed uncontrolled and forced the howling screams of trolls, while ahead, trees still burned, but to a lesser extent.

It wasn’t long before Dash and Applejack could feel their hooves getting wet. With mud trying to suck them in, they knew they had made it to the swamps. Still though they heard the pursuing roars of the trolls, and they almost panicked, tired and without an advantage anymore.

“Least ah got ta see ya again, Sugarcube,” Applejack said, breathing deep to try and calm herself for what was coming.

Dash gave a laugh through her pants. “What, you giving up? I don’t know about you, missy, but I’m gonna cut through as many of these things as possible before going dow—Augh!” The pain in her wing pressed down again, forcing her to grunt in pain. She shook her head and unlatched her right blade. “Before going down! I think one of ‘em broke my wing, and that means they don’t get to live!”

Applejack smiled at her friend’s confidence. “Spoken like the reckless nut ah know ya are. Let’s see who gets the most points then, we’ll compare when we meet in the promised land!”

“Sounds like a plan,” Rainbow smirked.

The two readied themselves as they saw the green monsters sprinting madly towards them. The earth around them began to rumble, and they assumed it was more trolls approaching, a final onslaught of every one of the foul forest creatures coming to feast. They cried out and charged ahead to meet the army, bashing and chopping into the monsters with powerful blows. They fared much better than any other pony in their position could have managed, proving overwhelming to the trolls. They ignored the painful claws and bites that actually managed to rake across their coats, splashing themselves in troll blood as they made their way into the center of the group.

Eventually though, their bravado proved useless to the invincible army, and they were held down as the beasts poured in around them, hungry and ready to tear them apart.

The rumbling of the earth became more violent however, as the very trees began to swat at the creatures, clearing a path to Applejack and Rainbow Dash. The two looked up in awe from their backs in the mud. The trolls attempted to retreat as they were crushed under the roots of the walking trees, being picked up by the living wood that tugged the beasts apart like fragile dolls.

It seemed as if the two were saved, but some of the trolls were not as willing to give up on a meal. A select few of the beasts leapt at the trees, sinking their claws into the wood and trying to tear at them. It did little to the towering plants, but when the other trolls witnessed this, they joined in, and their numbers began to rival the strength of the trees.

Dash and Applejack felt dread rip through them again as they saw one of the mighty wooden giants fall under a wave of the trolls. There was a howl that silenced all the other noises, and attracted the attention of both trees and trolls. It sounded vaguely like that of a wolf. A much larger tree became visible, charging into the scene as the source of the howl leapt from its head.

It was like a blur as the shadow of the howl darted into the group of trolls. The beasts fell to pieces as they met with the howler, the cry still echoing and forcing the monsters to shake with each bellow.

With renewed morale, the trees fought alongside the shadowed figure, tossing aside the trolls and forcing them back to the woods where they had come from. Dash and AJ cheered on their unseen savior as even the severed pieces of troll tried to retreat, leaving only the shadow and trees nearby. However, their cheers slowly began to stop as they witnessed the trees turning towards them, surrounding them with stern gazes as the larger tree approached, gathering the shadow back onto their head.

As the tree grew closer, the duo’s mouths dropped open in shock as they watched light reveal their savior. A pony with long vines wrapped around their front legs sporting absurdly large thorns, curved like scythes. Her yellow coat and feathers were revealing, but in the mess her fur and mane were in, paired with the dark glare in her eyes, they almost didn’t believe it was

“Fluttershy?”

Shy

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Shy

Lyra let out a wail of agony as Tanzick pressed a hoof hard into her stomach, stopping Rover from approaching any closer. “Amazing how quickly you all lose confidence when your ringleader is down.” He grinned with malice. “What’ll you do without her I wonder?”

Lyra grunted from under the peryton’s step. “In all honesty? They’ll probably still win. Rover has proven to be a competent leader in th—” she had to stop as her speech was interrupted by more, painful screaming.

“You won’t talk much longer if you don’t shut up!” Tanzick snarled.

“Missus Lyra, please don’t antagonize him!” Rover said slowly and seriously. His eyes were narrowed on the monster. “I can’t help you if he’s already killed you.”

“We can’t help her,” Spot corrected, gripping tightly to his daggers. “Truly though, what are our chances?”

“Slim, most likely,” Lyra choked out, still unfazed by her assailant. “It always is in these situations, or at least mostly.”

Again Tanzick snarled, forcing his forelimb deeper into her stomach and bringing her to scream again.

Rover saw a small chance as the monster had taken his attention off of them, leaping to try and help his friend. He swung his flaming blade, trying to sever the creature’s antlers. He knocked Tanzick back, forcing him off Lyra as he had intended, but the antlers didn’t give way so easily and caught the weapon as Tanzick regained his balance. As Lyra rolled over to get herself back up, Rover tested his strength against the peryton as the two of them pushed back against one another.

Tanzick grinned venomously as he easily started to overpower the dog with his mighty antlers, snapping his jaws to try and tear away a chunk from him. Rover had to keep hopping back and away to avoid the crunching fangs, until he tripped and fell backward. Tanzick gained a wicked flash in his eyes as he aimed his teeth for Rover’s throat, diving in for his kill.

He wasn’t expecting, however, to feel something pierce the knee on his right hoof. He screeched in agony, forced backwards before he was met with a powerful slice that chopped off his ear. After collecting himself he saw the other two dogs standing by their leader, Spot with an outstretched hand without a dagger, and Fido bringing his axe down from a swing. Tanzick suddenly felt very lucky to have only lost an ear. Looking down he saw that in his knee was the absent dagger.

“Dogs will not tolerate this,” Spot spoke through a curled lip. “We fight as a pack!”

“Then you’ll die as one too!” Tanzick gripped the dagger with one of his talons, ripping it out of his knee and tossing it aside. He let out a howl before charging the three, flaring his wings with his left struggling to stay up from his earlier wound.

Fido charged back as Spot brought his remaining dagger behind his head. They made their move to strike, but as Spot flung his blade and Fido whipped his around, Tanzick forced his wings down and himself up.

“He flees!” Fido cried, attempting the follow the creature with his gaze.

“I doubt it,” Lyra returned. She coughed as she tried to get over the pain from being forced underhoof. She flipped through her encyclopedia again, trying to relocate the entry on perytons.

Spot ran over and retrieved both his daggers, holding them tight and looking up to the skies in anticipation of their enemy’s return. “Does his kind have any weakness?”

“Not really,” Lyra answered. “Then again this guy isn’t just an average peryton. He could have taken us by surprise but he didn’t. That isn’t normal for them.” She ran her eyes quickly through the text for anything that she could use.

Rover brought himself back up to his legs before he saw a large shadow swooping down over them. He readied his blade before noticing the shadow shrink away and mimic his own and retreat into the trees. He looked in its direction in confusion.

“Uh… Missus Lyra?” Rover asked. “Is there anything about shadows in there?”

Lyra looked up from her book with a grim expression. With a nod she seemed to express that she knew exactly what Rover meant. “You’ve been marked…”

“Fluttershy? Is that seriously you?” Rainbow asked, smiling. “You just saved our plots!”

The unkempt pegasus didn’t answer, merely knocking her hoof on the head of the living tree she stood from. He answered in kind by raising his spread palm like a platform. She stepped onto it and was lowered before the two of them, keeping a stern glare as she approached. The other trees began to decorate her as she marched closer, with a crown of antlers and a cape formed from various pelts with fangs hooking it together.

“Fluttershy, why don’t ya talk ta us?” Applejack asked with concern.

Still she said nothing. She stood mere inches from the two of them before she began sniffing at the air, drawing closer to pull a scent from other parts of their bodies. Dash and AJ looked horribly confused, but didn’t dare object with the wooden giants surrounding them.

Eventually the pegasus stopped her dog-like sniffing and blinked rapidly. When she stopped, an animalistic quality left her eyes and she held a look of intelligence. “Rainbow Dash… Applejack… Why are you here burning my forest?” Her voice wasn’t as soft as they remembered, holding an undertone of anger.

“Your forest?” Dash asked, confused. Fluttershy’s gaze fell onto her, eyes narrowing and piercing Dash’s nerve, forcing the normally loud pony to withdraw.

“We were runnin’ from trolls, Sugarcube. You saw ‘em. We had ta do somethin’ or they’da slaughtered us!” Applejack answered in a more collected manner.

Fluttershy nodded but frowned. “You shouldn’t have come here.”

“We were sent to look for you,” Dash retorted, her voice more controlled and calm. Fluttershy’s interest was recollected. “Twilight told me to find y—AUGH!” She stopped and winced as she felt pain in her wing once again. Fluttershy was quick to identify Rainbow’s pain and went to her wing, lifting it and finding the source of the injury. A troll’s severed hand had been sinking its nails into the pegasus’ limb. Fluttershy was quick to pull it off and stab it with one of the thorns that lined her hoof. Slowly the hand shriveled and died.

“How’d you do that?” Applejack asked.

“Toxin to destroy regenerative capabilities,” was all Fluttershy said in response, turning to look in their immediate area. She grabbed some herbs from underneath her cloak and turned to Rainbow Dash, placing the herbs around her wing like a bandage. She motioned a hoof to the tree she had used as transportation and he brought a finger to the wing, sap spilling from the tip and sticking the leaves to the wing.

“Thanks,” Dash said. Fluttershy’s only response was a simple nod. “Twilight sent me,” Rainbow continued. “Equestria could be in trouble, so I need to collect the other elements and bring them home.”

Fluttershy seemed to pause then shake her head, the crown of antlers giving the appearance that they were her own.

“What do you mean no?” Dash asked, returning to her usual loud self. “We didn’t come all the way out here just for you to shake your head and walk away!”

“And as the last of The Wilds I cannot simply leave,” Fluttershy responded without raising her own voice.

“Last of the what now?” Applejack asked.

Fluttershy sighed. “We have a need to catch up.”

“I’ll say,” Rainbow added. “I’m not even sure I’m talking to the same Fluttershy I once knew.”

“You’re not,” Fluttershy responded. “I’ve changed… grown. It’s hard to communicate through words anymore, but I’ll try. Come.” She stepped back onto the tree’s hand as two others offered their own to Rainbow and Applejack. “The treants will take us to the glade. We will talk there.”

Dash and AJ obeyed and were hoisted up by the treants, following the larger one that carried Fluttershy. The thudding sounds of the roots taking step kept a rhythm going as they walked in unison. It was a much safer feeling to be atop these tree-like titans than to run along the ground of the forest.

They were taken deeper into the forest through the bog as the mud squished beneath each oaken footstep. Dash and AJ could see small movements in the waters, staying close to the trees’ roots as if they were waiting for the ponies to fall in.

“More trolls, and their pets,” Fluttershy answered their unspoken question. “You don’t want to fall in. The water holds worse than the mud.”

Dash swallowed hard at a lump in her throat, glad to be high above the lurking shadows.

It seemed an hour before the treants slowed their march, all the while Applejack and Dash wondering about the horrors beneath, catching the occasional glimpse of an eyestalk popping out or a claw or fin breaching the surface. None of the beasts seemed interested in tangling with the wooden guardians however, only looking up hungrily and hiding when they noticed they had been spotted.

A glance to Fluttershy told the two of them that she held no fear in her heart, something they both found very odd and were eager to inquire about.

Finally they felt their ride stopping as they approached a thick copse of trees. It was impossible to see what was on the other side as life seemed to return to the wood, leaves and branches obscuring their view. The treants pushed through the foliage, guarding their passengers from thorns and branches that swung back out.

As they breached the thicket, AJ and Dash took in a gasp of amazement. They had come into a clearing, adorned with glistening grass, gorgeous flowers, and a glittering pool of fresh water in the very center, with a large stone sticking out of the middle, set up as a natural pedestal, with what looked to be an elegantly carved bed on top. The glade was occupied by beautiful and graceful creatures that seemed much more like the company they had normally associated with the timid pegasus.

Fluttershy spread her wings and drifted towards the stone platform, bringing herself gently down as a tornado of butterflies erupted around her, giving a rather dramatic flair to the simple action.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash were brought back to the ground, mouths agape and minds stirring.

Fluttershy looked back down to her old friends. “Welcome to my new home…” she paused. “Your first question?”

Her directness threw the two of them aback, but Dash was quick to shake it off and ask the question scratching at the back of her mind.

“What are you doing here?”

“Doing my duty as a Wild and protecting my forest.” Fluttershy’s return came without hesitation or pause.

“Yeah, about that, what in tarnation do ya mean by that, Sugarcube? Ya sure have changed, but ya don’t seem very ‘wild’ ta me,” Applejack picked up, Rainbow nodding her head in silent agreement.

Fluttershy shook her head. “The Wilds were a group of individuals deeply in tune with nature,” she began to explain, “druids who were able to communicate with the flora and fauna as easily as speaking with their own kind. In time, a skilled Wild could learn to adopt the features, senses, and even forms of different animals. I am the last of the Wilds.”

At the mention of adopting animalistic features, Rainbow remembered the primal look in Fluttershy’s eyes when they had first encountered her and the way she had sniffed at them. “So, how did you become a Wild?” Dash continued.

Fluttershy let out a sigh as she rested on her haunches. A familiar looking rabbit hopped out from under the bed and came over to the pegasus, leaping onto her back before lying down as well. Dash and AJ smiled at the image of Angel, okay and well.

“When Twilight left Ponyville, I turned to my animal friends more and more,” Fluttershy started. “There were times when Angel would run off into the Everfree Forest and I would have to go looking for him, and it began happening more often, but as it continued, he would go deeper every time, as if he were being called. When I caught onto this, I let him go on, following behind, and we found Lord, Bleat, and Shank, a chimera and former Wild.”

“Wait, which one was the Wild?” Rainbow inquired.

“All of ‘em,” Applejack returned. “She said he was a chimera, three heads but one being. Pain in the plot ta deal with.”

“Yes,” Fluttershy agreed. “Though chimera heads have their own senses and thoughts, they are of one mind.” Her words fell heavily on the two ponies as the chirps and chitters of the creatures seemed to go silent. “He guarded over this forest many long years, before his age finally caught up with him.

“He said that he had heard of me from the birds, and that he needed to pass on the legacy of the Wilds. I was afraid, but I couldn’t say no if it meant helping even more animals in ways beyond what I was capable of back then; to communicate with them on a deeper level.” Fluttershy seemed to lose herself in her story, falling silent as she stared dreamily into space. “He taught me, strengthened me, and brought me here. I learned the language of the forest, what creatures were my allies… and those that weren’t…” She looked grimly to the cloak of pelts on her back.

“As I overcame fears, I became more comfortable in these woods than I ever was in Cloudsdale... and sometimes even Ponyville…” She paused again. “So I’m sorry, but I can’t go back with you Rainbow Dash. This is my home now, and it needs me.”

Applejack let out a disappointed sigh and turned to look at a quivering Rainbow Dash. “You serious right now, Fluttershy? You have to be kidding, right?” Dash’s voice trembled with each syllable. “You’re gonna leave us when we need you most? What kind of friends are we to you? You know that Twilight wouldn’t send me unless it was serious.”

“Rainbow, sugar, ah think maybe ya might be a bit overstressed from the swamp an’—”

“AJ! NOT NOW!” Rainbow flashed a vicious glare back at her friend. “I have no doubt you’re right, stack that with the crap you dumped on me earlier and the damned ARMY of trolls, I’m not in a lecturing mood! You noticed too though, didn’t you? She didn’t even THINK about it, no hesitation, no pause. She didn’t even consider coming with us, or even ask what was wrong!” Rainbow’s rage drew uneasiness from the creatures surrounding them all, bringing snarls and growls in her direction.

Fluttershy looked to Rainbow Dash with eyes unblinking and without any change in her expression. Her stone-faced indifference only fueled Dash’s fury, however.

“You’re not Fluttershy, you’re no friend of mine!”

“STOP!” Fluttershy shouted.

Dash was taken aback when she looked up and watched her old friend’s mask begin to crack as a frown struggled to form on her face and tears welled up in her eyes. She began to sob, shaking her head.

“You’re right, I should have at least heard you out,” she started. “I… I guess I’m not as unafraid as I make myself out to be nowadays.” She shook her head and wiped at her eyes, careful not to slice her face with a thorn. Angel Bunny patted her head comfortingly. “I’m not suited for life in Equestria anymore; I belong to the wilderness… I don’t think I’ll do very well back in Ponyville.”

“You only need to come and hold your position as an Element,” Rainbow returned, calmed at the familiar sight of a crying Fluttershy. “King Gallows is threatening Equestria. Twilight sent Lyra and I to go and gather all the other Elements, because she believes that with all of us in one place, the griffons won’t invade.”

Fluttershy sniffed. “That’s terrible! I…I don’t know what to do.”

“Fer starters, ya could come an’ help us like we had planned,” Applejack chuckled.

Fluttershy shook her head again. “I can’t… not now at least.”

Dash’s brow began to furrow. “Why not?”

“For the past month or so the forest has been threatened by someone other than just the trolls, something smarter.” It was as if a switch had flicked inside Fluttershy that brought her back to a serious tone. “The treants can deal with the trolls and beasts, but this monster is smart and knows his way around the traps and guards in my command.”

“Right, so let’s go pummel this guy and get looking for Pinkie and Rarity. Who we looking for?” Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy tapped a thorn against her antlers. “A peryton.”

Fury Of The Wild

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Fury Of The Wild

Rover ran as fast as his legs would carry him, paw gripping so hard to his sword that he could feel his own pulse. He had to keep running, because if what Lyra said was accurate, and he had no reason to doubt it was, then Tanzick had an advantage over the dog now. He was marked, his shadow copied and his resistance against the creature weakened.

He paused for a moment, trying to catch his breath, hoping for his friends to catch up to him. I hope missus Lyra is right about this. He clutched at his heart, feeling it rapidly thumping against his ribcage. He looked to either side of him, hoping to see his friends catching up with him.

Unfortunately, what he was met with instead was the sight of gnashing jaws flying at him, propelled by powerful wings. He was quick to throw his sword before him, catching the creature’s jaws. Blood began to trickle down the blade from his gums, but his bite didn’t stop, despite the cut and burning. Rover felt pressure as the beast tried hard to shatter the blade with his teeth. The metal was stubborn though, and so was its wielder. Rover stoked the emerald flames of the sword, forcing them to reach up and burn Tanzick’s snout, forcing his mouth open again.

Rover took advantage of the opening, plunging his sword upward in an attempt to impale the peryton’s jaw, but missed, instead taking a hard shot to his wrist with a hoof. The painful jolt forced Rover to scream as his paw flew open, dropping his sword.

Tanzick seized his sudden opportunity, thrusting his antlers directly for Rover’s chest. If the dog had moved any slower, he would have been dead in an instant, but he managed to grasp the horns with his free paw and push back some. It wasn’t enough to prevent injury however, as he could feel the scraping against his sternum, causing tremendous pain.

He was quick to grab the other antler and start pushing back with all he had. The pain in his chest wasn’t the only thing holding him back however, as he began to feel his wounds from his fight against Foki opening, spilling more of his blood into his fur. He was tired and his mortality was becoming apparent as Tanzick pushed harder in an attempt to seize his heart.

A disgusting cackle escaped his maw. “I share your shadow, and it will remain until I eliminate you. And here’s a secret,” Tanzick grunted, shoving his antlers deeper, feeling the bone beginning to crack and wrenching a cry of agony from Rover. “Nobody has shared a shadow with a peryton and lived.”

Rover felt his heart beat at frightening speeds, as if it were trying to run from the coming attack. He began taking rapid, shallow breaths, pushing back as hard as he could manage in what seemed like a futile effort. “No reason I can’t be the first!” he shot back, not necessarily believing it himself, but trying to keep hope.

Hope became fleeting though as they both heard a loud crack, followed shortly by Rover screaming yet again in pain, yet more points of the monster’s antlers began stabbing at him as well. His vision grew dark as the anger and fear began to take hold, becoming the only strength he held and the final barrier between his organ and its approaching doom.

“Fido, now!” Lyra’s voice called from somewhere in the trees.

In seemingly a second, the massive dog barged out of his hiding spot with his axe juddering rapidly in his paws and glowing wildly. Rover pulled his arms away just in time for the axe to swipe down onto the creature’s antler, separating the pieces stuck within Rover and forcing the creature back.

Rover fell instantly onto his back, passing out from the pain. In the instant he had let go, the antler had pushed in ever so slightly, and now his heart felt the angry poke of the severed horn.

Their plan hadn’t worked as well as they had hoped, but Rover was still alive. Fido faced off against the creature, vibrating blade in his paws.

“You damned creature!” Tanzick hissed. “How did—”

The swing of the axe interrupted him, forcing him to duck. Fido didn’t pause to answer anything, determined to keep the offense up for as long as he could manage it. He didn’t think Lyra’s plan necessary, believing that he and Spot had been managing alright against the beast, but he trusted her judgement.

The unicorn kept herself out of sight, humming quietly to herself, concentrating everything she had into keeping her enchantment active on Fido’s axe. It was a spell well beyond a unicorn of her level, allowing a blade to take on properties able to sever heads and limbs with even the simplest of strikes. If the weapon hit someone, they were going to lose something.

Fido kept swinging, aiming primarily for the rest of Tanzick’s antlers, attempting to disarm him from his most valuable weapon.

Spot emerged as well, quick to make his way to Rover, placing an ear to his heart to make sure he was still alive. The thumping had become weak and faint, but it was still there. With that knowledge, he brought his head back up, his leader’s blood covering half his face.

As Fido kept the peryton at bay, Spot began to work quickly, pulling out the salve they had received from Shepard. He grabbed hold of two of the antler points, reluctant to move as he saw Rover wince in pain, but after closing his eyes and tugging quickly, he plucked the points out. Rover’s eyes flared open as he let out a howl of agony, blood flowing quickly from his wounds. Spot scooped up two pads of the salve and was fast to apply it to the holes. The magical paste held fast, keeping the dog’s blood in his body. The smaller dog repeated the process until his leader was all patched up and passed out.

When he checked again to make sure that Rover was still alive, he took to his feet, drew his daggers, and charged to Fido’s side. As Fido kept up the assault, aiming for the antlers, Spot whirled his blades in a flurry, attempting to stick the creature in its eyes or slit open his throat.

The duo began to prove dangerous to Tanzick, he couldn’t turn back on the offensive, taking shallow cuts all across his face. It seemed whenever he would turn away from one attack, the dogs would meet him with another. Though he took more close calls to his throat, he was especially protective of his antlers, dodging any swipe the axe took to his antlers.

From her hiding place, Lyra began to feel very faint. This spell was one of her most powerful, and it was draining her energy quickly. She was going to have to let go of it soon or risk leaving herself unguarded and the dogs without aid. She kept her hum going, focusing as hard as she could with her dwindling power.

She wasn’t the only one to notice the drop in power. Fido had noticed the glow in his blade flickering like a dying light. He didn’t pause or hesitate however, knowing that if time was running out, he had to try harder. He continued to swing his vorpal blade against the branches of antler before him, growing more and more frustrated with each missed swipe.

Tanzick caught on quite quickly though as well, and with a smile that forced Fido’s stomach to drop, he lunged back onto his talons, stretching one out and catching the handle of the axe right as it was about to sever his head. He gave a sudden push, knocking the large dog onto his back before hopping and smacking Spot with his hoof across the jaw, exposing the smaller dog long enough for him to grasp him with a talon, pinning his arms to his side.

“Perhaps it’s time I stopped playing with my food, don’t you think?” Tanzick spread his jaws wide, pulling Spot closer as he struggled to break free of the avian claw. He could feel drool splashing across his face and the hot, moist breath of the creature as its throat came into view.

Spot shut his eyes tight and looked away, not looking forward to what was coming next. What he wasn’t expecting was for it to take this long however. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes and saw he was still at the same point as when he closed them, not being drawn any closer or the teeth clamping.

“Get out! Quick!”

Spot turned his head to the voice and saw Lyra standing a few feet away with her legs set firmly in the dirt, sweat dropping from her brow and her horn glowing violently. “I can’t hold him much longer!”

Spot was quick to act, struggling his hardest, and began pushing the talons outward. He was getting them to open, but too slowly for what he needed. He felt it was no use.

Before he could give up however, Fido was at his side, grabbing hold of the bird-like grippers and prying them open. When they were wide enough, Spot dropped to the ground and Fido gave a wicked punch into Tanzick’s lower jaw, before turning and running back for his weapon.

Lyra’s horn stopped glowing and she fell into the dirt with a final exhausted sigh, closing her eyes. Fido and Spot found themselves alone, two on one against a beast that was proving incredibly difficult for them, and guarding two unconscious allies with no plan.

The two stood side by side, ready to face off against their attacker. Tanzick charged them, antlers pointed forward. Fido stepped forward, catching the peryton and holding him back. Spot took advantage of the moment, moving to stab into Tanzick’s throat. He wasn’t expecting him to step backward however, forcing Fido to lose his footing and fall forward on top of Spot.

The two scrambled to try and bring themselves back to their feet, panicking as they saw Tanzick spread open his maw, drooling as he began running for Rover once again. They both cried out in anger and desperation, terrified for their leader’s life as he was scooped under Tanzick’s fangs.

With a menacing chuckle, Tanzick began to position Rover for a large bite with his tongue, making sure the other dogs could witness what was happening.

Then half his vision was gone, and he felt an incredible amount of pain. His scream forced Rover to drop back to the ground and reel backwards, throwing a foreleg in front of his eye, or rather, as he found out, his lack thereof.

“WHO DID IT!? WHO ARE YOU!?” Tanzick roared, flipping open his one good eye. In front of him he saw the cyan pony he had met above the trees, standing above the dog in a defensive position, staring daggers in his direction with a hoof held out to her side, his missing eye impaled on its blade. He flared his nostrils in fury, crouching for an attack, but before he could charge, the two other dogs rushed to her side, the large one carrying the unicorn on his back, and both clutching their weapons. From behind them all, two more ponies arrived on the scene riding atop moving trees.

The rage he had felt subsided as he felt a sick pleasure wash over him when the yellow pegasus came into view. He flared his wings, ignoring the pain Spot had inflicted in his joint, and took to the sky.

“Applejack, Fido and Spot, stay here and protect these two! See if you can manage to get Lyra back up! Fluttershy, you’re with me!” Rainbow Dash ordered, taking to the sky as well.

The others obeyed their commands, acting quickly. Applejack was fast to make sure Rover was stable and checked for new injuries.

Fluttershy knocked her hoof against her treant’s head, communicating what she wished of them before following Rainbow Dash.

The pegasi breached the treetops, getting a good look at Tanzick awaiting them. Nobody seemed ready to make the first move, the ponies staring down the peryton and the peryton staring down the ponies.

“Awfully kind of you to lure my prey out of hiding.” Tanzick smiled. “Been combing these woods for a long time trying to find her.”

Dash turned to Fluttershy, seeing the animal return to her eyes. “Fluttershy, are you with me?” She received no response, watching her friend float there with cloak blowing in the wind and eyes sharply focused. Dash turned back to see Tanzick returning the glare to Fluttershy, beginning to feel as if she were more an interference than a leader.

The way these two looked at one another reminded her of when she would go over to Fluttershy’s cottage. She remembered a time when she was left in charge and accidentally let a snake and a mongoose meet. The image of two natural enemies sizing one another up, communicating silently that only one would be walking away from the encounter alive. Back then, Fluttershy had arrived in time to break the fight up and separate the two. This time though, there wasn’t going to be anyone to break up the fight.

“Fluttershy… should I stay out of this?” Dash asked.

Fluttershy only gave a quick glance in Rainbow’s direction, but it was enough for her to know everything. Dash nodded and flew back, taking place as an observer.

“I’m not letting you die though,” she called out. “You get to throw blows, but finish him, or I will. We need you,” Dash clarified.

Fluttershy nodded, her gaze unturned from Tanzick’s eyes. The peryton gave a final chuckle, blood spilling from his empty eye and missing ear, but despite his injuries, he seemed renewed.

The three of them heard no sound but their wing beats for what felt like an eternity, neither Fluttershy nor Tanzick willing to make a failed move.

It seemed to happen faster than Dash could blink; Fluttershy and Tanzick were on top of one another, throwing hooves with ferocious speed and force. They couldn’t seem to land anything solid though, both trying to avoid taking any serious damage.

It didn’t take long for swings to start hitting hard though, and Fluttershy was the first one to deliver, sinking one of her thorns deep into Tanzick’s right shoulder. He roared in pain, delivering a bite into Fluttershy’s shoulder in return. They separated and began plotting their next attacks.

Lowering their heads, they both flew for one another, meeting antler to antler and eye to eye, pouring their hate for each other through their eyes.

Rainbow had no idea what had brought these two to such a powerful level of anger and hatred for one another. Every strike was made to kill, every move was aimed for a vital, and none of it seemed planned out beyond the instance it took place. They were both running on pure animal instinct and blood thirst. They were both beasts, even sweet and tender Fluttershy.

The yellow pegasus snarled and gnashed her teeth as if her intelligence were of no use to her. She had transformed, even her fur stood on end, pointing her ears and sharpening her muzzle, she looked almost like a wolf during a hunt.

Tanzick flung his head back, trying to rip Fluttershy’s crown from her head, but she flew along with the motion, bringing herself above the peryton so that they were back to back. She spun herself rapidly, forelegs out to her sides, turning herself into a giant spinning buzz saw of feathers and thorns. Tanzick’s neck suffered five rotations before he managed to drop himself below her reach. Fluttershy pursued though, hooves outstretched. She missed the impalement, but slashed across his side as she dove by.

Tanzick was growling in rage, sick of taking damage, and took the first chance for the offensive he could, clutching Fluttershy in his talons when she fell below him. With a greedy grin, he began to squeeze and crush her, forcing a scream out of the pony that sounded more appropriate for a wild dog.

Rainbow readied herself to jump in and help, but a sudden glance from Fluttershy froze her once again. This was personal, and Rainbow was not allowed to interfere.

Fluttershy pushed aside the pain of her ribs bending to their breaking point, sticking one of her thorns deep into Tanzick’s neck. The pain released his grip and Fluttershy used her wings to catch herself from dropping. She didn’t stop for a second, turning her attention back onto him and planting another thorn on the other side of his throat. Tanzick tried to scream, but blood was all that escaped his mouth.

The two of them locked eyes as Fluttershy kept the thorn in his neck, exchanging looks before she pulled her forehoof back, releasing him, and letting blood fly from the wound.

Things went silent as Fluttershy took a few flaps backwards, Tanzick struggling to keep his wings going with the severity of his wounds. He didn’t last though, and his eyelids drooped, his body following shortly after. The next sound they heard was the crashing of leaves and branches as his body plummeted to the forest once more.

Rainbow Dash looked on with her jaw agape. “Fluttershy… holy sh—”

She was interrupted suddenly by a deep and bellowing roar, coming from the direction of the marshes. The sound was hollow and lifeless, unnatural and chilling.

What the hell? Rainbow looked in the noise’s direction. She looked up to Fluttershy who had turned her gaze to the sun, both of them realizing that it had gotten late with the dark fast approaching.

“We have to go,” Fluttershy said.

“Why? What was—”

“NOW! RAINBOW!” Fluttershy was back to her normal self, terror in her eyes and urgency in her voice.

Dash simply nodded and the two of them dove back down into the forest. Rover had woken up, but wasn’t able to stand on his own, leaning against Fido for support with Lyra back on her own hooves.

“We gotta go guys,” Rainbow repeated Fluttershy’s order. “And from the sound of it, we gotta go FAST!”

The group nodded, Applejack quick to offer Rover transport on her back. Fluttershy gave her treants orders, dismissing them back to the glade.

The group took off quickly, Rainbow and Fluttershy hanging back to make sure nobody fell behind. Only a moment after, however, Fluttershy stopped, turning to look in the direction of where Tanzick had fallen.

“Fluttershy, come on! You said we have to go!” Dash insisted.

“I have to know he’s gone,” Fluttershy countered. “I need to know the forest will be safe.”

“Of course he’s gone!” Rainbow urged, trying to get them moving again. “We took care of it, now come on!”

“I can’t risk it, Rainbow Dash! I’m going to make sure!”

The roar from behind them came again, with massive thuds approaching as well; the sounds of splintering and crashing trees echoing along with the feral shouts.

“At this point, I don’t think he is what’s going to tear this place up, and I don’t think you’re too willing to go and meet whatever the hell that thing is behind us! We don’t have time for this mortal enemy shit and you’re no use to us or this forest dead, now come on!” Rainbow shouted.

Fluttershy looked back hesitantly, unwilling to leave her business unfinished, but she nodded in agreement, returning to Dash’s side as the two of them sped off towards the ship, shortly catching up with the rest of the group.

“Ah don’t mean ta be nosy at a time like this, but what exactly are we all runnin’ away from?” Applejack called over her shoulder.

“It doesn’t have a name, but it’s the most dangerous creature in this forest,” Fluttershy started. “We need to go before he tramples us, and we can’t come back where he walked for a week. He’s the source of most of the toxins in here!”

“But what is it?” No sooner had Applejack asked her question than the trees behind all of them toppled over. The fog began to flow rapidly towards the source of the crashing, into the mouth of a tremendous reptilian skull. “BUT WHAT IS IT!?” AJ repeated, screaming in fear.

“FASTER!” Rainbow cried. She couldn’t help but take a look herself though. Her ears went flat against her head, gulping hard and feeling her heart race. A colossal skeleton with decayed strips of flesh hanging like rotted gray flags flapping as it ran. Oh gods could this thing run, it was coming towards them at terrifying speed, sucking in air and fog and almost pulling the pegasi in as well. It let loose another roar, almost deafening everyone in the party and leaving them all with a loud ringing noise in their ears.

Everyone was running as fast as they could manage, Fluttershy and Rainbow having to struggle against the wind were keeping up from behind, but it was taxing. Rainbow began to feel her wing injury acting up, opening again and almost stopping her mid flight, but instinct and will kept her airborne. She noticed Fluttershy going through similar pains, her shoulder still bleeding and clutching at her ribs.

“Lyra, can you help with anything?” Dash asked in desperation, looking for options.

“I’m all tapped out!” Came Lyra’s reply. “I can only run!”

“Well then keep running!” It was the only thing they could do, they weren’t in any shape to take on something like this, and even if they were, it’d still be suicide.

They all began to feel the tire and pain catching up to them, having run half the forest trying to get away.

“We’re almost there!” Spot shouted through gasps. They could see the beach coming into view, hope pumping their legs forward with renewed vigor.

Dash couldn’t make the final stretch though as her wing gave out, the creature sucking her into his gaping maw. She closed her eyes, waiting for the jaws to clamp down upon her.

Fido had taken notice of this and acted quickly, jumping towards the skeleton. He grabbed hold of Rainbow Dash, hugging her tight to keep her close, and planted his feet on the monster’s snout, pushing off and landing next to Applejack and the others, continuing to run.

They came to the edge of the forest where suddenly they all heard Fluttershy shout “JUMP!” and they obeyed, taking a long leap, landing on the sands of the beach.

The others struggled to begin dashing for the ship again, but Fluttershy took her time to rest and catch her breath. “He won’t go beyond the forest,” she sighed. “We’re safe for now.”

At the mention of that, everybody stopped and plopped right into the sands, gasping for air. Sure enough, looking back, they saw the skeleton take a turn, continuing its rampage through the forest.

“Right,” Applejack panted. “Now… what in Celestia’s name was that thing?”

Fluttershy let out a sigh, followed shortly by a groan as she grabbed at her ribs again. “The trees insist that it is their wrath, but my master told me that it is the former creation of one of the titans. It’s a blight on the forest that comes with the night hours, reanimating the corpse of a dragon to decimate the wood and any travelers or inhabitants foolish or unfortunate enough to go wandering. The only way to avoid the chaos and destruction it brings is to either hide in the glade, or get out of the forest.”

“An’ you were all concerned about some flyin’ stag destroyin’ the forest?” Applejack asked with a crooked eyebrow.

“Nothing I protect leaves the glade at night,” Fluttershy countered, bringing herself up onto her hooves. “And each morning the trees return to their original position, giving them the idea that he’s something of theirs… Tanzick though…” She fell silent.

Everyone looked to Fluttershy, waiting for her to continue, but as she turned her back, they realized she wasn’t going to go on.

Rainbow Dash stood up next. “Hey, Fido,” she started, “thanks for getting me out of there.” The dog smiled and nodded in acceptance. Dash gave an entertained laugh. “You were pretty badass back there, jumping off a dragon to save me.”

“More agile than his appearance suggests,” Spot agreed.

Dash tried spreading her wings, but winced in pain. “Augh!” She gave a sigh. “Looks like I’m riding the boat back with you guys.”

“Actually joining us with the medic too,” Rover said, rubbing his wounds lightly. “We should probably bring new po-nee too. She doesn’t look in great shape either.”

Dash looked back to Fluttershy, still grabbing at her ribs. “I think we could all use a long rest,” Rainbow agreed.

Back on the Gilded Rain, Rover was rushed to the doctor on board. Dash and the others remained out on deck, planning out their next course of action.

Gilda was standing there when they arrived, waiting for their return. “Well, I see you’re all still alive, if just barely.” Her eyes drifted to Fluttershy. “Oh shit! You’re the one they were going for?” A bit of a cackle escaped the griffon. “I remember bumping into you in Ponyville. Timid little thing back then weren’t you? I’m guessing that due to the fact you’re coming out of there means you ain’t so timid anymore?”

Fluttershy simply curled her lip and turned her back, looking back to the forest.

“Or, maybe you are,” Gilda concluded with a shrug.

Dash walked over to Fluttershy. “You still thinking that guy is alive? After that giant fuckin’ zombie ran through?”

Fluttershy simply let out a sigh, shaking her head. “No, I don’t think so… but I feel that he is… probably just… disbelief that it’s over.”

Rainbow paused, studying Fluttershy’s behavior. “Thanks… for coming along,” she started. “When things are settled, I’ll bring you back if you want.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “You don’t need to do that. I know the way. Angel will keep things in check and the treants will keep it protected… The glade will be fine while I’m gone.”

“And even better when you return,” Dash finished, drawing a smile and a nod from Fluttershy. “I’m gonna go and check on Lyra, see if we can figure out where to go next.” Another nod from Fluttershy dismissed Dash.

Lyra was collapsed only a few feet away, scratching away at her journal with her quill in her mouth. She noticed Dash approaching and put the feather down in front of her. “Another rousing tale to entertain future generations, wouldn’t you say?”

“I guess that’s one way of putting it,” Rainbow returned. “Hey, not to seem demanding, but is it possible to get a scrying spell going to point us in the right direction?”

Lyra shook her head. “Wish I could, Dash. As I am right now though, I can hardly walk. I have to chronicle our latest endeavors by mouth, my magic is all tapped out for the day. Best I can do is tomorrow afternoon. Sorry.”

Rainbow Dash let out a disappointed sigh. “No need to apologize. Tomorrow should work fine; probably not a good idea heading off in this condition anyway.”

Lyra’s head bobbed in agreement. “Even the greatest of epics have their characters given time to recover, whether it is written or not. We heroes are not immortals after all.”

Rainbow chuckled. “That’s a fair point. Rest up Lyra, we can’t go very far with our navigator broken.” With a dip in her head that seemed like a bow, Lyra then picked up her quill and resumed her writing.

Dash decided it was about time to pack it in and started making her way to the ship's doctors. As soon as she passed the cabin doors though, she met somepony she wasn’t exactly in the mood to see.

“Ya wanna talk about what happened before them trolls came runnin’ up on us?” Applejack asked, leaning against the wall as if she had been waiting a while.

“What’s there to talk about?” Rainbow returned, walking past her friend before being stopped by an outstretched hoof.

“Plenty,” AJ retorted. “Ah’ll start off where I left it. You weren’t there.”

Dash let out a tired sigh. She almost felt like going back into the Reject’s Garden just to avoid this. “You told me to go, Applejack. You wanted me to go so you could too, so don’t even start dumping that junk on me.”

“Did it ever pass yer mind ta bring me along?” Applejack pushed.

“Yes, it did. But that would have defeated the purpose of trying to escape, wouldn’t it?”

“Jus’ how important was ah to ya then that ya couldn’t have brought it up?”

Dash curled her lip. “Are you being serious, Applejack? You are hearing yourself aren’t you? Why would I bring it up if I wasn’t serious about it?”

“Not serious about bringin’ me along?” AJ’s tone got more and more bitter.

“Stop!” Dash said. “You’re not thinking clearly, and I don’t want to get stuck in bickering with you over something stupid like this. You’re better than this, and so am I nowadays. Maybe when we were younger, I would have been in your position, but there is no need for this.”

“Ah’d say knowin’ where ah stand is a pretty good need,” Applejack shot back.

“You stand as my closest and best friend, that maybe there could have been something at some other time, but not now. I trust you with my life, and I look to you for help.” Dash took a moment to sigh. “But I need you to clear your head of this before I can even consider your advice. You’re the wisest of us AJ. Act like it.”

Applejack’s face didn’t change, but she pulled her hoof back, using it to pull her hat down in front of her eyes. Dash passed along, eager to leave the uncomfortable air.

Applejack let out a scoff once Dash had left, feeling the urge to scream, cry, or hit something all welling up inside her. If she had only acted before they all left, maybe things could have been different. She looked to the brim of her Stetson. An earthworm was hanging from it, almost as if it were looking at her. She gave a light smile to the little thing. “Hey there buddy. Least you seem ta care, huh?” A small wiggle from the bug made her giggle. “Maybe she’s right… ah might just be stuck in mah head an’ too focused on the past.” She looked back to the worm, and though most likely by coincidence, she could have sworn the worm was shaking as if it were saying ‘no’.

Blood On My Hands

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Blood On My Hands

Nickel stood before a mirror, adorned in long, violet robes, washed up and clean. He felt better than he had in a long time. Though it seemed everything was working out for him far better than he had expected, he couldn’t help but believe that he truly didn’t deserve this, and the thoughts of, how long will this last, haunted him. His master was still out there, and if he found the pony he was looking for, he wouldn’t stop at eliminating her along with anything and anyone she had held close.

Nickel’s mind began to fill with images of his master enslaving the pony race, forcing them to toil and find him riches just as his own people had done for generations. The idea that he could be killed by his master’s claws was the more soothing of the possibilities, with his greatest conceived fear being to work himself to death as he had been only weeks ago. He couldn’t go back to that.

“Hey! Nick! You comin’?” Spitfire’s voice summoned him from behind the door. She was to escort him back for another meeting with the princess. He understood the precaution, and was well aware that he had eyes on him wherever he went, but he had no intentions of going against what they said or escaping.

Nickel made his way to the door and met the kind pegasus who had fought for his sake. “I am ready.”

Spitfire smiled and offered for Nickel to walk beside her instead of in front where she could keep her gaze on him at all times. Side by side the two of them made their way to the throne room.

“So, Nick, you don’t mind me calling you Nick by the way, do ya?” Spitfire started, trying to ease the rat’s nerves.

“I do not take any offense,” Nickel returned. “But I must ask, why are you so willing to accept me?”

Spitfire shrugged. “Dunno really… actually that’s not true.” She shook her head. “When I sit and think about it, it’s because the information you’ve given us could prove very helpful to someone that I love very much. It can help us help her… and the rest of us as well.”

Nickel looked on as Spitfire’s head drooped in thought. “You give me more credit than my kind deserve.”

“What? Your kind?” Spitfire chuckled. “Nick, I dunno how familiar you are with pony culture, but we celebrate individuality and diversity. We get marks on our flanks to express our unique talents. You are you, not your race.”

Nickel felt a smile spread across his face. “Your words are very kind.” They continued to walk as Nickel reflected upon Spitfire’s words. “You have found love. That warms my own heart. But I have another question.”

Spitfire looked to Nickel in curiosity, motioning for him to ask his question.

“You said help her.”

Spitfire nodded. “Yeah.”

“I see I have much to learn about pony reproduction,” Nickel said with a confused shake of his head.

Spitfire laughed rather loudly, startling Nickel. “No, Nick. It doesn’t have anything to do with sex. I love her. We don’t give a damn about your sexuality here in Equestria.”

Nickel began to stroke at the fur on his chin in thought. “Interesting.”

“Don’t get me wrong though, the sex is pretty amazing!” Spitfire grinned, lost in her own fantasy world as she wiped up a small dribble of drool from her lip.

They stood before the doors of the throne room before Spitfire looked to Nickel to see if he was ready. When he answered with a nod, she pushed open the doors and they entered the room. Once again, Twilight sat in the throne beside Spike, with a number of guards standing about. Spitfire guided Nickel back to the center of the room where he stood the last time, then made her way by Twilight’s side.

“Welcome back, Nickel,” Twilight said with a smile. “Before we begin, I’ll be casting our truth spell once again, simply out of duty mind you.”

Nickel nodded. “I understand, princess.”

Twilight cast her spell, asking once again, “What is your name?”

“Nickel,” he answered.

“Good.” Twilight motioned for Spike to come closer to her, and he obeyed, letting out a puff and dropping a scroll into his claw. Twilight noticed that, as Nickel noticed Spike’s movement, he twitched. She brought the scroll before her and spoke, “Owayix.”

Nickel flinched at the word.

“Translation, Thunder Lord, Storm Bringer, or Tempest Commander,” she continued.

Nickel nodded, knowing that what she said was correct, but fearful with memories stirring in his head.

Spitfire noticed this, feeling her own head swimming in her memories of staring up at the sky and seeing a massive sparking cloud fly by.

“Language of origin, draconic.” Twilight rolled the scroll back up and handed it back to Spike. She looked back down to Nickel and saw him shivering. “As a scholar and talented linguist, I’m sure you already knew this. Would this assumption be correct?”

Nickel nodded. “A fearsome monster that dwells beneath the sands; he rewarded us with rain and tortured us with drought and lightning. ‘The lord is hungry, the lord must feed, the lord is angry, bring what he needs.’”

Spitfire looked on, confused, before Twilight explained, “Most likely an old rhyme told to the children in his tribe.”

“So we’re dealing with a blue it seems,” Spike jumped in. “But what in Tartarus is he doing getting his claws dirty?”

“What do you mean?” Spitfire asked.

“I mean, blue dragons are manipulators, not brutes.” Spike began rubbing the bridge of his nose in thought. “The greedy bastards are only ever seen when they have to be, sending out minions and armies. They don’t go on rampages like other dragons, they start wars!”

“You don’t think…” Spitfire began, hoping the others could pick up on her thought.

“That he’s the cause of Gallows making a move?” Twilight began. She pondered, tapping her hoof against her chin. “Nickel,” she said, grabbing the rat’s attention once again. “Did Owayix ever hold counsel with griffons; have them come to his lair and communicate with you, or perhaps leave for extended periods of time?”

“More likely he would have sent one of the rats to griffon lands,” Spike interjected.

Nickel took a moment to search his memories. “No, princess. Lord Owayix is very old and trusted none but my tribe. We had served him for generations, from our peak to… now.”

Everyone saw that Nickel didn’t wince in physical pain, meaning he was telling the truth.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Spike huffed, emerald flames spitting out his nostrils. “Why would a blue destroy all of his servants and rush off, exposed to creatures’ eyes? They’re noted as desert mirages for a reason, they hate outsiders knowing they exist, too complicated for them.”

“Spike, you can’t generalize creatures like that,” Twilight insisted. “Look at Nickel.”

“Please, princess… your words are spoken in haste.” Nickel held up a paw, blocking her praise. “I am simply more educated than most of my kind… but I have committed the evils of my kin as well.”

Silence fell upon the room as Spike, Spitfire, and Twilight all turned their eyes back on Nickel.

“It… it is true,” he began. “And it is quite possible that my tribe is the most despicable of our lot, following all the commands our master would demand of us.” With a deep breath, Nickel began to speak, revealing secrets he had hid from even himself for many years, eliminating any possibility of them coming out under worse conditions. “Miss Spitfire and Princess Twilight, you give me far too much credit for being an individual, when I followed my race along with their wicked deeds.

“When I was younger, the master wanted much, even more than he wants now. It was my duty to retrieve what he desired, along with my pack. Most often he would desire the jewels and gems of the earth. On occasion he demanded magical relics from our people’s tombs and temples. That was despicable enough, but it was when he wanted living sustenance… we fetched him that too…” He buried his face into his paws as his voice began to quaver. “We would wander into pony lands, silently lurking until we found a suitable meal for our lord… and take them.” He couldn’t bear to look up at the three, imagining the horrified look they must be giving him. “The crunching of bones and squishing of meat from the other room never bothered me… but when we were demanded to bring a youth… she began to cry. I couldn’t go through with it… but I couldn’t disobey my master. She haunts me to this day, and I left the pack, taking up the tomes and becoming a scholar in the hopes that I could educate us all beyond the primal sacrifices and butchery. That cannot make up for what I have done though…”

When he finally looked up, Nickel saw the three looking back at him, but not as horrified as he had expected.

“Nickel… you and I must discuss this someday,” Twilight said. “But know that this changes nothing. You want redemption, you feel regret, and you are offering us help against a danger only you could tell us about. You are an individual, and I would like to help you know this, but this meeting is about figuring out what we must do to protect us all, including you.”

Nickel looked up to Twilight with awe, he had never been considered an individual, or talked to so kindly. He nodded in understanding. “Understood, Princess,” he spoke with new confidence, vigor coming into his voice that almost took everyone in the room off guard. “I believe my former master has gone mad. Age has destroyed his mind as he has lived beyond even the limits of most dragon standards. His greed, however, has remained powerful, perhaps the most intact part of his psyche. When he heard that a magical necklace was found upon a pony in the desert and that it was not returned to him, I think that something snapped within him.”

Again, silence seemed to fall as Twilight and Spitfire felt their stomachs sink.

“Was there any description of the pony given that you could hear?” Spitfire asked. She could feel panic forcing her heart to race.

Nickel nodded. “They described the pony as blue coated and rainbow maned, travelling with a group of three dogs and rather skilled in combat.”

Spitfire didn’t wait to hear anything else as she spread her wings and flew for the door. Nickel was left surprised as Twilight called out for her to come back.

Spitfire flew as fast as she could manage down the halls, terror filling her thoughts. She flew out of the doors to the castle, turning and pointing herself in the direction she had last heard the cloud was headed towards.

She didn’t notice Soarin’ as she flew by, almost sending him spinning with her speed.

“Captain!” he called out to her. She didn’t respond and Soarin’ chased after her. “Captain!” he called again.

Spitfire ignored him, her mind consumed with only one thought.

Soarin’ growled in frustration and pushed his wings to their limit, finally breaking out in front of Spitfire, holding his forehooves out to try and stop her.

“SPITFIRE!” he screamed, finally getting her to stop.

Spitfire’s face contorted with anger when she was stopped. “Soarin’, get out of my way!”

“What the hell has gotten into you?” Soarin’ asked.

“Rainbow Dash and everyone with her are in incredible danger! The storm we’ve kept an eye on is a dragon, and he’s pissed, and he’s after her!” Her words came rapidly as she kept trying to get around Soarin’.

“Spitfire, stop!” Soarin’ wouldn’t let her get past. “You can’t leave!”

“You should be coming with me!” Spitfire spat back. “Your new ‘pack’ are in just as much danger too!”

“And they are all capable of finding a way to avoid or escape, you have to have faith in them, and stay here while you’re needed!” Soarin’ was the most serious Spitfire had ever seen him. Concern and determination forced his brow to furrow.

“The Wonderbolts can handle their job here!”

“And Rainbow’s group can handle their job out there!” Soarin’ countered. “I know you’re scared for her, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned as well, but you have to calm down! We need a leader here, and you’re it. You’re afraid, and frustrated and upset, but you aren’t the only one. I’m assuming the princess knows this too?” Spitfire nodded. “Then how do you think she feels? She can’t just go flying off to warn her though! She has to stay here and keep everypony safe!”

Spitfire didn’t want to hear this, but she understood it. While every inch of her wanted to keep flying and find some way to catch up with Rainbow to warn her and help her, when she thought about it, she didn’t know where she was, or how far. She wouldn’t be of too much help.

She gave a disappointed sigh. “You’re right. I hate that you are, but you’re right.” She shook her head, holding it in her forehooves. “Dammit!” She let out a scream, terrified of the uncertainty that now echoed in her mind. The mare she loved was out there somewhere, in a place she couldn’t go, and she didn’t even know if she was alive or dead.

Soarin’ didn’t object, flinch, or wince at the scream. He simply floated there alongside his friend, offering whatever comfort he could in his presence.

Spitfire shook her head again, still trying to clear her mind. “She’ll be okay. Hell, she probably grabbed everyone and is on her way back already.” She didn’t believe it, but it felt better to say it. “Then we can kick that dragon’s ass together.”

Soarin’ gave a smile, patting Spitfire on the shoulder. “That we will.”

Spitfire gave a slight chuckle, still nervous inside, but trying to give way to optimism.

“And hopefully by then, Shining will have showed up,” Soarin’ added.

“You’ve yet to give me a convincing argument as to why I shouldn’t leave you here,” Shining Armor growled.

“Nor have I given you a reason as to why you SHOULD,” the horn replied calmly, still sitting in the snow.

“You mean aside from enslaving all of your people?” Shining scoffed.

“Fair enough, and I suppose it would be useless to let you know things were not as they seemed?”

“You’d suppose right.”

“I would suspect as much from a champion such as you. You’re wise and strong, very worthy to become king… but you close yourself off to becoming a truly great king.”

“You’re remembered as a tyrant, not a great king. Cadence is more beloved than you were in your better days.”

“I hold no doubt to that,” the horn returned. “But we are talking about you, not your wife. I can help you become great, and at this time, I can help you in this war… among other problems yet to come.”

“Well you’re not winning my trust by keeping secrets,” Shining Armor spat. “I should be leaving for Canterlot, not talking to some dethroned dictator in the blowing snow.”

“But you’re not!” At that, Shining paused and couldn’t think of any return. “You followed my summons, I interested you. I know of incoming dangers, and you can use that.” Shining stayed quiet. “And you can deny it if you want to, but I know that the abilities I offer appeal to you as well. Now, since you don’t seem very talkative, how about you accept my gift, like we both know you will, and get ourselves over to Canterlot and stop a war before we’re too late.”

“… Fine.”

The Power And Fury

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The Power And Fury

Rainbow Dash was tossing and turning in her sleep. Dark dreams plagued her, showing vague images of lightning and rain.

Dash walked through the storm, following a voice that she could hear calling her name. It was faint and distant, but it was indeed calling her name. “Rainbow Dash…” The voice was familiar, but she couldn’t make it out. She began running, trying to hear the voice clearly, but the thunder and rain began to pick up in volume too. She couldn’t see anything but clouds and rain.

“Who are you?” she called out. The voice called her name once again and Dash picked up her pace. “Who is it? Where are you?”

Lightning flashed once again, and Dash could swear she saw an eye form from it, looking back at her with a furious glare. The electric blue stare drove fear into her heart, almost forcing it to stop. She kept running forward, towards it, unable to stop. The eye drew closer as her legs refused to stop.

Teeth formed in a horizontal line across the eye, splitting it open like a giant maw ready to accept Dash as a meal. She spread her wings, hoping they would succeed where her legs were failing.

It worked! Her legs were still running, but without any cloud to support her she wasn’t moving; only hovering in place. The nightmare didn’t stop though as the mouth began to suck in air, pulling her closer. Dash forced her hooves over her eyes in terror, afraid of what came next. She heard the clamping of jaws, certain that she was going to feel saliva drip onto her head and witness horrors worse than she could imagine. After a while though, she dared to open her eyes again, pulling her hooves down.

She was within a valley, beautiful green mountains on either side of her with a river flowing right down the center. It was a breathtaking sight. Above her, in the sky, she saw rainbows upon rainbows lined up, connecting one side of the vale to the other.

“Where in Equestria am I?” Rainbow floated above the water and under the color.

“Not in Equestria, Rainbow Dash. This place is safe, it is your center,” a voice answered from behind her.

Dash turned and saw a ghostly image of Celestia’s head floating before her.

“Princess!” Dash flew closer. “Where are you? Are you okay? What is all this?”

The image of the princess flickered, blurring even more. “I don’t have time, Rainbow Dash. We’re fine, but you’re all in danger.” Another flicker came and a wince of pain spread across Celestia’s face. “A storm is coming, but it’s only the start of something more.”

“You mean the war?” Rainbow questioned.

“First the storm, then the blood, and with the war comes pestilence from a long lost time.” She tried to continue speaking, but the image began fading fast along with her voice.

“Princess, what are you talking about?” Rainbow felt desperate for answers to make sense of what seemed to be an important warning.

“No more time… Dash… good luck…” She was fading fast. “We’re with you… look to your element…” She was gone.

Rainbow found herself alone in the valley, staring at the empty space in which Celestia’s image had been floating.

Dash opened her eyes, taking in the view of her cabin in the ship. She brushed her brow and felt herself covered in sweat. “What in Tartarus was that?”

Up on deck, Gilda was staring out over the seas. They had been aimlessly sailing about on the water for the past three days, waiting for Rainbow’s crew to heal up. Rainbow herself was feeling back to her normal self and Lyra had regained her energy, with Fido and Fluttershy pretty much back to normal. Rover insisted that he was feeling fine too, but in going from one fight to another so soon and so violently; the others insisted he keep himself rested up.

She turned around to see Lyra playing on her lyre, singing and entertaining the crew with Spot and Fido singing along.

"What's that thing between your legs? What's that thing between your legs?
What's that thing between your legs?" said the fair Young Maiden.

Lyra would sing; strumming lightly before the dogs would take their turn at singing:

"It's only me pole to shove in your holes!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.
"It's only me pole to shove in your holes!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

The whole crew would laugh along with the song, and Gilda couldn’t help but grin as well, as it was one of the first shanties she had heard when she had gone out to sea. “The more crude the better,” she said to herself, remembering some of the filthiest versions of the tune she had heard before.

Continuing to look around the ship, she caught a glance of Fluttershy noticeably avoiding the song with a frown on her face; this only made Gilda chuckle even more. She began thinking to herself though; perhaps it was time they switched over to something different.

“Hey, Lyra,” she called out, grabbing the unicorn’s attention as she kept playing. “You takin’ requests?”

“Sure am, Cap’n!” Lyra replied with a smile. “What suits yer fancy?”

“Ya know Can o’ Grog?” Gilda called out.

Lyra smiled. “First shanty I learned, Cap!” Lyra stopped her playing, to a few of the crew’s dismay, and shifted her tune, motioning for anyone who knew the words to sing along with her.

When up the shrouds the sailor goes
And ventures on the yard
The landsman who no better know
Believe his lot is hard
Bold Jack with smiles each danger meets
Weighs anchor heaves the log
Trims all the sails belays his sheets
And drinks his can of grog If to engage they give the word
To quarters he'll repair
Now winding in the dismal flood
Now quivering in the air
When waves 'gainst rocks to rend and roar
You'll n'er hear him repine
Though he's on frozen icy shores
Or burning beneath the line

The song brought Gilda back to her first days of sailing, bringing her attention back to the salt in the air. Though it also brought her to the rumors she had been hearing back in Vanhoover about the new pirate who had moved in.

They referred to them as ‘Jack’. Can of Grog was one of their favored drinking songs from what she heard, a trait the two of them had in common. Once we’re finished with all of this, I’m gonna see if ol’ ‘Jack’ wants a drink, or maybe if they need a beating.

At the moment though, this was a problem for another time, and Gilda let the song bring her back to her nostalgia. She leaned back against the railing of the ship and closed her eyes as the song continued on.

When sailing orders to arrive
Bold Jack he takes his leave
My dear sweetest friends he cries
I pray now do not grieve
Thy Jack will take his daily can
Of grog and drink to thee
In hopes that thou will n'er forget
Thy sailor who's at sea

But should thou false or fickle prove
To Jack who loves thee dear
No more upon my native shore
Can I with joy appear
But restless as the briny main
Must heartless heave the log
Shall trim the sails and try to drown
My sorrow in cans of grog

With a satisfied sigh, Gilda threw her head back and opened her eyes. However, she furrowed her brow at the sight of a large and imposing black cloud coming their direction; blue sparks flying from all directions.

“Storm incoming!” she called out, grabbing everyone’s attention. At her side, pegasi arrived, ready for orders. “Get back to your jobs!” she snarled. “You’re no good here! The storm is magic! We’re dealing with something bigger than a small drizzle!” The pegasi backed away, intimidated by their captain. “Just keep us from sinking! All hands on deck!” She began shouting orders, guiding each of her crew members with just a number of quick and sharp shouts.

Gilda’s memory brought her back to her experience with magical storms. Revenge for an old friend? Let’s see how YOU stand up to Gilda! She grabbed ahold of her Morningstar, ready to test her mettle against a true kraken.

Rainbow was the first to emerge on deck, running up to Gilda’s side. “What’s up, G?”

“Storm coming right in our direction; it’s large but not large enough to be natural. It looks almost exactly like the one cast by the kraken I took out.” Gilda began thumping her weapon’s handle into her talon. “This one’s bigger though, we have one FUCK of a fight coming our way.”

Dash frowned as she gave a nod in response. “Can we not outrun it?”

“We could sure as hell try, but you see how fast that thing is moving, do the math. We have at least a day’s sail away to any source of land. We just have the sky and sea.” She let her beak break out into a grin. “Never liked the ground much anyway.”

Dash gave a chuckle to that line. “I can expect you at my side in the air then?”

“FUCK yeah, Dash!” Gilda burst.

The two of them turned to meet the rest of the crew’s gaze. Gilda held her weapon overhead. “Time for the true test, ya sorry bastards! If you’ve sailed with me before, this is only the next level of the junk we go through! To those who haven’t, we’re gonna see if you have what it takes! Keep my boat afloat or you’re all out of a job if the damned sea devil doesn’t take your life first!” A collective ‘YAR’ came from all of the crew as they thrust their hooves and paws into the air. Gilda then turned back towards the storm, motioning her Morningstar towards the tempest. “Let’s go!”

She and Dash flew up, ready to make the first strike against their incoming opponent, confidence on their faces. The storm drew closer and they suddenly began to feel an incredible heat washing over them. They were ready to slam against the first tentacle to pop out of the water and lash at them, but that isn’t what they were met with.

The clouds all dispersed in a sudden motion, giving way to rapidly approaching jaws, straight out of Rainbow’s nightmare. She felt her heart sink and her confidence become overpowered by fear, Gilda’s own grin dropping with a horrified gasp.

“DRAGON!” one of the crew burst out in a panicked voice.

Gilda shook her head hard, snapping out of her trance before turning to Dash. “C’mon, Rainbow Dash! We have to take it on!”

Dash stared at the creature flying for her, its eyes meeting hers, communicating a powerful hatred.

“DASH!”

Rainbow shook her head, Gilda’s cry aiding her out of her daze. She put on a scowl and flicked her blades out, ready for a fight. “How tough can he be?”

She and Gilda charged the dragon at full speed, pulling their arms back to strike; when they drew close they dipped slightly and came up from underneath, striking at the monster’s chin. They swung too hard however and realized that they hadn’t hit anything, the image of the dragon disappearing in front of them.

“What the fu—” Gilda was cut off as the dragon came down on top of them, slapping both of them downward with its massive claw.

Dash and Gilda fell fast, quickly approaching the water. They spread their wings at the last moment, parachuting and flying back upward with ferocity.

“Fucker uses illusions!” Gilda cried. She let her anger boil and her eyes narrow. She began swinging her mace early, forcing herself into a spin, moving faster and faster. When she drew close enough, she let go of her weapon, launching it at a rapid speed towards the giant lizard’s eye.

The dragon was unimpressed, speaking a word of his lost language and motioning upward with one of his nails. The ocean itself rose in a column, surrounding him as it spiraled upwards. The water slowed the Morningstar and pulled the weapon into its spin, flinging it back in Gilda’s direction.

Gilda felt the spiked ball impale her stomach, knocking her back as pain overwhelmed her. She smashed back into the deck of her ship, cracking open a hole in the boat and incapacitating the griffon.

Dash could feel her fear spiking up again, as she was now alone in the sky with a dragon, cloaked in a towering tornado of water. His eyes stared back at her from within his aquatic armor, narrowing and focusing in on her. She watched as his maw split open and a bright blue light began forming in the back of his throat.

Rainbow began flying as hard as she could; wanting to avoid whatever was coming next. A hole formed in the pillar of water, giving a clear path as a bolt of blue lightning flew forth from his mouth. Dash tried her best to keep ahead of the deadly breath. The line of lightning chased after her, the dragon spinning in his whirlpool to try and strike her. Dash made note of this and made it a point to avoid going in any direction that would damage the ship.

Eventually the lightning stopped, the hole in the pillar closing once again. The eyes still glared in Rainbow’s direction, making it obvious this creature had little interest in anything else.

Back on deck, Lyra was playing on her lyre at a high tempo, rousing anyone that could hear it. Spot and Fido stood ready, anxious to strike when the dragon drew near. A number of the crew surrounded Gilda, trying to wake their captain and pull her out of the hole she had made while the remaining pegasi took to the sky, flying to Dash’s side.

“Look tough, my mighty crew!
See the beast is run straight through!
We may be many, but fight as one,
This monster shall soon be undone!”

Lyra sang with such energy and vigor, those around her couldn’t help but feel powerful, fighting at their full potential. She held an almost sinister smile as she played and sang, finding that deep satisfaction in danger that she always seemed to have, but on a higher level.

Dash could feel courage begin rippling through her, ready to take this creature on. She gave a yell of “Attack!” and charged the dragon along with the other pegasi, each of them shouting a powerful war cry.

The dragon was not amused. They all heard a clicking sound as he tapped two of his nails together. Water from his pillar fired out at a nearly blinding speed, smashing half of the pegasi charging him in a salty blast. Dash lost her breath as she looked into the sudden funnel that was shot at them, reaching far behind the Gilded Rain. There were splashes of red and bone swept away in front of her, but no sign of a whole pony anywhere.

When the water dropped, it fell onto the boat. The deck became littered with bones, strips of flesh, and splashes of blood. Panic began to wash over most of the crew, Dash and the dogs looking to the mess of pony remains with stunned expressions.

Lyra, however, maintained her devilish glare towards the dragon, playing her lyre and amplifying the volume magically.

“Though gods may be mighty
My song is unmatched
So let us keep fighting
Keep fighting
KEEP FIGHTING!

“We will not surrender
There is no way out
This skald will keep singing
So keep strong and SHOUT!”

She let the adrenaline fuel her song that fueled those still fighting, channeling their fear into courage.

“Keep your guard up and stay moving!” Dash called out, ordering the remaining pegasi as she began charging once again. They all followed, deftly dodging as even more powerful geysers were fired out from the pillar. They all drew close, screaming battle cries before the water opened again, making way for one of the dragon’s claws to reach out, clamping down on two of the ponies who couldn’t dodge it, giving a sickening crunching noise.

They couldn’t bother to look; as it would risk them falling prey to the same fate, but Dash felt a shiver as she caught a glimpse of red dripping from the dragon’s claws.

A chance had been opened to them as they dove into the hole, aiming their strikes towards the dragon’s belly. With just a wave of his free claw though, Dash witnessed pure horror as all of the pegasi at her side shriveled in an instant and fell into the harsh water of the pillar, becoming nothing more than a small pool of blood in the ocean that was quickly washed away.

Rainbow felt sick, about to vomit. She had just witnessed half a dozen pegasi dry up like raisins and fall into an aquatic blender. She didn’t stop though, and in a rage, continued her charge into the dragon, slamming her blades into the dragon’s scaly skin.

Instead of being met by the painful roar she was expecting though, she heard what sounded like a deep and demented laughter. The water column around her and the lizard ceased swirling and fell back into the ocean, some of it landing heavily on the Gilded Rain and forcing it to bob.

She began to see flashes of her life pass by as she felt the dragon’s claw grab hold of her. She wasn’t crushed though as the beast drew her up to his massive blue eyes. The ones right out of her nightmare.

He spoke in a language Rainbow couldn’t understand. It seemed he could tell by her expression. He gave a disapproving frown. “I should have known I’d have to speak such a simple language.” His voice sent shivers down everyone’s spines, and even brought Lyra’s playing and song to a stop. Everyone stood silent as he held Rainbow Dash in his grasp.

His eyes explored the small pony before falling upon her necklace. “There we are.” He tapped at the gem with the point of a nail. “Give it to me, and I’ll end you quickly and painlessly.”

Dash looked down to her element. “The Element of Loyalty? What do you want with that?”

“I’ve only had to chase you across the globe for this treasure,” he explained. “After my servants failed to lift it from you themselves.” He looked down to the ship and dropped his gaze onto the Spot and Fido. “I remember hearing about those two as well.”

Dash’s mind was flooded with thoughts of fear and confusion. “What do you want with it though? It’s useless to you!”

“It is valuable. It is magical. It should be mine,” he hissed. “I am Owayix, the oldest of the blues. I deserve everything that comes within my domain.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! I’ve never seen you, how could I have been in your domain?” Rainbow shot back, almost more irritated than frightened.

“Of course you didn’t see me; normally I wouldn’t bother to make myself known. But the rats failed me, and I was growing tired of them.”

Dash and the dogs all felt their breath stop as they remembered the night they were almost mugged in the desert.

Shit! Was all Dash could think, trying to struggle out of the creature’s grasp. “I can’t give it to you!” Dash insisted. “The ponies need it to stop a war!”

“How fascinating,” Owayix replied in a dry and bored tone. “I’m afraid though, that I don’t care much for the trivial issues of lesser creatures. I would have thought that to be rather apparent as I swatted your comrades aside without so much as blinking. Then again, I suppose I put more effort into the motion than needed, perhaps you confused that for caring?”

Though Dash felt angry as Owayix continued to speak, she couldn’t vocalize on it as she was still struggling to escape. “So what the hell do you want with me? Why bother telling me any of this?”

“Don’t question me!” Owayix roared causing waves to rise and shake the ship again. He gave a light cough and cleared his throat, running his free claw along his head up to the tip of his horns. “Sorry for the nasty impression right there, appearances should always be kept positive even in death threats.”

This guy’s fucking crazy! Dash thought. Maybe I can use that? “No no no, I should be apologizing. Obviously I didn’t know I was dealing with such a proper and powerful dragon. Obviously you must have your reasons for blessing me with your words.” She spoke quickly, attempting to choose her words carefully and mimic Lyra.

Owayix gave a grin with his large maw; a sight that everyone was sure would haunt them. “Perhaps you are wiser than you appear. For that wisdom, I will reward you with the knowledge you request. Why bother telling you?” His eyes narrowed. “Because you escaped, and you hold something I want. I offer you a quick death if you give it to me willingly; and perhaps some other form of reward if you tell me how to work it.”

Dash paused, unable to think. Owayix held his claw before her, waiting for her to release the element over to him. He didn’t look like he wanted more honeyed words, impatience building in his eyes, but she didn’t know how well lying would go over. Dash took a deep breath and collected herself. “You’re not going to get it willfully, so go right ahead and crush me if that’s what you’re gonna do!”

“Oh, my dear,” Owayix spoke in a sickly sweet voice. “Crushing you for such disrespect is too small a punishment… let’s take what you value first.”

Dash’s heart sped faster than she had ever managed to fly as she felt the nails grab ahold of one of her wings, feeling a painful tug before screaming at the top of her lungs as pain began to destroy her conscious thoughts.

The agony she felt was heard from everyone still on deck, forcing the dogs to grab at their ears. They all stared up at her, unable to help and hopeless. They couldn’t reach her, and even if they could, no attack they had given seemed to even irritate the reptile. Dash’s screaming grew louder as she felt almost certain her wing was going to be pulled off.

What nobody was expecting at that moment though, was for someone to begin screaming even louder, drowning Rainbow’s pained wails out with a shriek that even banshees were incapable of. Everyone’s attention, even that of Owayix, fell to the hole in the ship where Gilda had crashed through.

The griffon stood on her back legs, bloody mace in her right talon, a spilling pool of blood at her stomach, and her eyes blanked white with absolute fury as she yelled at the top of her lungs, launching from the boat with incredible speed and aiming herself right for the dragon. She grasped tight with her other talon and bashed the Morningstar into his chin.

The dragon was taken by surprise as he actually managed to feel a bit of pain strike his jaw, so much so that his grip loosened on Rainbow Dash. She didn’t waste a second of her opportunity as she flew from the monster’s clutch and back towards the boat.

“LYRA!” she called, hoping the unicorn had some answer. “Lyra, we have to go! We can’t do anything against this guy, we need some way out!”

Lyra nodded. “We have to keep him busy, if we can do that, I may be able to expend enough energy to get us somewhere safe with a teleportation. I’m gonna be completely out of it again though, so we need it to count.”

“Right, how long do you think Gilda can keep this up?” Dash looked back over her shoulder to see the griffon still bashing her mace against the scaly hide of the beast, barely managing to avoid his claw swipes and bites.

“I can’t give you an honest answer on that, Rainbow. She’s gone berserk, literally. She’s faster and stronger, but she isn’t in control of her own actions, she’ll keep going until that thing falls… or she does.” Lyra swallowed hard. “And I can tell you, if he manages… when he manages to catch her, she will be doing the falling.”

“Then we need something to divide his attention!” Dash shouted, trying to think quickly. “Fine, I’m going back up there!”

“This is a very bad idea!” Spot interrupted. “This would not divide his attention, but focus it. He wants us, primarily you. He will swat you like a fly and destroy the ship, leaving the rest of us to drown.”

“Well what the hell am I supposed to do?” Dash countered, frustrated. “Nobody else on this thing can fly except—”

Before Dash could finish her sentence, Fluttershy had made her way into the sky, donned in her cloak and crown.

“Fluttershy no! We need you too!” Dash urged.

Fluttershy ignored the call though and closed her eyes, raising her hooves as she came above the water. From out of the water arose limbs and fins, all belonging to creatures willing to help. From the sky came a variety of birds and avian creatures also ready to lend aide.

“Well I’m not going to stand here and let everyone else fight!” Dash roared, flaring her wings before feeling a sudden clunk to her skull, dropping her to the deck in an unconscious heap.

“Sorry, Sugarcube. We can’t risk ya.” Applejack withdrew her hoof from striking her friend, looking back to Lyra. “Ah know ya weren’t plannin’ on tellin’ her, but tell me. Ya don’t got enough energy for a whole ship, nor enough for the whole crew. Who all can ya bring along?” She held a grim look of understanding upon her face.

Lyra frowned. AJ spoke the truth, even with a whole day’s worth of magic Lyra could never manage the whole crew. With a sigh she said, “I can get our group out and one more. I was planning on it being Gilda.” Spot and Fido heard this, their faces falling low, but not objecting.

Applejack nodded. “If’n it’s the only way. Ah don’t wanna abandon ship with all these fine goat folk and ponies aboard, but we can’t abandon Equestria neither.” Looking back down to Rainbow, she nuzzled the sleeping pegasus’ neck. “Yer not gonna die here.”

She made her way to the front of the boat, whistling to the crew to follow her. At the edge of the boat, she saw a whale waiting below to catch them under Fluttershy’s orders. “Least ah’ll get my stomach to stop churnin’… one way or another.” She leapt down, followed by a group of earth ponies and goats, and atop the whale, they made a charge for Owayix.

Fido and Spot both stood by Lyra’s side, watching as she took a deep breath and let her horn begin to glow. Spot checked to make sure Dash was alright.

“How much time is this going to take?” Fido asked, clutching at the bugbear mandible around his neck for luck.

“With the size of the spell, the distance of the targets and the chaos around me, I estimate that it’ll take somewhere over five minutes... if we survive that long.” She kept her eyes closed and mind focused; breathing sounded like it was a chore for her as she took consistently strong inhales and exhales. “I hate to ask it of you guys, but you have to help Applejack and Fluttershy out, we need them to get through this or all of it is for naught.”

Rover and Spot exchanged nervous glances, nodding to one another. “Yes, Missus Lyra!” they replied in unison, rushing to the edge of the ship and throwing themselves overboard to join the fray.

Owayix felt fury building up in him as he tried to swat Gilda away, feeling the stings of her smashing weapon against his thick scales. She was like a mosquito that was always just out of his grasp. But as he tried harder to get at her, he felt a tug on his tail. He looked down to see a large octopus pulling at him. He began to motion somatic signs with his claw and muttered in his native language, but before he could fire his spell, he felt something fly into his eye and break his concentration. Birds of varying sizes had begun pecking and scratching at him, unable to grab his attention until now. He snapped his jaws at the creatures. Some managed to fly out of the way in time, while an unfortunate many were crushed under his fangs into a mixture of splintered bones and blood.

He felt his annoyance rising and let out a deafening roar. Anyone who could still hear anything found it horrifying as the noise warped from some animalistic bellow to a noise almost alien to them all. It was like a horse’s whinny, choked under a sickening, slurping gurgle. The sound wasn’t normal or natural, even for a dragon. He was manipulating his roar, mimicking something that had frightened even himself. It was horrific to all that could hear it, shaking them as nightmarish images of what creature could make such a noise flooded their minds.

Owayix whipped his tail upward in an attempt to release himself from the cephalopod’s grip, but it wasn’t that easy.

The few unicorns on deck fired one massive joint blast of magic that hit the dragon directly in his chest, causing a sting that burned significantly more than the small strikes Gilda had been placing on him.

Irritated, he opened his mouth again, blue light charging as it had the previous time he fired lightning.

“Get outta the way!” Applejack called back to the ship.

The crew moved out of the way, expecting a beam of electricity to obliterate them. They didn’t receive the attack, however, as the dragon let loose a large black cloud from his throat. The cloud pulsed underneath with blue light, making its way above the Gilded Rain.

“SHIT!” one of the crew screamed out as lightning began to fall from the cloud, tearing into the ship. One of the planks caught fire, bringing panic to those on board.

The unicorn who had shouted was struck as he tried to run, falling and impaling his neck onto a splintered board, left frozen with a cold gaze of fear. The bolts struck rapidly, one after another in a line, causing the bow to crack and fall forward and begin sinking with all of its passengers, dead or alive. The rest of the boat began to point forward, beginning to sink slowly.

Fluttershy was quick to notice and gave a sharp whistle, urging some of the sea creatures to keep the boat floating. At their obedience, she then made her way to the magical cloud, calling some of the birds to try and help her stop it.

Below deck, Rover had been awoken in the chaos, rolling out of his medical bed, only to realize that the ocean was in front of him. He looked up and caught a glance of everything going on; the dragon, Applejack and the crew atop sea animals, and the water below filling with a red hue. He grabbed at the bandages wrapped around his torso, checking how much pain he was in.

Confident in his condition, Rover grabbed up his weapons and began climbing up the broken bow. He emerged at the top and saw Lyra breathing deep in front of an unconscious Rainbow Dash as lightning fell, tearing the ship asunder as fire was consuming whatever the bolts missed. Ponies and goats were scattering and running all about the deck.

He ran up to Lyra and Dash, trying to figure out what was going on. “Missus Lyra, what is—”

“Not now, Rover!” Lyra insisted, trying to keep her focus, playing her instrument close to her ear.

Rover recognized that an important spell was being cast and shut up. He drew his blade and readied himself to guard her and their leader.

“You’re in no condition to fight!” Lyra shot at him.

“Not fighting,” Rover returned. He watched in anticipation as he saw a bolt fire out of the cloud in Lyra’s direction. He threw himself in front of the line, flinging his sword upward, deflecting the electricity back into the sky. “But I will do what I can.”

He kept himself grounded, surrendering himself to the blade’s magic and allowing it to guide his deflections. He countered the magical shots, launching them into empty airspace.

Back in the water, Applejack continued giving orders where she could. Ponies began tossing spears, hammers, and most other throwing weapons they had brought off the boat with them, but they seemed about as effective as stabbing a brick wall with a feather, bouncing harmlessly off the lizard’s powerful hide.

As AJ and the dogs drew close, they readied into attack position. “NOW!” The three of them leapt from their whale’s head, pulling their weapons back for a powerful strike.

Spot dug his daggers into a scale of the monster, sticking but not having done any harm. Fido seemed to get a small sting in, getting a slight grunt from Owayix. He then grabbed hold of one of his scales, hanging near his pack-mate, gripping his weighty axe with only one arm.

Applejack, however, hit the hardest, actually earning a growl of pain as she smashed her front hammers powerfully into the lizard’s stomach. She began to drop, but with a confident smile.

Sure enough, her trust was rewarded as Fluttershy gave out a call and AJ landed safely on the shell of a large turtle. “Much appreciated, Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy nodded and returned to her attempts to push the large cloud of lightning away.

Applejack then looked down to her aquatic mount. “Ya don’t mind mah weight, do ya? These boots’re pretty heavy.” Almost as if answering her question, the turtle looked back to her with what looked faintly like a smile. “Good ta know.” She looked back up and crouched down to make another strike.

On deck Rover kept deflecting bolt after bolt as it seemed they aimed for Lyra more frequently. “This is going nowhere…” Rover growled, trying to think of a way to get the cloud out of the way. Noticing that pushing wasn’t doing anything, he began thinking up various ways to destroy it. “But this might get us somewhere!” Anticipating the next bolt, rover sliced upward, letting out a vicious battle cry as the green flames of his blade flared wildly. Against all logic, the blade cut through the magical bolt, the split travelling back towards the cloud and splitting it in two as well. With a burst of electricity that Fluttershy and her birds were quick to avoid, the cloud vanished.

Rover let out a sigh of relief and looked to his sword. “I think I have a name for you,” he said to the weapon. “How do you like Stormbreaker?”

Turning his head to take a look at how the battle was going, Rover instantly regretted letting his guard down. A beam of electricity was flying directly from the dragon’s jaws towards him. He moved his arms as fast as he could, trying to bring Stormbreaker up to defend himself, allowing its magic to pulse to its full potential.

It was to no avail, however.

The bolt slid right along his blade, striking him directly in the center of his chest, burning away his wraps in an instant. Rover was unable to scream as his body began to spasm violently and he felt pain he could have never comprehended. He then lost all feeling and consciousness, falling to the deck of the ship with a thud, his chest holding a circle of burned black and crimson, his sword falling to his side as its flames went out.

Fluttershy looked to the dog, her mouth agape and the birds around her fluttering, desperately trying to recapture her attention. Her eyelids dropped as she began to slowly descend. When they opened once again, they had narrowed, her fur standing up on end as she turned to the dragon. Her teeth looked like fangs as she snarled like a wild beast and let out a bellowing howl loud enough for everyone engaged in the struggle to hear.

From the water, a giant shadow began to darken, rising. Applejack urged the dogs to leap onto her turtle. As they did, the turtle began to swim backwards, out of the shadow, the other sea creatures following suit.

Owayix looked down in curiosity, as if waiting to be impressed. The first thing anyone saw was teeth, then the closing of massive jaws around the blue dragon.

“She summons a sea serpent,” Spot said in awe, watching the monster, obscured by the ocean’s spray, sink back into the ocean with the monster they had all fought so hard to simply stall.

“It can’t be that easy,” Applejack said. “We only have so much time before ‘big blue’ makes his way back up here.”

‘So much time’ proved to be none at all as the fighters looked in fear when Owayix breached the water once again, his blue scales painted red and giving a violet sheen to his image. He laughed loudly as the black of shadow was replaced with a similar shade of scarlet.

Fluttershy’s let out a violent shriek of animalistic fury, flinging herself at full speed towards the dragon, but the birds grabbed hold of her in quantity, desperate to stop her from throwing her life away.

“Sunken treasure is just as valuable to me.” Owayix’s voice brought a ripple to the water and a rumble on the boat. Blue sparks began to flash out of his scales as he moved his claws rapidly, speaking his own tongue at a similar speed. The sparks began to get larger, more frequent and in greater numbers as he continued.

“LYRA!” Applejack called up to the boat. “HE’S GONNA WIPE IT ALL OUT! WE GOTTA GO!”

“NOT HELPING!” Lyra yelled back, picking up the pace on her playing.

Everyone was too terrified to get close to the dragon, the ponies and goats on their aquatic mounts were ferried away as quickly as the animals could manage. Even Gilda, in her blind rage, kept her distance, holding tight to her mace.

Owayix stopped his chanting and claw motions as electricity was consistently pouring out of him, storm clouds forming in a circle around him. Lightning struck towards the ocean around him as he held his claws out and took a large breath. Large, blue electric balls formed in his claws and jaws, bursting with magical lightning.

“LYRA NOW!” AJ screamed in desperation.

The blue dragon clapped his claws together as he bit down, smashing all of the blue orbs and releasing a colossal burst of electricity, destroying any trace of the Gilded Rain or the few who remained on or in it. There was no form of life fast enough to escape, even the whales and fish ferrying the ponies away were caught in the electric explosion.

Nothing but Owayix was left breathing.

Rainbow’s eyes flittered, the scent of sand and sea still in her nose. She saw somepony approaching her, blurred as she was still waking. She heard muffled cries to her right, a noise of panic. The image in front of her slowly started coming into focus.

She saw Spitfire, and gave a smile, thinking about the things she was wanting to say and do with her beloved. She brought herself to standing and opened her eyes again. Spitfire was no longer there. Instead, Applejack was looking to her, giving a sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness yer alright, Rainbow. Ah’m sorry Ah had to hit ya like that, but we need you.” Rainbow didn’t pay any attention to Applejack, instead looking around at the unfamiliar scene. They were on a beach, but which beach; she didn’t know.

She then remembered, and opened her eyes wide. “Where’s Owayix? Where’s the dragon?”

“He’s gone, Sugarcube,” Applejack answered. “We got away.”

Dash let out a sigh in return. She heard the panic again, and turned back to her right. Her stomach sank as she saw Fluttershy, Spot, and Fido working desperately over Rover’s body, Lyra passed out not too far away.

“What’s wrong with him?” Dash asked.

“Ol’ Rover was doin’ his best ta save Lyra when the big lizard blasted ‘im with his lightnin’ breath,” Applejack explained. “Ah don’t wanna worry you Rainbow… but Ah don’t think…” Rainbow Dash looked to Applejack, seeing her struggle to hold back tears. “Ah don’t think he’s gonna make it, Dash.” Rainbow felt her heart stop for a second.

She walked over to the dogs and Fluttershy. “Rover, Rover buddy, you okay?” He didn’t answer, but she could see his eyes closed and his face unmoving. Spot stood before her, letting her know that she shouldn’t disturb Fluttershy. “Rover!”

Fluttershy looked back at her with a glare. “I can’t help him if you crowd me, Rainbow. Spot and Fido are enough; I can’t handle the extra stress.”

“But I can help him! He’s my friend, he’s my partner!” Dash insisted.

“Then help him by letting me do what I can!” Fluttershy countered, irritated and upset. “Go! You need to breathe and hope for him right now, Rainbow, you’re hurt too!” She continued to her work, applying various herbs and saps that rested on her cloak, spread out like a blanket.

Dash didn’t want to leave, feeling responsible, but she nodded and made her way further up the shore where she saw Gilda stamping about.

“Hey… Where’s everybody else?” Dash asked.

Gilda chuckled dryly, bringing a talon over her eyes. “You know… that was the first question I asked when I woke up…”

Of Sacrifice, Loss, And Reward

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Of Sacrifice, Loss And Reward

“We shouldn’t have left them!”

“Well what choice did we have?!” Applejack shouted in return to Rainbow’s outburst.

The two of them and Gilda stood above the beach within eyesight of the dogs, Fluttershy, and Lyra.

“We could have helped them! Stayed and fought!” Rainbow insisted.

“How? That dragon wants you, Rainbow, and he was willin’ ta take down everyone and everythin’ around him ta do it!”

“My crew is my problem!” Gilda jumped in. “Why was I brought along? I am captain of my ship, and if it goes down, I go down with it!”

“You should be thankin’ us for bringin’ you along!” Applejack snapped.

“Why? I didn’t ask for it! I was fine!” Gilda spat back. She approached, standing breast to breast with Applejack, staring viciously into her eyes.

“We abandoned them, Applejack!” Rainbow Dash added. “Were they only a distraction for us to get away? How is that going to help? You heard the lizard; he traveled a long long way to find me. He’s not gonna give up after that!”

“So ya would have preferred we leave you to die there on that ship with everyone else an’ let Equestria get run over by some war hungry hybrid mutant?” Applejack roared, pushing Gilda away from her.

“What the fuck did you call me!?” Gilda roared. “I don’t give a shit about Gallows, but don’t insult my kind!”

“Why the hay not?” Applejack huffed. “Seems all ‘yer kind’ ever do is try an’ start trouble! You may have gotten us around, but don’t think Ah don’t remember the way you behaved when we first met! Hell, why do Ah even have to? Let’s take a look at what you were doin’ back against Owayix. Ya went and lost yer damn mind!”

“Keep goin’, hick! I’m more than willing to lose it again!” Gilda grabbed a hold of her Morningstar, ready to make a move as she snarled.

“Would you both shut up?” Rainbow intervened. “This conversation isn’t about the war, it’s about the fact that we just left dozens of creatures to die just so we could get away! Knowingly!”

“It is about the war, Rainbow! That’s why yer here!” AJ huffed. “An’ you need ta get outta mah face while you still have one.”

Gilda grabbed ahold of Applejack by the throat, breathing heavily.

“Gilda!” Rainbow brought her hoof down on Gilda’s talon, pulling it away. “I don’t agree with what they pulled either, but we can’t start turning on one another just because we’re pissed off!”

“An’ there’s nothin’ else we can do about it! It’s done!” Applejack dusted off her chest, still glaring at Gilda. “So how about we start puttin’ it aside an’ focus on what we should be doin’ now?”

“Just sweep it under the rug then?” Gilda growled.

Applejack let out a sigh and took a deep breath. “No. Ah can’t ask that, or really want that. Ah’m only askin’ that we put the issue on hold until we have a better time ta discuss it. We can’t simply let this go unspoken, but we ain’t in the position ta speak about it right now.” Gilda seemed to calm down, backing off as her breathing returned to normal. “We can sit here an’ yell about the sins we’ve done, or we can continue with our job, an’ prepare for when that big lizard eventually finds us again. If’n yer still wantin’ ta yell at me after that, Ah’ll take it. Ah’ll even fund whatever sort of memorial services you believe they deserve when we get back home, but first we have ta get there.”

Dash and Gilda stood quietly, looking down at the ground. Gilda let out a sigh, stowing her weapon on her hip once again and rubbing at the top of her beak. “I don’t know if I wanna beat the absolute fuck out of you for abandoning my crew, taking me with you, talking shit, or for actually making sense among all the shit going on… I’ll figure it out later… but you’re right. So what do we do?”

The tension in the area dispersed, the three of them finding it easier to breathe and feeling like a pressure was lifting off of their backs. As Rainbow looked back down on the beach though, she felt a familiar, heavier weight pulling at her. “We do what we can, figure out our next course, and hope we take it together.”

Gilda and Applejack nodded in agreement.

She was painted cream with strawberry pink and blueberry mane. My sweetest darling ne’er did me wrong. She was short of temper but warm of heart. Let my story tell of her continuing inspiration and the strength she gave me, the reason I fought for our land, the reason I had given up my original journey. Even now, in death, I think only of you, Bon Bon…

Lyra’s eyes fluttered open. Or perhaps the gods will see me returning to you yet. She shook her head, taking in her surroundings. “I see I got us out of there just in time.” Her tone didn’t have the usual giddy excitement it normally did. “What’s the situation?” She remained on her stomach, unable to walk or exert herself.

Lyra was ignored, however, as she noticed the dogs and Fluttershy were putting all their focus into an unconscious Rover. Memories of the moment right before the teleport rushed into the forefront of her mind. “Right… bad.” She groaned and tried to get up onto her hooves, legs wobbling while she rose. “How can I help? We need him up and ready to go as fast as possible. We have a dragon on our tails.”

Fluttershy didn’t take her eyes off of Rover, motioning a hoof towards Fido as she continued to apply herbs and salves to Rover’s open chest.

Fido walked over to Lyra; a thick, violet leaf in his paw. “Miss Fluttershy requires silence and concentration if she is to have even the slightest chance of saving Rover’s life. We understand time is vital, but we cannot be rushed.” He held out the strange plant. “This should allow you to walk and perform minor spells again, but do not exert yourself. Find our destination, make a plan with the others, and please give Miss Fluttershy her space.”

Lyra understood and grabbed ahold of the leaf between her teeth. It tasted absolutely rotten, but she wasn’t about to doubt Fluttershy’s knowledge. Chewing the leaf was similar to chewing on gum if it were flavored like spoiled milk and sandpaper. The unicorn struggled to keep the plant down, heaving as she attempted to swallow. When it finally downed, however, it seemed to take effect almost instantly, strengthening her legs enough to let her stand without trouble.

She looked up the beach and saw Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Gilda standing around, all very unpleased in appearance. With a sigh, knowing that Dash and likely Gilda wouldn’t have approved of what she did, Lyra began making her way up to them.

Sure enough, she caught a sharp glare from Gilda.

Applejack brought the griffon’s attention back to her though. “Ah told ‘er ta do it, Gilda, be upset with me.”

Lyra felt grateful for Applejack’s support. With a sigh, she turned to Rainbow. “I know you don’t approve either, but I was thinking of Bon Bon. I want to save her, return to her, and I know you feel the same way. In my situation, I believe you would have done the same.”

Rainbow Dash looked back to Lyra, pausing in thought. As much as she didn’t like to think it, she would sacrifice any number of others to help Spitfire. She returned Lyra’s answer with a confirming nod, still upset, but understanding.

“You got enough energy in ya to get us going in the right direction?” Dash asked.

Lyra nodded. “You know who we’re looking for next?”

“Rarity.” Applejack jumped in. “After all the magicky junk we’ve been havin’ ya do, Ah think it’ll help to have somepony who can help ya out.”

Dash nodded. “Makes sense to me. Would using the water be suitable?”

Lyra took a moment to turn her neck, popping her neck and letting out a sigh of relief. “Yeah, I can do that. Fluttershy’s miracle leaf has me feeling almost reborn.” She stretched her back legs outward, groaning in satisfaction as her body was reinvigorated. She then brought the front half of her body down, stretching out her back and popping it like her neck. “Come on over and we’ll figure it out.”

Dash followed Lyra as the two of them walked over to the edge of the water. Lyra took a breath and let it out, bringing her lyre before her and playing the first notes of her song. As the water began reacting to the spell, Dash spoke, “Rarity.”

The ocean reflected a wasteland of white, frozen winds dropping flakes of ice, a blizzard in an arctic landscape.

“The Frozen North,” Dash determined.

Lyra nodded as the spell faded. “We’re back on Equestrian shores. We head northeast as soon as we’re ready. Pray we all can make the journey.”

Fluttershy’s hooves and mouth worked quickly, applying powerful healing herbs over Rover’s open chest like a blanket, smearing sap and curative salves between them all in a way that made them behave like glue. The leafy quilt kept the dog’s blood within him and protected the seared flesh from infection.

Fluttershy’s eyes shifted, narrowing as her ears seemed to shrink slightly, curving so that they formed a cup shape. She pressed her ear against the leaves, burnt fur and skin assaulting her nostrils. She ignored the scent though and began to feel her own heart race when she couldn’t hear Rover’s.

Spot and Fido looked at her nervously; ready to help should she need even the slightest bit of aid. She wished she could tell them that everything was going to be fine, that she wasn’t going to lose him, but she didn’t know that. She had spent a long time in Reject’s Garden, learning about its exotic and unique plant life; their healing properties and life extending potential becoming the focus of her studies. Though they were magnificent and incredible flora, they couldn’t stop the inevitable.

She hoped it wasn’t at that point yet.

She had to get his heart pumping again. “Fido,” she started. Fido was quick to snap his head in a nod; ready to do anything he could to help his leader. “I need you to do some compressions for me. Do you know how to do this?” Fido nodded and brought his beefy paws onto the plants. He pushed in a timed pattern.

Fluttershy’s body began to shift again, taking on a form she was more familiar with. Fangs stuck over her lower jaw as her ears retained their look, wings shifting from soft down to a leathery membrane. She went cross eyed, looking at her nose as it began to mold into something more snout like in appearance. Almost at once she picked up what she was looking for, the heat of Rover’s blood catching in her nose.

‘He’s still warm,’ she thought, trying to take some comfort in that fact. She motioned for Fido to ease up for a moment, taking another moment to listen. Still nothing. “Take off the herbs, but keep them close,” she ordered. “Spot, I hope you’re good with your paws. We’re gonna have to get his heart pumping manually.”

The moon had risen as Dash, Gilda, Lyra, and Applejack all sat around a fire.

“So… what’s the plan?” Gilda asked, holding her head in a talon and drawing images of herself fighting monsters in the sand.

Applejack was looking into the fire absently while Lyra played soothing music. Dash sighed, feeling the weight of leadership fall right back onto her shoulders.

“We let Fluttershy do what she can for tonight, help her if we can, but I can’t see us staying here… we leave in the morning.” Dash felt a pain in her heart as she finished her thought, disgusted by the thought of leaving her comrade behind. Everything within her screamed at the thought, it wasn’t what she symbolized and stood for, but they couldn’t just sit around and wait to be destroyed by Owayix.

Applejack looked up at Rainbow, picking up on the disturbed pang in her voice. “Comfort her, you love her… show her you are worth her attention,” a voice whispered in her mind, one unfamiliar to her. It made sense to her however, in a strange way.

“Whatever call ya feel is right, Rainbow, Ah’m behind ya,” Applejack said. “If ya think it’s what we need ta do, what Equestria needs us to do, then Ah trust yer judgement.”

Dash felt calmed at the reassuring words of her friend, but the flooding sensation of discomfort didn’t leave her stomach. It felt wrong to simply say such a thing, to imply she would ever turn her back on a friend. “Let’s just hope that it doesn’t come to that.” Rainbow rubbed at her temples.

Everything fell quiet again, the only sound around the fire being the crackling of the flames and the strumming of Lyra’s lyre. It seemed like it dragged on for hours, just waiting for an update on Rover’s condition, none of them able to sleep due to stress, fear, and other various anxieties gnawing at the back of their minds.

“Welp, I’ve had worse campouts,” Lyra’s voice broke the silence.

“That seems a bit difficult to buy,” Gilda jumped in.

“Not when you’ve been through stuff like this before,” Lyra countered, her song seeming to gain some energy and tempo.

“I’m not exactly new to it. The sea is pretty fuckin’ harsh.”

“Gets worse as years go by… better too though. Ups and downs, that’s what life is all about after all. This is just one of the downs.” Lyra looked up at the stars in thought.

“Really down,” Rainbow agreed.

“It’s the not knowing that’s the worst,” Lyra continued. “Will it work out in the worst possible way, or do we have a chance for the better? Are we wasting time or improving odds?” The unicorn’s words rang in Dash’s head as echoes of her own thoughts. “I don’t envy you.” She brought her gaze to meet Rainbow’s.

“Just what exactly have you ‘been through’ that gives you this grand know-it-all behavior?” Gilda shot back, annoyed.

Lyra only flashed a grin back at her. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Yeah! I would! That’s why I asked!” Gilda slammed a fist into one of her sand drawings of a large fish.

Lyra sighed and continued to play, looking to the night sky once again. “Tell ya what, when we’re able to do this again without the stress of one of our own dying… I’ll tell you.”

This caught the attention of Applejack and Rainbow Dash as well, getting them to glance over to Lyra.

Gilda seemed slightly disappointed with that answer, but sighed and nodded in agreement anyway. “Fair enough.”

Again, conversation dropped and gave way to wonder and worry.

Applejack turned her focus to the brim of her hat, where the worm she had picked up was leaning over and looking at her again, or at least it seemed he was. The way her little bug friend swung and dangled from her hat brought a grin across her lips, also bringing her gaze to Rainbow rather consistently. At one point, the worm’s tip pointed towards Dash’s element like an arrow.

“Say, how do y’all suppose the big lizard found us anyway? Ah know he’s a dragon and all, but they don’t just up an’ know where anythin’ is, do they?” Applejack’s question brought everyone’s brow to furrow in thought.

“That’s… a good question.” For the final time that night, everything fell silent.

Morning came, but nobody felt rested. Fluttershy had been up all night with Fido and Spot, trying their best to keep Rover going as Dash wrestled with her own thoughts on the whole situation. Even Applejack, Gilda, and Lyra, who had gotten sleep, didn’t feel rested at all.

Dash stood above the beach, looking down at Fluttershy and the dogs, exhausted and fearful.

“Ya want me ta get ‘em?” Applejack asked quietly.

Rainbow opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t produce any noise. All she could think of was fighting side by side with the dog. He had become a close friend, almost a brother to her. He was her guide at times, her comrade in arms at others, and he even went out trying to help her succeed. He didn’t have to come with her, and a small part of her wished he hadn’t.

Lyra and Gilda stood facing the direction they had all agreed to take, looking over their shoulders, patiently awaiting the order to head out.

Applejack could see the tears welling up in Rainbow’s eyes as the pegasus choked on the words she couldn’t manage to speak. It brought pain to her own heart to see her struggling so hard, a pressure welling in her mind, focusing her attention on relieving that stress in her friend. She began walking down to the sand as the first tear ran down Rainbow’s cheek.

“Wait… Applejack, wait!” Dash cried out desperately, not ready to leave.

AJ knew though that she would never be ready and kept going.

“Applejack! We’re staying… just a little longer,” Rainbow ordered, though her voice seemed more like she was pleading.

AJ stopped. “… Alright.”

Dash let out a mild sigh in relief, but felt none of her stress deplete. “Thank you.” She looked up to Rover once again and saw Spot walking over towards them, his paws soaked in blood and eyes looking down in the ground. With a glance to Fluttershy, Dash was given a clear answer from her returning gaze. “… Let’s go.”

Black Winter Night

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Black Winter Night

The party trekked along the northeastern path, planning to walk into the Frozen North over taking the train. They didn’t see any tracks or sign of the Crystal Empire in the spell, so they believed searching the tundra to be a quicker route, perhaps a safer one as well with reports of attacks near the station.

“Ice wolf territory, yeah?” Gilda asked, clarifying the dangers they approached.

“Worse than that,” Lyra answered. “Our biggest concern and preparations should be for the cold, both natural and otherwise.”

“Otherwise?” Applejack asked nervously.

Fluttershy gave a small hum of confirmation.

“You really don’t say much, do ya?” Gilda grumbled.

Fluttershy didn’t respond in any way.

“Right,” Gilda sighed and looked back to Lyra. “So, yeah, what do you mean otherwise?”

Lyra chuckled. “Well, a number of the creatures that dwell in the ice have some manipulation over it as well. Wendigos for example, though our primary concern will indeed be a form of wolf. Worgs, as they’re called, are a savage pack creature, bigger than a normal wolf and bulkier as well. You got that in your head?”

Gilda nodded.

“Now give it white fur, make it bigger and smarter, and you have the thing we really need to worry about,” Lyra continued. “A winter wolf.”

“So an oversized wild dog with white fur and a few extra brain cells?” Gilda was unimpressed.

“That kinda thinking is going to get you killed,” Rainbow Dash shot at her from behind, lugging a heavy passenger on her back.

“I can tell you that it is not an enjoyable experience either.” Rover gave a painful laugh, holding a paw over his leaf covered chest, riding on Rainbow’s back.

“How’s that heart holding up, zombie?” Rainbow smiled as she carried her friend, his weight was no issue so long as he was breathing.

“I still feel it pumping. It is painful, but at least that means it is working.” Rover grinned in return, simply happy to still be alive.

“Taught you a lesson!” Lyra chuckled. “You can’t keep exerting yourself that hard and expect to get out of it completely free.”

“A fair lesson to learn,” Rover agreed. Fido and Spot laughed, overflowing with joy to have their leader still with them.

“So if we come across any worgs, you’re gonna be sitting the fight out. Got it?” Dash ordered.

“Of course!” Rover responded. “I am not so eager to die again.”

‘And I’m not so eager to SEE you die again,’ Rainbow thought as they continued along their path.

As they walked, Applejack began to find herself in a daydream. Her mind drifted to thoughts of what could have happened had she approached Rainbow earlier, before they left, or if she had gone with her. She shook her head. ‘Why am Ah thinkin’ this? All its gonna do is make me upset…’ The thoughts didn’t leave, however, forcing themselves back as she tried to shake them away. She caught a view of her earthworm dangling from her hat again. “Sorry, Slippy. Shakin’ a bit rough fer ya?” The worm dangled and gave what looked like a nod. “Apologies again then, little partner.”

“Why do you talk to that thing?” Gilda jumped in. “He’s a snack, not a conversation partner.”

Applejack brought a hoof up to the brim of her hat and let the worm crawl down onto her hammer, rubbing noses against his end. “Perhaps ta you, but Slippy here is a friend. Always doin’ somethin’ ta cheer me up. Not ta mention he’s a big apple fan.”

Gilda sighed. “I will never understand herbivores.”

While Applejack continued speaking to and coddling Slippy, Fluttershy couldn’t help but stare at the tiny creature with a squint. Something was off about it to her.

The group approached a large hill, taking a slow path on hoof and paw. Upon reaching the top, they got a clear gaze of the snow, feeling the cold hit them almost suddenly.

“A land entirely coated in ice and snow, an eternal winter abandoned to the elements, undisturbed by the changing of the seasons,” Lyra spoke in an ominous manner.

“It’s the north; it’s like that all around,” Gilda retorted, annoyed. “It’s like that back in the Griffon Kingdoms too.”

“True, but it’s completely unable to change. Permanently frozen in some sort of melancholy poetry… that I can’t think of at the moment,” Lyra finished with a bit of a doofy grin on her face, earning yet another sigh from Gilda.

Fluttershy brought her cloak of pelts tighter around herself while the dogs did their best to close their vests. Gilda pulled her hood just before her eyes as Lyra, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash produced blankets from their saddlebags, wrapping them around themselves like cloaks. All bundled, the party marched toward the snow ahead.

The wind began to blow, a heavy breeze at first, but as they trekked deeper into the snow, it blew stronger. It was almost deafening, the party had to yell at one another to be heard. At one point Gilda attempted to fly ahead and get a better look at what was arriving, but it took all she had just to prevent the gale from blowing her away.

“We need to get to some shelter!” Rainbow called out. “The wind is too strong for us! We’ll have to wait it out!”

Looking back to Dash, the rest of the companions nodded their heads in agreement and began searching around for a cave or hole to seek cover in.

Fluttershy noticed Gilda shivering, her beak clicking together as she grew frustrated with herself for letting the elements get to her. The pegasus walked over and undid her pelt, throwing it around the griffon and tying it for her.

“I don’t need any help from a mute!” Gilda shot back, offended that someone thought she appeared weak to just a little cold. However, her insult fell on deaf ears as Fluttershy had turned away already, giving the low grunt of a bear as her fur seemed to fluff out. Gilda frowned but pulled the cloak tighter around herself, not willing to outwardly admit that it did make the cold more bearable.

Fido and Spot had taken to digging through the snow, searching for any abandoned burrows or underground caverns. Rover had offered to help but Rainbow gave him a glare, letting him know that work was not something they had planned for him.

Fluttershy continued to walk about, looking rather bulky with her thicker fur. She was taken a bit aback when Lyra had jumped in front of her with a large smile.

“I haven’t come across druidic magics before! I didn’t even know there were organizations of them still in existence!” The unicorn beamed as she spoke, oblivious to the howling winds and icy ground surrounding them.

Fluttershy simply let out a snort and walked around Lyra, keeping her eyes to the distance, searching for somewhere they could all settle down.

Lyra followed at her side, however, eager to learn and document. “Is it true you can speak the languages of the animals and plants, or do you just understand what they mean and need? Is it at all painful to shift into different animal aspects?”

Fluttershy ignored Lyra, continuing her search. The truth behind her training, the years she had spent in Reject’s Garden, she wasn’t willing to tell her tale just yet. She also had no intention of giving up the secrets of the Wilds, their knowledge and traditions, the source of their magic. Those were all things she would pass on when she found a suitable recruit, if she could manage to find one.

Lyra continued to press questions however, and eventually Fluttershy stopped and turned to the unicorn with a frown. The only answer she gave was simply closing her eyes and shaking her head before continuing.

Lyra watched as Fluttershy left, pulling out her notebook and quill. “A lone druid who had tossed aside her fear of the natural to become one with it, but it all comes with a cost, and it seems that that cost was to abandon civilization, society, and the manners to simply say ‘no comment.’”

Applejack huffed loudly as she continued to climb up one of the nearby mountains, her friends still within eyesight below. “Gotta say, there are some days Ah’m really glad Ah was born an earth pony. They’re lookin’ right winded down there.” Slippy was hanging from the brim of her hat, the silent other in her conversation.

“Ya sure yer not too cold little guy?” she asked. With a wiggle from the worm she got what she assumed was ‘I’m alright’. “Alright, just be lettin’ me know if’n it gets too chilly for ya. Ah don’t mind ya taking comfort in mah mane or under the hat.” Despite her saying this, she wasn’t comfortable with the idea of taking her Stetson off in this wind; it had threatened to fly away from her a number of times already.

As she looked back down at her friends, she could see Rover and Rainbow Dash laughing together as they hunted for shelter. “She seems to have done well for herself without you in the past few years. She’s happy, in love, free…” Applejack shuddered, the foreign voice returning to her mind. “What could you offer her anyway? A farm? Some apples? Would she really be happy with that?”

“Well… we could keep travelin’ like we are now,” she thought back against the voice. “Wait, what am Ah even thinkin’? Rainbow already told me she has Spitfire. This is settled.”

“Isn’t it though? Doesn’t it feel as though something is left… unsaid?”

AJ paused, her emerald eyes locked in on the mare she felt so strongly for. ‘Well… ta be completely honest with mahself… But no! Rainbow wouldn’t like me pushin’ the subject. She’s loyal ta Spitfire. Besides, Ah think Ah should be more worried about hearin’ whatever it is Ah’m hearin’ in mah head.’

“Why? You know it’s true. You’re envious of Spitfire. Don’t lie to yourself, Applejack. It doesn’t suit you.”

Applejack felt the sharp pain of the cold wind against her skin, finding it almost symbolic of the pain she felt as she grappled with her own mind. ‘Yer right, then Ah should go down there an’ let her know how Ah feel. If’n Ah’m supposed to fulfil my role as an element, Ah should be honest with her.’

“You’ll only put more stress on her shoulders, and she doesn’t need that, does she? She almost saw her friend die; she has to prevent war, not to mention that she feels for all of those sailors on the ship. Why even bring it up to her?”

AJ swallowed hard, looking up to Slippy and managing a small smile. ‘Ah guess… that’s not too bad an idea. Ah mean it’s not being dishonest to not even bring it up. Ah’ll just let her know after all this is done… heck, Ah may be over it by then!’ Slippy wiggled with enthusiasm to Applejack’s smile, almost as if he were laughing.

“Over here!” Fido called out. “It seems to be abandoned!”

“You got it, dog!” Gilda called back. She turned and saw that the rest of the group was still within her sight. She called out the information to Fluttershy and Lyra and they passed the message along until it came to Rainbow and Rover.

“We should inform Miss Applejack,” Rover said.

“Yeah, you okay to walk?” Rainbow called over her shoulder. “I’ll go get her and we’ll meet in the cave?”

Rover brought himself down from Dash’s back with a slight groan. “I can manage that.”

With a nod of acknowledgement, Dash began to trek towards the mountain. As she drew closer, Rainbow could hear Applejack talking but was unable to see anything else around.

“Yo, AJ, you need to stop talking to yourself,” Rainbow Dash said.

Applejack turned her attention to Rainbow. “Ah tell ya what, Rainbow, Ah’m feelin’ rather strange lately, not much like mahself.” She held a hoof to her head. “Ya ever heard voices from time to time when you were travelin’ by yer lonesome?”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “No, I didn’t. Then again, I wasn’t travelling by myself for a terribly long time like you. I’m sure it’ll pass now that you actually have somepony to talk to.”

Applejack let out a sigh. “Yer probably right Rainbow.”

“Of course I am! Now come on, let’s get out of the cold.” Dash led the way to the rest of the group while Applejack followed close behind.

They all gathered about what looked like a small hole in the ground. Spot and Fido dug together, widening it slightly before letting the others through. The cavity was cozy, especially with the eight of them all cramped against the walls. Spot and Fido got right into expanding the area, proving their race’s capability for burrowing.

When everyone was comfortable they all sat down and began pondering ways to pass the time.

“Hey, Fido, there’s signs of a fire here,” Lyra pointed out. Sure enough, there were the ashes from a previous fire in the center of the cavern.

“There is nothing to return for in here,” Spot returned. “We doubt that there will be any returning to this location. If they are a fellow traveler, they would have moved along by now.”

Satisfied, the rest of the group went about making a new fire to keep warm.

As they sat around the crackling flames, Rainbow looked over to Applejack in concern. They had only reunited a few days ago, but even the earth pony herself admitted that something was off about her.

Lyra went to her natural state and began to hum and strum on her lyre.

Gilda removed the cloak of pelts and gave it back to Fluttershy. “You know, you’re a lot different from when I was in Ponyville; got you to cry without even trying to.” Fluttershy didn’t answer, wearing her cloak once again. “Now you sit over there, refusing to speak, decked out in hunting trophies, and pulling off a medical miracle. I highly doubt you’re not talking for lack of things to say.”

Fluttershy let out a sigh. “I choose not to. I haven’t spoken to more than plants and animals in a long, long time, and that kind of communication doesn’t require much actual talking.”

“So I’m pulling you out of a comfort zone by showing some interest in you?” Gilda growled.

“Yeah.”

Gilda frowned at such a simple answer. “Well pardon me for trying to pass the time. I know I’m not the only one curious as to how a whiner like you became some wild jungle pony.”

The cave went quiet as everyone sat in contemplation, the only real noise coming from the howling winds outside and the fire.

Fluttershy let out a sigh. “Well, then what exactly do you want to know?”

Gilda looked back up, surprised. She wasn’t alone as Lyra’s song seemed to skip as she looked over in curiosity as well. With pretty much all eyes on her, Fluttershy felt a familiar knot well up in her stomach and chest, but swallowed hard and went ahead.

“Alright then,” Gilda began, “let’s start with those pelts. I thought you helped and protected animals, yet it looks like you have taken a few of their lives yourself.”

“Sometimes there isn’t an option other than the violent one; and I say that as somepony who always gives everyone a chance… sometimes too many chances.” Fluttershy’s eyes drifted to the fire. “It’s unfortunate, but evil exists in our world, and no amount of kindness can kill it.”

The mood seemed to dip and Rover let out a slight groan of pain.

“Granny once told us somethin’ similar,” Applejack continued. “But she also said we were fortunate ta live a life where we can identify the bad’uns from the good. Monsters like trolls… the mindless ones.” She took a pause and shook her head. “There’s no hope fer them. They just eat an’ kill whatever they see.”

“Products of the Titans,” Lyra piped in. “Back before the rule of the sisters or even Discord.”

Fluttershy nodded. “A lot of them live inside of Reject’s Garden; to protect Angel and the animals, I had to learn to deter their predators. I often annoyed my master with my reluctance… but he was able to teach me, especially when I was able to tap into the animal aspects.” She looked to Rainbow Dash and Applejack. “I’m the same Fluttershy deep down, you both saw it… but to do what I do now I let instinct overpower fear. I’m in touch with my inner beast.”

Gilda gave a chuckle. “Yeah right. You? Come see me when you go through a red out and wake up covered in someone else’s viscera and gore.”

“Not every animal has a loss of control!” Fluttershy snapped, shocking almost everyone around. Lyra, however, found herself giggling.

Gilda started to laugh harder. “You know, I think I’d like to test that theory someday.” She gave a wicked grin as she grabbed hold of her weapon’s hilt, only to drive her offer home.

“Alright girls, calm it down,” Applejack interrupted. “In fact, it’d probably be a good idea if’n we all try an’ get some sleep, hope the wind dies down.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her shoulders and sighed. “That’s not too bad an idea actually. I’ll take first watch.”

“I will too,” Rover offered, grunting as he tried to sit up.

“No, you’re going to get as much rest as possible,” Dash interjected. “Don’t forget that you’re recovering from death!”

Rover grumbled. “Just because I make that exaggeration does not make it true.”

“Ah’ll join ya,” Applejack offered.

Dash nodded. “Right. Lyra, you have a lullaby for everyone else?”

The unicorn looked up with a near insulted look upon her face. “You undermine my ability by having to ask that.”

Rainbow chuckled. “My apologies. C’mon, AJ.”

Applejack followed Rainbow Dash as they made their way out of the tunnel, sitting before the entrance as Lyra’s new song had already begun to make everyone yawn.

It was dark, a new night, and a light snow had started to fall. Against the black sky it held the appearance of stars dancing about on the land. Rainbow took a deep breath and let the magical sight soothe her. The duo sat in silence, keeping lookout for any suspicious shadows, but mostly losing themselves in thought.

Applejack was the first to speak. “Rainbow… Ah’m sorry if Ah’ve been a bit hard ta work with. Ah’ve been thinkin’ a lot an’ realizin’ that yer right. The past is the past, an’ there’s no reason ta complain about it. We can only try an’ shape our future, an’ Ah’m hopin’ you’ll be in mine.”

Rainbow Dash smiled. “Apology accepted, AJ.” She held out a hoof and bumped it against Applejack’s hammer hoof. “I’d like you to be in my future too.”

“Room for one more, darlings?”

AJ and Dash jumped from their seats, turning to the voice with weapons ready. The figure they faced was cloaked in a stylish, thick and purple fur coat, with a matching scarf and hat. They lowered their guard at the suddenly obvious realization of who they were dealing with.

“How in Tartarus did you get past us in something that exaggerated?” Rainbow Dash laughed.

The figure jumped down to them, the snow beneath her hooves not making even the slightest of crunching noises. “Practice and finesse, dearest Rainbow; one simply must learn the fine art of subtlety if she is to venture off into danger.” With a light purple glow, the hat and scarf parted to reveal Rarity underneath the fur with a curt smile on her face.

“A very Rarity answer,” Applejack smirked. “Welcome back, partner!”

Rarity giggled. “A very Applejack response it would seem. So, this is a surprise. What brings you two out to my little cave?”

“Getting the gang back together,” Rainbow Dash answered. “Not to mention I have a few questions of my own to ask.”

With a sigh, Rarity turned towards the cavern’s entrance. “Fair enough I suppose. By the way, can I be expecting more company inside?”

Rainbow nodded. “Fluttershy and Lyra; a few others as well.” A light smile spread on her face. “I think they’ll be pretty surprised to see you.”

“Oh?” Rarity gave an interested coo. “Then I suppose I should go say hello.”

“They’re all asleep at th’ moment,” Applejack said. “Didn’t know it was yer abode, we’d just assumed it were abandoned. Apologies if’n we were intruding.”

“But of course not, Applejack,” Rarity batted away the idea. “You are my friends, and out here you can count on me for shelter.” She sauntered in between the two of them and sat down. “Shall we do some catching up while we wait then?”

Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Well, finding you has been the easiest so far. What’s the catch?” Rarity gave a nervous chuckle, causing Dash’s stomach to drop. “Rarity, there doesn’t actually need to be a catch.”

“Well, if we are quick on our exit, there won’t be!” Rarity returned, rubbing a hoof on the back of her head.

“What’s after you?” Rainbow Dash asked. She and Applejack both carried a disappointed and bored expression as they watched Rarity blush.

“Nothing, dears!” Rarity giggled. “I merely refer to the weather!” Her laughter betrayed her however, as neither of her friends believed her.

“We really do have a lot to talk about,” Rainbow sighed.

Rarity realized that her bluff wasn’t getting her anywhere and released a sigh. “Indeed we do.”

“So first thing’s first,” Rainbow Dash began, “Spike is very worried about you. Why didn’t you let him know where you were going.”

Rarity’s face contorted in confusion. “I… I cannot recall…” She rubbed at her temples in an attempt to remember. “It’s… odd. I remember getting a sudden urge to seek out the gems up here… any other thought escaped me. I feel rather ashamed to admit it, but I’m more frightened than anything.”

“No kiddin’,” Applejack agreed. “What coulda possessed ya ta comin’ up here to look fer gems? There are much safer sites closer ta Ponyville.”

Rainbow looked up in thought, turning back to Applejack. “Perhaps actual possession?”

Reflections of Evil

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Reflections Of Evil

“How long is this going to take?” Shining Armor grumbled. A dark magic aura connected his horn to the red one in the snow.

“It will take as long as it needs to. Though with our connection, you will be able to get to Canterlot quicker than on your own,” the horn promised.

Shining Armor sighed. “Why did you call me now? And why me?”

“Tell you what, whenever YOU explode, we’ll time you and see if you can pull your mind back together any faster.” The horn gave a raspy laugh.

“Point made,” Shining growled back.

“And as for you specifically, don’t flatter yourself. You’re not the first one I summoned out here; you’re only the first to actually arrive.”

Shining didn’t like the way that had been phrased, but pushed it aside. “So, we join minds like this, become powerful enough to win or even stop the war, as well as any other problems along the way you don’t bother to tell me?”

“I don’t believe I ever stuttered. If it’s coming events that concern you, then simply know I’m unfamiliar with the details… you’ll understand when we’re done here.” The horn fell quiet.

“So how do you even know they’re going to happen?”

“Precognition is not simple to decipher. I know things will happen, a vague idea of what, but no idea of when or where. You’ll know enough upon the merge, so stop concerning yourself over it.”

Shining frowned but kept up the spell. The horn began to disintegrate bit by bit, carried by the dark aura as it became one with Shining Armor.

As the process went on, their thoughts began to join. “Ah, I see. You’re quite the smart lad.”

“Why? Because I recognize danger and want to save my family?”

“Because you recognize I’m not lying to you. Not to mention… I see you truly do want this power I offer.”

Shining Armor scowled and muttered to himself, but didn’t deny the claim.

“Such language. Do you always think such filthy things?” The horn laughed. The barrier between their individual minds began to drop and they were able to communicate simply through thought, the last tip of the horn funneling up the aura and becoming a part of Shining. “Do you see what I meant now?”

Shining Armor paused, soaking in the images that now flashed before him. The premonitions were hazy, but he understood what he saw. First he stood under a storm, black clouds and blue lightning tearing across Equestrian skies, while the food and crops around him began to shrivel and dry as it seemed the land was being drained of any moisture.

Before he could figure out where he was, he saw a new, more horrifying image of decayed and decrepit skeletal creatures walking once again, some pony and others not, but all dead, each one walking towards a river of blood.

Then he saw the griffons and the ponies, each at one another’s throats, brandishing weapons, talons, and shields as two towers erupted from the ground. One held a mighty gryphon, laughing victoriously above the bloodshed as he rose higher, while on the other pillar he saw his own sister, glaring to the opposing pillar, rage and fury bringing her wings to flare.

He tried to call out to her, but the scene was washed away under a tidal wave of grubs and maggots, consuming everything as a disgusting, gargling whinny overtook his senses, chilling him. He saw ponies and griffons both swimming in the mass of maggots, choking and coughing before sinking back into the wave without resistance.

Shining Armor opened his eyes and felt sweat on his brow, breathing heavily. I see… you were right.

“Of course I was.”

So we’re dealing with—

“Our very end.”

Shining Armor shook his head. We’ll take care of this then. We won’t let it come to pass.

“Better get on it then, champion. We have the power, let the wife know we’re heading out to grab some biscuits and stop a war; we’ll be back by morning,” Sombra chuckled, taking form within Shining’s consciousness and popping his neck. “If you want me to take the wheel though, I’d be glad to oblige.”

You’re never getting control, Shining Armor thought back with venom in his tone. As he turned to make his way back to the empire, he gasped and felt his knees buckle from a sudden rush of magic overtaking him.

Sombra laughed again. “We’ll see.”

“Enchantment is faint, but present. Much higher levels than I’m capable of, even with complete focus.” Lyra stepped away from Rarity with a deep concern on her face and a glowing horn. “It’s still affecting you; suppressing ideas that the enchanter doesn’t want coming into your mind.”

“What?” Gilda burst. “You’re telling me that there are creatures capable of brainwashing, and even stopping thought altogether?”

Lyra shook her head. “Not quite, but close enough. Whoever did this to Rarity is someone with vast amounts of magic, possibly on par with the alicorns. This isn’t acceptable magic in Equestria either, I know, I studied it.” Everyone in the group gave a worried look to Lyra. “I said studied, it’s not acceptable to use, not know. It’s beyond my level anyway, as I’ve said.”

“Well, this is disturbing news. But why would something draw me out here simply to have me go gem hunting?” Rarity questioned.

Lyra tapped at her chin in thought as everyone else did the same, thinking up answers.

“You mentioned ‘getting out quickly’ when we first met, Rare,” Rainbow Dash brought up. “Would that have anything to do with it?”

Rarity gave a slight glare to Rainbow before answering. “I doubt it. Magic hardly has anything to do with my want to escape this frozen mountain.”

“We might have an idea,” Spot piped up. Attention turned to him and Fido. The small dog cleared his throat before beginning. “Under the earth, there are stories dogs tell, of mind wipers and brain eaters that lure their prey into a general area. The unfortunate dog or other creature would think the idea their own, proceeding until they are eventually found by their controller… and consumed.”

The grim thought sat with everyone for a moment, bringing Rarity to a tremble.

“Perhaps it is best we get out of here pretty quick,” Rainbow Dash said. “Lyra, you ready to locate Pinkie?”

Lyra nodded. “Yeah, no problem, boss. There’s a frozen pool a few feet from here I can use as a focus.”

As Lyra began to walk off, Fluttershy flew up to her side and cleared her throat. “Lyra, could you do a favor for me? If it’s not intrusive?”

“Sure. What’s up?” Lyra replied in her usual, bright demeanor.

Fluttershy took a deep breath and shook her head. “It’s not going to help me right now, but the knowledge will lift a heavy burden off of me. Could you perform the scrying spell for me after we know where Pinkie Pie is?”

Lyra threw herself onto her back legs and gave a shrug with her forelegs. “Don’t see why not. Know who you’re looking for?”

Fluttershy nodded her head, determination in her eyes and her jaw firm.

Lyra gave a smile as the group followed them to the pool. All gathered, Lyra produced her lyre and gave a strum. As she performed her song and spell, the ice began to quiver as if it had melted. Rainbow Dash stepped forward and uttered “Pinkie Pie” to make the quivering give way to an image of a port.

“That’s Vanhoover,” Gilda pointed out. “You fucking kidding me? We ran right past her!”

“Perhaps hiding among the common folk?” Fido offered.

“Not likely. That ain’t Pinkie’s style. Songs an’ booze an’ dance is what she’d be attracted to, if not hostin’,” Applejack objected.

“Either way, she’s there, and we’re going back to find her,” Rainbow Dash butted in. “Better that she’s close to home anyway, we’re almost done.”

Everyone separated and began making preparations to leave as Lyra and Fluttershy stayed by the pool.

“So who are we lookin’ for? You have something with recent contact?” Lyra asked.

Fluttershy nodded. “Myself.”

Lyra smiled. “Right, we can check in. Just say their name when the water starts to ripple. You may feel a bit of a tingle.” She turned and began walking off, confusing Fluttershy. “We need another pool, this one’s used up for the day!” Lyra called back in explanation.

“Oh,” was all Fluttershy gave in response. She followed behind before they found another reflective pool of ice.

The spell began anew, and Fluttershy felt a light tremor run through her body, seeing a similar reaction in the ice. She cleared her throat and looked into the reflection. “Tanzick.” She spat the word with hatred only she understood. Nothing appeared, and she let out a sigh of relief. It was premature, however, as her eyes opened to meet the view of her rival flying with a wicked grin on his face.

Lyra’s eyes grew wide as well, finding her focus difficult to maintain as below Tanzick she saw a bright mint and yellow dot in a white land, with many gray dots approaching them.

“Shhhhit,” Lyra spat. She put her lyre away and turned around to run. Fluttershy followed after, the two of them running as fast as they could get their hooves going. “RAINBOW! WE HAVE TROUBLE!”

Rainbow Dash looked behind her and saw Lyra and Fluttershy running towards her. Above them she saw the mangled face of an all too familiar beast. She readied herself for combat, floating slightly above the ground and flicking her blades into position. Her comrades followed her lead, but everyone lost their resolve as they saw a flood of gray fur coming over the snow covered mountains.

“Worgs!” Applejack cried out.

“No real way we can run from all of that,” Gilda pointed out, drawing her Morningstar.

Rainbow let out a sigh. “I think you’re right. Keep Rover safe.” She turned back to the dog himself. “Keep out of this one. You’re not in any good shape.”

Rover nodded in understanding and began making his way back towards the cave for safety. Spot and Fido followed after, weapons drawn and ready to defend Rover.

As the mass drew closer though, they came to a slow walk, Tanzick descending and standing before them. There were around twelve of them. At Tanzick’s side came a larger worg, almost invisible amongst the snow if it weren’t for his thin black lips and sky colored eyes.

Rarity attempted to hide behind the rest of the group, ducking low. Fluttershy, in contrast, was snarling viciously, drowning out the similar sounds that the worgs produced.

Tanzick merely chuckled at the sight of his rival in such a foul mood as the large white wolf beside him cleared its throat.

“Greetings, fair travelers,” he began. With every syllable out of his throat the party felt the air grow colder. It seemed as if he were waiting for a response, but when none came but the battle ready stares of the ponies and Gilda he continued. “My pack and I were wandering the mountains, searching for something… taken from us.” His words implied knowledge of this ‘something’ was shared with someone in the group. Rainbow began to understand Rarity’s eagerness to leave. “As well as our friend here,” the wolf continued, motioning a paw to Tanzick, “has said that he has business with the somewhat angry pegasus there.”

Fluttershy never took her eyes off the peryton, snarling even louder than before, positioned to pounce. It only seemed to add to Tanzick’s amusement, however, and provoke the worgs to edge nearer.

“We’re not discussing business with your ilk,” Lyra stated rather bluntly. “The peryton is no friend of ours, and your kind isn’t much for diplomacy anyway.”

Rainbow nodded in agreement. “Fluttershy stays with us.”

The white wolf laughed. “Well obviously. The unicorn is correct however, we aren’t much for speaking away our problems, but if I didn’t want to try… would I have bothered speaking to you to begin with?” A silence fell over the group as the thought passed.

“As if I don’t understand sadism,” Gilda retorted. “Could be you’re just talking to us like a griffon chick plays with its food before it eats. You wanna see us beg or plead, right?”

“Well, that is a logical argument,” the wolf agreed, “but no. I see that you are well armed and experienced, an ambush would be more effective for killing you.” At the mention of this, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Gilda, and Lyra began to look around them for signs of more worgs. “We have not prepared such an encounter, the druid or the unicorn could tell you as much.”

Dash kept her gaze affixed on the white wolf’s eyes, unflinching and unblinking. “Fluttershy, see if you can smell any more of them around.”

Fluttershy obeyed, but kept on snarling as her face rearranged slightly, giving her a more ferocious and bear-like appearance. After some slight sniffing she growled, “No others near.”

With that confirmed, Dash let out a silent sigh of relief. “So you want to talk? Talk.”

The wolf grinned. “Intelligent answer, I can respect that. Of course I can see that you’re only stalling, looking for a chance to strike. We all know that this is ending with blood in the snow.”

Rainbow scowled. “So why aren’t we at it already?”

The wolf gave a modest shrug of his forelegs. “Because we’re both looking for our perfect opportunity… an opening… you’re looking for our weak link as we look for…” Another grin spread across his tar colored lips, his eyes falling on Rover dipping into the cave. “Yours.”

“Don’t ya dare be thinkin’ ‘bout goin’ near him!” Applejack growled, stepping forward and earning a few nasty snarls in her direction.

“Oh, of course not,” the wolf cooed. “Because I’m more than certain we still have something to discuss.”

His threatening smile got his point across to Rainbow, and with a sigh she asked, “What’re we discussing then?”

The wolf’s grin only grew more satisfied as he admired his claws. “Well, we’re all going to be at one another’s throats soon enough, so I’m going to get our terms set up through this.” He made himself very clear and logical, though for the fact that he was talking about upcoming death, that wasn’t calming anyone down. “We’ll overlook the weak one for now, the clear chink in your armor, if we can have a good look at our true prey. I believe she called herself Rarity?”

Dash let out a sigh. “I’m more willing to bet on Rare’s skills than Rover’s endurance right now anyways.” She turned around, bringing a shiver to Rarity’s spine before – “BUT!” She stopped. “Let’s hear what exactly she took from you. After all, it must have been really important for you to come after her with a small army.”

The wolf chortled once again. “Fair enough. She’s holding some rather valuable minerals of ours, lenses as I like to call them; rare gems capable of funneling magical energy and focusing it into a concentrated beam.”

Almost the entire group furrowed their brows in confusion. “What would a worg need a magical lens for?”

“Nothing,” Lyra interrupted. “A winter wolf, however, has a breath weapon; if you’ll remember.”

A confirming hum from the wolf brought a sinking feeling to Rainbow’s stomach. “So you basically want to turn yourself into a magical cannon?”

“To put it bluntly, I suppose that is correct. Call it living up to my namesake,” the wolf returned. When he was met with silence again he let out a sigh. “I’ve given every chance for manners and polite behavior, but it seems obvious you aren’t willing to comply. And to think you’re all considered the ‘civilized’ race without pausing to ask a name, even for spell casting purposes.”

“Fine,” Rainbow interjected, “what is your name?”

With a growl growing in his throat the wolf answered, “Freezer.”

“Creative,” Gilda scoffed. “Enough stalling already! We’ve already said no deal!” She threw back her mace and began to take a step forward before Dash stepped in front of her.

“Hold on, G. There’s one more thing I have to ask Freezer here,” she insisted.

“What? What is there to possibly talk about anymore? Any further offer here is for him to get a clearer shot at one of us, which if I know you, you’d never take.” Gilda was fuming and ready to fight, looking as if she would club right through Dash to start it.

“It’s the most important question I can ask at this moment,” Rainbow insisted, calm and poised. “Does this hurt?!” She turned fast and thrust her blade directly into Freezer’s shoulder, bringing him into a howl of agony.

Everyone leapt in after Dash’s lead, taking advantage of the shock she caused. Gilda brought her Morningstar into the nose of a worg that ran towards her, Lyra sank Emerald directly into the throat of another, and Applejack brought her hooves down hard on another’s skull, knocking it out cold.

Fluttershy and Tanzick took to the skies, engaging in their own private battle. Spike and Fido kept their ground, guarding the cave and staying focused.

Rarity came into view as everyone scattered and grabbed Freezer’s attention. The white worg swatted Rainbow Dash aside with one of his powerful paws and let his jaw drop, firing a white and blue beam from the back of his throat towards the snowy unicorn in her coats.

Dash let her element react, throwing up a ruby barrier in front of Rarity that blocked the breath attack, forming a thick coat of ice on the shield. The shield didn’t block the winds that came with the blast, however, as it blew hard against Rarity, throwing her heavy fur coats off of her and revealing belts and pouches all filled to bursting with gems. One such jewel, a massive diamond carved into a perfect circle, sat atop her back.

“The lenses,” Freezer grinned as he began running hard towards Rarity, fangs flashing and eyes widened.

Rarity didn’t move or even wince, instead bringing the massive circular diamond in front of her like a shield, replacing Rainbow’s barrier. Her glowing horn formed an orb at the point, spiraling and spinning as Freezer drew closer. Rainbow took off in an attempt to stop him, but before she could sink her swords into Freezer’s back, Rarity let the energy above her horn sink into the diamond, forcing it to become a brilliant blue before firing out a discharge of magical force that landed a solid hit directly into his chest.

The attack brought awe to any who were watching as Freezer was tossed onto his back as Rarity stood unfazed and composed. When she noticed an open mouthed stare from Rainbow, she simply retorted with, “What? He told you what these did. Please stop gawking and let’s dispatch these ruffians.” She drew from her hip an elegantly crafted rapier, forged of silver with golden inlay through the center of the blade and jewels expertly embedded within the hilt.

Another worg leapt upon Rarity, but made contact with her lens, scraping his claws and teeth in a futile attack. She stuck her weapon’s tip right through the worg’s jaw, piercing the bottom of his muzzle and pinning his mouth shut. She then bashed against him with her diamond, knocking him down with her rapier sealing his mouth.

As she turned to the rest of the action, she produced an emerald from one of her pouches and fired a magical charge into it, forcing it to pulse with inner light. “I’d suggest taking cover,” she called out to her friends. They followed her order, ducking behind large mounds of snow or taking to the sky. Rarity let the emerald fly into the center of the worgs, watching as it reacted to the magic inside and exploded, sending shards of emerald into the skin of nearby worgs, followed by a radial detonation of magical energy. Three worgs fell dead.

“Alright Rarity!” Rainbow Dash cheered.

Rainbow herself descended upon a recovering Freezer, thrusting her blades towards his spine. The winter wolf jumped out of the way, Dash’s forehooves crashing into the snow. He took advantage of the moment he earned and fired off another beam of frost, freezing Dash’s wings solid and grounding her.

The sudden weight made it even more difficult for Dash to recover, leaving her vulnerable as Freezer jumped her, sinking his teeth into the back of her neck. Against the pain, Dash did her best to throw Freezer off, throwing her head back, but he kept his jaws clamped tight.

Gilda took notice of Rainbow’s plight while struggling to hold an attacker of her own at bay while it chewed on the handle of her weapon. With a battle cry and a powerful shove, she toppled the worg and brought her heavy mace down on his chest. She could hear as every rib cracked underneath the blow and he stopped moving, turning her attention back to Rainbow.

Gilda tossed herself at Freezer and made to take a crack at his skull. He noticed and let go of his bite, allowing the Morningstar to collide with Dash’s frozen wings, cracking the ice around them.

The griffon and the pegasus stood by one another, sizing up the large worg before them as he readied another breath attack.

Above the snow, Fluttershy and Tanzick exchanged fierce blow after fierce blow, the two of them risking dangerous injuries to deal one of their own.

Fluttershy ignored the pain from Tanzick’s latest bite, sticking his stomach with one of her thorns. “WHY?” she roared.

“Am I still here?” he gurgled back. He grasped Fluttershy’s hoof with his talon and pulled her thorn out, letting his blood spill to the icy ground without so much as a wince. “Because my vendetta isn’t finished, a Wild still draws breath while I do as well! You think I’d die with that hanging over my head?” With a snap, Fluttershy felt her leg break as Tanzick smashed his hoof against her leg.

Fluttershy’s mouth fell agape, trying to scream in pain, but she refused. Her willpower and new stubborn behavior wouldn’t allow her to give her rival the satisfaction of her agonized wail. Tanzick let go of the leg and it fell to Fluttershy’s side limply.

Tanzick gave a cruel chuckle. “An eye, an ear, a few cuts and bruises, I can accept that price for the satisfaction of ripping the Wilds’ last in half, again!”

At these words, Fluttershy lost her conscious mind, her thoughts overwhelmed by her instincts. A primal howl bellowed from her throat as she began changing once again. Her mane fluffed out and encircled her face as she threw her head back, dropping her antlers to the ground below. Her muzzle shortened and teeth sharpened while her tail thinned out until forming a small tuft at the tip.

Tanzick looked on with interest. “Intriguing. Lord taught you this, I’m guessing?”

Fluttershy’s response was a bite to Tanzick’s right foreleg, taking the peryton by surprise with her newly developed fangs. He felt incredible amounts of pain as Fluttershy clenched her jaw tighter, bringing her teeth deeper. Tanzick actually acknowledged the pain with a scream, bashing his free hoof against Fluttershy’s head in an attempt to get her off.

Back on the ground, Lyra and Applejack were fighting back to back as three worgs closed in on them. Lyra slid Emerald across the throat of one of their attackers, taking him down easily as another worg jumped up and grabbed the blade from the air, holding tightly to it in his teeth.

Lyra wrestled for control of her blade as the third worg attempted to attack her. He was knocked aside by Applejack’s steel hoof smashing into his jaw.

“C’mon ya scraggly mongrel, let’s see ya try it again!” Applejack stamped her hooves into the snow, kicking the powder up as she snorted aggressively.

Fido and Spot stood their ground in front of the cave as two other worgs approached. “Step no further, though dogs and worgs have their differences, I am reluctant to fight a cousin, but I will protect my pack leader if I must,” Spot spoke clearly as he held a paw out, the other holding one of his daggers. As the wolves drew closer, the duo came tighter together around the cave entrance.

“So be it,” Fido grumbled. He pulled his axe back as a worg jumped for him. As the beast nearly fell onto Fido, he swung his axe, cleaving the wolf in half.

Spot took initiative and thrust a paw into his opponent’s mouth, twisting in a way that he stuck his blade into the worg’s tongue, holding its jaw open with his dagger as Spot slashed his other dagger across the worg’s eyes. Blinded, the worg let out a howl and tried to bite down on Spot’s paw. The small dog was quick however, and withdrew his paw, leaving the dagger in as the worg’s bite brought the blade down through his tongue and lower jaw.

Rainbow Dash and Gilda jumped to opposite sides to avoid an incoming frost breath, avoiding the attack before they both started charging Freezer, Dash on hoof and Gilda by wing. The wolf jumped back, dodging Gilda’s Morningstar. Rainbow brought a blade upwards in an attempt to pierce his throat, but by lifting his head he got out with a mere scrape up his chin.

With a swat, Freezer dragged his claws against Rainbow’s nose. The strong and sudden scent of blood made her almost gag, flinching hard enough for Freezer to take another strike and scrape up her cheek.

Gilda rushed him again and managed a blow of her own, hearing the crack from a few of Freezer’s ribs. He let out a howl in anger, waking the hound that took Applejack’s hammer to the head.

The awakened hound charged over to its master, leaping over the winter wolf and crashing into Gilda, sending them both tumbling through the snow. Gilda found herself pinned under the worg’s paws, his drool splashing onto her beak as he snarled. He thrust his jaws at her in an attempt to bite out her throat, but she moved out of the way, taking the opportunity to instead bite and pull at his ear. The worg whimpered in pain as she tugged and tried to move away, releasing Gilda’s talons and back legs. She curled her right talon and punched the beast against his damaged head, bringing another whine before she shoved him and stood again.

The beast tried to recover, getting back to his paws before Gilda let out a roar and hammered both of her talons down on his head in one fatal strike. The griffon gave a disappointed sigh and spat on the corpse.

Rarity was still engaged with the muzzled worg, standing ready with a focused expression. The monster gave a muffled growl, trying to still appear intimidating, but only inviting a ladylike giggle from Rarity. “Come now, darling, you’ll only embarrass yourself. I’ll remove the blade if you retreat and stay away, as I suggested before.”

The worg only seemed angrier as he paced a circle around Rarity to try and find an opening.

“Or we could continue this little spat and end up worse for it,” Rarity said as she grabbed another emerald with her hoof and held it up for the beast to see. He shrunk before the sight of the jewel, backing away and looking for a clear direction to run. He looked back to Rarity and gave a frantic nod of acceptance. “Good,” she said with a smile.

Her aura encapsulated the rapier once again and pulled the weapon out of the creature’s muzzle as he let out a cry of pain. “Move along then. You’ll not see more of me this lifetime.” Rarity motioned her hoof in a shooing motion and the bleeding hound bobbed its head in agreement, turning to run in the direction it had come from with its friends.

Freezer, locked in combat with Rainbow, caught a glimpse of the worg attempting to flee. In a ferocious snarl, he bit Rainbow by the leg as she swung an attack at him, her blade piercing his lips and extending his mouth. Freezer ignored this as he flung Rainbow to his side and turned on his fleeing pack mate, opening his maw and releasing another burst of frost.

The worg didn’t notice the attack until he was hit, his body encased in ice, even the blood that fell from his muzzle stood silently in its eternal descent.

Rainbow saw this and felt an anger welling up inside her. “You’re fighting me!” She threw herself back onto her hooves and charged in, screaming. Freezer turned to meet her blades with his throat, baffled that he had been so careless.

In his attempt to set an example, he had left himself open, allowing his ego to get the better of himself. He dared not try to speak, racing his mind for a solution to his present problem. Eventually he came to the acceptance that he wasn’t getting out of this battle alive. He decided to do as much damage as he could in that case.

With a swipe, Freezer forced Rainbow to duck and evade, withdrawing her blade from his throat. In that instance, Freezer called upon his frost breath to freeze the wound in his throat. Blood kept dripping from his neck and began building up inside as well, almost choking him. He ran towards Rainbow as she recovered and spat blood directly into her face, forcing her to shut her eyes as he snapped his jaws back down on her previously bitten leg, shredding the limb.

Rainbow shrieked in pain as she felt Freezer’s teeth scrape against the bone in her foreleg. Among the pain she also felt excessive cold spreading throughout her body, freezing her insides.

Freezer gurgled on his and Rainbows blood in an attempt to chuckle. Rainbow Dash felt herself slowing, her body resisting her actions and trying to stop. Her adrenaline stopped, her pain overwhelmed her, her heartbeat slowed, her energy dropped and she began to feel numb as the freezing bite soaked into her.

She was defiant however, summoning her anger and passion to heat her as she took one more thrust into the monster, impaling her blade between his smiling, wintry eyes, and watching him fall limp into the snow where his blood painted the snow.

Panting out of exhaustion and pain, Rainbow looked around to see her comrades finishing their fights as well. Applejack sent her opponent flying until he hit the ground, limp and unmoving. Lyra wrestled Emerald back from the worg and swiftly introduced it to his heart. Spot had taken mercy on his opponent and withdrew his dagger, offering him a chance to run, and without Freezer standing to stop him, the worg accepted.

“That only leaves…” Rainbow looked upwards and saw Fluttershy still battling with Tanzick as a drop of blood from their battle added to her war paint mask.

In the sky, Fluttershy refused to release Tanzick’s leg, simply letting him continue to beat on her head as she sank her bite in to the point she was scraping his marrow.

“Let GO!” Tanzick bellowed.

Fluttershy’s eyes glared back up towards him, devoid of intelligence, only a primal and wrathful stare. She jerked her head and ripped Tanzick’s leg from his body, allowing it to drop to the ground.

In shock, the peryton lost control of his wings and began to fall. Fluttershy pursued in a rapid descent, her broken arm flapping behind her as she struck out with her good leg, stabbing Tanzick repeatedly with the thorns on her vine, jabbing holes rapidly into his stomach before landing on his broken and maimed body with her back legs, releasing a mighty lion’s roar.

She looked into the eyes of her rival, and she knew that he was finally down for good. “Fluttershy?” She turned her head to see Applejack standing behind her, as well as all of her friends with terrified looks on their faces. She felt shame wash over her; bringing her back to a self she hadn’t felt for years. The pain in her body, the taste of blood in her mouth, it all disgusted her and brought tears to her eyes. She bawled silently, tears running down her cheeks and her chest expanding and shrinking.

Rainbow Dash stepped forward and allowed Fluttershy to cry into her shoulder. She lost control. Years of anger had to come out eventually I guess. Rainbow looked back to the rest of the group. “We have to get out of here quickly. Sorry we can’t rest, but Freezer said there were more, and they’ll come looking for us. Not to mention we still have a dragon on our backs. Let’s get out of the Frozen North, then we’ll rest for the night and head out for Vanhoover and recover on the way.” She let out a groan as she sniffed up some of her own blood and wobbled, weakened from her spilling blood.

“We don’t gotta worry too much about that, Dash,” Gilda answered. “You an’ Flutters here seem to have gotten the worst of it.” She pointed to Rainbow’s damaged leg. “You two and the dog need some recovery. Not to mention…” Gilda lifted her weapon once again and took a hard swing against the ice on Rainbow’s wings, shattering it into smaller bits that Rainbow was able to shake off with a few flaps.

“Right,” Rainbow Dash continued. “Rover, Fluttershy, and I will do our best to keep pulling our weight. The sooner we can finish this and go home, the sooner we can get the real rest we need.”

The Champion

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The Champion

“I swear they’re just taunting us. None of them have moved.” Spitfire gnashed her teeth in thought about all of the frustrations piling up on her. “Do they intend to let the stress and worries kill us? Just walk over our corpses and take over?”

“If that’s the case, no offense, but I think you’ll end up going first,” Soarin’ laughed. With a stabbing glare from Spitfire though, he halted. “You know what? I take it back. You’ll outlive all of us from sheer will and determination.”

Spitfire ignored the remark. “I swear, Shining better not be leaving us high and dry; it’s his sister that needs him here, he can’t just ignore that.”

As the two of them wandered down the hallway, Spitfire’s ire caught the attention of a passing guard. “Didn’t you hear? The Crystal Prince arrived just a moment ago in the throne room.”

Spitfire’s eyebrow rose as she watched the guard continue on. “He’s not fucking with us, is he?” She looked to Soarin’ who could only shrug. They increased their pace, insistent on seeing if they were having their legs pulled.

Emerging through the large double doors, they saw Twilight on the throne and Spike at her side, both laughing before a blue maned unicorn.

“Well it’s about time, Captain,” Spitfire called out with a grin, grabbing everypony’s attention. Seeing an unamused frown on Shining Armor’s face killed her own smile.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting, Captain,” Shining countered. “I’ve been taking a bit of time to learn about the threat so I didn’t come in here blind and unprepared.”

Spitfire’s brow crumpled in dissatisfaction. “We could have easily caught you up when you got here.” She was obviously not happy and had no intention to hide it. She had met Shining Armor before, but either something had changed, or something was on his mind to make him so sour.

“Not on what I now know,” Shining countered. “Gallows has his forces on the borders but isn’t showing any intention of invading yet. I wouldn’t be too surprised to hear if you told me he’s insisted that he has no invasion plans.” He looked to Twilight expectantly and she returned with a nod and sigh. “As I thought, he’s waiting.”

“Waiting for Owayix? Or do you not know who that is?” Spitfire insisted, almost competing to prove her irritation justified.

Shining looked confused. “No, I don’t.”

“A big blue wandering the skies in a storm cloud, and trying to trample Rainbow,” she answered.

Shining Armor’s eyes widened. “A blue dragon?” The drought from my vision.

“OUR vision, Shiny. Don’t forget that I LET you see what I originally saw.” Sombra’s voice echoed through Shining Armor’s head.

“It’s true,” Twilight said. “The ‘new guest’ I was talking to you about earlier is a Sand Rat from the desert. He served the dragon until it went berserk after Rainbow was ambushed and got away. We don’t have any proof, but we think he might have some connection to Gallows.”

Shining brought a hoof to his chin in thought. Connection yes, but I doubt it’s what they’re assuming. “Perhaps, but at the moment I think we should assume they’re two separate events.”

“Right,” Spitfire grumbled. “Now, since you’re taking over guard duty here, I request permission to leave and join Rainbow Dash on her assignment.”

“Not happening,” Shining Armor said rather bluntly. “With Gallows on our right and a dragon on our left, I’m going to need somepony I can depend on. I’ve seen what my sister’s friends are capable of, and I think they can get back here at least.”

“I can agree with that. They were all quite nearby before we left,” Sombra added.

Glad to see you didn’t bother telling me that, Shining thought back with obvious irritation.

“We had wasted enough time with your endless questioning and resistance, to have told you or let you know would have only delayed us further.” Sombra let out a noise like a yawn to echo in their joint psyche.

Shining let out a sigh before addressing Spitfire again. “Besides, you command the Wonderbolts, and if the griffons decide to move in we’re gonna need our best pegasi in the air.”

Spitfire groaned. “Yeah yeah, same shit I’ve heard.” She turned around and prepared to walk off in a huff, Soarin’ at her side. Worry had plagued her, and here she was getting lectured like a filly without her mark.

Shining returned his gaze to Twilight, meeting a disappointed look from his sister. “Shining, show a little understanding. What if it was Cadence who was in trouble? I haven’t told her this, but between what Nickel has told us and what Spike and I have studied, Owayix easily ranks as one of the greatest powers that we’ve ever heard of, with magic surpassing even myself and Celestia in power. We have to hope Rainbow’s group never encounters him before returning with the elements, or else…” Twilight couldn’t finish the thought.

“Anyway, I think they should be fine,” Twilight said hopefully. “From what I know, I don’t think he has a way to track them that wouldn’t keep them ahead if they keep moving. Now I haven’t told Spitfire this, because she’s under a lot of stress already, and if Celestia taught me anything, it’s that pure logic won’t solve every problem. Show a bit of empathy.”

Shining Armor felt a light weight lift in his mind as Sombra gave what seemed like a grunt of disgust, feeling a pang of guilt as he looked back to Spitfire. “Hey!” he called out, grabbing her reluctant attention. “Sorry I’m late. I’ll take care of the rest of what we have today. Please, take a bit of personal time tonight and relax, whatever you want is on me… I need my partner at her best.”

Spitfire gave a small grin. “Well since you put it that way, I suppose I’ll take the offer. After all, you’d be completely helpless without me,” she laughed, making her way out the doors.

“How deliciously saccharine,” Sombra gagged.

Perhaps an empathetic touch would have benefited you. Shining returned his attention to his sister.

“It’s good to see you again, big brother. How is Cadence?” Twilight asked. Spike let out a light belch into his claw, producing a small scroll and handing it to her.

“Busy as always,” Shining replied. “She says you have her full support if it’s needed.” He sighed and Twilight looked at him like he had more to say. “She’s… worried. Celestia and Luna have been gone a long time and she feels she should be doing more to find them. I agree with her, but this isn’t the time. We came up short the last time we tried, and we need everypony together right now.”

“Of course,” Twilight replied with a smile. “So she helped you teleport over here? Another boost?” Her eyes drifted to the scroll Spike had given to her, looking it over as Shining Armor replied.

“Yeah. Amazing what she can bring out in me when we work together,” he chuckled with a blush.

“Absolutely. If the griffons knew what you two were capable of, I think that would keep them at bay more than the elements!” She kept her smile wide. “Anyway, you offered to take over Spitfire’s duty, and I hate to cut this off, but work has piled up with you gone and there are orders to give. You remember where your room is I assume?”

“Of course I do, Twily,” Shining replied. “I’ll get right on it.”

Twilight watched her brother leave, a frown settling in on her face. “This is concerning.” Spike nodded in agreement with her. On the scroll, a conversation was written in varied flourishes.

Hey, Cadence, did you assist Shining Armor in his arrival?

-Twilight

No, I didn’t. He told me he was leaving days ago. He should have arrived before now.

I see. Did he happen to mention using teleportation before leaving?

Not really. If he did I guess that could explain him only getting there recently, getting closer and all.

Except he’s still drying from the snow.

Odd. Keep a close eye on him, Twilight. This isn’t like him.

“He’s lying to us,” Spike huffed.

“And Cadence,” Twilight agreed. “Something is off about him. I felt it the moment he appeared.”

“His temper is short; you thinking he’s a replacement, like changeling or such?” asked Spike.

Twilight shook her head. “No, that’s Shining Armor, I recognize my own brother.” With a sigh, she looked to the ceiling. “If something is up, he still seems mostly the same and still with us. I think it’d be best to focus on the current threats for now and simply keep monitoring him.”

Spike scratched his forehead. “Your call, but I’m not letting my guard down so easily. He starts attacking, I won’t take it lightly, family or not.”

“I think she noticed me,” Sombra laughed. “Doesn’t help that you’re such a terrible liar.”

Forgive me if I find it a bit difficult to think for myself with you taking up space where you aren’t wanted, Shining Armor growled. Don’t even bother with your retort, I’m thinking it too. ‘I invited you’, is that correct? Not this much. You’re allowed shelter in here, don’t overstep your bounds.

“Was simply making some leg room, besides, I wasn’t controlling anything… just making myself at home.”

Then why was I so aggressive towards Spitfire?

“Dunno. Why were you, Shiny?” Sombra chuckled to himself. “Perhaps a little cranky? I can say quite honestly that I wasn’t tampering with your emotions. Any reason for you being so upset?”

Sombra then began to mimic Shining Armor’s voice, calling out, “I’ve become scum. I don’t deserve the respect of my peers and I’m ashamed of this choice. I regret taking you, and after all this is done, I’m ridding you from this planet.”

Shining Armor visibly scowled, gritting his teeth.

Sombra continued to laugh as he returned to his own voice. “You think all that, and you know that you need me. Sure it doesn’t make it easier, but it makes you feel like the noble martyr, doesn’t it? The self-sacrificing paladin who puts everypony’s needs before his own, at the cost of his own pride and privacy. Oh but what do you need for such things? You’re going to be the hero! The greatest champion of Equestria! Finally living up to the vast shadow your own little sister has cast since her coronation.”

I don’t—

“Why bother arguing? You know that I know what your thoughts are; we share them now. You envy her, even if it is a tiny little part of you. Captain of the guard is worth little compared to the title of Alicorn Princess of Magic. A hero though, nay, a legend… this is what you strive for.”

Stories By The Fire: The Maiden And The Minstrel Knight

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The Maiden And The Minstrel Knight

I was still young when I first saw her, only passing through Ponyville at the time. In fact, if I remember correctly, I hadn’t been back in Equestria since I left Canterlot years before.

Anyway, I had taken myself more seriously back then, though I was still the delightful eccentric that everypony knows and… tolerates. I didn’t go by any aliases, though I had considered it; I was still just Lyra. She, however, was more than just Bon Bon.

I had overheard a rumor of a mirror in Equestria that led to bipeds with hands. Originally it was little more than a schoolyard story I remember hearing on the day a very talented unicorn went missing, but the tale had found its way back to me beyond Equestrian borders. With such a rumor I went sniffing for information on the thing. That’s a whole different story however, and needless to say, I found nothing, ultimately being told no such thing existed. I don’t believe that of course, and continue my search on that front, but I digress.

Ponyville was new territory for me, especially having come from Canterlot’s ‘high society’ and rather narrow mindedness. The looks I earned there for my bizarre fantasies and behaviors were on another level than Ponyville, and I think that’s what attracted me to the town. I was still considered strange, but tolerated.

My search for the mirror wasn’t a priority at the time, as I was more intrigued with life beyond the Equestrian borders than I was in following rumors, but I was passing through at the time, about to make my way into the first excursion to Minos. As such, I had decided to take a few days of rest in my homeland; five to be accurate.

On the first day, I had intended to go busking, earn a few bits, buy some new supplies, and prepare for the departure on the fifth day. What I was offered instead was a chance to play for Celestia herself and a small audience of ritzy ditzy ponies. I had no intention of spending my time in Canterlot again when I had hardly meant to be staying in Equestria at all. The crowd was so engaged and enchanted though that they insisted, and ol’ Fancy Pants himself was in the audience, insisting that he would recommend the princess to come down to Ponyville just to hear my rather… ‘magical’ playing.

I figured, “Why not? More cash, bigger stash.” Get a bit of pocket money out of it too. Fancy went and made preparations with some of the other folk around as they all went walking off, ‘cept for one. Cute little earth pony barely out of her filly years, kinda like me, with a cream coat and quite the angry pout on her face as she looked at me.

“I don’t think the princess will be fooled by such simple trickery,” she had said to me. I’ll be honest too; she took me aback by the line. “You captured their minds to make your playing seem better than it actually was.” Nowadays, I won’t deny it, I did sweeten the song to the ears a teensy bit with some enchantment. I don’t now because I didn’t spend years of practice to cheat, but I was younger then, less wise.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I had snooted back at her, lying through my teeth. In truth, I was more stunned than anything. Nopony had ever caught onto me before, nor shown such sass without being a complete prick about it. Somehow, she had avoided the enchantment of my little siren song.

“You used your magic.” She was blunt and simple, but absolutely adorable when she was skeptical. “The princess will know this and you’ll embarrass yourself. Why did you accept to do the show?”

“I like a challenge. I’m an adventurer!” Granted, I was a bit blunt and simple as well. I insist that my vocabulary has diversified per annum.

Of course, at the bold title of ‘adventurer’ I had captured the young mare’s attention. Granted, I distinctly remember it being expressed in the form of a raised eyebrow, but it was attention nonetheless.

To verify my claims, I regaled her with my chronicles to date, telling of my feats of derring-do and acts of bravado. My taming of the rogue elementals and the laughter I shared with the gnoll tribes.

I doubt at the time that my ‘silly stories’, as she called them, had given her belief to my title, but they did get her to smile. I can remember her egging me on back then as well, mocking me with lines such as, “Is that all?” or “That isn’t quite enough to call yourself an adventurer.” She kept me talking, even as she walked her way home and I followed. Before I knew it, she was thanking me for my entertainment and closing the door on me.

Though I had been mocked and called out on my dirty deeds, I couldn’t help but grin. She had a way of putting a stupid face on me every time… still does, as you can see.

I hadn’t thought too much of it in the next morning however, until I had bumped into her once again when I was gathering some supplies. There was the typical ‘nice to see you again’ talk from me as she merely gave a disapproving glare.

“Right, this is about the minstrel walking through and playing her lyre a bit too good for some extra coin, right?”

“No, it’s about the minstrel using rather illegal magics to take that extra coin. Her harp playing is good enough.” So snappy and aloof, you can see how she kept a strong grip on my interest.

“Good enough? Not the best you’ve ever heard?”

“Well apparently, you don’t even think that if you’re going to make some mind alteration; so no.”

“Hey, I don’t need the magic to play well, to play fantastically even. I just do it to inspire a bit of extra generosity is all.” Fool I was relying on a shortcut, that wasn’t my motive in the argument, rather to simply speak to this clever and cunning filly.

“Sure you can,” she snarked

“I can! You want to hear my playing without spells?”

“Think you can manage it?”

She had given me a challenging smile, eagerness in her eyes. Of course I accepted, and we met up after our shopping was taken care of.

I played for her, employing my usual effort and skill. She was hardly impressed, and the louder she yawned, the more I put into it, until I was playing with my very heart and soul. That had managed to pull her into the song. She had smiled and closed her eyes, letting them slowly peel open, though only occasionally. Waiting for a glimpse of her eyes as I played that day was like waiting for a holiday to come after it had already finished, it just couldn’t arrive soon enough. There were stars in her eyes.

She could sing too. Better than even I can now. It’s a very rare treat to hear her singing, but I’d cross all of this planet’s hazards just to hear her dulcet voice produce the notes she did that night.

Never had a pony made me feel so… happy and yet inferior all in one moment. I played song after song, telling story after story just so that I could continue to hear her, even going on to simply playing absently when I had exhausted my library.

We had lost all track of time; the pale moon was hanging in the center of the sky when our last lyric left. I had missed out on another day of potential busking, but in the exchange earned a night no coin could ever buy me.

Laughter followed, consuming my logical mind with emotional bliss. I asked for her name, interested in knowing all I could about her in that time. She answered with a giggle and another sparkle in her eye, pronouncing ‘Bon Bon’ in that honeyed music that was her speech.

A haze had overtaken our senses and driven us towards one another, breast to breast and nose to nose. The world dissolved around us, warping into a higher plane of existence where we didn’t need words to express our thoughts to one another.

I experienced the flavor of Bon Bon that night, and it exceeds anything that came before or will come after. The cushion of her lips and the embrace of her tongue remain my favored feeling in this world. Never had I found a greater example of perfection as she would whimper and gasp with each nibble across her neck or cheek, the heat of her breath only edging me on.

She had seen where this was going, and halted it before we went beyond, much to my own dissatisfaction. I respected her choice however. At this point, I was considering staying longer than I had intended.

We made it a point to see one another again the next day. It had become a little more than obvious we were interested in one another, so we began talking more about personal interests, hobbies and activities, sharing beloved and even less beloved anecdotes as we chuckled, scoffed, and bickered throughout the whole experience.

Though I managed to consistently make her smile and bring a joyful laughter from her heart, there were a few instances of my past she raised an eyebrow at in disapproval. For the first time in a long time, I felt bad about disappointing somepony.

In the moment of a ‘con’, I had thought little about the unethical value behind any ill gotten coin; whether I had gotten it from casting illusions or meddling with another’s mind. I mean to say, I knew most considered it wrong to do but cared little. When Bon Bon would give me a look though, I felt the guilt I should have during the action wash over me tenfold.

She could wipe away that feeling just as easily, with a giggle and a sarcastic sigh. She would say, “Well now you know better, I guess I can look past what came before.”

I had no idea why those words meant so much to me. I wasn’t tied down to her, but to know she held faith in me brought about amazing warmth within myself.

Again, we spent the day merely basking in one another’s company until the lunar light, and even then we continued to soak in the night hours. We learned more about one another and loved the experiences we traded, taking note of what the other liked or hated.

We talked so late that we fell asleep beside one another, waking in each other’s embrace. To have her smile be what I woke up to melted my heart, and I think that’s when I started to know that I was falling in love with her. I began seriously considering staying in Ponyville and abandoning my adventuring life.

It seems she was thinking the same. Catching a glimmer in her eye, I knew what was coming next.

Disappointed I was not, for with a sultry drop of her eyelids and a swift motion, I found myself looking directly up at a lusty Bon Bon licking her lips. A morning of passion and ecstasy followed, eating our early hours away too fast for our liking. In the throes of our desire, I had come to the decision that I was definitely staying, intent on falling deeper in love with this mare and perhaps building a life with her.

Turns out that dearest Bon Bon had been thinking along the same lines, asking if I was interested in any of the open homes and telling me that if I needed a place to wait, her door was always open.

Of course I offered to pay her back by ‘cleaning out her gutters’ daily. I think she rather liked the idea as the thought made her give a purr and rolled us into round two.

When finally we had cleaned the scent of lust out of our coats and manes, we made our way into town, planning dinner and entertainment. I had no idea that the happiest day of my life would also be the one when karma had finally caught up with me.

Princess Celestia had arrived a day early, taking both of us by surprise. Of course we showed the proper respect, bowing down before her grace. I wasn’t expecting her frown as it fell upon me, and my heart began racing as it had that morning, but out of fear.

Fancy Pants had not requested her presence for any celebration; it was merely bait to keep me in Ponyville while he alerted the Princess to my less than admirable actions three days prior. He had seen past my enchantment as well, and for the first time in a long time, I felt as big of a fool as I truly was in my youth.

“Your actions have been reported to me, Lyra Heartstrings. The spells you cast are derived from forbidden magics. This is a very serious crime in Equestria, and I have come to deliver my punishment personally.” The Princess is an extraordinarily benevolent leader, believe me, I’ve seen the tyrants. However, brainwashing, no matter how minor, is a very serious crime. I had happened to realize that all too late.

The penalty for using such magics is severe by our standards, a decade within the Canterlot dungeons. Upon hearing my sentence, tears flooded my vision and my heart sank to the deepest pits of my stomach. This was a mandatory action, something that the Princess stands firm on to this day, to prevent tyranny befalling her beloved ponies as it had in the Crystal Empire. I knew that no tolerance in Equestria meant I was going away.

Dear Bon Bon… she is a solid mind as well though, and stood before Celestia on my behalf. “Princess Celestia,” she had begun in a respectful, but unafraid manner, “I must humbly request you reconsider.” Bon Bon knew of my free spirit, and that I would take to a cage like a songbird longing for freedom, never to sing again. She also knew that there was no way I was getting out of this free, so she offered an alternative. “I have come to know this mare well over the past few days, and I believe that ten years within the dungeons is a great waste of potential talent. I propose a different idea that could benefit Equestria, yet still deliver the justice that must come.”

Celestia had looked Bon Bon over with interest, possibly seeing greatness in her eyes as I had. “And what is this proposal?” she had asked.

“Banishment. Let the one known as Lyra Heartstrings be denied shelter in her homeland for five years, working the other five for her country by gathering knowledge beyond our borders. At the end of her banishment, she may return here, reporting her findings directly to you.” My beloved Bon Bon was a bit of a genius to plot a plan so quickly. I would keep my freedom, but still with a cost.

I wanted to scream ‘No!’, unwilling to part with my newfound muse, but the alternative was more painful still. In this way, I would keep my freedom, doing what I had been for the time before.

I looked desperately to Bon Bon, and she looked back to me. She had tried her hardest to keep a strong face, but I could see the pain in her eyes, as it was reflected in mine as well. A tear had managed to break her brave façade.

“Will you still wait for me?” I asked her, uncaring of what anypony thought of me but her.

“I will,” she had promised me.

Celestia continued to look upon us as I embraced her. “Very well. This proposal is acceptable. Lyra Heartstrings shall serve as the royal minstrel, gathering stories of the lands beyond our borders, and bringing this intelligence back to Equestria, but not before her five year banishment has been seen through.” I nodded back to her highness, grateful for her mercy. “In addition, she shall carry this title to the end of her days, serving as Canterlot’s Minstrel Knight. She, and any bound to her, shall be provided for as if they were one of our own guards upon her return.”

I found a small amount of happiness in that at the time, realizing its benefit would truly sink in in five years’ time. I parted from my beloved Bon Bon, our farewell sealed with a kiss that also served purpose as a promise of my return.

I was prepared for my journey that night, given supplies, money, and a weapon to defend myself. In the morning I was escorted out of Ponyville. I had gone in planning to leave on the fifth day, and though I no longer wished to, it seemed my schedule held much more power than I realized. As I turned my back to get one more look at the town, I saw her looking to me. From what I heard, she would come and stand at the same spot every day to remember and cry.

Five days I saw that mare, and five years it took me to see her again. I thought, and still think of her every night, especially on a night like this, with the moon shining pale and the stars twinkling like glitter; exactly like the first nights we spent together.

I returned to her on a night like this as well, seeing her just about to turn and walk back into town, calling back to her. She looked different than I had remembered; older, but even more beautiful.

I don’t believe I had run faster in my entire life than that night, and I was still unable to meet her fast enough. She had waited for me, and I had cried for her.

I still remember her first words to me as well, after we had embraced and kissed and expressed our joy through sobs and laughter. Once we had caught our breaths, she looked at me with a smile and said, “You grew your mane out I see.” As if she had been expecting me all along.

The Visionary

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The Visionary

Not too far East of Equestria, across the dividing waters, the griffons built their homes in the tall, jagged mountains of the land, forming great castles of stone and cloud above any other structure in the world. The land was harsh and not meant for lesser beings, allowing the griffons to thrive, unopposed. The closest things to be considered rivals in the same land was the occasional dragon that would flap by, but when attacking the griffons on their own turf, even a fully grown wyrm stood little chance.

The proud race tended their ranches, keeping their stocks of beef, pork, and lamb high, but the true delicacies were found in their aerial cages, suspended from the floating butcher shops. Dangling from powerful steel chains, a giant sphere, enchanted by the highest illusionists of the griffon race to hide in plain sight, lured in many avians, both common and exotic.

The highest delicacy of the Kingdoms was the most difficult of the birds to prepare and capture. It was the meal of the king, and if luck should have it, those he spent his evenings with. He was the only one who knew its proper preparation, the brutality and delicacy both required to bring it to its peak potential. Tonight, he was preparing the dish, giving a crooked smile to the crimson bird in its cage.

“Fair ladies, do you know the secret to preparing the rare fire bird?” A dark chuckle followed the question, coming from a large, dark kitchen.

“No, Grace.” A unified response came from another room, composed of three effeminate voices that giggled in kind.

“The trick... is to kill it, without allowing it to return, or turn itself to ash. So of course, the first thought is to drown it, right?” Another chuckle came. “Well, that would work if it didn’t take so long. The bird heats up much hotter than you’d think. All you accomplish is an empty, heated pot, if you’re lucky. A puddle of molten kitchenware is more likely. So, if you can’t drown it, what do you do instead?”

“We don’t know, Gallows.” The griffon ladies giggled again from the next room.

“Of course not!” the king snapped, halting the giggles. After a long pause he laughed again, encouraging nervous laughter from the three. “Only the king knows.” He stared hungrily at the phoenix, bringing it to back up to the edge of its cage.

“But I’m feeling benevolent today. See, I’d like an heir sooner or later, so I’ve been looking for a suitable queen. As such, a wife capable of preparing my prime dish would prove beneficial, don’t you think?” Before allowing them to answer, Gallows continued. “You freeze the bird.” Confused noises came from the girls. “Not over time, of course, but sudden, and instantly. Freeze the creature so fast that it can’t even react. ‘But my Grace,’ I hear you thinking, ‘How does a griffon accomplish such a feat?’”

Out of fear for the king’s last outcry, the women stayed quiet, only irritating him again, earning a scoff of disgust.

“While our magic isn’t as advanced as the ponies, we have found better utilization for it in our technology. You should all know this, unless of course you were born in a brothel and spent your days learning where to stick your talons and what to rub.” An awkward silence dropped from the room and Gallows shook his head with another chuckle. “They’re really running low on good candidates, aren’t they?”

With a disappointed sigh, Gallows opened the bird’s cage. With a new courage, the phoenix let out a cry and reared its head back to ready a blast of fire breath. Gallows laughed as he thrust a talon into the cage, grasping tightly around the bird’s throat, strangling it and halting the attack. Taken by surprise, the phoenix tried desperately to ignite itself. It was the creature’s last thought, however, before Gallows crushed a small blue ball in his free talon and the crimson feathers were encased with a sudden blue and white frost on their tips.

“A well timed mana pill, filled with powerful ice magic, will allow us to channel an icy death into a creature with our touch. With enough power of will, one such as myself can destroy even a creature as heated as the phoenix.” Gallows grinned as he pulled the limp, frosted phoenix out of its cage by the neck, forming a mild snowfall in his other talon, forcing the snow crystals to dance to his whim. “We don’t have natural access to magic like ponies and dragons, but by pulling magic from the world itself and storing it into these capsules, we can wield it as if we did.”

The griffon females noticed a blue light coming from the kitchen, circling the snow in Gallows’ talon. Chilled by the sudden silence from the phoenix, the instant drop in temperature, and the eerie presence that Gallows gave, the ladies drew closer together.

Gallows noticed and frowned. “Do you fear it? A weapon under our own control?” He let his breast quake with mad amusement. “Such delicate creatures you all make yourselves out to be, bending down before a male.

“You know, the ponies have their females in command, strong and proud like our own soldiers, yet still retaining their capacity for daintiness and fluff.” Gallows stopped playing with his magic and slammed the phoenix down on a chopping board with enough volume to make the griffon ladies jump. “So why are our whores so timid? Is it because you weren’t suitable soldiers? Not creative enough minds to invent or smart enough to work in spellcraft? Then what use are you to me?”

Though the girls stayed silent for the longest time, one of them giggled, assuming that a challenge had just been issued to her. “Isn’t that why we were invited into your bedroom? So you can find out, your highness?”

Gallows grinned to himself, plucking a new pill from under his wing and crushing it like the former. “I suppose you’re right on that.” With a harsh shake, the frozen feathers fell from the bird, as he pulled the rest off by running it through his free talon, heating it with the new spell he’d absorbed.

Warm, but still uncooked, the now naked phoenix was decapitated with a single swing of the king’s cleaver, and his legs soon followed. Gallows then placed it; blood, bones, and all, into a pot. He grabbed hold of the cookware and the water began to boil.

The ladies sat in the room quietly, uncomfortable and nervous about the silence. They sat there, unwilling to move or speak, until Gallows entered the room with a large cooked bird on a large silver platter, garnished and decorated with various herbs and oils.

The scent was heavenly, and the appearance was divine, but with the disgusted look Gallows threw at them, and placing the platter so close to himself, it seemed that they were not invited to partake. Gallows ripped off one of the legs and leaned back in a large,plush chair and bit into the meat. “Mmm, there truly is no better dish out there. Remember if you can, girls, that if I were to ever decide on one of you, keep as much blood inside as you can.” He daintily dabbed at his beak with a napkin before taking another bite.

“Of course, your grace,” piped up the one in the center. “Just to ask, have you decided which of us to wed?”

Gallows continued to chew, looking the three of them over with a look that mocked deep thought. “Hmmm… when I truly think of which of you three whores I’d consider for marriage… I think I’d pick option four.” He snapped a talon as the girls looked on in confusion.

“So, none of us?” the one on the left asked.

“Correct,” Gallows answered, finishing off his leg and dangling the bare bone before his eyes. He gripped it firmly, and encased it in an icy coating, giving it the shape of a longsword, and, in one swift motion, separated the girl’s heads from their bodies.

Blood began to spray from their stumps as their heads hit the ground, and Gallows reached out to carve off a piece of the phoenix. A large gob of blood splashed onto the piece he was cutting, but he ignored it and brought the slice to his mouth and motioned with a claw to a servant that had been hiding in the dark. The servant was quick in their duty to not upset their master and gathered the bodies as the doors to his room opened. Three more workers came in to help clean the scene up as an ancient and frowning griffon walked up to Gallows.

“Was it truly necessary to do that, your grace?” the wizened griffon asked in annoyance.

“I have no use for ‘working girls’ with no talents outside of prick pleasing,” Gallows replied without looking up from his meal. “Do we truly have no better candidates, Gaillard?”

“We do not, majesty,” the old griffon replied. “You have been displeased with every eligible and ineligible female I have brought or forced to you. Some more displeasing than others,” he spoke with disgust, looking at the cleaning crew soaking up the blood from the floor. “It is fortunate that the country knows not of these lengths you go to for a queen. They’d brand you a tyrant and revolt.”

“And this is why you are paid so handsomely, Gaillard,” Gallows said as he had many times before. “When will this lecture halt?”

“As soon as I’m not stuck cleaning up your messes,” Gaillard groaned. “I bring women in droves, many more than eager to bear you a child, and you either kill them, destroy their lives, or order someone else to do it for you.”

“None are of the worth I seek.”

“That’s always your rebuttal!” Gaillard countered.

Gallows looked up to the old griffon with a dark look in his eyes, dropping Gaillard’s stomach in an instant. “Then perhaps you’re useless to me as well if you can’t do this much.”

Gaillard gulped. “If perhaps you could tell me what it is that you seek, maybe I’d be able to find it.”

Gallows returned to his cooked bird, ripping off the other leg. “There is only one, and you haven’t been able to find her.”

Gaillard frowned. “Some flighty female from your youth? Didn’t she leave the land going on six years ago?”

“Don’t insult her Gaillard, I’ll have your tongue.” Gallows took a bite from the leg.

“But from that noble mind of yours, do you not understand that a fling from your younger days is not the ideal mate material?”

Gallows let out a bored sigh and threw his talon out, grasping Gaillard by the throat and bringing the two of them beak to beak. “Do I care what you say on this matter, Gaillard? Have I ever? Regardless of if we were young, I want her now. The snark and mettle of that one; her uncaring, unflinching eye in the face of her superior… made her my equal. I will accept nothing less than a creature on my level!” Gaillard made a choking noise as Gallows tightened his grip. “I’ll not accept anything beneath me, and if it turns out that means you as well, dear uncle, then I will not accept you either!” Gallows threw Gaillard over the table and face first into the pool of blood from his victims, causing the servants to jump in fear.

Gaillard’s eyes looked upwards and locked gazes with one of the horrified looks of one of the three whores he had offered his nephew. He felt terror within himself, but it was drowned by disappointment. “Very well, your grace,” he started, pushing himself back up onto his feet. “She isn’t in the kingdom though.”

Gallows smiled. “This I know. I know where she is.”

Gaillard felt his heart stop. “You lie,” he spoke in fear, throwing his head back to look again at Gallows.

A hearty laugh echoed in the room as Gallows dropped a talon over his eyes. “You suddenly realize how easily you can meet the grim fate as these three? If I have no use for you you’re just as disposable.” The king’s laughter continued, bloodcurdling cruelty ringing loudly in each note. When he collected himself, he swept his palm back along his brow, locking eyes with his uncle. “So I’d hold my tongue if I were you, Gaillard.”

“Then why would you have me continue this charade? Why take the heads and hearts of so many other women if you knew where the one you would take was?” Gaillard pleaded for answers.

“To see how long you would continue throwing useless wenches my way. To see the point you’d give up, but you’re more stubborn than I believed.” Gallows dropped the now bare leg bone back onto his platter, grabbing hold of the icy blade and carving up another, larger slice of phoenix meat. “So I guess now that you know that playing matchmaker is no longer of use to me, I suppose that you’d better come up with something I can put value in…”

Gaillard felt a shiver run down his back, obeying immediately as Gallows shooed him off with one talon.

Gallows continued his meal as his mess was cleaned up; finishing around the time his servants cleared the last drop of blood from the floor. With his privacy now available, he returned the platter of bones to his private kitchen and made his way to a night table by his massive bed. Atop the table was a small, simple, wooden box. He opened the box and saw a grub worm resting within. It looked up at him in a sort of knowing fashion.

“Tell me, little oracle, where is she?” Gallows asked. He let the little creature onto his talon, delicately stroking its back with a claw. “Still with the ponyfolk then?” He paused, and then smiled. “So they’re almost done? Only one more before they return with their weapon.” He beamed with joy. “These ‘elements’ of theirs; adorable really.

“What about the dragon?” Gallows asked, continuing to pet the worm. “Good. The oaf almost threw the schedule off. Let’s make sure to keep him off course until his part comes in.” The grub seemed to jiggle in agreement.

Gallows chuckled in unison before asking his next question. “Have you decided on our fourth then?” The grub crawled up Gallows’ talon and arm, resting at his shoulder before giving out a mild clicking noise. “Hmm. An interesting choice… I can see why you would make such a selection; fierce determination, and now a reason for vengeance as well.

“I can see a use for their ally as well. Let’s send for them, add their piece to the puzzle for our big picture.” The griffon king laughed quietly to himself in the dark. “The world you promised is coming closer with each step the ponyfolk take. I pity any who come against you and I, my friend.”

Gallows walked over to his balcony, looking down on his empire as clouds passed underneath his gaze. “Let us command the very world from here, and purge any who would not see me as king.”

Part Three: Reasons To Live

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Reasons To Live

Love and the pure enjoyment of life, those are my own. I shared these reasons with Dash. From what I know now though, she puts my own passions to shame, fully devoting herself to everything she cares for. Her passion fuels her. Still, I also consider myself to be a very passionate pony, or ‘obsessive’ even.

It was near the end of our first adventure together that I witnessed the true depth and drive that pushed her on, seeing her potential unlock. Her enemies were death and loss themselves, two foes that have taken much from many fiercer and greater creatures, but they couldn’t have been more ill-equipped to deal with her.

I know that so long as she draws breath, so long as her heart continues to beat, she will be the biggest obstacle between those that wish to do harm to her loved ones.

She shielded her allies, supported them, and rescued them by her sheer wish to do so, but when channeling love or even a strong need for vengeance, she becomes a force of nature.

I hold her as a bar to reach, somepony I idolize, and I have told her this before. As if I were being redundant, she had smirked at me and told me she was already aware.

Our friends agree with this notion, witnessing different traits of our valiant leader they wish they could rival. Gilda admires her leadership, Fluttershy her courage, Rarity her passion, and even the dogs held respect for her strength.

If my words seem exaggerated, perhaps they are, but legends are always remembered fondly, and I will sing her praises louder than anypony.
I once wrote her as fearless, but she told me I was wrong. Her fear kept her smart, kept her cautious, and kept her motivated. It was overcoming this fear, putting her attention on what needed to be done that left her standing tall, even as her body crumbled under hexes and fangs and her own emotions.

Was she perfect? No, though her behavior would have you believe otherwise. This being said, no hero, no individual is without their flaws. Even Sleipnir and Celestia had their weaknesses. Overcoming these faults puts them where they are in history, however. So remember this lesson young fillies and colts, and even you stallions and mares, as our heroes never chose their path to be legends, they simply made the right decisions despite their fears and shortcomings.

It’s also likely that they had astounding friends. Not everypony I know would have stood by her side as the jaws of fate closed down around her, but I know each of us would have done it again, and we have time and time again.

Though it was her own element, loyalty was inspired from her, radiating into all of us around her. The warmth and strength she gave us overpowered the chill within as we stared down what we were certain to be our final sight.

The ultimate price seemed an acceptable price to many of us. After all, every one of us would have to pay the toll eventually, might as well take along as much glory as we can carry.

Those who didn’t lose lives didn’t walk around without having lost something in the events. Homes, relatives, peace of mind, confidence, I saw it all taken as well. But even then, the loss of a friend and the loss of faith hit incredibly painfully. In her own eyes though, I knew I felt only a fraction of her own emotions.

It’s strange; out of all of us I would have expected her to fall, even with her incredible inner strength. She was battered physically, mentally, inside, outside, and endured the loss of friends on multiple occasions. She would cry, she would sob, she would reach the edge, but I would never see her go over. That damned smirk always found its way back onto her face, and it was infectious.

She will always fight, we will always fight with her, and damn I’m happy we’re on our side.

-Lyra Heartstrings

Four Magic Elements

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Four Magic Elements

With the rising sun, Rainbow found herself rubbing at the bags under her eyes, realizing that sleep had escaped her this night. She had been tossing and turning in camp before realizing she’d find no time to relax that way. As a countermeasure, she had walked up a hill under the stars to sit and simply watch them, letting her mind wander.

The most frequent topics that invaded her thoughts were Pinkie Pie, what awaited them all next, and worries of the dragon or other creatures coming up behind them.

This morning though, her thoughts were on Spitfire, as they had been for the last two hours. A sort of pull was on her mind, keeping her thoughts on her beloved. She wanted to hurry back home, perhaps out of fear that Owayix would rip away her chance to say goodbye. Her mortality hung over her head as if she were marked for death by the reaper himself, unable to read the ticking clock that burdened her.

Things had started harsh, and only gotten worse as she continued this quest, putting her up against more death than she had seen before, some of it by her own hoof.

She looked to the blades around her legs. They weren’t reflecting light; too crusted with blood that she had yet to wash from her fight against Freezer and his wargs. Her own injuries plagued her with pain from time to time as her own blood threatened to freeze; a parting curse from the wolf that she had to shake off whenever it came about.

Her comrades began to stir as another episode of agony started up in her body. She sucked in her breath and tried to ignore it, not wanting her friends to fret for her when she was to be leading them.

I shouldn’t be complaining when Fluttershy and Rover are in worse condition than me. Rainbow shuddered as the pain worked through her body, but tried to put it out of her mind as she walked down the hill to join up with her friends again.

“Yer up early,” Applejack observed.

“Been thinking,” Rainbow Dash replied with a half-smile forcing itself on her face. “A lot of stuff has gone down since we set out; a lot more than I expected to.”

“Ah hear that.” Applejack brought herself to her hooves and stretched out her back, popped her neck and began to bend her knees. “Feelin’ any better?”

Dash resisted the urge to grunt from the pain and merely nodded her head. “I’m more worried about Fluttershy. How’s her leg doing?”

“Fine,” Fluttershy answered, standing up with her broken leg kept above the ground, tied around her neck with the same vines she wore as weapons. She said nothing more and looked off quietly, still obviously taken aback by her vicious attack against Tanzick.

Rainbow kept quiet and let her friend reflect as she looked around the rest of the camp. It had seemed that Rover was recovering well from his near fatal encounter as he was plopped on top of his pack mates in his usual manner. The three dogs were snoring, drooling, and rolling over one another like they had before. Dash couldn’t help but get a light chuckle in.

“Gotta admire their spirit. They meet death almost constantly and can still find time for relaxing and goofing off,” Gilda jumped in. She was lying not too far away from them with her head in her talon and a hint of a smile in her eyes.

Dash gave an admiring sigh and agreed. “Yeah, they’re kinda like that. Tell you the truth; I think they’re more afraid of Rarity than the dragon.”

Almost immediately, the group heard Rarity scoffing from her elegant shelter spun carefully from grass, leaves, and twigs, with nearly every flower plucked from a nearby field. “I honestly don’t see how I was so horrible to be seen as a creature to fear.” The unicorn kept her head high and eyes closed with a frown as she applied her various cosmetics, a habit that she had perfected to the point she was able to do it without much concentration.

“Well Ah’m guessin’ that howlin’ at ‘em in their home didn’t help much,” AJ chuckled.

“I was simply establishing that their behavior was not acceptable when in the presence of a lady. They should have treated me as such. A little etiquette never hurt anypony after all,” Rarity insisted. “And I did not howl, Applejack.”

“Whatever.” Applejack swatted the comment away, earning a nasty glare from Rarity.

“We should get moving again. It’s still another day’s travel to Vanhoover, but we should be able to rest at an inn tonight instead of on the ground.” Rainbow gathered her equipment, flinching as she put weight on her legs, but her stubbornness kept her from revealing the fact to anyone else. Fluttershy, though, caught a glimpse of her friend’s pain. Dash waited on everybody to finish packing up and wake the dogs before she asked, “Hey, anyone see Lyra?”

Fluttershy gave a light cough to catch Rainbow’s attention and nodded her head to the north. Under a tree, a pony rested within the shadows. The two of them began to walk up as everyone else finished preparations.

“Why are you hiding your pain from everyone?” Fluttershy asked.

Rainbow let out a humorless laugh. “That’s rich. You’re actually talking again?”

“Hostility isn’t necessary. We’re friends after all.”

With a sigh, Rainbow Dash confessed, “What right do I have to whine when you’re limping on three legs and Rover has a hole in his chest?”

Fluttershy stayed silent as they walked, making Rainbow frown.

“Should have known better than to try and hide it from you though,” Dash huffed and turned her head forward again.

It took a few seconds, but Fluttershy started again. “We wouldn’t think any less of you; we never have before.”

“Yeah, but none of those times have I been the one to put you guys into danger. Now you’re all hurt because you’re following me.”

“Because we chose to and need to,” Fluttershy added in her calming tone.

Dash sighed. “But it’s my job to get us through this whole thing safely.”

“I still count everyone you started with taken care of and alive, and considering what we’ve been up against, that’s incredibly kind of fate to allow.” Fluttershy kept her head forward as she responded.

“What about the animals and Gilda’s crew?” Dash spat.

Fluttershy’s eyes dropped, but continued to look forward. “Nature is not always kind, Rainbow Dash. I’ve learned this the hard way, and survival has taken priority over my element on more than one occasion… I should actually thank you for finding me when you did. I didn’t realize how far I was gone until recently. I wonder if I’ll still be accepted as a bearer.”

Rainbow suddenly felt ashamed of yelling at her friend. “Look, kindness like what you’ve shown is pretty rare, and I don’t think there’s any way it could ever truly leave you. Hell, isn’t your concern for me a sign of kindness?”

The pegasi met eyes and smiled to one another.

“You can tell me what’s wrong, Rainbow Dash, I can probably fix it too. Are any of the medicines helping?”

Dash frowned and shook her head. “The wounds are closing, but they aren’t hurting any less. I have to check them constantly in fear they’re tearing open further. My blood feels like it’s going to stop pumping and freeze in place at times too, and I can feel it slowing me down.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “Rainbow, that’s not good at all! You should have told me sooner! You need treatment!”

“Yeah, big and time consuming treatments we don’t have time for right now, that about right?” Rainbow sighed.

Fluttershy stopped, aware that Rainbow was correct and would turn the offer down. They didn’t have the time, and she would say just that.

“We have a dragon on our tails, tracking us in a way I can’t fathom, a war approaching back home, and we’re nearly done. I’m not stopping until we’re done and safe!” Dash began walking faster, pulling ahead of Fluttershy as Lyra’s image became clearer.

“Rainbow!” Fluttershy called, irritated. “What is so important that we can’t get you help? We can find Pinkie; you can go back to Canterlot and get healed.”

“I’m not quittin’!” Dash snarled.

“Why are you so anxious? It’s only going to hurt more.”

Dash stopped and spun back with a fire in her eyes. “I’m not quittin’, and I’m not gonna fall before I get back!” Fluttershy, for the first time in a long time, was intimidated to her very core, frozen in place as Dash walked up to a sleeping Lyra.

Dash no longer felt her pains, the passion in her blood having given her a temporary relief from the cold in her veins. “Hey, Lyra.” She gave a light tap at the unicorn, stirring her from sleep. “We gotta go; we’re getting into Vanhoover tonight.”

Lyra looked up and nodded, bringing herself to her legs. She paused to look up at the tree that had given her shelter. “I once rested under this tree in my younger years, before meeting Bon Bon. Figured I’d give into the nostalgia.” She smiled as she dropped her bags onto her back.

Dash nodded. Past memories seemed to be a theme this morning.

About an hour of travel had passed before the party seemed to split into two smaller groups. Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy were all up front while Gilda, the dogs, and Lyra all chatted among one another a few feet behind.

“They truly are fascinating though, are you sure I can’t study them? I promise I won’t annoy you; perhaps while you’re sleeping?” Lyra had begun to pester Gilda about her talons.

“No, that just makes it worse! Besides, don’t you have enough ‘study material’ with the severed grippers you grabbed? Why don’t those things smell yet?” Gilda frowned. She had to struggle to keep her talons out of Lyra’s reach.

“Oh, some minor necromancy to keep the flesh from decaying, legal necromancy, used only for scientific purposes mind you! The spell has taught us much about many a creature with its use,” Lyra explained.

“See, now that doesn’t make me feel any better,” Gilda groaned. “I swear you have to clarify the legality of your actions more than me, and I’m friends with pirates. What do you think that says about you?”

“A lot actually, it says for one that—”

“Yeah, it was rhetorical,” Gilda interrupted, rubbing the area between her beak and face.

“Obviously, though I considered it a chance to let you know what I think of myself.” Lyra gave a light shrug.

“As if I give a shit,” Gilda said with a sigh. “Look, do you have anything interesting to talk about other than your eerie fascination with my talons or hands or those ‘human’ things? Something I can actually contribute conversation to?”

Lyra gave a grin, her journal and quill flying out of her bag faster than Gilda’s eyes could follow. “You could tell how you and our fearless leader became all chummy and whatnot!”

Gilda shook her head, but smiled. “Well, that I’d be happy to tell.”

“Excellent!” Lyra flipped the journal open. The headline of the section caught Gilda’s eye.

“H-hey! What the hell? Why the fuck is the section on me called ‘Salty Scornful Sea Sister’?” Gilda roared, attracting everyone’s attention and laughter. The red under her feathers came from a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

Lyra looked back as if it were a stupid question. “Because it illustrates that you are an experienced sailor with an anger problem of the female gender. Also the alliteration is amusing.”

“Oh, do I amuse you now?!” Gilda growled. “Am I some clown you get your laughs from?”

“Only if you offer,” Lyra countered, catching Gilda off guard. “You could stand to laugh a bit more if you’re gonna be one though, unless you’re supposed to be the straight mare in a clown duo.”

“Ugh… forget it, could you just change it? I’d rather not be known that way to the rest of the world.”

“If you insist,” Lyra agreed. “What would you prefer? Sexually frustrated sea mistress?”

“What the FUCK?!” Gilda’s face was entirely red. “What the hell makes you think that’s any better? And where the hell did that come from?”

“Well, you’re a long way from home, always angry, consistently stressed—”

“And you immediately jump to that?” Gilda smacked herself in the face, dragging her talon down her beak. “Maybe I’m just angry and stressed because of the shit we’re going through?”

“Well, I thought it was a fair assumption,” Lyra defended.

“It’s not! Not that you need to know, but I find good lays pretty much any time I come into port anymore! Don’t need another griffon to get off ya know, actually better without one,” Gilda grumbled.

Lyra began scratching away at her book. “Do tell!”

“Fuckin’…” Gilda sighed and gave up. “Fine, you wanna know? Fucking with another griffon is fine and all, but hurts like a bitch when the dude pulls out. On the other talon, you got an equine that’s been out to sea for months with a bunch of other dudes and a need to slam with a pole that doesn’t feel like sandpaper or rake your insides as he pulls out, with enough girth or skill to satisfy, then yeah, I’ll pick the pony.”

“Completely logical to me!” Lyra agreed.

“Now pick a title for me already!”

Lyra nodded, scratching out the previous title with her quill. “Well, what would you like to be called? It’s rare that an author has an opportunity to pick her character’s mind like this.” Lyra’s enthusiasm spilled out in the form of a smile that even Gilda had to admit was kind of adorable.

The griffon blushed as she was given the chance to indulge herself, scratching her head in thought. “What do I want to be known as? Huh… Anything off limits?”

Lyra shook her head. “Though, just know that if it’s too extravagant, the world will know of such narcissism.”

Gilda chuckled. “Yeah, well no worries there. Uh… wouldn’t just Gilda do?”

With a shrug, Lyra answered, “Sure, but then we lose some of the flair and flash, the artistic edge we get to add. You’ll be recorded through the annals of history as a hero that helped halt a war, fighting by the sides of ‘Applejack, The Hammer, and Goblin Smasher with Hooves of Steel’ or, ‘Rover, Canine Crusader, Splitter of Lightning!’ Surely you’d like to be known as more than simply ‘Gilda’?”

Gilda tapped a claw against her beak in thought. “You raise a fair point… though, can’t we do simple and badass as well?” Suddenly the realization that the rest of the group had been given better titles than her hit, and she turned to Lyra with a furrow in her brow and her beak open to object.

“Oh, sure, we can do that!” Lyra jumped in quickly, shutting Gilda down. “Let’s see, from your recent achievements, we know you can red out and go balls to the wall ballistic and make a whole lot of blood, even rushing up to a damned dragon that destroyed your entire boat and crew.”

“Blunt, but true,” Gilda groaned. “I’ll pay the fucker back for that…”

“Indeed you shall! An avenging captain you shall be.” Lyra paused for a moment. “The Berserk Buccaneer!” Lyra offered.

Gilda thought about this for a moment. “That’s not too bad. But I’m not a pirate.”

“True enough,” Lyra sighed.

Gilda began playing around with the idea in her mind though. “I think you’re onto something though with the alliteration. What about the ‘Crazed Captain’?”

Lyra’s eyes widened and she nodded. “I can dig it. Sure you’d like the world to know you as ‘Crazed Captain Gilda’?”

The griffon smiled. “Invokes fear, respect, reputation; already revealed myself as the real captain anyway, so… why the fuck not! I like it!”

“Excellent!” Lyra scratched it down above the previous name. “Now… tell me about your and Rainbow’s past!”

Gilda grinned. “Well, if she hasn’t told you herself, we were friends in the Junior Speedsters Flight Camp. It was held above the sea between our two lands in the clouds. I was a lot less of a bitch back then, though I think most kids were,” Gilda said with a chuckle. “Less though, doesn’t mean I wasn’t one; kinda isolated myself with a foul mood, scared off a lot of other kids.

“Back then I genuinely cared about being a fast flier too, not so much after a few years, and even now I pride myself more on strength than speed. First time I saw Dash though, I kinda hated her, ‘cause we were in a race. Of course, you put anyone up against that mare, if they aren’t elite fliers, they’re not winning. It was no different back then either.” Gilda’s eyes seemed to glow as she looked to Rainbow in front of them, memories washing over her. “You know, most of the kids stuck to their own kind. Griffon cubs stuck with other cubs and the foals stayed with the foals, they were kids, they stuck with what comforted them. I, however, wasn’t happy with a loss. I sought Dash out and challenged her again. She accepted, of course, and I lost again, so I tried again, and again. I began to lose confidence in myself while Dash’s ego seemed to only grow.

“She saw how angry I was getting though, and offered to help me out. If it were any later in my days, I would have refused, but in that moment, I wanted to beat her so badly that I was willing to take any edge I was offered. I accepted her pointers, watched her fly and took mental notes. She taught me more than the basics of the camp did. In time, I found out that even though Rainbow was fast, she had a bad tendency of letting the thrill of the flight catch her off guard. I could never beat her in speed, but I could beat her in some measure of skill.” Gilda smiled, rubbing her knuckle against her chest in confidence. “We practiced, and raced once again, this time ending with my win. Now Dash wanted a rematch, and we flew on even ground… or through even skies rather. I don’t know when during all of that, but our rivalry built something stronger behind it without either of us knowing or realizing. We just sort of ‘became’ best friends through it all.”

Lyra was writing furiously as Gilda lost herself to memory. “Inspiring and cute!”

Gilda looked back down to Lyra. “Yeah, I guess it is. Doesn’t say much for me since I became a jaded, cynical bitch while Dash went on to save Equestria and the planet on multiple occasions, eh?”

Lyra shrugged. “I wasn’t the greatest pony ever either, but why should that matter now? I never did any serious damage to anypony, and it’s all in the past now. You went on to have great adventures as well when you came over here and hopped a ship, right?”

Gilda laughed. “I guess so. You make a fair enough point.”

The two chuckled with one another as the group continued to walk.

Ahead of them, Rainbow and her old friends were spending their time catching up.

“Why is it that I seem to always find myself in the company of filthy dogs whenever I set out?” Rarity complained. “At the very least, our dogs now show the proper respect for a lady and are quite helpful.”

“Yeah, well Ah bet the worgs woulda felt a lot more respectful if’n ya hadn’t stole their things,” AJ said with a smirk.

“You would rather the brutes hold such beautiful and powerful artifacts for themselves?” Rarity seemed outraged. “Besides, Lyra even told us herself, I was bewitched into finding the jewels by something.”

“Yeah, speaking of which, you feeling any better?” Rainbow asked. “Any memory returning?”

Rarity stopped the conversation to think, searching her brain for answers. “No. None were missing though; I simply can’t recall why I felt such a sudden urge to leave without giving any thought to my friends, or even poor Spikey.”

“Hey, how is Spike anyway?” Applejack asked, looking to Dash.

“I would like to know too,” Fluttershy added quietly.

“Little guy got big!” Rainbow chuckled. “Looks a little scary up there next to Twilight on the throne, but he’s still our little buddy. He was really worried over you, Rarity,” she added.

Rarity raised a hoof in front of her muzzle, her eyes glimmered and sparkled as they began to wet. “Oh, poor Spikey. He must be worried sick! I just up and leave in the night without so much as a word to the darling dragon, and all during the time he brings up the idea of trying for—” Rarity stopped herself and blushed, turning her head away from her friends.

All heads, even the ones in the group behind them, snapped to Rarity after hearing this, catching the crimson glow radiating from her head.

“Well well! Rarity, Ah think ya have somethin’ interesting on yer mind,” Applejack teased.

“Well, I do suppose that the cat is out of the bag.” Rarity let out a sigh and turned back to the group with a small smile and more red shining through her fur than Rover’s chest wound. “Before I was enchanted… my dear Spike and I were… trying for a child.”

“No way!” Rainbow beamed, flying into the air with excitement. “You guys were gonna have a kid?”

“We were attempting to, yes,” answered Rarity. “Or rather… are.”

“That’s awesome, Rare!” Dash squealed with delight.

“Ah agree. Ah think you two will make great parents.” Applejack smiled widely.

“I think it’s lovely news,” Fluttershy peeped.

“Well of course, you girls will be the first to know,” Rarity giggled.

Dash brought herself back down to the ground and continued to walk alongside her friends, a new joy awakened within her. She then began to look at the other two friends in their line, and curiosity began to prey upon her.

“So how about you guys? Fluttershy? Applejack? What have you two been up to before now?” Rainbow asked, hoping to keep the conversation going.

Applejack pondered the question. “Well, aside from the bounty huntin’ ya mean? Ah’ve kinda just been tourin’ around, findin’ out more about mahself… though Ah guess that might be a tad snore worthy to say. Hmmm… Ah dunno if’n ya wanna hear ‘bout mah jobs with the Slayers?”

“I’ve been meaning to ask about that.” Dash’s voice rang with some excitement. “I’m betting you fought a lot of big and awesome monsters, right?”

Again, AJ found herself lost in thought. “Ah guess so. There were a few times Ah went out with the group on a ‘hunt’. There was a tribe of gnolls causin’ trouble south of Minos a while back, though it was a pretty typical job. We wandered in, spoke ta their chief, and o’ course he didn’t want ta hear none of it. Good kick to the jaw shut the feller up in an instant though, first thing I learned about the varmints is that they’re massive cowards, an’ they went and showed it exactly as the guild master said they would; boss goes down, gnolls run off.”

“The hyena-kin were born cravens!” Spot called out unexpectedly, raising his fist in the air.

Noticing their confused looks, Fluttershy explained, “Diamond dogs and gnolls are close cousins, but they also have an old hatred for one another.”

“No damned cacklers are kin of ours!” Fido roared.

“Right,” Dash dismissed the dogs and returned to her conversation. “So, you kicked a gnoll in the teeth and his buddies went running, yeah yeah, I’m sure we’ve all done something along those lines, you must have done something cooler than that.”

“Alright, Rainbow, just gimme a darned second. What exactly do ya wanna hear?” Applejack asked.

“What about a story about you running up the back of a giant tyrant of a monster, smacking the back of their skull or daringly evading their teeth and claws?” Rainbow spoke excitedly and rapidly.

“Well ya were there fer just that, and none of us’r happy ‘bout it at all. Most of those jobs were for better Slayers’n us rookies anyway… though…” A memory began to surge through Applejack’s mind. “Ah think Ah remember somethin’ happenin’ before I went runnin’ after Foki…” She began rubbing at her temples with a frustrated look on her face.

“You alright, AJ?” Rainbow asked.

“Indeed, you seem troubled,” Rarity added.

“Yeah, just a bit of somethin’ gettin’ in the way of mah memory.” As Applejack continued trekking her memory, Slippy dangled over her hat in what seemed to be concern. “It’s comin’ ta me… yeah… nope.” She dropped her hooves back to the ground and kept walking. “Mah mind is failin’ me today; Ah must be more tired than Ah realize. There I somethin’ there though, gimme some time an’ Ah’ll be able to collect mah thoughts and share this‘un round the campfire.”

Dash let out a groan and sighed. “Do you have anything good to tell us? I refuse to believe that you left Ponyville on a big journey and haven’t done anything worth telling about.”

“Well Ah hear stories like that from Granny all the time an’ have to pass chimeras on a delivery run, Ah’m not quite sure what y’all would consider worth tellin’ or not.”

“Fair enough,” Dash surrendered.

“Besides, the satyrs told better stories than Ah could before we took ta the sheets.”

“What?” Every voice in the party but AJ’s roared, startling the sturdy earth pony.

“That’s something worth telling!” Dash’s mouth spread in a devilish grin.

“Really? Ah don’t see how it’s so surprisin’. Fellers are crafty little devils with experience, an’ whether it’s kickin’ trees or kickin’ critters, a girl has to let the tension out somehow, an’ while a ‘massage’ is nice an’ all, it’s more Rarity’s thing.” Applejack gave a shrug. “They were eager, so was Ah, so now an’ again Ah’d just grab one of ‘em, grab mah rope, an’ let it all out.”

“Wait wait wait… You bedded a satyr? Not the other way around?” Lyra questioned with an impressed smile.

“Right, now Ah’m feelin’ like Ah’ve talked more than Ah shoulda, Fluttershy, yer up.” Applejack threw the attention to her friend, more to divert the attention she was getting, but there was some genuine curiosity there too.

Fluttershy’s original personality rushed back as her eyes widened and her face flushed a bright pink, a squeak of fear rising from her throat. “Wait, what? But I-I-I… I never.”

“Yes, darling. Please do tell what you’ve been up to, I’m most curious as to how somepony as precious as yourself came to become so vicious and primal. It truly is remarkable,” Rarity pressed.

Fluttershy sighed. “Alright, what would you like to know?”

“Not to prod,” Rarity began, “but perhaps your relationship with the peryton would shed some light onto your, uh, explosive behavior. There seems to be something bothering you, and if we have the opportunity to help we’d be more than happy to.”

The thought of discussing something that personal caused Fluttershy to wince. “I… I suppose you should know.” She limped along as she took a deep breath. “Tanzick was a cruel creature, mean and spiteful. He’s also the reason my master came looking for me. Lord and Tanzick had been fighting consistently in the swamps for years, both providing different support. The treants, plants and animals stood for the Wild, but Tanzick worked mostly alone, herding and luring monsters like the trolls to fight against them.

“When Lord, Bleat and Shank came to me, it was out of desperation. Tanzick was still stubborn, and younger than my master, determined to wipe out the Wilds from what he thought was ‘his territory’. I think he knew that his time was running out, so he got someone new, someone fresh, and taught me everything his years had given him, the knowledge his own masters passed down.” The teachings of her master and the ones before him flashed in her eyes. “Magics, communication, remedies, there was more to learn than I thought. He was patient with me, took whatever time I needed despite the fact that he didn’t have much to spend. I became a Wild, and that isn’t just a title, it’s my life now. I have given my own life to protecting the animals, the plants, the land. I am a part of our planet now, as was my master and his masters before him.”

“Ah think Ah remember Granny sayin’ somethin’ ‘bout this,” Applejack said. “Ah think she met one of the Wilds once; creatures very in tune with the earth, moreso than even earth ponies, that could draw power and call fer help from the world’s core. They used ta be a big organization years an’ years ago, right?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Not an organization. The Wilds were merely like-minded individuals with a common goal. In becoming part of the world, they became parts of one another…” Fluttershy grew quiet. “So when one of us passes… a part of us dies with them.

“Tanzick called Lord out to face him directly, not a day after I had completed my basic training. We went to meet him, alone and outside of the forest. Lord told me not to interfere, Bleat and Shank focused on Tanzick as he looked at me with knowing in his eyes.” She choked through the words as her eyes began to wet, and were set aflame.

“You don’t need to go on, dear,” Rarity insisted. She could see the pain building in her friend.

Fluttershy shook her head. “I watched him rip away at each of his throats, seeing each part of him go limp. Shank was ripped away first, writhing around on the ground before I felt him leave. Then Bleat came next as Tanzick perched on his horns, twisting around as I heard every bone in his neck break. He left him there too… open eyed and lifeless, drooping over Lord’s back and burdening him. Lord was useless against him, without access to his back legs, or the eyes of Shank and Bleat, he wasn’t used to fighting without his brothers… so he didn’t. He stood there, unafraid and proud. Tanzick hated him for it, and in one final act of defiance, my master let out his final lion’s roar… and I ran. Only seconds after his roar began, did I feel his presence leave and the rush of loneliness hit me. I am the final Wild, and Tanzick made it so.”

Things were quiet among the companions as Fluttershy seethed. Her hooves narrowed to sharp points and her teeth into fangs. “He tried to wipe us all out, left me alone!”

“Easy girl, he’s gone now! Ya made darn sure o’ that,” Applejack said in an attempt to calm her down. “An’ we’re here for ya now too. Yer with friends.”

Fluttershy took deep breaths, smoothing her teeth and hooves back to normal. “You’re right. He’s gone, and I’m not alone anymore. Lord may be gone, but Tanzick is gone now too.”

“An’ ya just gotta take some time an’ get over it. It ain’t gonna be easy, sugarcube. Loss takes a long long time ta get over… take it from me.” Applejack went quiet with a sad smile on her face.

Fluttershy could feel the understanding in Applejack’s words and eyes.

“Shoot, Ah remember when you’d be bawlin’ yer eyes out, not more fiery than a dragon’s belly.” Applejack laughed.

Fluttershy giggled nervously. “I remember it too.”

The four of them all laughed in unison, reminded of their old bond.

Rainbow Dash felt a large weight lift off of her shoulders. She had been stressed and worried all about putting her friends in danger, about causing them harm, but right now, having gathered all of her friends and sharing their stories and laughter, she felt good. They had all put themselves in danger, and gotten out of it perfectly fine. Rainbow had gathered them together, given them numbers and comfort and returned bonds to them. The four of them had been unified by their elements, but their friendship made them worthy of them in the first place and had brought them all together once again.

We’re almost home, and we’re ALL going there together.

The stars began to dot the sky as Vanhoover came into view. Sighs of relief and whoops of joy erupted. As they began to walk closer, Rainbow found herself looking into the sky, embracing the cool breeze on her face.

“Hey… guys?” Rainbow Dash began, grabbing everyone’s attention. “I’m gonna sleep outside tonight… just another night.” She got a few odd looks thrown her way, but her smile brought about some understanding. “The sky is full of stars, the temperature is perfect, and the grass is soft… I feel I’d be missing out if I didn’t, ya know?”

The rest of the group looked up to the stars as she was doing, soaking in the natural beauty of the night sky.

“I think I’ll join you,” spoke Lyra. “Some of my best times travelling have been merely resting out in night like this one, producing some of my prime writing.”

“I think I’d prefer staying out here as well,” Fluttershy agreed. “I’ve grown used to it. A bed would seem foreign to me after all this time.”

“Dogs agree! The earth houses the diamonds, it houses diamond dogs as well; it is no trouble for us.” Rover smiled widely, slapping his chest with pride before grunting in pain, feeling a little foolish.

Gilda was already pulling off her pack and finding a spot to rest.

“Oh… fine,” Rarity sighed. “I suppose for the lovely night, I can sleep outdoors once again.” Despite her saying this, she did have a pout on her face.

Rainbow Dash smiled as everyone began picking out spots to rest. Dash simply plopped right down where she was, lying on her back. She took a long and deep breath with her eyes shut, allowing the wind to play with her mane and caress her muzzle. She allowed herself to relax for the first time in a long time. Her eyes opened to a welcome sight of sparkling stars.

The constant flow from one extreme emotion to the other was exhausting. Anger, terror, depression, frustration, worry, it was refreshing to be able to simply lie down and allow herself to be happy with her friends.

“Hey, would you look at that?” Lyra piped up. Rainbow turned to see her lying on her back in a similar fashion, pointing her hoof to the sky. Dash turned her head back up to see what she was pointing at. “You can see ‘Discord’s Downfall’ tonight. Ya see it?”

“What do you mean, Missus Lyra?” Spot asked. The three dogs got on their backs to observe as well.

“Yes, dogs only see skylights, not some po-nee god’s fall,” Rover finished.

“Well yeah, but you gotta connect them. See?” Lyra’s horn glowed mildly as she connected star to star with an amber line of magical light. “See? There you have discord, and there are the princesses.”

The dogs squinted before grunting with signs of being impressed. “Interesting. Are more stories recorded in the night sky?” Rover asked.

“Sure there are,” Gilda jumped in. “Some griffon ones too. Lyra, you familiar with Pazuzu?”

“Yeah, I can even see him too.” Lyra connected the stars, illustrating a bipedal figure with four massive wings. “Wasn’t he a deity?”

“Yeah, not the best one of ours though,” Gilda answered. “Pazuzu put the first griffon king on the throne, as the legends go. Granter of wishes and king maker they called him. The funny thing is that, though the stories tell that he granted every wish brought to him, things turned out pretty nasty for the one with the wish. First king on the throne is still known as the shortest lived king in our history.”

“Bloodiest and most brutal of deaths I heard too, right?” Lyra asked.

“Not an organ left in a single piece. Or even just two.” Gilda gave a light chuckle.

Rainbow looked around for some constellations she could identify as well. “Right there, next to Pazuzu, I think I remember my dad telling me about that guy as a kid; King of the Nightmares right? I can’t remember his name though...”

Lyra lit the lines up, filling out an eight legged horse, taller and brawnier than any other pony. She opened her mouth to answer, but Applejack interrupted.

“Yeah, Granny told me ‘bout that feller too. Slipper or somethin’.”

“Sleipnir,” Lyra corrected.

“Right, that’s it. Wasn’ ‘e some sorta hero?” Applejack asked.

“Yeah,” Dash picked the narration up. “Dad said he walked ponies across the barrier when we died, and that he used to interact with us all too.”

“Very attractive from what I’ve heard,” Rarity giggled.

“Big too. Believe it or not, Big Mac looked up to the stories.” Applejack smiled.

“No kidding, he wasn’t alone,” Rainbow laughed. “I told dad I wanted to race against the guy someday. I was gonna outfly the skyrunner. Hell, if he existed, I’d do it in an instant.”

“Well he may have. But even if he did, he’s gone now.” Lyra let out a sigh and silence dropped on the other ponies.

“Well what happened to the guy?” Gilda asked.

“And why would ponies care for a creature known as ‘King of Nightmares?” Spot added in.

“It’s a darker nickname than it implies,” Lyra explained. “The Nightmares used to be another race of pony, but they existed so long ago, I can’t help but wonder if they’re just a story as well.

“They supposedly brought fire to pony attention, warming everypony and lighting up the dark. They also lived within the dark, taking positions as guardians among us, fighting away any evils that would rush in and attack. They were named Nightmares for being the nocturnal defenders of us all, and just as Celestia and Luna guard us all now, the Nightmares had Sleipnir. Sleipnir took the black with pride, looking out for all of pony kind with the Nightmares at his side; well worthy of every legend we tell of him.”

“A great po-nee lord. Interesting, as dogs thought mostly females held power in po-nee lands,” Rover observed.

“Well, mostly does not mean all, Rover darling. This was a long time ago as well,” Rarity countered.

“Pretty much,” Lyra agreed. “Though the story does have the inevitable tragedy to it, or we’d be seeing Nightmares running around with us all. Sure enough… and there’s a sign for this story too somewhere…” Lyra scanned the sky before highlighting the images of ponies in the sky, her light wavering as if their manes were composed of fire. “The Nightmares were a breed of pony that fed on emotions. This was a symbiotic relationship, as our safety and happiness was plentiful and filling. There was an especially dark night though, when the fires went out before the designated time, and the pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies heard the sounds of the monsters in the dark, and they were frightened. The Nightmares stepped in, defending us all from the things we couldn’t see, but when they fed, they became addicted to the taste of terror.

“The Nightmares, once our guardians, sprouted manes of flame and took to scaring us and using us as farms to feed their craving. Their hunger overpowered them, destroying the noble desire to protect over time.” Lyra’s horn continued to glimmer as the eyes of the star ponies flared. “They took to using the very fire they gifted us with, to choke with smoke and force the fear out of us. During this time, Sleipnir had been spending time in the otherworld, speaking with dead friends. Upon his return, he was outraged, and the only one able to do anything. He tried diplomacy, but the Nightmares were too far gone, too powerfully addicted, and they turned upon their leader. He only had one option, and he took it, separating the pitch coated Nightmares from the rest of us. His body was destroyed, as the resistance of the Nightmares was strong and needed all his earthly strength to be held. He saved the ponies without killing the Nightmares, creatures he considered his own children, and we remember him with stories in the stars.”

Dash sighed. “It’s too bad though,” she started. “Because you just know our story is gonna surpass even one as good as that!”

Laughter rang in the night from Rainbow’s friends, bringing a smile to her own face.

All The Clowns

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All The Clowns

Rainbow Dash felt the first signs of the morning sun warming her face, letting her eyes flutter open halfway. With her vision blurred, she yawned and rolled over onto her side, met with a faded image of Spitfire. She frowned in confusion, sure that she wasn’t seeing clearly. She rubbed her eyes to try and clear her vision, but sure enough, she saw Spitfire in a rather confusing and alluring pose, resting her head on one of her forehooves and giving a suggestive grin.

“What the?” Rainbow started knocking against her head with a hoof, trying to make sure that she was actually awake. She opened her eyes again and noticed something was odd about the image of Spitfire, most noticeably the yellow of her eyes and the sizes of her now red pupils, not to mention a solitary fang poking over her lower lip. “What the hell? What are you doing here?” Rainbow roared, rising to her hooves and flaring out her wings.

Her eruption awoke her comrades, alerting them and bringing them into battle positions.

The Spitfire imposter let out a deep chuckle, shaking their head as they rose to stand on their two back legs. With an oddly masculine voice for their form, they answered, “Now really, Rainbow Dash, I thought you’d be thrilled to see me like this. I mean you always seem to be more than ecstatic whenever you look upon your dear darling damsel. What exactly must I do to be as attractive as her?” A pouting lip sported forth from the imposter, quivering in mock sadness.

“For one, don’t pretend to be her!” Rainbow snarled. “Why are you here, Discord?”

“I simply saw my dearest of friends and was looking for a bit of a reunion,” Discord answered, retaining the appearance of a bipedal Spitfire, hooves on his hips.

“Likely story,” Applejack spat. “If’n you were any friend to note, ya wouldn’tve made for the hills as soon as the Princesses went missin’.”

“Are you questioning my loyalty, dear Applejack?” Discord made Spitfire’s mouth ask. A halo popped into appearance above his head as he flared his wings out and clapped his forehooves together. “How do you know that I didn’t run looking for them the instant they disappeared?”

“Because ya didn’t,” Applejack retorted.

“Oh fine.” The halo disappeared in a puff of smoke as Discord crossed his forelegs and frowned. “Of course I ran as soon as I wasn’t being watched. What fun is there in listening to orders and having somepony looking over your shoulder, telling you what you can and can’t do?” Another deep voiced chuckle escaped his throat.

“Stop looking like that,” Rainbow Dash growled.

“Ugh, see what I mean?” Discord twisted and splashed about in spasmodic yet fluid motions, altering color and form until he returned to his natural self. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say all of you ponies had no sense of humor. But then, there seems to be two of you missing, one of them I know has good humor.” A knowing smirk spread across his face.

“What is this creature?” Rover asked aloud, with a confused sneer. His sword burned at his side, Spot and Fido standing on guard as well.

“Oh, it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen the hounds above the dirt,” Discord laughed. “Why you three look like mere pups compared to the older, brawnier dogs of those days though. Perhaps a more appropriate look is in order?” With a snap of his talon, Discord transformed the three dogs into small quadruped puppies of themselves, letting their weapons crash into the dirt.

The dogs saw one another and their eyes went wide, letting out small yips of protest towards Discord as he guffawed, spinning in the air with delight.

Fluttershy’s eyes lit up as she saw the pups, causing her to quietly squeal with delight.

Rainbows teeth could only grind harder. “Change them back.”

Discord sighed and did as he was told. The dogs panicked and patted their bodies, making sure they were all put back together.

“So angry this morning, Rainbow Flash. What in Equestria could be bothering you I wonder?” Discord gave a devious grin.

Rainbow Dash growled before feeling Gilda’s talon rest on her shoulder. The griffon shook her head, advising against the instinct to leap and attack. Rainbow kept her frown strong however, leering over the draconequus with angry eyes.

“Wouldya mind not bein’ a pain in our asses an’ actually givin’ us some straight answers?” Applejack stepped in with a stern gaze.

“Well now that would be boring, wouldn’t it? I came to have fun with some old friends, and you all act so cruel. Some Elements of Harmony you all turned out to be. How can you expect to win a war with friendship as your main weapon if you can’t even act friendly?” Though his words expressed disappointment, Discord’s smile and tone suggested a teasing nature. He would wander around the companions, floating on his back as he spoke and addressed them.

“Wait, how did you know that?” Rainbow demanded.

“Oh please, you act as if the same situation hasn’t played out time and time again,” Discord yawned. “I mean, really, as soon as I woke up the very first thing you went off to do was seek out the elements to seal me away again. You’ve done the same thing for most every threat that arose; even if it wasn’t the solution, it’s your opening card.” In an illustrative fashion, Discord summoned a hand of playing cards to his paw, throwing one of them to the ground in front of Rainbow Dash.

She saw him within the card with the text ‘joker’ written on the top and flipped on the bottom as he danced about with a jester’s cap on. The image on the card then turned to look at her and continued to speak. “I have to say, relying too heavily on a certain strategy in this game can be quite hindering. You should consider adding variety into the game, something unpredictable. After all, what will you do when you can’t collect the pieces needed for your winning play? When one is taken out of the game?” There was a quiet voice of foreboding as Discord spoke, almost as if he knew more than he was simply telling.

“We hold a prominent unicorn guard from the Crystal Empire should it come to blows,” Lyra insisted. She walked up to Discord as he pulled himself out of the card like it was a pit in the ground. As he removed his hat and dropped the card within, Lyra took to scanning him with her eyes.

As she drew closer, Discord actually felt a bit of discomfort. He felt as if she were looking through him, on a microscopic level. “And, you are?” he asked.

Lyra stepped back and beamed wide. “Lyra Penelope Heartstrings! Author, adventurer, minstrel, researcher, biped enthusiast, and part-time knight. Pleased to meet you, Discord. I’ve read of your history.”

“Another scholarly unicorn I see.” Discord sounded unimpressed. “Are you here to replace the purple one?”

“No no no, of course not. Princess Twilight is attending her duties in Canterlot as the last available Alicorn. I am here for entertainment, navigation, and my own personal desire; which, at the moment, includes you!” Lyra kept her tone proper and polite with a smile on her face the entire time.

Discord’s eyes lit up. “Oh really now? Well aren’t you the intriguing little pony.”

“Yes, I am, but that’s not what I’m talking about right now, is it?” Lyra’s proper tone seemed to slip as her eyes opened in a menacing and almost scary angle. “You seem to have… advantages I’d like to manipulate.” A bit of silence hung over everyone in the camp, until Lyra continued with saying one word, “... hands.”

“Excuse me?” Discord muttered, literally shrinking under Lyra’s gaze.

The unicorn stepped forward, holding her forehoof before the now tiny creature before her. “Give me hands, god! Fingers, palms, thumbs, and knuckles! You understand what I speak of right? Should I provide a sample?” She reached to her bag before Fido and Spot grabbed ahold of her and pulled her away.

“Much apologies, Po-nee god!” Spot started with a nervous smile.

“Yes, much indeed!” Fido added with a face that reflected Spot’s.

The duo pulled Lyra away as she began to scream ferociously at the two of them. “NO! No dammit no! This was my chance! Guys stop it! No, I want them! I want ‘em I want ‘em I want ‘em!”

As Lyra was dragged away in a fit, Discord returned to his normal size, interest in his eyes. “How have I never noticed that one before?” he pondered aloud.

“She does give a valid point, however,” Rarity chimed in. “Shining Armor should have appeared in the kingdom with the Crystal Paladins by now.”

“Well that’s all fine and dandy, but isn’t the point of this endeavor to prevent war?” Discord pointed out.

“He’s got a point,” Gilda insisted. “We’ve been kinda lucky so far, avoiding an angry dragon and getting out of scrapes without any of you kicking the bucket. I remember that our Wild companion took some convincing from what you tell me too. What if we don’t find Pinkie, or she doesn’t want to come back? You don’t know why she left in the first place after all, right?”

Rainbow thought over Gilda’s words. “She’ll want to come. Even if things have changed, Pinkie Pie is our friend and wants to see her home safe, even if it isn’t her home anymore.”

“That doesn’t address the other ‘what if’ scenario,” Discord intervened, a smug grin on his face. “The big one. Should any of your six reach a ‘final destination’ on their journey, and the elements are reduced to five. Do you have a backup in that case?”

“Could po-nees not simply find a new bearer?” Rover asked.

Rainbow frowned. “We don’t know too much about the elements. Celestia and Luna were the former wielders, but it seems that nowadays they require separate individuals. Whether it’s because the princesses strongly represent the elements alone or something else, I don’t know what allows their use and I don’t think Twilight does either.”

“What’re we talkin’ ifs fer anyway?” Applejack objected. “Our job is to gather everypony an’ bring ‘em back. An Apple doesn’t simply give up or think of failure, we get it done!” Her determination hit the group hard. She turned her attention to Discord. “Yer trick ain’t workin’. Ah don’t doubt we can do this, an’ yer gonna find that there’s no reason Ah should!”

Rainbow nodded, feeling almost embarrassed she needed Applejack to shake determination back into her. “She’s right, Discord.” Renewed enthusiasm was in her voice and in her smile.

“Fair enough, I simply figured that I’d take some time to offer some intelligent thinking. Though who am I to object to an idea that could bring about hectic and brilliant chaos in its failure?” Discord’s chuckle sent a chill through the group. “Anyways, I see you’re all heading into town; it should prove entertaining. I’ll be here watching.” As Discord turned to walk away, he sprouted a second face on the back of his neck. “One more thing, do tell dear ‘Jack’ I said hello, won’t you?”

“What makes you so sure we’re going to go talking with pirates?” Gilda questioned. She recognized the name immediately and knew something was up. “Nobody even sees Jack.”

“Just do me the favor if you happen to meet up,” Discord repeated. His second face was sucked back out of existence with a pop as he himself coiled in the air, devouring his own tail and going on until he too disappeared in the most bizarre fashion Dash had seen.

“The feeling that the po-nee god knows more than he told won’t leave,” Rover said, absentmindedly scratching his head.

“He always does,” Applejack sighed in return.

Entering town, the party found themselves witness to many ponies speaking in hushed tones into one another’s ears. From what they could make out, there was speak of restless pirates and even speak of a storm that had passed by days ago; not long after they themselves had set out in search of Applejack.

“I’m thinking your old friend was talking more sense than we gave him credit for,” Gilda commented. “Seems like Jack’s name has grown since he got here.”

Lyra’s face was frozen in a frown as she walked along, only looking up from the ground to look at Spot and Fido like they had just murdered a child of hers. The two dogs rushed to a nearby ally and tried hiding behind them to avoid the glare.

Rarity walked over to her fellow unicorn and offered some kind words. “Come now, Lyra. What uses have you for fingers and palms when you were blessed with magic? Besides, those hooves of yours have walked thousands of steps in hundreds of stories, and it’s your duty to tell such tales, is it not?”

Lyra’s frown didn’t disappear, but it did seem to lighten at Rarity’s words. “I suppose you have a point… I still want them though!”

Applejack was absorbed in her thoughts, though whichever thoughts were hers she couldn’t tell. She kept her eyes to the dirt and attempted to not make too much of a struggle with herself out of fear that her friends would worry for her.

But simply because she wasn’t showing her pain didn’t mean she wasn’t experiencing it. Voices swirled in her head, deafening her to the outside world. “Hey, Ah think Ah’m gonna split off fer now. Ah gotta… get somethin’ ta drink,” she excused herself and began walking off.

“You okay, AJ?” Rainbow called after her friend. She was ignored, however, as Applejack left her sight. “Maybe that’s a decent idea. We’re in town; we could split and should be decently safe, right?”

Gilda nodded. “Even around here I haven’t seen anyone too much of an idiot to try something in broad daylight. Avoid the alleys and any shady looking holes though. Better if we buddy up too, especially with almost half of our group in bad shape.”

Dash nodded. “Right. You okay with hanging out for a bit with me then, G?”

Gilda shrugged with a grin on her face. “Well, I dunno how anybody else has been able to stand you. I’ll do them a kindness and take you out of their hair.”

Dash gave a chuckle and bumped the griffon on the shoulder with a hoof. “Right, then I’m guessing the dogs would like to stick together?” She turned to be met with three approving nods. “In that case that’ll leave Fluttershy and Lyra.”

Lyra beamed as she met Fluttershy’s eyes. It had been many years since Fluttershy felt a deep fear, but the pure joy firing from Lyra’s eyes made her shudder at the possibilities it promised.

“Astounding choice! Brilliant idea, esteemed leader! I couldn’t have picked it better myself, let’s go!” Lyra hooked her foreleg around Fluttershy’s neck and left before any objections could be given.

“Okay.” Rainbow chose to ignore the uncomfortable look on Fluttershy’s face. “Rover, you guys see if you can get some information in the market. Gilda and I will go and see if we can find something from her contacts. Sound good?” Dash flashed a look to Gilda, who answered with a nod.

Rover saluted and the three dogs left in unison.

With only the two of them left, Rainbow turned to Gilda. “So, where should we start?”

“If we’re looking for Jack, then I don’t know anybody that’d know him personally. Best I can do is probably point us to someone who might know how to set something up.” Gilda reached into the hood on the back of her neck; now acting as storage since her identity wasn’t a mystery to anyone around her anymore. She produced a small blue book without title and opened up to a random page, flipping through a few more. “Tattle Tail would be an easy target to squeeze info out of. I can't guarantee he won't squeal that we are snooping around though.”

Rainbow Dash frowned. “Is that a problem?”

“If Jack is as secretive as I’ve pegged him for, then yeah.” Gilda returned the booklet to her hood. “Pirates are assholes, Dash.”

Rainbow’s mind fluttered back to a previous swashbuckling adventure she had gone on with her friends. “They can be, yeah; though crabs can be worse.”

Gilda rolled her eyes, not quite getting it. The duo began to walk side by side. Every now and then Gilda would pull one of the passing ponies aside and share a few shushed mutterings with them before pointing herself and Rainbow Dash in a new direction.

“Where is this guy?” Rainbow eventually asked out of boredom. Her eyes were on the sky as her mouth was agape, letting out a never-ending groan.

Gilda flashed a disapproving scowl. “What the hell are you whining for?”

“We’ve been at this for too long! Information gathering hasn’t ever taken this long!” Dash continued to groan.

“Well you’ve been getting lucky. Applejack didn’t hide her tracks at all, Fluttershy found you because you were in her forest, and we got kinda lucky with Rarity. Now we’re in a city full of ponies and trying to get information from one that doesn’t want to be found. Besides, it’s only been a half hour.” Gilda turned her attention back on their course and started searching for her next point of interest.

Dash gave a harrumph at being ignored. A small smile was on her face though, happy to be by the side of Gilda, one of her oldest friends.

“We’re here.” Gilda’s comment brought Dash’s attention to the fact they had walked into a rather grimy and dim alleyway. A pony was sitting near a dumpster, exchanging currency with another creature before he was left alone. Gilda and Dash approached him, and the light in the pony’s eyes faded.

“Griz! Long time no see!” The pony chuckled nervously as the two approached him. “And you’ve brought a friend!”

“Glad to see you’re so talkative, Tattle. We have some questions.” A telltale smile on Gilda’s face informed Tattle that he wasn’t going to enjoy her questions.

“Well you know me Griz, just a modern chatterbox. Gimme some cash and I won’t shut up!” Tattle gave a small giggle as his eyes wandered towards his money pouch.

Gilda giggled along. “Funny. I remember that the last time we had this conversation, I ended up with a bit of a discount.”

Tattle gave an audible gulp. “Alright, no charge. What do you wanna know?”

“Know how we can get in contact with Jack?”

Tattle’s face dropped. “Oh come on, Griz. I can’t tell you that, they’d kill me!”

Rainbow’s eyes widened as she saw Gilda grab Tattle Tail by the neck and force him against the wall.

“Well that’s a real shame, Tattle. We had a deal and all. If it’s off though, then I guess I don’t have to keep up my end of the bargain.” Gilda grinned menacingly as she began to fondle the grip of her Morningstar.

“N-n-now that’s n-n-not entirely necessary!” Tattle insisted. Gilda’s grip around his throat loosened. “Yeah, you’ve always been pretty good with secrets, Griz. I guess for that I kinda owe you one.”

“You owe me much more than that,” Gilda laughed.

“Exactly!” Tattle’s happy attitude was a shallow disguise over the fear rumbling within him. “So, if you’d be kind enough to put me down and let me go, I’ll take you to set up an appointment with one of his men.”

Gilda smiled. “Smart man. Come on, RD, we have a meeting to attend to.”

The duo followed Tattle further down the alleyway. He stopped and Gilda gave a bit of a cough to let him know he was still being followed. He looked back to her with an annoyed glare before clearing his own throat and whispering into a brick wall. After a moment, a brick fell from the wall and a voice told him, “Come right in then,” in a surprisingly cheery voice too.

Tattle motioned for them to follow him again. They walked around the building and came to a wooden door, pushing it open and making their way in. Tattle led them towards the back.

Looking around, Rainbow Realized that this place was full of some unsavory folk tossing menacing glares towards her. As many toothless frowns and single eyed glares were thrown her way, what caught her eye most was a single strand of bubblegum pink hair right at her hoof.

“Yo, Dash. You comin’ in?” Gilda caught Rainbow’s attention once again.

“Yeah, I’m comin’.” She followed Gilda and Tattle as the two entered a dark and quiet room.

“Brought some ‘new friends’ to come and see Jack,” Tattle Tail announced from the blackness.

“Great to hear it,” a grim and ragged voice returned. “3… 2… 1…”

“SURPRISE!” The lights flashed on in an instant and Rainbow and Gilda felt their jaws simultaneously drop as they found themselves surrounded by bouncing pink ponies, each a new Pinkie Pie.

“Welcome to the party, Dashie.” In the very center of the room, a darker, tamer Pinkie with deflated mane and attitude sat within a large and intimidating wooden throne. A malicious smile spread across her face. “Care for a can of grog?”

I Am A Cider Drinker

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I Am A Cider Drinker

“Pinkie?” Rainbow and Gilda dropped their jaws at the pink pony seated in the throne, clones dancing all about her.

“There be many a lass named ‘Pinkie’ ‘round here!” the darker Pinkie Pie growled. “I be answering to the name of Jack now!” Her voice was gruffer than the other Pinkies, but it wasn’t her only separation from the others. She was dressed as Rainbow had seen the stereotypical pirate pony dressed up before: eyepatch, tricorne hat, false leg, and even one of her forehooves bore a hook on it. The hook and peg leg were rather obvious fakes, and there was no indication that the eyepatch was necessary. She wore some rather flamboyant clothing with a frilly white blouse under a fiery red and gold jacket, held to her torso with a buckled black belt.

The item of most interest to Rainbow was a slim steel hoop, obviously a bladed weapon. It rested within Pinkie’s hook as she made slight movements and caused it to sway like a pendulum.

“So yer Jack then?” Gilda let out a scoff. “Well then, you’ve turned out a bit more interesting than I was thinking. I was more than sure you were another scruffy captain with aims to rob the likes of me and the other sailors.”

“You’ve been out,” ‘Jack’ Pinkie replied. “Haven’t had a chance to rob ya.” A giggle echoed from the other Pinkies as she smiled. “But no, Gilda, we aren’t thieves of the sea like most pirates; I’m just doing this for the fun of it. Our treasures are the laughter of the people and the ancient sunken or buried treasures we find on our own!”

“YAY!” all the other Pinkies blurted out.

Dash’s eyebrows shifted as she nodded. It certainly sounded like Pinkie Pie. What bothered her most though was the appearance and low tone of ‘Jack’ Pinkie. Dash had seen Pinkie like this only on incredibly rare occasions, when deep depression and sorrow hit her. Something must be saddening her.

‘Jack’ Pinkie turned her attention back to Rainbow Dash. “So, Dashie…” she began, looking her old friend over as she spoke. “I hear tell you’ve been looking for little ol’ me? Whatever for?”

Dash’s eyes fluttered in thought, having to collect herself to remember what she was there for. “We came to bring you back to Canterlot, to gather the element bearers.”

“What for?” Jack Pinkie’s voice was harsh in her asking.

Dash felt danger looming around her, a thousand piercing stares. She chose her words carefully. “To protect our homeland.” Pinkie’s interest stayed on Rainbow. “The Griffon Kingdom is threatening war against Equestria, and we need the Elements of Harmony to keep King Gallows back. We have Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity, so we only need you.”

Pinkie and her army of other Pinkies were quiet as she stared back at Rainbow Dash. An uncharacteristic frown of disgust crossed Jack Pinkie’s face. “Great, so now that you need me you come to find me.” Pinkie’s voice was harsh and her anger seemed to come from nowhere.

Rainbow was taken aback by the viciousness in her friend’s words. “What the hell, Pinkie?” She took to fighting back with more anger. “What are you talking about? Where did that come from?”

Jack Pinkie’s glare tightened around Rainbow, making breathing an activity she had to focus on. “It came from nothing, Dashie; the same nothing that I was given as soon as Twilight left us. Nopony had time to give to Pinkie Pie anymore, did they?”

Dash furrowed her brow.

Gilda, however, couldn’t help but chuckle at the strange contrast in the room with bouncing happy Pinkie Pies jumping all about while Jack and Rainbow Dash scowled and growled at one another.

Jack Pinkie let out a sigh and leaned back in her throne, chin resting on her free hoof. “Things became very boring around Ponyville for the longest while. Pinkie Pie wasn’t needed anymore with her friends in the dumps. So instead, Pinkie Pie went to find fun.” The Pinkie clones all began to echo “Fun!” repeatedly. “And who else is more fun than Pinkie Pie?” Again, the word fun brought about more echoes.

“You went to the Mirror Pool again?” Dash asked.

Pinkie nodded. “Of course.”

“I thought you and Twilight blocked off the entrance?”

“Duh, Dashie. I’m a former rock farmer.” An eerie smile spread across Jack Pinkie’s face. “Cracking open a little boulder is hardly a difficult task.” As if to emphasize her point, one of the Pinkie clones fell through the brick wall after trying to pin a tail to a poster too hard.

A cough from behind Gilda echoed out. “Well. I’ve done my part of the deal. Could I… excuse myself?” Tattle Tail had already snuck his way back towards the door as he made his request.

“Oh, but Tattle, we were going to have a bit of a party. Surely you’d like to stay for a bit of mead or rum?” Jack smiled as Pinkie clones surrounded Tattle Tail, terror in his eyes. Their smiles and echoes of fun overwhelmed his senses as he was brought above their heads and carried over to a table, where he was restrained with colorful ropes. “Drink up!”

A collective “Whee” was heard from the Pinkie clones as a large barrel from above Tattle’s table descended in a rope net. Many more Pinkies sat atop the barrel and hung from its ropes. One pulled away the cork holding back its contents, and an amber liquid began to pour directly into Tattle’s screaming throat, causing him to gargle.

Dash and Gilda looked on with raised eyebrows. The act was sadistically playful as the Pinkies would swing on the barrel, causing the alcohol to completely douse anypony in its path, not putting Tattle in any danger of drowning. That didn’t stop him from screaming bloody murder, however. The scene was somewhat comical and pulled a laughing snort out of Gilda.

“Pinkie, stop it!” Dash called out in anger. “He didn’t do anything to deserve that.”

Jack looked back to Dash with a dry look on her face, tilting her head in boredom. “Well, he brought one hell of a party pooper in to see me, didn’t he?” She switched into a pirate accent. “That be punishable how mateys?”

“We be takin’ back our fun!” the clones answered. They continued their shenanigans with greater fervor.

Rainbow’s nostrils flared. Pinkie had often had trouble identifying when folk wanted nothing to do with her fun, but this was intentional torture, not something she would have ever done. “Bullshit! Pinkie, let him go!”

Jack chuckled. “Not happening, Dashie. Not going back with you either.” She took on a sing song voice, letting her next words roll out melodically, “Bold Jack with smiles each danger meet weighs anchor heaves the log, trims all the sails belays his sheets and drinks her can of grog.”

Dash looked on questioningly, but Gilda seemed to understand. She stepped forward, skipping lyrics in the shanty and pointing out the one she found a fitting counter. “When sailing orders to arrive bold Jack she takes her leave.”

“These are no sailing orders I be takin’!” Jack roared as she stood; fire in her eyes and accent thickening. She continued her lyrical debate, skipping to the line “But should thou false or fickle prove to Jack who loves thee dear, no more upon my native shore can I with joy appear!”

Gilda frowned. “You’re ON your native shore.”

Jack Pinkie stayed standing for a moment, her gaze locked with Gilda’s. “Not happy ‘bout it.” She slumped back in her throne, sliding far down it to the point she had her back on the seat cushion. “…Tie them down too,” she ordered.

Gilda and Dash’s eyes widened as they were flooded by a sea of pink ponies, all giggling with delight. The two were dragged kicking and screaming to two more tables underneath more descending barrels.

Applejack let out a hiccup after slamming another wooden mug down on the counter. “Give us ‘nother ‘un,” she slurred.

The barkeep shrugged and carried her mug back to a barrel labeled ‘Cider’ and filled it to the brim. He slid it back over to AJ with a confused look on his face. “Yer gonna be drinkin’ me dry, lass. Gonna have to switch ya o’er ta whiskey or rum.”

Applejack shook her head with a frown. “Ah don’ tush the shtuff. Ah’m a sssshhhider drinker. Ru… Runshin mah veinshhhh…”

“I ain’t doubtin’ ye.” The bartender continued dispensing drinks as Applejack’s drink began to resemble a bath over a beverage. The tender couldn’t just let her continue like that and began to speak to her again. “What’s troublin’ ye, lass? I’ve seen many ponies come in askin’ fer ale to ease their ails, but yer one o’ the saddest I ever been seein’.”

“Nunna yer bursiness, buddy!” Applejack swatted at him with so little effort and speed that the bartender just let her make contact. The attack was little more effective than a slight cheek caress.

“If’n yer willin’ to make it me business, I’ll put half the cider on the house.” It was a generous offer he only proposed to the saddest of clients, for collecting sad stories was this stallion’s talent.

Applejack sighed. “Fair ‘nuff…” She searched her thoughts before chuckling in a slovenly manner. “‘S a serious prollem when ya cayn’t tell yer own thinkin’s from… the not yers, ya know?”

“‘Fraid I don’t, lass,” he answered with a curious look in his eye.

“Well ya know when ya fall fer someone? An’ then they… they went and moved on without ya? Found someone else? More… skybound… an’ pretty… an’… an’ ya begin wonderin’ if ya even had a chance?” AJ began to drink deeply from her refill.

“Ah, heartbreak I sees. Be it envy yer hearin’ then?” The bartender had heard this story many times before.

AJ shook her head. “Ah dunno ‘bout that. This is… different. Like someone’s tellin’ me ta do things… an’ Ah wanna… Ah don’t like it but I wanna.”

The barkeep looked at her with concern. “I can’t help with crazy.”

A chuckle came forth from Applejack. “Too bad. Shoundsh like that’d be usheful.” In her drunken mess, she let her head hit the bar table. The world around her was blurred and began to muffle its sounds. She became less conscious of all about her as her mind began to swim.

“There are solutions to our problems you know.” The voice returned to her once again, a terrible hiss spreading through her mind. “Accidents happen on guard duty all the time after all. Big old dragon following after us… anything could happen…”

The suggestion left a foul taste in her mouth, but under the inebriation, she didn’t recognize it as such a horrible idea.

Visions began to plague her. Images of smiling with Rainbow Dash as the duo worked on the farm. She was back to her simple life, bringing in apples, but with a beloved companion over her shoulder, scavenging the more stubborn individuals that were left behind. Potential nights lying on the hills under the moon and starlight haunted her.

“You could have it all. We just need to bend the way you think…”

The bar noise died as Applejack’s hooves pounded onto the counter, mad laughter shrieking from her throat. “Sure, wah not? Whatcha think Ah should do then?” She continued to laugh as she drew more stares.

The bartender simply shook his head, knowing what would come next. As he had expected, the laughter finally drew somepony’s curiosity enough to get them to speak up.

“Hoy, wench. What’s so funny?” One of the gruffer looking sailors called out from his table. He wore a patch over an eye with scars decorating his face. Applejack didn’t regard the voice, still chuckling to herself. In his annoyance, the stallion rose to his hooves with a growing anger in his uncovered eye.

Applejack was not conscious of the world around her anymore, her mind weakened from the inebriation and constant invasion of her thoughts. The sinister voice in her mind had wrestled control from her.

The sailor barely tapped Applejack’s shoulder, inviting a solid blast of steel into his jaw that sent him flying across the bar.

“Let’s get you loosened up a little,” the voice cackled in the empty consciousness of Applejack’s mind. Her body came to a stand, fully anticipating the sailor’s friends’ counter attacks. Sure enough, a hoof came in, clipping her chin as she forced herself to feint backwards.

With a cocky grin on his face, the attacking stallion found it rather humbling to feel one of AJ’s powerful hind legs smash into his ribs, even moreso when he found himself breaking through the table he and his friends had been sitting in.

The next stallion didn’t fare much better. The stun from seeing his non-pegasus friends go flying ate up the few precious seconds of not being unconscious he had left. Applejack’s skull came crashing into his the moment he turned. Dazed, he didn’t even see the hammering hoof come straight into his stomach, knocking the very wind from his lungs and dropping him to the ground.

Applejack’s body continued to jiggle with a low chuckle, putting many of the bar patrons on edge and chilling their spines. More stood up to meet her, but far more hesitant than the first three.

“Look, we aren’t looking to hurt nopony,” one of them started, “but we’re gonna ask you to leave.”

The bartender nodded silently, sliding his front hooves underneath the bar to look for something.

Applejack’s body swayed to and fro, the possessor still unable to throw off the effects of the alcohol. This worked to its advantage, however.

As more ponies gathered around AJ, her face dove to the ground, putting her back on all fours before kicking her stool back into one of her attackers’ heads with enough force that the brittle seat splintered from the impact.

Seeing an opening, the other ponies dove onto Applejack to overwhelm her. A pile of sailors stood no chance against this earth pony who’d been bucking, hauling, and running her entire life. Still, it took her body a decent amount of effort to toss the hardy sea ponies off.

The bartender then took his shot, literally. A tube in his mouth, with the aid of a lazy but firm puff, landed a small dart in the side of Applejack’s neck. He was slightly surprised to see Applejack turn on him with a terrifying fury in her eyes. She leapt towards him before her chin dropped hard onto the bar, her eyelids following the motion.

“Can’t help with crazy,” the barkeep muttered.

“You know, I get I was a jackass last time I met her, but Pinkie’s second impression isn’t too amazing either,” Gilda grumbled as she tried to wriggle her wrists free of her bonds.

“That’s not Pinkie, not the usual one anyways,” Dash grunted, attempting to wriggle just as Gilda was. “I’ve only seen her like this when she’s really upset, but even this is something different still. She must be really pissed off!”

Gilda looked back up to the Pinkie clones climbing atop the barrel above her, giggling constantly. “She ain’t the only one,” the griffon growled. “Open that and I promise you’re not gonna be giggling anymore!” The Pinkies only continued to giggle as they moved to open the barrel. Gilda let out a sigh. “Y’know Dash, hope ya won’t hate me for this.”

“Go for it, these ain’t her! Jack is,” Rainbow Dash responded.

“All I had to hear.” Gilda let out a ferocious shriek, sending the Pinkie clones near her back as the powerful griffon pulled against the ropes around her wrists. The table she laid atop was not as strong as it used to be, creaking loudly as the griffon’s might demanded it to bend and splinter.

Gilda’s features contorted as she displayed the strength of her race, fueled by her mounting anger. Many of the Pinkie clones stopped their activities to watch with various ‘ooo’ and ‘ah’ noises.

Gilda’s talons flew above her, still bound to the now separate corner pieces of wood. She immediately swung the clawed appendages at the Pinkies nearest to her, snarling like an animal, before slicing the bonds at her hind legs.

From her throne, Jack couldn’t help but sport a small chuckle. “Well ye scurvy dogs? What ye waitin’ fer? Gilda wants ta play!”

The clones didn’t need any further orders, and with a unanimous “Wheeee!” a dozen jumped gleefully to try and pin the griffon back down.

Gilda met this challenge with further roaring, smacking away the sea of bubblegum pink with well-placed backhanded punches and headbutts. Every maneuver seemed to flow right into the next, swinging an open talon to grab up an assailant only to continue through with the motion and throw her prey, hurtling into the doppelgangers.

Dash was not one to be left out of the action, however. Apparently, none of the Pinkies realized that Rainbow’s blades were more than accessories. Dash twisted her hooves around while Gilda distracted the room, cutting at the ropes around her hooves.

Jack’s attention was drawn back to Rainbow Dash as she sat up and began cutting at the bonds on her hind legs. Jack gave a devious smile and lifted her hooked hoof, raising the circle blade she carried to rest around her neck. She shook off her fake peg leg and hook and slowly began to walk over towards Dash, the chaos of the fighting Pinkie clones passing her like a river around a boulder.

Dash finished cutting herself free of her bonds just soon enough to see Jack bring herself onto her back legs and begin swinging the blade around her neck like a hula hoop. Rainbow threw herself back to avoid the attack and flipped out her own weapons to their ready position.

“Pinkie, what’re ya doing?” She threw up her weapons to block the sharp hoop, the steel clang beginning to start a strange beat as Jack picked up her speed, forcing Rainbow backwards. Dash couldn’t figure out what was happening, but what frightened her most was the look Pinkie had in her eyes.

She was having fun now.

No Quarter

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No Quarter

“No way!”

“Um… yes.”

“But that would mean you must have the strength of a bear!”

“Well, when I need to, yes.” Speaking with Lyra, Fluttershy began to remember why she had felt more at home in the wilderness. Conversations were far quieter with merely grunts, chirps, and body movement supplying the words, and the animals cared little about the personal impressions they all made. Her instincts felt dulled with the streets and buildings around her replacing trees and bogs, pulling back that timid nature she had long thought gone.

“Channeling the very elements of nature must be a truly exhilarating phenomenon. Calling upon the very strengths of the animals…” Lyra paused in thought for a moment. “Can you get ape hands?” Her sudden volume jump and speed elicited an ‘eep’ from poor Fluttershy.

“No. I can’t fully change my physical self, only shift it slightly and mimic the original to a degree. I can alter my teeth to fangs, but I cannot deliver poison like a snake, or even tolerate meat on the level of an omnivore.” As Fluttershy explained, Lyra’s face only seemed to creep closer.

“So you don’t copy things perfectly, but as well as the magic will allow you to?”

“That seems like a good way to put it, I guess,” Fluttershy accepted.

Lyra was about to start up another string of questions before the two of them heard a rather loud thudding noise coming from the wall to their left.

It was like a consistent pounding noise from the other side of the brick wall that began to form a crack before the red blocks crumbled out onto the street they were walking on. A primal shriek came from behind the wall as a mass of pink hair and brown feathers tumbled through.

The scene took both of the passing ponies aback. Gilda was pulling Pinkie Pies from her body and tossing them against walls or smacking them into one another.

“Gilda, what are you doing?” Lyra finally asked in a very understated tone, drawing a puzzled glance from Fluttershy.

The griffon moved her head to answer before another Pinkie leapt onto her face and forced her silent. A talon reached up to rip the unwanted facial intruder away and tossed her to the side. “Clones! Fakes!” It was all she could manage before another wave of attackers started pouring out of the hole in the wall.

It was all Fluttershy needed to call back upon the wild energy within her though, broken leg or no. She proved to still be an overwhelming force, relying more on her back legs and a stubborn skull that hit like a ram.

Lyra’s horn flared up and her eyes went white. She identified the truth behind the creatures and their magical origin. She pulled out Emerald and thrust the blade directly into one’s heart.

Everyone around looked suddenly to Lyra with a horrified drop in their jaw, thinking such a cold execution beyond her. However, with a grin, she turned their attention back to the blade. The impaled Pinkie Pie popped with an audible bang and flash of pink smoke. “Not alive. They’re merely magical doppelgangers, go nuts!”

Gilda took the message to heart and burst out in a mad chuckle that contrasted the playful giggles of the Pinkie clones. She didn’t just grab at the clones anymore, she jabbed her talons through throats, pushing her full power into each punch and throw. The wave of pink mane and fur began to shrink rapidly as she burst them all into smoke, tearing her way through the horde.

Fluttershy followed right after, using her wings to keep off her bad leg. She thrashed about with her thorny arm, splitting the mirror images into halves, thirds, quarters, and more.

Pinkies continued to flood out, falling on top of one another as they attempted to wrestle Gilda, and now Fluttershy. They vanished about as fast as they came out however, due to Gilda and Fluttershy keeping up against the steady wave of illusions.

Lyra kept her distance, searching for an opening or clue to help her out, though she struck her fair share of Pinkie clones. “Where’s the real one, Gilda?” she called out.

Gilda turned to answer before a clone leapt onto her head and forced her to bite her tongue, being answered with an especially furious slash of talons. “She’s tangled up with Dash last time I checked!”

Lyra frowned. “Alright, so where’s Dash?”

Gilda was again attacked as she attempted to answer. “Fuck!” She slammed a Pinkie’s head flat into the stone at her feet. “Still inside I think!”

As if on cue, a rhythmic clanging drew Lyra’s eye into the hole in the wall. She saw Dash backpedaling on her hind legs, her blades in front of her preventing a swinging metallic circle from separating her head from her neck. Within the center of the circle, another Pinkie Pie spun the blade around her neck, advancing on Dash and forcing her on the defensive.

Lyra attempted to move forward to aid her friend. “Rainbow Dash!” she called out. It was a mistake, drawing the attentions of many more duplicates and bringing their flooding motion to its maximum potential. Pinkies climbed over Pinkies in an attempt to get at Gilda, Fluttershy, and now Lyra.

Lyra hesitated and took a few steps backwards to avoid being crushed by a wave of pink, swinging and slashing away with Emerald using incredible rapidity. Sweat built upon her brow from the amount of energy she used to allow such incredible speed, yet none could pass her fatal wall. To lower her offense would invite capture. She was stuck in her position as the Pinkie Pies kept pouring in an attempt to overwhelm her.

Gilda could no longer be seen under her own onslaught, buried under a mountain of attackers. “Welp, this is getting tricky.”

Dash felt strain course through her legs as each of Pinkie’s attacks clanged and forced her to forfeit ground. The blank, emotionless gaze in Pinkie Jack’s eyes could almost force retreat alone, especially paired with the wide grin.

“Pinkie! Stop it!” Rainbow cried out. Jack continued to advance, ignoring her plea, staring her dead in the eyes as they exited the alleyway. She was leading Rainbow Dash somewhere. Her attacks were predictable and easy to block, if Dash had changed tactics she could easily bring Jack down, but she didn’t want to hurt her. She continued trying to shout over the ringing metal, but to no avail.

Onlookers watched as the two made it into the street, none daring to close in on the infamous pirate, with hell reflected in her eyes.

A creak of wood blended with the clashing of steel as Rainbow was forced up and onto a ship.

“FINE!” Rainbow yelled. She flared her wings and launched herself backwards, putting distance between herself and her attacker. She readied her blades as Pinkie Jack threw her front legs up through the hoop and let her ring blade fall onto her hips.

She gyrated as she pressed forward, bringing the weapon in low. She began to clap her hooves to the rhythm of her swaying steps. Rainbow Dash felt taken slightly off guard by the show and didn’t manage to deflect the first cut until Pinkie had already drawn blood from a shallow slash in Dash’s waistline.

She didn’t have time to flinch from the cut; Dash moved her blade to slap away the next attack. She couldn’t find an opening to bring her on the offensive, finding Pinkie’s movements and attacks unpredictable, even with her tapping out a beat to her attacks.

Rainbow gritted her teeth in frustration and flew back once again, bringing herself above the water to try and think out a plan. Before she could think, she nearly lost her head as Pinkie’s bladed ring flew out across the water in a curve. As the ring flew back to Pinkie, she caught it, thrusting her arm up through the hole and spinning it again.

“Great, so you can boomerang the thing too?” Dash growled, only to be answered by another fling of Pinkie’s ring, aimed frighteningly close to her wings. Dash swooped under and back and forth, dodging the ring as it came for her neck, head, and stomach.

She forced thoughts to surge through her mind before a desperate idea came to her mind. Well, obviously ain’t gonna lose my head; it’s already gone if I’m trying this insane shit. She saw the ring flying towards her and took a deep breath, holding it before ducking once again, then flinging her head back up. The hit to her throat that made her choke at least let her know she was alive. Her heart began beating once again at the realization her plan had worked, and she looked down at Pinkie with a daring smile on her face. Before she could let out a taunt about her nearly fatal disarm, however, Pinkie smiled back at her, forcing Dash’s heart to stop once again.

A quick look down and the sun revealed the trick with a glint on a thin wire attached to the ring. Not boomerang, Yoyo! No sooner had the thought rushed through her head than the consequences of her action began. Pinkie tugged hard at the wire, fishing Rainbow back in close with a slam on the back of the pegasus’ neck and clocking her hard in the jaw with a pink hoof.

While Dash had thought Pinkie can fight! What had instead come out of her mouth, aside from a combination of spittle and blood, was “Ponka cack fye!”

As Rainbow fell backwards from the hit, Pinkie pulled once again on the wire to bring Dash close for another punch, this time straight in the nose. Dash could smell her own blood and tasted bit coins on her tongue. Pinkie continued to pummel Rainbow in the same fashion repeatedly.

Rainbow began to lose her vision as Pinkie’s laughter began to ring in her ears. Her face went numb as her brain rattled about in her head.

Pinkie began winding up a punch as she pulled Dash in one more time with a massive, malicious smile on her lips. Before she could land the attack, a loud screech came out from behind her and forced her head through the wooden planks underneath her hooves.

Dash had enough time to shake herself out of her slipping consciousness, splattering her blood onto the ship. She removed the ring from around her neck, the pain of her recent experience reminding her to not make the same mistake with this weapon. Her eye was bruised almost shut, but she could still make out the image of Gilda forcing Pinkie’s neck into the deck of the ship.

“Ya can’t get soft on her, Dash. Pirates will eat ya alive if you aren’t careful!” Gilda cried out, struggling to hold Jack underneath her talons. “She’s a captain for a reason!”

Dash felt woozy and weak as her head became heavy, dropping her chin to the deck. “You have a good point, G. I can’t fight her though. I can’t hurt Pinkie.”

Gilda frowned. “Well I just demolished my way through a few hundred, what’s one more?” She let go of Pinkie Pie’s head, letting her pop back up with a snarl on her muzzle before Gilda wiped it away with a punch.

“We’re here to bring her back, Gilda,” Dash objected tiredly.

“Right, but she’s objecting, so we’ll bring her back in one beaten and bruised piece!” Gilda retorted, landing a new sock into Pinkie’s gut. “She ain’t coming easy, but I prefer hard anyway!” Pinkie avoided the next attack and landed one of her own into Gilda’s beak, but was shocked when the griffon didn’t flinch, but met her hoof with an open beak and bit down hard.

Jack’s arm retreated and she jumped back a few steps, making room between her and Gilda. She looked down at her bitten hoof before wiping a trickle of blood across her brow. “Well, the game’s no fun if it’s too easy. ‘Eh, Gilda?” Jack grinned and pulled at the wire on her hoof, bringing her ringblade back around her hips.

Gilda returned the smile and stood on her back legs, curling her talons into fists. “Exactly. Besides, I think you still owe me one since our last visit.”

Pinkie nodded after she flashed her teeth, gyrating her hips once again as she advanced. “So I do.”

“I’m gonna bring you back hogtied and screaming.” Gilda spread her wings wide and let out another avian shriek. She rushed the pink pony with a fire in her eyes. The two met next to the main mast as Pinkie thrust her blade towards Gilda, only for the griffon to catch it with her bare talon. Blood oozed from her palm where the blade sliced into her, rousing even more adrenaline in the beast in her as she knocked skulls with Jack.

The pirate was dazed as Gilda grabbed the ring with her other claw and began spinning Pinkie around and around, getting faster and faster before launching her off the ship.

Pinkie flew through the air as she let her ring slide onto her forehoof, spinning it and flipping herself upright, then flinging the blade into the mast of the ship. The blade stuck and held Pinkie Pie and she took advantage as she fell, swinging herself back towards the ship. Gilda saw Pinkie swinging towards her, but instead of getting out of the way, braced herself for the attack she saw coming. Pinkie swung in with her back hooves pointed in front of her. Gilda grabbed hold of her legs, catching her as planned. She didn’t expect pinkie’s next move however, immediately smashing her free arm into Gilda’s head and freeing herself from the griffon’s grip.

Gilda wobbled back as Pinkie landed, tugging her ring blade back into her grasp as she danced over to Gilda. She jumped, spun, and let her back legs shoot out into Gilda’s stomach. Gilda crumpled up onto the deck.

Dash watched through hazy, dazed eyes as Gilda and Pinkie continued to duke it out. She tried to get herself back up on her legs before she felt the pain washing over her again, freezing her in place, almost literally. “Shit,” she whispered through clenched teeth, feeling cold overtaking her again. The haze in her eyes shifted and blurred, turning into visions of snow.

“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy’s voice caught Rainbow’s attention, making her slowly turn her stiff neck to see. Sure enough, floating on the wind, Fluttershy landed at Dash’s side. Keeping off her bad leg, she instantly began inspecting the bruised and battered pegasus.

“Flutter-”

“No talking. I told you this would happen if I didn’t treat you. You’re speaking like a sloth.” Fluttershy began tugging various leaves and salves from her bags, clenching them in her teeth and studying what she needed.

Lyra ran up beside the two, sweating and breathing heavily. She looked obviously exhausted from her ordeal with the Pinkie clones. “What’s wrong with her?”

“I can’t explain right now. Hand me that bottle.” Fluttershy moved quickly and with urgency as the sounds of battle cracked behind them.

Dash could hardly resist Fluttershy’s treatment with the cold in her veins crippling her.

Lyra looked back to Gilda and Pinkie Pie’s ongoing war and took a breath as she stood to rush over and help.

“Touch her and you’ll be my next target!” Gilda roared out.

Lyra froze in intimidation.

“You have no experience with this, but never interfere with a predator when she’s after her prey!” Gilda flashed a burning, almost demonic glare back at Lyra.

The unicorn returned a nervous smile and a bow of the head, turning back to Dash and Fluttershy. “So what do you need now, Fluttershy?”

In the fight, Gilda still held the upper talon, having more experience and a griffon’s natural ferocity. She fought fiercely, but not terribly honorably. Pinkie was no paragon of fairness either, however; fighting an unarmed opponent with an exotic weapon, hidden tricks, and wires. Gilda returned these tricks in kind, flinging the blood spilling from her palm into Pinkie’s eyes and whipping out her morning star for a momentary bash into Pinkie’s temple.

Dash could still see the battle going on, though in her eyes the pair fought in a blizzard, the storm of her mind blowing harder as their attacks grew fiercer.

“You know a good game usually ends, Gilda!” Pinkie shouted, throwing her blade above Gilda’s head.

It was easy for Gilda to dodge the weapon. “What? Bored already, Jack? The captain on captain showdown not enthralling enough for ya? I’ll let ya know, I’ve actually been looking forward to this! The notorious pirate, Jack; I take you out and I’ll have shipwrights begging to build me a new boat!”

Pinkie Pie tugged her hoof back, bringing the blade flying toward the back of Gilda’s neck. “Like I said, no fun if it’s too easy.”

Gilda’s eyes widened as she realized the trap she fell into. The last thought going through her head was a feeling of anger for falling into such an obvious ploy.

“HALT!” A voice called from off the ship, summoning a light blue aura to surround Pinkie, her weapon, and Gilda. They stood perfectly still.

“Quick, get them out of there! The spell won’t last forever! Bring Pinkie to me, and remove her weapon,” Rarity spoke out in command. The dogs leapt onto the boat and went to work. Spot tracked down the wire and gathered the ringblade, separating the two. Fido grabbed hold of Gilda and moved her aside. Rover fetched the wire from Spot and used it to quickly tie Pinkie Pie down, bringing her back to Rarity.

The glow subsided and Rarity let out a breath of exhaustion. “Sleep.” She moved onto the next spell, hitting Pinkie with a blast of blue light and causing her to drop into a deep sleep.

Gilda began breathing again, panting hard. She frowned and scowled, punching at the wood underneath her. “Fucking stupid of me! I got too cocky.”

“I wouldn’t worry too heavily, darling. You put up a valiant effort without even a weapon. The lion’s pride of your kind simply blinded you for a moment.” Rarity offered a reassuring smile to her comrade.

“Almost got me killed, too,” Gilda grumbled. She looked to the wound on her talon, still leaking her vital fluid. She balled it up into a fist before wiping the blood across her brow, painting her forehead.

“Don’t make a mess, darling, you’ve had worse scrapes than this from what I’ve been hearing.” Rarity busied herself by inspecting Pinkie Pie’s injuries and equipment, stripping her of any hidden weapons.

Gilda flinched at the memory. “Another reason why I can’t slip up like that again; I owe a lizard a whole crew’s worth of agony.”

“So we learn, we grow, and we put said lizard to the blade. Push aside your pride and use your knowledge to destroy the beast,” Rarity continued without missing a beat.

Gilda’s grumbling didn’t stop, but she nodded in understanding.

Lyra looked over to Rarity. “You showed up just in time.”

“It wasn’t difficult to find you all with the amount of noise you were making.” Rarity tilted her head to the docks where ponies and other folk were gathered, pointing and speaking among one another. “Be quick about what we need to do and let’s get going. I don’t assume we’d get in much trouble for bringing down a dangerous pirate, but there will inevitably be questions and hassles that we can’t afford to deal with at the moment.”

“Miss Rarity is correct,” Rover started. “Gather Rainbow Dash and follow us to the po-nee called Bone Saw.”

“Who?” Lyra asked.

“Skilled po-nee doctor.” Rover turned and exposed his chest, no longer coated with medicinal herbs and salves, but now decorated with a vicious, jagged scar.

“Quickly po-nees, quickly. I hear speak of authority coming,” Spot urged.

Fido walked over to Rainbow, Fluttershy and Lyra, and offered to carry Rainbow Dash. Not exactly in a position to deny, Dash was scooped in the dog’s mighty arms. Gilda grabbed up the unconscious Pinkie Pie and the party sped down off the boat, Rarity guiding them through the town.

“Have any of you spotted Applejack perchance?” Rarity inquired.

“Not since we got here,” Lyra answered. “I’ll go find her and meet up with you guys. I don’t have more than a few scrapes and bruises after all.”

Rarity nodded. “We’ll be on the south side of town. The place is Bone Saw and Gray Matter’s clinic.”

Lyra broke off from the group, taking mental note of Rarity’s words as she left to find their lost comrade. She kept her ears open for sounds of that familiar accent or any speech regarding her friend.

It didn’t take long.

Finding information on a farm pony in a town full of sailors wasn’t the most difficult of tasks, but what Lyra heard brought a wrinkle to her brow and a frown on her lips.

Another Stranger Me

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Another Stranger Me

“What were you thinking?”

“Obviously Ah weren’t thinkin’ much with cider up to mah eyes and mah hooves flyin’ everywhere.” Applejack spat at the ground and rubbed at the sore spot on her neck. “Can’t remember a damn lick of it anyway.”

Lyra shook her head before smacking the back of Applejack’s. “Dragon on our backs, fatally injured friends, pirates all around, and war ahead of us, but you decide to get blackout drunk and start a bar fight? I understand the stress of the situation, trust me when I say that, but we don’t need more problems adding onto the list. You’ve been very off lately, obviously something is wrong, I’m assuming with Rainbow Dash,” Applejack blinked in surprise, “but put it aside for now! You haven’t seen it, but I’ve missed my Bon Bon so dearly as to spend a page writing the ways I’ll embrace her, speak to her, reunite with her. I don’t drop tears into a mug of booze and punch my neighbor in the dick!”

Applejack flinched. Lyra was angrier than the farm pony had seen her, and she couldn’t deny that the rage was pretty justified. “Yer right, yer right. Honestly though, Ah didn’t plan to get that bad. Ah don’t really have any history gettin’ violent like that. Worst it gets is conkin’ out an’ Mac droppin’ me back inta bed.”

The sigh that came from Lyra wasn’t unexpected, but still somewhat comforting in its sympathy. “Perhaps all the stress is getting to you worse than you realize.”

AJ’s mind recounted the voices whispering within her mind. “Ya may be right.”

“Let’s just meet up with the others. Maybe this doctor will be able to help you out.” Lyra took the lead, guiding Applejack through the town to the south. “We’re looking for a clinic owned by Bone Saw and Gray Matter.”

“Ah! Miss Rarity! Goot to be seeing they again,” a unicorn, pale as dried bone, spoke with a nasally high voice that reminded much of the group about a story of a mad scientist.

“Hello again Saw. I’ve brought the other patients we talked about.” Rarity motioned towards the gang of injured ponies.

“Yes, yes. We am presuming they hold the payment to accommodate the injuries.” Bone Saw’s beady red eyes scanned all over Rarity’s figure.

Rarity groaned. “Yes, you will be paid. The griffon, the pink one, and the two pegasi. Tell me how much it’ll cost and we’ll go from there.”

Bone Saw’s teeth gleamed a sickening yellow in his grin. “Ah, yes. Is a very goot deal with we.” He threw on a white, beaked mask. The glass eyes and thick fabric drew uncomfortable stares from the group. “Now who do we start with?”

“Whoever you decide is the worst off. Also, there’s a bonus in it for you if you can keep our presence quiet until we head out in the morning,” Rarity added.

Even from behind his mask, Saw’s eyes gleamed brightly. “Of course!” His voice was muffled slightly. He turned his head and what sounded like a whistle screeched from inside his mask. “Gray Matter! We am needing the assistance of theyself. Come and analyze We’s patients with We.”

A bored, almost sickly looking unicorn mare sniffled as she walked out from behind a curtain. Stony gray fur and horn, pale and snowy mane, scrawny to the point that her bones pressed against her hide, the girl seemed like she was the one that should be on the operating tables.

She walked up to Bone Saw’s side. He pointed over to Gilda and she followed his hoof. Gilda eyed up the mare with a raised brow.

“I’m not too bad,” Gilda said. “If you can patch up my talon the rest is only a few bruises and scrapes.” She held up her palm where she had grabbed hold of Pinkie Pie’s circle blade, blood still trickling, following a crimson trail down her arm.

Gray Matter brought her face closer, observing the cut. “How long?” Her voice was sluggish and dull.

Gilda shrugged. “Been duking it out with the pink one over there. I didn’t really notice it when it happened or keep much track of time.”

“Laceration, bumps and bruises!” Gray matter called back, with gusto, to Bone Saw. “Sanity seems intact as well, with untreatable anger issues!”

Gilda scrunched her face at this last bit. “And you know this…how?”

Gray Matter ignored her and moved on to Pinkie Pie next, earning a scowling frown from Gilda.

Pinkie was still asleep, snoring loudly with her head hanging over the edge of her bed, legs tied together and pointing straight up. Gray Matter pondered heavily over the figure. “Captain Jack? Prime customer present!” Her excitement seemed multiplied before her face dropped back to her ill expression.

Bone Saw let out a muffled giggle from his mask, almost skipping on his way over. “Elusive Captain Jack? The true they and not one of the many illusions? We am going to take goot care of they! Goot indeed.” The duo studied the unconscious figure closely and intensely, looking for any injury or bruise that they could possibly find.

The two exchanged looks and whispers, speaking in languages that the others couldn’t understand. When they seemed to come to a consensus, Gray Matter burst out in that sudden, excited tone. “Heavy bruises, broken bones, griffon bites! Sanity shattered! Diagnosis, severe DID! Severe mania! An incurable madness! Jackpot!”

The unicorns let out cheers as they threw their front legs back and into the air, dancing around one another before falling back and putting on the professional stances they had from the beginning.

Everyone else looked on with open mouths.

“I beg your pardon…but…what?” Rarity frowned and twisted her brow in confusion.

“Heavy priced patient we have found! Status, minor injury, and incredible mental damage! We am hoping they still have the available funds, Miss Rarity!” Bone Saw chuckled from inside his mask like a giddy little school colt.

Rarity sighed. “Yes, Saw. I will pay you, please look at the others.”

As Bone Saw turned to study Fluttershy next, Dash gave a questioning look to Rarity. She had begun to warm up and no longer saw snow. Her speech was still slow, but faster than it had been. “Can we really trust this guy?”

Rarity rolled her eyes. “Bone Saw is…financially motivated, yes, but he’s the best I’ve seen.” She motioned for Rover to walk over and he obeyed. “You remember what he looked like before, right? I came seeking medical attention, to properly stitch up the dear, and he worked a miracle instead.”

Rover gave a giant grin, baring his chest and pressing a thumb against his scar. “Po-nee doctor has washed away all pain and pus. Dogs are once again in fighting shape.” His cheery face dropped before continuing, his smile giving off an impression of feeling nervous. “My heart will not be the same as it was, however. The shock will keep it weak for the rest of my life. Still, I am recovered to my best health, and still hold my life.”

“It will be pricey, but I don’t doubt his abilities,” Rarity spoke confidently. The frown on her face, though, spoke much more as she looked to her coin purse.

“Leg broken, minor scrapes! Untreatable severe anxiety!” Gray Matter called out once again.

“Great! Actually, I’ve changed my mind by the way,” Rarity said with a grin. “Could you patch her up first?”

Fluttershy looked over to Rarity curiously, receiving a sly wink in response. Fluttershy thought for a moment before silently gasping and returning a knowing smile.

“Oh, yes. If you’d be kind enough, Mr. Bone Saw, I would appreciate it.” Fluttershy put on her most adorable of smiles and widened her eyes.

“But of course! It matters not to We which of they receives they’s treatment first. Just allow us to finish our observations and determine the price.” Bone saw chuckled as he moved over to Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy pulled him back for a second and whispered into his ear, getting him to nod. “We will talk about this with they in private then.”

As Bone Saw approached Rainbow Dash, she felt more disturbed as that beaked mask came closer. His beak passed by her ear to whisper, “A curse should be quite pricey indeed. We should be thanking they for filling we’s pockets.” In spite of the pleasing scents coming from the mask, Rainbow crinkled her nose.

The doctor observed Rainbow incredibly closely, and she heard his breath splashing against the insides of his mask. Almost right after he jumped in, Gray Matter walked up to begin looking too close for comfort as well.

Dash felt a minor tingle through her body, taking note of an incredibly faint aura swirling about Gray’s horn. Must be how she was noting the others’ sanity I guess? In her mental privacy, she felt her heart speed up for a moment when Gray Matter made sudden eye contact and nodded, unsure if she heard these thoughts.

When Gray finished, she didn’t scream, but spoke rather quietly so that only Rainbow and Bone Saw could hear her. “Cut across the stomach, many various nicks and slashes, bruising, high anxiety, mild untreatable narcissism, below average temperature.”

Bone Saw tapped at the tip of his mask’s beak before nodding and turning back to Rarity. “With the injuries they have, along with the secrecy we promise, jackpot patient, and providing residence until morning…”

“Actually, we might need some aid for Lyra and AJ, won’t we?” Dash asked.

“We’ll add them on when they get here,” Rarity sighed. “What’s the toll, Saw?”

“Fifty fair rubies!” Bone Saw’s grin could be sensed from behind his mask. “As beautifully red as the crimson waters under our hides.”

Rarity frowned. “And you’ll treat her first?” She motioned to Fluttershy.

“Yes yes. It matters to We not. They shall be fixed first,” Bone Saw agreed.

“Promise it?”

“Yes yes! It matters to We not we say! We shall promise it!” Bone Saw grumbled.

“Good!” Rarity smiled. “Then, let’s barter. You say fifty, I’ll offer twenty.”

“Twenty far lower than we will accept, they will pay fifty fine rubies; two or three may be undersized.” Bone Saw began levitating his tools towards himself.

“Come now, darling, try to be more reasonable. Twenty seven.”

Bone Saw grumbled. “Forty Seven.”

“Thirty and three emeralds.”

“NO! No emeralds. The mucus green offends We. Forty five!”

“I see you’re reaching your limit; very well, thirty seven rubies, including this one.” Rarity produced a large, beautiful ruby from her purse the size of her hoof, shining and glistening in the light.

Bone Saw quickly pulled his mask above his eyes, staring hungrily at the gem. “We accept! They offer adequate trade.”

“Good.” Rarity smiled. “Well then, whatever Fluttershy over there heals, since she is a healer as well, and since you have promised to help her first, we won’t have to pay.”

Bone Saw lowered his mask once again as his smile fell as well. “We see they are a tricky sort. We’s promise will stand, and they’s druid may lend aid, but do not deny we the largest offered gem.”

“Of course not,” Rarity said with a grin.

Still grumbling, Bone Saw began his work. His horn gave the signaling glow of magic; a striking deep red. Fluttershy gasped as the aura surrounded her, her broken leg falling limp like jelly. Bone Saw began to explain. “Healing the bone would take We too long, so We will replace it instead, dissolving the already existing through alchemical medical spellcraft into base cells, reforming them into new bone.”

“That’s remarkably powerful magic, isn’t it?” Rarity asked.

“Perhaps for they. We, however, have always had talents for the body. Childhood filled with dissections, autopsies and intensive study. We found the bodies of creatures remarkable. We was very very young when We’s cutie mark appeared.” Bone Saw brought most everyone’s attention to his flank, which, appropriately enough, was in the image of a bone saw. “Surgery, medicinal magics, treatments, are all trivially easy to Weself, but of course, We enjoy the occasional challenge.”

“So, why are you here then?” Dash asked.

“We’ve found that this is an incredibly profitable location. Wounded sailors, ill travelers, injured deckhands. We see the potential for earning here, and We love the pay and loose standards on how We may conduct We’s business. We believe We am the best, and We intend on being paid as such with challenges interesting enough to prove weself.”

“Well, let’s see your work prove it then,” Rarity called out.

Rainbow Dash clacked her hooves against the floor, rubbed them against her face and other places where she had been beaten. “Don’t feel a thing!”

Looking around the room, Dash saw the rest of her friends searching themselves in a similar manner. Gilda clenched her talon, Fluttershy put weight on her leg, and even the unconscious Pinkie Pie’s lumps were only memories.

“Looks like you’re as good as you say, doc.” Dash smiled, happy to see her friends feeling better.

“Indeed, they’s druid has shown they’s aid to be…goot as well.” Bone Saw looked to Fluttershy with a nod of respect, which she returned.

“Well, you still performed more than I expected with her help,” Rarity picked up. “So, here is your payment, the full amount…and some extra.”

Bone Saw smiled and accepted his rubies. “They are too kind, Miss Rarity, but the treatments are not finished.”

“What do you mean?” Rarity asked.

“We still have yet to conduct we’s treatment for Jack’s mental disorders, and We believe We heard they saying there would be two others, possibly injured as well.” Bone Saw looked back to Pinkie Pie.

“What kind of treatment?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“It is possible for We to identify the separate identities within they and separate they, putting the primary identity back where they belongs. Gray Matter may use they’s energy to manipulate Jack’s mind and realign it.”

“That seems…unsafe,” Dash said.

“Less safe for We than they,” Bone Saw countered. “The safety of the procedure is no issue for we, however. The time will cost they and we the most. It shall take unto the morning, and if they are planning on leaving, it holds no time to explain to Jack.”

“We can explain the situation to Pinkie on the way back to Canterlot. I say we do it, you have your payment.” Rarity looked to Rainbow Dash. “Would you not agree?”

Dash sighed. “If you’re sure it’s safe and we’ll get Pinkie Pie back, then I’m all for it.”

“Excellent!” Bone Saw motioned to Gray Matter, speaking to her in the tongue foreign to the others once again, before pulling a curtain behind her and the sleeping pirate. “We shall awaken they when the treatment is completed and Celestia’s sun beckons they to trek onward. But before this, it is important that the various duplicates of the patient are all exterminated. We wouldn’t want one to be confused as ‘Jack prime’.”

Dash looked over to Gilda. “Any still out there?”

The griffon sighed and stood up. “I’m feeling good enough to go check. Wanna join me?”

Dash stood up to follow before Bone Saw spoke up again. “Ah, Miss Dash, We would like a word with you and Miss Shy before they leave. Apologies.”

Rainbow frowned. “Sorry, Gilda.”

Gilda shrugged. “No worries. You. Rover right? Come watch my back.”

Rover looked slightly taken aback before he nodded and grabbed up his weapons. “It shall be watched.”

Gilda grinned. “Just don’t get too distracted back there.”

The dog blushed brightly as they walked out the doors; Gilda’s giggling fading as they left earshot.

“You’re serious?”

Applejack nodded. “Thoughts that Ah don’t think‘r mah own, that Ah’d never think mahself.”

Lyra nodded. “Sounds kinda similar to Rarity’s issue, however, I can’t pick up any leftover spellpower around you.” She sighed and grabbed up the bowl of soup before her. The two had stopped by to get a meal before meeting with the others, to talk things over. “Don’t get me wrong, I believe you, but we’re without evidence of brainwash. Even an incredibly powerful unicorn would have some leftover signs of such; I’ve even heard and read that dragons leave some detectable traces, so I don’t think that our big blue friend is behind it.”

“Ah must sound like Ah’m goin’ mad. Tell ya the truth, Ah wouldn’t doubt it if ya told me Ah’m already there.” Applejack poked idly at the bowl of apples and oats she hadn’t taken more than a few bites from.

Lyra didn’t say anything, frowning as she watched her friend sulk in her misery. “Come on, let’s get a doggy bag and go get you fixed up. They’re probably wondering where we are.”

Lyra threw the bits on the table and dropped Applejack’s food into a small bag as they made their way out the door.

After a few minutes of walking, Lyra pointed out the clinic and held the door open for Applejack. “Room for two more?”

“Well, glad to see you two again.” Rainbow Dash smiled. “Not too much trouble I hope?”

Lyra considered telling about Applejack’s scuffle, but decided to let her admit it in her own time. She looked around. “Pinkie?”

Dash motioned to the closed curtain. “She’s getting fixed up. Doc’s in another room right now, sit AJ down at a bed and he’ll fix her right up. We’re leaving in the morning.”

“That works,” Lyra sighed.

Dash nodded and went back to her thoughts, thinking again over what the doctor had told her about her ‘condition.’ Fluttershy and Bone Saw had both been very grim in telling her the exact situation as they both saw it.

She ran through the words in her head once again:

“We are afraid that they…have a more serious problem than We can care for. The bite they have suffered poured a dying curse into they’s very core...We are very sorry, but they will not survive to next week…”

Just thinking about Fluttershy’s face caused Dash’s blood to freeze again. She gave no signs of her disturbance to the others, not wanting them to worry. Just have to get home, and use the elements…and apologize to Spitfire. Hell, after what I’ve seen, I guess I’m lucky to have lasted this long…or to see it coming...I…hope I can tell her.

Dash felt her muzzle dampen near her eye and was quick to wipe it away, turning her head out of visibility from her friends. “I’m gonna get some sleep, guys,” she said, pulling her covers over herself. “Gonna be traveling a long time, and we’re not stopping until we get home.” Nobody questioned her and she snuggled into her pillow, letting the occasional tear soak into the cushion. I must look fucking pathetic right now.

No sooner had Applejack laid down on a bed than Bone Saw reappeared from behind a door. “Ah, they have arrived! How many of they need We’s work done?”

Lyra and AJ looked up, confused.

“Just the orange one, darling,” Rarity answered. “It doesn’t look like she’s that bad off though…at least in comparison.”

“And her mind?” Bone Saw asked.

Lyra looked to Applejack, shrugging in signal that it couldn’t hurt to check.

“Ah guess Ah wouldn’t mind a check.” She cleared her throat and brought Bone Saw closer to whisper. “Ah…Ah think somethin’s wrong. Voices in mah head, maybe brainwashin’? Ah’m serious, doc, Ah could use some help.”

Bone Saw stepped back and nodded. “Gray Matter!” he called once again. “Please, pause the prime treatment, we have need for scanning.”

The mare emerged from behind the curtains and came quickly to Bone Saw’s side. With a nod from her boss she turned to Applejack and began to work her magic. It didn’t take long before Gray Matter shook her head. “Sanity intact, incredible anxiety, distress and depression present, but not likely lasting,” she spoke softly. “Heartbreak.”

Bone Saw shrugged. “There seems to be nothing wrong with they’s mind that would suggest brain wash, nor that they have any…voice issues. We know not what they’s issue truly is. Perhaps they are over stressed and under rested? We will patch they up and recommend a long sleep when they return to they’s home.”

“You see? You’re fine. Just relax.” the voice hissed in Applejack’s mind.

“Ah pray ta Celestia yer right, Doc.”

Morning came, and Bone Saw let everyone know with a loud clang from some tool they couldn’t see. Grey Matter threw back the blinds to let the sun in. Rarity thanked him and they all stepped outside, promising a very confused Pinkie Pie a long explanation.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Applejack asked her.

“I remember…Twilight saying goodbye to us, and going home to cry a little bit, maybe plan out a goodbye party…but I don’t think I ever got to it.” Pinkie Pie’s mane had returned to its usual poofy bounce, the color returning to her skin and fur. She spoke in her usual cheerful manner, happy to again be surrounded by friends.

“So, ya don’t remember fightin’ against Rainbow and Gilda yesterday? Bein’ a notorious pirate with a crew of yerself? Even leavin’ Ponyville?” Applejack scratched under her hat in confusion.

“Nope!” The bubbly smile of Pinkie Pie flashed and the others around her couldn’t help but feel their hearts lighten up a bit.

“Doc said she probably wouldn’t share any memories with Jack. If that’s true, then Jack must have manifested not long after Pinkie went home.” Rainbow Dash came up to Applejack, explaining.

“So Jack left? Not Pinkie?” Rarity asked.

“That’s what it seems like. Pinkie hears from Twi that she’s gonna be losing one of us, something stirs in her brain and takes over. I’ve kinda seen something like this with her before, when we tried throwing that surprise party for her birthday.” Dash let images of Pinkie speaking to various inanimate objects return to her mind. “Though, the lack of memory seems new. Jack at least seems to have all of Pinkie’s memories.”

“That’s not fair. I’m sure Jack had some really fun memories of being a pirate!” Pinkie giggled.

“Well, we’ll fill ya in on what we can,” Dash said. “Gilda probably knows more of your legacy than the rest of us.”

“Don’t doubt it, glad I actually got to face off with a rising legend like you when I could. I can share a few stories they tell of ya.” Gilda was incredibly cheerful this morning, swaying her hips and flicking her tail to and fro.

Rarity especially took notice of this fact and let her eyes wander from the sway, to the lock they had over Rover’s gaze. The unicorn grinned lightly as her horn gave off a light glow.

“Oh, Rover darling,” Rarity called the dog over. She let herself fall a fair distance behind the rest of the group. “Come here for a second would you?”

Rover stopped for a moment to allow the others to walk past him, continuing to step when he was next to Rarity. “You want something, Miss Rarity?”

“I had meant to ask when you arrived, but why did it take you and Gilda so long to return last night? I mean there were only a few clones left, and I do recall Gilda saying it wasn’t exactly hard to find them,” Rarity prodded with a grin that told Rover he wouldn’t like what she knew. “Also, I couldn’t help but notice you were missing some money from your change purse.” She levitated the small pouch before her. “Come to think of it, I remember the inn keep telling us that it was the price for a temporary room.”

Rover was blushing brightly as he grabbed his pouch back and shoved it into his vest pocket. He stammered and moved his paws about in a failed attempt to try and make a defense for himself. “It…I did not exactly want to say…no.”

“Oh of course not dear,” Rarity chuckled. “In fact, I think it’s rather adorable. But, you may want to wear a longer vest from now on. You have quite a few scratches on your back.” She giggled to herself, walking back to the group as Rover tugged at the back of his vest.

Last Ride of the Day

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Last Ride of the Day

The clacking of the train on the tracks was the only sound Dash heard, separating herself from the others in her own car. The train was mostly empty outside of the party. They’d been on the train since that morning, and the sun was beginning to dip; most ponies were getting ready to go to bed for the day.

She took this time to reflect and think.

I’m dying.

She could only sigh now. I have to tell Spitfire…spend all the time I have left with her, flying at her side. I was away from her too long. She shook her head. “Let’s also think of the others,” she thought aloud, needing to hear what came next. “We have all the elements gathered…for now. What happens when I’m gone? Will they be able to find a new element bearer, or use mine without me? Will we have to use them at all? Will Gallows back off the instant he hears we’re all together again and he won’t have to know I’m gone at all?”

All the questions swam rapidly through her mind. They still knew so little about this trinket around her neck. Suddenly, Discord’s words rang through her mind once again.

“What will you do when you can’t collect the pieces needed for your winning play? When one is taken out of the game?”

“He probably knew,” Dash sighed as she shook her head. “Hell, it was probably as direct a warning as he would ever give.” She tapped on her head, racking her brain for some kind of answer.

The elements are older than I am. I can’t have been the only one to wield mine; I probably won’t be the last. Then a thought came to her mind. The princesses were once able to wield the elements alone. They must know more. But I don’t know where to start looking for them either. Maybe Twilight or Cadence could put my element to use? I could live long enough for Cadence to get back if we need her to.

As Rainbow thought in her own private car, in another, just as empty, Applejack struggled to try and fall asleep. It ain’t just mah thoughts anymore, but Ah’m actin’ out. Doc says rest, but Ah’m more sleep deprived than Applebloom when she tried gettin’ an insomnia cutie mark. Ah’m goin’ crazy, an’ Ah don’t know why. Her eyes opened wide, red replacing white and sweat running down her muzzle. She jumped as she heard the sudden noise of thunder outside. Her paranoia demanded her to look out the window, searching wildly for anything big and blue flying overhead.

Rain began to lightly patter against the window, and she shook her head, having spotted a few pegasi pushing clouds into position. “No dragon. Least there’s that.” She let herself relax, at least a little. Sleep, Ah just need ta get a bit of sleep.

“You don’t need sleep; you know your problem, fix it. Take her for your own,” the voice hissed again.

Applejack shook her head violently, placing her hooves over her ears in a vain attempt to block it out. “There’s nothin’ wrong with me. Ah’m just stressed. Doc says so.”

“He was a fool. You still hear me, don’t you? And if I’m not a problem, perhaps I am a solution?”

Lyra looked out to the rain on the other side of her window. Everyone in the group seemed tense and unpleasant. Applejack, despite what the doctor said, had something going on with her. Nerves seemed to run high with memories of the blue dragon, brought to mind in the rain, and worst of all, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash seemed to be trying too hard not to come off as utterly depressed. They were hiding something that Rainbow obviously didn’t want to talk about. Lyra had her suspicions but couldn’t do anything about it, so she put it to the back of her mind.

At the very least, Pinkie brought some life to the party, jumping about and smiling. Lyra also felt her heart lighten when she would see Gilda and Rover stealing quick glances and smiles to one another. It reminded her that she was approaching her dearest Bon Bon. The reminder calmed her and she exhaled wistfully. “Be home soon, love,” she whispered to herself.

A sudden crash took her back to the inside of the car where Pinkie Pie had ended up upside down on her head, giggling. “I’m so glad to be back with you guys!” she squealed. “I can’t wait to see Twilight and Spike again! And Mr. and Mrs. Cake, and Berry, and Big Mac, and Sweetie, and Colgate, and Pinchy, and Raindrops, and Scootaloo, and Mr. Breezy, and Granny Smith, and Pip, and Bulk, and Vinyl, and Octavia, and Rose, and Mr. Waddle, and…”

Pinkie continued to list names, getting Lyra to chuckle, but Gilda let out an audible annoyed sigh.

“Oh! And of course Gilda and the dogs should visit all the time. Or move in!” Pinkie gasped. “You should move in!” Her head turned to Lyra so fast, the unicorn could have sworn she must have broken something. “Lyra! We should ask Mayor Mare if we can get them homes!”

Lyra looked over to Gilda and shrugged her shoulders. “I think I remember Rainbow telling me she offered you something similar. I know you’re a sailor now, but wouldn’t hurt to have a place to come back to ‘eh?” She turned back to the dogs. “And considering how long you guys have been away from your kin, I’d assume you don’t have a permanent place to call your own?”

Gilda and the dogs were all silent for a moment, looking to one another in silent conversation. Rover was the first to make a noise. “I don’t think dogs would disagree when I say…we feel quite honored and will accept.” He smiled, Fido and Spot nodded in agreement.

Gilda gave a bit of a sigh. “Sure. Why not. Gonna be a bit until I can find a new boat and crew. Wouldn’t object too much to the neighbors either.” She gave a grin to everyone around and a sly wink to Rover, making his face redden. “Won’t you have a bit of an issue with us being one of the creatures threatening war and three belonging to a race of thugs and bandits?”

“Oh, our kind isn’t as prim and perfect as some would have you think, darling. We’ve met a few uncouth folk in pony kind as well, even excluding dark forces behind the scenes,” Rarity said in comfort.

“And aside from that, you’re all a lot of fun and came to help us all even though you didn’t have to!” Pinkie chimed in. She was beaming.

Soon enough, it seemed everyone in the car was smiling, even the recently gloomy Fluttershy. Lyra joined in.

Perhaps the mood is looking up after all. Lyra thought. At least here. Hope Applejack and Rainbow are doing alright.

Rainbow Dash sighed to herself, rubbing her hooves on her eyes. “…I should tell them. I’m going to tell them. They need and deserve to know. By Tartarus, one of them can probably help me come up with an idea on how to make sure my element isn’t left useless.”

Rainbow brought herself onto her hooves and took a deep breath. “I’ll tell Lyra first and see if she knows a way to break it to them slowly,” she muttered to herself. She turned to walk to the door and noticed fog rolling in outside to accompany the rain. “Should probably hurry; looks like the weather team has a doozy planned tonight.”

She stepped out to walk to the other cart. The wind was powerful and very warm, almost knocking her over. A bit harsh for a simple storm. She looked up and saw one of the weather team. “Hey, guys need to tone the wind down a bit!” she called out.

“Sorry!” the pony called back. “We’re working on it!”

Dash nodded and went through the door to Lyra’s car. Most everyone’s heads turned to take notice of her.

“Heya, fearless leader!” Lyra chimed with a grin. “Glad to see you’re still tickin’.”

The irony hit Rainbow like the very train she was in. “Lyra, I need to talk to you.” Her voice was serious and could even be described as grim by the others.

Lyra stood and walked over to Rainbow as the others returned to talking amongst one another, Pinkie taking the lead with a story involving a pony made of chocolate.

“Something up?” Lyra asked.

Dash sighed. “You hit the nail a bit too hard on the head with your living comment,” she started. She paused for a moment as Lyra looked at her, confounded and attempting to decipher the meaning of her words. Dash had a hard time picking out her next ones before bluntly stating, “I’m gonna die…not long from now. Doc let me know.”

Lyra didn’t seem shocked, but she nodded her head. “I had guessed as much. I’m guessing Freezer?”

Dash nodded. “Apparently so. I’m gonna freeze up and never thaw.”

“Then we need go get you back to Twilight as soon as we can. Pass right through Ponyville tonight and go on to Canterlot. We can see if she can fix this, but I doubt the possibilities of that.” Lyra’s face spoke with as much certainty as Bone Saw’s words. Simple magic won’t fix it. “She needs to know though, might be able to come up with an idea.” She locked gazes with Rainbow Dash. “How long.”

“No longer than two weeks,” Rainbow confessed. “More likely it’s less than that.” The very thought of the affliction seemed to summon it, slowing her speech and causing her to shiver a bit. “Two weeks seems incredibly generous. I’ll be a bit surprised if I survive to see the sun rise.”

Lyra could feel a chill in the air by standing near Rainbow Dash. “No sugar coating? I’ll be surprised as well.”

“Think I should tell the others?” Dash asked.

Lyra shrugged. “Somehow you should. Not gonna be easy though. If you’re looking for advice on it though, I can’t give you any other than just tell them and be willing to talk about it.”

Dash sighed heavily. “Welp, let’s get it over—”

Before Rainbow could finish her thought, the train creaked violently as they felt it rock. Pinkie was smashed against the other side of the car in mid jump; the others were flung following her.

“What the hell!?” Gilda roared. “What is up with the weather team?”

Another crash came from the opposite side of the car, tearing it apart and knocking the entire train off the rails. Rainbow, Lyra, and the rest of the party were flung into the mud and fog; splashed with hot rain.

Dash groaned as she stood herself up again, the only light she could see was fire from the now destroyed train. Black clouds completely blotted out the sun, occasionally rumbling with the threat of lightning. “What the…” Then her eyes dropped and she saw two electric blue orbs coming closer towards her.

The dragon’s voice shook Rainbow Dash as he chuckled. “Hello there, pony. Good to see you again.”

Into The Storm

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Into The Storm

Can’t breathe! Need to run! Gonna die! Gonna hurt! No air, NO AIR! Rainbow was shaking so hard her bones ached. She was hyperventilating, sucking down the boiling rain and slashing wind.

He was more terrifying than ever. Simply existing near her threatened to drop the weight of the world down on her head and leave a gooey, red, rainbow mess. Electricity sparked all around him, illuminating the rain-splashed shine of his scales; a creature deserving of his legend and worship. Teeth like swords and claws thicker than trees, but nothing could compare to the horror of his bright, piercing eyes.

None could question the palpable fury in the air, looking up at the mountain of scales and lightning. “I’m taking everything from you now, life, limb, and land.” Bestial growling rumbled in his throat as he spoke. “I am sand and wind. I am storm and sky. Tempest Commander, Owayix!”

“YOU OWE ME A BOAT, YOU FUCKER!” Gilda flew directly into the dragon’s face, smashing her club into his nose as hard as she could manage.

Owayix didn’t flinch. His eyes looked to the gnat that had stung him and a surge of blue lightning jumped out of his scales and into Gilda, causing her body to seize and jerk about before falling to the earth again.

His gaze returned to Rainbow Dash as he brought his head slowly down to her paralyzed frame, mouth threatening to open. Again he was interrupted as his nostril ‘tinked’ from the impact of a small boulder and two arrows. His eyes followed the source to see the three dogs armed with bow, crossbow, and a new stone.

“Irksome pests!” he grumbled. His eyes glowed for a second before the rain around his face coalesced into a floating orb and blasted forth in a cylinder, throwing the three backwards and into the mud.

He turned his head before a third attack could be made by a leaping Pinkie Pie, spinning her ring blade around a hoof, and put her back in the muck without more than another flash of his eyes. A rush of wind as hot as fire slammed the pink pony waist deep into the soft earth.

“I’ve no patience for any more games, or any desire for a struggle to take what I want. Leave now and live moments longer.” Owayix’s agitated voice physically shook anyone still standing.

Dash tried to move but her fear fed her curse, keeping her pinned to the ground. Everything began to move slowly before her, blurring once again as illusions of snow fogged her vision and a chill slowed the flow of her blood. The contrast of hot rain on her face and freezing bones churned her stomach, threatening that the next visible cloud of her breath would instead be vomit.

Owayix moved to swallow her once again before his snout was met with another smash, strong enough to force an inch of movement. Applejack jumped back to avoid the striking lightning that followed her attack and crouched into another leaping position.

The dragon opened his maw and the pink flesh of his tongue and cheeks began to light up to the bright electric blue of sparks gathered. Applejack readied herself to jump before the voice whispered to her once again. “He will not strike you.”

Owayix’s focus shifted without warning from Applejack to the now advancing Rarity, firing a giant bolt towards her. She was quick enough to avoid the attack, but well intimidated by the trench that now smoked beside her, catching her off guard enough for a sudden rush of wind to lift her into the sky and away.

Applejack looked back in shock, wondering why she wasn’t targeted.

Dash felt helpless as each of her friends were swatted down like flies one after the other. The serpent turned to face her once again, but his next interruption didn’t take the form of an assault. Dash was taken aback to see Lyra marching up and standing proud and smiling in front of her, facing the dragon without any trace of fear upon her face.

“Each hero must overcome great difficulty, and we are no different, Rainbow Dash. We’ve reached the climax of this adventure and you’re shivering in the mud.” Lyra shook her head. “Forgive me if I take some artistic liberty when I write this scene later. We have to do our ancestors proud after all.”

Dash looked on as Lyra’s body started to glow in a golden light, spontaneously drying as her mane and tail began to float in the air. Her brow furrowed and the fur on her chin began to grow, drooping down before curling up. Her tail narrowed as the hair began to vanish, leaving a small tuft on the tip, resembling the tail of a lion. Her hooves sprouted tufts of hair on the back ankle, becoming cloven. She became thinner and taller, her horn spiraling upward and outward to a longer, thinner alicorn.

Owayix grumbled. “Borrowing the power of your long dead relatives? For what purpose?”

“For kickin’ yer butt, doofus!” Lyra’s mane stayed dry in the rain, flowing elegantly. “You should know ponies were stronger before Equestria was at peace! And here’s the kicker, Pegasi were expert monster hunters and dragon slayers. Remember that?”

Owayix’s eyes narrowed in serious focus, snarling and sparking electricity all about his face.

“You can do that to me?” Dash whispered from behind Lyra.

“Of course not, I’m bluffing my ass off right here trying to think of a better plan!” she whispered back in a panicked speed. “Hurry up and shake that curse off. I’m being an idiot and trying to intimidate a fucking dragon!”

Lyra’s loss of composure was erased the moment she turned back to face Owayix, a convincing cover of confidence. Unamused, the dragon swung his front claw into the air above them, brimming with blue energy, and let it fall towards Dash and Lyra.

A bright flash of amber light and the land beneath the two of them had changed. Dash looked to Lyra again to see her horn still fresh with the light of a spell. The dragon was nowhere near them, shifted to a small lizard on the horizon.

“How’d you get us this far so fast?” Rainbow Dash asked. She struggled to lift a leg up, managing to budge it slightly.

“I guess ancient unicorns were more powerful than I guessed them to be,” Lyra answered. “Gonna need to get used to this, quick.”

With another spirited effort, Rainbow lifted a leg and placed it forward, her breath clearing up and her vision smoothing. “So, if you cast that on me and make me like the old pegasi, I can fight him?”

Lyra frowned. “I said I can’t do that. I’ve only ever performed this spell once before this and only on myself. Plus, in order to use it I would have to trade one of your memories.”

“What?” Dash was shocked.

“Trade a current memory for an ancient one, every spell has a cost, and not every cost is simply magic,” Lyra explained. “To do this, I have to give up a memory of someone I’ve met in my life. I’ve spent long years travelling, so I have a number of faces with no names I can spend.”

“But—”

“There isn’t any time for objections,” Lyra interrupted. “There’s a dragon attacking Equestria and he wants you dead. We all need to fight him off and it’s going to take all we got. You have to move. Spitfire is going to want to see you, and we could really use that element of yours.”

Rainbow Dash looked back to Owayix. Lightning burst from the clouds around his head. She thought of her friends back down there, knocked aside from trying to defend her. A glimmer sparked in her eyes before a final shake of her head pushed back her affliction. She pulled out the necklace of loyalty and slung it around her neck. “Get me back there. Let’s make that wyrm wiggle!”

Rover stood up. Wet, caked in mud and still gripping his bow, now splintered in half. With a frustrated grunt he tossed the useless weapon back into the muck. Spot and Fido rose to his sides, looking to him for answers on what to do next. A typical dog would run under such odds, but something kept Rover planted, grasping the hilt of Stormbreaker.

“Dogs will stand. Dogs are loyal.” Rover grinned and held a paw across his heart. “And I have a bone to pick with the dragon.” Emerald flames burst forth from the sword, reaching to twice the length of the blade and unyielding to the torrential rain.

Fido took tight hold of his axe as Spot loaded a new bolt into his crossbow, the two of them nodding in agreement.

Rarity marched up beside them, throwing aside her now torn and soiled clothing with a fire in her eyes. “I hold a grudge of my own now, darling. You’ll have my support.” Her horn sparked violently as she brandished her rapier next to the large diamond and a collection of her other various gems.

Owayix’s eyes scanned the area in search for his prey. His eyes narrowed in anger. “You flee yet again? Have you learned nothing?” A flicker in his peripheral vision caught his attention. He turned to see the dogs and Rarity all staring up at him with weapons ready and determined expressions. “It seems I shall only fuel my own annoyance by ignoring flies instead of swatting them,” he grumbled. Stamping his claws upon the ground, a series of blue bolts crackled around his body as he let out a mighty roar that shook the earth they stood on.

Rover and the dogs snarled back at the monster before them, not allowing the fear they felt to overpower them. Rarity tossed three emeralds towards Owayix, sparking with magical energy. The dragon’s greedy nature drew his eye towards the gems before their violent eruption. The explosion and shards did no damage to him, but it did cause enough hesitation for the dogs to make their move.

Flinching, he turned his head to the sky, exposing the tender flesh of his neck into sight of Spot’s crossbow and he let two bolts fly in through the scales under Owayix’s chin. The bolts did little to damage the beast, but their true purpose became clear soon as Rover stood on the flat of Fido’s axe blade. He gripped tight to the axe’s edge as the larger dog began spinning faster and faster before releasing the weapon, sending it and Rover flying after the bolts. The axe left only a minor cut, not intended as the true threat.

Rover grabbed hold of one of the bolts and placed a back leg on the other, pulling his sword arm back with a bloodthirsty battle cry. The force of his plunge pierced the softer scales, hilting the blade in the monster’s chest. The flames burned hot and Rover could see a glow from it as he twisted the blade inside the tough flesh.

Owayix didn’t flinch or cry out; refusing the satisfaction to the insect that had stung him. He snarled and brought a claw up to scratch away the annoyance.

Rover was quick though, sliding the blade back out of the giant lizard and dropping to his arm just before he was impaled upon one of the giant nails. He sunk his blade once again into Owayix’s wrist, earning another snarl for his efforts. He was lifted up as the dragon brought his arm towards his mouth, waves of drool and teeth as long as spears eagerly anticipating to bite down.

His tongue instead met the sharp sting of dozens of tiny emerald shards, flinching just quick enough for the dog on his claw to leap onto his shoulder.

Rover climbed the azure scales as quick as he could manage with sword in hand, struggling to not be flung off as Owayix shook hard. With a roar the dragon’s scales sparked with small blue bolts of electrical energy. A score of the bolts stung Rover as he climbed, taking great care not to let one of them strike his chest and halt his weakened heart.

He finally found himself on top of the dragon’s head where he hung on desperately to one of the horns as he was flicked and flung and shaken about. He couldn’t find a moment to attack, stuck clinging to the thrashing head.

Rover’s attempts weren’t fruitless, distracting the dragon well enough that he didn’t notice Rarity aiming her large diamond lens towards him. She fired her magic through the lens, letting loose all the power she could manage. The beam exploded in size, crashing against Owayix’s breast and even managing to force him to howl in pain.

Rover took the moment of stillness to lift his blade high and plunge it down once again. Instead of the expected sinking sensation of his previous stabs, the metal sword bounced back upwards and forced Rover onto his butt.

The strength of dragon’s scales surpassed even the diamonds Rover’s kind so greatly desired; thick, flexible, and harder than any metal. Frustration surged through the dog and he grabbed hold of one of the blue plates, pulling at it with all his might as he slammed his weapon over and over again against the lizard’s armored hide.

Rarity’s beam expended and she began breathing hard, dropping the lens before her. Owayix placed a claw where her blast had hit, checking but finding no physical marks from the pain and burning the attack had left. The dog on his head was annoying, throwing its fit, but not the threat this unicorn had just proven herself. Fido and Spot continued tossing rocks and firing bolts towards him, more mild annoyances. He lifted his claw once again and brought it above their heads, bringing its weight down to crush them into paste. Rarity was too exhausted to move, and the dogs couldn’t carry her away quickly enough, but refused to leave her.

His claw made contact, a slight feeling of satisfaction popping into the back of his mind, but it was fleeting as he felt the surface he’d stepped on begin to repel him. He pushed back harder before the surface forced his claw back into the air. A clear red platform floated above Rarity and the dogs, protecting them.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Scalebutt!” Owayix’s head snapped up, forcing Rover to stumble down to the dragon’s nose, as he turned toward the voice. Rainbow Dash and Lyra had reappeared standing on top of a hill not too far off. The same red glow of the platform glimmered above the center of Rainbow’s chest. “You wanted a rematch?”

The storm clouds above Owayix’s head began to rumble even louder, dropping rain harder and stabbing the earth with jagged lightning bolts. He roared viciously enough to crack the earth and nearly deafen anyone nearby. He took aim at Rainbow Dash and Lyra as he inhaled, the familiar blue light of energy forming in the back of his throat, promising death.

Dash and Lyra prepared themselves to run, but Owayix let out a shriek of pain again as Rover stabbed hard at the giant, standing inside its nostril. His breath weapon had stopped charging and he flailed his head even harder than before, sending Rover flying out his nose towards the ground below. Before he fell too far, Rainbow summoned a new platform to catch Rover softly, bringing him back to the ground quickly and safely.

As soon as her friend was back on his feet, Dash looked back up to the beast and a wave of familiar, sickening fright washed over her. Those eyes were the very furious pools of blue that she had seen just before Gilda’s ship and crew were attacked, later to vanish in a furious flash of light.

They had angered him, and he wasn’t going to simply swat absently at the flies below him anymore.

Owayix spread his mighty wings, covering the clouded land in even darker shadows. Blue light flickered like a dying star as larger sparks flew from his hide and the glowing in his eyes intensified, leaving streaks of electric blue glow when he raised his head. He stood upon his back legs, breaking the black clouds with his horns before they parted to allow his towering majesty to be seen in full.

With a roar even more powerful than before, the sky flashed a blinding bright blue as lightning blasted the ground, making craters and smashing trees and boulders. Everyone was forced to close their eyes and cover their ears, but it did nothing to quench the unbearable heat that the lightning brought with it. Even when they allowed their senses open once again, sights were blurred and noises were muffled. The hot rain became pounding hail that resisted the scorching winds, pummeling the party repeatedly.

Only Lyra, in her own new magnificence, could find her voice. “Truly, a creature that is worthy to have been worshipped as a god!” she called in admiration. “I am gonna have one HELL of a climax when we’re done!”

Valley Of Rainbows: Seeking Solutions

by Sparx

Prelude: Storytime

The New Chapter

Heeding The Call

She Who Summoned Me

The Bard's Song

The Shores Of Our Land

Beneath These Waves

Shadow Of The Beast

The Highland

From The Journal Of Lyra: Notes On Minos

Goblin's Song

Together We Fight

Chapter 10.5: Delusion

Raise The Hammer

Between Two Worlds

Rats Are Following

Part Two: Only The Brave

Gardens Of The Sinner

Lost In The Forest

Shy

Fury Of The Wild

Blood On My Hands

The Power And Fury

Of Sacrifice, Loss, And Reward

Black Winter Night

Reflections of Evil

The Champion

Stories By The Fire: The Maiden And The Minstrel Knight

The Visionary

Part Three: Reasons To Live

Four Magic Elements

All The Clowns

I Am A Cider Drinker

No Quarter

Another Stranger Me

Last Ride of the Day

Into The Storm